MAINE MASTERS WEEKEND AT STONINGTON OPERA HOUSE
Including premiere of film biography of artist Stephen Pace, with the artist present
STONINGTON – Opera House Arts (OHA) has scheduled a “Maine Masters Weekend” August 21-24. “Maine Masters Weekend” will feature a unique, pre-recording concert by acclaimed pianist and “Maine Master” Paul Sullivan and his new jazz ensemble (see separate release, distributed August 1); as well as an opportunity to see the complete Maine Masters Film Series, including the premiere of a new film on Stephen Pace on Sunday, August 24 at 7 p.m. Pace, who with his wife Pamela was until recently a seasonal resident of Stonington, is scheduled to appear at the Sunday evening premiere.
Painter Stephen Pace, profiled in the premiere of a new film in the Maine Masters Series, with his wife Pamela at their Stonington home. The series will screen in its entirety August 21-24 at the Stonington Opera House. Photo courtesy Kane-Lewis Productions.
The Maine Masters Film Series, filmed by Kane-Lewis Productions of Sedgwick and produced by the Union of Maine Visual Artists (UMVA), documents some of Maine’s most accomplished and acclaimed visual artists through interviews in their studios on their lives and work.
“I have long focused on ordinary people, or lesser-known people doing extraordinary things,” filmmaker Richard Kane said in a recent interview with NewEnglandFilm.com regarding his involvement with the series. “I might have a larger audience if I’d chose a subject like Bob Dylan, but I’m attracted to what is common and finding the beauty and truth in that.”
The schedule for the film screenings is as follows:
The three Sunday films, including the Stephen Pace premiere, include soundtracks composed by Paul Sullivan.
The series was conceived by two principle members of the UMVA: Brooksville’s Rob Shetterly, a painter and dedicated political activist known for his series Americans Who Tell the Truth; and Deb Vendetti, an arts educator and filmmaker, formerly with the Farnsworth Museum. The Maine Masters Project is produced by UMVA and funded in part by grants through the Maine Community Foundation, particularly the Marshall Dodge Foundation, Brimstone and the Belvedere Fund, including some generous individual contributions. For more information on the series, contact Robert Shetterly at 207-326-8459.
The 1912 Stonington Opera House, on the National Register of Historic Places, is open year round. Opera House Arts (OHA), a 501 C 3 community nonprofit organization, produces original, live performance events and films that celebrate and extend Maine’s cultural legacy; and that integrate professional performers with community members. OHA also screens first run and independent movies; hosts special community events and dances; and runs performance and community leadership-building programs for teens and adults. For a full schedule of events and more information, please go to www.operahousearts.org.