Monday, June 23, 2025

News and Ideas Worth Sharing

Bits & Bytes: Podcasting workshops; STEM Starter Academy at BCC; Popovich Comedy Pet Theater at the Colonial; ‘Berning Man’ at Club Helsinki; Ghent auditions update

BCC's STEM Starter Academy aims to provide students with the tools they need to be STEM-ready in college and the workplace and will include academic support, tutoring, special field trips, guest speakers, and a STEM Academy Success Kit.

Podcasting workshops with Susan Davis

Pittsfield — Muddy Puppy Media will present Podcasting 101 workshops with NPR producer Susan Davis from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 30, at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts and on Sunday, May 1, at Time & Space Limited in Hudson, N.Y.

In Podcasting 101, Davis will introduce participants to the building blocks of a great podcast including true listening, the art of hosting, perfecting a sound, achieving a tone, and designing efficient production structures and schedules. She will also address tech issues and share tips on how to build an audience through promotion and distribution.

Susan Davis has worked as a producer for “Marketplace,” “Soundprint,” “All Things Considered,” and “Talk of the Nation” at NPR. She has taught podcasting/audio production at a wide range of venues that include Duke University, the Public Radio Program Directors Conference, and the United States Department of State’s Cultural Affairs Department.

Tuition is $150 through Thursday, March 31, and $175 after Friday, April 1. Limited financial aid is available. For more information or to reserve a space, email Gina at ginahyams@gmail.com.

–E.E.

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BCC accepting STEM Starter Academy applications

Pittsfield — Berkshire Community College (BCC) is accepting applications for its STEM Starter Academy, a program geared toward high school students who are interested in attending BCC to study STEM fields.

Part of a statewide Massachusetts community college initiative, the program features a three-week Summer STEM Success Academy and a semester-long Fall Support Academy. The program aims to provide students with the tools they need to be STEM-ready in college and the workplace and will include academic support, tutoring, special field trips, guest speakers, and a STEM Academy Success Kit.

Students interested in pursuing certificate or associate degree programs in such STEM fields as biology, computer information systems, engineering, environmental science, fire science, and atmospheric science, as well as liberal arts majors who are concentrating in STEM studies, are encouraged to apply.

The application deadline is Friday, April 1. Online application information is available. For more details or with questions, contact Constance West at (413) 236-4740 or cwest@berkshirecc.edu.

–E.E.

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Club Helsinki Hudson to host Bernie Sanders campaign event

billmckibben Steve Liptay
Bill McKibben. Photo: Steve Liptay.

Hudson, N.Y. — “Berning Man,” a free, multimedia event devoted to the presidential campaign of Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders and featuring local and national activists, will take place at Club Helsinki Hudson on Wednesday, March 30, at 7 p.m.

Co-sponsored by the Club and campaign volunteers, the event will feature author and activist Bill McKibben, “Bankers for Bernie” founder Paul Ryan, Dr. Anna Marie Assevero, village of Chatham trustee and millennial Gunnar Worden, New York state legislator Doug Bullock, and live performances by Sheri Bauer-Mayorga and Punned It.

The event will also include food, a Bernie Sanders look-alike contest that will be open to all, Bernie Sanders swag available for purchase, and the opportunity to sign up for phone banking and canvassing.

For more information or to register for the event, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or call the club at (518) 828-4800.

–E.E.

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BTG to present Popovich Comedy Pet Theater

Popovich_Crop
Gregory Popovich and friends.

Pittsfield — Berkshire Theatre Group (BTG) will welcome the Popovich Comedy Pet Theater to the Colonial Theatre on Wednesday, March 30, at 7 p.m.

The Popovich Comedy Pet Theater is a family-oriented blend of the comedy and juggling skills of Moscow Circus member Gregory Popovich and the talents of his performing pets. This show features Popovich and his cast of jugglers and clowns along with 15 house cats, 10 dogs, four geese, eight white doves, and two parrots. All of the show’s cats and dogs were once strays and wererescued from animal shelters.

Popovich is the child of Russian circus performers who were also dog trainers. The connection he formed with his mother’s showdogs led to his participation onstage and, at the age of six, he began to learn juggling. He became a member of the renowned Moscow Circus at age 17.
Popovich and his pets have been featured on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Late Night with David Letterman,” and as finalists on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.”

Tickets to Popovich Comedy Pet Theater are $20. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or call the Colonial ticket office at (413) 997-4444.

–E.E.

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Ghent Playhouse auditions update

Ghent, N.Y. – Further auditions for the Ghent Playhouse’s production of Moliere’s “The Imaginary Invalid” have been rescheduled for Tuesday, March 29, and Wednesday, March 30, at 7:30 p.m. with sign-in at 7 p.m. Some of the roles have already been cast; the remaining roles are those of Toinette, Angelique, Beline, Monsieur/Madame Diafoirus, Cleante, and Louison. All other show details remain the same. For more information contact director Barbara Leavell-Smith at (518) 283-4970.

–E.E.

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