Calendar of Events

The WordPlayers of Knoxville will tour the World Premiere production of “Jackie Robinson Steals Home” to schools, community colleges and churches during February. This one-act play by Peter Manos chronicles the life story and achievements of Jackie Robinson, who, in 1947, became the first African-American athlete to break the color barrier in Major League baseball. His ability to avoid conflict and simply perform to the best of his ability, despite struggling with an instinct to fight back, provided an example for everyone of how one can rise above negative circumstances with grace and humility.

Schedule of Free Public Performances

Feb. 5, Walters State – Sevierville, 2:30 PM
Feb. 10, Walters State – Morristown, 6:15 PM
Feb. 13, Johnson University (Gymnasium), 7900 Johnson Dr., 7:00 PM
Feb. 15, Oak Valley Baptist, 194 Hampton Rd., Oak Ridge – 4:00 PM
Feb. 16, Fifth Ave. Baptist, 2500 E. 5 th Ave. – 4:00 PM
Feb. 19, Walters State – Greeneville, 9:40 AM
Feb. 20, Vine Middle, 1807 Martin Luther King Jr Ave. – 6:30 PM
Feb 21, Pellissippi State- Magnolia – 11:50 AM
Feb. 24, Walters State – Tazewell, 2:00 PM
Feb. 25, Roane State – Harriman, 11:00 AM

Supported by an Arts Builds Communities Grant from the Tennessee Arts Commission and the Arts and Culture Alliance, The WordPlayers’ 13th Annual Black History Show Tour will have 22 performances in 17 different venues across 9 TN counties For more information about The WordPlayers, please see www.wordplayers.org or call 865-539-2490.

With psychic mediums, séances gone awry and celestial visitors, Noël Coward’s comedy “Blithe Spirit” will run on the Clarence Brown mainstage February 5-23, 2020. UT Faculty/Staff receive 20% off ticket prices. UT Students see the previews for FREE and the rest of the performances for $5, excluding Opening Night. Free and convenient parking is available in the McClung Tower Garage on Volunteer Boulevard.

The Pay What You Wish Preview performance, where patrons can name their own price, will be held Wednesday, February 5th. Behind the Scenes Sunday will take place following the Sunday, February 9th matinee with Prop Master, Christy Fogarty, and Technical Director, Jason Fogarty, discussing some of the special effects in the production. A Talk Back with the actors will take place Sunday, February 16th following the matinee. The Open Captioned performance is Sunday, February 23rd at 2:00 pm.

Hoping to gather material for his novel, writer Charles Condomine invites psychic Madame Arcati to his home to conduct a séance and gets far more than he bargains for in Coward’s Tony Award winning comedy. An English playwright, actor, and composer Coward was known for his likable sophistication and sharp sense of humor. Although he wrote some of the most popular plays of his time, he was also known for his entertaining personality and his abilities as a witty storyteller. It is interesting to note that “Blithe Spirit” was first performed in 1941 at the end of the London Blitz (1940-1941). It was the final play in what is now considered Coward’s great comic trilogy about marriage and infidelity which included “Private Lives” and “Hay Fever.”

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

Pellissippi State Community College will celebrate the music and poetry of outstanding African-American artists by hosting the chamber music theatre work "Of Ebony Embers: Vignettes of the Harlem Renaissance" as one of its Black History Month events.

The work, which features one actor accompanied on stage by an instrumental trio, will be performed at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, at the Clayton Performing Arts Center on the college's Hardin Valley Campus, 10915 Hardin Valley Road. The performance is free and open to the public. "Of Ebony Embers," written by Akin Babatunde and performed by the Core Ensemble of Florida, examines the lives of African-American poets Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen and Claude McKay as seen through the eyes of the African-American painter and muralist Aaron Douglas.

"Black history is America's history," said Pellissippi State Access and Diversity Director Gayle E. Wood. "February allows us to highlight the numerous contributions African Americans have made to American history. We celebrate the diversity of this history through music, art, displays, literature, theatre, food and much more."

All events Pellissippi State has planned for Black History Month are free and open to the public:
• The Tom Johnson Jazz Combo and Knoxville's Soulful Sounds Revue will perform on the Hardin Valley Campus on Friday, Feb. 28 - the jazz combo at noon and the Celebration of the Music of Motown 6-9 p.m., both in the Goins Building College Center.
• The WordPlayers, a Knoxville-based company of Christian theatre artists, will present the one-act play "Jackie Robinson Steals Home" at 11:50 a.m. Friday, Feb. 21, on Pellissippi State's Magnolia Avenue Campus. The play should end at 12:45 p.m.
• African-American Read-Ins will be held on all campuses, celebrating the work of black authors: 8:45 a.m.-3:45 p.m. Feb. 18 at Division Street; 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Feb. 19 at Hardin Valley; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Feb. 19 at Blount County; times to be determined Feb. 19 at Strawberry Plains; and 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Feb. 26 at Magnolia Avenue.
• Four "Monday Movies" will be shown on the Hardin Valley Campus, followed by discussions: "Mississippi Burning" on Feb. 3, "Selma" on Feb. 10, "The Hate U Give" on Feb. 17 and "Harriet" on Feb. 24. Each movie will be shown beginning at 12:30 p.m. in the Goins Building Auditorium with a discussion following in the Goins Building Cafeteria Annex.

Other Black History Month events include lunch with guest speaker Vrondelia (Ronni) Chandler, a Pellissippi State alumna and chief executive officer for Project GRAD Knoxville; opportunities to chat about "hot topics" with the Active Black Student Association; and student poetry displays. For more information about any of Pellissippi State's upcoming Black History Month events, visit www.pstcc.edu/events/black-history, or contact Wood at 865.539.7160 or gwood@pstcc.edu.

Hardin Valley Campus of Pellissippi State: 10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville, TN 37932

DENSO Gallery, 502 E Lamar Alexander Pkwy, Maryville, TN 37804

Artist Statement: In college I first studied architecture, but graduated with a BFA with a concentration in pottery. My first art career was as a studio potter in Friendsville, Tn for 25 years. That was followed by a career in decorative wall finishes, faux painting, cabinetry finishing and the occasional mural project. Never one to sit still, I turned my attention to fine art painting which has developed into a concentration on representational work, including photorealism, paintings intended to look like photographs.

My source material is from photographs I have taken. This allows me to carefully design my composition and have plenty of information to include as much detailed information as I chose. More importantly, as my reference source, it allows me to study the nuances of color, light and reflection and how it changes across a seemingly uniformly colored surface. But the image in paint can go beyond a printed image. Using translucent layers of paint I am able to build depth unachievable with ink on paper.

To counter my tendency towards too much realism I began working in pastels in 2018. Still representational work, but much more graphic, as the pastel pigments lie on top of the paper and on top of one another. They don’t mix like paint. It is the eye and brain that do the blending.

There will be an artist reception February 28 from 6-8 pm
https://www.claytonartscenter.com/event/allen-monsarrat-exhibit/

This solo show displays the intricately detailed mixed media sculptural work of Mindy Michelle Herrin, an East Tennessee State University professor. Herrin’s work incorporates metalwork, ceramics and painting into figurative sculpture.

Hardin Valley Campus of Pellissippi State: 10915 Hardin Valley Road, Knoxville, TN 37932. Bagwell Center Gallery hours: M-F 9 AM - 9 PM. Information: 865-694-6405, www.pstcc.edu/arts

The 2020 New Play Festival includes three table readings, two staged readings and two full productions. Each table reading will include a discussion session afterwards with the cast, director and audience – and when possible - the playwright.

Christmas Reunion by Dennis Duff - A holiday story of a family struggling to reconnect and stay together despite themselves.
2/1 10:30 am Fountain City Library
2/29 1:00 pm Bearden Branch Library
3/1 2:30 pm Lawson McGhee Library

Goodbye Cruel World by John Babcock and Ted Westby - A black comedy of unrequited love and unexpected outcomes.
2/15 2:00 pm Bearden Branch Library
2/22 10:30 am Fountain City Library
2/29 2:30 pm Lawson McGhee Library

X’s And O’s by Taylor James Foster - A sci-fi tinged story of memory and reconnections set in an unknown future – or is a too well known past?
2/15 10:30 am Fountain City Library
2/29 10:30 am Lawson McGhee Library

Tennessee Stage Company: 865-546-4280 or visit http://tennesseestage.com/.

The 2020 AIR Biennial will be a showcase of the work of our past 4 Artists in Residence at the UT School of Art.

Dana Lok - https://www.danalok.com/
Fox Hysen - https://foxhysen.net/
Tracy Thomason - https://www.marinaro.biz/tracy-thomason-2017
Caitlin MacBride - https://caitlinmacbride.com/index.html

Receptions will be Friday, February 7th and Friday, March 6th from 5-9pm at the Gallery.

The Artist-in-Residence Program was initiated in 1982. Each semester an invited resident artist teaches both undergraduate and graduate level courses in the Painting & Drawing curriculum. The AIR program is highly successful in making a direct connection to the marketplace of ideas that surrounds art centers such as New York City, Chicago, and LA. The AIR invited to campus represent a spectrum of current sensibilities in painting and drawing holding sway in the art world today.

UT Downtown Gallery, 106 S. Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Hours: W-F 11-6, Sa 10-3. Information: 865-673-0802, http://web.utk.edu/~downtown

SEXY! OUTRAGEOUS! FUN!

BOEING BOEING – a farce by Marc Camelloti

Run 3 weeks – JANUARY 31 – FEB 16 (Pay What You Can Night – Thursday, Jan 30.)

This 1960’s French farce adapted for the English-speaking stage features self-styled lothario Bernard, who has Italian, German, and American fiancées, each a beautiful airline hostess with frequent “layovers.” He keeps “one up, one down, and one pending” until unexpected schedule changes bring all three to Paris, and Bernard’s apartment, at the same time.

Shows are Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 and Sundays at 2:00. Tickets are $22 and $24, and students with an I.D. are $10.

Flying Anvil Theatre, 1300 Rocky Hill Road, Knoxville. Information: 865-357-1309, www.flyinganviltheatre.com

Incremental Signals is a two-person exhibit featuring the ceramic work of Shanna Fliegel and handwoven 2D pieces of Kim Mirus.

The works on view in Incremental Signals are keeping track of things: our rapidly changing climate, moments in our daily lives, damage, and memory.

With every stitch, Kim Mirus uses weaving to show us the data of what is happening near the North Pole due to climate change. Shanna Fliegel’s narrative vessels tell us stories made from memory fragments, pieced together in an attempt at preservation.

These works demand our attention. They ask us to slow down and look, to consider the weight of our choices, and to notice what we remember. Individually, the works are showing us data, statistics, and information. Together, they are sending us signals.

For more information, visit arrowmont.org/incremental-signals-shanna-fliegel-kim-mirus/

Geoffrey A. Wolpert Gallery, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. Gallery hours: M-R 8:30-5, Fri 8:30-4, Saturdays call ahead. Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, 556 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. Information: 865-436-5860

Opening reception: 5-7:30pm, Thursday, January 9th

The Ewing Gallery is pleased to present, Unsustainable: A Planet in Crisis – a group exhibition featuring artwork ranging in material, discipline, and execution that addresses the theme of planetary crises – climate change, the rise of disease and superbugs, world conflict and national instability, plastics in the ocean, gun violence, pollution of the waterways from mining, air pollution from use of fossil fuels, the opioid crisis, and species extinction.

Participating artists are:

Michele Banks https://www.artologica.net/
Brandon Ballengee, PhD https://brandonballengee.com/
Scott Chimileski, PhD + Roberto Kolter, PhD https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-beautiful-intelligence-of-bacteria-and-other-microbes-20171113/
Brandon Donahue https://brandonjaquezdonahue.com/home.html
Lorrie Fredette http://lorriefredette.com/
Yeon Jin Kim http://www.domesticmuseology.com/yeon-jin-kim
Pam Longobardi https://driftersproject.net/about/
Dan Mills http://abacus.bates.edu/~dmills/
John Sabraw http://www.johnsabraw.com/
Karen Shaw https://karenshaw100.com/

In conjunction with Unsustainable, artist and educator Pam Longobardi will be giving a public lecture on Thursday, January 23rd at 7:30pm on her work. Longobardi's lecture will be in McCarty Auditorium, room 109 of the Art + Architecture Building. A reception with the artist will follow in the gallery.

Pam Longobardi is an American contemporary eco artist and activist, currently living and working in Atlanta, Georgia. She is known internationally for sculptural works and installations created from plastic debris, primarily from marine and coastal environments, as a primary material. She is also a Professor of Drawing and Painting at Georgia State University. Longobardi's lecture is part of the University of Tennessee School of Art's Programming Committee Lecture Series.

Unsustainable - a Planet in Crisis was developed as part of the programming for UT's Apocalypse Semester and as a partner exhibition to Visions of the End at the McClung Museum.

The Ewing Gallery of Art and Architecture at the University of Tennessee, 1715 Volunteer Boulevard
Art and Architecture Building, Knoxville, TN 37996. https://ewing-gallery.utk.edu/

Opening reception Jan 12, 2-4 PM
Meet the artist, refreshments

The Gallery at the Rarity Bay Activity Center (2nd building on the right as you enter Rarity Bay), 150 Rarity Bay Parkway, Vonore, TN 37885
Free admission! Gallery hours: Mon 9-4, Tue 9-1, Wed-Fri 9-4
http://raritybayliving.com/ or 423-884-3020

ZOO KNOXVILLE OFFERS $5 OFF WINTER ADMISSION
Kroger Discount Days offered December 1 through February 29, 2020

During Kroger Discount Days, guests can discover why winter is an enjoyable time to visit the zoo. Many animals, including red pandas, river otters, elephants, gorillas, red wolves, lions and tigers, enjoy the cooler temperatures. On days when the temperature drops below 40 degrees, some animals will be moved indoors, but visitors can still see most in their indoor viewing areas.

Discounted tickets can be purchased at the zoo ticket window during regular zoo hours and online at zooknoxville.org. Discounted admission tickets must be used by Feb. 29, 2020, and cannot be combined with any other promotion, discount, or coupon.

Zoo Knoxville, 3500 Knoxville Zoo Drive, Knoxville, TN 37914. Open every day except Christmas. Information: 865-637-5331, www.zooknoxville.org