Youth present abridged version of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’
Imagine a single day set aside when hundreds of teens in many schools perform Shakespeare for audiences.
In Homer, that play is “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” with the main performance on Saturday. Homer Council on the Arts and Pier One Theatre teamed up for the production, involving 11 students from 10 to 14 years old, under the direction of Brenda Dolma.
“They are in the ‘tween to teen ages and some of them have done theater or musical theater before,” Dolma said. “Three are new thespians.”
The local program is dubbed Theatre Shakes by HCOA-Pier One as a catchy description. It draws from the goals of the Shakespeare Schools Festival: to bring the enchantment of Shakespeare to young people.
Heidijo looks to raise recording funds
Homer singer/songwriter Heidijo Smith has launched a Kickstarter fundraiser with a goal of reaching $5,000 for a recording session in New Orleans. The clock is now ticking toward a Nov. 27 deadline when the Kickstarter campaign ends.
A series of piano performances for the public begins Friday at AJ’s Oldtown Steakhouse and Tavern. “Sneak a Peek of Heidijo,” is a series of four concerts, continuing Nov. 13, 23 and 27. All shows are from 6-8 p.m. at AJ’s.
Heidijo quickly joined with other performance musicians when she moved to Homer four years ago. She has played at Bunnell Street Arts Center and the Down East Festival this summer. She also was showcased with Johnny B at AJ’s, and with the burlesque shows at Alice’s Champagne Palace.
Heidijo spent much of her life perfecting her musical talents, starting on piano at age 6. Her day job is as a nurse at So
Art Briefs – Nov. 7
Dreams of midsummer nights Homer Council on the Arts presents its annual TheatreShakes program with “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on Nov. 17. Two matinee performances at 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. will be offered to students at school the Friday before. HCOA invites Homer Senior Citizens to attend the 2:30 p.m. performance. This is a great [...]
Class looks at motherhood’s ‘muddle’ in ink
Motherhood’s inspiring power can’t help but give spark to yet more creative kindle when it comes to material for the writer’s life in prose.
Yet, the writing outlet isn’t always within reach, given time and demands on mothers engaged in the day-to-day wonders and trials of raising a child.
That’s why a new course carved out by author Miranda Weiss may be particularly timely just as winter gets a foothold. The class grants mothers a space and time of their own. Weiss, author of Tide, Feather, Snow: A Life in Alaska (HarperCollins 2009), is teaching a four-week course 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays at the R.E.C that will be repeated this winter.
Art Briefs – Oct. 31
KPO to perform with Carnegie Hall The Kenai Peninsula Orchestra will perform in a Link-Up Concert in Kenai on Saturday and Homer on Sunday. In collaboration with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, the Kenai Peninsula Orchestra is participating in the Link-Up program during the 2012–2013 season. Link-Up pairs orchestras across the country with schools in [...]
First Friday offers art diversity
Ptarmigan Arts announces an art and adventure auction of epic proportions in the Back Room Gallery, opening First Friday. This show is also a silent auction, with proceeds going toward Ptarmigan’s student scholarship fund. The show runs through November, so you will have multiple opportunities to bid and check your bid. The show will conclude [...]
Art Briefs – Oct. 17
Freeman’s art selected for juried exhibit “Cold River Blues” is one of three paintings by Homer artist Asia Freemen selected for this year’s All-Alaska Juried Art Exhibition at the Anchorage Museum. Freeman was awarded $250 for her landscape paintings. Her exhibit shows through Feb. 3, 2013. The highly competitive exhibition drew 479 submissions by 140 [...]
Expert silversmith teaches his craft to beginners
Seven people wait anxiously in the Homer High School art room for a slender man wearing an engineer-type cap to teach them about silversmithing.
Art Koeninger, 67, has been teaching workshops for more than 30 years and creating jewelry since the late 1960s. With much patience, he shows the group of beginners simple techniques, such as how to use a file, light a torch and hold a jeweler’s saw. Once the basics are covered, it’s on to more difficult tasks like soldering, bezels for setting stones, rivets and drilling.
“People have to start somewhere,” he said. “There is a lot of trial and error.”
Raised in Texas, Koeninger studied liberal arts at Rice University as a young man. He eventually dropped out and traveled to Ann Arbor, Mich., where he volunteered with the Quakers. They hired him to organized service projects with the underprivileged, like inner-city kids, migrant workers and mental institutions. His jewelry career began by wrapping beach stones and square nails with wire.
Zimbabwean music/culture video released
Homer residents Doug and Laurel Epps recently released their feature-length documentary about the Cross-Cultural Celebration of Zimbabwean Music they entitled “Soul Resonance,” to the world. During their five-year adventure they traveled all over North America, interviewing over 100 people, including 25 Zimbabweans. They were honored to have noted musician Taj Mahal as their narrator.
Jamie Sutton allowed them to have a premiere showing of their ‘almost-completed’ movie during the Doc Fest at the Homer Theatre in October 2011. They also brought a Zimbabwean musician, Tendai Muparutsa ABD (Doctoral Candidate in Music Education) to Homer.
His arrangement and performance of a traditional Zimbabwean song on marimbas is the opening song of their movie. He taught his music in Cultural Immersion presentations at local schools and to the Zimbabwean marimba ensembles in town.
October First Friday promises new, exciting art
Regardless of frost on the grass and snow in the high country, the creativity continues here as demonstrated by a wide variety of art on offer for the October First Friday.
All galleries with new exhibits will host a First Friday Artist Reception from 5 to 7 p.m.
The Pratt Museum is joining the fun this Friday with a preview of their November “Puttin’ on the Ritz” gala. The Ritz outcry auction art is showcased and community members are invited to preview the art a full month before the event. Auction items are posted on their website for people who can’t make it to the museum.
The Back Room Gallery of Ptarmigan Arts presents, “Whimsical Paintings and Pots.” The gallery pairs the oil and acrylic paintings of Anchorage’s Edward Hutchinson, with ceramics by Isolde Gibson of Eagle River from Oct. 5 thru Oct. 31.
