ORIGINAL PLAYS INSPIRED BY ART STAGED TONIGHT AT HUNTER MUSEUM

For the third consecutive year, Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga has partnered with Hunter Museum of American Art to present “Casting the Canvas.”

This arts collaboration begins when local playwrights choose a piece of art from the museum and write a short play inspired by that work. Five writers have written original works that range from a comedic and whimsical look at creation to a dystopian commentary on societal structures. Each playwright was asked to keep family in mind while writing their plays.

Their work will be presented tonight, May 10, at 6 p.m. in Hunter Museum.

“I have loved this project since its inception,” says Casey Keelen, ETC’s communications director.

“As artists, it’s so important for us to not only support each other, but to feed each other’s artistic sensibilities. To be able to create a piece of theatrical art from a piece of visual art is so special. It is the perfect example of two artists, with different viewpoints, coming together to create separate and unique pieces that are, at the core, intertwined.”

The Hunter Museum performance will take viewers on a guided trip through the museum, stopping and performing each play in front of the piece that served as the inspiration.

The cast includes Mary Christa Jaramillo, Kashun Parks, Kendra Gross, Casey Keelen, Jared Clark, David Martinez, Jason Cavallone and Marcia Parks.

For more information: 423987-5141.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS FROM ENSEMBLE THEATRE Kendra Gross, Casey Keelen and Mary Christa Jaramillo, from left, present one of the five plays.

Actors Jared Clark, David Martinez, Jason Cavallone and Marcia Parks, from left.