Around Cape Ann
Gail McCarthy
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A city known for its historic fine arts legacy will be a showcase on Saturday for its next generation of artists.
The day-long Gloucester Spring Arts Festival is hosted by Gloucester Public Schools and the Gloucester Education Foundation. The event kicks off at 9 a.m. at City Hall where Mayor Carolyn Kirk will officially open the festival, which includes music, fine arts, photography, dance, drama, culinary arts and poetry. The activities take place at several sites around downtown, including Sawyer Free Library, Gloucester City Hall, Cape Ann Museum, Art Haven, Cape Ann Savings Bank, as well as many businesses. All events are free to the public.
Here is the schedule :
9:30 a.m.: Mad Hot Ball demonstration at City Hall.
10 a.m.: Gloucester High School Chorus at Cape Ann Museum's Folly Auditorium; Gloucester High and O'Maley spoetry reading with James Cook at the Sawyer Free Library; and a pottery demonstration at Art Haven.
11 a.m.: Middle school's making of "Annie" DVD at Cape Ann Museum auditorium; musical petting zoo at Cape Ann Museum; and a poetry reading with John Ronan at Pleasant Street Tea Co..
Noon: Gloucester High School Culinary Arts presents "A Taste of Germany" in conjunction with German DVDs created by high school German students at Cape Ann Museum auditorium; and The Docksiders will perform at City Hall.
1 p.m.: "The Beauport Dialogues" at Cape Ann Museum.
2 p.m.: Elementary and Middle School Band will perform at City Hall.
High school art students work will be showcased in a gallery space on Main Street sponsored by Cape Ann Savings Bank.
'Cowboy Mouth'
The Blackburn Performing Arts Center and Victory Agents in Gloucester are presenting a staged reading of the play "Cowboy Mouth" followed by a live performance of local band The Bandit Kings on Saturday and Sunday.
This show is for mature audiences; those younger 18 are not allowed without parent. "Cowboy Mouth" was written in 1971 in London by Pulitzer Prize-winning plawright and actor Sam Shepard and award-winning singer-songwriter Patti Smith. The play revolves around two characters dealing with the "meaning of art and the role of the artist." One is a "rock 'n' roll Jesus" with a "cowboy mouth" and the other is haunted by a dead poet. The performance features Danny Diamond and will introduce Evie Gariepy. The reading will serve as a teaser for the Sam Shepard retrospective scheduled for summer's end at the performing arts center.
This one-act play will be followed by a rock 'n' roll show with The Bandit Kings, featuring Ann Marie on vocals, Renee Dupuis on vocals and keyboards, Dennis Monagle on drums, Joe Cardoza on bass and Dan King on lead guitar. The band, which debuted last March on Cape Ann, has performed at Tommy Doyle's in Harvard Square. The Bandits perform their interpretation of the "Jangle Rock" guitar sounds, enmeshed with both ethereal and throaty harmonies, to create a "powerful musical attack."
The doors open at 7 p.m. and the shows start at 8 p.m. Cost is $10. Blackburn Performing Arts Center is at One Main St. in Gloucester. For information, call 978-281-0680.
'Spelling Bee' on stage
Rockport High School presents the Tony-Award winning play "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" this weekend. Show times are Thursday night at 7:30, Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $8 for students and seniors, and $10 general admission. The auditorium is at Rockport High School at 24 Jerden's Lane. For more information, call 978-546-1234.
Meet the Author
Award-winning novelist Howard Frank Mosher will talk about writing historical fiction when he speaks at Rockport Public Library on Saturday at 7 p.m. His recent book "Walking to Gatlinburg" is a Civil War-era tale of brotherhood and survival, action and adventure, and a mythic trek through a country despoiled by war and slavery. Mosher calls his program "Transforming History into Fiction: the Story of a Born Liar." In his illustrated talk, Mosher will discuss the process of writing his latest book and fiction writing in general. He will explain how a true story evolves into an entirely invented novel, with emphasis on research and revision, and the metamorphosis of historical events and people into fictional plots and characters. Three of Mosher's novels have been made into feature films.
North Shore Arts opens
The North Shore Arts Association opens for its 2010 season Saturday at its waterfront location in East Gloucester at 11 Pirate's Lane. Visitors are welcomed to browse the galleries for the opening exhibits. The public is invited to a special reception to celebrate the opening exhibits on May 16 from 2 to 4 p.m. Free parking and refreshments. For information, call 978-283-1857.
Shakespeare Readers
The Shakespeare Readers group will meet at Rockport Public Library on Monday, May 10, at 4 p.m. to discuss the literary and theatrical aspects of "Love's Labor's Lost," one of Shakespeare's earliest comedies. Considered Shakespeare's most flamboyantly intellectual play, it abounds in sophisticated wordplay, puns and literary allusions. As preparation for the Monday discussion group and entertainment for the general public, the library will air a video of the play on Sunday, May 9, at 2 p.m. in the Brenner Friends Room. Sarah Clark, who leads the group, has been an English teacher, actress, playwright and director. The public is welcome to attend either or both the film and the book discussion.
'Womanimation' films
MergingArts Productions will present the "mother" of all animation festivals this weekend at the second annual "Womanimation" event at Cape Ann Community Cinema at 21 Main St. in Gloucester. The 100-minute program will run at 2:30 p.m. on May 8 and May 9. The festival program showcases 10 films from the United States, Canada, and Europe, using a variety of animation styles.
The BAFTA Award-winning "Mother of Many" from Emma Lazenby examines the memoirs of a midwife. It was made using real recordings of childbirth and fetal heartbeats, combining painting on glass, hand-drawn and computer animation.
Ireland's Nora Twomey, of the team who created the Oscar-nominated "Secret of Kells," brings forth "Backwards Boy," a look back at the life of a boy born with his head literally on backward, who is the object of ridicule until he discovers his own unique talent.
Signe Baumane's "Birth" delivers a black comedy about teen pregnancy. Pregnant Amina, 17, goes to older women for advice, but their stories scare her even more.
Grettel Batoon's "Seasons of Love" tells the story of two leaves in love at the dawn of spring, who try to find a way to reunite after Mother Nature's forces tear them apart.
The film "Folklore Restaurant" serves up a mix of food and folktales from Tomoko Oguchi.
Christina Tran's "Pho Dac Biet" is based on a true story of a Vietnamese-American girl who goes to Vietnam and tastes the best bowl of pho she's ever had, only to return to search for a comparable bowl.
"Joseph's Snails," from French animator Sophie Roze, is about an introverted snail-collecting boy..
From Nova Scotia, Seana Kozar's "Nothing Like Her" is a personal story of the filmmaker's attempt at living with cerebral palsy and dealing with a miscarriage.
Jessica Polaniecki's short-short "Lady Lilith" is based on the poem of the same name by Dante Rossetti.
The program closes with Australian-born New Yorker Ruth Peyser's 25-minute short "There Was A Little Girl," an autobiographical film that tells six stories from her life set 10 years apart, each on a backdrop of political and social events of that year.
For details, call 978-282-1988 or visit www.CapeAnnCinema.com.
Around Cape Ann is a column devoted to events happening on Cape Ann and artists from Cape Ann performing elsewhere. If you would like to submit an item, contact reporter Gail McCarthy at 978-283-7000, ext. 3445, or gmccarthy@gloucestertimes.com. Items should be submitted at least two weeks in advance of the event.
Save the dates
Theatre in the Pines: Prepare for a return to a heroic triumph in the play "The Trojan Women," a work by Euripides in a new production at Spiran Hall in Rockport, from May 13 through 16. All shows at 7:30 p.m. Tickets available at The Bookstore in Gloucester, and Toadhall Bookstore in Rockport and at the door.
Cape Ann Symphony presents its Spring Pops Concert "Pops Goes the Wizard" on Saturday, May 15, at 8 p.m. at Fuller School featuring John Williams' "Harry Potter," Rodgers' "The King and I," von Suppe's "Light Calvary Overture," Borodin's "Polovtsian Dances," Bizet's "Carmen Suite No. 1" and Tchaikovsky's "Symphony No. 6, III."
Seth Yorra: Yorra will be producing "Cigarettes, Coffee and Suicide," featuring a work titled "Tobacco Kills" by Anton Chekhov and "Strong Coffee" and "Julie" by August Strindberg. The performances are at Blackburn Performing Arts on weekends from May 14 to 30. Tickets available by calling 978-223-0800, and at the door. For audiences over 17.
A swinging performance
"Transition, and transcendence" are the terms directors Rebecca Kenneally and Nicole Sao Pedro use as themes for their Endicott College collaboration incorporating live music, dance and swings. Using actual swings suspended from the theater ceiling, dancers and singers will show how people move through and beyond adversity, and rise above the problems of life. Swing Song will be performed in Tia's Theater, Center for the Arts at Endicott College, 376 Hale St., Beverly, on Friday, May 7, and Saturday, May 8, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $5, and free to Endicott ID holders, and may be purchased at www.endicott.edu/centerforthearts or by leaving a message at 978-998-7700.
