Arts & Entertainment
Stagestruck
The Orleans Arena Theater on Cape Cod wasn’t the first summer stock theater, but it was the first “in the round” theater that operated only in summertime. The Arena’s history is told through dramatic reenactment, historical photos and former resident interviews in Stagestruck: Confessions from Summer Stock, which will be screened this week. The film is a nostalgic look at the Orleans Arena Theater which operated from 1950 to 1976. Author and playwright Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., an Orleans Arena Theater alumnus, is featured in the film.
Dance Theatre Breaks Down Barriers
Dance Theatre of Harlem was founded in 1969. At the time it was comprised of African American artists who were barred from U.S. ballet companies because of the color of their skin. Its mission over the past four decades, as stated on its website, has continued to be to “present a ballet company of African American and other racially diverse artists who perform the most demanding repertory at the highest level of quality.”
Diplomacy and Iran
On Thursday, August 23, Alan Dershowitz will give a talk at the Hebrew Center entitled Is J Street’s Position on Iran Good or Bad for Israel? J Street is a lobby group that, according to Mr. Dershowitz, “believes that diplomacy and sanctions alone can deter Iran from developing nuclear weapons.” Mr. Dershowitz is not convinced of this stance and recently he had a discussion with President Obama outlining his views. On Thursday night Mr. Dershowitz reports back to the Vineyard what took place during this conversation.
Poetry Reading
The last literary event of the summer at the West Tisbury Library is a joint poetry reading with part-time resident Fanny Howe and visiting writer Katie Peterson. Ms. Peterson’s debut poetry collection, This One Tree (2006), was awarded the New Issues Poetry Prize by William Olson. She teaches in the English Department at Tufts University.
Fanny Howe has written over 20 books of poetry and prose. She lives in West Tisbury and will be teaching at University of Massachusetts Boston in the fall.
We ordinarily associate fire with devastation, a barely controllable force that overtakes everything in its path. The metaphor is used throughout Matthew Heineman and Susan Froemke’s Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare, which screened before a sold-out crowd of over 300 people Wednesday night at the Chilmark Community Center. The showing was followed by two lengthy discussion sessions nearly the duration of the film itself (the documentary is 95 minutes long).
You won’t have to fight for your life with a bow and arrow, but you can still participate in the Hunger Games. The West Tisbury Library hosts a DVD Release Party and Hunger Game-athon on Monday, August 20, beginning at 6 p.m. There will be games, treats, prizes and free popcorn.
For more information, call 508-693-3366.
May the odds be ever in your favor.
