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August 11, 2022

Cambridge Spy

The nonprofit e-newspaper for the Cambridge Community

Arts Arts Notes

Environmental Themes Prominent in 2022 Chesapeake Film Festival

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Many of our nation’s waterways are much cleaner than they were 50 years ago thanks, in part, to the Clean Water Act of 1972.  Yet today, nearly half of U.S. streams, lakes and underwater aquifers are so polluted that they are not safe for fishing, swimming, or aquatic life, including some in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

Learn more about water quality in Maggie Burnette Stogner’s new film Upstream/DownRiver, on the opening night of the 2022 LIVE Chesapeake Film Festival, September 30 at the Avalon Theatre in Easton.

Two of Stogner’s earlier films, Unbreathable – The Fight for Healthy Air and In the Executioner’s Shadow – were award winners in past Chesapeake Film Festivals.

Stogner, with more than 30 years of experience in documentary filmmaking, is the Executive Director of the Center for Environmental Filmmaking and a professor of Film and Media Arts at American University. During her nine years at National Geographic, she produced, directed and wrote numerous documentaries, and was senior producer of the award-winning weekly programs Explorer and Ultimate Explorer. She also has produced immersive media for world-touring cultural exhibitions for National Geographic, the Smithsonian, LucasFilms, and others. Her award-winning work in that arena includes two King Tut exhibitions; The Greeks; Real Pirates; Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures; Indiana Jones and Adventure of Archaeology; and Roads of Arabia.

Cooper River

UpStream/DownRiver follows the world premiere of a film by Sandy Cannon-Brown and Dave Harp.  The Search for the Cooper: A River Hidden in Plain View follows a historic expedition of four teens and their leaders up the Cooper River that runs through Camden, NJ. The explorers kayak, hike and bushwhack their way along the 17-mile river to discover its secrets and find its source.

Capping the evening of environmental shorts is a captivating film, Into the Dark, by director Michael Snyder. Battling subzero temperatures and forty-foot seas, a team of scientists embark on a perilous winter expedition into the darkest regions of the Arctic. Their mission: to understand how trace amounts of light may be radically altering the mysterious world of the polar night. What they discover has implications for the global climate and the future of the Arctic.

The prevalence of environmental films continues Oct. 3 through Oct. 9 in the VIRTUAL Chesapeake Film Festival which is FREE to the public. From the 3-minute short, Green Nettle from South Africa, to the mesmerizing 90-minute feature from France, Mediterranean Life Under Siege, audiences around the world can experience these and other amazing documentaries. Green Nettle reveals how local farmers are producing sustainable material from large stinging nettles on the beautiful slopes of Mount Kenya.  Mediterranean Life Under Siege is about the animals and plants that have survived the growing impact of human activity.

Other environmental films in the VIRTUAL Festival include a spellbinding short from India, In Search of the Stars, which shows the profound relationship between the night skies and the life beneath them.  Viewers can challenge themselves with the provocative environmental feature Trashy: A Zero Waste Film. Follow director Heather Gustafson over the course of a year as she gives up trash for 365 days. It’s possible!

For more about these and other films in the 2022 LIVE and VIRTUAL Festivals, visit chesapeakefilmfestival.com or contact Executive Director, Nancy Tabor at 443-955-9144.

Clybourne Park Comes to Church Hill Theatre

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Do you remember Lorraine Hansberry’s searing A Raisin in the Sun, the now classic 1959 play about racial integration and “white flight” in Chicago? Have attitudes and realities really changed over the last sixty-plus years? How does an ethical person deal with the political, economic and moral baggage of our shared American experience?

Bruce Norris helps us explore the dilemma in his prize-winning 2010 drama Clybourne Park. The first act takes us back to the 1950s, where Hansberry’s characters (and some new ones) find that middle-class suburbia may not be the American dream they hoped for. Fifty years later, Clybourne Park is changing again, as young professionals begin to gentrify the established African-American community. Clybourne Park was awarded the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2012 Tony Award for Best Play.

Clybourne Park Cast

Michael Whitehill, who brings his expected flair and innovative staging to the production, directs Church Hill Theatre’s revival. With identity politics, the Black Lives Matter movement, and other social issues dividing our country, Whitehill believes that while Clybourne Park’s themes may sometimes be painful, the play is a powerful nudge to reflection and constructive dialogue.

Intentionally linking the past and the now, Bruce Norris has the actors play different roles in each act. The cast comprises Cynthia Bayne (Betsy/Lindsay), Simone Collins (Francine/Lena), Anthony Daly (Kenneth), John Hodgson (Russ/Dan), Christine Kinlock (Bev/Kathy), Gary Tucker (Albert/Kevin), Eddie Vance (Jim/Tom), and Frank Wirmusky (Karl/Steve).

The production team includes Kathy Jones, Assistant Director; Steve Atkinson, Stage Manager and photographer; Sylvia Maloney, Producer; Debra Ebersole, Costumes; Rachel Gwin, Make-up and Hair; Doug Kaufmann, Light Design; and Tom Rhodes, Set Construction.

Clybourne Park opens on September 9 and runs through September 25, with performances at 8 pm on Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 pm on Sundays. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for members, and $10 for students. Please note that the subject matter may be difficult for younger audience members. Reservations may be made on the CHT website: http://www.churchhilltheatre.org or by phone at 410-556-6003.

Storytellers, A One-Night-Only Musical Event at Church Hill Theatre

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Church Hill Theatre and Foam Works LLC proudly sponsor Storytellers, a unique musical evening on Thursday, September 1, 2022. Three of Maryland’s finest performers will share their songs and stories in a 21+ event featuring Jimi Haha, J. Coursey Willis and Justin Singleton.

Jimi Haha, the popular frontman of Jimmie’s Chicken Shack, has chart, radio and MTV success with “High” and “Do Right.” J Coursey Willis, a Queen Anne’s County native, performs with The Stone Authors and Defrayal. And don’t miss Justin Singleton, a newcomer who pushes the boundaries of modern country music. All three will play favorites as well as new songs, engaging with the audience as they describe their own musical journeys.

CHT’s newly renovated performance space is the perfect venue for great music and audience participation. Doors open at 6:30 pm, with merch and refreshments available before the show starts. The theater has a capacity limit, so advance reservations are strongly advised. Please note this event is limited to adults (21+), with IDs checked at the box office. General admission tickets are only $20.

Church Hill Theatre is located at 103 Walnut Street, in the heart of the Town of Church Hill.

Make your reservations online at www.churchhilltheatre.org or by phone at 410-556-6003.

Contact: Juanita Wieczoreck at businessmanager@churchhilltheatre.org
Phone: Church Hill Theatre Office 410-556-6003
Website: http://www.churchhilltheatre.org

Session Americana in Concert Sept. 11 at Adkins Arboretum

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Described as “a rock band in a teacup, or possibly a folk band in a whiskey bottle,” Session Americana are musicians’ musicians: a cast of top-shelf players, singers and writers who take their own songs and hundreds more from the American songbook on the road. This anything-could-happen music collective will bring their singular concert experience to Adkins Arboretum on Sun., Sept. 11 for a performance against a backdrop of goldenrod, asters and swaying meadow grasses.

The group of experienced singers and multi-instrumentalists came together in 2004 for informal shows at Toad, a neighborhood bar in Cambridge, Mass. From those beginnings, Session Americana has built a raucous yet intimate scene that captivates audiences of all sizes, both at home and abroad. Rolling Stone calls their style an expert blending of “vintage American roots music styles—from country to jazz to rock—in a rowdy but deft fashion,” while Music Riot UK described their album Great Shakes as “gorgeous,” with “beautifully crafted and perfectly arranged songs” featuring “highly gifted players and vocal harmonies to die for.” Visitors to sessionamericana.com are treated to an eclectic mix of songs that coalesce with the group’s signature sound and highlight their hallmark of bringing fellow musicians on stage to collaborate.

Session Americana will perform at the Arboretum from 2 to 4 p.m. Local beer and food from Jimmy’s Fat Rolls and Pete’s PeteZa food trucks will be for sale. Admission is $25 for adults, $5 for ages 5–18 and free for ages 2 and under. Advance registration is required at adkinsarboretum.org or by calling 410-634-2847, ext. 0. Only 400 tickets will be sold, so early registration is recommended. Limited seating is available; bringing chairs and/or blankets is highly advised.

Adkins Arboretum is a 400-acre native garden and preserve at the headwaters of the Tuckahoe Creek in Caroline County. For more information, visit adkinsarboretum.org.

Easton Choral Arts Society Invites Singers to Open Rehearsals

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Summer is flying by, while ECAS searches for a new director to replace Wes Lockfaw. In the meantime, the ECAS music committee has chosen the program for December’s “Christmas Around the World” concert. Rehearsals will begin on Tuesdays from 7 to 9 p.m., starting August 23 at Christ Church in Easton. However, ECAS is not a church choir.

Three experienced choral directors from among the singers will manage sectional and group rehearsals until a new director is in place. Since August is early to start rehearsals, new members will be welcomed through September 13.

The first two rehearsals will be “open” meaning anyone interested in trying the chorus out may attend – either to observe or to sing along. Music will be provided. Email ECASterri@eastonchoralarts.com for more information or to reserve a packet of music to sing along to. Participants will also receive a list of the songs with listening links and YouTube links.

The program includes long-time favorites like “We Need a Little Christmas” and “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” and a choral telling of “The Night Before Christmas” poem by Clement Moore, complete with illustrations on two large TV screens.

Pictured is the Easton Choral Arts Society which is starting its rehearsals for its Christmas concert on Tuesdays from 7 to 9 p.m., starting August 23 at Christ Church in Easton.

A portion of the concert will remind guests that Christmas is celebrated in many places and in many languages around the world. The program includes one of the earliest arrangements of “Stille Nacht” (Silent Night), an Austrian carol that turned from obscurity to a major classic, along with a traditional carol from Catalonia in Spain, “Fum, Fum, Fum.” Also, to be enjoyed is “Twas in the Moon of Wintertime” one of the oldest Canadian Christmas Carols, circa 1642, which tells the Christmas story through the eyes of the indigenous Huron people. “Brightest and Best” from the American Shaker style will feature a lively fiddle solo. The choristers will close the program with “Christmas Day,” the rousing medley of Christmas songs by Gustav Holst. And that’s just to name a few!

Easton Choral Arts also sponsors a Choral Scholar program for talented student singers to sing with the group and receive a stipend to help with music lessons or other expenses. Students are chosen for the Choral Scholar Program by audition. Visit the website eastonchoralarts.org for more information or follow ECAS on Facebook. Interested persons can also sign up on the website for a monthly newsletter.

Easton Choral Arts Society, Inc. is a nonprofit 501 (c) (3) organization funded in part by the Maryland State Arts Council, the Talbot County Arts Council, and the Mid-Shore Community Foundation.

Shore Shakespeare to Bring Measure to Measure to Adkins Arboretum

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Considered by many a “problem play” for falling somewhere between comedy and tragedy, Measure for Measure is a tale of morals and humanity, justice and forgiveness—one that could happen in any place and at any time. It is a play deeply rooted in early 17th-century culture, but at the same time, it retains a powerful hold on the imaginations of modern readers. Join Shore Shakespeare for two performances of this most passionately discussed play Sept. 3 and 4 at Adkins Arboretum.

With the morals of the city of Vienna creeping lower by the year, the benevolent Duke Vincentio suddenly departs, leaving his self-righteous governor, Angelo, in charge. Suddenly, long-standing laws are strictly enforced and young Claudio finds himself sentenced to death for impregnating his fiancée. A plea for mercy from Claudio’s sister Isabella, a novitiate on the brink of taking her vows, may be his only hope.

Isabella’s words go unnoticed by the righteous Angelo, but her beauty does not. Torn between his attraction to Isabella and an unwavering loyalty to the letter of the law, Angelo agrees to pardon Claudio—but only if Isabella relinquishes her sacred chastity to him. Isabella faces an impossible choice: saving her honor or her brother’s life.

Shore Shakespeare actors perform in a previous production at Adkins Arboretum. The company will perform two productions of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure to Adkins Arboretum next month. Photo courtesy of Mike Morgan.

As it turns out, the Duke has not actually departed but is actually hovering about in disguise to monitor and manipulate the cascading complications that ensue when unforgiving justice is unleashed upon the bawdy, vice-ridden people of Vienna.

Though dark in subject matter, the play is rife with comic characters and outlandish scenarios, a dark comedy that borders on absurdity as each tries in their own way to navigate the space between civic justice and human mercy.

Performances are Sat., Sept. 3 and Sun., Sept. 4 from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Arboretum Pavilion. Attendees should bring a blanket or chair and are welcome to bring a picnic. Admission is $15 for adults, $5 for children ages 3–18 and free for children ages 2 and under and can be purchased in advance at adkinsarboretum.org or by calling 410-634-2847, ext. 0.

Founded in 2013, Shore Shakespeare Company is a pan-community theatre company dedicated to presenting the works of the classical theatre repertoire, with an emphasis on the works of William Shakespeare.

Adkins Arboretum is a 400-acre native garden and preserve at the headwaters of the Tuckahoe Creek in Caroline County. For more information, visit adkinsarboretum.org.

Baltimore Country Cousin Applique Quilt Class

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Come join us for a lovely quilt adventure at the Fiber Arts Center! In this class we will be focusing on the hand applique techniques to render four beautiful quilt blocks to make a wonderful quilted wall hanging/quilt. Each month we will construct a block and learn how to applique stems, flowers, circles and more. You will become quite adept at appliquing lovely designs! Contact instructor, Kay Butler for further questions: 410-829-5136 or email: mrs.kay.butler@gmail.com

Instructor: Kay Butler
Location: Fiber Arts Center, 7 N 4th St., Denton, MD 21629
Cost: $60.00 Member, $75.00 Non Member
Dates: September 16, October 14, November 11, December 16, 2022
Time: 10:00am – 2:00pm

Baltimore Country Cousin Fabric Requirements
Each block in the wallhanging/quilt is 16” square. We will be focusing on 4 blocks for this class and will feature a block each month.

Background: 2 yards of cream or white tone on tone prints
Border: 1 ½ yard
Green for stems and leaves: 4-5 fat quarters
I use five different greens in medium to dark values and ranging in color from yellow greens to dark hunter greens.
Red for flowers, hearts, and details: a couple of fat quarters or scraps.
Yellow for flowers and details: a couple of fat quarters or scraps.
Blue for vases, flowers and details: a couple of fat quarters
Pink for flowers and details: a couple of fat quarters

Class Supplies:
Blue water soluble pen (you can find these in Walmart)
Pencil
Applique Pins
Embroidery fabric scissors
Applique Needles or Sharps #10
White quilting thread (we’ll use for basting)
Matching thread for leaves, flowers, basket, etc.

Optional: light box (I’ll have one available)
Painters tape (I’ll be happy to share mine)

Fee for printed patterns: $10.00 (to be collected by the instructor in class);

You may wish to purchase on Amazon: Baltimore Country Cousin book by Susan McKelvey. Right now you can get it for about $6.75 used. Shipping will be about $3.50. You don’t have to purchase the book but it is a great reference. We will be using 16 inch patterns that I will print for you. (The book features 12 inch blocks….)

The Garfield Center for the Arts Announces Their 2023 Season!

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From modern cult comedy to the classically familiar to the pomp and pageantry of a beloved Disney classic, the Garfield Center’s exciting 2023 season will provide audiences with all the feels we expect from live theatre.

The new season opens February 10, 2023, with Psycho Beach Party by Charles Busch. Performances will run weekends until February 26. An instant cult hit that resulted in its 2000 film version, imagine the fun of living in 1962 Malibu Beach, where we might rub elbows, surf and dance with Frankie and Annette at a beach party. Chicklet Forrest is your average tomboyish Gidget with one crazy secret: she is living with several hilarious split personalities. Meanwhile, dark and mysterious murders seem to be happening to the people around her and let’s just say her mother is a complete ‘drag.’ Her most dangerous personality is the vixen Ann Bowman, who loves to command the stage to get what she wants. A colorful array of supporting characters tackle everything from friendship to sexuality in a parody spoof that keeps the laughs coming. The comedy will be directed by Michael Moore.

Next up is Prescription: Murder by William Link & Richard L. Levinson. Performances will run weekends from April 14 through 30, 2023. With it’s characters and style providing the inspiration for the TV series Columbo, its theatrical predecessor Prescription: Murder tells the story of a brilliant psychiatrist and his mistress who hatch a plot to murder his neurotic, possessive wife. The execution of their plan and the creation of their perfect alibi depends on a bizarre impersonation. Lt. Columbo must engage the psychiatrist in a duel of wits until the doctor succeeds in having Columbo removed from the case. However, it is the mistress who proves to be the weak link that leads to a trap and a surprising climax! Nic Carter will direct the production.

Short Attention Span Theatre returns to the Garfield Stage on June 23 for yet another annual installment of trailblazing new short plays that always features a cast of lovable local GCA favorites. Typically premiering new 10 minute plays, many times by local playwrights, SAST is a local, well-loved tradition. Performances will run weekends through July 9, 2023. Mark Sullivan will once again produce SAST.

September brings us Kate Hamill’s critically lauded adaptation of Little Women, running weekends from September 22 through October 8, 2023.  The Wall Street Journal called it “an ingenious compassion of Alcott’s novel that is by turns funny and painfully poignant…it touched me to the heart.” The story brings fond familiarity: Jo March isn’t your typical Victorian lady. She’s indecorous and headstrong, and one day she’s going to be a great American novelist. As she and her sisters grow up in the middle of the Civil War, they strive to be brave, intelligent, and imaginative young women. But as adulthood approaches, each sister must negotiate her private ambitions with society’s expectations. In a war-torn world defined by gender, class, and personal tragedy, Jo March gives us her greatest story: that of the March sisters, four dreamers destined to be imperfect little women. The production will be directed by Hester Sachse.

And closing the season will be Disney’s Beauty and the Beast by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, with new songs by Alan Menken and Tim Rice. Running weekends from November 24 through December 10, 2023, step into the enchanted world of the Broadway and international sensation that has been produced in 37 countries worldwide. Based on the Academy Award-winning animated feature, the original Broadway production ran for over thirteen years and was nominated for nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The classic story tells of Belle, a young woman in a provincial town, and the Beast, who is actually a young prince trapped under the spell of an enchantress. If the Beast can learn to love and be loved, the curse will end and he will be transformed into his former self. But time is running out: if the Beast does not learn his lesson soon, he and his household will be doomed for all eternity. With its wonderfully colorful characters and infectiously memorable songs, the Garfield Center’s production is sure to put a smile on your face, a song in your heart and an exclamation point on another wonderful season. Jennifer Kafka Smith will direct the production.

Tickets for the new season will not go on sale until after the start of the new year. For further information between now and then, check in on occasion at our website at www.garfieldcenter.org or our Facebook page.

Fiber Arts Center of the Eastern Shore Presents Barn Block Painting Class

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Fiber Arts Center of the Eastern Shore Presents Barn Block Painting Class

Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022

Time: 9 am – 4 pm

Cost: $70.00 member, $80.00 non member

Instructor: Victoria McConnell – please call to sign up at 410-253-9716

Important! Please contact Victoria two weeks before class about your design.

Fiber Arts Center of the Eastern Shore
Phone: 443-448-4611
Address: 7 North 4th Street
Denton, MD 21629

“Imperfectly Perfect” Is Main Street Gallery’s Fall Exhibition

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Passages by Maureen S. Farrell

Award winning acrylic painter, Maureen S. Farrell, is Main Street Gallery’s guest artist for September/October. Her show, “Imperfectly Perfect” highlights a collection of the artist’s figurative and abstract paintings which she created both in her home studio in Cambridge and her studio at the Davis Art Center in Easton.

On any given day Maureen’s studio is filled with several paintings she is working on at the same time. Describing her paintings as process oriented, Maureen says she starts a painting by making marks and also journaling directly onto her canvas or paper with graphite and charcoal. “I then obliterate some of those marks and add more marks to the surface before moving on to the paint.” says the New York native who relocated to Cambridge in retirement. She says she works her way through the process allowing each painting to take its own course. “Over the years”, she says, “I have discovered that when I am fully engaged and give up control the magic happens.” She finds that concentrating on self expression and using many marks and leaving what she calls “imperfections” add character and strength to her works.

But while her subjects are usually figurative or abstract, it is really her emotions that have the greatest influence on her pieces.  “I paint what I feel” she declares, “not what I see”.

Interestingly for the former mail carrier, the daily handling of catalogs, magazines and newspapers that come to her through the mail have informed her work as well and often find their way into her paintings as written passages and collaged elements.

It wasn’t until after studying education and sociology in college and working as a rural mail carrier while raising three children as a single mom, that Maureen found her artistic voice. “My passion for art”, she says, “truly blossomed after I remarried, retired and reevaluated my whole purpose in life.”   A gifted watercolor teacher early on became a good friend and mentor and encouraged her to continue painting. That support and the skills she acquired through taking many classes and workshops helped fuel her new found passion.

Maureen is a Signature Member of the International Society of Acrylic Painters and has shown her work locally, nationally and abroad. She is currently represented by Bishop’s Stock in Snow Hill, MD and West Annapolis Artworks.

“Imperfectly Perfect” will open on September 1 and run through October 30. The public is invited to two artist receptions which will take place on Second Saturdays, September 10  and October 8 from 5-8 pm. The receptions are free and light refreshments will be served. Gallery hours are Thursday through Sunday from 11-5 and online shopping is always available on the gallery’s website at mainstgallery.net.

Main Street Gallery is located at 518 Poplar St. and is Cambridge’s only artist-owned and run cooperative. The gallery is currently reviewing work from prospective members and guest artists. Please contact the gallery through its website or by phoning 410-330-4659 if you are interested in being a part of this vibrant artist community.