Calendar of Events

The Bottom is SO excited to be a part of Michelle Williams' Checking In Book Tour! Michelle will sit down for intimate, candid conversations with some amazing personalities and influencers to discuss various topics and themes from her book. Each night promises to be an experience and begins at 7pm EST, lasting for approximately 60 min. VIP tickets includes signed book and meet and greet.

Special guests include: Chloe Bailey, Taraji B. Henson, LeCrae, Ms. Tina Lawson, LeToya Luckett, Dr. Anita Phillips, Darrel Walls, Tamar Braxton, Chandler Moore, DeVon Franklin and Tabitha Brown

For tickets & more info: https://screenz.live/en/workshop/609ad76f4dd830002526a80e

https://www.thebottomknox.com/

(Ages 6+) Join Ijams for a hike under the light of the silvery supermoon next Wednesday, May 26, from 8:30-10:30 p.m. This is the closest the moon will be to Earth all year, and it will light the way as you explore the trails and look for creatures of the night! Learn More and Register

https://www.ijams.org/calendar-of-events

Ijams Nature Center, 2915 Island Home Ave, Knoxville, TN 37920

Join us on the morning of May 26th at 9:00 AM for coffee and conversation! This continues our series of free, monthly meet ups. This meet up we will focus on how you have helped clients / your own brand turn heads since there's so much noise and content being pushed out right now. Come ready to talk about your experience in the social media realm to promote either your business, or your client's business. If you've yet to use social media in that capacity, please join to hear other's insight.

The awesome folks at PostModern Spirits are allowing us to set up outside, come rain or shine. We will be practicing COVID-safety measures, meeting outdoors and spaced apart. If you are vaccinated, and prefer to not wear a mask, that is completely fine. If you would prefer to wear a mask, that is also completely fine. It is up to you all. Be sure to grab a coffee at Old City Java or Awaken Coffee beforehand.

Wed, May 26, 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM EDT
PostModern Spirits, 205 West Jackson Avenue, #Suite 205, Knoxville, TN 37902
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/may-smk-round-table-breaking-through-the-noise-tickets-154159030811

(All ages) SoKno Taco Cantina’s SoKno Social next Wednesday, May 26, is a benefit for Ijams! These fine folks will donate 10% of the day’s entire sales to Ijams, so you can enjoy tacos, a frosty Estrella Jalisco or the special vegetarian “Avochanga” and it all supports this nonprofit nature center! Ijams staff will be at a pop-up tent with fun stuff to look at and learn about from 5-7 p.m.

3701 Sevierville Pike, Knoxville, TN 37920

https://www.ijams.org

The Sundress Academy for the Arts (SAFTA) is pleased to present the May installment of our virtual reading series. The event will take place on Wednesday, May 26, 2021, 7:00-8:00 EDT via Zoom.

Ashley Inguanta is a poet, lyrical essayist, art photographer, and holistic writing guide. She supports others in their spiritual journeys by helping them develop a healthy connection to nature. Her first guidebook, Poet, There's a Spark Within You, is available to take home through her website, ashleyinguanta.net.

Marcela Sulak is the author of the lyric memoir Mouth Full of Seeds; her third poetry collection, City of Sky Papers is forthcoming with Black Lawrence Press, where she’s previously published Decency and Immigrant. She’s co-edited Family Resemblance: An Anthology and Exploration of 8 Hybrid Literary Genres. A 2019 NEA Translation Fellow, her fourth translation, Twenty Girls to Envy Me: Selected Poems of Orit Gidali was nominated for a 2017 PEN Award for Poetry in Translation. She hosts the podcast “Israel in Translation,” edits The Ilanot Review, and is Associate Professor of English Literature and Linguistics at Bar-Ilan University.

Billie R. Tadros is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English and Theatre at The University of Scranton. She earned her Ph.D. in English from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and her M.F.A. in Writing from Sarah Lawrence College, and she is a graduate of the Writers Institute at Susquehanna University. She is the author of three books of poems, Graft Fixation (Gold Wake Press, 2020), Was Body (Indolent Books, 2020), and The Tree We Planted and Buried You In (Otis Books, 2018).

Catch the series here, using the password "safta"
https://tennessee.zoom.us/j/97211644045

A View of the City features more than 20 paintings and works on paper of Knoxville and vicinity by artists from East Tennessee and beyond representing the city and outlying areas during and after the 1940s. This diverse selection offers a complex and compelling portrait of our area over the course of a vital period in its development.

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Information: 865-525-6101, https://knoxart.org/exhibitions/a-view-of-the-city-knoxville/

More than 20 paintings and works on paper representing the exciting growth in the KMA’s contemporary collection through museum purchases and donations from artists and collectors far and wide.

Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World's Fair Park Dr, Knoxville, TN 37916. Information: 865-525-6101, https://knoxart.org/exhibitions/undercurrents-recent-acquisitions-of-contemporary-art/

Flying Anvil Theatre welcomes Spring with another original virtual comedy by Artistic Director, Jayne Morgan. Tiny Houses is a sequel to last year’s popular Branching Out and features an all-new, sidesplitting story that follows the original cast a few months after the original play.

Change is coming once again to the bickering siblings Scoop, BP and Arnell, and no one is handling it well. Everyone is feeling stressed by their mother’s rather unnerving virtual memorial service and her bizarre outfit (a most vibrant caftan and turban), which as Arnell says, “makes her look like a reject from RuPaul’s Drag Race.” When the truth behind the festivities and the familial bickering finally comes out, the family must find a new way to both relate with one another and to support each other. “It’s a broad comedy but you’ll probably recognize your own family in the characters.” Morgan says. “The great thing is you don’t have to have seen Branching Out to enjoy Tiny Houses. But we’ll still give you a chance to catch it if you want to before the new one opens.”

Veteran actors David Dwyer, Carol Goans, Vicki Sparks, Aleah Vassell, Jill Henderlight will all reprise their roles from Branching Out. One new character is joining the fray- Dan, BP’s nervous and shy husband will be played by Donald Thorne.

Tiny Houses and Branching Out will both be available for streaming May 21st through May 30th.

A key focus of Flying Anvil Theatre, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is to remove barriers between art and audience, particularly with new theatrical works. As such, these on-demand performances can be accessed by paying what you can. $1 (or $1,000?!) can get you virtual access to these not-to-be-missed comedies. Plus, you will be supporting the arts when it is needed the most!

Flying Anvil Theatre will soon announce its re-opening with a new season of in person performances complete with updated safety procedures. To keep up on the latest news, make a donation, or get involved, check out their website at www.flyinganviltheatre.com, or follow them on Facebook and Instagram, @flyinganviltheatre.

You’ll see one young musician after another performing their culminating musical selection for the 2020-2021 school year. Months of hard work, artistry and training come together in one online event. These are unprecedented times. But these unstoppable kids will seize their moment to shine – but not to the usual applause. Instead we encourage you to contribute uplifting online comments during the stream. Bravo to our super Joy of Music School students! www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_vsgcKqyho

Tri-Star Arts is pleased to announce the next exhibition in their gallery at the historic Candoro Marble Building. A two-person show, Elements & Dreams, featuring works by artist Raymond Padrón (Chattanooga, TN) and Sarah Shebaro (Knoxville, TN) will open on Tuesday, May 18, and run through Saturday, July 10, 2021.

Public receptions will be held on Friday, May 21 from 5:00- 8:00 pm and Friday, July 2 from 5:00- 8:00 pm. An in-person artist talk will be held on Friday, July 2 at 3:30 pm.

This exhibition will be open to the public, alongside iconic spaces within the Candoro Marble Building, regularly from Tuesday through Saturday, 11:00 am until 5:00 pm going forward. Masks and social distancing (6 feet apart) are required. The gallery occupancy is limited to a maximum of 10 persons at a time.

Raymond Padrón is a sculptor and performance-based artist, working in a broad diversity of processes and materials. He uses traditional craft and its relationship to improvisation to explore how we form our identity and beliefs. Born in 1983, he grew up in the Northern Virginia suburbs of DC. In 2005 after receiving his B.A. in sculpture and graphic design from Messiah College in Grantham, PA, he moved south to the city of Chattanooga, TN. In 2011 he received his M.F.A. from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He has since returned to Chattanooga where he now makes art, exhibits nationally, and teaches.

Sarah Shebaro is a multidisciplinary artist, printmaking instructor, and designer residing in Knoxville, TN. She’s currently a printer and co-owner of Striped Light, a letterpress studio and cultural space that opened in January of 2015. The center of her artistic practice relies on working and teaching in communal creative spaces. She has previously taught at the Pratt Institute (NYC), Manhattan Graphics Center, Southern Oregon University, and the Penland School of Craft.

Tri-Star Arts at Candoro Marble Building, 4450 Candora Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37920. Information: https://tristararts.org/
Follow Tri-Star Arts on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook #TRISTARARTS

A one gallery show that asks artists to select a favorite line or lines of poetry and create a work that illustrates or evokes the same idea or feeling. From well-known poems to those penned by the artist or friends, this exhibition is a treat for the eyes and soul. Poems will be displayed with works!

Oak Ridge Art Center, 201 Badger Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830. Hours: Tu-F 9-5, Sa-M 1-4. Information: 865-482-1441, www.oakridgeartcenter.org

AUDITIONS FOR THE RIVER & RAIL 2021-2022 SEASON ARE OFFICIALLY OPEN!

Actors please upload a ONE MINUTE contemporary monologue to YouTube as a private/unlisted video and submit your headshot/resume/information and video link no later than JULY 1st, 2021.

If you are auditioning for The Unusual Tale of Mary & Joseph’s Baby please include 16 bars of a song in your audition video – you do not need to record a separate video – Deaf/deaf/HOH actors are especially encouraged to audition – audition material can be performed in ASL or your preferred language.

Stage Managers and Designers please attach your resumes/portfolios.

Should this submission process not meet your accessibility needs please contact chris@riverandrailtheatre.com and we will work with you to make accommodations

SEASON INFO/AVAILABLE ROLES and more info at https://riverandrailtheatre.com/our-season/