Calendar of Events

by Leslie Kimbell and directed by Joe Johnson

Retired Burlesque queen Beatrice Shelton desperately needs a vacation - and NOT another trip up to Helen, GA to see that "precious little German village for the umpteenth time." A Sassy Seniors Cruise through the Caribbean may be just the ticket if she can convince her best friend Eaddy Mae Clayton to stop praying and go with her.

Unfortunately, things have not been very pleasant at Magnolia Place Assisted Living since Nurse Pat Jones began working there. Newest resident Imogene Fletcher is suddenly losing her memory. Maude Jenkins is obsessed with her favorite soap opera and planning her own funeral. Sam Smith, retired Elvis impersonator, keeps trying to bed every woman in the building. A mystery unfolds with laughter as the gals try to outsmart evil nurse Pat Jones and figure out why so many residents have been moved to "the dark side", what exactly IS that mysterious pill and what happened to Doctor Head? Hilarity ensues as Imogene goes undercover and Maude enters the Miss Magnolia Senior Citizen pageant to throw Pat off their trail.

If they can solve the mystery, they may make it to the cruise ship after all!

First presented in a public reading as part of the Tennessee Stage Company's New Play Festival, Knoxville, 2015
Audience Choice Winner - New Play Festival, Theatre Victoria - Victoria, Texas, 2017
First Place Winner - New Play Festival, Centre Stage Greenville, 2016

Theatre Knoxville Downtown, 319 North Gay Street, Knoxville, TN 37917. Information & tickets: 865-544-1999, www.theatreknoxville.com

CBT Mainstage

Searching throughout the Old and New World for his beloved Cunegonde, Candide’s philosophy of Optimism is challenged by catastrophe after catastrophe.
The CBT and KSO are proud to perform Leonard Bernstein’s Candide in 2018, the 100th anniversary of his birth year. Bernstein’s brilliant and beautiful score deepens Voltaire’s great satire with contributions from the greatest lyricists of the 20th century.

By Voltaire. Music by Leonard Bernstein.
Directed by Artistic Director Calvin MacLean. Conducted by Music Director Aram Demirjian.

Clarence Brown Theatre, 1714 Andy Holt Ave on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. For information: 865-974-5161, www.clarencebrowntheatre.com. For tickets: 865-974-5161, 865-656-4444, www.knoxvilletickets.com

Graphic designer Aggie Toppins is the first featured artist in Pellissippi State Community College's art series this fall.

Toppins' recent work, titled Palimpsests, will be on exhibit Aug. 27-Sept. 14 at Pellissippi State's Bagwell Center for Media and Art Gallery.

Opening reception for Toppins' exhibit will be held 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 6, with an artist lecture to follow at 7 p.m.

Palimpsests is a series of collage-based prints rooted in the practice of psychogeography.

"I use extant materials that pass through my life while traveling to construct compositions that index my experience while attempting to capture the ways experience leaves its trace on me," explained Toppins, who is head of the art department at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Hardin Valley Campus of Pellissippi State: 10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville, TN 37932. Bagwell Center Gallery hours: M-F 10-6:30. Information: 865-694-6405, www.pstcc.edu/arts

More than 40 paintings and drawings from public and private collections around the country celebrate the life and achievement of this well-known Knoxville native.

Joseph Delaney (1904-1991) rose from humble beginnings in Knoxville to establish himself as a tireless and prolific painter of Manhattan’s urban scene. Over the span of his 60-year career, Delaney displayed a remarkable ability to express the city’s vitality using the loose brushwork of gestural abstraction, which at the time represented the cutting edge of studio practice, without sacrificing the narrative content many of his contemporaries had abandoned. The works featured in On the Move represent the variety of ways in which he used this hybrid method to infuse his painted scenes with vibrant energy, and intricate patterns of movement.

While capturing the ebb and flow of life on the boulevards and back alleys, Delaney’s vigorous brushwork also reveals his restless spirit and insatiable creative drive. On the Move has been organized by the KMA in the hopes of generating newfound appreciation and scholarly attention for an artist who captured his time and place with uncommon energy and a fiercely independent spirit. In depicting Manhattan’s urban scenes, the artist trains his ever-shifting vantage point on gleaming plazas and gritty nightspots with equal intensity and familiarity. In some compositions, near-panoramic views emphasize the pulse of crowds within vast architectural arenas. In others, the artist focuses on specific urban structures—subway cars, bridges, and roadways—that make movement possible.

The public is invited to celebrate the art and life of Joseph Delaney at the KMA Family Fun Day on Saturday, August 25 from 11am to 4pm. This event is free and open to the public thanks to the generosity of Katherine and Joe Fielden.

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10AM-5PM, Sunday, 1-5PM. Information: 865-525-6101, www.knoxart.org

Reception: August 17, 6:30 – 8:00 PM - Free and open to the public.

Exhibit viewing hours: Hours: Tu & Th 9-5, W & F 10-5, 2nd-4th Sa 10-1. Fountain City Art Center, 213 Hotel Ave, Knoxville, TN 37918. Information: 865-357-2787, www.fountaincityartcenter.com

Reception Friday, August 17, 6:00 to 7:30 pm. Artists’ talks at 6:30 pm.

About Gary Heatherly: Heatherly recently retired from 30 years of commercial photography and is returning to the beginnings of his art. Still photography captures the precious moments of life. When we are younger, he says, life passes in slow motion as we explore our new world. As we age and shed the curiosity and wonder of youth, life speeds up. Photographers strive to capture and embellish the pristine moments for future appreciation. Heatherly has lived in Knoxville for over 55 years. He attended West High School and graduated with honors in 1974 from UT Knoxville with a BFA in Studio Art, emphasis in drawing and painting. He started his own photography business in the mid 70’s and focused on advertising, editorial, architectural and stock photography. His work allowed him to see the world with trips to the Philippines , Ireland, and the Caribbean. He published a Book of the Year winner along with help from WBIR and Robin Easter Design: Knoxville Then & Now. He is featured in three other “coffee table” books about Knoxville. www.garyheatherly.com

About Althea Murphy-Price: Murphy-Price is inspired by the social implication of beauty as it relates to female identity, women and culture. This work investigates how identity is informed and influenced through the context of a deceptively subversive beauty culture. Real and false, decoration and imitation are addressed and questioned. Recent work is inspired by the popular hashtag #blackgirlmagic and online image results from searching “perfect hair” and “perfect skin.” Her response to these images is colorful, playful and expressive of a child-like fascination. Althea Murphy-Price began her studies in Fine Art at Spelman College before receiving her Master of Arts in Printmaking and Painting from Purdue University and later studying at the Tyler School of Art, Temple University, where she earned her Master of Fine Arts. She has exhibited in venues throughout the country and abroad, including the Weston Gallery, Cincinnati; Howard Museum of Art, Baltimore; Wellesley College, Boston; Wade Wilson Art Gallery, Houston; Indiana University Art Museum; The Print Center, Philadelphia; The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Charleston; and the Knoxville Museum of Art. International exhibits include the International Printmaking Exhibition, Jingdezhen, China; the American Youth Printmaking Exhibition, Lui Haisu Art Museum, Shanghai, China; and Print Resonance, Musashino Art University, Tokyo Japan. She was artist in residence at the Frank Lloyd Wright School; University of Hawaii, Hilo; The Vermont Studio Center; and the Venice Printmaking Studio. Her writings and work have been featured in Art Papers Magazine, CAA Reviews, Contemporary Impressions Journal, Art in Print, Printmaking: A Complete Guide to Materials and Process, and Printmakers Today. www.altheamurphyprice.com

Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. Gallery hours: M-Th 10-5, Su 10-1. Information: 865-523-4176, www.tvuuc.org

Turnabout: Women at the Lathe is the first exhibition organized and funded by the Women in Turning (WIT) committee of the American Association of Woodturners (AAW). Reflecting our membership, we created a blended invitational and juried show that celebrates both known and unknown voices in our field. The twenty-seven sculptural pieces in the exhibition were created by women artists from the United States, England, Wales, Canada, and Taiwan, ranging in age from their early twenties to their 80s. The work in the show is created all or in part on the lathe, a specialized woodworking machine that holds and spins material while it is carved with sharp tools. The exhibition features work by women with anything from a few years of experience to more than three decades of turning.

A traveling show, Turnabout: Women at the Lathe will be featured at three distinctly different venues: the Appalachian Center for Craft, part of the School of Art, Craft & Design at Tennessee Tech University; the American Association of Woodturners’ Gallery of Wood Art; and Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

It is our hope that through this exhibition more women will think of turning as possible for themselves, and discover the many pleasures of this extraordinary craft and art form.

Participating artists: Katie Adams, Donna Zils Banfield, Dixie Biggs, Kailee Bosch, Sally Burnett, Marilyn Campbell, Martha Collins, Barbara Dill, Sharon Doughtie, Jeanne Douphrate, Ena Dubnoff, Melissa Engler, Diana Friend, Louise Hibbert, Liz Kent, Janice Levi, Kristin LeVier, Grace Parliman, Tania Radda, Betty Scarpino, Hayley Smith, Janine Wang, Kimberly Winkle, Helga Winter, Andi Wolfe, Cindy Pei-Si Young

At JERRY DROWN WOOD STUDIO GALLERY at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860, www.arrowmont.org

"Opposite Day" by Julie Armbruster

Armbruster’s exhibit, “Opposite Day” opened this month in our Downtown location, and it’s a wild ride of color, character, and composition that grabs the eye and then runs into the imagination. The work bursts with color and life and is inhabited by a cast of characters that are simultaneously alluring and suspect. http://thetomatohead.com/julie-armbruster/

At the Downtown Knoxville location Aug 5 - Sep 2 and West Knoxville Sep 3 - Oct 1

Tomato Head, 12 Market Square (865-637-4067) and 7240 Kingston Pike, Suite 172 (865-584-1075), in Knoxville. http://thetomatohead.com

This show is coordinated by the Simulations + Gaming + Role-Playing (SGR) Community of Scholars. This multi-disciplinary group brings together members of the UT community who share an interest in researching the development and use of simulations, gaming, role-playing, and similar strategies for teaching and learning. Such strategies are among the latest developments in higher education, and have been shown to create interactivity and collaboration, increase engagement and retention, deepen reflection and understanding, engender positive values and thoughtful behavior, and open authentic spaces for real-world problem-solving. Games and Simulations provide players/users with the opportunity to not only visualize, but to experience the world of a problem from a variety of perspectives.

Featured Games:
Marrying Mr. Darcy is a strategy card game for 2-6 players based on Jane Austen’s classic novel “Pride and Prejudice.”

Walden, a game is an exploratory narrative and open world simulation of the life of American philosopher Henry David Thoreau during his experiment in self-reliant living at Walden Pond. The game begins in the summer of 1845 when Thoreau moved to the Pond and built his cabin there.

Embodied Labs works at the intersection of healthcare training and virtual reality storytelling to provide a culture shift solution that empowers every member of the care team to share their expertise and value one another.

The Cat and the Coup is a documentary videogame in which you play the cat of Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh, the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran. During the summer of 1953, the CIA engineered a coup to bring about his downfall. As a player, you coax Mossadegh back through significant events of his life by knocking objects off of shelves, scattering his papers, jumping on his lap and scratching him.

Abbreviated Summer Hours: Tuesday – Friday, 12 – 4 PM. Ewing Gallery, 1715 Volunteer Blvd on the UT campus, Knoxville, TN 37996. Information: 865-974-3200, www.ewing-gallery.utk.edu

On July 2, the Farragut Museum will unveil a very special exhibit which will showcase paintings by local artist Alexander Dumas. Visitors will also be able to view artifacts from various branches of the military and numerous wars, including the Korean War, Vietnam War, World War I and II, and Desert Storm. This exhibit will be on display through January 4, 2019.

Dumas was born in Detroit, Mich., and started painting on his 27th birthday. Serving in the U.S. Navy from 1945-1949 and as a Hospital Corpsman at the University of Virginia from 1949-1953 gave Alex a unique perspective on war. As a WWII veteran, the images of young men suffering from the wounds of war have stayed with the artist for a lifetime. While he did not see combat, many of his patients came back to the States with wounds that would be considered horrific under any circumstance. His wartime paintings are based on combat photographs.

Dumas spent 16 years as a member of the Tennessee State Guard, retiring with the rank of Major. His paintings are on exhibit at the Tennessee Theatre, the East Tennessee Historical Society and the USS Tennessee Battleship Museum, among other places. He currently teaches a painting class at Strang Senior Center in Knoxville.

Farragut Town Hall, 11408 Municipal Center Dr, Farragut, TN 37934. Hours: M-F 10-4:30. Information: 865-966-7057, www.townoffarragut.org/museum

The project, inspired by a similar exhibit at Rotary Botanical Garden in Janesville, Wisconsin, is designed to promote community participation and artist collaboration at the UT Gardens, Knoxville, as well as to raise awareness and support for the Gardens. 27 local professional and amateur artists have created unique interpretations of a wooden hummingbird silhouette. The pieces will be displayed throughout the summer of 2018 for Gardens visitors to enjoy. The Hummingbirds will then be sold at a live auction on September 8, 2018 with all proceeds benefiting the UT Gardens, Knoxville.

UT Gardens, Chapman Drive, Knoxville, TN 37996. Information: 865-974-7151, https://ag.tennessee.edu/utg/Pages/default.aspx

The Marble Springs Farmer's Market is held Thursdays from 3-6pm, beginning May & continuing weekly through September, depending upon supply. All vendors will be selling fresh, locally-produced products including sauces, seasonal produce, herbs, perennial plants and more (weekly selection will vary).

​Marble Springs: 1220 West Gov. John Sevier Highway, Knoxville, TN 37920. Information: 865-573-5508, http://www.marblesprings.net/farmers-market