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Film series highlights February [UPDATED]
Published 12:00am Friday, January 27, 2006 Updated 3:53pm Tuesday, August 10, 2010Our Winter Film Series is up and running. Our first film, Paradise Now, just won a Golden Globe Award for best foreign film. The film is in Arabic with English subtitles. It’s a serious story about life in Israel and Palestine. I saw the film this past week and intend to see it again. There’s lots to talk about after seeing a film like this. It runs this week on Sunday at 4 p.m. and Monday and Wednesday at 7 p.m. (Sorry, the Tuesday film has been pre-empted by the Public School’s Fourth Grade Orchestra Concert. This is also worth attending.) Feb. 5 through 15 we have Shopgirl with Steve Martin and Feb. 19 to March 1st we have The Squid and The Whale. Our typical film schedule is Sundays at 4 p.m. and Mondays through Wednesday at 7 p.m. Although, occasionally, there’s a live performance already on the calendar that might replace that night’s film. We’d like to do more film, but it’s tough when the theater is busy with rehearsals and live performances. When in doubt check out our website at www.fergusarts.org. There are some exciting live performances just around the corner. Thursday, Feb. 1 is Open Mike Night in the lower level of The Kaddatz Hotel from 7:30 to about 9:30 p.m. Last month we had a really great turn out of musicians, poets, storytellers and audience members. David Stoddard hosts the evening and we make sure everyone who wants to gets a chance at the “Open Mike.&8221; The Art Gallery is open for you art browsers and we just have a fun, relaxing evening. Open Mike Night is the first Thursday of every month at 7:30 p.m. – lower level of The Kaddatz Hotel! David Stoddard is also helping us put together our own Vaudeville show for Frostbite Festival Weekend. The Fergus Follies will take place on Saturday, February 4th at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, February 5th at 2 p.m. There will be several acts and even some variety between shows. We have jugglers, singing dogs, actors, musicians, dancers. It’s a fast moving Vaudeville show that the whole family will enjoy. We imagine that this, too, could turn into something more “regular&8221; at the Fergus Theatre. After all, when this place was first built as The Orpheum Theater, it was built as a vaudeville house – touring performers graced the stage for live shows. Chris Schuelke says it will be a REAL Vaudeville show the day we saw a lady in half. Down the road maybe – but not this time around. (I also put the kabosh on the regurgitator acts that used to be part of Vaudeville.) These will be great little performances and skits that show off our local talent – of which there is quite a lot. Bring the whole family and join in the fun! In fact, if you’d like to get in on performing in a future Vaudeville show you might want to get on the list now. February is also the month for Valentine’s Day. This year we have a special performance with Beachfront Property at 8 p.m. at A Center for the Arts. Remember the Center Singers days? Well, they did a lot of music from Beachfront Property. They will also offer a jazz vocal workshop while they’re here on Feb. 13 and 14. Bring your date! Come as a group! Or just bring yourself! You’ll have fun, I guarantee it. Rebecca Peterson is the executive director of A Center for the Arts in Fergus Falls.
