April arts calendar for NVCC

WATERBURY, Conn. (March 17, 2008) – The following is the April arts calendar for Naugatuck Valley Community College:

SATURDAY, APRIL 5
Naugatuck Valley Community College will host its fourth annual Mystery Dinner Theatre fundraiser – “Suspicious Crossings” – on Saturday, April 5.
 
Starring such local leaders as Waterbury Board of Aldermen president J. Paul Vance, Jr., Esq. and State Rep. Anthony J. D’Amelio, the Agatha Christie style play engages the audience in figuring out “whodunit,” while cast members scramble to free themselves of suspicion.

The show – which includes a full dinner, cash bar and silent auction – begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Grand Oak Villa, 550 Sylvan Lake Road, Oakville.  Tickets are $75 per person and can be purchased by calling (203) 575-8045. 

THURS. – SAT., APRIL 10-12
The Naugatuck Valley Community College Theater Department presents Big Love by Obie-award winning playwright Charles L. Mee.  The performance will take place Thurs., Fri., and Sat., April 10, 11 and 12 at 8:00 p.m.

Big Love is an adaptation of the 2,500 year old play by Aeschylus, The Suppliant Women.  In this rendition, 3 sisters are promised in marriage to their 3 cousins but instead make an angry pact to murder their husbands on their wedding night.  The production contains adult material, strong language, and brief nudity. It’s suggested for ages 16 and older.

All performances will be held in the Mainstage Theatre at the college’s Fine Arts Center, 750 Chase Parkway, Waterbury. Tickets are $6 for students with ID and $10 for the general public. Reservations can be made by calling 203-575-8038.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23
The Arts and Humanities Department at Naugatuck Valley Community College will host editors Alice Bernstein & Lionel Bascom at “Found Literature:  Writer’s Conference 2008” on Wednesday, April 23 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the college’s Mainstage Theater, 750 Chase Parkway, Waterbury.

Journalist and aesthetic realism associate, Alice Bernstein, will discuss her discovery of and work on the previously unpublished Ossie Davis play, “The People of Clarendon County,” with an emphasis on education as an end to racism. Western Connecticut State University professor, Lionel Bascom, will speak about his latest book release, “The Last Leaf of Harlem,” a collection of short stories by Dorothy West, a woman who was the last surviving member of the Harlem Renaissance.

The event is free and open to the public.  The presentations, along with a question and answer session, will take place from 11:20 to 1 p.m.  A writer’s workshop and Open Mic will be held from 2:30 to 4 p.m. A $10 luncheon and book signing is also available by RSVP only, and will be held between the two sessions.

For more information or to RSVP, contact Beth-Ann Scott at (203)596-2199 or bscott@nvcc.commnet.edu.

FRIDAY, APRIL 25
Naugatuck Valley Community College will hold its annual spring dance concert performance, “Our Stories, Plus…” on Friday, April 25, at 8 p.m. in the Mainstage Theater of the Fine Arts Center, located at the college’s main campus, 750 Chase Parkway, Waterbury.  

NVCC dance students will perform choreographed works under the themes “Darkness Falls” and “Light Begins.”  Waterbury Arts Magnet School dancers and Outkasts, a break dancing company, will join in selected performances.

A Chinese sword piece will also be taught by Alison Wang, the college’s Technical Librarian.  Tania Nunez, a professional dancer and NVCC instructor of ballroom dance, and her partner, David Polon, will be joined on stage by five student couples to perform a Salsa piece.