Arts & Entertainment

Suzzy Roche & Lucy Wainwright Roche to Perform Pre-Mother’s Day Show at Caffe Lena

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Those familiar with Lucy Wainwright Roche are aware of her bell tone voice, her unshakable melodies, and her knack for wise, wry lyrics.

Wainwright Roche is the daughter of Suzzy Roche (The Roches) and Loudon Wainwright III, half sibling to Rufus and Martha Wainwright.

Lucy has carved out her own career as a touring singer/ songwriter and recording artist, with five critically acclaimed solo recordings released on her own label and she has built a solid following across the US and Europe. Suzzy Roche is a singer/songwriter/performer/author and founding member of the singing group The Roches. She has recorded over a dozen albums, written music for TV and Film, and toured extensively for 40 years across the U.S. and Europe. Her children’s book Want To Be In A Band (Random House) was published in February 2013. Wayward Saints (Hyperion/Voice) is her first novel. Her most recent novel, The Town Crazy, was published in 2020.

Suzzy and Lucy released their latest recording, I Can Still Hear You, in the fall of 2020.

The show takes place 8 p.m. Friday, May 6 at Caffe Lena. Opener: Stash Wyslouch. Ticket prices $15 - $30. Go to: caffelena.org.

HMT Presents: “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” Opens April 29

by William G. Gotimer, Jr. Saratoga TODAY

SARATOGA SPRINGS — When Saratoga’s Home Made Theater presents The Curious Incident of the Dog in the NightTime it will mark the fourth presentation of its current season. It will however break new ground by presenting its first sensory-friendly production on Wednesday night May 4th.

Many theatrical productions contain imagery and/or sustained flashing lights that may affect those sensitive to such sensations, including those with photosensitive epilepsy or on the autism spectrum. Sensory-friendly productions allow patrons with sensory sensitivity to safely enjoy live theater by making appropriate changes to lights, sound, imagery and pace without affecting the story line or artistic presentation of the production.

Additional accommodations to the physical environment of the theater, including permitting stress balls, fidget toys, earplugs and noise-canceling headphones in the theater assist those that benefit by them. Designated quiet rooms and areas are also provided for patrons who find the live theater experience upsetting or too intense.

Performers, production staff and volunteers are trained in expectations and the appropriate responses to a unique audience. It is all designed to provide a safe, non-judgmental environment created by an audience of people with similar experiences.

When such sensory-friendly productions first were performed on Broadway they were primarily musicals. It is not lost on Home Made Theater General Manager, Eric Rudy that The Curious Incident of the Dog in the NightTime was the first sensory-friendly performance of a non-musical in Broadway history when he stated “We are extremely proud of our ability to bring this fine production to the sensory sensitive community here in the Saratoga area. Bringing the joy of live theater in an appropriate setting for every member of our audience fulfills our mission of entertainment in particularly gratifying way.” Home Made Theater Board of Directors President, Erin Fenton concurs “While we are always proud of the productions we put forth, this effort to include families who would otherwise find attendance uncomfortable truly underscores our commitment to a quality comfortable theater experience for all.”

Business Manager Erin Nicole Harrington further notes “The professional guidance we received to make this production sensory-friendly was met with enthusiasm by our board, staff and volunteers and we look forward to this being just the first of many such productions.”

Tickets may be purchased for the May 4 performance as well as the performances on April 29, 30 May 1, 6,7 and 8 at homemadetheater.org.

Cast of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” L to R: Christopher Buettner (Christopher), Marilyn Detmer (Ensemble), Rick Wissler (Ensemble). Photo by Dawn Oesch.

They Will Arrive Friday With No Idea What Will Happen The Next Day

GLENS FALLS — The Charles R. Wood Theater and Art in the Public Eye stages the 24 Hour Play Fest at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 23.

Play Fest brings volunteer writers, actors, and directors together for a 24-hour race to put on a show. On Friday, April 22, all these volunteers will arrive at the Wood Theater with no idea what will happen the next day.

After being randomly formed into teams with one writer, one director, and 3-4 actors, a theme for the Fest will be announced, and teams will meet and brainstorm for 1 hour before writers go home to write their brand new 10-minute plays to match the theme.

Writers must email scripts by 5 a.m. on Saturday. Teams assemble at the theater at 7 a.m. Saturday, receive their scripts, and have until the curtain opens at 8 p.m. to rehearse, memorize and stage a brand new 10-minute play. Audience members then vote for their favorites in several categories, and winners are awarded.

All proceeds from the event will benefit both presenting organizations – the Charles R. Wood Theater, and Art in the Public Eye. Art in the Public Eye’s mission is to support the intersection of the arts & entertainment and educational pillars of our community.

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at woodtheater.org/playfest, by calling the Wood Theater Box Office at 518-480-4878 or visiting 207 Glen St., Glens Falls.

Support The Community Where You Work and Play!

& Entertainment Saratoga Clay Arts Center

Annual National Juried Exhibition Opens April 30

SCHUYLERVILLE — Saratoga Clay Arts Center presents SAY SOMETHING: Tactile Voices in Clay, a national juried exhibition of 60 functional and decorative works by 48 clay artists. The exhibition opens on Saturday, April 30 online and in person, with an opening reception from 5-7 p.m., and runs through June 11.

Juried by prominent Philadelphia potter and artist, Kevin Snipes. A Juror’s Choice Prize and a Director’s Choice Prize will be revealed at the opening.

“This exhibition attempts to showcase ceramics works that have a strong sense of personal voice. What is voice? And how do we bring it to a work of ceramics? Voice is the elusive thing that makes a work of art feel believable,” said Kevin Snipes, in a statement.

Participating artists include a diverse mix of emerging and mid-career clay artists from across the country: Ann Boyajian, Julie Brand, Robert Bruch, Lauren Buschek, WangLing Chou, Andrew Coombs, Linda Crossan, “Michael” Cunningham, Jay Dougan, Ruth Ehrenkrantz, Auguste Elder, Breana Ferreira, Nancy Greenleaf, Nasrin Iravani, Hiromi Iyoda, Robert Kibler, Bridget Langholz, Tiffany Leach, Yiu Keung Lee, Chris Leonard, Keok Lim, Kimberly LaVonne Luther, Wade MacDonald, Anika Major, Brian McBean, Haley McElroy, Jeffrey Michael, Betsy Morningstar, Yehudis Moskovits, Evelyn Mtika, Susan Nowogrodzki, Eric Ordway, Mat Rude, Rhett Russo, Amy Sanders, Victoria Savka, Hannah Scrima, Kaitlin Scutari, Courtney Segrest, Darrin Simmons, Meredith Smith, Zach Tate, C.A. Traen, Mark Vander Heide, David Velez Felix, Rachel Ward, Simona Wiig and Dustin Yager. Founded in 2011 by clay artist and educator Jill Kovachick, Saratoga Clay Arts Center is a ceramic art center located just outside of Saratoga Springs in Schuylerville, offering wheel throwing and handbuilding clay classes for youth and adults, studio space and residencies for artists, and exhibitions featuring emerging, mid-career and established clay artists. The Schacht Gallery is open Mon - Sat from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. and by appointment. It is located at 167 Hayes Rd. Visit www. saratogaclayarts.org call 518-5812529 or email info@saratogaclayarts. org for more information.

Clay art by Meredith Smith, one of the participating artists in Saratoga Clay Arts Center’s presentation SAY SOMETHING. Photo provided.

Saratoga Arts Announces $148K for Local Art Projects

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Arts announced the grantees for the 2022 Community Arts Regrant Program which supports organizations and individual artists in Fulton, Montgomery, and Saratoga Counties.

Forty-seven grants totaling $148,496.96 have been awarded to support community based arts events taking place in 2022.

“We are thrilled to be setting a record this year not only in the amount of funding distributed but also with the number of projects we will be able to fund,” said Charlie Owens, Grants and Community Relations Manager, in a statement. “After years of isolation, it is thrilling to know these funded projects can continue to create art in our communities and, perhaps more importantly, build community through the arts.”

With funding awarded from the New York State Council on the Arts, Saratoga Arts’ Community Arts Regrant Program supports artists, non-profit organizations, and government departments.

This years’ grant recipients will be acknowledged and celebrated at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 14, at Saratoga Arts, 320 Broadway, Saratoga Springs. The event is free and open to the public. Register in advance by calling 518-584-4132 or online at saratogaarts.org/events.

Among the 2022 Community Arts Grantees: C.R.E.A.T.E. Community Studios, sponsored by Saratoga Springs Public Library - $5,000; Ballston Spa Community Band - $5,000; Friends of the Saratoga Springs Public Library- $5,000; Jonathan Greene, sponsored by Senior Citizens Center of Saratoga Springs, Inc. - $5,000; Rumara Jewett, Malta - $2,500; Quintocracy, sponsored by Saratoga Springs Public Library- $5,000; Saratoga Shakespeare Company, Saratoga Springs - $5,000; Saratoga Springs Arts District, Inc. (Beekman Street) Saratoga Springs- $5,000; Schuylerville Public Library - $1,500; Senior Citizens Center of Saratoga Springs, Inc. - $5,000; The Marshall House, Inc., Wilton- $2,830; The Town of Ballston Library, Burnt Hills - $2,240.00; Town of Malta Parks and Recreation Department- $5,000; Village of Ballston Spa- $5,000.

Nonprofit Seeks Local Artists with Medical Conditions and Serving as Caregivers

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga-based nonprofit Beyond My Battle, seeks artists living with or caring for someone living with a rare disease, illness, or disability, and offers an opportunity to share their work at the upcoming “Art with Heart & Hope” exhibit.

The annual event showcases the ways art can help manage the many stressors of living as a patient or caregiver.

The deadline to submit artwork is July 1. All art must be able to be displayed on a wall or easel. Artists must have lived with, or cared for someone living with, a physical illness, disease, or disability; be at least 18 years old; and live in the Capital Region. Artists should submit their information and work at beyondmybattle.org/artshow-2022 by July 1. Artists have the option to price their artwork and donate a portion of the sale to Beyond My Battle or not price their artwork at all.

This year’s show will take place on Sept. 8 at Universal Preservation Hal. Tickets will be available to purchase starting July 15.

Tang Museum Collaboration to bring Traditional Tibetan Paintings, Buddhist Imagery to Spa City 2023

Unrecorded Tibetan artist, The Handprints and Footprints of a Red Hat Master, 18th/19th century. Distemper on cloth. Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College, Jack Shear Collection

SARATOGA SPRINGS — An innovative collaboration among three prominent college art museums has resulted in the joint acquisition of an extraordinary gift of Tibetan art from the Jack Shear Collection.

Ian Berry of the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, T. Barton Thurber of the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College, and Pamela Franks of the Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) announced the gift, which includes an array of visually stunning thangka paintings. Each institution has acquired a third of the more than 60 objects, and the collection will be considered a shared whole, accessible to all partners, and providing a rich source of ongoing collaborations including coursework, publications, and exhibitions.

Earlier this month, an inaugural exhibition of the gift, Mastery and Merit: Tibetan Art from the Jack Shear Collection, opened at the Loeb Center at Vassar College.

Subsequent presentations at WCMA and at the Tang Museum are planned for the spring 2023 and fall 2023 semesters respectively.

The traditional Tibetan paintings are used as instructional and devotional objects, with Buddhist imagery painted on cloth and typically covered by a curtain of fabric and rolled for storage when not in use. Vivid illustrations on the front of the scrolls are complemented by detailed inscriptions on the reverse. For many centuries thangka paintings have been displayed during rituals and at certain times of year in monasteries, local shrines, and households, as objects of veneration, tokens of blessing, guides for meditation, and tools for teaching and learning.

The thangka span several centuries (likely 18th–20th) and feature colorful, often elaborate depictions of Buddhist scenes, deities, and mandala. There are scenes from the lives of the Shakyamuni Buddha, various incarnations of the Dalai Lamas, and Avadana teaching stories. In addition to the paintings, the Jack Shear Collection of Tibetan Art features related objects such as divination mirrors, a personal shrine, and initiation cards or tsakli—painted images used in ritualized meditation practice.

LIVE AT SPAC

New Show Announcements: Beach Boys/ Temptations, Wiz Khalifa, Kidz Bop

Wiz Khalifa on stage at SPAC in 2015. Photo by Thomas Dimopoulos.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Beach Boys with special guests The Temptations will perform at Saratoga Performing Arts Center Aug. 18, promoter Live Nation announced this week. Some other newly announced shows:

Wiz Khalifa and Logic bring their co-headline Vinyl Verse Tour 2022 to Saratoga Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, Aug. 23. The 28-city tour kicks off on July 27, and includes special guests 24kGoldn, DJ DRAMA, C Dot Castro, and Fedd the God. Wiz Khalifa burst onto the scene with mainstream success with the release of his first major label debut album, “Rolling Papers” in 2011.

Kidz Bop, the #1 music brand for kids, is back on the road this summer with a brand-new tour, Kidz Bop Live 2022. That show will be staged at SPAC on Aug. 2.