“On Pine Knoll Street” by Mark Cornell of Chapel Hill, N.C.,
FutureFest, the new play festival hosted by the Dayton Playhouse each summer, has brought national attention to our city. Many of the shows onstage in Dayton go on to productions elsewhere.
The latest case in point is the play titled “N,” a 2016 finalist. Written by Adrienne Earle Pender, the play was inspired an historical event and revolves around the dispute over the “N” word between AfricanAmerican actor Charles Gilpin and playwright Eugene O’Neill during the 1920 production of “The Emperor Jones.” What made it all more fascinating is when we learned Pender is related to Gilpin.
Pender, whose first play “The Rocker,” was also a finalist at FutureFest 2002, recently wrote to share exciting news and thank the folks at the Dayton Playhouse for producing her play.
“The script made its way into the hands of a movie director who is an O’Neill scholar,” she said. “He loved it, … he wants to make a film based on the play! I asked to write the screenplay and the director agreed. So I’m being paid to write about my cousin, Charles Gilpin,and tell a story that I love in an even bigger way!”
The Dayton Playhouse has announced the finalists for the 27th annual FutureFest plays which will be held on July 21-23. Auditions are slated for 7 p.m. on Monday, May 29 and Tuesday, May 30 at the playhouse.
The six finalists include:
“First, Do No Harm” by J. Thalia Cunningham of Delmar, N.Y.,
which was inspired by a true story and focuses on the connection between race and health care;
“The Spanish Prayer Book” by Angela J Davis of Los Angeles, Calif.,
based on a court case involving an atheist who inherits a collection of rare Hebrew manuscripts and learns they’ve been stolen;
“Wake” by Vince Gatton of New York, N.Y.,
“Magnificent Hubba Hubba by Olga Humphrey of New York, N.Y.,
a ghost story;
a comedy about a teenager boy who tracks down his idol — an old-time woman wrestler;
a family drama about an 87-year-old woman struggling with memory loss and
“The Puppeteer” by Desiree York of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.,
a play that spans five generations of an AfricanAmerican family.
Auditions will be held at the Playhouse, 1301 E. Siebenthaler Ave. in Dayton. They will consist of cold readings from the scripts. Full cast information is also available at www.daytonplayhouse. com.
Time to vote for the Dayton Art Institute treasures that will serve as inspiration for the WilmingtonStroop Branch Library. The ReImagining Works project invites local artists to create new pieces for permanent display in all the Dayton Metro Library branches, inspired by existing works in the Dayton Art Institute’s collection. Public vote determines which pieces are to be re-imagined.
Votes can be cast in person at the Library, located at 3980 Wilmington Pike in Kettering, or online at DaytonMetroLibrary.org.
There are five options this time, including the glass sculpture “Bold Endeavor” by Jon Kuhn, and the oil on canvas painting “Red Circle,” by Dwinell Grant. Many of the works feature strong geometry and lines, reminiscent of the intersection of streets from which the Library takes its name.
Images of each piece, along with the rationale for its potential as inspiration for the WilmingtonStroop Branch Library, are included on the Library’s website at DaytonMetroLibrary.org. Once the inspirational pieces have been chosen by the public, artist proposals will be requested. We’ll keep you posted.
Throughout this month, Village Artisans Gallery in Yellow Springs is hosting “Back to the Garden,” a members’ art show. All art pieces — in 2D and 3D — are created using open interpretations of a line in the song “Woodstock,” by Joni Mitchell.
The Village Artisans Gallery is a multi-media cooperative art gallery located at 100 Corry Street. For more information, call (937) 767-1209, email villageartisans.email@yahoo. com, or visit www.villageartisans.blogspot.com.
Dayton Contemporary Dance Company associate artistic director Crystal Michelle Perkins has accepted a position week as an assistant professor of dance at The Ohio State University.
Perkins, who lectured at OSU during the 2016-17 season, will continue her duties at DCDC and will choreograph a new work for the company’s fall concert. Perkins says she’s looking forward to “having a seat at the table in a place that sees dance as a scholarly practice.”
An Augusta, Georgia native, Perkins earned her bachelor’s degree in dance performance from Southern Methodist University in Dallas and joined DCDC in 2001, first as a dancer, then as teacher, choreographer and dance education curriculum coordinator for the company. In 2013, she earned a master’s degree from OSU.
In 2003, the mother of a young soldier deployed to Iraq created Quilts of Valor Foundation, a national nonprofit that presents hand-made quilts to United States service people who have been deployed to wars across the globe.
The stated mission is “to cover service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor.” During the month of May, some of these quilts are on display at the Vandalia Branch Library of the Dayton Metro Library, 330 S. Dixie Drive.
Members of the Quilts of Valor Foundation are also demonstrating their quilting process. The next demonstration is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 25.
“I knew a Quilt of Valor had to be a quality-made quilt, not a ‘charity quilt,’” says Foundation founder Catherine Roberts. “Quilts of Valor would be the civilian equivalent of a Purple Heart award, ‘awarded,’ not just passed out like magazines or videos. A Quilt of Valor would say unequivocally, ‘Thank you for your service, sacrifice, and valor in serving our nation in combat.’ “
For more information, visit the Events Calendar at DaytonMetroLibrary.org or call 937-463-BOOK.
“Smokey and the Bandit,” the madcap, beersmuggling high speed chase across the deep South, is marking its 40th anniversary and is being shown at theaters nationwide as part of Fathom Events yearlong Turner Classic Movies Big Screen Classics Series. Screenings are at 2 and 7 p.m. today, Sunday, May 21 and Wednesday, May 24.
Starring are Burt Reynolds as The Bandit, Jerry Reed as Snowman and Sally Field as Frog. The film was the second highest grossing film in 1977. Among the theaters showing it are Dayton South 16 and Huber Heights 16.
Tickets are available at FathomEvents.com or at participating theater box offices.
When Hara Arena closed in the summer of 2016, the Friends of the Dayton Metro Library lost the longstanding home of their semi-annual book sales. Finding a new location was difficult, and the Fall 2016 sale had to be cancelled.
Now Book Sale is back! The Friends of the Library Book Sale will take place from 4-8 p.m. on Friday, June 2 and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 3 at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds, 1043 S. Main St.
The big news is that everything is $1. That includes books, DVDs, CDs, Books on CD. Admission and parking are free. All proceeds benefit the Friends of the Dayton Metro Library. For more information, visit DaytonMetroLibrary.org/Friends or call 937-463-BOOK.