Solar Workshop Planned

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PITTSFIELD - The Center for Ecological Technology will hold a workshop on solar energy for the home or small business on Wednesday, Sept. 26, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. (check in at 6) at the Berkshire Athenaeum at 1 Wendell Ave. Chris Vreeland, a professional engineer, will be the featured speaker. Registration is required and a donation of $10 is suggested. Energy costs and concern about the effects of fossils fuels on our health and environment are leading many Berkshire businesses and homeowners to conserve and seek local, clean sources of energy. Interest in solar energy systems for homes, farms, schools and businesses is continuing to grow. Grants and tax incentives are available to help offset the cost of investing in solar energy and other renewable technologies. This workshop is designed to help participants determine if solar energy would be a good fit for their situation. Attendees will learn the basics of how solar hot water and photovoltaic panels work, the components of a solar energy system, how to determine what size system is needed, whether they have a good site and how to gain additional benefits through energy efficient improvements. Vreeland will provide an overview of financial incentives available from the state and the federal government and will summarize a rebate program offered by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. To register or for more information, call Cynthia Grippaldi at 413-445-4556, Ext. 25, or e-mail to cynthiag@cetonline.org. CET is a non-profit energy and resource conservation organization that has served Western Massachusetts since 1976. It receives funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. This workshop is co-sponsored by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative and Energy Federation Inc.
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John Rubinstein on 'Eisenhower,' Trump, Fosse, Sondheim & Williamstown Theatre Festival

By Alan PetrucelliSpecial to iBerkshires
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It's a rainy Saturday afternoon in Columbus, Ohio, and John Rubinstein is driving to the Berkshires. He left his Los Angeles home a few days ago, and his next stop is Cleveland. Once he gets to Pittsfield, he readies for his return appearance as Dwight D. Eisenhower in "Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground," a one-man show Rubinstein first did at the Barrington Stage Company last summer.
 
The show has been brought back by rave reviews and popular demand; it opens Sept. 16 and runs through Sept. 26. 
 
Rubinstein, who turns 80 in December, has been crisscrossing the country, doing the show for the past four years: "I can't wait to do it again and again and again," he said. "It's one of the great crowning pieces of luck of my career."
 
And what a career: "Crazy Like a Fox," "Family," numerous Broadway plays and musicals and TV movies and feature films and two Tony awards for "Pippin" (1972) and "Children of a Lesser God" (1980). A surprise many fans don't know: Rubinstein has scored the music to several films and TV shows, including "Jeremiah Johnson," "The Candidate," "The Dollmaker" and "China Beach."
 
During an exclusive interview over a 75-minute phone call, Rubinstein talks about liking Ike and loving "Eisenhower," as well as Donald Trump, Stephen Sondheim, Bob Fosse and the Williamstown Theatre Festival.
 
How did you hook up with 'Eisenhower?'
 
Director Peter Ellenstein sent me an email that said, "I have a play about Eisenhower, and I'd like to send it to you to consider." I read it. It was 40 pages long and single-spaced, one guy talking. I thought. "Jesus Christ, I don't know if anybody's gonna want to hear that, a two-hour monologue." But I liked it. I respected it. I found it fascinating but (a) I wasn't sure it would work as a play, (b) if I could memorize it and (c) if I could memorize it and it was a good play would anyone want to go see it? So I didn't commit myself at first. But Peter said, "Why don't you come and meet with me and the playwright, Richard Hellesson, and read the play out loud?"
 
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