Texarkana Entertainment Blog

Two new exhibits are opening up right here in Texarkana.

Just opened is the Four States Regional Art Club’s annual show, and for the second year in a row the exhibit makes its home at TAMU-T’s Bringle Lake campus. The exhibit is situated inside the John F. Moss Library on the third floor of the new University Center, a space which is proving to be an attractive one for art. About 50 works from several club members are featured in this year’s rendition, covering a range of themes, mediums and styles. There’s no thematic rubric for this year’s show, but there is an unmistakable emphasis on natural settings. The exhibit will be displayed until Dec. 9. Check out our story about it on the Accent page in tomorrow’s edition of the Gazette.

In the pipeline to open soon (Nov. 8th) is the annual “Small Works on Paper” exhibit at the Regional Arts Center, which year in and year out presents a range of interesting works organized by the Arkansas Arts Council. This is the exhibit’s twenty-fourth year, and Texarkana is the final stop for this year’s exhibition. Work featured is small (no bigger than two feet by two fee), created by Arkansas artists (ones found on the Arkansas Arts Registry) and selected by a juror from outside the state, according to info from the folks at the Arkansas Arts Council. A total of 39 pieces comprise this year’s exhibition. Check out one example below and, better yet, go see it in person when the exhibit opens. Art: best seen in person. And the admission at either location? Free.

- Aaron Brand

North Little Rock artist Brian Cormack’s “Route 66 in Newkirk, N.M.,” is one of the featured pieces in the 2011 "Small Works on Paper" touring exhibition on display Nov. 8-26 in Texarkana.

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Anyone looking to discover work from a young, interesting artist should get on down to Texas A&M University-Texarkana’s Bringle Lake campus and walk up to the main student center building. Take the elevator to the third floor. Once you step inside the John F. Moss Library, you’ll find a few dozen pieces by artist Shana Hoehn adorning the walls. Hoehn explores the visual world through a variety of mediums: photography, painting, drawing. She also creates some interesting sculptural works, but they’re not included in this show. Hoehn is a student at Maryland Institute College of Art, and just came back to town to teach for a month and hang her art. We featured her for a story in today’s Accent page and you can see more of her work at ShanaHoehn.com. Check it out; it is worth a look.

It’s also nice to see new gallery space take off here in Texarkana (something sorely needed), as is the case with this library art space at TAMU-T. As someone who loves art and a diverse art scene, I hope to see it continue.

- Aaron Brand

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Tonight on Halloween Eve I listened to “War of the Worlds” on Texarkana’s NPR affiliate, KTXK. This Saturday night’s show was a replay of the classic Mercury Theatre Halloween radio broadcast of Oct. 30, 1938, that inspired concern and outright fear in listeners, not to mention wild overreaction from the press. Of course the tale of attacking Martians was fiction, but that didn’t stop people from getting scared back then, and it’s easy to see why. Radio has the power to focus our attention, particularly if the tale is gripping and tense. Radio demands people use their imaginations to picture what we hear – imagine that! “War of the Worlds” is a classic in that manner with its masterful narration from Orson Welles and engaging, effective pacing.

All of which is to say that on Thursday and Friday nights, TAMU-T’s Drama Program and English Club presented “Three Skeleton Key,” a creepy fun radio play about three lighthouse keepers and their ferocious encounter with a hungry horde of rats. (It’s based on a story by George G. Toudouze.) Seeing a radio play in action is similar to seeing a readers’ theater play but with the added excitement of sound. It’s a wild plot premise but somehow the crew pulled it off for a fun show. Corinne Patterson, Brooke Strebeck, and James Morton played the lighthouse keepers, while Daniel Jones, Sherry Massey, and Karla Whitehurst were foley artists creating sound for a dramatic tale. Gretchen Cobb directed. “Props” to the crew and cast.

- Aaron Brand

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A week ago I first stepped onto the new TAMU-T campus out at Bringle Lake. It’s an impressive complex and the school’s location in a more rural, removed setting made for an idyllic walk up to TAMU-T’s University Center on a lovely fall night. On the third floor of that grand, clean structure is the John F. Moss Library, new home to art (in addition to the books).

So I wasn’t headed back to school to study or to teach, but I wanted to check out this year’s Four States Regional Art Club member show. A reception brought the artists out to hobnob, chitchat, gaze at each other’s work, and in general enjoy the camaraderie of a Friday evening spent together in good company. It’s a fun show with an interesting variety of work. This year’s theme is “The Twin Cities: Past and Present.” Artists mused upon that theme in many different ways, some realistically, some with more abstract style. Themes both quite familiar and surprising came to the mind of local artists. The exhibit is displayed through Nov. 22. (I caught a few snapshots of the art and two works are below.)

- Aaron Brand

"Organic," a colored pencil piece by Lauren Hehmeyer.

"Stonehenge Future," a watercolor piece by Stella Ellington.

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Too many things this month have kept me from logging on here to nail down my thoughts, though I’ve clicked on the page to make sure it’s still here. It is and so I am. So, I’m going to be catching up in the next couple days. Here’s a start.

A couple items:

1) Tonight and tomorrow, Friday night, at 7 p.m. at Eagle Hall in TAMU-T’s new University Center at the Bringle Lake campus, the university drama program and English club present a radio play, something a little different for Texarkana. It’s billed as a Halloween radio play and titled “Three Skeleton Key.” The public is invited to come listen. Admission: $5 for regular admission, $3 for students, faculty and staff. The plot, as described in the flyer: “Three lighthouse keepers battle for their lives against an army of rampaging, revolting, and ravenous rats!”

2) TRAHC’s next Perot Theatre series show is “Drumline Live,” a high-energy marching band extravaganza. Soul, Motown, hip-hop, jazz, swing, R&B—this show is a dynamic musical menagerie of bigtime marching band beats. The show (from the creators of the movie “Drumline”) is rooted in marching band traditions established at historically black colleges and universities. Looks like an exciting show to experience this upcoming Monday, 7:30 p.m., at the Perot Theatre. A drum-off competition starts around 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. before the show. Tickets: call the Perot Theatre Box Office at 903-792-4992. (See below for a submitted photo of the show, courtesy of Columbia Artists Management Inc.)

3) Did you know Texarkana has an upstart roller derby team? They’re the Vicious Vixens and just formed. It’s true. Looking into it.

- Aaron Brand

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There’s quite a bit of family theater to enjoy the next two weekends in Texarkana. With families coming together for Christmas and the other winter holidays, it’s a natural time for it, I suppose. TAMU-T and TRAHC have partnered for a production of “Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins,” a fun musical about a hero named Hershel who strives to save a town’s Hanukkah celebrations. Goblins, however, are getting in the way. Dr. Brian Billings, assistant professor of English at TAMU-T, even wrote a song for this production. Goblin masks were made out of recycled materials. The show helps out Harvest Texarkana; admission is a non-perishable food donation. Times: 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Regional Arts Center (4th Street and Texas Blvd.). More info: 903-792-8681.

The Downtown Youth Theater  presents “A Christmas Carol,” a story familiar to that theater group (as they did a production of this play a few years ago)  and anyone who’s read the 1843 Charles Dickens tale (or seen one of several movie adaptations, the latest of which is Disney’s 3D animated version with Jim Carrey). Scrooge sure has some staying power; there must be something about his transformation that we enjoy seeing. About 60 local folks will be involved in this theatrical production, which DYT will stage at its unique, intimate second-floor performance space inside the Historic First United Methodist Church, 401 N. State Line Ave. Times are 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12, and 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 13. Tickets are $10 suggested donation. More info and reservations: 903-792-7136.

See tomorrow’s Gazette for full stories on both productions.

- Aaron Brand

Staff photo by Tanner Spendley:

Children act out a scene from "Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins" during rehearsals for the play Tuesday night at Cabe Hall at the Regional Arts Center.

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Back when I was a MFA student in a creative writing program, one of the most nerve-wracking aspects to acquiring my degree was reading my poems aloud at different functions and during class. It was pretty much a requirement, and I’d shyly read the poems I wrote for my thesis book of poetry. Let me tell you, it’s no easy task and anyone who can perform their writing smoothly gets kudos and respect from me.

Well, the Texas A&M University-Texarkana English Club presents some brave writers at noon on Wednesday. The club is holding a reading from the latest edition of Aquila Review, a literary magazine and arts journal published by TAMU-T’s Department of English. The new issue, which is their third volume, is out now and copies will be on hand (along with CD versions) to purchase. The reading will be held in Room 108 of the Aikin Building on the TAMU-T campus.

If so inclined to hear some poetry, stories, or creative nonfiction, go check them out. More faces in the crowd and reader interest always helps. The Aquila Review also has a Website at www.tamut.edu/aquila.

- Aaron Brand

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Actors between 7 years old and adult are needed to portray goblins and villagers in a production of the play “Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins.” Auditions will be held between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday at the Regional Arts Center, 321 W. Fourth St., Texarkana, Texas.

Come prepared to sing and dance but no rehearsed audition pieces are necessary. The show will be performed in December. The play is a musical based on Eric Kimmel’s Caldecott-winning book.

This family theater show is a collaboration between Texas A&M University Texarkana and the Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council. More info: Brian C. Billings at 903-223-3022 or Jennifer Unger at 903-792-8681

- Aaron Brand

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