July 11, 2008 - CAMP Arts

LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth

CAMP Arts

Years ago, in another lifetime, I made my living by playing piano in bars. Despite evenings when the Brazilian Navy commandeered the place or someone threw a lit cigar in my tip bowl, my mantra (It's a bar...it's a bar...it's a bar...) always got me through the evening.

It was a decent living for many years and served to supplement the income I was not receiving by running a dinner theatre or composing. Luckily, ten years ago the universe sent a messenger to me in the form of my partner in life and art who finally made me realize I could have an artistic career that did not rely on the generosity of strangers, and inebriated strangers at that.

After thousands of evenings spent performing the nearly unlimited supply of show tunes I have stored in my brain, one would think that I would have desired a change in my life, but it really took someone else to tell me that no matter what I did, I was still doing it in a bar.

I strove to bring "art" into my acta little Chopin, some classy Gershwin arrangements, little-known Rodgers and Hart tuneswhich garnered a decent-sized following and a few "Best of..." awards over the years, but I was still competing with a blender for the audiences' attention. For all of the people who are reading this who make their living making music in a bar, please understand that you still have my support! It's just not for me.

What's all this leading to? We all need to change over the course of our lives and reinvent ourselves. Now it's time for the local arts scene to create a gathering place in our community where an audience can experience high-quality professional arts, whether it is theatre, visual art, dance or a classical chamber ensemble.

Sussex County deserves a real Performing Arts Center where we can all present our art in its best light and the time is now. This idea has been kicked around for years, but now the ball is rolling and it's going to happenand soon. Somewhere right under the ground, there is a building just waiting for the right amount of encouragement and support to grow. If you have ideas, or would like to be involved somehow, please contact me and make this happen.

An existing example of how artists can work together to make something happen is MOSAICa newly formed Rehoboth Beach gallery collective (MosaicRehoboth.com) which is proud to present Second Saturdays, a destination art walk occurring every month. Saturday, July 12, 69 p.m. the MOSAIC gallery members are featuring:

AerieArt Gallery (45 1/2 Lake Ave. and 70 Rehoboth Avenue in First St. Station), features national and local artists Larry Horowitz, Barbara Neville, Victor Letonoff, Denise Dumont, Lesley McCaskill and Karin Snoots.

Amandeline Gallery (403 Rehoboth Ave.) has original oils and acrylics, limited edition giclees, reproductions, posters, and accessories.

Coastal Frameshop and Gallery (4284-B Highway One) presents Nature's Paletteoriginal watercolors by award-winning artist, C. Viers Mace. Custom framing is also offered.

Gallery 50 (50 Wilmington Ave.) explores Relationships in the works of Jim Bobick with abstract works that explore the relationship between viewer and art.

Heidi Lowe Gallery (328 Rehoboth Ave.) presents The Weight of the Imprint, New Works by Sarah Burgess. Opening Reception, July 12, 6-9 pm.

Kennedy Gallery (140 Rehoboth Ave.) is featuring Kim Klabe's original oils of local landscapes and cottages, and Sherry Biele's uniquely designed and painted furniture.

Panache Gallery (129-B Rehoboth Ave.) has new selections for fine art glass collectors from a perfume bottle to an exceptional vessel or sculpture.

Philip Morton Gallery (47 Baltimore Ave.) features renowned Connecticut artist, John Whitney.

Thunderbird Gallery (200 Rehoboth Ave.) features artists Stephen Harlan, John Powell and Don Dahlke. Custom framing is also offered.

Ward Ellinger Gallery (39 Baltimore Ave.) is featuring new abstract impressionistic works by Ward Ellinger and the eclectic contemporary works of local artist Wendy Carr July 4-31.

Detail Gallery (54 Baltimore Ave.) featuring The Male Form, highlighting works that explore the male form in all its' interesting and infinite varieties.

Peninsula Gallery in Lewes features the new exhibit Colors of Delaware by Michele Green through July 29.

The Rehoboth Art League (12 Dodds Lane in Henlopen Acres) features the following exhibitions opening July 18, with a reception that evening from 5-7 p.m. Beach Patrol Celebration of Youth, Beauty, and Strength: photographs by James Mott in the Homestead Gallery. 70th Annual Members' Fine Arts Exhibit in the Corkran and Tubbs Galleries. A members' exhibit showcasing a variety of artwork in different mediums. Recent Watercolors and Pastels by Michael McFarland in the Ventures Gallery.

The theatre scene in the area is as varied as the art scene! For example, the Henlopen Theatre Project (henlopentheaterproject.com) presents the Capitol Steps on July 23 at 8 p.m. at Rehoboth Beach Convention Center. Tickets are $30 for general admission and $45 premium seating which includes a dinner with the cast at 7 p.m. For reservations call 302-226-4103.

The Milton Theatre will hold its second annual Best In Summer Shorts (BISS) Film Festival on Saturday, July 12. The BISS festival features locally-produced short films. Tickets are $10-12. July 18-20, they present the neo-vaudevillian Big Apple Burlesque (bigappleburlesque.com). Tickets are $29 and include hors d'oeuvres. Purchase for both events at miltontheatre.org, by calling 1-800-838-3006, or at the door.

Clear Space Productions brings the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic South Pacific to the Little Theatre of Cape Henlopen High (1250 Kings Highway in Lewes) from July 24-27 and at the Schwartz Center in Dover on August 7-8. Opera veteran Eugene Galvin stars as Emile DeBecque and former Miss Delaware Erin Williams as Nellie Forbush. This local non-profit professional theatre company's cast also features Jerry Birl as "Luther Billis," Rehoboth Idol winner Dana Peragallo as "Bloody Mary," and Terrence Sullivan, as Lt. Joe Cable. For tickets call 302-644-3810 or online at ClearSpace Productions.org.

Dewey Beach Enterprises presents 100 Years of Broadway, a one-hour musical revue in the Bay Center at Ruddertowne every Wednesday night at 5:30 and 7:30. Tickets are $5 for children and $10 for adults and are available at the door.

There's been a construction delay in opening the new Rehoboth Beach Theatre of the Arts (20 Baltimore Ave.) RehobothBeachTheater.com) and Beatlemania Now has been postponed until July 22-23. The revue Broadway Fever" opened July 10 and is scheduled to run through August. Show only tickets are $35 with an optional dinner/theatre package for $56 either downstairs in the new Ovations Restaurant or at the Atlantic Seafood Grille at the Atlantic Sands Hotel. For more information call 302-227-9310.

Send your Arts events and comments to dyetter@ClearSpaceProductions.org

LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 18, No. 09 July 11, 2008