Lauren Clark hosts viewing of Harold Baumbach artwork
Great Barrington – Join Lauren Clark Sunday, October, 25 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. as she hosts a viewing of the work of Harold Baumbach at the Baumbach gallery, in Housatonic. On Route 41 just minutes north of Great Barrington there is a prodigious collection of paintings, drawings and prints by one of the greatest artists you have never heard of. Harold Baumbach (1903-2002) was a genuine original. Nine years older than Jackson Pollock and the same age as his close friend Mark Rothko, he never became an Abstract Expressionist. In fact, Baumbach was an artist so committed to his own individuality that he makes his more famous contemporaries (who are routinely celebrated for their innovative independence) seem a little like followers of stylistic fashion. His paintings are in the collections of the Whitney and the Hirschhorn Museums, and the Smithsonian Archives of American Art holds a collection of his papers.
The little cottage which houses the Baumbach Collection is charming in and of itself and is not to be missed. Come meet novelist, Jonathan Baumbach, Harold’s son, and enjoy some brunch-time refreshments while perusing the work of this masterful artist.
The works include oils on canvas, framed gouaches on paper and signed and numbered serigraphs and are available for sale at the Baumbach Gallery and through Lauren Clark Fine Art.
For more information and directions to the Baumbach Gallery please respond by calling or emailing Lauren Clark Fine Art (413) 528-0432 or Lauren@LaurenClarkFineArt.com
— D.S.
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WAM Theatre to present ‘Holy Laughter’
Pittsfield — WAM Theatre’s fall MainStage production will be “Holy Laughter,” which will run Thursday, October 29 through Sunday, November 22 at Barrington Stage Company’s Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center. The poignant comedy follows Abigail, an Episcopal priest who finds that the reality of leading a church is radically and hilariously different than what she learned in seminary. Hymns, liturgical dance, and a wicked tongue lift playwright Catherine Trieschmann’s antic portrait of a small, struggling congregation to comic heights. This will be the first workshop production of this new play, which is still in development.
WAM Theatre will offer a variety of audience enrichment events in conjunction with the production. A lobby display will showcase the work of Hands in Outreach and Sisters for Peace, the two organizations who are this year’s WAM beneficiaries and will receive, in keeping with WAM’s double philanthropic mission, 25% of the box office proceeds from the production. A workshop entitled “Make ‘em Laugh: Writing Comedy for the Stage” with playwright Catherine Trieschmann will be held from 3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 31. The cost is $35 for just the workshop, or $50 for the workshop and a ticket to the 7:30 p.m. preview performance that same day. Enrollment is limited to ten people. Trieschmann will also lead off the post-show talkback series following the Saturday, October 31 7:30 p.m. preview performance. A talkback with the cast will take place after the 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, November 7, and a talkback with the design team will follow the matinee on Saturday, November 14. On Sunday, November 22 after the 2 p.m. matinee, there will be a post-show discussion with Hands in Outreach and Sisters For Peace about their work and the impact of WAM’s donation, followed by the check presentation.
Tickets for “Holy Laughter,” which are $15 – $40, and more information are available via the Berkshire Edge calendar and the Barrington Stage Company box office at (413) 236-8888.
–E.E.
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‘Great Barrington on the Move’
Great Barrington — On Tuesday, October 27, the Great Barrington Historical Society will present by Bernard Drew “Great Barrington on the Move: A Survey of Dwellings, Churches, Barns, and Other Structures that Have Shifted to New Sites in the Past Two Centuries.” This illustrated program by Bernard Drew will look at well-known and obscure buildings and also bandstands, greenhouses, bridges, and one cemetery relocated in Great Barrington and Housatonic since 1793.
Bernard Drew is associate editor of The Lakeville Journal and its sister newspapers. He is an “Our Berkshires” columnist for The Berkshire Eagle. He has written more than a dozen reference books in the field of popular literature biography. His most recent Berkshire history is Literary Luminaries of the Berkshires. He is currently researching stories of East Mountain and environs.
The talk will be given at the Claire Teague Senior Center at 7 p.m. Contact the Historical Society for more information at (413) 591-8702 or email info@gbhistory.org
–E.E.
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Fairview to spotlight respiratory care at free community event
Great Barrington — Fairview Hospital will sponsor and host a Respiratory Care Fair on Tuesday, October 27 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The event is a free opportunity for the community to meet the professionals at Fairview and become familiar with locally available services.
Dr. Chris Clark, Medical Director of Respiratory Care and Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Chief Hospitalist at Fairview, will make opening remarks on the role of the programs at Fairview and the results they can have for people struggling with respiratory disease. Following Dr. Clark’s remarks, the staff of Fairview’s Respiratory Care Department will offer demonstrations and information including understanding chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, the proper use of inhaler medications, and breathing techniques to aid respiratory functioning as well as information on criteria for enrolling in rehabilitation programs at Fairview Hospital.
A free flu vaccination clinic will be available at the fair. Attendees are asked to bring their insurance cards if available. For more information, contact Fairview Hospital Community Relations at (413) 854-9609.
–E.E.
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Genealogy talk at Congregation Knesset Israel
Pittsfield — On Monday, October 26 at 10:45 a.m., the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires will present “Finding Your Ancestors in Immigration & Naturalization Documents,” with genealogy consultant Keren Weiner. This free program at Congregation Knesset Israel is part of the Federation’s Connecting With Community series.
Keren Weiner will use individual examples to illustrate how to find immigration and naturalization documents and describe the interesting, exciting, and often surprising information one might expect to learn from them. A genealogy Q&A will follow the program. Weiner conducts genealogy research for individuals seeking to learn more about their family origins and lectures on a variety of genealogy topics. In addition to research projects for individual clients, she works as a genealogy consultant for films and books.
For more information, please call the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires at (413) 442-4360, ext. 10.
–E.E.
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Williams College to present German-Austrian Film Festival
Williamstown — The second annual Williams College German/Austrian Film Festival will take place on the Mondays of October 26, November 2, and November 9 at 7 p.m. at Images Cinema.
Whether in the form of the unspeakable, of nearly forgotten memory, or of an inchoate waiting, the Festival’s 2015 theme of silence pervades the three films, despite their differences in genre, setting, and tone. The key role of gaps in narrative and the relentless search for truth and meaning in all of the films attests to the directors’ attempts to address in their work what has been swept under the carpet. The three films engage with Germany and Austria’s troubled histories and demonstrate how difficult it is to process one’s own past.
All films are in German with English subtitles. The screenings are free and open to the public. The featured films will be “Das letzte Schweigen (The Silence),” directed by Baran bo Odar, on October 26; “Die Wohnung (The Flat),” directed by Arnon Goldfinger, on November 2; and “Atmen (Breathing),” directed by Karl Markovics, on November 9.
–E.E.
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FilmColumbia industry experts on state of American filmmaking
Chatham, N.Y. — On Saturday, October 24 at 10 a.m. at the Tracy Memorial Village Hall, FilmColumbia festival Executive Director and Vanity Fair contributing editor Peter Biskind will moderate a panel discussion on the current state of American filmmaking. The panel will be composed of industry experts Owen Gleiberman, former chief film critic for Entertainment Weekly and now for the BBC; screenwriter John Orloff (“Band of Brothers,” “A Mighty Heart”); Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Deborah Shaffer (“Very Semi-Serious: A Partially Thorough Portrait of New Yorker Cartoonists,” playing this year at FilmColumbia); Harry Chotiner, former vice president at Twentieth Century Fox; and Eugene Hernandez, a founder of IndieWire and Director of Digital Strategy at the Film Society of Lincoln Center.
During this panel discussion, according to Mr. Biskind, “Movie insiders will sound off on the perennial issue: whether Hollywood movies are getting better, worse, or just standing still.”
Bagels and coffee are included in the $15 ticket, available online or at the door the day of the event.
–E.E.
