January 2, 2014 Community Happenings

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Category: News

Created on Thursday, 02 January 2014 11:24

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Story Time Set
    ‘‘The Jacket I Wear in the Snow’’ by Shirley Neitzel will be one of the readings during the next preschool story time at Kettleson Memorial Library 10:30 a.m. Jan. 9.
    The program includes readings, rhymes, songs and a craft project. Everybody is welcome. For more information call the library at 747-8708.
   
    Dragon Dance
    Time Change Set
    The time for the next dragon dance practice has changed to 2-4 p.m. Jan. 4 at UAS-Sitka Campus. All are invited to participate.
    For more information call Summer at 738-5092.

    SCDC to Meet
    Sitka Community Development Corporation will hold its annual meeting 5:30-8:30 p.m.  Jan. 8 at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church See House, downstairs in the undercroft.
    SCDC is a community supported non-profit working to establish permanently affordable housing in Sitka. Members of the public are encouraged to attend. For more information call 747-2860.


Dear Cyndi, Below is some pretty whiz bang news about an Iconography workshop her in Sitka, is it possible to get into the paper, please? Thank you. Cheers, Jeff B
 
An iconography workshop, presented by St. Michael’s Orthodox Cathedral and the Greater Sitka Arts is being offered to the public in Sitka for the very first time. Instructor, Charles Rohrbacher, a highly respected Alaskan iconographer with 3 decades of icon “writing” experience, will guide and support participants through the general technical sequence, layer upon layer. Tools and materials are based on egg tempera, powdered minerals, and gold leafing applied to gesso board. The class, Friday-Sunday: Feb 7, 8, 9 and 14, 15, 16 will run for 40 hours, during two long weekends so each participant can complete one icon. Maximum workshop participation is 10. No previous experience is required and art supplies will be made available. Cost is $525.00 including materials. For more information contact Dr. Ana Dittmar-623-7537 or Jeff Budd 747-4821 For application go to sitkaarts.org,



Writer and Actor to Collaborate During Residency

    Author Susan (Mona) Power and actor Galway McCullough are working artists who use artistic expression as a means of addressing critical social and cultural issues. The two will be collaborating on a project focused on one such issue – sexual violence against women – during their January stay in Sitka as artists-in-residence with the Island Institute. Using the working title of “Rape Culture,” the two plan to develop dramatic monologues and dialogues that explore the roots of this problem and the power dynamics that contribute to it. They will give an introductory talk and performance 7:30 p.m. Jan. 4 at the Yaw Chapel on Sheldon Jackson Campus. A $5 donation is suggested and refreshments will be served.
    Power is the author of three books: ‘‘The Grass Dancer,’’ a novel (awarded a PEN/Hemingway prize); ‘‘Roofwalker,’’ a collection of stories and histories (awarded a Milkweed National Fiction Prize); and ‘‘Sacred Wilderness,’’ a forthcoming novel (available in February 2014). The latest book was written in part during a 2010 Island Institute residency through the United States Artists Alaska Artist-in-Residence program. Power is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and a native Chicagoan. She lives and teaches in St. Paul, Minn., and also makes a living as a public speaker and performer.
    McCullough describes his work as that of a storyteller who wears many hats including actor, fight director/stunt coordinator, director and producer. He has performed leading roles in theater and film in the Twin Cities and New York as well as national and regional tours. Recent challenging roles include Stephen Belber and nine other roles in “The Laramie Project”; and title character in “Bill W. and Dr. Bob”; and the short film “The Sound.” While attending Beloit College, a summer-time extra-credit project led to his becoming the foreman during the construction of, then tour guide and manager of, Wa-Swa-Goning, a recreated Ojibwe village on the Lac Du Flambeau reservation in Wisconsin.
    Power and McCullough met 12 years ago and became inspired by each other’s work. Over time they became colleagues offering each other feedback, perspective, and encouragement. Their years following each other’s work led to a desire to collaborate on a project together. The issue of violence against women is one that deeply affects both of them. Power says they aim to “explore this terrain without judgment or agenda, since both of us see our fellow human beings as complex beings – the dismissive idea that we can neatly sort the ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys’ into distinct categories is an unhelpful fallacy.”
    During their residency, they aim to create a performance piece made up of monologues and dialogues that will allow them “to discover, develop, and ‘inhabit’ a diverse array of characters.” They’ll present this performance on Saturday, Jan. 25 near the end of their residency. Details of time and place will be announced.
    During their residency, Power and McCullough will also offer two workshops for the public. “Writing from Intuition: Opening Up to Channels of Creativity” will be led primarily by Power and held 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.  Jan. 11 at the Pioneers Home Manager’s Residence. It is open to writers of any level of experience in all genres – poetry, fiction or non-fiction.
    A workshop in ‘‘Creative Performance’’ led primarily by McCullough will offer a number of processes and exercises for anyone interested in performance – public speakers, dancers, singers, as well as actors. This workshop will be Jan. 18.
    There is a $25 fee per workshop or $45 for both. Those interested should sign up in advance with the Island Institute.
    Support for the Island Institute’s residency program has come from the Alaska State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, City of Sitka, Sitka Alaska Permanent Charitable Trust, and Island Institute members. For more information, contact the Institute at 747-3794.

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