Artist, geographer and author Trevor Paglen will present a talk titled “Machine Visions” as this year’s Plonsker Family Lecture Series in Contemporary Art at the Williams College Museum of Art. The free talk will be held at 6 p.m. ET Friday, Nov. 6, online via Zoom.

Marjorie Celeste Belcher was born in Los Angeles in 1919. She was known as Marge Champion when she married her dance and life partner, Gower Champion, in 1947. They had two sons and divorced in 1973. A resident of Stockbridge she was a familar presence at Berkshire arts events. She died this week at 101. Remarkably, she continued to dance into her 90s which became the subject of a short film

Woody King Jr.'s Federal Theater presents Octoberfest: Five plays that reawaken, inspire, and remind us of the struggle for freedom and dignity of African-Americans. Each piece, with its own history of previous production success, has been re-imagined. Billed as readings, seasoned actors and directors take us to a new form of theatrical communication in the “zoom style” medium.

West Palm Beach-based MNM Theatre Company to mount virtual production of the musical revue Closer Than Ever. The stream will be available starting on Nov. 27 and remain online through Dec. 31. Due to the pandemic, MNM Theatre Company has cancelled or postponed all live shows.

We have been introduced to streaming technology across the boards in this time of Covid. It is a global experiment, which, whether or not it is smooth and realizes the intentions of the creators, is welcome. It provides connection. Safe connection as we are socially distanced. An opportunity also for grand experiments. The School for Wives produced by Moliere in the Park leads the way.

Berkshire Theatre Group announcees a gift of just over $1 million dollars from the family of the late Mary Anne Gross in honor of her lifetime love of both theatre and the Berkshires

For the past two years, Chantal Zakari has been exploring the connected histories of the Watertown Federal Arsenal, and of the buildings and the people who worked within them.

The Irish Repertory Theatre was preparing to present Eugene O’Neill’s Touch of the Poet when Covid struck and theatres closed. Sets were ready. Costumes had been fitted. Most importantly, rehearsals were underway. Ever inventive, the troupe has re-grouped to put the production on streaming. The advantage of a set richly reflecting the progress of the drama is immediately evident. Our eyes rest on the stage.

Another pre-and post-COVID-19 slanted offering, muchly peppered with condemnation of Trump and the current administration, was presented one time only this past September. HBO’s Coastal Elites was originally written by playwright and novelist Paul Rudnick, intended to be performed at New York City’s Public Theater.

Where once technology was thought to be the death knell of human social interaction, it is now bringing us together. During this pandemic, arts institutions worldwide have been regrouping and finding ways to keep going virtually. The Monmouth Conservatory of Music is no exception. Living in this altered reality, unable to gather in-person as they normally would, the school has gone all-out to ensure the beat goes on for its young musicians (some as young as 5!)

Margaret Swan’s Lift, on view at Bostin Sculptors Gallery, December 9th to January 24th, features a new body of work exploring forces of nature in relation to structures that harness their power. The works are inspired by the rigging of sailing vessels,

Gardner Museum expands weekend hours. Vistors must reserve tickets in advance.

Today, November 17, there was a fire on the campus of Jacob's Pillow in Becket. The Doris Duke Theatre is lost. " We are grateful for the outpouring of support from around the world we have already received. We will rebuild,” says Pamela Tatge, Jacob’s Pillow Artistic & Executive Director.

Palm Beach Dramaworks in South Florida will present a virtual holiday season of plays. The South Florida theater company will offer Horton Foote's The Trip to Bountiful, Alfred Uhry's The Last Night of Ballyhoo, and Dickens' A Christmas Carol. The plays will premiere on Mondays later this month.

Bard’s The Orchestra Now (TON) gives live performances in the time of Covid. Recently they performed a challenging and revealing program in Annandale, NY. Selections were made with attention to the number of instrumentalists required and ability to social distance on stage.

Barrington Stage Company will present a free virtual reading of The Supadupa Kid 2: Move, the action/superhero book by Pittsfield-based author Ty Allan Jackson. The reading will feature a cast of local youth and parents from the Berkshires and NY State Capital Region. Julianne Boyd will direct the reading, which will begin streaming free on December 3. 

“The Last Vermeer”, a TriStar Pictures film based on the book “The Man Who Made Vermeers” by Jonathan Lopez, opened in over 800 ‘live’ theatres on November 20, 2020; centers around one such court case and trial reparation event in the Netherlands in 1945. 

Edward Smaldone is a contemporary composer of classical music. His distinctive textures include unusual combinations of instruments, odd beats, counterpoint and rich harmonics. These elements blend but do not merge. Rough edges combined with smooth melodic lines are ear catching. Lines often stretch wide and giant leaps leave gaping spaces between notes.  

Boston Lyric Opera, ever on the lookout for startling innovations that work, has hired Darrah to produce a stop motion feature-length animated version of Philip Glass’s The Fall of the House of Usher.

In a year like no other, we're as grateful as ever for you, our art-loving community near and far. Thank you for your continued support, words of encouragement, and mask-covered smiles — we wouldn't be here without you. 

Not until actress Jessica Sherr penned her one woman show, Bette Davis Ain’t For Sissies, has anybody dared to give us a wildly exciting, action-packed recounting of Bette Davis’ life as a young aspiring actress hellbent on becoming a star. 

James T. Demetrion, the second and longest-serving director of the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (1984–2001) and director of the Des Moines Art Center (1969–1984) and Pasadena Art Museum (1964–1966), died Nov. 29. Demetrion had celebrated his 90th birthday in July.

South Florida's MNM Theatre Company is streaming the musical revue 'Closer Than Ever' through Dec. 31. Director Jonathan Van Dyke has found a creative way to make the actors look like they're close to each other on screen. 'Closer Than Ever' is a riveting, sung-thru song cycle.

New York theatre curators Valeria Orani and Frank Hentschker will host the Third Edition of the Italian & American Playwrights Project (IAPP) on Monday, December 14, 2020, 4:30 pm live on US Non-Profit Digital Theatre Platform www.HowlRound.com. 

Experiments in Opera (EIO) is the company that gives most hope for the future of the form. They are fleet, inclusive and steeped in the history of the opera. Most importantly, they have extended the camp story-telling which characterizes the form. For all the beauty of classic operas, let’s face it: they are camp. A new podcast series has just been released by the group.