All Entries in the "In the Arts" Category
Orlandersmith takes us on her rich journey in ‘Stoop Stories’
By David Lampe-Wilson ©The Chester Telegraph – 2014 While musicals and comedies are the expected bounty of the summer theater season, a brief evening of pointed drama can stimulate the mind, so many summer theatergoers will welcome Stoop Stories, now at Weston Playhouse’s Second Stage. Theater, poetry and performance art meet in Dael Orlandersmith’s onewoman show, […]
Gales of laughter blow through Weston Playhouse in V&S&M&S
By David Lampe-Wilson You would be hard-pressed to find a more stellar evening of summer theater than Weston Playhouse’s hilarious production of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, the Tony Award-winning comedy by Christopher Durang. The play revolves around a trio of eccentric siblings who, having reached middle age, find that they have little […]
Powerful performances elevate ‘Analog and Vinyl’
By David Lampe-Wilson Weston Playhouse kicks off its 78th season with the world premiere of the musical Analog and Vinyl, a meet-cute love story with a dash of demonic doings. And while there is much to recommend it, this new musical plays less like a finished work and more like an upscale workshop. The show’s […]
‘Help Wanted:’ Middle schoolers answer the call of the stage
By Josh Bodin On Thursday and Friday, May 15 and 16, the Green Mountain Middle School presented the play Help Wanted in the auditorium of the Chester high school, giving middle schoolers the opportunity to have a part in a theatrical production without having to compete with high school students. “The play was about a […]
Windsor artists highlighted at Open Studio weekend
Vermont Crafts Council Spring Open Studio offers the Chester Art Loop in Southern Windsor County again this Memorial Day Weekend. Working together to present its varied and talented group of painters and artisans, the 20-mile gang create a beacon to visit Chester and its surrounding towns of Andover, Weston and Ludlow. The studios will be […]
Getting into the act: Area students learn from a Weston star
Students from Killington, Ludlow, Cavendish and Chester descended on the Ludlow Town Hall Auditorium Monday afternoon to begin the first in a series of seven acting classes taught by Weston Playhouse favorite and Broadway actress Susan Haefner, who also lives in Andover. About a dozen children in grades 4 through 6, meeting for the […]
Friends, family rally to keep artist’s memory alive with GMUHS scholarship
By Cynthia Prairie Friends and family of the late Heath Gordon are establishing a memorial scholarship fund for Green Mountain Union High School seniors who are pursuing higher education in either art or music. Gordon, who grew up in Chester with his older sister Wendy and younger brother Sam, was a musician and artist […]
Weston Playhouse expansion site plan gets OK with conditions
By Cynthia Prairie Site plans for the new cultural arts facility of the Weston Playhouse Theatre Co. have been given the go-ahead by the Weston Planning Commission with seven minor conditions for use and one conclusion of law that could force the playhouse to speed up its capital fund-raising campaign. The decision was sent […]
Preparing for Overture; Children’s book raises funds for farmer relief effort
Decking the halls Children’s book raises funds for farmer relief effort Vermont children’s book publishing company, Radiant Hen in Coventry, has published a children’s picture book to benefit the Vermont Farmer Emergency Relief Fund, organized by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont. The book, titled Higher Ground is about Tropical Storm Irene and its […]
Comedic ‘Shakespeare on the Green’ at GMUHS this weekend
The Green Mountain Union High School Drama Department will present Shakespeare on the Green at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 15 and Saturday, Nov. 16 in the GMUHS auditorium, 716 VT Rt. 103 S. in Chester. Shakespeare on the Green, written by Amanda Petefish-Schrag and Ben Schrag, includes portions of five of Shakespeare’s most […]
Weston Playhouse hires interim managing director, capital campaign chief
Two new staff members have joined the Weston Playhouse Theatre Company. The playhouse had hired Arts Consulting Group Inc. of New York City to provide transition management services while it undertakes a national search for a new managing director. That position was left vacant with the departure of Stuart Duke after 17 years […]
3rd annual Rotary Cabaret a singular sensation
A s dinner winds down, the spotlight comes up and the third annual Chester Rotary Cabaret is under way. Students from Green Mountain Union High School’s drama and music departments entertained an enthusiastic crowd of diners on Saturday, Oct. 26 at the Newsbank Conference Center. The performances were proceeded by a dinner prepared by […]
With an artist’s eye: A close look at the Biker Tattoo and tattoos
Iron Adventure Run Tattoo In the military, a tattoo can be any display or show, a parade. In everyday life, a tattoo is a design inked on skin. On Saturday, Aug. 24, Chester played host to the Iron Adventure Run Tattoo, which saw hundreds of motorcyclists and their rides roll into town. At the same […]
Playhouse gets zoning board OK; Duke leaves WPTC
By Cynthia Prairie The Weston Zoning Board of Adjustment has granted the Weston Playhouse Theatre Company a conditional use permit to build a new theater complete with parking spaces, driveway and landscaping on the 5-acre Walker Farm property at the corner of Route 100 and Chester Mountain Road in Weston. ON THE COVER: Architect Jim […]
Playhouse plans for year-round performances with Walker Farm expansion
By Cynthia Prairie The Weston Playhouse Theatre Company is planning to expand its theatrical offerings to year-round with a new cultural center at the 4.9 acre Walker Farm, just north of its Weston Green main stage. The company, which attracts audiences from throughout the northeast, currently stages shows from late spring to early fall, offering […]
It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird, and a shame to miss this ‘Mockingbird,’ now at the Weston Playhouse
By Karen Zuppinger There are few things more Southern than sweet tea, molasses on hot buttermilk biscuits or Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Arguably one of the most influential novels of the 20th century, and one of the best film adaptations of all time, what could a stage production offer that the book and […]
Chester’s Cheyenne Prescott places 2nd in 10th Keene Idol
By Karen Zuppinger KEENE, N.H. Seventeen year old Chester resident Cheyenne Prescott is this year’s 2nd place winner of the 10th annual Keene Idol singing competition. Bested only by industry vet and former “The Voice” contestant, Michelle Brooks-Thompson, Prescott’s vocals and stage presence stood out on a night when all seven finalists brought their A […]
Two Southern VT arts centers get Rural Development grants
USDA Rural Development has awarded Community Facility grants to two Brattleboro non-profits: New England Center for Circus Arts Inc. and Latchis Arts Inc. “USDA is pleased to support the Brattleboro arts community and creative economy that is serving as an economic engine to inspire innovation, create jobs and re-energize the community,” said David Robinson, acting […]
Tapping Into Local Talent: Southern VT youths light up Weston stage
By David Lampe-Wilson The theater is often referred to as “the fabulous invalid.” But it hangs on through an ongoing infusion of new audiences and new artists. What keeps theater alive and kicking – at least in Weston, VT – is its closeness to the community, says Steve Stettler, a producing director with Weston Playhouse. […]
Nine Junker Studio works dress up Sculpture Walk at Guilford Welcome Center
Nine metal sculptures from Junker Studio of Chester are on display at the Guilford Welcome Center, Vermont’s main visitor center that has played host to almost 5 million visitors since 2006. The nine pieces include Woodstock, Payne and Elise Junker’s life-sized and brightly painted moose, which usually stands on the front lawn of their Gallery […]
