Exhibits, galleries, theater and more: Seacoast arts and culture news
The Art Center Presents: Shadow & Light
DOVER — The Award-Winning Art Center in Dover, N.h., is hosting an exhibit during the months of January and February called Shadow & Light, featuring the work of Barrington artist Diane St. Jean.
Diane is a printmaker exploring collagraph prints and letterpress. Her collagraph prints are intimate and mysterious. Despite the care and patience required by the process, there is also the element of surprise. It is impossible to know exactly what a print will look like until the inked plate is run through the etching press under heavy pressure on dampened paper. Diane describes this unpredictability as “magic.” Regarding her process she says, “For my collagraph plates, I use recycled or found objects combined with acrylic gloss varnish or matte medium. I often use food packaging material, such as milk cartons, for the plates, and I’ll add bits of paper, foil, or mica.”
Diane’s letterpress work is focused on social justice issues. She enjoys collecting antique wood type and says, “I still believe in the power of the printed word, and the physical process of creating a message with wood type on a vintage press is very satisfying.”
The Art Center’s online gallery of Diane St. Jean’s work can be viewed at https://www.theartcenteronlinegallery.com/diane-st-jean.
Shadow & Light will be on display through February with a reception on Saturday, Feb. 11 from 6 to 9 p.m. in conjunction with the artists reception for The Art Center’s Worldwide Printmaking Exhibition. The public is invited to attend.
Please visit the Art Center located at 1 Washington St., Dover, NH, Suite 1177. Gallery hours are Monday - Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visit www.theartcenterdover.com or call 603-978-6702 for more information.
Soggy Po’ Boys and Say Darling perform at 3S Artspace
PORTSMOUTH — The Seacoast’s own Soggy Po’ Boys will join Boston-based blues-rock band Say Darling on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 8 p.m. at 3S Artspace, 319 Vaughan St., Portsmouth, N.H. This evening of wide-ranging roots music is open to all ages and will appeal to fans of New Orleans jazz, vintage rock, and everything in-between.
Blending distinctive original songs with classic tunes that pay homage to a shared musical heritage, Say Darling evokes the funky drive of Little Feat, the moving vocals of Bonnie Raitt and the instrumental prowess of the Tedeschi-Trucks Band. Grammy-Nominated singer and songwriter Celia Woodsmith – of the acclaimed bluegrass band Della Mae – and critically lauded guitarist Chris Hersch formerly of the alt. country rock band Girls Guns & Glory lead this 'lethal combination of all-star musicians'(Manchester Ink) from the New England roots rock scene.The quintet can go from pin-drop silence to a cascading roar in the span of one song, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats.
The Soggy Po’ Boys serve their jazz messy, mixing brass-fueled mayhem with spirituals, Meters-style old-school funk, and the Caribbean side of the New Orleans tradition. Now in their 10th year as one of New England’s most unique and in-demand groups, you will no doubt hear the heavy influence of the New Orleans sound across the band and in the stories told by their original tunes. Despite the scope of its sound, the outfit is only seven people, and thrives on the interplay and group dynamics that bring this music to life.
This is an all-ages event and is partially seated. Tickets can be purchased for $20 at www.eventbrite.com.
Pontine Theatre presents guest artist, Tannis Kowalchuk
PORTSMOUTH — Pontine Theatre presents guest artist, Tannis Kowalchuk, Feb. 3 to Feb. 5, performing an original one-woman show, Decompositions, at Pontine’s 1845 Plains Schoolhouse Theatre, located at #1 Plains Avenue in Portsmouth, N.H. Tickets may be purchased online at www.pontine.org. Performances are scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Free parking is available onsite.
In the original song-filled, multi-media production, Decompositions, Tannis Kowalchuk performs monologues and stories exploring the composting process as a metaphor for life. The one-woman show opens with a compost pile set center stage, as Tannis invokes an entry to the action with excerpts from a Gertrude Stein essay, Composition as Explanation. The play features personal stories, each describing a step in the process of decomposition...germination, rot, phosphorescence...Decompositions explores questions that arise in mid-life.
Theatre artist, flower farmer, and co-owner of Willow Wisp Organic Farm, Tannis has directed and performed in over 30 original productions in the US and Canada. Current projects include the annual Dream on the Farm, Stone Soup Cooking Class, Shakespeare on the Farm, and Decompositions. Prior to founding Farm Arts Collective, she was a founding co-artistic director of NACL Theatre with whom she created The Weather Project and Courage.
Sole City Dance presents ‘Dance Northeast’
ROCHESTER — Sole City Dance is excited to bring back Dance Northeast, our annual community dance showcase. Delight in the joy and artistry of dance when Sole City Dance and the Rochester Opera House join together to showcase talented dancers from companies and dance education centers around the region. The celebration presents an afternoon performance with junior companies and up-and-coming student choreographers. The show is filled with colorful, energetic performances of innovative, diverse choreography by some of the region’s finest young dancers. The evening performance features senior and pre-professional companies.
Join us at the Sole City Dance studios on Sunday, March 12, for a day of Master Classes for dancers beginner up through intermediate. Check out the Dance Northeast page on our website https://www.solecitydance.org/dance-northeast-2023 for more details and registration. You don’t want to miss this annual celebration of dance!.
Tickets for the show Saturday, March 11, at the Rochester Opera House, can be purchased by calling the box office at 603-335-1992 or by visiting https://1908.na.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/14508. Cost is $10. Cost for the 2 p.m. show is $10 and for the 7 p.m. show cost is $16 for adults and $12 for students and seniors.
Sole City Dance presents ‘Treasure Island’
ROCHESTER — What could pirates and ballet possibly have in common? Answer: a great story. See for yourself how Sole City Dance's adaption of "Treasure Island", replete with intrigue and romance, mermaids and treasure, as well as a cast of memorable characters, brings beauty and artistry to Stevenson's beloved adventure tale. With Sole City's characteristic attention to detail and theme, the story becomes more than a race for treasure. The ballet features characters learning to "treasure" the most important things in life.
Shows will be held Friday, April 14, at 7 p.m. and April 15, at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. All tickets $15. Tickets for the show at the Rochester Opera House can be purchased by calling the box office at 603-335-1992 or by visiting https://1908.na.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/12495.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Exhibits, galleries, theater and more: Seacoast arts and culture news
