Weekend Outlook: Feeling Green
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| 'My Dream of Donegal' by Walt Pasko |
Pittsfield celebrates its links to Ireland with "Forty Shades of Green," a multimedia show of works from regional artists of all ages at Lichtenstein Center for the Arts on Sunday, a day ahead of St. Patrick's Day.
The open call show was expected to draw nearly a hundred works of art, all of which were hung by the city's Sister City Committee this past week.
The show's open now but for a real taste of Ireland, head to the opening reception Sunday, March 16, beginning at noon when step dancers from the Farrell School of Irish Dance in Albany, N.Y., and the Dossers, a local Irish group, will be on hand to entertain.
The Irish Sister City Committee will mark Pittsfield's 10-year matchup with Ballina of County Mayo, Ireland. Over the past decade, the two communities have sent annual delegations back and forth each year.
<L2>Ballina Mayor Padraig Moore and Councilors Michele Mulherin and Mark Winters and Town Clark Carmel Murphy will lend an authentic Irish accent to the proceedings.
Can't make it Sunday? The exhibit will be open through April 12, Wednesday through Saturday, noon to 5. Admission is free. The Sister City Committee meets monthly at the Berkshire Athenaeum; call Pat Gormalley at 413-442-8924.
Roman Tragedy
Albert Camus' play "Caligula" is a dark journey through the mind of a crazed emporer. Camus was 25 when he finished the play in 1938; it was first performed in 1945 carries the undertones of the rise of authoritarianism in that era, and begins with death of Caligula's sister/lover Drusilla.
The Milne Public Library in Williamstown is offering an exploration of the absurdist tragedy as the last presentation this year of its classic literature series from "A Way with Words."<R3>
Recommended for adults, Robert Campanile will read and discuss the work tonight, Friday, at 7 at the Williams Inn.
All programs in the "A Way with Words" seris are free and open to the public.
Going Solo
Frank La Frazia, director of the Playwright Mentoring Project at Barrington Stage Company and former artistic director of Main Street Stage, returns to Main in North Adams this weekend with an autobiographical solo performance.
"Living With It," also written by La Frazia, is based on a teenager coming of age while living with a mother suffering from bipolar disorder. La Frazia portrays several characters over the course of a five-year span, acting as narrator as well as the characters. The works finds humor as well as poignancy in the lives of its charactors.
The play runs on the 57 Main St. stage on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 8 p.m.; tickets are $5. Information: 413-663-3240 or www.mainstreetstage.org.
Cowboys and Indians
The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown is showing classic John Ford Westerns each Saturday for the next four weeks as part of the Frederic Remington exhibit "Remington Looking West."
First up in the free film series "A Wild and Savage Land: John Ford Looks at the American West" is the black and white film that vaulted John Wayne from bit player to movie star: 1939's "Stagecoach."
Screening at 2 p.m. at the Clark, the film sets the mold for the Western genre, with Ford establishing the characters, themes, and scenes he and others would return to time and again. The movie runs 100 minutes.
<L4>Coming up in the series on March 22 is "My Darling Clementine (1946, 97 min.; rated G - all the others are unrated), featuring Henry Fonda as Wyatt Earp, Victor Mature as Doc Holliday and Walter Brennan as the patriarch of the Clanton gang, along with Ford's standard repertory of actors.
March 29 features "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" (1949, 103 min.). Ford instructed his cinematographer to study Remington's pictorial style before making his first Western in color. Wayne is a cavalry officer who longs to retire after Custer's defeat, but duty calls him to make a final stand against another Indian attack. Victor McLaglen, another Ford regular, is his trusty sergeant.
In "The Searchers" (1956, 119 min.), on April 5, Ford transcends himself in this depiction of Wayne as an Indian hunter and hater, who travels long and far to find a niece abducted by Indians. But when he finds her, Natalie Wood had been acculturated into the tribe, which creates a memorable internal conflict. Viewed by many as the greatest Western of them all.
The exhibition "Remington Looking West" brings together the Clark's iconic works by the artist with those from public and private collections to explore how he came to this vision and how it evolved throughout his career. It is on view through May 4.
The galleries are open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 to 5; admission is through May 31. For more information, call 413-458-2303 or visit www.clarkart.edu.
Films for Kids
Ford's films would likely all garner a G-rating today, but gunfights at the OK Corral can still be intense for the tots. Images Cinema on Spring Street in Williamstown is offering films suitable for the youngsters with its Kids First! Film Club on Saturday at 10 a.m.
Films include "Play With Me Sesame," "Stuart Little" and "The Adventures Of Dave And Augie." Admission is $2.
Strike for Kids
Bowl For Kids Sake 2008 to support Big Brothers Big Sisters of Berkshire County at the Cove in Great Barrington from 4 to 8 p.m. The goal is to raise $25,000 countywide to benefit local children from ages 6 to 18. So put on your bowling shoes and head to lanes for a good cause.
Two Centuries of Guiding Light
First Baptist Church of North Adams celebrates its 200th anniversary from 10 to 2 on Saturday with its "Light From the Past" history museum. The free exhibit will include books, Bibles, photographs and more. All Camp Ashmere alumni will be able to see a display of pictures from the past - and way past. The community is invited to mark occasion.
Transformers
The 8th annual Robotics Challenge for middle school students kicks off Saturday morning at the Duffin Theater at Lenox Memorial Middle and High School.
Twenty-three teams featuring nearly 200 students from around the county will compete in the "Power Puzzle," focusing on alternative energy and environmental impacts. The programmable Lego Mindstorm robots will complete a variety of hypothetical missions that explore how our energy choices affect the world in which we live.<R5>
The Berkshire Applied Technology Council sponsors the event, with major underwriting support from SABIC Innovative Plastics and Crane & Co. It is based on a challenge created by First Lego League, an innovative program that actively engages students in science and technology.
It's too late to compete but not too late to cheer for the robot of your choice. The event is free and open to the public.
A History Lesson
The Lenox Library is hosting a program the U.S. Constitution on Sunday at 4 in the Sedgwick Reading Room.
The final session of its 2007-08 Distinguished Lecture Series, "Our Remarkable Constitution: The Oddities & Virtues of the American Constitution" will be presented by Daniel Gordon of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
