Northampton High School students are collaborating on virtually every aspect of the theater program’s latest production, the teencentric “Snow Angel,” by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright David LindsayAbaire. The play will be staged Thursday to Saturday, May 9-11 at 7 p.m., and on Saturday, May 11 at 2 p.m., in the high school auditorium.
Some 25 students have spent the better part of a year producing, designing, choreographing, stage managing and acting in the show, according to press notes. Two theater professionals, director Stephen Eldredge and technical director Nat Gilsdorf, complement the student cast and crew.
The play centers on a mysterious girl named Eva, who materializes in the fictional town of Deerpoint, Vermont during an intense blizzard. Fifteen curious high school students encounter Eva at different times, in different ways, and write about her (and each other) in their class journals.
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased in advance at snowangel.brownpaperticketscom.
Cottage Street Studios in Easthampton will greet May this weekend with an annual tradition that dates back years, as some 30 artists will open their workplaces to visitors on Saturday and Sunday, May 4 and 5, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.
Located at One Cottage Street in downtown Easthampton, across from Nashawanuck Pond, the studios are housed in a historic mill building that now hosts some 80 artists all told, making a wide variety of fine art and crafts: painting, photographs, sculpture, ceramics, lamps, furniture and more.
Participating artists in the open studios will also have items on sale, just in time for Mother’s Day. More information is available at cottagestreetstudios.com.
On Friday, May 3, folk duo The Nields and special guests will host a benefit concert and sing-along in Northampton to celebrate the 100th anniverary of the birth of folk music legend Pete Seeger. All proceeds from the 7 p.m. show at the Edwards Church will go to completion of a home, for a local mother and her two daughters, by Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity and volunteers.
Over a dozen local faith congregations have already contributed volunteer hours, materials and funds toward the building of the modular home on Glendale Rd., organizers say, and the hope is that with the concert, the group will reach its $30,000 fundraising goal.
Friday’s concert, titled “If I had a Hammer,” will open with performances by Northampton area youth groups, Local Chorus and Focus Chorus. A minimum $10 donation is suggested; tickets can be found at www.pvhabitat.org/events/peteseeger.
Ashfield’s Double Edge Theatre is celebrating its 25th year in the town this year, and among a number of events marking the occasion is Community Day on Sunday, May 5 from 1 to 5 p.m. Visitors will have the opportunity to fly on bungees, sing and play music, and get a tour of the farm.
Visitors can also learn about the theater’s history in Ashfield and the ongoing renovation and preservation of the farm. Sunday’s activities will culminate in a gathering and meal, sharing testimony, and “honoring the extraordinary Living Culture in Ashfield,” according to press notes.
Other 25th anniversary events include the Saturday, May 4 opening of the Ohketeau programming for Native youth voices and a Tuesday, May 7 evening of “art, magic, entertainment, and food” from 7-10 p.m., with a three-course meal by chef Michaelangelo Wescott and Co-Proprietor Ami Aubin of The Gypsy Apple. Tickets for the latter event are $75-$250 and can be purchased at squareup.com/store/live-a-great-story.