Great Barrington Public Theater Annual Benefit to Honor Tristan Wilson

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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The Great Barrington Public Theater Annual Benefit will take place on June 14, 2025 at Saint James Place. 
 
This year's honoree and recipient of the 2025 Black Bear Award will be Tristan Wilson.
 
Tristan Wilson served as the first Managing Director of Great Barrington Public from 2020 until his recent retirement in December 2024. He was integral to the operations of GB Public and helped launch the company to its full season and off-season programming.
 
Tristan Wilson and Jim Frangione were friends and partners while working at Berkshire Playwrights Lab in 2017 before Jim Frangione and Deann Simmons Halper co-founded Great Barrington Public Theater.
 
"When Deann and I started Great Barrington Public Theater in 2019, we knew that Tristan had to be our first and most important hire." GB Public Artistic Director Jim Frangione said. "Since then, we ran the day to day operations of the company together. One of Tristan's greatest qualities is that he is ‘unflappable in the face of multiple crises'. Theater folk know the value of what that means and it's not to be understated." 
 
Jim Frangione continued, "I can't imagine how Great Barrington Public Theater would have fared without his unscrupulous honesty, his vast expertise across several areas—whether it be forging contracts and agreements with artists, designers, playwrights, directors and technical staff, dealing with our union reps, or exhibiting his vast technical experience."
 
"I'm grateful for our friendship of many years," Jim Frangione said. "We'll miss him for sure, but he won't be far away. Much to our delight, he'll still be serving on the board of the theater, keeping us honest and offering sage advice. We all wish Tristan and Peggy a rewarding next chapter as they travel the world, but always keeping the Berkshires, and all of us, close".
 
In addition to his tenure at GB Public, Tristan Wilson has also worked for Barrington Stage Co and The Mahaiwe here in the Berkshires. Over his career Tristan has worked on theatre (Broadway, Off-Broadway and regionally), opera, dance, music, live television, radio, and special event productions. 
 
The Great Barrington Public Theater Annual Benefit will be a celebration of the continued success of the GB Public and a season full of world premiere plays. Auctioneer John Terrio returns to host and run the annual auction.
 
The Great Barrington Public Theater Annual Benefit will be held at the Saint James Place, in downtown Great Barrington, 352 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230. Tickets to the event and the 2025 season on the GBPT website and by phone 413-372-1980.
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Berkshire Art Center Announces Fall 2026 Classes & Workshops

STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — Berkshire Art Center (BAC) invites artists of all ages and experience levels to participate in  lineup of Fall 2026 classes and workshops.

With programs offered at Citizens' Hall in Stockbridge as well as partner locations including Berkshire Music School, WANDER Berkshires, and the Mass Audubon's Canoe Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary, BAC's fall season celebrates creativity through ceramics, painting, drawing, printmaking, mixed media, photography, and more.

Ceramics students will find opportunities to develop their skills this fall. Faculty Artist Paula Shalan returns with Tableware: Creating with Soft Slabs, where students create functional pottery such as mugs, tumblers, and bowls, as well as Cut, Add, and Stretch: Creating with Soft Slabs, which explores more contemporary approaches to handbuilding. Jess Cropper-Alt teaches Timeless & Tactile: Handbuilding Traditions, while Donna Bernstein leads Wheel Throwing for All, an all-levels course featuring demonstrations, individualized instruction, and ample studio time.

For those looking to try clay for the first time, Lorimer Burns offers Try Your Hand at the Pottery Wheel, a welcoming two-hour introduction to wheel throwing. BAC also offers fun, social workshops including Wall Pocket Party, perfect for beginners, friends, couples, and families with children ages 10 and up, and Pottery Night: Beer Stein Social, an evening of creativity and community where participants craft their own handmade ceramic beer stein.

Mixed media and printmaking enthusiasts will find an inspiring variety of offerings throughout the season. Jody King Camarra teaches Color Theory Through Collage, Print Lab: Collagraph, Drypoint & Relief, Working in a Series: Creating Cohesive Collages, Monoprint Magic, and concludes the season with the festive workshop Handmade Holidays: Winter Layers in Gel Plate Printmaking.

Additional printmaking opportunities include Eco-Printing: Basics and Beyond with Mallorey Caron, where students create beautiful botanical prints using real flowers and leaves, Gelatin Plate Printmaking with Johanna Merfeld, an introduction to playful experimentation with layering, texture, stencils, and image transfers, and Image Transfers & Mixed Media, where Diane Firtell shares versatile techniques that can stand alone or enhance existing artwork.

Photographers can celebrate autumn alongside Thad Kubis, whose seasonal workshops include Photography of Daniel Chester French's Studio at Chesterwood in Stockbridge and Photographing Fall Colors in the Berkshires at Canoe Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary in Pittsfield.

Painters and drawing enthusiasts will discover classes ranging from foundational techniques to expressive exploration. Jill McLean returns with Watercolor Foundations and Watercolor Landscapes at Berkshire Music School, along with shorter, 1-day workshops including Berkshire Polaroids in Watercolor and Handmade Holidays: Watercolor Bookmarks.

Wednesday Nelena Sorokin offers Creative Writing & Abstraction, where students use stream-of-consciousness writing to inspire expressive abstract paintings, along with Painting Basics, Two-Dimensional Composition Workshop, and the popular Abstract Painting: Color, Design and Spirit. Artists looking for a relaxed, supportive studio environment can also enjoy the return of Friday Painting Studio, featuring a new and more accessible tuition rate and experienced facilitators who provide encouragement, feedback, and creative community while participants work on independent projects.

BAC's monthly workshop series at WANDER Berkshires in Pittsfield also continues this fall. Held on the second Saturday of each month, these welcoming two-hour sessions invite participants to sketch, paint, journal, and experiment in a relaxed community setting—no long-term commitment required. The series begins September 12 with Commonplace Visual Journaling led by Kaily Ritz, followed by Mini Nature Assemblage Boxes with Johanna Merfeld on October 10, Indoor Urban Sketching with Jill McLean on November 14, and concludes December 12 with Watercolor Reset for the New Year, led by BAC Executive Director Laura Thompson.

For a complete schedule of classes and workshops or to register, visit www.berkshireartcenter.org/classes.

 

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