THEATER
Playwriting workshop
Taijee, newly appointed theater instructor at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, leads a playwriting workshop for ages 12 and older, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays, starting this Saturday-Oct. 5 in the Adam B. Robinson Jr. Black Box Theater at ART WORKS on Main, 627 S. Main St. Pine Bluff. The workshop will cover the craft of playwriting with a focus on mental health. Cost is $25. Register at artx3.org/all-events/playwriting-workshop. For more information, call (870) 536-3375 or emaillcollins@artx3.org.
ETC.
Lecture-Concert Series
Arkansas State University’s Lecture-Concert Series opens with a recital of Spanish music from Latin America by soprano Camille Ortiz at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 24 in the recital hall of the ASU Fine Arts Center, 2412 Quapaw Way, Jonesboro. Ortiz is an assistant professor of voice at the School of Music and Dance at the University of Oregon.
The rest of the lineup:
◼️ Artist and author Bryan Keith Hotchkins will discuss race and other aspects of identity, 6 p.m. Oct. 16 in the Mockingbird Room of Reng Student Union, 101 N. Caraway Road, Jonesboro.
◼️ Also on Oct. 16, 7:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Center recital hall, composer/musician Isaac Cates will discuss the way sacred vocal music can draw connections between people of differing faiths and those who have no faith background.
◼️ Laura Soter, assistant professor of philosophy at York University in Toronto, will discuss her research into individuals’ beliefs, mental control and moral psychology, 6 p.m. Nov. 7 in the Reng Student Union auditorium.
◼️ David Leong and Patti D’Beck will present a lecture titled, “So, What’s Your Story?” exploring how to present lived experiences in job applications, making friends or writing a memoir, 7 p.m. Nov. 19 in Simpson Theatre of ASU’s Fowler Center, 201 Olympic Blvd., Jonesboro.
◼️ Jeffrey Carroll, an assistant professor in the John Chambers College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University, discusses his research on political and social philosophy and where philosophy, politics and economics meet, 6 p.m. Feb. 6 in the Reng Student Union auditorium.
◼️ Brittney Trotter, assistant professor of practice in flute and woodwind program director at the University of the Pacific’s Conservatory of Music, and Bret Pimentel, a professor of music at Delta State University who plays the saxophone, flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon, are among the performers for the second annual woodwind extravaganza, 6 p.m. March 1 in the Fowler Center’s Riceland Hall.
Admission to all the events is free. Call (870) 935-5133, email rsullivan@AState.edu or visit AState.edu/Lecture-Concert.
UA performance season
Campus and community performers under the direction of Emmy Award-winner and University of Arkansas, Fayetteville alumnus Lendell Black kick off the 10th anniversary season at the university’s Jim and Joyce Faulkner Performing Arts Center, 453 Garland Ave., Fayetteville, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4. The performance is a tribute to the center’s namesakes, who died in 2021.
The rest of the lineup (except as noted, all performances at 7:30 p.m.):
◼️ Jan. 31: PUBLIQuartet’s “What Is American?: Rhythm Nation.” PUBLIQuartet — Curtis Stewart and Jannina Norpoth, violins; Nick Revel, viola; and Hamilton Berry, cello — is an improvising string quartet “whose repertoire blends genres and highlights American multiculturalism,” according to a news release. The program, still in progress, will at least in part reflect the ensemble’s Grammy Award-nominated 2022 album, “What Is American.”
◼️ Feb. 27: Comedian Mike Paramore
◼️ May 2-3. 3 p.m. May 4: “EXPOSED: A Ballet on the Trails,” world premiere by the NWA Ballet Theatre, with images of photographer Brent Umphlett and composer Lendell Black.
Tickets go on sale Sunday. Call (479) 575-5387 or visit faulkner.uark.edu.
Small Museum grants
Oct. 18 is the deadline for communities to apply to Arkansas Heritage (a division of the state Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism) for Small Museum grants. The grants are “to promote education, awareness and enjoyment of Arkansas history and to increase the ability of community-based small museums and organizations to research, preserve, present and conserve Arkansas history,” according to a news release. Eligible organizations must have an annual operating budget of $250,000 or less; must have a staff of at least one person, either paid or volunteer; and must be open to the public at least 90 days per year. Grants can go toward buildings and grounds maintenance, operating costs, equipment purchases up to $1,000, accessioning of artifact collections, educational programming, research, exhibits and web site design and maintenance. The maximum award is $2,500. Visit tinyurl.com/2fu6n457.
