10 Minute Turnaround on Plays at STC

 SMS News  No Responses »
Jul 092014
 

MoP-Graphic-Square

Ten minutes to see a play. No, not 10 minutes to get there. We are talking about a play from start to finish, enter stage right to exit stage left. And not just one play, the Salem Theatre Company is producing seven such plays with its popular Moments of Play (MoP) festival of original ten-minute plays, Wednesday, July 9 through Sunday, July 13.

What makes these productions even more admirable is that the words come from New England playwrights. Over 200 plays are submitted each year. The festival also features directorial and STC acting debuts alongside STC “regulars.”

The seven 10-Minute Plays to be performed this year are:

Zeno’s Arrow by David Susman of Saco, ME,
The Accidents of Bread by William Orem of Newton, MA,
Baby, It’s Cold Outside! by Jeana Hackman Grady of Rockport, MA,
Crooked Fork by Jonathan Yukich of Hamden, CT,
Just Your Imagination by Lesley Anne Moreau of Allston, MA,
Triumphs of the Heart (Sphere) by Cassie Seinuk of Somerville, MA,
Video Death Chat by Libby Schap of Chelsea, MA

But that’s not the entire package of the Festival. On Saturday, July 12 at 7:30 p.m., three nationally recognized playwrights will gather on the STC stage to discuss and review the seven plays presented this year. The public is invited to this free event featuring Richard Dresser, Ronan Noone and Kate Snodgrass.

The seven selected plays for the Eighth Annual Play Festival will be presented Wednesday through Friday at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday & Sunday at 5:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 and are available online at www.salemtheatre.com. The STC Theater is located 90 Lafayette Street in downtown Salem.

Share

Derby Wharf on the 4th at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site

 Uncategorized  No Responses »
Jul 012014
 

Salem FireworksCelebrating the 4th of July is an emotional event, be it on The National Mall in Washington DC or the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular on the Esplanade— or right here in historic Salem Ma. If you’re looking to honor the founding of our great nation, Salem Ma is very much worth the trip. Just consider this as an exciting backdrop for the festivities: a dozen historic structures, nine acres of waterfront land, all making up the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, which by the way was the first National Historic Site in the National Park System!

Now that we’ve got your attention what exactly are we doing in Salem at Derby Wharf on the 4th of July?

9am – You are invited to join Mayor Kimberly Driscoll on the Salem Common for a patriotic kick off event. “The Star Spangled Banner” will be sung by members of the YMCA of the North Shore Glee Club. The Declaration of Independence will be read by Dann Anthony Maurno, a Salem resident and actor who has appeared onstage in a variety of area venues. Musical selections will be performed by Robert Kendall on keyboard. Salem resident John Howard will lead the audience in singing “America the Beautiful.”

4pm – Children are included in the fun. Kids’ Space, where young ones can play games and get their faces painted, will be provided courtesy of the Gathering, the MeetingHouse Church and the First Universalist Society of Salem. Food tents on site also open at 4pm with hot dogs, French fries, fried dough, kettle corn, and other fair favorites.

5pm – Things begin to heat up as live entertainment begins on the Main Stage with the Pocket Money Orchestra. This amazing young funk group from Salem features energetic original music by Brian Cogger (trumpet), Seth Bailin (tenor and baritone sax), Aidan Scrimgeour (piano), Ben Siwak (bass), Derek Hayden (drums), and Danny Dugan (percussion). The Pocket Money Orchestra has a growing presence on the North Shore music scene and plays regularly at local venues.

7:15pm – Opening Ceremonies! Mayor Driscoll and other local dignitaries will lead a parade down the wharf accompanied by the Salem Veterans Honor Guard and Salem Boy Scout troops. The National Anthem will be sung by Grace Bigus, Sam Bigus, Danielle Lovasco, Chloe Panico, Jacob Pini, Mariella Robinson, Delaney Sprague, and Aly Yanishevsky from the YMCA of the North Shore Glee Club. This is an a cappella group for children ages 12-18 directed by YMCA Music Director Samantha Gambaccini. These students work as a team to create and sing a wide variety of repertoire from classic to contemporary.

This leads up to what we hope will be a Pops experience you will never forget, kicked off by Maestro Dirk Hillyer and his orchestra. This year soloist Jean Danton joins the orchestra with musical selections from Sondheim. Her singing has been described as “stunning,” ”outstanding,” “wonderfully controlled and full-voiced,” and “stylishly stellar.” She is a favorite soloist with Pops orchestras including the Boston Pops Orchestra, North Shore Music Theatre, North Shore Philharmonic Orchestra, and New England Light Opera.

9:15pm – Salem ends its Independence Day celebration with a fireworks extravaganza, accompanied by the Hillyer Festival Orchestra playing the 1812 Overture and other patriotic music throughout the entire fireworks display.

“Salem is fortunate to have such a generous business community that continues to support this celebration,” Mayor Driscoll commented. “I’d like to express a special thank you to Footprint Power – Salem Harbor Station and to Salem Five, along with Aggregate Industries, Tache Real Estate, Market Basket, Eastern Bank, and KV Associates.”

“There is no better place to be than Salem on the 4th,” Mayor Driscoll stated. “We have consistently put together one of the most spectacular live concerts and fireworks extravaganzas anywhere in Massachusetts.”

For more information go to www.salem.com or call the Salem City Hall at 978-745-9595, ext. 5676. For traveling to Salem we advise taking the mbta.

Get here early. Have a nice meal. Enjoy the day and evening. (Photo courtesy Social Palates)

Share

Hoop Over to Salem Arts Festival

 Uncategorized  No Responses »
Jun 072014
 
Things are looking up

Photo Credit – Karen Scalia

You are now joining our program already in progress— if you are coming to Salem Ma. this Saturday or Sunday to participate in our annual Salem Arts Festival. But that’s ok. There are more than enough events and creative arts presenters to satisfy your viewing interests.

Now in its sixth year, the Salem Arts Festival boasts attendance numbers in the thousands and celebrates all the arts: painting, photography, sculpture, dance, music, writing, film, new media, performance, theatre, poetry, culinary, and more.

This year’s event also includes a street fair, plus live entertainment on two performance stages (located in Derby Square and on Artists’ Row).

One of the more colorful events, which already took place, but you can join in progress is

the HulaArt project. “Re-use of recycled materials to create diverse art expressions” is one way used to describe what essentially was the presence of “over four hundred hula hoops, a fifth of which were transformed into HulaArt, form a colorful canopy above Salem’s Artist Row.”

But true to this being a part of an Arts Festival, even the delivery and installation of the hoops to create the canopy was performance art. You can walk under the canopy of hoops. You can look up and marvel at the circles and shapes. And you can even try your hand (or waist) at hooping yourself.

What you will seeWe feel this is a great representation of our hopes for the Arts Festival, it is something you can participate in as well as just view.

Kylie Sullivan, Manager of Salem Main Streets comments “The amount of love, imagination, and hard work that has gone into the HulaArt is absolutely incredible, especially on the part of our partners at the Salem Public Space Project and the Phoenix School, in addition to our sponsors and the support of the City of Salem.

Waiting for youShe adds “This project exemplifies so much of what we’re trying to accomplish with this year’s Arts Festival – collaboration, community, and transformation of space.”

No need to bring your own hoop, we have plenty to spare and share.

Share

Salem State University and Salem Arts Festival

 Uncategorized  No Responses »
Jun 022014
 
Ponyfish 3

Ponyfish with Priscilla Swain, SSU ’10

Many partners contribute each year to the final production that we call the Salem Arts Festival. At Salem Main Streets we appreciate each and every one of them.

AGD-33-ACCEPTED

Steve Jones, SSU ’14

Take for example, Salem State University. Granted SSU is not part of Salem’s Downtown district, but it is an important part of Salem. During the academic year, its creative and performing arts departments present more than 100 events on campus, all open to the public.  Karen Gahagan, Director of the Center for Creative and Performing Arts at SSU explains, “This year dozens of Salem State visual and performing artists are bringing that creativity downtown and will be participating in the festival. They include students, faculty, staff and alumni from a range of artistic disciplines.”

Among the Salem State participants in this year ‘s festival which takes place June 6-8:

Aurora Borealis 2

Aurora Borealis Dance Company

  • Aurora Borealis Dance Company is founded by Salem State dance student Katie Pustizzi. Katie is also a Presidential Arts Scholar at Salem State and was a 2014 Creativity Award winner, the highest honor Salem State bestows on a student in the arts;
  • Molly Pinto Madigan – Molly is a Salem State alum, class of 2013 and a 2013 SSU Creativity Award winner, in both creative writing and music. She might be providing some of her wonderful original music at the opening reception but have a chat with her about her newly published book, Black Apples: 18 New Fairytales;
  • YMCA Theatre Company – led by another Salem State Alum, Nicole Leotsakos ‘09, the Y’ s Performing Arts Director;
  • Only Human – is a musical about a small town, a movie star, humanity, death and pigs. Salem State connections include writer JD Scrimgeour (professor of English), director Peter Sampieri (professor of Theatre), musical director Karen Gahagan (Director of the Center for Creative and Performing Arts), plus a cast packed with Salem State theatre students;
  • Chalk: A Play – This is a 10 minute play written by SSU English professor Michael Jaros, and starring SSU theatre alum Maryanne Truax ‘13 and current BFA theatre major James Wechsler, a 2014 SSU Creativity Award winner;
  • The Upstart Crows – a new classical theatre company based in Salem. Many of the actors are students or recent alum of Salem State University or Gordon College, as well as alumni of local theater strongholds Cry Innocent and Rebel Shakespeare. They will be performing Love’s Labour’s Lost on Salem Common each night of the festival;
  • Ponyfish is an acoustic trio that features Salem State alum Priscilla Swain ‘10;
  • Machine 475 – This group is a Salem mainstay and includes Richard Lewis, SSU professor of Art & Design, and Salem State alumni Danielle Meara ’11 and Jim Forrest ‘01
  • The Old Town Hall art exhibition includes works by Scott Dalrymple and Andrea Jenkins, current Salem State students and alum Steve Jones ’14, yet another SSU Creativity Award winner.

We think that Karen Gahagan put it nicely, “The Salem Arts Festival is now well-established and people recognize it as ‘our arts festival’ if one is part of the Salem community no matter what the relationship. The SAF also did an excellent job getting the call for artists out there this year which raised awareness. I think that people at Salem State and elsewhere have started to take notice of this festival and that more and more artists from all over the region will look to participate as it moves forward.”

Mark your calendar, June 6-8 downtown Salem, MA, and go Vikings!

Only Human

Only Human: A Musical

Share

Arts Festival Celebrates the Arts, June 6-8 in Salem Ma

 Uncategorized  1 Response »
May 282014
 

New logoTake note of that first word. Salem celebrates not just Art but the Arts with our upcoming festival, set for June 6-8, throughout our Downtown District.

More than 5000 people have regularly attended this annual event which serves to showcase more than 80 visual and performing artists. You will see many artists, as well as sculptors, musicians, singers, actors and more.

Friday, June 6th

6pm – 9pm, Old Town Hall
Old Town Hall Juried Gallery

6pm – 7:30pm, Old Town Hall Downstairs
Molly Pinto Madigan, Folk Music

7:30pm – 9pm, Old Town Hall Upstairs
Lois Lane and the Daily Planets, Soul and R&B

Saturday, June 7th

11am – 6pm, Old Town Hall
Juried Art Exhibit

11am – 6pm, Front Street & Artists’ Row
Art-Making Activities

IMG_423611am – 6pm, Festival Area
Street Fair

11:45am – 12pm, Artists’ Row
Beatnik Voices, Spoken Word Poetry

12pm – 12:45pm, Derby Square
Amy Spillert, Folk Music

12:45pm – 1pm, Artists’ Row
Beatnik Voices, Spoken Word Poetry

1pm – 1:45pm, Derby Square
Machine 475, Electronic Music

1:45pm – 2:05pm, Artists’ Row
The Upstart Crows Of Salem,Theatre

2:05pm – 2:50pm, Derby Square
Jeff Michaels, Music Performance

2:40pm – 3pm, Artists’ Row
Josh Bates, Classic Rock Guitar Performance

3pm – 3:20pm, Front Street
Arbella Drum & Bugle Corps, Marching Band & Color Guard

3:20pm – 4pm, Derby Square
On Point Ensemble, Rock Music

3:20pm – 3:50pm, Artists’ Row
North Shore YMCA Theatre Company, Youth Theatre

3:55pm – 4:15pm, Old Town Hall Upstairs
Aurora Borealis Dance Company, Modern Dance

3:55pm – 4:15pm, Artists’ Row
Chase the Ghost, Indie/Digital Rock Music

4pm – 5pm, Derby Square
Dark Follies, Vaudeville Variety Show

4:45pm – 5:15 pm, Artists’ Row
The Avant Guardians, Live Art with Music

5:15pm – 6pm, Derby Square
Dave Bailin, Soul/Rock Music

Sunday, June 8th

11:45am – 12pm, Artists’ Row
Chalk: A Play, Theatre

12pm – 12:45pm, Derby Square
Witch City Bellydance, Bellydance

12:45pm – 1pm, Artists’ Row
Chalk: A Play, Theatre

1pm – 1:45pm, Derby Square
Ponyfish, Acoustic Trio

1:45pm – 2pm, Artists’ Row
Chalk: A Play, Theatre

2pm – 2:45pm, Derby Square
Bobby Spellman’s Underground Society Band, Jazz Music

2:45pm – 3:30pm, Artists’ Row
History Alive!, Historical Theatre/Staged Reading

3pm – 3:45pm, Derby Square, TBD

3:45pm – 4:05pm, Derby Square
Siren of the Circle, Hoop Dance

4:05pm – 4:50pm, Derby Square
The Holdouts, Acoustic Duo

4:50pm – 5:10pm, Artists Row
Only Human: A Musical, Musical Theatre

5:10pm – 6pm, Derby Square
Beware the Dangers of a Ghost Scorpion, Surf Rock Music

Share
 Older Entries  Newer Entries