Shoot the Moon Theater Company has earned a reputation for out-of-the-box presentations during its four years as the company-in-residence at the Hooker Dunham Theater, but the next project may be their boldest yet.
White Rabbit Red Rabbit is an internationally acclaimed one-person play by Nassim Soleimanpour with very rigid guidelines for how it can be performed.
The first one is that the actor is not allowed to read the script until they open the sealed copy waiting for them on stage.
What's more, the same actor is not allowed to perform the piece more than once.
The Brattleboro Museum & Art Center recently received a $3,000 grant from the Vermont Community Foundation's Spark! Connecting Community grant program. The grant will help fund art and music instruction for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers in 15 Head Start programs around Windham County. “We're deeply grateful to the Vermont...
DemoGraphix, a youth-led business-to-business screen-printing company in Brattleboro that was established by Youth Services earlier this year, has opened its doors for sales. During the past six months, the employees, ages 12-24, have selected a name, designed a logo, trained on the screen printing equipment, and established policies and...
Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music present an evening with folksinger, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, storyteller, activist, and author John McCutcheon at Next Stage on Friday, Sept. 13, at 7:30 p.m. Folk icon Pete Seeger once called McCutcheon “not only one of the best musicians in the USA ... he is committed to helping hard-working people everywhere to organize and push this world in a better direction.” McCutcheon is a master of a dozen different traditional instruments, most notably the rare...
The 37th annual Marlboro Community Fair is Saturday, Sept. 28. Attendees can look forward to food, music, activities, and community spirit that all exemplify this beloved fair. The fair opens at 10 a.m. with the rousing music of the Ill Wind Ensemble, who will once again lead fairgoers in procession onto the fairgrounds in grand style. There will be live music all day on the stage (emceed by Andy Reichsman), breakfast, lunch, a corn roast, baked goods that will be...
In early 2017, a group of Vernon residents organized a Vermont nonprofit corporation called Friends of Vernon Center, Inc. to help envision, plan, and promote the establishment of a village center in Vernon for the benefit of the town's residents and visitors. Since then, the Friends of Vernon Center has worked in cooperation with the town's Planning Commission and Selectboard to make that village center a reality. The organization recently announced that the IRS has determined that the Friends of...
Starting this month, Grace Cottage will offer wellness classes for a range of levels and preferences. Class choices are yoga, tai chi, and Strong Bones. Class fees are subsidized by the healthcare center. They range in price from free to $5 per class. On Tuesdays, from 4:30 to 6 p.m., Grace Cottage offers yoga in the Viniyoga tradition. Participants will build strength, balance, and endurance as they move through basic postures with coordinated breath work. Gentle music and centering meditation...
An evening of community contra and square dances will take place at the Evening Star Grange in Dummerston Center on Saturday, Sept. 14, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. The dance is a benefit for Families First, a local nonprofit organization that serves adults and children in our community who have special needs. Enjoy an evening of contras while supporting a highly worthwhile cause. Founded in 1996, Families First serves nearly 100 families by providing services that promote independent living, enhance...
Food justice advocate leads workshop on 'Farming While Black' BRATTLEBORO - On Thursday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m., spoken word artist Amani Olugbala will present “Farming While Black: Uprooting Racism, Seeding Sovereignty” in the Sanctuary of Epsilon Spires, a new arts organization housed in the historic First Baptist Church at 190 Main St. Olugbala is part of the agricultural organization Soul Fire Farm, located on 72 acres in Grafton, N.Y. In addition to running a sliding-scale CSA for over 100...
Local author Ann Braden will discuss her book The Benefits of Being an Octopus on Monday, Sept. 16, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., in the Main Reading Room at Brooks Memorial Library as part of the “Let's Read 2019” community reading initiative. The Benefits of Being an Octopus, published in the fall of 2018, is the powerful story of a young girl finding her courage and voice in the face of poverty, bullying, and a challenging home life. It was...
College news • Tyler S. Clement of Vernon has been named to the President's List at Western New England University in Springfield, Mass., for the spring 2019 semester. Clement is working toward a BSE in electrical engineering. • Cassidy Santorelli of Bellows Falls, a student at Fairleigh Dickinson University's Florham Campus in Madison, N.J., has been named to the Honors List for the spring 2019 semester. Transitions • Stevens & Associates (S&A) congratulates Benjamin Harwood, PE for earning his license...
A quartet of world-class cellists once again will bring the Vermont hills alive with the sound of music when they gather at the Guilford Center Meeting House in what has come to be a much-anticipated gala concert enjoyed by music lovers from all over the region. Elizabeth Tuma, Peter Wiley, Theodore Mook, and local resident Judith Serkin will perform duets, trios, and quartets spanning the centuries from Palestrina and Bach to Kodaly and Arvo Pärt in the historic meeting house,
“Celebrating Toni: A Memorial in Her Own Words,” an event celebrating the life of Toni Morrison through words and music, will take place at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14, at 118 Elliot, across from the fire station. The event was hatched spontaneously after the announcement of Morrison's death Aug. 6, which was met with an outpouring of tributes and responses, especially on social media. Amid many tributes, Desmond Peeples, writer and founder/editor of Mount Island, shared a post mourning...
The opening concert in Marlboro's Music for a Sunday Afternoon series for 2019-20 features acclaimed chamber musicians Paul Cohen (cello) and Sally Pinkas (piano) on Sunday, Sept. 15. The concert starts at 3 p.m. in Ragle Hall, Serkin Center for the Performing Arts, and is free and open to the public. Cohen and Pinkas will present a program of Schumann, Rachmaninoff, and a J.S. Bach suite with Five Inserts for Solo Cello by Matan Rubinstein, Marlboro faculty member. Rubinstein describes...
To Kenneth Scipione, and every man who thinks like you do: Have you ever talked with women about their abortion/rape/incest experiences - and by “talked with,” I mean “listened to and empathized with”? (If you're not quite clear on what “empathy” means, there's a wonderful Sesame Street skit with Mark Ruffalo on YouTube that explains it well.) Because you wouldn't dismiss the impact of abortion so blithely if you had any clue what it's like: physically painful, emotionally grueling. It...
Canal Street Art Gallery presents “A World Suspended in Color,” the gallery's second annual fine art glass showcase. It opens Sept. 13, and is on view to the public through Nov. 9. The exhibit shares a collection showcasing the diverse and dynamic range of glass art from the region's many nationally renowned, awarded, and multi-talented glass artists. This year the show includes members of both the Vermont Glass Guild and the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, with artwork by Clare...
In response to ongoing conversations about visible inequity in our downtown, I feel compelled to add my perspective. There is much consternation about the state of our downtown and there has been for a while now. I share that concern and agree that we should be extremely bothered by what we see happening: people camping at the Transportation Center, sleeping outside, suffering from the ravages of addiction. However, my anger is not directed at the people on the street, but...
I watched live online on Aug. 20 as Brattleboro crystalized its decision to invest in sustainability. The Selectboard's vote to create a sustainability coordinator brought a smile to my face as I thought of all the people who have worked for decades to bring the town to this point. Whether it is too little, or too late, or perhaps even too much, only time will tell. A quick look at the position's description shows that the person who steps into...
It is too bad that Kenneth V. Scipione thought he could mansplain Elayne Clift's view of abortion. His letter contains some serious misunderstanding about women's lives. One sentence set me back particularly: “Victims of rape or incest have available to them the ability to prevent pregnancy.” Please tell me, Mr. Scipione, what ability that is. I am a survivor of incest that started when I was 3. Of course, my body prevented pregnancy then, but what about when I turned...
Compassionate Brattleboro endorses, in the interest of compassion, Brattleboro Common Sense's efforts to articulate the Brattleboro area community's longing for, and commitment to, a world that is healthy, fair, and caring for all.
A contribution to the Sept. 4 Letters from Readers column called out U.S. Rep. Peter Welch for not voicing support for impeaching President Donald Trump. Welch, in fact, called for Trump's impeachment on July 18.
In between the voices at the Chamber breakfast on Sept. 5 excited about cannabis' potential financial rewards, Cassandra Holloway asked for a moment of pause. “How many people are concerned about marijuana coming into our community?” she asked. Holloway, the executive director of the Brattleboro Area Prevention Coalition, reminded the audience that cannabis also comes with its share of risks, especially for young people, whose brains, due to a quirk of evolution, are more susceptible to the influence of substances...
Hello and good day to you, residents of lovely Windham County, Vermont! I hope things are well with you. Thankfully for us, Hurricane Dorian exited stage right, but not before destroying parts of the northern Bahamas, and causing a lot of damage in the Carolinas as well as Nova Scotia before being carried away far to our northeast. As far as our local weather, I'm not seeing many rain chances over the next week. Wednesday looks humid and showery, and...
As you may know, there is a Global Strike for Climate happening on Friday, Sept. 20, inspired by the climate activist Greta Thunberg. In the words of the Global Climate Strike organizers: On Sept. 20, just ahead of the United Nations Global Climate Action Summit in New York City, we will be walking out of our schools, our workplaces, and our homes to show our leaders that we will accept nothing less than an immediate transition to clean energy, green...
Sandglass Theater announces the return of its most beloved community event, Puppets in Paradise, on Sept. 14 and 15. This year, they present this biennial fundraiser in partnership with Retreat Farm in Brattleboro. This new partnership is grounded in a shared interest to nurture the relationship between the arts and agriculture in Vermont as a fundamental aspect of local identity. A prominent feature of the Brattleboro landscape for 180 years, Retreat Farm encompasses 500 acres of conserved forests, farmlands, trails,
With a cast ranging in age from 12 to 71, the Main Street Arts musical production of “The Secret Garden” has begun its intensive rehearsal schedule in preparation for opening night at the Bellows Falls Opera House Friday, Oct. 25. “We have a tremendous group of actors, some with years of experience and others just getting their feet wet, but they are all dedicated to making this a great show for our loyal local audience,” said David Stern, the show's...
I'll admit, I had been a little skeptical when I purchased the tickets to Tristan und Isolde earlier in the summer. Wagner is a major undertaking for the largest, most established opera houses in the biggest of cities - what could we possibly expect from a newly formed company (Tundi Productions) based in a town of 12,000 and performing in a jewel-box theatre mostly used for movies? And even though Tristan is relatively modest by Wagnerian standards - five main...
Next Stage Arts Project presents Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens on Saturday, Sept. 14, at 7:30 p.m., returning to Putney after rocking the house for sold-out crowds at their two previous appearances. Formed in 1999, Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens' music is hardcore soul and R&B, with deep roots in gospel. Shelton's husky, expressive voice contains shades of both James Brown and Sam Cooke and, in fact, her bass player is often Fred Thomas, who spent more than...
On a recent Tuesday afternoon, members and staff of the Boys & Girls Club of Brattleboro applauded as a 2019 Toyota Sienna turned the corner of Main and Flat streets and headed for their clubhouse. When it pulled up, Jason Woods of Boys & Girls Clubs of America stepped out and handed the keys, and a folder with the vehicle's title, to BGCB Executive Director Ricky Davidson. The new van had arrived, and with it, according to Davidson, one more...
It doesn't happen often, but both Leland & Gray soccer teams were playing at home, with both games kicking off at the same hour on Sept. 6. The Rebel boys played their home opener on the main field against the Twin Valley Wildcats, and came up short in a 3-1 loss. The Rebel girls played Arlington on the softball field - which has a shorter, narrower set-up than the main field on the baseball diamond -and rolled to an 8-1...
The marijuana industry in Windham County appears ready to grow - if it can overcome some challenges. That's according to panelists who spoke at a Sept. 5 breakfast held by the Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce, where they cited a lack of clear state and federal regulations, a shortage of labor, a shortage of capital, and concerns about the effect of marijuana on youth. The current legalization of marijuana and its products are caught in an odd middle ground as...
I had not been following the Democratic primary race. There are too many candidates for me to sort through, so I've just been waiting until the field narrows down. But then my daughter called from California. “Mom, Beto is going to be at Keene State tomorrow. Will you go? I hope you will,” Asia said. “I've been reading all his policies, and even though I like most of the Democratic candidates, he's the only one that I agree with completely,”
At a meeting Monday, the Windham County Democratic Committee quickly disposed of a resolution calling for new leadership in the state party. Instead, the panel approved the drafting of a letter expressing concern over an alleged embezzlement of party funds and appreciation for actions taken by party leaders to prevent any recurrence. The resolution was drafted by county party chair John Hagen after consultation with other officers in the organization. The meeting was attended by 23 party members, including almost...
Anna Patton will offer a course in ear training (or aural skills, as it's called in music schools) at 118 Eliot Street on Thursday evenings from 5:30 to 7 p.m., Sept. 12 through Nov. 21. The class - which draws on Patton's lifelong fascination with learning and creating music by ear, her studies in the New England Conservatory's Contemporary Improvisation program, and her extensive experience playing folk music, world music, jazz, and other genres - will teach students to better...