Arts Briefs: ‘Love Letters’ in Hatfield, paintings done by feet in Northampton, and more

Pioneer Valley Ballet will hold an open casting day for children ages 5-11 to be in “Aladdin and His Magic Lamp” on Friday, Jan. 31, at the Pioneer Valley Ballet studios in Easthampton.

Pioneer Valley Ballet will hold an open casting day for children ages 5-11 to be in “Aladdin and His Magic Lamp” on Friday, Jan. 31, at the Pioneer Valley Ballet studios in Easthampton. CONTRIBUTED

The local theater company Valley Players will present a production of the play “Love Letters” on Feb 7, 8, 14 and 15, each at 7:30 p.m., at Black Birch Vineyard in Hatfield.

The local theater company Valley Players will present a production of the play “Love Letters” on Feb 7, 8, 14 and 15, each at 7:30 p.m., at Black Birch Vineyard in Hatfield. CONTRIBUTED

Self-taught Stockbridge artist Natasha Wein, who has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and lives with a traumatic brain injury, paints with her feet. An exhibition of her work, “If These Feet Could Fly,” will run from Thursday, Feb. 6, through Sunday, March 2, at the Split Level Gallery at 33 Hawley. The opening reception will be on Friday, Feb. 14, from 5 to 8 p.m.

Self-taught Stockbridge artist Natasha Wein, who has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and lives with a traumatic brain injury, paints with her feet. An exhibition of her work, “If These Feet Could Fly,” will run from Thursday, Feb. 6, through Sunday, March 2, at the Split Level Gallery at 33 Hawley. The opening reception will be on Friday, Feb. 14, from 5 to 8 p.m. COURTESY NATASHA WEIN

The Springfield Science Museum recently welcomed a new exhibition, “The Robot Zoo,” which will run through Sunday, May 4. The exhibition, based on the book of the same name, features three larger-than-life robot animals (a chameleon, a platypus, and a house fly) that teach visitors about the animals’ anatomy.

The Springfield Science Museum recently welcomed a new exhibition, “The Robot Zoo,” which will run through Sunday, May 4. The exhibition, based on the book of the same name, features three larger-than-life robot animals (a chameleon, a platypus, and a house fly) that teach visitors about the animals’ anatomy. COURTESY MERIDETH BESSETTE

This year, the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst will offer collage classes for adults (ages 16 and up), in partnership with Cut Loose Collage. The first workshop will be from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 23, with the theme “Back to Basics: Geometry.”

This year, the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst will offer collage classes for adults (ages 16 and up), in partnership with Cut Loose Collage. The first workshop will be from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 23, with the theme “Back to Basics: Geometry.” COURTESY SANDY SODERBERG

Published: 01-22-2025 2:25 PM

‘Love Letters’

The local theater company Valley Players will present a production of the play “Love Letters” on Feb. 7, 8, 14 and 15, each at 7:30 p.m., at Black Birch Vineyard in Hatfield.

The show, according to a press release, is “simple by design but moving in effect” and “takes the form of two characters sharing the letters they have written each other from second grade through their golden years, relating their struggles and triumphs, dreams and fears, and setbacks and second chances. Over the course of the evening, the often complicated, deeply touching, always messy story of their evolving love unfolds against the backdrop of the tumultuous events of the mid- to late-twentieth century.”

“Love Letters” is an hour and 45 minutes long and includes a 15-minute intermission.

The cast rotates at each performance. The actors include Chip Roughton (Florence) and Kimberly Salditt-Poulin (Amherst) on Friday, Feb. 7; David Bull (Hadley) and Becca Greene-Van Horn (Amherst) on Saturday, Feb. 8; Paul Rothenberg (Amherst) and Katie Hertel (Amherst) on Friday, Feb. 14; and Lisa Parker (Suffield, CT) and Konrad Rogowski (Chicopee) on Saturday, Feb. 15.

The vineyard will have wine, sodas, charcuterie, and snack boxes available for purchase.

Tickets are pay-what-you-can (starting at $15) at valleyplayers.org, seating is first come, first served, and doors open at 6:30 p.m. Half of the net proceeds will benefit River Valley Counseling Center.

‘With paint on my feet’

Self-taught Stockbridge artist Natasha Wein, who has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and lives with a traumatic brain injury, paints with her feet. An exhibition of her work, “If These Feet Could Fly,” will run from Thursday, Feb. 6, through Sunday, March 2, at the Split Level Gallery at 33 Hawley in Northampton. The opening reception will be on Friday, Feb. 14, from 5 to 8 p.m.

In a press release, Wein said, “My body is decomposing quicker than I can write down the recipe to reverse. God, please don’t ever let me stop falling in love: with people, places, the mundane and ordinary, but even more so with what’s left of my broken body and shattered heart and all the ways that these pieces can still be reorganized into a mosaic of a life well lived. With paint on my feet, I document it permanently.”

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To learn more about Wein’s work, visit nweinart.com or instagram.com/nweinart.

Collage classes at Eric Carle Museum

This year, the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst will offer collage classes for adults (ages 16 and up), in partnership with Cut Loose Collage.

The first workshop will be on Thursday, Jan. 23, at 6 p.m., with the theme “Back to Basics: Geometry.” (Other classes announced so far include one on Thursday, April 3, “Back to Basics: Color”; Thursday, Sept. 25, “Back to Basics: Storytelling”; Thursday, Dec. 11, “Back to Basics: Joy.”)

Classes are $35 each (or $29.75 each for museum members) via carlemuseum.org/visit/events.

Eric Carle Museum Art Education Brittany Waseleski said in a statement, “We want people to remember that art is accessible and that we can find inspiration in everyday objects. We hope folks will carve out time to unwind, build community, play, and reconnect with one another.”

Robot animals

The Springfield Science Museum recently welcomed a new exhibition, “The Robot Zoo,” which will run through Sunday, May 4.

The exhibition, based on the book of the same name, features three larger-than-life robot animals (a chameleon, a platypus, and a house fly) that teach visitors about the animals’ anatomy.

“In these robot animals,” a press release said, “muscles become pistons, intestines become filtering pipes and brains become computers. By comparing anatomy, environments, and size of the actual creatures to their mechanical counterparts, The Robot Zoo provides fantastic new insights into how animals work.”

The exhibition also features activities that let visitors test their abilities to react as quickly as a fly (or stick to a surface for as long as one) or catch a bug as quickly as a chameleon.

Admission to the museum is $25 for adults, $16.50 for seniors (age 60 and up), $16.50 for college students, $13 for kids age 3 through 17, free for children under 3, and free for Springfield residents (including children) with ID.

Casting call for young ballet dancers

Pioneer Valley Ballet will hold an open casting day for children ages 5 to 11 to be in “Aladdin and His Magic Lamp” on Friday, Jan. 31, at the Pioneer Valley Ballet studios in Easthampton.

The schedule is: ages 6 and 7, 4:30 to 5:15 p.m.; ages 8 and 9, 5:15 to 6 p.m.; ages 10 and 11, 6 to 6:45 p.m. Five-year-olds are not required to attend.

Everyone who registers for the show will be cast. To sign your child up, visit pioneervalleyballet.org/season/auditions. There is a fee between $75 and $225, depending on the child’s age.

Most roles will rehearse once a week leading up to the show, then throughout the week of the show, which will be on Saturday, May 10, at 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.