BECKET, Mass. — Jacob's Pillow has canceled its 2025 festival following the death of one of its production managers.
"We have come to this difficult decision following the tragic accident on our campus on August 1. Ticket buyers affected by the cancellations will receive refunds," the venue posted to its Facebook page Tuesday evening.
"For 93 years, Jacob's Pillow has been a haven for dance and a community dedicated to its creation, presentation, education, and preservation. We look forward to welcoming audiences back to our campus."
The "tragic accident," resulting in the death of Kathryn "Kat" Sirico, occurred outdoors in the early afternoon Friday.
Sirico and a summer intern were using a dolly to move platforms for staging a theater when they lost control of the dolly on a slope. Sirico tripped, fell and was run over by the dolly. Bystanders attempted life-saving measures. An investigation ruled it a work-place accident.
"Kat was a Pillow alum and an essential and hugely devoted leader on our team," Executive and Artistic Director Pamela Tatge said. "Their spirit, generosity, and dedication touched the lives of many. We are holding their family, friends, and colleagues in our hearts as we grieve together."
Sirico, 40, was a lecturer at the University of Rochester's Dance and Movement program and an events production manager at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival the last several years.
Their career included collaborations with a number of companies in production design and management, including as production manager at the Fisher Center at Bard College. They earned a bachelor's degree in theater arts from Nazareth University and attended the Yale University School of Drama.
Sirico had most recently been working in the newly built Doris Duke Theater, which opened a month ago.
Their tragic death led to Friday's performances being canceled, then the weekend and now the season, bringing a 2025 season that had started as a joyful celebration to a sad ending.
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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.
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Now, just steps from the original playground, a new ninja park is nearly complete to soon offer adults a unique opportunity to reconnect with that childhood sense of adventure.
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Second- and third-grade students at St. Mary's turned their creativity into real-world advertising by designing ads for Meadow Farm Equipment — wrapping up our Junior Marketers Create an Ad series.
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This season, Allen returned to the Berkshire Theatre Group's Unicorn Theatre in Abi Morgan's "LoveSong," a play about how love changes people over time. click for more
