“J.S. Bach and Sons” CEWM program at the Mahaiwe
Great Barrington — Close Encounters With Music (CEWM) will celebrate Johann Sebastian Bach and his progeny on Saturday, March 19, at 6 p.m. at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center with “J.S. Bach and Sons—Legitimate and Otherwise.” Family members represented will include Bach’s uncle Heinrich and his sons Johann Christoph Friedrich, Wilhelm Friedemann, and Carl Philipp Emanuel.
Yehuda Hanani, internationally renowned cellist and Artistic Director of CEWM, will perform Henri Casadesus’ Concerto in C Minor. Johann Sebastian’s Concerto for Violin and Oboe in C Minor will come alive with solo performances by violinist Edwin Huizinga and oboist James Austin Smith. The 12-piece Baroque string band ACRONYM will conclude the concert with the Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. Also appearing on the program will be P.D.Q. Bach (A.K.A. Peter Schickele) in a concerto for “Four-Handed Viola” that combines musicological scholarship, the conventions of Baroque, and the antics of slapstick comedy.
Tickets are $45 and $25 and are available, along with more information, from the Berkshire Edge calendar and the Mahaiwe box office at (413) 528-0100.
–E.E.
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WAM Theatre to present Rachel Siegel’s ‘Special’
Stockbridge — WAM Theatre will co-produce a workshop production of “Special” with playwright and actress Rachel Siegel at Berkshire Theatre Group’s Unicorn Theatre. Created and performed by Siegel, and based on personal experience and interviews with mothers of children with special needs, “Special” follows the journey of a woman after she discovers she is pregnant with a child with Down syndrome.
Performances of “Special” are scheduled for Friday, March 18, and Saturday, March 19, at 7:30 p.m., and on Sunday, March 20, at 2 p.m. A portion of box office proceeds from the March 19 performance will be donated to the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers, and a portion of the proceeds from the March 18 and 20 performances will be donated to Whole Children and Community Access to the Arts. Tickets are $20 and are available from the Berkshire Edge calendar and by calling (413) 997-4444.
–E.E.
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Potholder rug class at Shire City Sanctuary
Pittsfield – On Saturday, March 19, and Sunday, March 20, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Crispina ffrench will teach a hands-on instructional workshop at Shire City Sanctuary during which students will learn the cutting, joining, and weaving process involved in turning a pile of used sweaters, sweatshirts, and t-shirts into potholder rugs. Finished rugs will be one inch thick and measure two-and-a-half by seven feet.
The cost of the workshop is $195. Both beginners and experienced weavers/makers are welcome. Materials will be supplied but, if students have a particular color scheme in mind, they should collect and bring materials with them. All materials should be washed and dried prior to the workshop. For registration and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or contact Shire City Sanctuary at shirecitysanctuary@gmail.com or (413) 236-9600.
–E.E.
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WordXWord poetry & story slams
Pittsfield — WordXWord Festival’s poetry and story slam series will begin this weekend at Dottie’s Coffee Lounge.
The opening poetry slam of the 2016 series will take place Friday, March 18, at 7 p.m. and will feature Providence, R.I.-based writer and farmer Laura Brown-Lavoie, who co-hosts of the Providence Poetry Slam and was a finalist at the 2013 Women of the World Poetry Slam. Melissa Quirk Cairns will host the evening. The first 2016 story slam will be held Sunday, March 20, at 3 p.m. The afternoon will be hosted by chef, poet, and storyteller James Burden. The theme will be “Dirty Laundry.”
Online registration for both the poetry and story slams is available. Admission to WordXWord events is free and open to all. Audiences are advised that the events may include mature content.
–E.E.
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Los Angeles auditions for the School at Jacob’s Pillow
Becket — The School at Jacob’s Pillow has announced that it will hold auditions in Los Angeles, Calif., on Sunday, March 20, and Monday, March 21, for three 2016 Professional Advancement Programs: Contemporary, Improv Traditions & Innovations: From Ring Shout to Blues to Jazz, and Musical Theatre Dance. Led by internationally-acclaimed dance artists in a master-class format, no cuts will be made during the auditions, providing an excellent opportunity for dancers to take a full professional class, gain audition experience, and learn more about the School.
Dancers will audition for the opportunity to work closely with artists such as Ballet BC Resident Choreographer Cayetano Soto, Colombo-Belgian choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, and Belgian designer and choreographer Stijn Celis. The Improv Traditions & Innovations guest artists will include Harvard University Ph.D candidate Lizzy Cooper Davis and two-time Fullbright Fellow Award recipient Nia Love. Milton Myers, faculty member of the Ailey School and Juilliard, will lead the Contemporary program. Improv Traditions & Innovations will be led by Urban Bush Women founder Jawole Willa Jo Zollar.
In addition to program auditions, the School at Jacob’s Pillow will host a Musical Theatre Dance master class on March 21. Led by award-winning film, television, and Broadway choreographer Peggy Hickey, the class will feature musical theatre, dance choreography, and performance skills followed by vocal coaching.
The auditions and master classes will take place at Loyola Marymount University, Lula Washington Dance Theatre, and Screenland Studios. Those unable to audition in person are encouraged to submit video auditions. Audition guidelines are available online. Scholarships are available. For more information contact Jacob’s Pillow at (413) 243-9919.
–E.E.
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Olana receives grant for landscape tours
Hudson, N.Y. — The Olana Partnership has been awarded a $24,380 matching grant from the Environmental Protection Fund’s (EPF) Park and Trail Partnership Program in order to provide interpretative materials for historic landscape tours launching alongside regular house tours this spring.
Olana guided landscape tours will increase visitor access to Frederic Church’s artist-designed landscape. According to Sean Sawyer, President of the Olana Partnership, “Visitors will now have the opportunity to go out into the landscape via guided walking, driving or cell phone tours to stop at the many thoughtfully composed views and vantage points that Frederic Church painted. Visitors will also learn the importance of the integral viewshed and see recent and ongoing landscape restoration projects.”
The grant, announced Friday by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, is one of 20 awards totaling $450,000 for organizations dedicated to the stewardship and promotion of New York’s State parks and historic sites. The grants, funded through the EPF, will be matched by nearly $242,000 in private and local funding and will support projects to strengthen Friends groups and enhance public access and recreational opportunities at state parks and historic sites across the state.
–E.E.
