Category: Arts

Summer writing classes offered by local author & blogger

Okay, the “local author & blogger” is me.

This summer I’m slated to teach two classes – one for high school kids and one for adults – at The Gallery School of Pottstown, and I hope enough people will sign up so we can run the classes! You may know me as a blogger, or as the community garden lady from Mosaic Community Land Trust, but I am also a creative writer. My fiction, essays, and poetry have appeared in journals in print and online for quite awhile now. In January I got my master’s in creative writing from the Bennington Writing Seminars, where I studied with some pretty awesome teachers and classmates. Back in NJ I coached high school sports for five years, taught summer journalism camps, and spent six months teaching middle school English (some people thought I was crazy, but I loved it!) Anyway, I’m hoping to bring that experience and my love of writing and self-expression to these summer classes.

Robert Frost Grave, Bennington, VT

The class for teens is called, “The Heart of the Matter: Personal Essay Writing for High School Students.” We’ll read a few short essays and get a feel for what an essay can be before the students dig into their own.  The whole idea is to  figure what you want to say in a way that grabs a reader’s interest, then take the reader along on your journey, and come to some moment of discovery… all within a certain number of words. This class will help kids get more comfortable with those pesky essays on standardized tests and in crafting essays that sing out to college admissions officers. The sign-up info is here. The key details are: The class runs on Tuesdays from 6:30-9pm for 6 weeks, beginning July 10th. Cost is $140 (member), $150 (non-member). The Gallery School is at 254 E. High Street, Pottstown, PA 19464. It’s open to kids from ALL area high schools. Sign up with a friend! Sign up soon!

The class for adults is called, “Flash Memoir and Essays for Adults.” In this workshop, writers will share short pieces (no more than 3 double-spaced pages) of nonfiction for discussion. Nonfiction = “It really happened.” We’ll spend some time discussing what is meant by this, and how “the truth” can be shaped into a compelling story.  By limiting the number of pages/words, we are forced to see how every word really does count.  The very short form still requires that the writer establish setting and character, build scenes, create mood and tension, and explore a theme. Please bring some of your work for the first class. Writers at all levels are welcome! Sign up with a friend! For those of you who might be nervous about writing about your lives, rest assured that we will spend some time during the first class talking about ground rules and how to talk objectively about someone’s personal story while still being sensitive to the fact that the person is sitting right at the table. Registration info is here. This class begins on July 11th and runs on Wednesdays from 6:30-9pm for six weeks. $140 (member), $150 (non-member).

FREE Summer Art Camps: The Gallery School’s FREE program deadline is June 8

The Gallery School of Pottstown is excited to offer three free summer programs for students ages 8-12.

1) Kids Art Academy is a general arts exploration class, where students will explore two-  and three-dimensional arts.

2) Students in Clay Academy will delve into all aspects of creating with clay, including using a pottery
wheel.

3) The third class, Asian Arts, will take students on a journey through the art traditions of many Asian countries.

Art Academy and Clay academy begin in June, while Asian Arts starts in July. Applications must be received by June 8, 2012 for all three programs. Applications can be found online at http://www.galleryonhigh.com/programs.html, or in person at the school at 254 E. High St., Pottstown, PA.

All three programs are funded by the Greater Pottstown Foundation and are free for the students, with the exception of a small registration fee.  While preference is given to those students who qualify for free or reduced lunch, students who do not qualify are also encouraged to apply. Questions can be emailed to info@galleryonhigh.com, or asked over the phone at 610-326-2506.

The Gallery School of Pottstown is a 501c3 non-profit community art school and gallery. The School offers day, evening and weekend classes to all ages. The goal of these classes is to help students develop their creative skills through self-expression and independence. The Gallery on High hosts rotating shows featuring local artists. The Gallery also sells handcrafted, one-of-a-kind gift items.  The Gallery on High is open Tuesday through Friday from 10am-4:30pm and Saturday 10am-3pm. The Gallery is closed Sunday and Monday.

“Buy Local” spirit is at heart of PDIDA, WBZH and this month’s Happy Hour

The “Buy Local” movement is sweeping across the country and it has arrived in Pottstown like a force from Mother Nature. So, what does it mean to “buy local?” It’s pretty simple: By shifting even a fraction of your spending to locally-owned businesses in your hometown, you are supporting the employment base, the tax base, the school system, and your neighbors and friends. And, when the word gets out that there is support for local businesses from area residents, Pottstown could become a more attractive place for those considering expanding or opening up a new business.

During the month of May, the Pottstown School District and the Pottstown Downtown Improvement District Authority, otherwise known as PDIDA (puh-dee-duh), have teamed up to help Pottstown flex its economic muscle with a “Buy Local” competition in the school district. All the schools and the administration are competing to see who can spend the most money during the month of May in the PDIDA district. PDIDA encompasses High Street from York to Evans Streets and Hanover and Charlotte Streets from Queen to King Streets. Students, staff and their families are shopping in those areas, getting a receipt, asking the merchant for a “Buy Local” sticker for the receipt and then turning it in at a School District building. In just two weeks, more than $16,000 was spent in the downtown! See Evan Brandt’s article here.

Did you know that there’s another Buy Local wave rolling through the region?

Local radio station WBZH, The Buzz (1370 AM), has been living and breathing the “buy local” philosophy 24/7 since February, when they announced that “buying local” would be the essence behind everything they do.

While their programming has always included local voices and up-to-the-minute local news and coverage, they have come up with advertising packages with customizable options that fit every business budget. They even offer free “buy local” taglines that you can record, along with your business name and location, to get the word out about the importance of supporting the people who are working and making an investment in your community.

We are bringing these two entities together for the next Positively!Pottstown Happy Hour, taking place tomorrow, Friday, May 18 from 5-7 pm at the PDIDA office at 17 N. Hanover Street. WBZH will be broadcasting the “Suki Says!” show live from 4-7 pm. Come out to network and meet local folks who are running businesses and trying to support local business, arts and culture in Pottstown every day. A $5 cover charge will get you food from Giuseppe’s, a new Italian restaurant and pizza place at 864 E. High Street; chocolate-dipped pretzels by Sugar High, a new sweet shoppe at 250 E. High Street; and complimentary beverages.

To rsvp, send an email to positivelypottstown@gmail.com; we also won’t turn anyone away at the door, so just stop by to get your weekend started right, right here at home, keeping it local.

STEEL RIVER PLAYHOUSE DEBUTS IN POTTSTOWN

Here’s what the Steel River Playhouse – formerly Tri-PAC – has to say about their name change and their continuing mission to educate and to bring together new and established performing artists…

A star reborn?  Not exactly, but Tri-County Performing Arts Center and Village Productions are getting a new name along with the obvious facelift, as anyone can tell by driving by the theater at 245 E. High Street in downtown Pottstown. 

Tri-PAC and Village Productions have become the Steel River Playhouse.  Same address.  Same telephone.  Website: www.steelriverplayhouse.org.  Email format: (First name)@steelriver.org.

The new flowing steel mesh façade, high-tech marquee, and engaging outdoor plaza will be completed in June and the Steel River Playhouse is planning a June 16 community celebration event.

“The name reflects the strength, beauty and vitality of Pottstown and surrounding region,” said Marta Kiesling, executive director of Steel River Playhouse. “Steel made in Pottstown helped build major structures around the world.  Beams iconically stamped ‘Bethlehem Steel’ run through our playhouse.  And, of course, the Schuylkill runs through Pottstown, where we have an annual festival and a National and State Heritage Area that honor its beauty and role in our region.”

Kiesling continued, “The new name and logo mark the passage from our initial years of getting established in Pottstown and the surrounding region.  We moved to Pottstown in 2005 as part of a broad redevelopment effort, and our wonderful theater complex opened in 2008.”

A name and logo are just a beginning.  “Names and logos are just visuals,” says Joshua Lampe, founder and president of StandingStone Media, and the Steel River Playhouse board member leading the re-branding project.  “The real work of brand-building is what the Steel River Playhouse has been working on since before coming to Pottstown – quality performances, creating a place for both emerging local talent and established actors and directors to work together, and education that develops talent, confidence and life skills.”

Kiesling adds, “The new brand and façade reflect the Steel River Playhouse commitment to the community and region.  From the start, regional planners and leaders recognized that a strong performing arts center would contribute to the economic, cultural and social health of Pottstown and the surrounding region.”

Steel River Playhouse, formerly Tri-County Performing Arts Center (Tri-PAC), seeks to strengthen community, inspire creative exploration, educate, and entertain,through the presentation of quality performing arts events and education for diverse audiences.  Each year, the Steel River Playhouse produces more than 90 performances and hosts more than 10,000 people as audiences, students, artists, donors and volunteers from throughout the region. We offer performance opportunities through open auditions; theater technical training; acting, voice, and instrumental lessons; classes and workshops for all ages; summer camp programs; and educational outreach including scholarships, artists in the classroom, traveling children’s shows, and other initiatives. For further information, visit www.steelriverplayhouse.org, or call 610-970-1199.

 

COMMUNITY YARD SALE THIS SATURDAY AT SMITH PLAZA!

GALLERY SCHOOL OF POTTSTOWN

presents a

Community Yard Sale

Saturday, May 5, 2012

8:00am – 12:00pm

At Smith Plaza

100 block of High Street between the Brick House

and Borough Hall in downtown Pottstown

Questions? Call 610-326-2506

WOW! Tri-PAC becomes Steel River Playhouse!

Check out Evan Brandt’s article today about the transformation and history of the Steel River Playhouse – all great news for downtown Pottstown and the entire region!

Last performance of FARRAGUT NORTH this afternoon at 3 at Tri-PAC!

There are still some seats left for FARRAGUT NORTH, the political drama now showing at Tri-PAC. Check out a previous Pottstown Post article on the show and get online now to get your ticket! Showtime is at 3 pm!

Tickets for all shows at the Tri-PAC are available online. Please note that seating is now reserved, so go to www.tripac.org to purchase your tickets now or call 610.970.1199.

Village Productions is a dynamic nonprofit performing arts organization that seeks to strengthen community, inspire creative exploration, educate, and entertain, through the presentation of quality performing arts events and educational opportunities geared toward a diverse audience. The new Tri-County Performing Arts Center at 245 E. High Street, Pottstown, PA is the home of Village Productions. 

Music at Emmanuel presents Westminster Kantorei this Sunday

Editor’s note: This came to us via Andrew Meade, the Minister of Music at Emmanuel Lutheran. Thanks, Andrew, for all you do to bring exceptional musical talent to Pottstown!

MUSIC AT EMMANUEL

Presents:

Westminster Kantorei

The Glory and the Dream

Andrew Megill, conductor

Special Guests: The Select Choir of Daniel Boone High School, Birdsboro PA

Sunday, April 29, 2012           4:00pm

FREE ADMISSION

Emmanuel Lutheran Church   150 N. Hanover Street     Pottstown, PA   19464

Facebook.com/music.at.emmanuel

Andrew Meade – Minister of Music

www.emmanuelpottstown.org

610-323-4312

 Founded in 2004, Westminster Kantorei is an auditioned chamber choir from the renowned Westminster Choir College specializing in early and contemporary music. The ensemble, which is composed of approximately 24 graduate and undergraduate students, performs regularly with some of America’s leading specialists in Baroque music, including collaborations with violinist Nancy Wilson and vocal ensemble Fuma Sacra.  Recent seasons have included performances of Bach’s Missa brevis in G Minor, cantatas, and passions, including the St. Matthew Passion at Avery Fisher Hall, with the Westminster Choir and the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Kurt Masur. The ensemble has also performed works by Monteverdi (Vespers of 1610, Sestina and Lamento della Ninfa), Buxtehude (Membra Jesu nostri), Schütz, Schein, Telemann, Zelenka, Victoria, and Palestrina, as well as a concert of Latin American Baroque music.
Westminster Kantorei has also commissioned and premiered many works by such composers as Caleb Burhans, James Blachly, Doug Helvering, Philip Rice, Nathan Jones and Stefan Young.  This year, the ensemble premieres new works by Blake Henson, Daniel Elder, and the internationally acclaimed Swedish composer Sven-David Sandström, commissioned for the ensemble by the Soli Deo Gloria Foundation and the Westminster Choir College Department of Sacred Music.

The concert program will include: “Musikalische exequien” by Heinrich Schutz, “The Glory and the Dream” by Richard Rodney Bennett, and “Psalm 67” by Sven-David Sandström.  The stunningly beautiful funeral music of Schutz’s Musikalische exequien is considered one of the masterpieces of the early Baroque period.  William Wordsworth’s poetic masterpiece “Intimations of Immortality” provides the text for Bennett’s The Glory and the Dream, who, in addition to a 50-year career performing and writing jazz, has composed many classic film scores.  Sandström’s Psalm 67 is a newly-commissioned work that received its world premier by this ensemble in October of 2011.  Our special guests for this concert will be the select choir from Daniel Boone High School in Birdsboro, PA.  Led by their conductor, Erin Benn, this outstanding high school ensemble will open the concert with performances of “I’ve Got the Music in Me” arranged by Deke Sharon and “With a Lily in Your Hand” by Eric Whitacre,.

MUSIC AT EMMANUEL is dedicated to bringing the live music of the highest calibre to the Pottstown community.  We are also dedicated to supporting young artists from our region as they develop their performing careers.  All concerts on our 2011-12 season are offered free of charge to the public, and are funded by the generous support of individuals in our church and community who believe that great music has an essential place in our culture and community.    For additional information about the concert series please visit the church’s website: www.emmanuelpottstown.org or find us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/music.at.emmanuel.

Political drama FARRAGUT NORTH comes to Tri-PAC

There’s plenty to do in Pottstown this weekend, but absolutely don’t forget to make room to see the new play opening at Tri-PAC. Farragut North only runs this weekend and next; get your tickets now! Here’s the teaser and details from Tri-PAC…

The political drama Farragut North comes to the Tri-County Performing Arts Center, 245 E. High Street, Pottstown for two weekends only, April 20-April 29.  Come and watch backroom politics play out during this political season!

It’s January in Des Moines, Iowa, during a tight primary race. Wunderkind Stephen Bellamy is young, aggressive, talented, and tremendously successful as press secretary for Governor Morris in his bid to run for President. Thrown into the scheming backroom politics of more seasoned operatives, Stephen struggles between the lust for power and loyalty to the cause. Named for the Metro Station that is the center of the Washington, D.C. lobbyist district, Farragut North was the major motion picture, THE IDES OF MARCH, starting George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

The Tri-PAC cast includes Tyler Horn, Steve Reazor, Katherine Leary, Phil Ballantine,  Ken Mumma, Carly Fried, Porter Eidam, and Philip Seader.

 Tickets for all shows at the Tri-PAC are available online. Please note that seating is now reserved, so go to www.tripac.org to purchase your tickets now or call 610.970.1199 to ensure the best seats.  Showtimes are 8:00 PM on Friday and Saturday, and 3:00 PM on Sunday.   Tickets range from $13 for children 12 and under, $15 for students and seniors (65+), and $17 for adults. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more.  When available, tickets will be sold at the door.

Village Productions is a dynamic nonprofit performing arts organization that seeks to strengthen community, inspire creative exploration, educate, and entertain, through the presentation of quality performing arts events and educational opportunities geared toward a diverse audience. The new Tri-County Performing Arts Center at 245 E. High Street, Pottstown, PA is the home of Village Productions. You may contact Village Productions through their website at www.tripac.org, or by telephone at 610-970-1199.

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