Local theater company Venture Shakespeare will present Hamlet: A Play in 100 Minutes on the lawn at Kenilworth Presbyterian Church on Friday, Aug. 9, and Saturday, Aug. 10, at 7 p.m.
The ensemble production will remain faithful to Shakespeare’s text, though it has been abbreviated by Kirstin Daniel, Venture’s creative director, to fit into 90 minutes. “I think it’s interesting that we ended up choosing Hamlet,” Daniel says. “It’s important, you know, uncovering what the play is for us at this moment. I’m excited to see what that sort of artistic conversation will be like with our audience.”
Daniel will share the stage with performers Ashleigh Stochel, Casey Morris, Lindy Booth, Lochlan Angle, Lori Evans and Lucius Robinson.
Vendors will offer locally made cutting boards and paintings at each performance, and cupcakes will be available for sale. Live music will precede each show, starting at 6 p.m.
Venture Shakespeare also provides education for local aspiring theater artists. Each year, apprentices receive training from professional actors free of charge. The apprenticeship culminates in creating and performing a play with the company.
“The apprenticeship is aimed at college-aged students,” says Daniel. “We are rehearsing and teaching at the same time, moving away from thinking of ‘director as auteur’ and instead finding ways for every student to unpack the text, find their own connection to it and hone their growing skills as an agent of their own learning and career. I think now more than ever, being in a creative community is important to human survival.”
The outdoor shows are free to the public, though donations are appreciated. In the case of inclement weather, the play will be moved indoors to the sanctuary. All ages are welcome, but Venture asks that dogs remain at home.
Kenilworth Presbyterian Church is at 123 Kenilworth Road. For information, visit avl.mx/dzp.
Author event at Citizen Vinyl
Malaprop’s Bookstore & Café will present a conversation between nationally acclaimed authors John Vercher and Jason Mott at Citizen Vinyl on Sunday, Aug. 11, at 7 p.m.
Mott is an associate professor at UNC Wilmington. His debut novel, The Returned, was made into a TV series that ran for two seasons. His most recent novel, Hell of a Book, won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2021. In 2024, he was selected as a National Endowment of the Arts Creative Writing Fellow.
Vercher serves as an assistant teaching professor in the Department of English and Philosophy at Drexel University and was the inaugural Wilma Dykeman writer-in-residence at UNC Asheville. His debut novel, Three-Fifths, was named one of the best books of the year by both the Chicago Tribune and Booklist. His second novel, After the Lights Go Out, was named a Best Book of Summer 2022 by BookRiot and Publishers Weekly and a Booklist Editor’s Choice Best Book of 2022.
The event is free, and doors open at 6 p.m. Reservations are required.
Citizen Vinyl is at 14 O. Henry Ave. For information, visit avl.mx/dzq.
Puppet festival at Warren Wilson
Warren Wilson College will host Puppet Paradise, a puppetry retreat, Thursday, Aug. 8-Sunday, Aug. 11.
Puppet Paradise, the official festival of the Southeast Regional Puppeteers of America, will include a variety of shows and workshops. Lee Bryan (aka That Puppet Guy) will lead a discussion titled “Art of the Business: Organizing and Creating a Better Puppet Business,” offering tips on finding and organizing bookings, marketing and more. Jacqueline Wade will lead the workshop “BIPOC Bodies in White Spaces in Puppetry and Beyond,” which will incorporate shadow puppetry. Aretta Baumgartner will host a Puppetry 101 workshop.
Performing puppeteers also include Quintron & Miss Pussycat, The Wham, Bam! Puppet Slam, Toiley T. Paper, Street Creature Puppet Collective, Shadow Girls Cult, Edwin Salas, Rabbit Foot Puppetry and Puppet Pants Productions.
The puppet slam will take place at Warren Wilson’s outdoor pavilion, and the mainstage performances will take place in the Kittredge Theater.
Warren Wilson College is at 701 Warren Wilson Road. For information, visit avl.mx/dzr.
Blue Ridge Public Radio changes format
At midnight Aug. 5, Blue Ridge Public Radio divided its programming into two distinct listening choices: BPR music and BPR news.
The new format, called BPR Classic’s Key Change, is aimed at making it easier for listeners to find the programming they are looking for. Both broadcasts will still be found on the same frequencies.
BPR Classic’s music station will now feature classical music from 4 a.m.-10 p.m., with late-night traditional and contemporary jazz from 10 p.m.-4 a.m. Weekend programming will be refreshed with six new programs.
On Saturday from 5-6 p.m., “From the Top with Peter Dugan” will feature live performances by young and classically trained musicians from across the country. From 8-10 p.m., host Frank Dominguez will present “Concierto,” with music in Spanish and English by both Spanish and Latin American composers. From 10-11 p.m., “Latin Perspective” will play contemporary and classic Afro-Latin and Latin jazz music. Sunday kicks off with “Sunday Baroque,” 7-11 a.m., featuring classics from the Baroque era. In the evening, “Modern Notebook” will run from 8-10 p.m., with host Tyler Kline presenting new releases from contemporary classical artists. Finally, jazz musician Christain McBride will present live jazz in “Jazz Night in America” from 10-11 p.m.
BPR News will feature all NPR hourly newscasts as well as the signature NPR lineups throughout the week and weekend.
For the full lineup, visit avl.mx/dzs.
Artist Support Grant accepting applications
ArtsAVL is accepting applications for the N.C. Arts Council’s Artist Support Grant until Tuesday, Sept. 3.
The regional grant is open to artists across all disciplines who reside in Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Polk, Rutherford and Transylvania counties. Grantees will be awarded $500 to $3,000 in categories including visual arts, literary arts, film, music, choreography, interdisciplinary arts and more. Applicants may be individuals or collaborating artists at any stage of their career.
Grant money may be used to create new work, improve business operations or reach new audiences. Past awardees have used funds from the grant to secure materials and equipment, cover travel costs to exhibitions and conferences and attend professional development courses. Last year, $44,000 was distributed to 21 regional artists that spanned disciplines such as ceramics, filmmaking, fiber arts, acting, metalpoint and dance, according to a press release.
The N.C. Arts Council created the Artist Support Grant in 2020 in response to the economic struggles of artists during the COVID-19 pandemic. Grant cycles are organized by 19 regional councils. Region 17 is composed of ArtsAVL, the Haywood County Arts Council, the Arts Council of Henderson County, the Rutherford County Arts Council, the Transylvania Community Arts Council and the Tryon Fine Arts Center.
For information, visit avl.mx/cns.
Wood-based folk art reception
American Folk Art & Framing will host an opening reception for the show Against the Grain on Friday, Aug. 9, 5-8 p.m.
The show features the work of Doug Frati and Kent Ambler, two artists who use wood as their primary material. Ambler makes woodblock prints, and Frati makes low relief carvings. This exhibition will include woodblock prints and relief carvings, as well as carved headboards, chests and abstract woodblock assemblages. “I have made these sculptural wall pieces by cutting up my old woodblocks and reassembling them into quiltlike pieces,” says Ambler. “This is the first time in four years that I’ve made the block constructs, so I’m excited to see how well they are received.”
Ambler lives just outside of Greenville, S.C., and has been making woodblock prints since studying at Ball State University in Indiana. Frati is a Maine native who works with old wood salvaged from antique objects, often scrapped from barns and attics.
Frati and Ambler will both be available during the reception. The event is free, and complimentary refreshments will be provided.
American Folk Art & Framing is at 64 Biltmore Ave. For information, visit avl.mx/dzt.
Warren Wilson history reframed
The Black Mountain Public Library will host a discussion about Warren Wilson College’s history on Thursday, Aug. 8, 6-7:15 p.m.
The discussion is part of The Swannanoa Valley Museum’s “This Is Home: Western North Carolina Past and Present” monthly lecture series. Jeff Keith, a professor in Warren Wilson’s Global Studies and History department, will discuss the college’s 130-year history within the Swannanoa Valley.
Keith is currently writing the first of a three-volume historical exploration of Warren Wilson, titled A People’s History of Warren Wilson, which examines the environmental, cultural and sociohistorical conventions of the school. The first book, The Valley Remembers, will explore stories of the Swannanoa region in the context of the college’s founding. The project is funded by a Grant for Reframing the Institutional Saga, awarded to Warren Wilson by the Council of Independent Colleges in 2021.
The event will take place in Black Mountain Public Library’s Education Room. General admission is $10.
Black Mountain Public Library is at 105 N. Doherty St. For information, visit avl.mx/b99.
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