Student-led theater at Searsport

     SEARSPORT -- Searsport District High School drama students are taking things into their own hands this weekend, wrapping up the theatrical year with an evening of one-act plays at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 12 and 13.

     With SDHS teacher and drama director Chris Goosman out on maternity leave, her students have stepped up to the plate to produce two short plays. Admission will be $3 at the door for the one-weekend-only production.

‘Watch Over Me’ concludes run

     BELFAST -- A timely, poignant drama, “Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me,” concludes this weekend at the Belfast Maskers Waterfront Theater on Front Street.

     The show is at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays; and 2 p.m. Sundays through May 14. There will be a question and answer session with director Richard Sewall and the actors following the Sunday matinee.

     The play, based on a true story, takes place inside a prison cell in the Middle East where three victims of political action -- an Englishman, an Irishman and an American -- struggle to deal with their plight. Playwright Frank McGuinness explores the daily crisis endured by hostages whose strength comes from communication, both subtle and mundane, and from humor, wit and faith.

     Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for teens. Tickets can be reserved by calling the Maskers box office at 338-9668 or can be purchased in advance at the Fertile Mind bookstore on Main Street in Belfast.

     For information, visit www.belfastmaskerstheater.com.

Y has dance for older adults

     BELFAST -- The Waldo County YMCA, Route 52, will host another Active Older Adult dance from 7 p.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, May 13.

     The dance will feature the five-piece band King Pirogi, a dance band that plays old-time polka, swing tunes, jazz standards, waltzes and even an Elvis tune or two.

     The dance, held in the Wellness Room, is for the older-than-60 crowd, who are invited to come as singles, couples or groups of friends. Light refreshments will be served

     Admission will be $6. For information, call 338-4598.

Cummons brothers play coffee house

     LINCOLNVILLE -- Michael and James Cummons will perform a coffee house concert at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 13, at the United Christian Church on Route 173 in Lincolnville Center.

     The Cummons brothers, who have been singing ever since they could talk, will perform traditional and contemporary acoustic harmonies. Their love of performing began when they sang “All Shook Up” in a kindergarten musical. When they were 10 years old, they received their first guitar and drum set as a Christmas present and at the end of the school year they put on a concert for their fourth grade class.

     The brothers have performed many times at the Tranquility Grange and in musical productions at Camden Hills Regional High School where they are both seniors. In the fall, James will attend the University of Southern Maine to study theater, and Michael will attend the University of Maine at Farmington to study secondary education.

     The commons’ concert is the second in a series of Coffee House Concerts, which showcase local musicians and welcome the community to the historic church that served as the town meeting house in the 19th century. The church is located opposite the Lincolnville Telephone Company and next to the Community Hall.

     The concert is open to the public, free of charge, although donations are welcome and will help support the continuation of the series. Homemade desserts and beverages will be sold. For information, call 763-4526.

Harp ensemble performs at church

     LINCOLNVILLE CENTER -- The Midcoast Harp Ensemble will provide the music for the Mother’s Day service at 9:30 a.m., Sunday, May 14, at the United Christian Church, located on Route 173. The service will be led by the Rev. Susan Stonestreet.

     The Midcoast Harp Ensemble was formed in 2002 by Carol Rohl who is a well-known folk musician who accompanies her husband, Gordon Bok. It is a teaching and performing gathering of celtic harpists. The group is now organized by Mildred Crocker and meets every Tuesday morning at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Camden.

     Four members of the group will perform in Lincolnville. Mildred Crocker, Cheryl Martine, and Jean Goldfine will play harp and Jennifer Armstrong will play violin.

     Their music includes “O Perfect Love,” “Simple Gifts,” “All Things Bright and Beautiful,” and “Country Gardens.”

     A Family Worship Service will be held from 10:45 a.m.-11:30 a.m. The service includes Bible stories, ecumenical prayers and singing.

     All faiths are welcome. For information, call 763-4526.

Tango comes to town

     BELFAST -- Those who seek the magic of authentic Argentine tango may experience it from 7 p.m.-10 p.m. Sunday, May 14, at Chase’s Daily, 96 Main St.

     The evening will begin with a concert and dance performance by the all-Argentine trio Mass Tango. Led by saxophonist and vocalist Bernardo Monk and including world-renowned Bandoneon player Hector Del Curto and pianist Octavio Brunetti, the trio will play the soulful and entrancing music that is uniquely Argentine. Dancers Dario Da Silva and Fernanda Cajide will interpret the unmistakable rhythmic drive and lyrical beauty of the music.

     Everyone will be invited to join in the dancing with the live music after the performance. This evening of music and dance is a rare opportunity to experience tango as it is done in the clubs of Buenos Aires -- with friends, food, and wine.

     Tickets for the Argentine evening are $20. For information and to buy advance tickets, call 338-6073 or send an e-mail to pamelamckeen@verizon.net.

     Preview tango classes for teens and adults with Cajide and Da Silva will be offered Saturday and Sunday. Classes will run 4 p.m.-6 p.m. and 7 p.m.-9 p.m. Saturday at the American Legion Hall on High Street; and 3 p.m.-5 p.m. Sunday at the Belfast Dance Studio on High Street. Cost is $20 and no partner is necessary; call 338-6073.

Festival of Art kicks off

     BELFAST -- Belfast Senior College and the University of Maine Hutchinson Center’s Fourth Annual Festival of Art will take place Thursday through Saturday, May 18-20, and has garnered a record-breaking 139 artist entries. Artists are of Senior College age (50 or older), amateur or professional, and work in any visual medium.

     The festival will open with a reception from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Thursday, May 18. The show will be held in the atrium at the University of Maine Hutchinson Center, Route 3.

     Of the 139 artists, 84 are new to the show; 55 are returning. The entries are from 58 Maine towns, compared to 42 in 2005.

     The media represented at this year’s festival ranges from iron sculpture to an eye-popping quilt to woodwork pottery, a hand-woven wool and alpaca rug, hooked, braided and rag rugs, baskets, glass-blown jewelry, painting and more.

     Four artists will demonstrate their work at intervals over the two days. Nancy Jerauld will demonstrate quilting from 10 am until noon Friday, May 19; Nancy Blatz will demonstrate watercolor techniques Friday from 12 p.m.-2 p.m.; Penny Gentle will show how she makes flame-worked glass beads Friday, from 2 p.m.-4 p.m.; and Judith Long will apply earthenware glazes and underglazes from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Saturday, May 20.

     The highlight of the festival will be a slide presentation on outsider art by eminent American art expert and Tenants Harbor resident Susan C. Larsen at 1 p.m., Saturday.

     All events are free and open to the public. Hours are Thursday, 6 p.m.-8 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; and Saturday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Library offers another book series

     BELFAST -- The Belfast Free Library again has been selected by the Maine Humanities Council to offer a Let’s Talk About It reading and discussion series. The series, American Traditions/American Innovations: American Poetry in the Second Half of the Twentieth Century, will begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 30, in the library’s Abbott Room and will continue for the four Tuesdays of June.

     Those who wish to join the series are encouraged to sign up in advance. The program has been made possible by the Maine Humanities Council Maine Center for the Book in cooperation with the Maine State Library. The new Let’s Talk About It series explores the depth and range of contemporary American poetry and what makes it uniquely “American.”

     The series will begin by looking at the roots of American poetry via three 19th century American poets who stand for strong tendencies, concerns, attitudes, aesthetic outlooks and passions that have come to mark the latterday American poetry of Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Using a basic understanding of the works of these poets as a springboard for discussion, the group will explore together works by contemporary American poets who have followed some of the proclivities displayed in the work of Whitman, Dickinson, and Longfellow including Allen Ginsberg, Robert Bly, Galway Kinnell, Robert Creeley, Sylvia Plath, Howard Moss and Richard Wilbur, among others.

     There will be an opportunity at the last session for participants to bring in poems by poets not represented in the anthology selected for the series to share and discuss.

     Poet and author Candice Stover of Mt. Desert Island will facilitate the series’ discussions. Stover’s first collection of poems, “Holding Patterns,” was selected by Mary Oliver for a Maine Chapbook Award and a second collection, “Another Stopping Place,” is part of a chapbook series of 20 New England poets issued by Oyster River Press. A former reporter for The Boston Globe, her work has been published in a variety of journals and magazines and is included in a new collection, “The Other Side of Sorrow: Poets Speak Out about Conflict, War, and Peace” (Poetry Society of New Hampshire, 2006).

     The two books for this series -- “The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Poetry,” J.D. McClatchy, editor; and “Nineteenth-Century American Poetry,” Penguin Classics -- are available for loan at the library. To register and pick up the books, call 338-3884, Ext. 10 or stop by the main circulation desk of the library. The program is free and open to the public.

NTWH has summer theater workshops

     BELFAST -- The National Theatre Workshop of the Handicapped again will offer two workshops this summer for children age 7 to 15 who are interested in the performing arts.

     Session I will run July 11 through 20. Session II will run July 25 through Aug. 3.

     The NTWH Children’s Theatre Workshop is a 10-day program scheduled for 9 a.m. to noon. It is designed to help children build self-confidence, enhance self-esteem, develop communication skills and have fun discovering and exploring their talents. This is done through improvisations, theater games, scene study and monologue work. As the classes progress, mini-plays and monologue are rehearsed, then performed for family and friends at the end of each workshop.

     All is done under the guidance of Sandi Roman, director of NTWH’s Children’s Theatre. Roman is a graduate of New York University with a bachelor of fine arts in theater arts and has been a member of NTWH since 1982. The goal of the workshops is to provide a voice for each student and tools that they can take with them and use throughout their lifetime.

     No previous experience is necessary, and both disabled and able-bodied children are encouraged to attend. There is a $10 non-refundable application fee and the cost of each workshop is $250, which includes a $15 materials fee. Special Belfast Scholarships are available for local children.

     Space is limited, so students are advised to apply as soon as possible. For applications, contact Roman at NTWH-Crosby, 338-6894, or write to NTWH-Crosby, 96 Church St., Belfast, ME 04915.