Dance Lab Presents “Give Thanks”
Sheffield— Join the Race Brook Lodge for a very special Dance Lab gathering featuring an Ecstatic Dance journey with DJ Omar Aena on Saturday, November 26 at 7:30 p.m.
The event will begin with a guided movement class, followed by a free-form Ecstatic Dance. This will be a safe and inclusive space, welcoming people from all walks of life to freely express themselves through movement. No prior dance experience is required, just come as you are.
Omar Aena is of Iraqi descent and is a world music DJ, community organizer and event producer based in NYC. He is the founder of Dance Lab, a Brooklyn-based collective that explores dance as a form of somatic therapy. As a DJ he mixes together traditional world music with electronic sounds, with a particular focus on songs from his middle-eastern heritage + hip hop from his upbringing in NYC. Listen to Omar’s DJ mixes on Soundcloud
This event will take place In the Barnspace at Race Brook Lodge, 864 South Undermountain Rd, Sheffield.
Tickets are $20, available here.
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School Districts to Host Free Film Screening & Discussion
Lee— The Lee Public Schools, Lenox Public Schools, and Berkshire Hills Regional School District will be presenting a free screening of the award-winning film “Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America” on Tuesday, November 29 at 6:30 p.m. in the Lee Middle and High School auditorium.
The film will be followed by a discussion facilitated by Raymond Porch, the Director of Family and Community Engagement for the Cambridge Public Schools.
After many years as a practicing lawyer, Jeffrey Robinson started looking at our Nation’s history and was shocked by how deeply encoded white supremacy and the oppression of Black Americans is in that history. For the past 10 years, in community centers, concert halls, houses of worship, and conference rooms across America, Robinson has been sharing what he learned. In Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America, Robinson faces his largest audience, asking all of us to examine who we are, where we come from, and who we want to be. The film interweaves historical and present-day archival footage, Robinson’s personal story, and vérité and interview footage capturing Robinson’s meetings with Black change-makers and eyewitnesses to history. From a hanging tree in Charleston, South Carolina, to a walking tour of the origins of slavery in colonial New York, to the site of a 1947 lynching in rural Alabama, the film brings history to life, exploring the enduring legacy of white supremacy and our collective responsibility to overcome it. In Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America, Robinson shows us how legalized discrimination and state-sanctioned brutality, murder, dispossession, and disenfranchisement continued long after slavery ended, profoundly impeding Black Americans’ ability to create and accumulate wealth as well as to gain access to jobs, housing, education, and health care. Weaving heartbreak, humor, passion, and rage, Robinson’s words lay bare an all-but-forgotten past, as well as our shared responsibility to create a better country in our lifetimes. Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America was written by Jeffery Robinson, and directed by Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler.
Tickets are not required but can be reserved here.
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Open Auditions for “Invitation to a March”
Ghent— The Ghent Playhouse announces auditions for “Invitation to a March,” a critically acclaimed play with fairy tale elements, doses of comedy and a fair amount of drama. Auditions will be held Monday and Tuesday, November 28 and 29 at 7 p.m. at The Ghent Playhouse, 6 Town Hall Place, Ghent.
Strong actors who can bring out the humor of the play, as well as the tension and conflict, are encouraged to try out. Auditionees will be asked to read scenes from the script. If call-backs are necessary, they will be held on Saturday, December 3 at 1 p.m.
Characters to be cast include Camilla Jablonski (45-65 years old); Aaron Jablonski (early-mid 20s); Lily Brown (45-65 years old); Norma Brown (early-mid 20s); Cary Brown (10-12 years old); Deedee Grogan (45-65 years old); Tucker Grogan (45-65 years old); and Schuyler Grogan (early-mid 20s). Additional details about the characters can be found on the website here.
In “Invitation to a March,” Norma Brown is everything a proper young society girl should be: obedient, quiet, malleable and undemanding. Norma can’t seem to feel the same joy and satisfaction that those around her feel. In fact, she can’t feel much of anything. Will she learn that sometimes true happiness can be achieved only by marching to the beat of a different drummer? Or will her oppressive upbringing keep her from finding the courage to take a chance?
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The Wizard of Oz Screening
Great Barrington— On Saturday, November 26 at 4 p.m. The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center is screening The Wizard of Oz (1939).
Join Dorothy as she follows the Yellow Brick Road of Oz to find her way home. Audiences enjoy this classic 1939 movie every Thanksgiving weekend at the Mahaiwe.
The movie is rated G, and runs 1 hour and 52 minutes. Tickets are $8 or $5 ages 12 and under, available here.
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5th Annual “An Old Fashioned Christmas” Exhibit at Great Barrington Town Museum
Great Barrington— The Great Barrington Historical Society’s 5th Annual “An Old Fashioned Christmas” exhibit will hold its Grand Opening on Friday, November 25 from 4 – 8 p.m. at their town museum at 817 South Main Street in Great Barrington.
The Historical Society each year changes their museum exhibits to take the visitor from the Tutor England and Colonial Days of Christmas, through the Victorian era and on to the 1950’s and today. In addition, this year they are featuring two new exhibits: an indoor Christmas tree gallery where visitors can gain fresh decorating ideas, and a display entitled “My Favorite Things” where the community joined in to share their prized Christmas decorations.
The Historical Society is not calling the night of this opening event “Black Friday” but rather “Pie Friday” as the complimentary refreshments will include a variety of fresh pies for visitors to enjoy. Visitors can also shop in the museum’s gift area.
The exhibit begins on November 25 and runs through the New Year. The exhibit is open Friday and Saturday evenings from 4-8 and Saturday and Sundays 10-2. The exhibit is free to the public. For more information visit: https://gbhistory.org/announcements/youre-invited-to-participate-in-the-gbhs-2022-holiday-exhibit-my-favorite-things/
