Arts Auditions for the New Year

Delaware Valley Chorale
The Delaware Valley Chorale and director David Christopher are calling for singers for their mid-season auditions. Join DVC for a performance of the Brahms Requiem. Audition dates are Saturday, January 8, 1:00 to 3:00pm, Sunday, January 9, 2:00 to 4:00pm, and other times by appointment. To schedule your audition, contact Barbara Kidd at 302.234.4866 or bmksop@aol.com. All singers must prepare a solo or an excerpt from a choral piece that demonstrates range and voice quality, and are asked to bring two copies of the audition piece. Singers will also be asked to sight read a simple passage of music (diatonic within a modest range).

See www.delawarevalleychorale.org.

City Theater Company
Open call for the 2011 CTC Community Series, featuring the work of playwright Alex Dremann. Auditions will be held for actors ages 18+ on Monday, January 10 and Wednesday, January 12, from 7:00-9:00pm at OperaDelaware Studios, 4 S. Poplar Street in Wilmington. A prepared monologue is preferred but not required; auditions will also consist of cold reading from the scripts.

See www.city-theater.org.

Newark Holiday Art Markets

Stained glass by Greg Baldwin

On Friday after work, I pulled in to the parking lot near Newark Natural Foods to check out the multiple Christmas art markets on either side of the cooperative.

My first stop was the Newark Arts Alliance. The decorated windows gave a great view of the beautiful and varied items on display: jewelry, weaving, art, ceramics, stained glass, silk clothing and lovely cards. Works by Julie Darrow, Carole Fox, Marian Howard, Karen Hornor, Ingrid Jackoway, Robanne Palmer, Melissa Paquette, Lisa Pilchard, Wendy Shipman, Doortje Shover and Paulette Visceglia are featured in their Holiday Art Market. The site is so small, quiet and full of light which dances through the lovely glass works and shines off the ceramic glazes and luminescent silver jewelry.

Buying a gift from a local artist helps our community thrive economically and -- if you live in the Newark area – this also means you do NOT have to brave the frenzy of I-95 to find something unusual, beautiful and unique. The Newark Arts Alliance will keep this market open until January 2. Not only that, but they are offering free gift wrapping (now that is a deal!) and will have ornament projects for your children to entertain themselves with while you are shopping.

But wait, that was only the first art show in this very spot! Just across the way, Open Studio artists were meeting and greeting visitors to their second annual Christmas art show. It is being held in THE MEADOWS, which is on the west side of Newark Natural Foods. Don’t worry; there are plenty of signs to show you the way.

Greg Baldwin has many varieties of stained glass pieces of all sizes and prices. Ray Briscoe has some humorous woodcarvings of trolls and funny farmers with heads of open pods in the brightest of pea green. Frances Hart has many of her very delicate watercolors of flowers. Susan Schulz’s jewelry is sleek and silvery, with smooth workings to set off delicately polished stones. MCEI’s weaving has intricate detail. She, too, has smaller works like elegant hot pads if your wallet is feeling too puny to buy one of her larger woven pieces. But for me, the highlight of the afternoon was talking to Paula Camenzind as she sipped spiced tea from one of her elegant blue/pink luster cups.

The Open Studio will be open again on Saturday, December 4 from 10 to 5 and Sunday, December 5, from 10 to 5.

See www.newarkartsalliance.org.

An Afternoon with Distant Voices

The young man's words conveyed a range of feelings, from confusion to anger, and, sometimes, momentary happiness. His name was Hiroaki Nishimura, an American citizen interned in the Japanese American Internments camps during World War II. He is also the father of Julie Nishimura, who co-founded Distant Voices Touring Theatre her husband, Danny Peak, who turned Hiroaki's journals into a moving live performance. "Distant Voices" is presented as a reading by Peak with details from newsreels and historical documents read by David Stradley and Michelle Jacob adding context to what was happening. The 15-minute excerpt from the 70-minute piece simply told Hiroaki's firsthand story -- parts of it -- without commentary. It's a powerful piece that begs many questions; and in all presentations of "Distant Voices," whether at a school or library or museum, includes a question and answer session.

At the DVTT Salon on November 21, the discussion was largely centered on anger. Hiroaki's journal entries showed disappointment and resentment, but no anger and little despair. Guest Hiro Nishikawa of the Japanese American Citizens League shared more stories of young interned men revolting, sometimes leading them to harsher, high security camps, and of men -- Americans, remember -- refusing service when their draft numbers came up even though it meant giving up more freedom for prison. Yet many men did serve, even while their families remained in camps. It's easy to see how the discussions can cover days, as it does when DVTT brings the show, along with pre-preparation sessions, to schools.

The second part of the show brought us into the 2000s, with an excerpt from the post 9/11 piece "September Echoes." The full show explores the aftermath of the attacks from several points-of-view; the 15-minute excerpt focused almost exclusively on a young Syrian in Seattle named Nadin. Nadin's family's home was raided by Immigration and Naturalization Services after 9/11 and she and her parents were held for nine months. Her story was taken from a speech she had given, delivered powerfully by Michelle Jacob. There are some obvious parallels between Nadin's and Hiroaki's stories, as well as contrasts.

Distant Voices offers educational programs for middle and high school, including workshops and a 45-minute show. often free of charge. To help fund these educational programs, DVTT will be holding a wine tasting benefit on Sunday, December 19 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm at Deerfield Fine Wines in Newark. The event will include a selection of 25 wines, entertainment, free child care and a discount on wine purchases for a $10 suggested donation. For more information on the benefit or to find out more about the outreach programs, contact Danny Peak at dpeak@udel.edu.