Arts & Entertainment
Three questions came to mind as I headed out this past Friday to see Berklee College of Music students and faculty work their therapy magic on the Island. One, can you ever get high school kids to sit around and pay attention? Two, is there a career in music therapy? And three, can nursing home residents carry a beat?
A suicidal husband, a vaudeville act down on its luck, a pair of commedia dell’arte clowns, two morbidly sensitive shepherds, and a train passenger trapped in the loo with an idiot conductor on the far side of the door. What do these characters have in common? Well, brought together in one-act plays under the aegis of Island Theatre Workshop, they represent a fruitcake slice of the human predicament. They are also, as samples of the absurdist tradition, a whole bunch of fun.
Cupid and Psyche
The curtains go up next Friday night for a one-night-only performance of Cupid and Psyche, a 2,000-year-old love story. Spindrift Marionettes will present their most ambitious production yet, a full-length puppet show for adults as well as children over ten. It features marionettes, life-sized goddess puppets and shadow puppets re-imagining the ancient tale of love and loss, courage and despair, in a world where gods and mortals interact to both comic and tragic effect.
A large format, hardcover coffee table edition of the book Secret Spaces, Martha’s Vineyard Beyond the Landmarks, has been featured this past week at the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International trade show in Las Vegas by the book’s manufacturer, GraphiStudios.
The book showcases a collection of Vineyard images by former Martha’s Vineyard resident and Gazette contributing photographer Michael Zide, with text by Island writers and artists.
Studio Sale Saturday
Doors open tomorrow 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Vineyard Playhouse for a one-day studio sale of overstock, seconds and samples from Island artisans.
Martha’s Vineyard Community Services will end its Visiting Nurse Service on June 30 after nearly 43 years of operation.
Seventy-two clients and 22 employees — 12 staff members and 10 per-diem workers — will be affected. The agency is not accepting new referrals, said Julia Burgess, executive director of Community Services.
Program director Sharon Clauss-Zanger noted the closing date is subject to assurance of adequate and appropriate transition arrangements for its home-care clients.
