Dave Read

Jacob’s Pillow has partnered with FORA.tv to present a selection of videos from PillowTalks, the moderated discussions with choreographers, performers, historians, filmmakers, and experts in the arts and related fields that are a popular feature of Jacob’s Pillow’s summer performance schedule. Included excerpts and full-length talks with legendary dance photographer Lois Greenfield, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and cartoonist Jules Feiffer, Artistic Director of Dance Theatre of Harlem Virginia Johnson, noted art historian Richard Kendall, and leading fair use legal expert Peter Jaszi.

The Pillow’s distribution partner, FORA.tv, is an online video forum that boasts one of the world’s largest video collections from talks, lectures, debates, think tanks, and conferences. FORA.tv was a named one of TIME.com’s “Best 50 Websites of 2009.” Jacob’s Pillow joins other prestigious content partners including The Asia Society, C-SPAN, The Brookings Institution, Harvard University, The New York Public Library, Georgetown University, and the World Affairs Council.

“Our PillowTalks help audience members, from novice to aficionado, gain insight into dance and related topics. We’re delighted we can now share highlights of these events with a much wider audience,” comments Connie Chin, Jacob’s Pillow General Manager and director of the Virtual Pillow initiative. “The selections now available on FORA.tv have been carefully chosen to reach individuals with a variety of interests, not just dance lovers. We want to draw as many people as possible into the conversation and offer them our most stimulating content.”

On the schedule at Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, Mass. are a series of Shaker Suppers to be served on October 9 and 10 at 5:30pm and November 6 and 27 at 4:00pm. The Suppers are served in the Village’s 1830 Brick Dwelling, which was home to 100 Shaker Brethren and Sisters in the late 19th century. Today, it houses the bulk of the National Historic Landmark’s collection of Shaker furniture and objects.

A private tour begins the evening, as guides in Shaker garb lead guests through the Village work areas and living quarters and provide insights into Shaker life. Dinner begins in the Brick Dwelling’s kitchen with cider and cheese, and moves into the Believers’ Dining Room, where courses are served by candlelight, on tables accented with flowers grown at the Village.

The menu varies for each dinner, but always features fresh herbs and vegetables from the Village garden prepared by Chef Michael Roller, formerly of the luxury resort Blantyre in Lenox, MA. A variety of soups, entrees, accompaniments, and desserts are served buffet style to offer a wide variety of Shaker flavors.

Sample Menu:

Cheddar Cheese, Crackers, and Apple Cider
Eldress Clymena’s Tomato Soup
Village Garden Salad with Herb Vinaigrette
Featuring Seasonal Produce from the Village Gardens
Roasted Loin of Pork with Mushroom Sauce
Chicken Pot Pie
Potato Pie with Buttered Crumb Top
Savory Rice
Sweet Garden Peas
Glazed Carrots with Herbs
Apple Cake with Whipped Cream and Cooked Cider
Dinner Rolls
Lemon Water and Coffee

The majority of the items served at Shaker Suppers are included in the cookbook The Best of Shaker Cooking by Amy Bess Miller. A vegetarian entree is available by advance request. Families and friends are seated together at communal tables to enjoy this unique meal. Many have made the Shaker Suppers a fall family tradition.

Following the meal, a 20-minute program of a cappella Shaker music completes the evening.

The Shaker Suppers cost $65 per person or $60 for members of Hancock Shaker Village. This price includes the entire evening’s program: guided tour, reception, dinner, and music program. Reservations are required; for more information, visit www.hancockshakervillage.org or call 413.443.0188 x213.

Berkshire Theatre Festival, in Stockbridge, Mass., schedules No Wake for a fall run starting Sept. 30, 2010 and running through Oct. 24. No Wake was written by William Donnelly; directed by Kyle Fabel; cast: David Adkins, James Lloyd Reynolds, Jurian Hughes.

Performances are Thursday through Saturday at 7pm and Saturday and Sunday at 2pm in the Unicorn Theatre. Tickets are $39 and can purchased online or by calling the Berkshire Theatre Festival box office at 413-298-5576.

Berkshire Theatre Festival in Stockbridge, Mass. schedules auditions for its December 2010 production of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, adapted by Eric Hill and co-directed by Hill and E. Gray Simons III, which will run December 11 – 30 at the Unicorn Theatre. Auditions will take place Wednesday, October 13th from 6 pm – 9 pm at Berkshire Theatre Festival’s Unicorn Theatre, located on Route 7. Auditioners will need to prepare one short Christmas carol to sing and will be asked to read from the play.

Berkshire Theatre Festival is seeking boys and girls between 3rd grade and 12th grade to fill the roles of Belle, Turkey Boy, Fan, Belle’s Daughter, Villagers, Cratchit Children and Tiny Tim. Auditions are by appointment only. To schedule, please call Liz Zieminski at 413-298-5536 ext. 18.

Rehearsals for A Christmas Carol will begin on Saturday, November 27th and will be held after school, evenings and weekends. The production runs Saturday and Sunday at 2pm and 7pm from December 11-12, Friday at 7pm and Saturday and Sunday at 2pm and 7pm from December 17-19; Tuesday through Thursday at 7pm for December 21-23 and Sunday at 2pm and 7pm and Sunday through Thursday 7pm performances for December 26-30. There will be no performances on December 15, 20, 24 or 25. Additional 10am student matinees are scheduled for December 13, 14, 16, and 21. All performances will take place at the BTF Unicorn Theatre in Stockbridge.