ALL TICKETS NOW ON SALE: OPERA HOUSE ARTS’ 14TH SUMMER SEASON AT THE STONINGTON OPERA HOUSE AND BURNT COVE CHURCH

BE SURE TO DOWNLOAD THE UPCOMING SCHEDULE, PLEASE CLICK HERE

Opera House Arts (OHA) launches into spring with a full lineup of live music and theater beginning Memorial Day weekend with a special concert featuring rock singersongwriter Valerie Orth and the island’s own Mike Billings. The Sunday, May 26 concert drives a highly diverse 14th summer season for OHA, one that includes stunningly original theatrical and dance interpretations of New England artists including Edna St. Vincent Millay and Edward Hopper, and ranges from some of North America’s best indy music to the returns of soprano Suzanne Nance and jazz pianist Fred Hersch and a series of both traditional and contemporary classical music at the Burnt Cove Church. All tickets are on sale as of Monday, April 29, 2013 at the Opera House box office, corner of Main and School Streets in downtown Stonington or here.

“OHA’s focus is on making new theater, right here in Maine—we don’t import shows ready-made,” said Executive Director Linda Nelson. “Even a classic such as Shakespeare’s Cymbeline, in July, is a production we create, with our own distinctive take and original musical score, here in Stonington.”

Responding to audience input, in addition to live theater and dance OHA is offering a greater number of concerts over the next six months than in previous seasons. Following closely on Orth, described as “soulful, genuine, and edgy” by the San Francisco Bay Guardian, is Gypsophilia, the young, seven piece Django Reinhardt-inspired ensemble from Halifax, Canada known for their killer live shows. June’s P.S., I Love Music, hosted by Grammy winning pianist Paul Sullivan, will feature Maine’s most effervescent soprano and MPBN radio host and music director Suzanne Nance, who wowed island audiences in 2012 with her sold out opening show at OHA’s Burnt Cove Church venue. And anchoring August is the legendary Jonathan Edwards on August 24

“OHA is also bringing a chamber music series to the Burnt Cove Church, highlighted by a solo appearance by violinist Johnny Gandelsman of the Grammy-nominated Brooklyn Rider and featuring the eclectic work of Heidi Powell and Richard Hsu in numerous combinations. Two Opera House favorites— Samba Meets Jazz (July 23) and Guitar Masters (August 11)—provide context for new, up and coming sensations such as indie singer-songwriter Adrien Reju (July 28), Juliet and the Lonesome Rodeos (August 17), and Montana Skies (September 14).

Opera House Arts (OHA) is one of only a handful of year-round theaters in Maine to operate under an Actors Equity Small Professional Theater contract. OHA not only presents but commissions and produces new work from Maine artists. The Opera House, part of the Maine Performs network, has become a noted destination for performance in Maine. Showing movies nearly continuously since 1918, the Opera House converted to true digital cinema in March 2013 and is open 52 weeks a year with a full schedule of film and exciting original events unlike the schedule of any other theater in Maine.

ISLAND ARTS CAMP REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

Opera House Arts (OHA), the Reach Performing Arts Center, and Seamark Community Arts are proud to announce that registration is now open for the 11th Annual Island Arts Camp, to be held July 8-12, 2013 at the Reach Performing Arts Center and the Deer Isle-Stonington Elementary School. Campers pre-registering by June 10 can take advantage of special discounted registration fees. Registration is limited to 96 students and can only be assured by payment.

The 2013 Island Arts Camp offers students in grades K-8 a chance to spend five days in one and two hour blocks creating art, performance, dance, and music with professional artists. This year’s featured artists are Sally Davis of Mudd Butts International Theater in Telluride, Colorado; director Jamie Watkins, formerly of Blue Hill and now New York City, and sound designer Mark Van Hare; and artist/craftsman Saskia Rhinholt of Phillips, Maine.

Every child participates in a variety of activities at the Island Arts Camp, giving participants a unique week’s experience across many artistic disciplines. This summer camp is designed for fun and creativity. Each day includes recitals, presentations, and time for outdoor exercise. The campers are divided into 6 groups of 15 students each, roughly on the basis of age and grade level. The day is broken into four blocks with snack and lunch breaks; and, for the camp’s youngest two groups, concludes with a one-hour story, singing, and rest time.

If the camper’s primary residence is in Stonington or Deer Isle, the pre-registration fee is $110 before June 10 and $125 after June 10. If the camper’s primary residence is off island, the pre-registration fee is $175 before June 10 and $200 after June 10.

To register, please download and complete the registration form here and send it along with payment to: Island Arts Camp, Sue Steed, Registrar, 249 N. Deer Isle Rd., Deer Isle, ME 04627. Completed registration forms and payment can also be dropped off for Susan Steed at the Deer Isle-Stonington Elementary school.

VOLUNTEERS WELCOME: SPRING CLEANING AT THE OPERA HOUSE

Join in the fun of restoring and maintaining Stonington’s more than 100-year-old Opera House the next two Saturdays, May 18 from 2 to 5 pm and May 25 from 10 am to 2 pm. Everyone is welcome and needed to keep this landmark building, which has been restored and maintained by more than 100 volunteers, open and functioning year round.

The 1912 Stonington Opera House, on the National Register of Historic Places, had been abandoned to the elements and raccoons until 1999, when the nonprofit organization Opera House Arts was formed to organize the renovation and restoration of the theater to its original role as an anchor for Stonington’s Main Street.

Born into slavery in North Carolina in 1813, Jacobs escaped from the plantation after years of sexual harassment and abuse at the hands of her owner, and having given birth to two children fathered by a white neighbor. She spent almost seven years hiding in a tiny attic crawl space in her grandmother’s house, unable to sit or stand, and eventually becoming permanently physically disabled. In 1842, Jacobs escaped to New York and found work as a nanny in the household of a prominent abolitionist writer, Nathaniel Parker Willis. She was eventually reunited with her children and later joined the antislavery movement, writing her anti-slavery narrative in the sentimental style of the time under the pen name Linda Brent. Its straight forward handling of the treatment of women in slavery has made Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl one of the most acclaimed slave narratives of all time.

Volunteers are encouraged to sign up in advance for two hour shifts, or to show up at the theater during the work sessions. This spring’s tasks include exterior and interior painting, light carpentry, cleaning and gardening.

For more information or to sign up, please call 367-2788 or email info@operahousearts.org—and thanks in advance for supporting this community institution.

LOCAL AUTHOR TO PREVIEW MUSICAL IN DEVELOPMENT

Opera House Arts (OHA) is pleased to announce a staged community reading and sing through, on Wednesday and Thursday, May 22-23, of a work in development by Penobscot’s Bundy H. Boit. Hatty, a play with music in two acts, is based on the life and time of Harriet Jacobs. Jacobs was the author, just before the start of the Civil War in 1861, of Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, the first book to portray the sexualization of women in slavery.

2013, the bicentennial of Jacobs’ birth, is a doubly auspicious year for the further development of Hatty as it is also the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Born into slavery in North Carolina in 1813, Jacobs escaped from the plantation after years of sexual harassment and abuse at the hands of her owner, and having given birth to two children fathered by a white neighbor. She spent almost seven years hiding in a tiny attic crawl space in her grandmother’s house, unable to sit or stand, and eventually becoming permanently physically disabled. In 1842, Jacobs escaped to New York and found work as a nanny in the household of a prominent abolitionist writer, Nathaniel Parker Willis. She was eventually reunited with her children and later joined the antislavery movement, writing her anti-slavery narrative in the sentimental style of the time under the pen name Linda Brent. Its straight forward handling of the treatment of women in slavery has made Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl one of the most acclaimed slave narratives of all time.

Hattie will directed by Opera House Arts’ Artistic Director Judith Jerome, with musical direction by Win Pusey, and feature 11 community members in 15 individual roles, plus chorus. Amy Kaiser of Deer Isle will be featured as Hattie. The cast also includes Marnie Crowell, Rich Howe, Dana Douglass, Heather Wren, Brad Pusey, Dee Miller, Doug Drown, Marvin Merritt, and Sue Bolton.

Earlier versions of the play have been staged by Kevin Brown at the Waldo Theater, Bill Raiten at the New Surry Theatre, and Aynne Ames

Tickets are available at the door the night of the shows. Adults are $8 and Island Students Free.