Contributions should be sent to jim.lowe@rutlandherald.com or jim.lowe@timesargus.com at least two weeks in advance.
DiTrani Bros. & Jason Scaggs
PUTNEY — Next Stage Arts and Twilight Music present roots, ragtime and jazz quartet DiTrani Brothers plus Jatoba’s multi-instrumentalist and singer Jason Scaggs at Next Stage at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6.
DiTrani Brothers, by way of bent melodies and driving rhythms, play perilous tunes for the hopeful, with elements of Balkan music and early American jazz and swing. They deliver both wistful and raucous performances at venues ranging from The House of Blues in New Orleans to DIY backyard stages.
Originally from North Bend, Washington, brothers Bobby and Walker DiTrani began writing songs together while traveling across the country, playing music on the streets. Since then, they’ve recorded two albums and toured throughout the United States with drummer Eddie Gaudet. Now a quartet with acoustic bassist Benjamin Richards, they just released their third album “Dust Harvest.”
Scaggs’ music began in the heart of Appalachia, his home state of Virginia, and that mountain sensibility shines through his music to this day. The twang of his guitar, much more assertive in his Jatoba days, has since been tempered with the addition of effects and looping to create an indie flavor and full sound which belies its coming from one person.
Tickets are $25, $20 in advance, $10 for livestream; call 802-387-0102 or to www.nextstagearts.org online. Next Stage, at 15 Kimball Hill, will provide a beer, wine and cocktail cash bar.
VP Playwrights Award
WAITSFIELD — The Valley Players is now accepting submissions for the 2024 Playwrights Award, which was established in 1982 by the community theater company. The intent of the award is to promote the theater arts and to encourage and support the creation of original plays by residents of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The annual deadline for submission is Feb. 1.
Award submissions must be a full-length, non-musical play suitable for production by a community theater company. The contest is open only to residents of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The play must not have been previously published or produced.
A cash prize of $1,000 will be awarded to the winning playwright, however The Valley Players reserves the right to not award a prize. The Valley Players reserves the right to produce the winning play.
Rules and entry form are available at www.valleyplayers.com online. For information, contact Sharon Kellermann by calling 802-793-8362 or emailing sharoninvt@madriver.com.
Artist Diane Fitch
GREENSBORO — Highland Center for the Arts is presenting “Typewriters, Doll Houses, Dogs, Descendants,” paintings and drawings by Diane Fitch, Jan. 6-Feb. 11, in its gallery. An opening reception and artist talk will be at 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 7.
“I fall in love with certain objects and build paintings around them,” Fitch says. “Their juxtaposition can imply a narrative, depending on the viewer’s associations.
“The paintings in the ‘Little Fallen Man’ series each contain a transcription of a masterwork, by Caravaggio, Brueghel or Géricault, that served as an initial jumping off point,” Fitch says in her artist’s statement. “While I want the space to be palpable and forms to be solid, I am not interested in trompe l’oeil. I want the material of paint to be evident, and, to a greater or lesser extent, for the process of making to be part of the subject, the painting caught in the act of becoming.”
Fitch grew up in Vermont. She received her BFA from the Portland School of Art and her MFA from Indiana University in Bloomington. She is professor emerita at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, where she taught painting and drawing. She is a member of the First Street Gallery in New York. She lives in Calais, and has a summer cottage in Brooklin, Maine.
For hours or information, call 802-533-3000, or go to highlandartsvt.org online. The Highland Center is at 2875 Hardwick St.
Winter landscapes
SPRINGFIELD — Robert O’Brien is offering a one-day watercolor workshop painting the magnificent New England countryside in winter at Gallery at the VAULT 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 13.
Light, shadow, value and composition will be emphasized. O’Brien will begin with a demonstration, explaining each step of the process. Students will then paint, with the instructor providing hands-on assistance. All levels of painting ability are welcome, with some watercolor experience suggested. There will be a critique given at the end of the session.
Register by Jan. 6. A materials list will be provided at registration. The fee is $75 for members, $85 for nonmembers. If there are more than six students the workshop will be held at the Great Hall.
For more information, call 802-885-7111, email galleryvault@vermontel.net or go to www.galleryvault.org online. The Gallery at the VAULT is at 68 Main St.
