Big E documentary to air on public TV
Springfield — On Monday, Nov. 28, at 8 p.m., WGBY, the public television station for western New England, will capture the historic and cultural significance of the Eastern States Exposition in the original documentary “100 Years on the Avenue: The Story of the Big E.”
For a century, the Big E – the largest fair in the Northeast and the only multi-state fair in the nation – has served as the key venue for the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont to showcase their respective livestock, agricultural, commercial, industrial, and artistic developments. With archival materials and original interviews, the premiere of the documentary made by WGBY Executive Producer Dave Fraser and his team will also include live, in-studio guests who will provide additional insight.
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The Whitdiots to present improv show
Pittsfield — On Monday, Nov. 28, at 7 p.m., the Whitdiots comedy troupe will dish up another wild night of improv that will include crowd favorites as well as brand new offerings at the Whitney Center for the Arts. Admission is pay-what you-can with a suggested donation of $10. Beer and wine will be available for purchase before the show and the doors will open at 6:30 p.m. For more information, contact the Whitney Center for the Arts at (413) 443-0289 or info@thewhit.org.
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Comic Liz Miele to perform at the Garage
Pittsfield — Berkshire Theatre Group will present comedian Liz Miele as part of its Laugh Lounge Series on Wednesday, Nov. 30, at 8 p.m. at the Garage.
Miele began performing stand-up comedy in 2002 at the age of 16. Originally from New Jersey, Miele recently appeared on AXS TV’s Gotham Comedy Live and was profiled in the March 2015 issue of Runner’s World. At 18, she was profiled in the New Yorker and, at 22, she appeared on Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham. Miele has toured the nation with Nobodies of Comedy and Armed Forces Entertainment. She is the creator of the animated web series “Damaged,” and is the co-star/creator/producer of “Apt C3.”
Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 on the day of the show. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or call the Colonial ticket office at (413) 997-4444.
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Williams Russian professor named ASEEES president-elect
Williamstown — Julie Cassiday, chair of German and Russian and professor of Russian at Williams College, has been named president-elect of the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES). As president-elect, Cassiday will serve as vice president in 2017 and president in 2018.
Established in 1948, ASEEES is a nonprofit, nonpolitical, scholarly society and the leading international organization dedicated to the advancement of knowledge about Central Asia, the Caucasus, Russia, and Eastern Europe in regional and global contexts. Cassiday will serve on the executive committee of the board of directors, which handles all aspects of the management of ASEEES and consists of the president, vice president, immediate past president, treasurer, executive director, the editor of Slavic Review and one member-at-large.
Cassiday is the author of “The Enemy on Trial: Early Soviet Courts on Stage and Screen” (Northern Illinois University Press, 2000), which considers in depth the elements of performance in Soviet show trials. Building on this research, Cassiday has also published articles on the cinematic representation of the cult of Sergei Kirov, as well as on the only detective film made under Stalin. In addition, she has published several articles on 19th-century theater as an important innovator in the performance of gender roles in the pre-Pushkin era. Her current research focuses on gender, performance and ideology in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. She has collaborated with Emily Johnson of the University of Oklahoma on a study of the cult of personality surrounding Putin and published on Russia’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. She is currently co-editing with Julie Buckler of Harvard University and Boris Wolfson of Amherst College a volume of essays titled “Russian Performances,” which explores the intersection of Russian and performance studies.
At Williams since 1994, Cassiday also serves as chair of the executive committee of Williams’ Center for Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures. She received an A.B. in Russian from Grinnell College and an M.A. in Russian and a Ph.D. in Slavic languages and literatures and humanities from Stanford University.
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