Author: Angie Sykeny

Angie Sykeny is a Hippo staff writer covering local arts, theater, music and pop culture. She can be reached at [email protected].

The Art Roundup 21/03/25

The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities

“Peace Conference Assisi,” watercolor by Claudia Michael, NHAA Omer T. Lassonde exhibit 2020 Honorable Mention winner. Courtesy photo.

• Three days of virtual literature: The Exeter LitFest will be held virtually over Zoom from Thursday, April 1, through Saturday, April 3. This year’s featured guest is Victoria Arlen, an Exeter native, television personality for ESPN and author of Locked In: The Will to Survive and the Resolve to Live, which tells her story of recovery after inexplicably falling into a vegetative state at age 11. The festival kicks off Thursday at 7 p.m. with a live conversation between Arlen and local journalist, author and podcaster Lara Bricker. Friday’s events will include a discussion about publishing with Exeter authors Alex Myers (Continental Divide, The Story of Silence and Revolutionary) and Lisa Bunker (Felix Yz and Zenobia July); and “Crime: Fact vs. Fiction,” a discussion with Renay Allen, author of a mystery trilogy set in Exeter, and Bricker, author of the true crime book Lie After Lie. On Saturday there will be a pre-recorded children’s story time presented by the Exeter Public Library and a discussion with Exeter native and author Susan Cole Ross (Sliding Home: Two Teachers Head for the Mountains to Teach Our Kids for a Year). All events are free and open to the public. Visit exeterlitfest.com.

• Kids speak out about mental illness: New Hampshire youth in grades 5 through 12 are invited to submit artwork for the Magnify Voices Expressive Arts Contest to raise awareness of and destigmatize mental illness and promote social and emotional health for children in the state. “Art lets children express themselves in a way that they may not be able to do in a conversation,” said Michele Watson, New Hampshire Family Network Coordinator for the National Alliance on Mental Illness and one of the organizers of the contest. “Instead of just talking about it, they can show it and demonstrate it. It’s good not only for them to be able to share their voice, but also because it gives [adults] a better understanding of what they are feeling.” Submit an original short film (two minutes or less), essay or poem (1,000 words or less), song or two- or three-dimensional art piece that expresses your experience with or observations of mental health in New Hampshire. The submission deadline is Wednesday, March 31. A showcase of the finalists’ pieces will be held during Children’s Mental Health Awareness Month in May. Prize money will be awarded for winning pieces. Visit tinyurl.com/magnifyvoices2021 or email [email protected].

• Concord needs sculptors: The City of Concord and the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce are seeking professional sculptors for the fourth annual Art on Main, a year-round outdoor public art exhibit set up in Concord’s downtown. Sculptors age 18 and older are invited to submit up to two original sculptures for consideration. The deadline for submissions is March 31, and sculptors will be notified of their acceptance by April 30. Installation will begin on May 21, with the exhibit opening in June. The selected sculptors will receive a $500 stipend, and their sculptures will be for sale. To apply, visit concordnhchamber.com/creativeconcord, call 224-2508 or email [email protected].

• Art without boundaries: The New Hampshire Art Association presents its 35th annual Omer T. Lassonde exhibition March 31 through May 30 at the NHAA’s Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery (136 State St., Portsmouth) and online. The juried exhibit honors Omer T. Lassonde, who helped found NHAA in 1940 to exhibit the work of contemporary artists throughout the state. It will feature works in a variety of media by NHAA members and non-members centered around this year’s theme, “Beyond the Boundaries.” Gallery hours are Monday and Tuesday by appointment, Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. A virtual opening reception and awards ceremony is planned for Thursday, April 15, at 6:30 p.m. Visit nhartassociation.org or call 431-4230.

Featured photo: “Peace Conference Assisi,” watercolor by Claudia Michael, NHAA Omer T. Lassonde exhibit 2020 Honorable Mention winner. Courtesy photo.

Old school, new school

Sarah McCraw Crow explores women’s movement of the ’70s in debut novel

Canterbury author Sarah McCraw Crow weaves a story of loss, change and identity amid the second-wave women’s movement in her debut novel The Wrong Kind of Woman.

In 1970 New England, Oliver Desmarais, a professor at the elite all-male Clarendon College, dies suddenly. The Wrong Kind of Woman follows three characters through the year following Oliver’s death — his widow Virginia, his 13-year-old daughter Rebecca and his student Sam Waxman — and is told through their alternating perspectives.

Virginia had previously shared her husband’s disapproval of the four unmarried women on the faculty at the college, known as The Gang of Four, but now finds herself in their circle, joining the women’s movement and making waves at the otherwise apathetic campus.

Rebecca’s world has been turned upside down as she adjusts to life without her father and the shifting identity of her mother, whom she is growing to resent.

Mourning the loss of his favorite professor and hungry for human connection, junior Sam Waxman falls in love with a passionate activist who is willing to do whatever it takes to bring about change.

The Wrong Kind of Woman was born out of the author’s interest in women’s history, particularly in the realm of academia. McCraw Crow has had a “longtime fascination,” she said, with the women of her mother’s generation — women who are in their 80s and 90s today.

“I’ve always wondered how they managed, when they were young, with the choices that were available to them back in those days … and the various constraints and cultural pressures that were strong against them doing jobs that were more traditionally masculine or ambitious,” McCraw Crow said.

The fictional Clarendon College, she revealed, is loosely based on her alma mater, Dartmouth College in Hanover, which she started attending in 1983, a little more than a decade after the Ivy League university started admitting female students in its undergraduate programs.

“When I was there, there were still all sorts of reminders and remnants from the days when it was all male,” McCraw Crow said. “I thought a lot about what it must have been like for the first women faculty working there and the first women exchange students.”

To capture the book’s period setting, McCraw Crow explored archived newspapers from the early 1970s, read memoirs by women’s movement activists and personally interviewed a number of women who were among the first women to attend Dartmouth College when it became coed.

“Dartmouth wasn’t uniformly anti-women, but there was a core group of people who really didn’t want women there and were pretty awful to the first women students,” she said. “It was very helpful for me to talk to these women about how difficult that was and how they got through it — the good things from that time and the things that were the most hurtful.”

While The Wrong Kind of Woman provides an inspiring look at the social change effected since the 1970s, McCraw Crow said, it is also a sobering reminder that the war is not yet won.

“This is a story that still resonates today,” she said, “because as far as gender parity and gender equity, we still have quite a long way to go.”

The Wrong Kind of Woman by Sarah McCraw Crow
The novel is available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Walmart and local independent bookstores. Visit sarahmccrawcrow.com.

Featured photo: The Wrong Kind of Woman

Close to home

Transitional housing in Nashua gives families a fresh start

Family Promise of Southern New Hampshire has opened a new transitional housing facility in Nashua for families experiencing homelessness. Executive director Pamela Wellman talked about the facility’s amenities and programs and the demographic they serve.

How did Family Promise come to acquire this new building?

We were on the grounds of the Presentation of Mary Academy in Hudson … for almost 18 years. … Then, we found [the property formerly occupied by] Infant Jesus School in downtown Nashua … and have gone through a six-month capital campaign and renovation project … to build a beautiful brand new home for our mission and for our families. We worked very closely with the City of Nashua … and we got a $2.7 million grant through Gov. Sununu’s New Hampshire CARES Act and the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority … so there have been a lot of partnerships supporting us throughout this whole thing. … We were able to bring our first families in on Feb. 15. Starting on March 29, we’ll be able to bring in the second phase of families. … Our capital campaign will continue for the next two years … to sustain the program operationally, and to support the families.

What is the new facility like?

It’s 35,000 square feet — twice the size of our former facility — with 48 bedrooms, which translates to about 25 family units, so about 80 or 90 people. It’s got a beautiful dining area, a commercial kitchen, a laundry facility and plenty of storage space. … Each family has their own bath … and refrigerator space and cabinet space. They’ve got everything they need. They have a real home here, and they live a real life here. … We also have a filtration system, so if a family does contract Covid, they can quarantine in their units; we don’t have to place them elsewhere and put that burden on the community.

Who does Family Promise serve?

There are so many transitional housing and shelter programs in Greater Nashua, and we each share a certain piece of the pie when it comes to homelessness. Ours is family; we take families — moms and dads with children, single fathers and single mothers with children, and families however they identify themselves — and we keep them together. … Sixty-five percent of our community is children.

Aside from providing transitional housing, how does Family Promise help families experiencing homelessness regain independence?

One of the programs people work once they come here is financial literacy. … They have to save up to 75 percent of their disposable income in their own savings account so they get used to budgeting and paying rent again. We supply their food, toiletries and daily living supplies so that they can start saving that money. … Working full-time is a requirement … because you can’t save money unless you’ve got income, right? It’s not a handout. They’ve got to do the hard work, but we guide them through it. If people don’t have a job, we help them with their resume and help them look for jobs and realize their potential as professionals and career-builders.

We help them regain driver’s licenses and vehicles, if they don’t already have them. We help them get back in school to finish a certification so they can maximize their professional acumen. … We offer parenting and family advocacy courses to help them navigate any emotional trauma that homelessness has put on them as well as their children. … We’ve also got tons of great youth programs and activities here so that kids can take a deep breath and learn to play and be kids again.

What are some of the circumstances leading to families seeking transitional housing?

The stereotypical idea of what homelessness is — the impoverished person living under the bridge — is an important population of people to serve, but that’s not the only face of homelessness. Homelessness among children and youth ages 18 to 24 in New Hampshire is staggering. We see a lot of younger families who don’t have the support system of family or friends outside of themselves to help them get through [homelessness] and have no other place to go. … People don’t realize that one of the most prominent faces of homelessness is the average working family making minimum to slightly-higher-than-minimum wage. They are the ones that fall through the cracks. The current housing market doesn’t support them. They don’t qualify for many lower-income supports, but they don’t make enough money to get back up on their feet. … We’ve all seen the tremendous impact that Covid has had on these middle-class families, or have been personally affected by it. One crisis — a job loss, having to take a lesser-paying job, a family break-up or divorce, or a health tragedy — can send them spiralling into homelessness.

How would you describe the community at Family Promise?

It becomes a family. So many of our graduates become best friends because there’s a comfort in knowing that you’re not alone and that there are other people going through the same thing. … Sixty-five percent of our graduates actually come back and volunteer here and [remain a] part of our extended family.

Featured photo: Pamela Wellman Courtesy photo.

The Art Roundup 21/03/18

The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities

“45,000 Quilt Project” exhibit. Courtesy photo. Peter Josephson in NH Theatre Project’s production of A Tempest Prayer. Photo by Dan Derby.

• A quilted collaboration: Two Villages Art Society has an exhibit, “45,000 Quilt Project,” on display at the Hopkinton Town Hall (330 Main St., Hopkinton) now through March 24. The exhibit was created by Concord artist Glen Ring, who was inspired to speak out about U.S. immigrant detainment practices after learning that there were, on average, 45,000 men, women and children in detainment each day in 2019. “I needed people to see the enormity of the injustice being perpetrated on traumatized people seeking welcome and comfort in our country,” Ring said in a press release. More than 60 artists and activists from 12 states and Mexico contributed to the exhibit, which features six 9-by-9-foot quilted panels comprising 45 squares, each square with 1,000 marks to represent the on-average 45,000 individuals detained in the U.S. each day in 2019. “I imagined the impact of seeing 45,000 marks on a huge quilt would remain in viewers’ minds,” Ring said. At a virtual event on Thursday, March 18, at 7 p.m., Ring will discuss the exhibit and the role of art in social justice and activism. Registration is required. Visit twovillagesart.org or call 413-210-4372.

• SoloStage series concludes: New Hampshire Theatre Project’s new play development program SoloStage presents its third and final production, A Tempest Prayer, March 19 through March 21, in person (theater at 959 Islington St., Portsmouth) and online, with showtimes on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. The new play, written and performed by Peter Josephson, is an original adaptation of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest for today’s times. Told through text, movement and music, The Tempest Prayer explores the social and political pressures of the last year and examines what it means to be a white male in America. Tickets cost $30 for in-person shows and $20 for virtual shows. A Tempest Prayer as well as the SoloStage program’s two previous productions, The Adventures of Sleepyhead by Gemma Soldati and Where Do I Begin? Stephanie Lazenby, will be available to watch on demand during SoloStage Encore from Thursday, March 25, at 10 a.m. through Sunday, March 28 at 10 p.m. “These artists, and their collaborators, have delved into three uniquely magical worlds that represent our dreams, our memories and our hopes for the future,” NHTP artistic director Catherine Stewart said in a press release. “It has been a true gift to witness this work come to our stage, and that’s why we wanted to give the audience one more chance to view these vitally important works.” Tickets to watch the shows on demand cost $10 per show. Additionally, there will be an event held over Zoom on Thursday, March 25, at 7 p.m. featuring Stewart in conversation with the SoloStage playwrights. “We’ve met monthly since October to discuss making theater, both the joys and the challenges. We wanted to open the door on that conversation, for our final gathering,” Stewart said. “We hope artists and audiences alike will join us to explore the process of making, and the unique insights of that work which occured in the somewhat solitary world we find ourselves in.” The Zoom event is free, but registration is required. Call 431-6644 or visit nhtheatreproject.org.

• Big, happy art: The New Hampshire Art Association has two group art exhibits on view now through March 28, in person at NHAA’s Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery (136 State St., Portsmouth) and online. “On the Bright Side” features art in a variety of media, with a bright and cheerful theme. “After a challenging year for everyone, what better way to look forward to a better year ahead than to focus on the positive,” NHAA board president Renee Giffroy said in a press release. “Art can heal and be uplifting to both the artist and the viewer.” “LargeWorks” features more than 30 works of art in a variety of media measuring 48 inches or larger. Gallery hours are Monday and Tuesday by appointment, Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Visit nhartassociation.org or call 431-4230.

Featured photo: “45,000 Quilt Project” exhibit. Courtesy photo. Peter Josephson in NH Theatre Project’s production of A Tempest Prayer. Photo by Dan Derby.

Back to health

Program provides nursing education, employment

Catholic Charities New Hampshire recently announced the launch of Pathways, a career development and advancement program for New Hampshire residents working or interested in working in the health care field. Darlene Underhill, CCNH director of clinical services, discussed the program and how it hopes to address the shortage of health care workers, at CCNH’s facilities and throughout the state.

What’s happening with the number of health care workers in New Hampshire?

There’s been a health care staffing crisis and a critical shortage of both Licensed Nursing Assistants and nurses in New Hampshire and, in fact, in the whole country, for years. … Hospitals, nursing homes, home health [services] — all of us are competing for the same small pool of nurses and Licensed Nursing Assistants in the state.

What’s causing the shortage?

The number of people going into health care careers has been steadily declining. The average age of nurses in the state is almost 50 right now. … Covid certainly hasn’t helped things; Covid has made it much worse, because [it led to] a lot of health care workers deciding to get out of the health care field altogether, or to take an early retirement.

Why are fewer people pursuing careers in health care?

I think there are a lot more opportunities for a variety of [other careers] that people are choosing to do. … [Pursuing a career in] health care is very expensive and takes a lot of time. The state will typically reimburse a Nursing Assistant [for education costs] once they get their license, but having to pay up front to enter the program makes it cost-prohibitive for many individuals.

How does the Pathways program work?

People [pursuing a career in health care] are trying to work, trying to go school and trying to pay for it all, and what we’re doing is paying for the [licensing] program up front so that they can continue to work and go to school without having to worry about that financial burden. We also give them some time off [from their job] to study while they’re in school, and we pay them for that. … Last year, we started offering scholarships for some of our own Licensed Nursing Assistants, partnering with Harmony [Health Care Institute in Merrimack] for them to go into an LPN program. We graduated nine of our LNAs as LPNs, and they’re now working in our facilities. We had so many people from our facilities apply to go into the program that we decided we really needed to do this as an ongoing, formal program, not just a one-time thing. … This year, we just awarded 10 more scholarships for LNAs who work in our facilities to go into the program. … We’ve also just started doing the same thing for entry-level people who don’t have a career or background in health care yet but are looking to get into a new career in health care. We’re paying for the program and any expenses related to it — we’re working with LNA Health Careers [in Manchester] — for them to become Licensed Nursing Assistants. While they’re going to school, we hire them into our facilities as unit aides where they’ll be making beds and assisting with dining and activities and things like that. Then, once they get certified and licensed, we will offer them a position in one of our facilities as a Licensed Nursing Assistant.

What are you looking to accomplish with the program, short-term and long-term?

It’s helping people grow, develop into who they want to be and achieve what they want for their life by moving forward in their careers, and helping people get out of poverty. … For us, the benefit is that we would hire them as employees. We have been living with this critical [health care] staffing shortage, especially since Covid, every day in our skilled nursing facilities and assisted living facility. This is a way for us to grow our staff. … In the long run, we hope it contributes to easing the nursing [staffing] crisis in the state. We do ask [program graduates] for a commitment of time [of employment with CCNH], but we know that not all of them are going to stay with us forever; some of them will want to move on to other [health care facilities], and that’s fine, because overall, the more nurses who are added to the state pool, the better off everybody is going to be.

Any plans to expand the program in the future?

We’re definitely going to keep growing and expanding in terms of servicing more students, and we’re talking about branching into an RN program next year so that [the LNP program graduates] can keep going straight into an RN program, or maybe putting LNA [program students] all the way through to RN.

Featured photo: Darlene Underhill. Courtesy photo.

The Art Roundup 21/03/11

The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities

headshot of blonde woman
Frank Lloyd Wright modern building

Jane Oneail will discuss the works of Frank Lloyd Wright and Norman Rockwell during the Walker Lecture Series. Courtesy photos.

• Post-apocalyptic Hamlet auditions: Manchester-based Cue Zero Theatre Co. is holding video auditions for its reimagined production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. “Hamlet will be set in a ‘post-rapture’ world, with the characters of the play being those unworthy of the Kingdom of Heaven,” the company announced in a press release. “Described as ‘The Walking Dead without the zombies’ in mood and atmosphere, this production will place the world’s most famous play in a heightened and extra dangerous landscape.” Open roles include Gertrude, Laertes, Guildenstern/Bernardo and ensemble characters. Performers must be at least 16 years old by opening night. To audition, submit a one-minute video of yourself performing a Shakespearean monologue that showcases your theatrical abilities by 11:59 p.m., on Sunday, March 21. Callbacks will be held in person on Thursday, March 25, from 6 to 9 p.m. The production will run June 18 through June 27 at the Derry Opera House. Rehearsals will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 to 9 p.m., and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m., starting on March 28, mostly over Zoom, with some in-person rehearsals at the Granite State Arts Academy in Salem. Visit cztheatre.com or email [email protected].

• Military authors: The Music Hall in Portsmouth presents a virtual event with former military officers and award-winning authors Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis on Tuesday, March 16, at 7 p.m., as part of its virtual Writers in The Loft series. Ackerman and Stavridis will discuss their new novel, 2034, a geopolitical thriller in which a naval clash occurs between the U.S. and China. An interview with Jonathan Day, managing partner at Centrus Digital and major in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, will follow the authors’ presentation, along with an audience Q&A. Tickets cost $5 for access to the event, which will be livestreamed on Crowdcast. Visit themusichall.org or call 436-2400.

• A look at two artists: The Walker Lecture Series continues on Wednesday, March 17, with an art history lecture on Frank Lloyd Wright and Norman Rockwell, presented by Jane Oneail, to be held virtually over Zoom at 7:30 p.m. Oneail holds a master’s degree in Art History from Boston University and has taught at the college level for more than a decade. She previously served as the executive director of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen and as Senior Educator at the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester. A recording of the lecture will also be available to watch starting the following day. The series will continue every Wednesday through April 21. Other upcoming events include a history lecture on New Hampshire revolutionaries John Stark and Henry Dearborn; a discussion with Michael Tougias about his memoir The Waters Between Us; a nature program about bears; travelogues about Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska and the deserts, coastline and safari parks of Namibia; and a faculty concert by Concord Community Music School. All are free and open to the public. Call 333-0035 or visit walkerlecture.org.

• Call for artist members: Applications for the New Hampshire Art Association’s spring jurying for new members are due by Thursday, March 18, with jurying to take place on Monday, March 22. The oldest statewide artist association in the state, NHAA provides many opportunities for New England artists to exhibit and sell their artwork throughout the year. Prospective members must submit original works of art in the same medium that “reflect the artist’s voice and are representative of their body of work,” according to the NHAA website. A jury of established NHAA artist members with backgrounds in a variety of media will review and judge the work. The jury looks for “maturity of artistic concept, mastery of the medium, composition, consistency of artistic concept and presentation,” the website said. For a prospectus and application form, visit nhartassociation.org and click on “Become a Member.” Applications and the application fee payment can be submitted online or in person at the NHAA headquarters (136 State St., Portsmouth). Instructions for dropping off and picking up artwork will be emailed after an application and payment are received. Visit nhartassociation.org or call 431-4230.

Featured photo: Jane Oneail will discuss the works of Frank Lloyd Wright and Norman Rockwell during the Walker Lecture Series. Courtesy photos.

Stay in the loop!

Get FREE weekly briefs on local food, music,

arts, and more across southern New Hampshire!