Catamount Film and Arts

Tonight's Blue Grass Jam

2012-02-25T16:52:00.000-08:00

A brief clip from tonight's Blue Grass Jam here at the art center.

The cabaret was packed with an enthusiastic crowd of blue grass lovers.

If you couldn't make it to tonight's performance, be sure to keep an eye here on the blog or on our website at catamountarts.org for information on the next Blue Grass Jam.

The Comedy of Errors from the National Theatre of London

2012-02-22T15:11:00.001-08:00

THE COMEDY OF ERRORS broadcast to cinemas worldwide as part of
National Theatre Live

5 Stars ‘Wall-to-wall joy. Sublime.’ Daily Mail
5 Stars ‘Fabulous fun… Dominic Cooke’s imaginative, superbly acted contemporary production’ Mail on Sunday
William Shakespeare’s THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, directed by Dominic Cooke, with Lenny Henry as Antipholus of Syracuse, will be filmed live at the National’s Olivier Theatre and broadcast as part of NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE to cinemas and performing arts venues around the UK and Europe on 1 March, and varying dates internationally (see HYPERLINK "http://www.ntlive.com" www.ntlive.com for other international dates).
Two sets of twins separated at birth collide in the same city without meeting for one crazy day, as multiple mistaken identities lead to confusion on a grand scale.

Shakespeare’s furiously paced comedy is staged in a contemporary world into which walk three prohibited foreigners who see everything for the first time.

Lenny Henry made his Shakespearean debut in the title role of Othello for Northern Broadsides/West Yorkshire Playhouse, which transferred to the West End and for which he won the 2009 Evening Standard Outstanding Newcomer Award. He has toured worldwide with his stand-up comedy shows, and has appeared in and presented innumerable television dramas, comedies and documentaries, including Three of a Kind, The Lenny Henry Show, Alive and Kicking, Chef!, Hope & Glory and Lenny Henry in Pieces. His many awards include the Lifetime Achievement - Performance Award at the 2003 British Comedy Awards, and a Golden Rose at the Montreux Television Festival.

Dominic Cooke is Artistic Director of the Royal Court, where his productions have included Chicken Soup with Barley, Clybourne Park (also West End) and The Pain and the Itch. He was Associate Director of the RSC from 2002-06, where his work included Arabian Nights, Pericles, The Winter’s Tale, The Crucible (Olivier Awards for Best Director and Best Revival), As You Like It and Cymbeline.

The cast also includes Marcus Adolphy, Tom Anderson, Paul Bentall, Claudie Blakley, Ian Burfield, Silas Carson, Clare Cathcart, Adrian Hood, Chris Jarman, Lucian Msamati, Yvonne Newman, Pamela Nomvete, Rhiannon Oliver, Jude Owusu, Simon Parish, Daniel Poyser, Grace Thurgood, Amit Shah, Michelle Terry, Everal A Walsh and Rene Zagger. The production is designed by Bunny Christie, with lighting by Paule Constable, music by Gary Yershon, movement by Ann Yee, sound by Christopher Shutt and fight direction by Kate Waters.

NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE performances are filmed live in high definition and broadcast via satellite to over 700 cinemas around the world, live in the UK and Europe and time delayed in countries further afield. There are over 120 venues in the UK alongside venues in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Mexico, India, Scandinavia and Europe. The performances at the National are
nominated in advance to allow cameras greater freedom in the auditorium.

NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE is presented in partnership with Aviva.

Notes to editors

The National Theatre
The National Theatre, founded in 1963, and established on the South Bank of the River Thames in London in 1976, has three theatres – the Olivier, the Lyttelton and the Cottesloe. It presents an eclectic mix of new plays and classics, with seven or eight productions in repertory (sharing the stages) at any one time. Actors often appear in more than one play during a season or return to the National regularly. The National aims constantly to re-energise the great traditions of the British stage and to expand the horizons of audiences and artists alike, and aspires to reflect in its repertoire the diversity of the nation’s culture. With its extensive programme of Platform performances, backstage tours, foyer music, exhibitions, and free outdoor entertainment the National recognises that the theatre doesn’t begin and end with the rise and fall of the curtain. By touring – and now, National Theatre Live - it shares its work with audiences in the UK and abroad.

National Theatre Live events are distributed outside the U.K. through New York-based BY Experience, Inc, the pioneer of global live “alternative content” digital cinema events. For more information visit "http://www.byexperience.net" www.byexperience.net

THE COMEDY OF ERRORS runs for 2 hours and 30 minutes.

21 February 2012

Bluegrass Revisited at Catamount Arts

2012-02-22T13:18:00.000-08:00

BLUEGRASS REVISTED, a bluegrass band from Lamoille County Vermont,will be featured at this month's Catamount Arts Bluegrass Jam,Saturday February 25th, at 7 P.M. in the Catamount Cabaret room of the Catamount building, 115 Eastern Ave., in St. Johnsbury.

Bluegrass Revisited features Larry Longley on banjo, Neal Brown on bass, Alan Gratton on mandolin, and Bob Robtoy on guitar. The CA JAM's host band favorites THE BLUEGRASS VOLUNTEERS will also appear. As always, the Catamount Bluegrass Jam is a free event, but with donations glady and graciously accepted.

Dance Lovers' Delight

2012-02-21T12:31:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends of the Arts,

Please consider joining us this Sunday, February 26th, for what promises to be one of the most amazing dance performances ever to be held in the Northeast Kingdom. Produced by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and presented by Kingdom County Productions in association with Catamount Arts, this show will feature the world's premier ballet dance company performing the work of their legendary namesake and choreographer, Balanchine prodigy Suzanne Farrell. You do NOT want to miss this show!

In order to bring dance productions of this quality and magnitude to rural Vermont, it is imperative that we fill each show with an enthusiastic audience. We need your help to spread the word and fill the seats. Please pass this message along and invite your friends and family to join us at this very special event. Tickets are available online or by calling the Catamount Regional Box Office at 802/748-2600.

Thank you for supporting the Arts!

Cheers, Jody

Jody Fried, Executive Director

Catamount Film & Arts

P.O. Box 324

115 Eastern Avenue

St. Johnsbury, VT 05819

802-748-2600 x105 (phone)

802-748-0852 (fax)

www.catamountarts.org

Produced by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Suzanne Farrell Ballet

7:00 PM
Sunday, February 26th at Lyndon Institute

"Understated glamour, alluring reserve, and attention to detail" is how The New York Times describes The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, led by the legendary New York City Ballet principal whose career of three decades made her the most influential American ballerina of the late 20th century. One of 20th century master choreographer George Balanchine's most celebrated muses, Farrell has staged Balanchine's acclaimed dances for a range on companies, including the Paris Opera Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Berlin Opera Ballet, Vienna State Opera Ballet, and Bolshoi Ballet. Produced by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Suzanne Farrell Ballet will perform an all-Balanchine program that includes some of this dance master's most cherished works.

"Stravinsky once remarked to Balanchine that the young Ms. Farrell was the most musically intelligent dancer he had ever seen. Now she is passing that quality on."
- Alastair Macaulay, New York Times

"Too distinctive, too juicy, too fabulously fearless to pass up."

- Washington Post

Watch a Video

Listen to a Podcast

Tickets & Information

Suzanne Farrell Ballet

Sunday, February 26th

7:00 PM

Lyndon Institute
Lyndonville, VT

Tickets
$29, $44, $54                    Regular
$27, $42, $52                    Members
$22                                     Students

Tickets are available online, by phone, or in person at the Catamount Arts Box Office.

Online (24 Hours): CatamountTix

By Phone: 802-748-2600

In Person:

115 Eastern Avenue

St. Johnsbury, VT 05819

Box Office Hours:

Monday - Saturday 11:00AM - 6:00PM

Bob Amos CD Release Concert and Catamount Arts Benefit

2012-02-20T14:48:00.000-08:00

From1988-2003 Bob Amos was lead vocalist, guitarist, songwriter and frontman forSUGAR HILL recording artists FRONT RANGE, one of the world's top bluegrassbands. Front Range toured throughout North America and Europe, and their songs,mostly penned by Amos, were mainstays of the bluegrass radio charts. In 1995Amos's song "One Beautiful Day" was awarded "Bluegrass Gospel Recordingof the Year" by the International Bluegrass Music Association. BluegrassUnlimited magazine has called Bob "top of the Bluegrass songwritingclass" and SingOut! magazinereviewer John Lupton labeled Bob as "one of the most consistentlyintelligent and interesting songwriters in American music."

After pursuing other musicalendeavors Amos has now returned to the fold with his first all-Bluegrassproject in nearly eight years. The new CD, "Borrowed Time" includeseleven songs written by Amos, plus a new Bluegrass arrangement of a RobertJohnson blues classic. An impressive group of Bluegrass notables joined Bob forthis recording project, including IBMA mandolinist of the year Jesse Brock,former Front Range bassist Bob Dick, and Vermont favorites Patti Casey, ColinMcCaffrey and Freeman Corey.

Tocelebrate the release of "Borrowed Time" Amos's all-star Vermontbluegrass band "Catamount Crossing" (with Patti Casey, ColinMcCaffrey, Freeman Corey, Adam Buchwald and Mike Santosusso) will present a concertfeaturing the new album material, plusother music, in the "Mason's Hall" at the Catamount Arts building,115 Eastern Avenue, St. Johnsbury VT, 7:30 P.M. on Saturday April 7th. Tickets ($12 members, $15general public) are available in advance, 802-748-2600, www.Catamount Arts.org.Proceeds will benefit Catamount Arts.

Coming in March

2012-02-14T09:17:00.000-08:00

We have some fantastic films coming up at Catamount Arts in the month of March. We'll update you on dates and show times once they are finalized.

The Descendents - A land baron tries to re-connect with his two daughters after his wife suffers a boating accident. Nominated for 5 Academy Awards as well as winning 35 other awards.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6. Nominated for 3 Academy Awards as well as winning 10 other awards.

The Artist - Hollywood, 1927: As silent movie star George Valentin wonders if the arrival of talking pictures will cause him to fade into oblivion, he sparks with Peppy Miller, a young dancer set for a big break. Nominated for 10 Academy Awards as well as winning 59 other awards.

Presentations On Connections Between Religion and Dance

2012-02-14T08:36:00.000-08:00

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AT ST. JOHNSBURY ACADEMY:

Presentations On Connections
Between Religion and Dance

A leading scholar on the interconnection of dance and religion will offer public presentations Monday and Tuesday, February 20-21 at 3:30 p.m. in St. Johnsbury Academy’s Grace Stuart Orcutt Library, located in the Mayo Center. The events are free and open to the public.
Philosopher, dancer and author Kimerer LaMothe, who taught modern Western Philosophy and religion for six years at Brown and Harvard Universities, will also conduct three days of workshops for Academy students.
During her visit, Lamothe will discuss “perspectives on dance and religion as evidenced in the works of Nietzsche, Martha Graham, and Isodora Duncan,” Academy Dance instructor Marianne Handy Hraibi said.
The author of four award-winning books, Lamothe holds a doctorate in Theology of the Modern West from Harvard and also is the recipient of fellowships from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study and the Center for the Study of World Religions.
Her books include Nietzsche’s Dancers: Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham, and the Revaluation of Christian Values (2011); Between Dancing and Writing: The Practice of Religious Studies (2004), What A Body Knows: Finding Wisdom in Desire (2009); and the forthcoming Family Planting: A Farm-fed Philosophy of Human Relations. She also writes a blog for the Psychology Today magazine Website.
Copies of writings that will be discussed during the public presentations will be available at the Academy library the week of February 13-17.

From one of our members

2012-02-11T09:51:00.000-08:00

One of our members who had come in to see "Gotterdammerung" this afternoon gave me a link to a blog that I thought I'd share.
The blog is about a performance piece the daughter of our member is doing. The concept is pretty interesting and reminds me a lot of the idea of "not-doing" in the writings of Carlos Castaneda, where the object is to disrupt, even momentarily, the normal flow of perception to help open yourself to the large possibilities in the universe.

In the Gallery - Terry Ekasala

2012-02-02T12:56:00.000-08:00

The bright, bold works of area artist Terry Ekasala will offer the perfect antidote to the dreary days of winter as they fill the main gallery at Catamount Arts for the entire month of February. A special reception honoring the Weymouth, Massachusetts native, who now makes her home in the Northeast Kingdom, will be held from 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Friday, February 10, at the Catamount Arts Center on Eastern Avenue in St. Johnsbury. The reception is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

Ekasala took an interest in drawing and art became her path at a very young age. In 1982 after receiving an Associate’s Degree in Advertising from the Art Institute in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, she began working as a freelance artist in the field. Drawn to the domain of fine arts she set up her first studio in 1983 in an abandoned frame shop, part of the Clay hotel and youth hostel on Espanola Way, Miami Beach, Florida. This was a huge step into the wide world of art and life. Miami Beach was at that time a broken down palace of art deco dreams, inhabited mostly by the elderly, refugees, the unsuspecting youth hostel guests and scattered young creators whom began to gather on Espanola Way and Lincoln Road. This scene lent a rich and diverse inspiration to a young open mind. Ekasala worked in the figurative manner at this time, primarily drawing and painting as medium. Here she became a member of the Artifacts Art Group. This group staged weekly events at the hot 80’s Miami nightclub “Fire and Ice” as well as organized exhibits and finally opened their own gallery on the corner of Lincoln Road and Michigan, Miami Beach. She was also among a number of artists who took to the streets doing graffiti on boarded up abandoned buildings and her work was featured on the cover of the Sunday edition of the Miami Herald as well as in a national Coke a Cola commercial. In 1987 Ekasala visited Paris for the second time and she decided to stay. She worked as a cook in a Tea Salon, all the while painting in her tiny apartment. In 1990 she set up a studio in Belleville, Paris’ colorful 20th Arrondissement at La Forge, a little artist community made up of diverse nationalities. In the beginning La Forge was a squat and eventually became the first “Artist squat” to become legal in Paris due to the diligence, seriousness and hard work of this group of artists. This is where she painted until 2001. During these years her style and medium underwent many changes. Her figurative subject slowly transformed to abstract figurative, eventually to become entirely abstract. In the eleven years at La Forge she participated in the annual “Open Studio” of Belleville, allowing her the opportunity to sell her work directly to the public. During these years she showed her work in personal and group expositions in and around Paris as well as Berlin, Germany and New York City. In 2001 she moved to the Northeast Kingdom, Vermont. She set up her studio in the center of of Lyndonville. In September, 2003, she had a personal exposition of her new abstract, large format oil paintings at the Metalstone Gallery in NYC. In 2004 her son Zack was born. For a short period of time she worked with acrylic on board in small format as a direct result of limited lengths of painting time with a newborn baby. This work was also shown at the Metalstone Gallery as a personal exposition entitled “Subsequent Development, an Assembly of Small Paintings” in March of 2005. Ekasala took a few years break from painting until 2010 when she completed several large abstract paintings in her basement. In May, 2011, she found her “dream” studio in West Burke where she now paints. She resides in East Burke with her family. Her philosophy of painting is just as personal as her style. “For me abstract painting is an act of balancing the juxtaposition of color, line, texture and form,” she said recently. “I try to empty my mind. The observer in me can then take the wind out of the sails of contrived thought allowing the moment’s mysterious impulse to be seized as a child might do. The images are the consequential vibrational energy from the clashing of all this.” “Do they meaning anything?” Ekasala concluded. “No, just like a flower doesn’t mean anything.” The abstract paintings of Terry Ekasala will be on view at Catamount through February 29. The galleries at Catamount Arts are open to the public free of charge from 11 am – 6 pm Monday through Saturday and before and after each film screening.

February Films

2012-01-13T15:34:00.000-08:00

We are not quite half way through January, but we've already got of film schedule for February lined up. Coming up next month are a number of films that have been nominated for Golden Globes. Be sure to root for them this Sunday when the awards are announced.

Here is the list of the upcoming films in order of their show dates. Hope to see you at the movies!

February 3 - February 9
My Week with Marilyn:
In the early summer of 1956, 23 year-old Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne), just down from Oxford and determined to make his way in the film business, worked as a lowly assistant on the set of 'The Prince and the Showgirl'. The film that famously united Sir Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) and Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams), who was also on honeymoon with her new husband, the playwright Aurthur Miller (Dougray Scott). Nearly 40 years on, his diary account The Prince, the Showgirl and Me was published, but one week was missing and this was published some years later as My Week with Marilyn - this is the story of that week. When Arthur Miller leaves England, the coast is clear for Colin to introduce Marilyn to some of the pleasures of British life; an idyllic week in which he escorted a Monroe desperate to get away from her retinue of Hollywood hangers-on and the pressures of work. -- (C) Weinstein
Nominated for Golden Globes for- Best Picture, Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical (Michelle Williams), Best Supporting Actor (Kenneth Branagh)

Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance:
The full story of this groundbreaking dance company, from their founding in 1956 to the present. The Joffrey is considered the first truly 'American' ballet company and was the first to perform at the White House and the first company to be featured on the cover of Time Magazine. Narrated by Mandy Patinkin, the film shows how the Joffrey transformed American dance by combining modern dance with classical ballet and by working with cutting edge choreographers like Twyla Tharp, Laura Dean and others. Features famed former Joffrey stars Kevin McKenzie, Gary Chryst, Helgi Tomasson, Trinette Singleton and Adam Sklute. (c) IMDB - Anonymous

February 10 - February 16
Young Adult:
Charlize Theron plays Mavis Gary, a writer of teen literature who returns to her small hometown to relive her glory days and attempt to reclaim her happily married high school sweetheart (Patrick Wilson). When returning home proves more difficult than she thought, Mavis forms an unusual bond with a former classmate (Patton Oswalt) who hasn't quite gotten over high school, either. -- (C) Paramount
Nominated for Golden Globes - Best Actress Comedy or Musical (Charlize Theron)

Tomboy:
A French family with two daughters, 10-year-old Laure and 6-year-old Jeanne, moves to a new neighborhood during the summer holidays. With her Jean Seberg haircut and tomboy ways, Laure is immediately mistaken for a boy by the local kids and passes herself off as Michael. Filmmaker Céline Sciamma brings a light and charming touch to this drama of childhood gender confusion. Zoe Heran as Laure/Michael and Malonn Levanna as Jeanne are nothing less than brilliant. This is a relationship movie: relationships between children, and the even more complicated one between one's heart and body. -- (C) Rocket Releasing

February 17 - February 23
Drive:
Ryan Gosling stars as a Los Angeles wheelman for hire, stunt driving for movie productions by day and steering getaway vehicles for armed heists by night. Though a loner by nature, Driver can't help falling in love with his beautiful neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan), a vulnerable young mother dragged into a dangerous underworld by the return of her ex-convict husband Standard (Oscar Isaac). After a heist intended to pay off Standard's protection money spins unpredictably out of control, Driver finds himself driving defense for the girl he loves, tailgated by a syndicate of deadly serious criminals. But when he realizes that the gangsters are after more than the bag of cash in his trunk-that they're coming straight for Irene and her son-Driver is forced to shift gears and go on offense. -- (C) FilmDistrict
Nominated for Golden Globe - Best Supporting Actor (Albert Brooks)

Weekend:
“Weekend,” Andrew Haigh’s astonishingly self-assured, unassumingly profound second feature.... In its matter-of-fact, tightly focused observation of two young men who find their one-night stand growing into something more serious, the movie ranges over vast, often neglected regions of 21st-century life. It is about the paradoxes and puzzlements of gay identity in a post-identity-politics era, and also about the enduring mystery of sexual attraction and its consequences. (c) New York Times

February 24 - March 1
A Dangerous Method:
Seduced by the challenge of an impossible case, the driven Dr. Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) takes the unbalanced yet beautiful Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley) as his patient in A Dangerous Method. Jung's weapon is the method of his master, the renowned Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen). Both men fall under Sabina's spell. -- (C) Sony Pictures Classics
Nominated for Golden Globe - Best Supporting Actor (Viggo Mortensen)

Norwegian Wood:
Tokyo, the late 1960s...Students around the world are uniting to overthrow the establishment and Toru Watanabe's personal life is similarly in tumult. At heart, he is deeply devoted to his first love, Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman. But their complex bond has been forged by the tragic death of their best friend years before. Watanabe lives with the influence of death everywhere. That is, until Midori, a girl who is everything that Naoko is not - outgoing, vivacious, supremely self-confident - marches into his life and Watanabe must choose between his past and his future. -- (C) Official Site

Free Films for January

2011-12-21T10:52:00.000-08:00

Now that we have our next film schedule finalized, it is time for another giveaway.

We have a great line up of films for our January schedule, beginning January 6th, and we want to give a lucky winner the chance to come to all of them for free. The winner will receive free admission to the following films:

Entering is easy. On the right side of the blog page there is a form for signing up for our weekly newsletters. Just sign up for one or both of them and leave a comment below. Entries must be received by 6:00pm on Wednesday, January 4th. The winner will be randomly selected and we'll post the winner's name here. If you already receive one of our emails, don't worry! Just leave a comment below and you'll be eligible to win.

Good luck! We hope to see you at the movies!

And the winner is....

2011-12-16T09:28:00.000-08:00

Congratulations Beth Horan, you are the winner of the two tickets for the sold out Natalie MacMaster concert on Monday, December 19th at 7:00pm! Your tickets will be waiting for you at the door the night of the show or you can pick them up at the Catamount box office any time during our normal hours.

Thanks to everyone who entered our first giveaway. We appreciate all the support you give to Catamount Arts . Keep an eye out here and on our Facebook page as we are planning to do more fun things like this in the future.

'Tis the Season For Giving

2011-12-07T09:39:00.001-08:00

As it is the season for giving, Catamount Arts and Kingdom County Productions will be giving away two tickets to see Natalie MacMaster live in concert on Monday, December 19th at 7:00pm at St. Johnsbury Academy's Fuller Hall.

Entering the contest is easy. Just follow the three steps below:

"Like" our page on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Catamount-Film-and-Arts/118348528367)
Follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/CatamountArts)
Post a comment below to let us know you have done the first two. If you already have done the first two, just post to let us know you want to be part of the contest.

All entries must be received by noon on Friday, December 16th and the winner will be selected randomly from the entries that meet all the criteria listed above. We will post the winner's name here as well as on Facebook and Twitter.

Good Luck!

A little about Natalie MacMaster:

Equally at home on the concert stage or at a folk festival, Grammy-nominated Cape Breton fiddler Natalie MacMaster is one of the most versatile and exciting young musicians on both the Folk music and Celtic music scenes. MacMaster's many projects have seen her collaborate and perform with Alison Krauss, Carlos Santana, the Chieftains, Paul Simon, Pavarotti, and Yo-Yo Ma.

Natalie's live performances are a testament to her incandescent musicianship and boundless energy, featuring foot-tapping rave-ups, heart-rending ballads, and world-class step dancing. MacMaster is equally adept at hypnotizing a crowd while alone in the footlights. Natalie's fiddling fireworks on traditional and contemporary Celtic melodies generate a kind of "Traditional Fusion" delivered with uplifting energy felt by the musicians and audiences of all ages.

From KRISTIN NORD, Halifax Chronicle Herald:

Children from these Cape Breton parishes often perform at church festivals when they are very young. For Natalie MacMaster, her debut came at Glendale less than a year after she’d begun playing her first ¾-size fiddle.

"By the time I picked up the fiddle, I felt as if I had nine years of experience already," she recalls. "I had so many melodies in my head; I could hum a lot of tunes."

Her parents encouraged her playing from the very start, transporting her to the halls and packing a blanket and a pillow in the backseat on the nights when they knew she’d be up late playing for a dance. Natalie "was like a sponge, absorbing and responding to everything," said her early champion, musician Mike Denney, “but she was also exceedingly shy. While the MacMasters in private are dry-witted and hilarious, it was a leap for Natalie to see that she could show that side of herself on stage.”

After 11 recordings, two DVDs, many East Coast and Juno awards and a Grammy-nomination later, Natalie remains the person she has always been. She will continue to draw upon her life and memories, and will keep the lessons of her upbringing close to her heart. As she conjures this scene, from a rich repository of many musical evenings, we once again return to her message, and to the source of her art.

"The music is like the people and the land,” she says. “Strong, powerful, and rugged. It all blends. It all matches."

It was a summer’s night a few years ago when Natalie and (her renowned fiddler uncle) Buddy MacMaster were setting up for a joint release party. What had begun as a family project to record jointly a selection of tunes Buddy was known for had turned out so well that they’d decided to mass produce it.

"The hall in Judique was packed so tight that night with relatives that it could have been a family reunion," says Natalie. There in the spotlight Buddy was opening his fiddle case and taking a seat beside Natalie on the narrow stage.

Betty Lou Beaton, Natalie’s aunt, one of a succession of sisters and a daughter who have accompanied him so ably throughout the years, "slid behind the piano." Meanwhile, her cousin, Andrea, was tuning up for the dance that was to follow.

"My sister-in-law collected tickets at the front door and then served tea and Mom’s banana bread from the communal kitchen." With the music underway, Natalie’s mom, Minnie, one of the island’s celebrated step dancers, joined them onstage for a joyful display of footwork.

"That night represented what I love most about Cape Breton,” she said. “There is no division among our lives, our families and friends, and our music," she says. And therein is essence of what she cherishes. It is all so wonderfully interwoven.

Lots of new DVDs added to our collection

2011-05-26T23:06:00.000-07:00

Have you missed some Catamount films this season? Check out these recent DVD acquisitions, which all played in theCatamount Cinemas this season:

And many more!

In the Gallery This Month

2011-03-31T11:01:00.000-07:00

Jack Alan Stewart - Sculpture
Dates: Friday, April 1st through Saturday, April 30th
Location: Main Gallery
Website Link: http://www.barnettradepost.com

Stumped!? Hand-Chiseled Hardwoods “Stumped!? Hand-Chiseled Hardwoods” is the title of Jack Alan Stewart’s one-man exhibit this April in the Main Gallery at Catamount Arts. Stewart, a well-known local artist and teacher, has designed many pieces especially for this new show, which will be on view for the entire month. A special reception honoring Stewart will be held at Catamount from 5:00pm – 7:00pm Friday, April 8. The public is cordially invited to attend this reception free of charge. Refreshments will be served.

Jack Stewart has been practicing art since he was a young child. His experience ranges from watercolor to oil painting, print making to etching, pen, pencil and charcoal to pastels. He has worked with wax, clay, cement, plaster of paris, pewter, lead, copper, zinc, marble, granite, soapstone, papier mache and many different varieties of hard and soft woods. He has created two-dimensional works, reliefs and free standing pieces. Stewart holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Swain School of Design with a major in sculpting. In addition, he holds a Masters of Art from Goddard College with a double major in sculpting and teaching. Stewart brings years of experience in the practice and instruction of drawing, watercolor painting and sculpting along with less familiar Japanese traditions such as sumi-e and calligraphy. Jack likes to quote an Eastern teaching saying: "Tell me and I forget; show me and I understand; let me experience and I know." It is the last part of the saying that is most important: the act of living, being and doing. In life, in art, it is important to practice over and over again so that what was at first most difficult and unnatural becomes a very wonderful and natural act. Sculpture is just one of Stewart’s many forms of artistic expression. “My sculptures are meant to be touched. They have organic shapes chiseled by hand and released from the wood,” Stewart said recently. “It’s important that we honor the original life-form of the tree from which each sculpture springs forth.” In sculpting, I attempt to bring out the wood’s natural beauty and the designs the life of the tree itself has already expressed,” he added. “If I don’t have a preconceived notion of what I’m hoping a finished piece will become, I ask the wood to direct me.” “And sometimes, despite any opinion I may have started a piece with, the tree has a very different idea of where I’m to take it as an art form!” he continued. “Much of my work is not consciously recognizable, and I’m often asked what a particular piece is. My answer is usually … wood,” he concluded. As a special feature of this exhibit, Stewart and his wife L.J. have also created a beautiful companion book that will be available for purchase. Copies of the book are now on display at Catamount.

LeAnn Rimes Live in St. Johnsbury, VT

2011-03-23T10:03:00.000-07:00

LeAnn Rimes

An Acoustic Concert to Benefit Kingdom County Productions

7:00pm, Sunday, October 23

Fuller Hall, St. Johnsbury Academy

Tickets: $87, $77, $67, $110 (Gold Circle)

Tickets on sale online here starting Monday, April 4th and at the Catamount Arts box office starting Tuesday April 5th.

Kingdom County Productions (KCP) is proud to announce its plans to present multi-platinum Grammy winning country music star LeAnn Rimes in an intimate acoustic concert to benefit KCP’s performing arts programs for the local community and area schools. Tickets are available at Catamount Arts, St. Johnsbury or by calling 802-748-2600 ext. 2. 24-hour online sales are available at www.CatamountArts.org

LeAnn Rimes skyrocketed to stardom at the age of 13, becoming the youngest country music star since Tanya Tucker (in 1972). Her debut album, Blue, reached # 1 on the Top Country Albums chart and the album’s lead single of the same name (originally intended to be recorded by Patsy Cline in the early 60’s) became a Top Ten hit. Rimes became an immediate national sensation, with many declaring that her spectacular voice made her the finest female country vocalist since Cline.

LeAnn Rimes has released ten studio albums and placed more than 40 singles on the international charts. She has sold more than 37 million records worldwide. She has won nearly every major country music award, including two Grammys, twelve Billboard Awards, and three Academy of Country Music awards. She is also the youngest person to ever win a Country Music Association award.

Fans will be treated to a rare opportunity to hear LeAnn Rimes astonishing voice in the intimate environment of Fuller Hall, accompanied only by guitar, pedal steel, percussion, and bass. Or as the Grand Rapids Press described her singular talent,

“a throaty, rich instrument of storytelling and emotion, a deluxe brocade of texture and shine.”

Proceeds to benefit Kingdom County Productions’ performing arts program for community programs and schools.

“Rimes showed she still loves what she does, and does it incredibly well. She hit notes for the angels.” -- Washington Post

“LeAnn Rimes acoustic concert was more than pleasant. It was awesome. Without having to compete with the heavy amplification of country rock as she's done for the past 15 years, Rimes hit all the right notes.” -- Columbus Dispatch

“Terrific.” – New York Times

“Her performance was a potent, concise reminder of just how deeply a sound can seep into someone's soul.” – Dallas Morning News

Chris Cagle Live in Concert

2011-03-23T07:24:00.000-07:00

CHRIS CAGLE
8pm on ~~June 4th,~~ August 5th, 2011
Caledonia County Fairgrounds
Lyndonville, Vermont

Proceeds benefiting Lyndon Institute

$35 General Admission on the Track (Standing) in front of the stage
$30 General Admission in the Grandstands (Covered)

Tickets go on sale Friday, March 25th at 10:00am here.

Sponsored by NSN and Kix 105.5: Today's Hot New Country

If Chris Cagle were nothing more than a man who lives life at full-speed, taking corners on two wheels, he would still be one of country music's more interesting characters. There aren't many in the industry who can put passion and energy on stage or on record the way he can. But a man doesn't go gold with his first two albums and produce seven hits--including four Top Tens--on nothing more than bravado. Chris's secret weapon lies in his ability to rope the whirlwind, to capture its motion and emotion with his pen and his voice. It is, as Wordsworth said, where emotion is recalled in tranquility that poetry is created, and it is there that Chris's untamed spirit becomes art.

The two sides of Cagle's compelling psyche come together beautifully on his third album, Anywhere But Here, a collection that crystallizes the promise of the first two and takes him another big step forward. Its first single, "Miss Me Baby," is four minutes of raw drama sung with a nuanced intensity that announces Chris's growing maturity as a vocalist. It also represents the eighth time he has hit the Top 40 with a song he has written or co-written.

The album captures a renewed Chris, back from vocal rest and a period of intense introspection, reflecting on the complex emotions to be found in living a modern life in the spotlight. He knew early in the recording process that he and co-producer Rob Wright had found something special.

"I had gone back to the studio where I did my first album," he says. "Same musicians, same engineer, everything. We were doing 'Miss Me Baby' and I thought, 'Oh, my gosh, we really do have something.' It was like the first time I heard 'Laredo' after we mixed it and I thought, 'I've got a shot.'"

Chris is convinced that his long period of enforced vocal rest--something his restless spirit found nearly intolerable at the time--have left him in a better place vocally.

"The one thing that has changed with this record over the last two," he says, "is the dynamic of the vocal. I'm not just singing hard at everything. I've been learning, listening to people like Conway Twitty, and there were times recording things when I'd think, 'Yeah, that's natural. That's what you want.'"

That new sense of control comes through in songs like "Maria," a sultry and powerful look at passionate love, "I Was Made For You" and "You Still Do That To Me," songs that celebrate lasting love, and "Anywhere But Here," where every note catalogs the lyric's pain.

On the rowdier side, there is "Hey Y'all," a flat-out rocker about the joys of outdoor partying, "Might Wanna Think About It," which finds the tough-minded Texan staking out his territory in the modern-day battles over rights and obligations, and "Wanted Dead Or Alive," a fresh reading of the '80s-era Bon Jovi classic. There is also "Wal-Mart Parking Lot," a quintessential small-town tale of coming of age at this generation's equivalent of the town square. The song helps anchor an album's worth of real life sung by one of the country artists most able to turn reality into memorable music.

"I've got a lot of high hopes for this record," he says. "I tried to make music that was better without necessarily making it different because I love the music that I've made in the past."

LINKS
CMT When he Bumped Taylor Swift from #1:
Country by the Grace of God
My Love Goes On and On

Harlem Superstars Comedy Basketball Fundraiser

2011-03-15T11:35:00.000-07:00

Academy Sophomores Presenting

Harlem Superstars Comedy Basketball

The Harlem Superstars comedy basketball team will face St. Johnsbury Academy’s “Dream Team” Thursday, March 24 at 6:30 p.m. at Alumni Memorial Gymnasium.

Sponsored by the school’s sophomore class as a fundraiser for class activities and projects, the game will feature an abundance of player-fan interaction, including autograph sessions, dancing, and a halftime show where child spectators will compete for a chance to win a prize.

Dream Team members include a mix of teachers and Hilltopper boys basketball players, Sophomore Class Dean Gerry Prevost said.

Advance sale tickets are available for $7 at the Catamount Arts Center, on Eastern Ave. in St. Johnsbury and at the door the night of the event.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date:               March 14, 2011
Contact:         Joe Healy, Director of Marketing & Communications
                        St. Johnsbury Academy
                        1000 Main Street
                        St. Johnsbury, Vermont 05819
                        802-748-8171
                        Email: jhealy@stjacademy.org
                        Web: www.stjohnsburyacademy.org

Country Singer Elizabeth Cook Live at the St. Johnsbury School Auditorium

2011-03-10T09:37:00.000-08:00

Reprinted from the Kingdom County Productions email.

Elizabeth Cook

Indie Country Music Star

and Grand Ole Opry Regular

Read the Time Argus Article on Elizabeth!

Often compared to Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, and Emmylou Harris, Elizabeth Cook is a sharp observer and country music rebel who is maybe best understood in her own words, spoken after the release of her latest album,

Welder

"I'm not a welder, at least not in the typical sense of the trade. But my daddy is, by way of 2300 hours of training that certified him, courtesy of the Atlanta Federal penitentiary. I myself couldn't put a rod in the thingamajig. But I do tend to fuse things, confuse things, sometimes with sparks, sometime like a lava melt, sometimes back by a tank of compressed air ready to blow, sometimes quiet as a slow leak."

"Don't look at it directly...it'll burn your eyes" mama used to yell. I stood bare-footed hanging on the inside of the screen door of our Florida patio. I love watching the electron-beam of our family business, Cook's Welding, at work in our tiny dirt yard. It was so hard not to look. Couldn't help but look. And the rawness of my new album Welder is case and point. Apparently, I still can't help but look. It's my damnation and my salvation. And it's my job. I have to look"

The Bob Amos Band

From 1988-2003 Bob Amos was the lead vocalist, guitarist, songwriter and front man for acclaimed Sugar Hill recording artists Front Range, one of the top contemporary bluegrass bands in the USA and Europe. Over their ﬁfteen year history Front Range recorded seven CDs, received constant airplay on acoustic- oriented radio stations, and performed at concert venues and music festivals in 42 states, 12 countries and on 3 continents. In 2000, Singout! Magazine reviewer John Lupton called Bob "one of the most consistently interesting and intelligent songwriters in American music."

Currently, Bob leads the Vermont based Bob Amos Band, an acoustic music and harmony vocal tour de force featuring Bob on guitar and vocals, his son Nathan on bass and vocals, daughter Sarah on percussion and vocals, and mandolinist Gary Darling. The band's repertoire consists of a wide variety of songs penned by Amos, with stylistic inﬂuences ranging from bluegrass, folk, country and celtic, to blues and rock-a-billy.

Event Info

St. Johnsbury School
St. Johnsbury, VT 05819
March 18th, 2011
7:30 PM

TICKETS

Reserved seats: $28, $24
KCP and CA members: $26, $22
Students: $16

Tickets can be purchased online
or at the Catamount Arts box office

Online order

Box Office: 802-748-2600

Catamount Gallery Group Show in March

2011-03-03T10:01:00.000-08:00

March is a very special time in the Gallery at Catamount Arts because it is the month that Catamount’s own Gallery Group takes the central spotlight. A special reception honoring Catamount’s Gallery Group will be held from 5 pm – 7 pm Friday, March 11. The reception is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

More than 50 works of art in a variety of mediums will be featured in this annual exhibition by Northeast Kingdom artists who have exhibited at Catamount in the past and are returning to highlight their latest work. The exhibit also includes several new artists who have not exhibited in the Gallery before, including Edward Kadunc and Bill Peabody. Featured artists, who each have one or two pieces of work on view, include Emiko Sawaragi Gilbert, Claire Van Vliet, Ann Young, Jerry Ralya, Rosie Prevost and Bob Manning among others. The exhibit was organized and curated by Manning, a local artist and art historian who is also on Catamount’s Board of Directors. The exhibit will be on view for the entire month of March.

Catamount Arts Dancing Up a Storm

2011-02-18T15:23:00.000-08:00

Dance has always been a big part of the programming at Catamount. In years past we have had such dance companies as the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Trisha Brown Dancers, Laura Dean Dancers and Musicians, American Indian Dance Theater and more perform in various venues in the area.

More recently we have presented performances by groups ranging from the Martha Graham Dance Troupe and Momix (in association with Kingdom County Productions) to the local group Hypzotique and their Bellydance Circus.

In the coming months we continue this tradition of programming. First up, Kingdom County Productions brings us the Russian National Ballet Theatre with a presentation of "Swan Lake." This show will take place on Saturday March 12th at 7:00pm in the Lyndon Institute Auditorium.

The following week, March 19th, we will be presenting "Bellyqueen: Search for the Empress" at Lyndon State College's Alexander Twilight Theater at 7:30pm. Bellyqueen is a world renowned bellydance troupe that has "won acclaim for their unique vision, impressive body of work and a commitment to high-quality productions." The day after their performance, members of Bellyqueen will be holding two workshops, with Kaeshi and Elisheva respectively, in Lebannon, NH. Space is limited for these workshops.

Rounding out our current line-up, we will be presenting one of the premiere modern dance companies in the United States, Rioult. They will be performing live in the Alexander Twilight Theater at Lyndon State College at 8:00pm on Friday, May 6th.

Mark Kanny of the Pittsburg Tribune says of Rioult:

Rioult's musicality is recognized widely and enables him to create dance with music in a way that each medium illuminates and strengthens the other. It's a point of similarity with Balanchine, who also was extraordinarily musical.

Read more: Choreographer Rioult follows instincts to success - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/ae/s_701338.html#ixzz1EM6kcWiA

More than the Arts

2011-02-18T11:30:00.000-08:00

Catamount Arts participates in the community in more ways than bringing world class arts and entertainment to the Northeast Kingdom. We also provide space for other groups, for example OSHER, to hold their events.

On March 12th at 5:00pm, UVM Extension’s Center for Sustainable Agriculture and the St. Johnsbury Area Local Food Alliance (St. J ALFA) will hold an Empty Bowls dinner. Empty Bowls is a hunger relief effort bringing together potters and the community to raise money for hunger relief.

You can get more information about this event here. Be sure to come out and support this great effort.

Kingdom County Productions Brings "Romeo and Juliet" to St. Johnsbury

2011-02-09T13:08:00.000-08:00

Kingdom County Productions is bringing the Acting Company and Guthrie Theater to St. Johnsbury Academy's Fuller Hall Wednesday, February 16th for two shows of "Romeo and Juliet."

The morning show, primarily for students and educators, is completely sold out and the tickets for the 7:00pm evening show are going fast as well.

This production of Shakespeare's wonderful play by the Acting Company and Guthrie Theater has met with enthusiastic receptions as it has toured around the country. Ken Jaworoski of the New York Times said in his review:

"In Shakespeare the big scenes stir your blood, yet it’s the small moments that can steal your heart. That’s never more apparent than in the balcony scene of “Romeo and Juliet” ...

"As the two lovers part, Romeo (Sonny Valicenti) offers Juliet (Laura Esposito) one final, tiny finger-wave, a boyish and tender gesture that elicited a quiet “awww” from many in the audience. That delightful but all-too-rare attention to detail caps an exhilarating rendition of the famous scene. "

From the Acting Company's website regarding this new production from director Penny Metropulos of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival:

Shakespeare’s iconic romantic tragedy of innocent young lovers falling victim to family hatred and cruel destiny... swords clash, everlasting love is promised and a treacherous sleeping potion is swallowed in the greatest love story of all time. Young love has never been so delightful or as dangerous as in this stirring new production.

Tickets for this production are available online at:
http://tickets.catamountarts.org/public/loader.asp?target=show.asp?shcode=27
or by calling our box office at (802) 748-2600, Monday through Saturday from 1:00pm to 6:00pm.

In the Gallery This Month

2011-02-05T17:02:00.000-08:00

This month in the main gallery we have two artists whose colorful work is drawing lots of comments from our visitors. The work by Galen Cheney and Lisa Eshelman Foster McCrae will be in the gallery all month and we will be having a reception for them on Friday, February 11th from 5:00pm to 7:00pm. Admission is free and there will be refreshments provided. For more information about the artists, visit our website.

Untitled by Lisa Eshelman Foster McCrae

Crosstown by Galen Cheney

The Green Mountain Film Festival is Coming

2011-02-05T13:12:00.000-08:00

For 10 years, Focus on Film has presented the Green Mountain Film Festival centered at the Savoy Theater in Montpelier, VT. Last year, for the first time, there was a satellite event here at Catamount Arts in St. Johnsbury. The festival went very well for us here at Catamount and we learned a lot about the process of hosting a festival.

This year, the 11th annual Green Mountain Film Festival is being held in Montpelier and once again we will have a satellite festival here in St. Johnsbury. In Montpelier there will be over 70 films being shown from March 18th to March 27th in several locations. Here in St. Johnsbury, our part of the festival will run from April 1st to April 3rd and we will be showing 20 films plus the 2nd Annual High School Filmmaker Showcase.

Last year, we had submissions from literally all over the world for the Filmmaker showcase. The winner for "Best Drama" and "Best of Festival" was "In an Instant" written and directed by Ethan Hofmayer.

We have a great selection of films for the festival this year as well as some special events that will be part of the festival. More on those as the details become available.

Vermont Art Zine: CALL TO ARTISTS: Photoslam 2011 at PHOTOSTOP Gallery in White River Junction

2011-02-04T09:49:00.000-08:00

For any photographers out there, this looks to be a wonderful opportunity to have your works on display and meet with others who share the same interest.

Vermont Art Zine: CALL TO ARTISTS: Photoslam 2011 at PHOTOSTOP Gallery in White River Junction

Would there be interest in doing something similar here at Catamount Arts? In the past we have had open photography and/or digital photography exhibits, but a scarcity of submissions the last few times we held them led us to not schedule them lately. We can look at the gallery schedule and try to work a month long exhibit of this type in if there is sufficient interest.

Let us know what you think.

February is a sort of Ryan Gosling Month

2011-02-03T14:10:00.000-08:00

As luck or fate would have it, February is turning into something of a Ryan Gosling month. We first saw him at Catamount in "Lars and the Real Girl" back in 2007, a funny and touching film about a young man with fear of intimacy who starts a relationship with a sex doll.

This month we have two of his newer films both dealing with relationships gone wrong. First up is "All Good Things", co-starring Kirsten Dunst, which starts Friday, February 4th. Based on actual events, the film follows the relationship between David and Katie (Gosling and Dunst).

"Written by Marc Smerling and Marcus Hinchey, the film itself takes off in the early 1970s when David and Katie move to Vermont, where they open a health-food store called All Good Things. ...

"Through the good times and very bad the two leads are a comfortable, persuasive match. The appealing Ms. Dunst can make you see the melancholy in her smiles, and this works beautifully for a character whose love grows clouded with worry and then fear."

At the end of the month, beginning on Friday, February 25th, we will show "Blue Valentine", co-starring Michelle Williams. As Alice Fisher of "The Observer" says, the film:

"... details a young couple's marriage from falling in love to falling apart six years later. The romance and divorce unfold in intercut scenes, making the former seem bittersweet and the latter all the more upsetting. Don't take a date to go and see this film, but do make sure you see it – the acting is unbearably good."

Check our website for all our upcoming films in February.

Also in February, we are having 2 for 1 on video rentals, so it is a great time to come in to select from our collection of more than 4000 titles on VHS or DVD.

Feedback from the Neko Case Benefit

2011-02-03T06:49:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Meriwinkle for the great mention of last weeks Neko Case "Storytelling?" performance at Lyndon State College.

Everyone I have talked to thought the show was amazing, and those that had a chance to go to the meet and greet afterwards commented on how giving Neko was with her time with each of them.

meriwinkle: Neko Case and Friends

If you were at the show, we'd like to hear what you thought and if you have pictures you would like to share, that would be greatly appreciated.

Regards.

Met: Live in HD - Nixon in China

2011-02-02T08:56:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, when I was setting up the ticket sales for this year's Met: Live in HD series, the title of this opera jumped out at me. When going through the list you see titles such as "Die Walkure", "Don Carlo", "Don Pasquale", "Capriccio" and so on and then come to "Nixon in China", it takes you a bit by surprise. At least it did me.

During a recent panel on the new opera at the Met (described on the New York Times ArtsBeat Blog), the composer and other key figures in the development of the opera discussed their feelings about the late President and how this opera has been received. One bit from the article encourages me to watch the performance when we show it on the 12th of February.

But as Mr. Adams worked on the opera in the late 1980s, he said, he grew to realize that Nixon was an “interesting character,” a complicated man who could not always control his emotions, unlike those two masters of self-control Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama.

Sounds like it should be a performance that will be both entertaining and educational, not only about this particular moment in time, but also in the universal themes embodied in that moment.

Preview of "Nixon in China" from the Metropolitan Opera.

Read more about this opera HERE at the Metropolitan's website.