Category: Visual Arts

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

• Celebrating water: The Mt. Kearsarge Indian Museum (18 Highlawn Road in Warner; indianmuseum.org, 456-2600) will display the exhibit “Nebizum: Water Is Life” starting Saturday, July 22, when Vera Longtoe Sheehan will discuss the exhibit at 1 p.m.The exhibit is on display through Tuesday, Oct. 31, during which time the museum is open Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. Admission costs $11 — $10 for seniors, students and veterans; $8 for ages 6 to 12, and free for kids under 6 and Native Americans, with a household price of $35 (for two adults and up to three kids), according to the website.

Big Fish
RGC Theatre will present the musical Big Fish at the Hatbox Theatre (Steeplegate Mall, 270 Loudon Road in Concord; hatboxnh.com, 715-2315) starting Friday, July 21, and running through Sunday, July 30. Shows are Friday and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $25, $22 for seniors and students.

• The Second Coming: The Majestic Studio Theatre (880 Page St. in Manchester; majestictheatre.net, 669-7469) will present Nunsense II: The Second Coming on Friday, Aug. 11, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Aug. 12, at 2 and 7 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 13, at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $20 for adults and $15 for 65+ and 17 and under. The musical returns to the Little Sisters of Hoboken for a sequel to Nunsense, according to a press release. The production is directed by Carole Neveux with musical direction by A. Robert Dionne and is choreographed by Bruce Williams, the release said.

• Uncommon Art: Get ready for Goffstown Main Street’s 15th Annual Uncommon Art on the Common on Saturday, Aug. 5, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This art festival will feature the works of more than 45 area artists and artisans displayed in booths along Main Street, according to a press release. The event will include the return of Uncommon Bling (gather beads and handcrafted items at participating booths to be strung on a necklace), an art raffle, a kids’ craft tent and more, the release said. See goffstownuncommonarts.org.

History in stone
The Canterbury Shaker Village (288 Shaker Road in Canterbury; shakers.org) will hold a two-day Stone Wall Workshop on Saturday, July 22, and Sunday, July 23, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Learn the history of stone walls in New England and help restore some of the village’s stone walls with master stone artisan and mason Kevin Fife, according to a press release. The workshop costs $250 per person and includes materials and a gourmet lunch. The workshop will also be held Aug. 26 and Aug. 27 and Oct. 21 and Oct. 22. Visit shakers.org to enroll.

• Original theater: Cue Zero Theatre Company (cztheatre.com) presents Join/Empathy, a project from the Cue Zero Laboratory Series, on Friday, Aug. 4, and Saturday, Aug. 5, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 6, at 2 p.m. at the Arts Academy of New Hampshire (19 Keewaydin Drive, No. 4, in Salem). Tickets cost $15 per person. Join explores how and why people fall into cults, according to a press release. Empathy was created by a small group of performers looking at what “empathy” means in daily life and is set in a restaurant, the release said.

• Book event at Gibson’s: Gibson’s Bookstore (45 S. Main St. in Concord; 224-0562, gibsonsbookstore.com) will participate in a virtual launch day author event on Tuesday, July 25, at 7 p.m. with Michael Korta for the new book An Honest Man, a thriller about the murder of several politicians at sea, talking to fellow thriller author Lisa Unger. Register online.

• Book event at the Aviation Museum: Author Paul Houle will discuss his book The Crash of Delta Flight 723: The Worst Air Disaster in New England History on Thursday, July 27, at 7 p.m. at the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire (27 Navigator Road in Londonderry; 669-4877, aviationmuseumofnh.org). Tickets cost $10 and are available at the door (or in advance by calling); books will be for sale for $35, according to a press release.

MacDowell medal awardee
The Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester; 669-6144, currier.org) will present a screening of Waban-Aki: People from Where the Sun Rises, an autobiographical documentary by filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin, who will receive the Edward MacDowell medal this weekend at MacDowell in Peterborough (see macdowell.org), according to a Currier newsletter. The screening will take place Thursday, July 20, at 6 p.m.; register online. The screening takes place during the weekly Art After Work programming, when admission to the museum is free and the museum features live music (this week from Goodwin Street Jazz).

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

• Willkomen: Actors Cooperate Theatre wraps up its two-week production of Cabaret at the Hatbox Theatre (Steeplegate Mall, 270 Loudon Road in Concord; hatboxnh.com, 715-2315) with shows this Friday, July 14, and Saturday, July 15, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, July 16, at 2 p.m. Tickets for this presentation of the Tony-winning musical about a Berlin nightclub at the end of the Weimar Republic cost $25 for adults, $22 for seniors and students.

• Barns tell the story: The New Boston Historical Society will feature John Porter to discuss “The History of Agriculture as Told By Barns” on Thursday, July 13, at 7 p.m. at New Boston Community Church (2 Meetinghouse Hill Road), according to a press release. Porter was a dairy specialist for the UNH Cooperative Extension and authored several books about old barns, the release said. The event is free; see newbostonhistoricalsociety.com.

• New at the Currier: The new exhibit “Distant Conversations: Ella Walker and Betty Woodman” will open to the public at the Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester; currier.org, 669-6144) on Saturday, July 15. The exhibit is the first in a series of “Distant Conversations” exhibits “exploring intergenerational dialogues and artistic conversations between practitioners who have not necessarily met in real life but whose work similarly resonates despite their differences,” according to the Currier’s website. The exhibit will be on display through Sunday, Oct. 22. You can see the exhibit for free during Saturday’s Block Party, which runs from 4 to 9 p.m.

“The Complexities of Presentation”
Kimball Jenkins (266 N. Main St. in Concord; kimballjenkins.com, 225-3932) has partnered with the Greater Manchester Chamber (54 Hanover St. in Manchester; manchester-chamber.org) to present the show “The Complexities of Presentation” at the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Boardroom at the Chamber offices, running Thursday, July 13, through the end of August, according to a press release. The show will feature the works of artists Sylvan Dustin and Leaf Comstock, the release said. A reception for the exhibit will be held on Thursday, July 13, from 6 to 8 p.m. and will feature live music, treats by Dancing Lion Chocolate, and an opportunity to meet the artists, the release said. The gallery is open Tuesday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• NH Music Festival: The New Hampshire Music Festival (nhmf.org) will perform two concerts at the Gilford Community Church (19 Potter Hill Road in Gilford): an orchestra concert on Friday, July 14, at 7 p.m. and a chamber music concert on Monday, July 24, at 7 p.m. Tickets for the orchestra concert cost $40 for adults, $15 for students; tickets for the chamber concert cost $35 for adults, $15 for students. See the Festival’s website to purchase tickets.

• The history of Freedom Summer: The Derry Public Library (derrypl.org) will host a virtual program called “Civil Rights Investigation: Mississippi Burning,” about the disappearance of three civil rights workers during the Freedom Summer of 1964, on Wednesday, July 26, from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m., according to the website. The program is presented by the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library.

• Sy Montgomery: Author Sy Montgomery and illustrator Matt Patterson will be at Balin Books (Somerset Plaza, 375 Amherst St. in Nashua; balinbooks.com, 417-7981) on Saturday, July 29, at 11 a.m. to discuss and sign their new children’s picture book The Book of Turtles, according to a press release.

• Creme de la Creme and Oshibana: The Art Center and NH Art Association present their “Creme de la Creme” members exhibition at The Art Center (Suite 1177, 1 Washington St. in Dover; theartcenterdover.com) through the end of August, according to a press release. An artist reception will be held for the exhibit on Saturday, Aug. 5, from 6 to 9 p.m, the release said.

The Art Center is also running the exhibit “Oshibana — The Botanical Collection” featuring the artwork of Roberta Garrison in the Jim Reagan Gallery through Aug. 31, according to a press release. Oshibana is an art form originating in 16th-century Japan involving “arranging pressed flowers and botanical elements into stunning works of art,” the release said. Garrison’s work focuses on the beauty of local birds, the release said. An artist reception for this show will also be held on Saturday, Aug. 5, from 6 to 9 p.m.

Chef’s Kiss
Back at their home base, Kimball Jenkins (266 N. Main St. in Concord; kimballjenkins.com, 225-3932) will present a “Chef’s Kiss” reception on Friday, July 14, from 6 to 8 p.m. “Amanda Whitworth, former Artist Laureate of New Hampshire, has given her heart to assist in a live performance painting with artists Nicholas So and Jeryl Palana Pilapil. We encourage attendees to wear white and tip artists to paint a live painting on their person! Materials will be available for those who want to paint on each other instead of leaning on an artist! Light fare will be provided,” according to a press release. The reception kicks off a multi-artist summer show that will run from Friday, July 14, through Tuesday, Sept. 12, with gallery hours Monday through Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Fridays 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

• Printmaking on display: The New Hampshire Art Association and the Monotype Guild of New England are presenting the exhibit “Hot Off the Press,” a showcase of New England printers, at the Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery (136 State St. in Portsmouth; nhartassociation.org, 431-4230) through Sunday, July 30, according to a press release. The exhibit showcases printmaking from New England with a mix of etching, collagraph, letterpress, relief, lithograph and more, the release said. The gallery is open Tuesday through 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.

• Save the date for even more printmaking: Big Ink weekend at the gallery at 3S Artspace (319 Vaughan St. in Portsmouth; 3sarts.org, 766-3330) will feature “the Big Tuna” — a giant mobile printmaking press — that local artists will use to create large-scale relief prints, according to a press release. The printing, which the public can watch, will run Saturday, Aug. 26, and Sunday, Aug. 27, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Artists printing at 3S Artspace include Michelle Stevens, Leslie Evans, Poppy Lord, Denise Manseau, Lisa Schwarz, Le Huong Huynh, Heather Hughes, Sarah Robbitts-Terry, Jennifer Benn, Lauren Audet, Christie Norton, Emily Noelle Lambert, Ronald Pacacha, Mary Mead, Jessica McKeon, Eric MacDonald, Alison Freidlin, Ashley Doke and William Wright, the release said.

• Save the date for ukuleles: The Southern New Hampshire Ukulele Group will hold its 8th annual ukulele picnic, SNHUFest, on Saturday, Sept. 16, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Rotary Arts Pavilion Stage at Henry Law Park in Dover. The festival, which is free, features a full day of ukulele performances as well as food, vendors, raffles and more, according to a press release. See facebook.com/SNHUG.

Shakespeare on the Green
Get two weekends of Shakespeare under the stars at “Shakespeare on the Green” featuring Macbeth Thursday, July 20, through Saturday, July 22, and A Midsummer’s Night Dream Thursday, July 27, through Saturday, July 29, with all shows at 7:30 p.m., according to a press release. The plays, presented by Theatre Kapow (tkapow.com), will take place on Founder’s Green outside the Dana Center (Saint Anselm College, 100 Saint Anselm Drive in Manchester; tickets.anselm.edu). Tickets cost $25 for general seating; ages 12 and under get in free. Bring your lawn chairs, blankets, coolers and snacks, according to the website.

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

• Seeking art: The Manchester Arts Commission is bringing back the City Employee and Family Art Show in the first-floor “Art on the Wall at City Hall” gallery to run Monday, Oct. 2, through Thursday, Nov. 30, according to a press release. An opening reception will be held at City Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 10, when prizes will be awarded in several categories, the release said. Participants must be an employee, retiree, volunteer, elected official or immediate family member of that group of the City of Manchester or the Manchester School District, the release said. Register by Thursday, Aug. 31 at nationalartsprogram.org/venues/manchester/manchester-nh-registration.

• Pastel garden: Manchester-based artists Susanne Larkham will present her pastel works featuring flowers in “Fleur-delys” at the New Hampshire Art Association’s Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery (136 State St. in Portsmouth) Thursday, July 6, through Sunday, July 30, with a reception on Friday, July 7, from 5 to8 p.m. as part of the Art Around Town first Friday, according to a press release. The gallery is open Tuesday through Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. See nhartassociation.org or call 431-4230.

• Gardens for theater: The Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org, 668-5588) will hold a Garden Tour on Saturday, July 15, from 10 a.m to 3 p.m. Tickets cost $25; participants will start at Demers Garden Center in Manchester and then head off on a self-guided, self-paced tour of eight private homes in Manchester with other special stops along the way, according to the website.

• Also at the Palace: The theater’s Children’s Summer Series was slated to kick off Wednesday, July 5. Each week a different family-friendly play will run Tuesday through Thursday at 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and Friday at 10 a.m. The first show is magician BJ Hickman. The series runs through Aug. 25 (that final week’s show is Finding Nemo Jr.). The shows all feature professional actors. Tickets cost $10 per person (call the box office for tickets for infants under 1 year old).

“Heroes, Renegades and Rogues”
Artist Darren Taylor will exhibit his works in a solo show called “Heroes, Renegades and Rogues” at the Taylored Art Studios (31 A S. Main St. in Concord; tayloredartstudios.net) Friday, July 7, through Friday, July 21. The gallery is open Wednesdays through Fridays from noon to 6 p.m. The pieces will delve “into the realm of courage, rebellion and the enigmatic figures that embody them” and the show will feature more than 35 original works in acrylic, pastel and mixed media, according to a press release. An artist reception will be held on Friday, July 7, from 7 to 9 p.m. See tayloredartstudios.net.

• Save the date: The Currier Museum of Art’s (150 Ash St. in Manchester; currier.org) annual Summer Block Party will be Saturday, July 15, from 4 to 9 p.m. The event features free gallery admission, art activities, food trucks, face painting, a beer and wine tent, community art projects and more, according to the website. This year’s theme is nature and environmentalism, the website said.

• More theater for kids: Kid-friendly productions will be starting at Capitol Center for the Arts stages in the next week. RB Productions kicks off a series of shows with Addams Family on Friday, July 7, and Saturday, July 8, at 7 p.m. at the Chubb Theatre (44 S. Main St. in Concord; ccanh.com). Tickets cost $15.75 for seniors and students, $18.75 for adults. RB Productions presents five more shows at Cap Center stages throughout the next month, ending with a 20th-anniversary celebration at the Bank of NH Stage (16 S. Main St. in Concord) on Saturday, Aug. 5, at 6 p.m. Impact Touring Children’s Theatre starts its upcoming run of shows at the Cap Center on Tuesday, July 11, with Pinnocchio at 10 a.m.

• Musical comedy: The Majestic Theatre will present the Tony-nominated musical Catch Me If You Can at the Derry Opera House (29 West Broadway in Derry) on Friday, July 14, and Saturday, July 15, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, July 16, at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and students. Go to majestictheatre.net to purchase tickets or call 669-7469.

Howard Fishman on Connie Converse
In December 2010, writer and musician Howard Fishman heard a song at a holiday party that sent him down a rabbit hole, resulting in his publication of To Anyone Who Ever Asks: The Life, Music, and Mystery of Connie Converse 13 years later. Fishman will discuss his new book, a biography of the New Hampshire-born singer-songwriter who disappeared back in 1974, during an event at Gibson’s Bookstore (45. S Main St. in Concord; gibsonsbookstore.com, 224-0562) on Wednesday, July 12, at 6:30 p.m.

“Listening to this song, I found it hard not to be captivated by this person, to want to be her friend, to know her,” Fishman writes in his book about first hearing the song he would later find out was titled “Talkin’ Like You.”

After leaving the party, Fishman headed to the store and bought the 2009 compilation album How Sad, How Lovely, featuring a series of Converse’s recordings from the 1950s.

“The more I listened to her music, the more my curiosity grew,” Fishman writes. “I felt the need to know the rest of Converse’s story, the details that had driven her to make this particular music, at that particular time. … What had led to her tragic fate, to her simply vanishing…. Who she was or, even, potentially, could still be.”

According to Fishman, Connie Converse was born Elizabeth Eaton Converse in 1924 in Laconia and grew up in Concord. After she completed high school and dropped out of college, her whereabouts were not particularly clear for the next five years until she wound up in New York City to try her hand at making it in the music industry. In 1961, after her time in New York, Converse moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where her brother Phil lived. The fateful day of her disappearance dates back to the summer of 1974 when Converse packed her car and drove away, having written letters to her brother and friends saying she wanted to try one more time at a new life but didn’t feel that it would work out. She was never seen or heard from again.

Everything else she left behind sat undisturbed in a filing cabinet in her brother’s garage, until Fishman knocked on Phil’s door decades later. In his book, Fishman takes readers on this journey with him. —Mya Blanchard

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

• Sew with friends: The Sewing Circle with the Currier Museum of Art’s (150 Ash St. in Manchester; currier.org) artist-in-residence Calder Kamin continues the next two Saturdays, July 1 and July 8, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Participants will help create a “Dream Feather” that will be sewn into the large community quilt to be unveiled at the Currier’s annual Summer Block Party on Saturday, July 15, from 4 to 9 p.m., according to a Currier newsletter. The project is also taking donations of clean fabric, preferably purple or violent, the newsletter said. No experience necessary.

• Singing in summer: The Nashua Choral Society will hold two Summer Sing events where participants can learn and sing a piece of classical music, according to a press release. Singers will practice the piece during the first hour and then do a complete run-through during the second hour, the press release said. Admission to the events costs $10; bring a water bottle and a music score if you have it, the release said. The first Sing will be Sunday, July 16, at 2 p.m. and will focus on “Rutter Requiem”; the second sing will be Sunday, July 30, at 2 p.m. and will feature the Brahms “requiem,” the release said. Both events take place at the Pavilion at Bethany Covenant Church (1 Covenant Way in Bedford), the release said. Email [email protected] with questions.

(Ir)Reverent
Two Villages Art Society (846 Main St. in Contoocook; twovillagesart.org) will feature the work of Andrew Heath, a Concord-based artist focused on printmaking, photography, sculpture and found media, in an exhibit called “(Ir)Reverent,” which will open Saturday, July 1, and run through Saturday, July 29, according to a press release. The gallery will host an opening reception for Heath on Saturday, July 1, from noon to 2 p.m. The show will feature “several large cyanotype photo prints, as well as smaller works including sculptural pieces,” the release said. The Two Villages Art Society gallery is open Thursdays through Sundays from noon to 4 p.m.

• Art at the New Hampshire Boat Museum: The New Hampshire Boat Museum (399 Center St. in Wolfeboro Falls; nhbm.org) will host an artist reception for Lauren Hammond on Friday, July 7, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Hammond’s work includes painting featuring forests, mountains, gardens and flowers, according to a press release that said she draws inspiration from the nature around her. The work will be on display through the end of July. Through Labor Day, the museum is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m.

• New from Seacoast Artist Association: The Seacoast Artist Association (130 Water St. in Exeter; seacoastartist.org) has two exhibits opening in July, both of them “Body of Work” shows that focus on a single artists. Sculptor Natasha Dikareva’s works will appear in the exhibit “Wishing You Blue Sky” and are “an homage to the incredible resilience of my fellow Ukrainians,” Dikareva said in a press release. Dikareva was originally from Ukraine and now lives in Newmarket. Windham artist Janice Leahy will have her works displayed in “In Somnis Veritas — In Dreams is Truth.” Meet both artists at a reception on Friday, July 14, from 5 to 7 p.m., when music will be provided by Cheryl Sager and Peg Chaffee, the release said. The gallery is open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m.

Life is a Cabaret
The Actors Cooperative Theatre will present Cabaret at the Hatbox Theatre (Steeplegate Mall, 270 Loudon Road in Concord; hatboxnh.com, 715-2315) Friday, July 7, through Sunday, July 16, with shows Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., according to a press release. Tickets cost $25 for adults, $22 for seniors and students. The musical Cabaret, which takes place in Berlin near the end of the Weimar Republic, features adult language and situations, the press release said.

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

• Thursday night live: Joey Clark and the Big Hearts is the band slated to play this Thursday, June 22, for Art After Work at the Currier Museum of Art (150 Ash St. in Manchester; currier.org, 669-6144), which runs from 5 to 8 p.m., when admission is free and the Winter Garden will have its menu and a lineup of cocktails available for purchase. This week, catch a 15-minute “Looking Together Conversation” focused on Mark di Suvero’s “Origins.” Current exhibits include “A New Scheier Medium” featuring the works of Mary and Edwin Scheier; “Seeing is Not Believing,” a photography exhibit on display through Sunday, June 25; “Celebrating the Art and Life of Tomie dePaola,” which commemorates the USPS’s release of a stamp honoring dePaola’s work, and “The Living Forest: UÝRA.”

• From the water: “Ocean Gems,” a show featuring works by Sandra Kavanaugh, is on display at Sullivan Framing and Fine Art Gallery (15 N. Amherst Road in Bedford; sullivanframing.com). See the pieces at an artist reception on Saturday, June 24, from 1 to 3 p.m. The gallery is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The exhibit will run through Saturday, Aug. 26.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
The Palace Theatre’s (80 Hanover St. in Manchester; palacetheatre.org, 668-5588) production of the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat wraps up with this weekend’s shows: Friday, June 23, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, June 24, at 2 and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, June 25, at 2 p.m. Tickets start at $30.

• Rare finds: Balin Books (Somerset Plaza, 375 Amherst St. in Nashua; 417-7981) has joined with rare and collectible book dealer Richard Mori to present a bookcase featuring out-of-print titles of local and regional interest, according to a press release. See balinbooks.com.

• Seeking sculpture: The Peterborough Night Market, MAXT Makerspace and Friends of Public Art are looking for five sculptures to be displayed in a sculpture exhibition in downtown Peterborough between Tuesday, Aug. 1, and Tuesday, Oct. 10, according to a press release. The works will be a highlight of the Peterborough Night Market scheduled for Friday, Aug. 11, the release said. This year’s theme is “Retro Funk and Soul.” The deadline for application is 11:59 p.m. on Friday, June 30; selected pieces will receive a stipend of at least $250 to assist with installation, the release said. See maxtmakerspace.org/peterborough-public-art for details and to submit an application.

Three One-Acts
The Granite Playwrights, a Concord-based writing group and production company, will present “Three One Act Plays” — The College Game, It Happened One Afternoon and Soup’s On — at the Hatbox Theatre (270 Loudon Road in Concord; hatboxnh.com) for two weekends, according to a press release. Opening night is Friday, June 23, at 7:30 p.m. The show runs through Sunday, July 2, with shows Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $22 ($19 for students and seniors).

• Author talk: Monadnock Writers’ Group is hosting Carol Mabbs-Zeno on Thursday, June 22, at 11 a.m. at the Peterborough Town Library (2 Concord St. in Peterborough; peterboroughtownlibrary.org, 924-840) to discuss his book A Literary Guide to Bridge Construction, which is set in Peterborough, according to a press release. Register at the library’s events page, the release said.

• New exhibits: 3S Artspace (319 Vaughan St. in Portsmouth; 3sarts.org) has two new exhibits: “If You Knew, Let It Be Us” featuring the drawings, paintings and collage of McKinley Wallace and “Why Am I Here?” featuring the works of Natalie Fisk, which replicates “papel picado,” a form of Mexican folk art created with paper perforations, according to a press release. The exhibits will both hang until Sunday, Aug. 20. A multimedia exhibit called “Peripheral Vision” from Tom Canney is also on display through Sunday, July 9. The gallery is open Wednesdays through Saturdays at 11 a.m. through 6 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. You can also see the shows via a virtual gallery at galleryat3t.org.

Feed me, Seymour!
This year’s Prescott Park Arts Festival’s annual outdoor production at Prescott Park in Portsmouth is Little Shop of Horrors and it starts Friday, June 23, at 7 p.m. Shows will run most Thursdays through Sundays at 7 p.m. through Sunday, Aug. 13. See prescottpark.org for information on reserving a blanket or table for a performance.

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

• One production, two plays: “A Night of One Act Plays” continues this weekend from Bedford Off Broadway. Check Please, Takes 1 & 2 and Bob’s Date run Friday, June 16, and Saturday, June 17, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, June 18, at 2 p.m. at the Bedford Old Town Hall (3 Meetinghouse Road in Bedford). The door opens an hour before curtain; tickets cost $15 ($12 for seniors, students and children) at the door or on brownpapertickets.com. See bedfordoffbroadway.com.

Calling all woodworkers
The Guild of New Hampshire Woodworkers is holding a New England Woodworking Competition, open to professional and amateur woodworkers with judges evaluating entries in 11 categories relative to ability and experience, according to a press release. Register to participate at gnhw.org/register. On Saturday, Oct. 21, from 5 to 10 p.m., the competition will culminate in a display of entries and award ceremony at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center & Planetarium in Concord. Tickets cost $25 in advance, $35 at the door. Some of the pieces on display may be for sale; the New Hampshire Furniture Masters will also present an exhibit on that night, the release said.

• Festival of chamber music: The Halcyon Music Festival features six chamber music programs at St. John’s Episocpal Church (101 Chapel St.) in Portsmouth begins Thursday, June 15, and runs through Saturday, June 14, according to a press release. All shows start at 7 p.m. Tickets are available to individual shows and multiple concerts as well as for livestreamed viewing: Single concert tickets cost $25, get tickets to all six concerts for $130 and buy a ticket for livestreamed viewing for $25 (additional ticket packages are available for fewer concerts and tickets for students to one concert cost $10). See halcyonmusicfestival.org/concert for tickets. The festival schedule is: “Lyric” (featuring Bach, George Walker, Brahms, Mozart and more) which also features a Q&A with musicians on Thursday, June 15; “Summer Sounds” (with Dvořák, Britten, Mendelssohn) on Friday, June 16; “Youthful Genius” (with Rachmaninoff, Schubert and Schönberg) on Saturday, June 17; “For the People (with Beethoven, Webern, Bolcom and Brahms) on Thursday, June 22; “Longing and Lullabies” (with Brahms, Schumann, Ravel) on Friday, June 23, and “Land of Dreams” (with Barber, Shostakovich, Beethoven and Brahms) on Saturday, June 24.

• Exhibits and receptions: The Rochester Museum of Fine Art (rochestrmfa.org), which displays its exhibits and collections at the James W. Foley Memorial Community Center and at the Rochester Public Library, has two artist receptions on the calendar. On Saturday, June 17, the museum will hold a reception for artists Nate Twombly, Barbara Morse and Connor Gottfried from 5 to 7 p.m at 150 Wakefield St. in Rochester and on Tuesday, June 27, there will be a reception for Kristy Cavaretta from 5 to 7 p.m. at 66 S. Main St. in Rochester. Twombly’s exhibit of illustrations is called “By & By” and Gottfried’s exhibit, featuring his scraped paint, improvised layering, and other techniques, is called “Save Game”; both of these exhibits hang through Friday, June 30, according to a museum press release. Cavaretta’s exhibit is called “Milk & Cookies” and hangs through Friday, Aug. 4; her preferred media include printmaking, woodblock, collagraph, and cyanotype, the release said.

Layers of Identity
The Mosaic Art Collective’s current show, in collaboration with Queerlective, is on display through Friday, June 30, and is called “Layers of Identity: A Visual Exploration,” according to a press release. The pieces invite “the viewer to consider their own complex identities and how societal factors influence perception and treatment of self and others,” the release said. The Mosaic Art Collective (66 Hanover St., Suite 201, in Manchester; 512-6209, mosaicartcollective.com) is open Wednesdays through Fridays from 2 to 6 p.m.

• What’s the buzz, tell me what’s a-happening: Actors Ted Neeley and Bob Bingham a.k.a. Jesus and Caiaphas from the 1973 film Jesus Christ Superstar will be at a screening of the musical at Park Theatre (19 Main St. in Jaffrey; theparktheatre.org, 532-8888) on Sunday, June 25, at 7 p.m. to celebrate the movie’s 50th anniversary, according to a press release from the theater. The screening will include a pre-film introduction by the actors and a post-film meet and greet, the release said. Tickets cost $20.

• American crafts: The Hampton Falls Liberty Craft Festival will take place Saturday, July 1, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, July 2, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Hampton Falls Town Common on Route 1 and feature more than 75 artisans, according to a press release. Admission is free; see castleberryfairs.com.

• Summer light: Exeter’s Seacoast Open Studio artists are displaying their spring show “Shades of Summer” at the Exeter Public Library (4 Chestnut St. in Exeter; the Godino Wing on the second floor features the exhibit; hours are Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.) through Thursday, June 29, according to a press release. The artists meet Friday mornings from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the Exeter Parks and Recreation building to share ideas and critiques and new members are welcome, the release said.

The Birdcage
The 1996 movie The Birdcage (R) starring Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest will screen Friday, June 16, at 7 p.m. at the Nashua Center for the Arts (201 Main St. in Nashua; nashuacenterforthearts.com, 800-652-8874). Tickets cost $10 and will include an opportunity to enter a raffle for two tickets to the Pride Parade viewing party to be held at the Nashua Center for the Arts on Saturday, June 24.