Women invited to join Christmas Chorus
Each year as the holidays approach the Cayuga Chimes women's barbershop chorus from Ithaca invites women of all ages to join its annual Christmas Chorus. Women of the community and extended areas are invited to enhance your spirit, harmonize, spread goodwill and just have some fun by participating in the holiday a cappella events. Rehearsals are at 6:45 p.m., Tuesdays in the Boynton Middle School music room. Event schedules are available upon request. Visit our Web site at: www.cayugachimes.org or call 738-1159 for more information.
‘Love's Labour's Lost' to open Nov. 20
The Schwartz Center will have performances of the Shakespearean play “Love's Labour's Lost” at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 20-22; at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 4-6; and at 2 p.m. Dec. 6. Tickets are $8 and $10 and the performance is open to the public. Call the Schwartz Center Box Office at 607-254-ARTS for more information.
Cortland Repertory Guild to host craft show
Looking for that unique and creative gift this holiday season? Or maybe you're seeking a new holiday decoration that will make this year special and memorable? Then attend the Cortland Repertory Theatre Guild's annual Holiday Craft Show to benefit CRT's 2009 summer season.
The fair will be held from 1- 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 21 and from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22 at the beautiful Quagmire Manor Bed and Breakfast, 5324 Route 281 in Homer (next to Bob's B-B-Q).
Over 20 quality artisans will be available, offering hand-crafted jewelry, fresh holiday greens and wreaths, maple syrup products, alpaca fibers and knitted products, natural soaps, lotions and hand creams, snowmen and angel decorations and much more. The Guild will offer a bake sale of breads, cookies and treats, with a homemade soup and hot dog lunch also available for purchase. CRT Gift Certificates will be sold, as well as raffle tickets to win two Flex Passes to CRT's 2009 season.
Admission is $2. For more information, call 756-4879 or 749-2844.
Wassa Afrika Dance Ensemble to perform Nov. 21
Wells College will bring Isaac Kwasi Anim and the Wassa Afrika Dance Ensemble to campus for a performance at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21, in Macmillan Hall's Phipps Auditorium. Tickets are $10 for the general public, $5 for students, senior citizens and the Wells College community. Tickets may be purchased at the door the night of the performance.
Begun in Ghana and now based in Rochester, the Wassa Afrika Dance Ensemble tours internationally and has grown to include, at times, up to 35 dancers who present traditional indigenous Ghanian music and dances. They have participated in Ghana's National Festival of Arts, and the opening and closing ceremonies of the Confederation of African Football's Cup of Nations soccer tournament co-hosted by Nigeria and Ghana.
‘Laughing in the Aisles' song fest set for Nov. 22
Come laugh yourself silly at “Laughing in the Aisles” — an evening of great comedy songs from all genres. Held at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, at the Unitarian Church, corner of Buffalo and N. Aurora streets, this unique performance includes everything from Cole Porter to contemporary show tunes, comedy jazz tunes, folk, and more. Tickets are $12 in advance or $15 at the door. To reserve an advance ticket, email bbergman18@gmail.com.
A Comedy-themed raffle will also be held to benefit The Vitamin L Project. Prizes include tickets for performances at the State Theatre, the Kitchen Theatre, and the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts plus a singing telegram by the Wild-Witty-Wonderful Jan Nigro.
Funds raised will support the Vitamin L Project. Vitamin L is a project partner of the Center for Transformative Action at Cornell and is locally based. Over 80 young people from Tompkins County take turns performing with Vitamin L at schools, community events, and education conferences in central New York and beyond. These performances promote character education with a focus on respect, tolerance, kindness and optimism in our performers, our audiences and our families. Using the vehicle of music and youth singers to convey Vitamin L's important messages is a unique and effective approach. The magic of music centered on character education was the creation of songs by Jan Nigro and the innovative direction of Janice Nigro.
Swing dance to raise money for T-burg playground
The Trumansburg Playground Committee is hosting “Swing for Swings” - a swing dance to raise funds for the new school playground - from 8-11 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 29, at the Rongovian Embassy, Main Street, Trumansburg.
The event will feature live music by Tres Swing with local favorites Dee Specker and Bobbie Henrie. A dance lesson will start at 7:15 p.m. and is included in the $10 price at the door. There will be free refreshments and a silent auction (items include a bicycle, GrassRoots tickets, local gym membership and more). The potential designs for the new playgrounds will be on hand as well as playground committee members who can answer questions and take comments.
All proceeds from this event will go toward the new playground at Trumansburg Central Schools. For more information on this event or the playground committee, contact Deb Austic (austicloz@hotmail.com) or Ann DiPetta (adipetta@twcny.rr.com).
CSMA invites artists to submit work for show
The Community School of Music and Arts invites visual artists to submit artwork to one of the largest open gallery shows in Ithaca. The Annual Open Show will open on Friday, Dec. 5, with Gallery Night of Ithaca, and will continue through Friday, Jan. 16, 2009. Accepted work must be delivered to CSMA by Monday, Dec. 1, by 5 p.m. A CSMA tradition, the exhibit includes work by established and emerging local artists working in a variety of media. Although space for three dimensional work is limited, sculptural pieces will be considered.
Send images on a CD, attachments on e-mail, or schedule an appointment to bring finished work in person. Each applicant is allowed to submit up to five individual works.
Include a list of titles, sizes, mediums, and prices with your name, address, phone number and e-mail address.
Checks made payable to: Community School of Music and Arts for $25.
Mail to: Community School of Music and Arts, 330 E. State St., Ithaca, NY 14850
For electronic submissions, send images configured to 150-300 dpi, attached to e-mail with no more than 2 megs per message to gallery@csma-ithaca.org. Work will be considered when the check is received.
Entry fee is non refundable. All work must be original. CSMA reserves the right to take photos of accepted entries for publicity. Artists are responsible for the insurance of their own artwork.
Playwright competition seeking submissions
Playwrights are invited to submit original scripts to the third annual Gloria Ann Barnell Peter Playwright Competition. The friends and family of Ms. Peter -- a playwright, actress, and lover of history -- established a fund at the Morgan Opera House in Aurora, to honor her memory and to encourage the writing and production of theatre art.
Criteria: the play must be an original work, previously unpublished. It must depict an historical event or historical fiction. It may include one or two acts, no less than 45-60 minutes in total length, and with no limit of form. All scripts must be typed and will become property of the Morgan Opera House.
Deadline for submissions is Feb. 1, 2009. The winner of the $500 prize will be announced in late March and the play will be presented at the Morgan Opera House, a small historic raked theatre, in autumn, 2009. To encourage a broader spectrum of submissions, note that the residency requirement of previous competitions has been eliminated. Submit one copy of work to: Gloria Peter Playwright Competition, PO Box 327, Aurora, NY, 13026.
Check out featured art in “The Lost Bird Project”
“The Lost Bird Project” at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology features sculptures and paintings by artist Todd McGrain. The large stone sculptures immortalize five North American birds that have been driven to extinction in modern times including the Passenger Pigeon, the Carolina Parakeet, the Labrador Duck, the Great Auk, and the Heath Hen. The culmination of this project will be the permanent installation of these memorials in locations that are most associated with each bird's decline.
Visit the Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday; 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday or 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free.
Workshop on painting from photographs to be held
Painting from photographs is one way to capture the luminous beauty of flowers and plants in the middle of winter. Learn the methods and ethics of using photographs, and how to create beautiful watercolor paintings, using either your own or Plantations' photographs, in a workshop, “Painting Plants from Photographs”. The workshop will be held from 1:30-4:30 p.m. Thursdays, Nov. 6-Dec. 18 (no class Nov. 27). Previous drawing experience is recommended. Bring a #3 watercolor brush, a basic watercolor set, 140-pound smooth hot press watercolor paper, an HB and 4H pencil, a kneaded eraser, palette, rag, jar for water, and plant photos if desired.
Call 254-7430 for more information or to register.
Cortland Repertory sets 2009 season
The 2008 summer season was the second highest attended on record for Cortland Repertory Theatre, with 16,300 people seeing CRT's six productions. But Producing Artistic Director Kerby Thompson and his staff aren't resting on their laurels — they're looking ahead to summer 2009. Here are the plans for next season:
* June 3-13, the jubilant Caribbean fantasy “Once On This Island”. The original Broadway production was nominated for eightTony Awards including best musical, best book (by Lynn Ahrens) and best score (by Stephen Flaherty).
* June 17-27, Paul Rudnick's comedy “I Hate Hamlet.”
* July 1-18, the classic musical “Damn Yankees!” (book by Douglass Wallop and George Abbott, music and lyrics by Jerry Ross and Richard Adler).
* July 22-Aug. 1, the regional premiere of a new comedy, “Unnecessary Farce,” by Paul Slade Smith.
* Aug. 5-15, the regional debut of the powerful and highly theatrical “Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde.”
* Aug. 19-29, the musical revue “Forever Plaid” (book by Stuart Ross, musical arrangements of classic 1950s hits by James Raitt). CRT Kids will feature “A Bagful of Fables” by Robert Lehan, a 45-minute production of Aesop's fables.
Order forms for gift certificates and subscription are available online at www.cortlandrep.org. For more information or to order gift certificates, subscriptions or to place orders for groups of 10 or more, call (607) 756-2627 or (800) 427-6160.
Hangar Theatre Announces 35th Season
The Hangar Theatre, under the artistic leadership of Peter Flynn, has announced their 2009 season. The 35th Mainstage season includes a beloved family classic, a searing drama, and two recent Broadway smash hits. The Kiddstuff season for young audiences features exciting adaptations of classic children's stories, beloved characters, and more song and music than ever before.
The Mainstage season opens with “Dirty Blonde,” a sassy romantic comedy about America's first sex symbol ¯ Mae West. “Dirty Blonde” runs June 3-13. Next, the joyous musical “Once on This Island” will take your entire family to the Caribbean for a magical retelling of The Little Mermaid. The enchantment runs June-July 4. The recent Broadway hit “November” is a hilarious look at the Oval Office that will have you rolling down Capitol Hill, running July 8-18. “Betrayal” is a steamy look back at the history of a man and his wife...and her lover. Arguably one of Harold Pinter's best scripts, “Betrayal” runs July 22-Aug. 1. Completing the season from Aug, 6-22 is a surprise Bohemian rock and roll blockbuster Broadway musical that will be announced at a later date.
Subscription packages, season certificates, and GiftTiks are available for the Hangar Theatre's 2009 Mainstage and Kiddstuff seasons by visiting the Hangar Theatre Business Office at 116 North Cayuga St., by calling 273-8588, or by visiting www.hangartheatre.org. Single tickets for the 2009 season will go on sale on May 1 at the Ticket Center at Clinton House, 273-4497.
To submit items to Artsbeat, send information one week before publication with the subject “Artsbeat” to life@ithacajournal.com. Check out more Arts news in Ticket every Thursday.
