Will Call

The Greylock Glass

This weekly exploration into the Berkshires arts world offers behind-the-scenes insights with news, exclusive interviews, and analysis of the ever-fluid state of our cultural organizations.

  1. 17/09/2023

    Will Call #76: Norma Dream

    Norma Dream is the songwriting project of Norma Jean Haynes: folksinger, banjo player, and wandering musician. Based in western Massachusetts, Norma Jean has followed a love of traditional song to Corsica, Bosnia, England, South Africa, and Appalachia, and her original songs are inflected by these experiences. Her debut album, Mothers & Daughters, embarks on an exploration of nature and relationship as she strives to define a tradition of her own. Norma Dream’s forthcoming album, entitled Mercy Drops: une catalogue des brûlages, seeks to capture the experience of a summer spent in Corsican with songs in English and French. At once timeless and timely, Norma Dream’s original material uses traditional idioms to explore contemporary life. With a feather-light voice and a backbone of New England grit, Norma Dream is where Emily Dickinson meets Pete Seeger, where Robert Frost meets Anne Briggs, and where Edith Piaf meets the Hilltowns of Western Massachusetts. Accompanied by her father Christopher Haynes—celebrated local pianist and accordionist whose credits include Claudia Schmidt and the Young at Heart Chorus— along with fiddler Ben Wetherbee, Norma Dream promises to win your heart with her originality, simplicity, and sense of wonder. Norma Dream’s Upcoming Dates .stk-ea33044{background-color:#e49f3e !important}.stk-ea33044:before{background-color:#e49f3e !important} .stk-d69b40b{border-radius:50px !important;overflow:hidden !important;padding-top:8px !important;padding-right:8px !important;padding-bottom:8px !important;padding-left:8px !important;margin-right:auto !important;margin-left:auto !important}.stk-d69b40b .stk-block-tab-labels__text{color:#999999 !important}.stk-d69b40b .stk-block-tabs__tab{color:#999999 !important;padding-top:8px !important;padding-right:24px !important;padding-bottom:8px !important;padding-left:24px !important;border-radius:50px !important}.stk-d69b40b .stk-block-tabs__tab.stk-block-tabs__tab--active .stk-block-tab-labels__text{color:#ffffff !important}.stk-d69b40b .stk-block-tabs__tab:not(.stk-block-tabs__tab--active):hover{background:#dddddd !important;opacity:1 !important}.stk-d69b40b .stk-block-tabs__tab .stk--inner-svg svg:last-child,.stk-d69b40b .stk-block-tabs__tab .stk--inner-svg svg:last-child :is(g,path,rect,polygon,ellipse){fill:#777777 !important}.stk-d69b40b .stk-block-tabs__tab:not(.stk-block-tabs__tab--active):hover .stk--inner-svg svg:last-child,.stk-d69b40b .stk-block-tabs__tab:not(.stk-block-tabs__tab--active):hover .stk--inner-svg svg:last-child :is(g,path,rect,polygon,ellipse){fill:#000000 !important}.stk-d69b40b .stk-block-tabs__tab.stk-block-tabs__tab--active{background:#000000 !important}.stk-d69b40b .stk-block-tabs__tab.stk-block-tabs__tab--active .stk--inner-svg svg:last-child,.stk-d69b40b .stk-block-tabs__tab.stk-block-tabs__tab--active .stk--inner-svg svg:last-child :is(g,path,rect,polygon,ellipse){fill:#ffffff !important}September 23 October 8 November 11 7:30 p.m. Norma Dream The Foundry 2 Harris Street, West Stockbridge, Mass. 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Ashfield Fall Festival Ashfield Town Common Main Street, Ashfield, Mass. 7:00 p.m. Bridget St John with Norma Dream The Institute for the Musical Arts 165 Cape Street, Goshen, Mass. Find Norma Dream on Instagram, Facebook, and Bandcamp NTRVW: Norma Dream (VERY rough transcript) Will Call: Norma. Thank you so much for being on the show. Norma Dream: Thanks for having me, Mongrel. Excited to be here. Will Call: Well, we’re very excited to have you live and in person at the Foundry West Stockbridge on September 23rd. And I think when we were talking in the digital green room, there were some reasons that that I especially wanted to to, you know, sort of praise your you’re showing up here in the Berkshires. Number one, you are sort of local, right? I mean, you went to Smith College, correct? Norma Dream: I did. I just graduated as an ADA Comstock scholar last May. Will Call: Sweet. So North Northampton is a very cool, very cool town. I really wish that we could just drag the whole city into the Berkshires, to be honest. But, you know. You know. Go ahead. Norma Dream: I also lived for a number of years in Cummington, Massachusetts. Right. They call it the Gateway to the Berkshires. Will Call: Yeah. The exceedingly severe weather gateway to the Berkshires. I love Cummington. In fact, when we my family was looking to to settle in Western Mass, that was very high on our list of places that we wanted to to consider. We ended up in Franklin County, but that that is a beautiful and sometimes severe landscape, isn’t it? Norma Dream: I would say it can be. They get a good deal of snow sometimes there sudden storms it happens. Will Call: But that’s I would say that the the hills and Cummington I think they they they shoot up the rise of a run I think is most severe in Cummington. There’s just they just jut right up out of the out of the earth there. And you also have the Cummington Creamery which I would also love to drag into the Berkshires because the creamery is I’m sure that you probably made that at home, right? Norma Dream: Well, I worked there. Will Call: Oh, you did? Norma Dream: I played there many times. Yeah. No, I lived in Cummington. Most of the songs off my first record. Mothers and Daughters were written in Cummington and about Cummington. Will Call: Okay, Well, it’s and we talked about that in the Digital Green Room. I love that album, and we’re going to talk about that. Smith That was a that’s not the choice for everybody. It’s a it’s a women only school. If I well, more or less, except for the fact that you’ve got that five colleges agreement, what is it like in the 21st century to go to a women only school? Norma Dream: Well, you know, there are things about it that are really special. I think it gives women and also non-binary people and trans people the opportunity to experience real leadership in a sort of a in a protected environment before going out into fields that can be dominated by men, for example, in music or in engineering. That’s a big one. It gives, you know, young women the opportunity to experience what real leadership feels like before entering into an environment where they’re faced with more challenges related to sexism. Will Call: That’s an excellent point that I had not actually considered. Yeah, I mean, before you have to deal with the sometimes really sleazy tactics of men in business and in other areas. It is good to be able to find yourself, to be able to be grounded. I’m guessing to be to to get to know yourself and to to recognize your own strengths and to hone them before you have to hit that that that. Mostly binary world. At least it’s a world that kind of wants to stay. It’s. It’s clinging desperately to 20th century binary values. It’s good to hear that that Smith is also a safe place for LGBTQ and yes, people. Is it because I had not I had never spoken to anybody about that. But but it’s pretty cool. It’s safe there. Norma Dream: I mean, I can’t speak on behalf of on behalf of LGBTQ people as I’m a straight person, but I know a lot of queer people who are happy there. I’m sure there are some who are unhappy there. It’s, you know, it’s a it’s a it’s an institution. It’s a large institution. And every institution will serve some people and and others will struggle. I think they do try. I think they do try. Will Call: Well, that’s more than some colleges do. So I think I think that’s great. And you are a a scholar of French and education, correct? Norma Dream: Yeah. So those were my those were my two majors when I was at Smith. Will Call: And if I am correct, you spent some time as you were writing your upcoming album in Corsica, correct? Norma Dream: Yeah, I was actually through Smith. I had the incredible opportunity to live in Paris for six months, and then that following summer I received a grant to and I studied art education in France, and that took me to Corsica, where I was studying traditional song with Corsican song masters and that landscape and the experiences I had there were the inspiration for my next album. Will Call: Well, let’s talk a little bit about let’s talk a little bit about your entrance into music before we get to talking about that album. You are a. A brilliant lyricist. I just want to say that their your music, your lyrics are I was trying to categorize them in some way or at least describe them. They’re difficult because the thing that impresses me the most or sticks with me the most is that I feel like the details that you drop into your songs make you feel very present. The things that they’re details that are in the moment in a way that, you know, it’s not vague, it’s not abstract. There are a lot of very concrete, small but concrete details that really pull you into the story that you often tell. What what is your what is your inspiration or your some of the the artists that have maybe been your your musical mentors? Norma Dream: Oh, wow. Well, thank you for saying that. That is not something I’ve heard before. But I feel like those are we’ve we’ve got two questions there. Um, so I when I read a song, I often think of a song as sort of like a spilling over of emotion. Like if I have a really big feeling, it’s almost like a cup that’s filling all the way up and then a little bit spills over the top and that’s Spill Over is sort of the song. So what I’m trying to do when I write a song is to capture images and experiences that get at what that feeling is. Um, so a lot of my songs are sort of collections of images and experiences that, um, that encapsulate a feeling for me. Um, in terms of artists who have been

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  2. 02/07/2023

    Will Call #75 — NTRVW: Mátti Kovler of Floating Tower

    From the streets of Boston to the rolling hills of the Berkshires, we’re taking a deep dive into the remarkable journey of Floating Tower, a unique musical collective. Today, we have the pleasure of speaking with Mátti Kovler, the founding artistic director of Floating Tower, who took his first steps on this path even before being named composer in residence at the Elie Wiesel Center at Boston University. Born out of the multiethnic influences of Boston’s academic and artistic scene, Floating Tower thrives on blending diverse musical traditions into a singular soundscape. Kovler and his fellow musicians—immigrants and refugees alike—have crafted a musical theater that reflects their shared and disparate experiences. GET TICKETS for Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors A decade on, and after a residency in New York’s Blue building, Floating Tower has found a new rhythm in the Northern Berkshires. As we’ll hear, Kovler has made this tranquil setting an opportunity for a cultural and artistic exchange, hosting large-scale productions that draw from local and international talents alike. Today, we’ll explore the journey of Floating Tower, the power of music in uniting cultures, the story behind its evocative name, and the upcoming musical spectacular in support of Ukraine hitting Adams Theatre July first and second. Tune in for an enriching discussion on the fusion of music, culture, and community. NTRVW: Mátti Kovler (rough transcript) Will Call: And with me on the line is Matti Kovler of Floating Tower. Welcome to the show. Mátti Kovler: Hi, Jay. Nice to meet you. Will Call: Well, it’s great to have you here and I’m very excited to talk about this project that has been going on for some time but has a new a new life here in the Berkshires. First of all, tell us a little bit just give us the background of of Floating Tower and what its original goal and purpose is. Mátti Kovler: Well, I started Floating Tower when I was still living in Boston about ten years ago. I was back then at BU, I was composer in Residence with the Elie Wiesel Center at Boston University. And I, um, I started doing programing with some of the students and some of my fellow musician friends that brings together all kinds of multiethnic influences, if you wish. Some of the people that I was connected with at the time back in Boston were from New England Conservatory, from Berklee College of Music, and many of them were immigrants such as myself and also refugees from Iran, from Syria, from Turkey. So it kind of evolved into a group that most of the musical participants in it are actually either immigrant or refugees, even though this was not this was not by design initially. And the kind of work I was doing was music. I would call it music theater work. So we we had a number of productions that combined these different influences into into one musical soundscape. So, for instance, you know, one of the first productions we did while I was at residence at Boston University was called Quill of the Soul. It started from Hasidic nigun melodies, sacred melodies by Jewish Orthodox Jews. But then some of these melodies were performed by Iranian musicians with in Persian ornament, ornamental singing style, Indian, South Indian classical musicians. And then it you know, and then I realized that it’s it’s very gratifying for me personally, musically speaking, to have, you know, Iranian musicians thinking something in Yiddish and vice versa. So I started experimenting with this, bringing together different vocal traditions, different musical traditions in one production. And this is what Floating Tower began doing. Later, when I moved to New York, uh, Floating Tower started a residence at the Blue building in New York. Mátti Kovler: It’s a wonderful fringe-like venue in Manhattan, where before the pandemic we would produce 2 or 3 productions a year. And then the pandemic happened. And also before the pandemic. I should say that in the summers we would go to the Berkshires. And I’m not a stranger to the Berkshires. I’ve been here since 2008 when I was a Tanglewood Fellow, and then I kind of kept coming back. I love the Berkshires, but mostly I started back. Back then I stayed in South County, so I would say about seven years ago we started coming to the Berkshires with my group in the summers to do workshops because certain things that are possible in the Berkshires are not possible in New York City. In New York City. You need to fight to, um, to accommodate a two hour rehearsal. And then one of the musicians has to have a baby sitter and somebody needs to leave earlier. Somebody needs to come later. So while at the Berkshires, you basically bring everybody together and we’re just here and we’re, you know, we’re doing musical rehearsals, but also and hiking, you know? Right. So so we would come in the summer to, um, to a place called Trent Park in West Stockbridge. And we, I think for about three summers we would go there and, and the dream was that at some point floating Tower will have a place of our own in the Berkshires to to to also accommodate the refugee musicians but also to, to allow us to workshop our work. And this is sort of what happened in the past three years. That’s that’s the the long answer to your question. Speaker1: No, that’s that’s that’s perfect. And and I think it gives us a really good foundation to discuss what’s coming up. And yes, when you when you do kidnap a bunch of musicians and bring them to the Berkshires, you get to you get to have them on your schedule. That’s true. That’s correct. Mátti Kovler: And that’s exactly what that’s exactly what’s happening. And since then, I since then since then, I mastered the kidnaping in a way that for now, you know, now we’re having all the Ukrainian refugees here and all the musicians. And this is a huge production brings together really almost 40 people. And, you know, you will see more than 30 musicians on stage, including Ukrainian teen refugees and members of Ukrainian village voices and different musicians from floating tower and local musicians and local members of community choir. You know, So. Will Call: It’s going to be huge. It’s going to be huge. I can tell. Mátti Kovler: That it’s it’s a big it’s a it’s a it’s a big it’s a big production. And we’re very lucky that, you know, the Adams Theater was able to put up with the this extravaganza. But speaking of kidnaping, basically, you know, we decided that every night while they’re staying here at Chase Hill. And I will tell you a little bit about it in a second. But, you know, we also have food for them. We’re cooking every night. You know, we have communal meals. We also sometimes invite community members to these meals. So there’s also dinners. And this is why I sound hoarse, because last night we stayed up so late singing until 3:00 in the morning. So it becomes this big communal event, you know, so it’s not only about it’s not only the performance as much as we care about the performance, it’s also the eight days leading up to the performance is is something that I value also as a as a as a bonding process for all of these people who sometimes haven’t had a chance to play with each other before. Sure. Will Call: Sure. And it’s it’s it’s sort of like instant family in a way, too, when you’re that close and you’re working that hard and there’s that much creativity flowing, you form very you form bonds typically very, very quickly. And sometimes those bonds can last last a lifetime. And so before you talk about about your the space that you have now, just actually, let’s let’s talk a little bit about the name Floating Tower. I like the description on the website, but why don’t you tell us about where the name comes from? Mátti Kovler: Well, floating tower is initially is initially a homage to my dear composition mentor, Andre Haidu, who passed away six years ago in Israel. Haidu was a huge influence on me. And and he created a initially he created a body of work called Floating Tower to text from the Mishnah. Mishnah is the Pirates of the Jewish oral tradition. And basically the idea of floating tower in Judaism means that it’s it’s it’s an experience that cannot be you know it’s it’s an experience that is somewhat ephemeral. It’s like fatamorgana of sorts. So, so it speaks to the value of an of experience. And sometimes the best learning can be done, even though the people say that Jews are people of the book. So we care about letters and words. In fact, we we’re also the people of the sound. So sometimes an experience that you experience in a in a theater, for instance, or in a concert, a music experience, in fact, it registers even scientifically and forgive my generalizations, but it does register almost in different places in one’s brain. You know, sometimes you remember you could remember a performance that you saw ten years ago in great detail. That’s true. So, so, so that’s that’s for me. So that’s one aspect of floating tower, which is which is this experience that kind of materializes. And on on another hand, you know, floating tower deals with many floating people. Mátti Kovler: And I know something about floating because I you know, I’ve been immigrating every ten years of my life, more or less. So, you know, I was born in a country that no longer exists in the Soviet Union. I left it when it was still Soviet Union in 1990, when all the Russian Jews were coming to Israel in droves. Millions. I was ten. Back then, Russia was still communist. And then in my late 20s I came to this country to do my master’s and doctorate in Boston and kind of got married and stayed so, so, you know, the the idea of floating and, and figuring out environments, languages, ways of adapting oneself to a different, you know, modus

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  3. 12/01/2023

    Will Call #75 — NTRVW: Cirque du Soleil’s Frederic Umali

    Above: Cirque du Soleil’s Corteo comes to Worcester’s DCU Center January 12 – 15, 2023; photo by Maja Prgomet. And this is Episode Number 75 of Will Call here on the Greylock Glass. I’m your host Jay Velazquez, and I’m so pleased to have you with us for this show, which first aired Thursday, January 12, 2023. I’m excited, because we’re going to be talking about an extremely exciting show from the internationally beloved Cirque du Soleil. Tickets Opening at the DCU Center in Worcester Massachusetts January 12 and running through the 15th the magical performance, Corteo, is sure to bring gasps of amazement in disbelief from audience members young and old. And, we are very grateful to have, as our guest, Frederick Umali, California native and internationally respected gymnast before he joined the original cast of Corteo at its inception in 2005. Mr. Umali performs in the gravity defying act Tournik, in which a group of artists cross paths in an act which marries horizontal bar techniques with circus arts. The artists perform at a central cube shaped structure with two additional bars on each side of the cube. The complexity of the fright pattern and the defiance of gravity will keep you on the edge of your seat. Among other acts are the “Artist Marionette,” “Acrobatic Ladder,” “Chandeliers,” ” “Cyr Wheel,” and many more, some familiar, some so unique they challenge the imagination. OUR REVIEW I don’t know that I should, or even care to, give away any more details than are in my interview with Mr. Umali. Besides, the trailer I’ve embedded shows you all you should need to know about what you’ll see. I can only say that 2022 was the hardest year of my 54 year old life, and it carried over into the first couple weeks of 2023. I had the opportunity to take in Corteo, and was sure I wasn’t really in the mood for clowns and acrobats and balloons on the drive halfway across the state to the Worcester DCU center. By the end of the performance, however, I felt that I’d been scrubbed raw with the stiff-bristled brush of optimism. Until I saw this show, nothing had drenched me with the childlike wonder and awe of a 10-year-old since I was, well, 10 years old. Nothing you stream to your TV, no matter how big it might be, 10 nights combined, can match the spectacle that is Cirque du Soleil. No amount of special FX, CGI, or green screen stunts can compare to the soaring, spinning, flying through the air (almost always with NO FREAKING NET) explosions of color and flash and sparkle, all accompanied by sensuous live music. Nothing will draw out innocent, healing laughter and perpetual smiles quite the way this circus will. I BEG of you, if at all possible, start 2023 off by seeing “Corteo,” a performance that will make you believe in…every magical, wonderful thing you thought was impossible again. The full frontal assault of beauty, gracefulness, and elegance brought tears to my eyes on and off for an hour and a half. In traditional Cirque du Soleil fashion, the entire extravaganza is an explosion of color and light as well with elaborate stage features, mind blowing set creations, and lush costumes and make up. Corteo, created and directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca, first premiered in Montreal in 2005 and has visited more than 60 cities in 19 different countries as a big top show before transforming into an arena show in 2016. More than 9 million people have been enthralled by the world of Corteo. And now joining me by Skype I am pleased to welcome Frederick Umali. Juggling Three young artists perform fast-moving feats of prowess in a surprising act that blends juggling and acrobatics. With unsurpassed style, they defy the law of gravity as they juggle successively with rings, hoops and clubs; photo by Maja Prgomet. NTRVW: Frederic Umali Will Call: And with me on the line is Frederick Umali, who has been with the Cirque du Soleil’s quartet since the very beginning. Frederick, it is such a pleasure. Thank you. Frederic Umali: Thank you. Nice to be here. Will Call: Now, you have been with the Cirque du Soleil for a long time now. And it’s my understanding that you were in you’re an actor in acrobatics, as in a sport before that. How long ago did you get into into that? Frederic Umali: So with the show currently in its form, the act that I’ve been doing called Tunic, I specifically learned this act for this show that was created back in Montreal back in 2004, 2005, I believe. I started gymnastics when I was about six years old, and I was competitive nationally and internationally for the United States up until I retired back in 2004. And pretty much as soon as I finished my gymnastics career, I went right into some disarray. Will Call: Now, you have said in other interviews that you’ve borrowed a lot, obviously from gymnastics, but that they’re not the same. What do you mean by that? What’s what’s different than the you know, when we see that you’re you’re doing this, the tourniquet act, it’s very gymnastic. A lot of things that you would see at the Olympics, for example, you know, feats that you’d see on the uneven bars or something. What’s different between the acrobatics you do with Cirque du Soleil and gymnastics? Bouncing Beds Like a gaggle of young kids playing in their grandparents’ room, six artists jump on two 600-pound beds that move on rotating platforms. In a playful atmosphere, they perform acrobatic feats, each more daring than the last; photo by Maja Prgomet. Frederic Umali: So the biggest difference that I’ve learned over the years of performing in professionally in shows for such a play is in sport. We are very competitive. We we train for years and years and years for very, very specific competitions. But a lot of the acrobatics and discipline and strength and flexibility are things that I’ve learned are directly related to what I needed in terms of basic skills and discipline to be able to to recreate my acrobatic movements specifically for this show. And they’ve all helped all the things that I’ve done before have helped me to build that for what I do now. Will Call: Well, that makes sense. That makes perfect sense. Although it seems that to do the number of shows that you do and travel around the world to do it while you did compete internationally, would you say that doing acrobatics today is more or less rigorous, more or less demanding than your life as a gymnast? Frederic Umali: It’s a little difficult to compare the two because obviously in sport we train for a long period of time for very specific competitions in the Cirque du Soleil theatrical, acrobatic kind of arena. We have to maintain a high level very, very consistently to stay healthy and be able to perform at a level that is that will entertain the audience. So I would say vigorously now, the physical demand is is high, but not as high as sport. But the consistency level is is something that is more of a challenge to keep. Will Call: Interesting. And you’ve been doing this well, it’ll be 19 years pretty soon. Frederic Umali: You were? Yeah, just about. Will Call: Yeah. You said that you had retired from gymnastics, which is interesting to think that that was almost 20 years ago. I would think that it’s it’s. I can’t even imagine doing it. 20 years ago myself, I was, you know, 30 something. Do you feel or do you have to be more mindful at this stage in your career to do some of the amazing, astounding feats that you do every night with Cirque du Soleil as as somebody who’s as an adult well into adulthood? Frederic Umali: Oh, absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. You know, as you mature and you do this type of work, it is a profession. And we do take steps to take care of our our health and our bodies and to be able to maintain the type of physicality that we need to perform at the level that we do. Obviously, as we get older, our body ages and we need to modify and do things sort of differently. But the mindset is always very similar and as long as you’re keeping consistent with the things that you do to take care of yourself, your mind, body and health, you know, you’d be surprised with what the human body is actually capable of. But I love what I do and it is my profession for the past eight years or so, and I don’t think that I would have it any other way. Chandeliers Four women, the Dreamer Clown’s former loves, come together in dreamlike joy. They perform aerial acrobatics on three giant chandeliers that spin above Mauro’s bed; photo by Maja Prgomet Will Call: All right. Well, I think a lot of people give, you know, Tom Brady of football fame, a lot of credit for doing what he has to do, but he doesn’t have to do with you what you have to do. He doesn’t have to literally fly through the air for about 20 minutes or so. And, you know, if he can snap that football, you know, to receiver, he’s done for the for the for that little bit. Of course, you don’t have people £250 piling up on you either if you if you miss. So there may be a difference there. But you mentioned that it’s amazing what the human body can do. I have heard it said that. And seeing actually comparisons of gymnastics from the 1960s and today and the things that sport has pushed the human body to be able to do just in the last 30 years would have seemed almost impossible. In our grandparents time, the things that that you can you can do. Do you find that it is always reaching? I mean, how do you find it to be always reaching for that next amazing pinnacle of performance? Frederic Umali: Hmm. That’s an interesting question. But, you know, like going through my career and and having to evolve constantly and and grow and push myself, you realize that, you know, obviously, technology has a lot to do with

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  4. 31/07/2022

    Will Call #74 — NTRVW: Julia Mintz, on Four Winters

    From the film’s officially released information: GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass — The Berkshire International Film Festival and New Moon Films announce the New England premiere of the award-winning Four Winters: A Story of Jewish Partisan Resistance & Bravery During WWII. The film is a recipient of Steven Spielberg’s Jewish Story Partners Grant and was awarded “Best Documentary” at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival 2022 Berkshire resident and 97-year-old WWII partisan Michael Stoll, whose powerful story is featured in the film, will be in attendance for a post-screening conversation with the film’s director, Julia Mintz. BIFF will present the film one-night only on Tuesday, August 2nd at the Mahaiwe Theatre in Great Barrington at 4:00 p.m. “A MUST-SEE HOLOCAUST MOVIE (NO, REALLY) … ‘FOUR WINTERS’ is a documentary with suspense, humor, and zero sentimentality… It’s surprising, moving, horrifying …and sometimes shockingly funny.” – Marjorie Ingall, Tablet Magazine Four Winters Director-Producer Julia Mintz connects with WWII partisan Michael Stoll; submitted photo. Despite extraordinary odds, over 25,000 Jewish partisans courageously fought back against the Nazis and their collaborators from deep within the forests of WWII’s Belarus, Ukraine and Eastern Europe. Torn from their families by the ravages of Hitler’s armies, men and women, many barely in their teens, escaped into the forests, banding together in partisan brigades; engaging in treacherous acts of sabotage, blowing up trains, burning electric stations, and attacking armed enemy headquarters. Shattering the myth of Jewish passivity, the last surviving partisans tell their stories of resistance in FOUR WINTERS, revealing a stunning and inspiring narrative of heroism and resilience. Tickets: $18 More info Filmmaker, Julia Mintz; submitted photo. BIO — Julia Mintz Julia Mintz is a writer, producer and director of documentary films, whose work focuses on inspiring narratives that reflect on soulful bravery and resistance against unimaginable odds. She has been on the producing team for films shortlisted for the Academy Awards, premiered at Cannes, Sundance and TriBeCa, and won Emmy, Peabody and festival awards. Her films can be seen on HBO, PBS, American Masters, NETFLIX, Amazon, and are shown on college and university campuses across the country. Julia has worked on many of the country’s most celebrated documentary films. Recent projects include Mr. SOUL!, premiered at TriBeCa and short-listed for an Academy Award®; Joe Papp in Five Acts, premiered at TriBeCa for PBS, and Get Me Roger Stone, premiered at TriBeCa, NETFLIX. Mintz produced the Emmy-nominated California State of Mind, PBS and post-produced Soundtrack for a Revolution, short-listed for an Academy Award® Best Documentary, premiered at CANNES, nominated for Writers Guild, HBO; Nanking, short-listed for Academy Award®, winner of Peabody®, Emmy®, and Editorial Award at Sundance; and Love Free or Die: Story of Bishop Gene Robinson, winner Sundance Jurors Choice. Additional projects include Equity, nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, winner of the Women’s Image Network Award; A Son’s Sacrifice, winner IDA 2007 Short Documentary Film Award; The Killer Within, nominated for an Emmy® award; Muscle Shoals, Sundance; Bing Crosby Rediscovered, American Masters; Life and Times of Frida Kahlo, Emmy® nominee; Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life, Emmy® Award Best Documentary; Larry Kramer in Love and Anger, Emmy® nominee; reality TV series Broadway or Bust; and Cyndi Lauper: Still So Unusual. Julia has also produced programming for Discovery, NASA, National Geographic, NHK and SONY. Mintz’s feature documentary, FOUR WINTERS, premiered to sell-out crowds at Lincoln Centre in January 2020 and is slated for theatrical release in Fall 2022, with negotiations well underway for festival, special venue and academic screenings all over the world. An award-winning artist, Mintz is an accomplished multi-grant recipient for her work in film and visual arts. She has taught seminars on filmmaking and digital post-production at numerous workshops worldwide, including Santa Fe Cinematographers Workshops, the International Film and Television Workshops in Camden, Maine, The SONY HD Film Production Workshops in Toronto, and Film Arts in Hong Kong, where Mintz was featured as the keynote speaker for the Trade and Development Council, and Film Arts International Seminar in China. Mintz has been a guest lecturer at Amherst College, the Trinity School, and held an adjunct faculty position at Long Island University in NYC. If you’re reading this, you’re probably enjoying this free show. Help us keep going. There are only so many ways to say it — a “free and independent press” is NOT free. Not only do we have to pay for web hosting and technology costs of all kinds, the simple fact is, the Greylock Glass is basically a six- or seven–person operation with one employee. And that employee has bills to pay like everyone else: housing, food, loans. We can’t survive much longer unless more of the people who enjoy our work pay it forward. Please visit our “Support Us“ page to become a member or make a one-time contribution. Thanks. Jay Velázquez Editor-in-Chief (and everything else), The Greylock Glass NTRVW: Filmmaker Julia Mintz — Four Winters Editor’s Note: The Greylock Glass pays to have rough transcripts of interviews produced. We attempt to remain as faithful as possible to the speakers’ original meaning, and apologize for any errors of transcription. That said, even the imperfect transcription we perform is costly. Please support us financially by becoming a member or making a one-time contribution to help us continue to provide this service. Will Call: Julia, thanks so much for coming in call. Julia Mintz: Thank you. It’s great to be here. Will Call: Yes. So we have we have this unique opportunity through your work to find out about something that is well was unknown completely to me until this until this showed up in my inbox. Why don’t you tell us what is for Winters? Julia Mintz: For Winters is a documentary film about the armed Jewish resistance during World War Two. And it’s the story of these young people who miraculously escaped Nazi clutches and the all the atrocities that were happening or were in one way or another got themselves into the forest. And once there formed these partisan brigades, which were these unique kind of militias, where they rose up and they fought back and they resisted the Nazis and their collaborators during the war. Will Call: Hmm. Now, partisan, when we say partisan, what do we mean by the term Jewish partisan? Julia Mintz: A partisan is really a soldier. That is, it’s like a member of an armed group that fights secretly. And the definition, I think, and Wikipedia is like they formed and fight secretly against an occupying source. So it’s one who fights against enemy occupied. So but they are not sort of with a country. Right, because it’s an occupation, it’s an occupied country. So during the World War two, especially in Eastern Europe, there were the Jewish partisans, there were the Soviet partisans, there were the the Russian partisans, most of the Russian partisans, you know, they were sort of left behind the enemy lines to hold back or they escaped capture from the Nazis. And we’re in the forests, and these groups from these bases formed all sorts of ways to resist. And in the Jewish partisans case, a huge part of that resistance was survival and the acquisition of arms and the acquisition of food, and then actually the active sabotage against the Nazi and Hitler’s armies and what they were up to, which also included going back to the ghetto time and again and bringing out those that were able to escape into the woods and join the partisan brigades or to join family camps that were in the forests. Will Call: Gotcha. Now, this this bit of history that you’re going to be presenting at the Mahaiwe is. It is a direct renunciation of this myth, this this misunderstanding of the Jewish role during World War Two. There is this sort of idea of Jewish passivity that they just allowed these horrors to happen to them. But this this film is going to show us that that’s that’s not at all the case. Julia Mintz: Yeah. I think that what people will end up experiencing at the movie theater on the second, which I’m super excited about, Tuesday at 4 p.m., not only will they be able to see the film, that begins to unravel the myth of Jewish passivity. But you’ll also have an opportunity to meet Michael Stoll, who was one of the last living partisans, who is also featured in our film, who’s a local in your community. And he’s going to be with us for Talkback, too, which is going to be fabulous. And, you know, through Michael’s story that’s featured in the film and through the other partisans, what we really get to see is it’s that we get to see history through their lens, through the portal of what they experienced. And I think that for so many of us, we inherit history from the the militaries, especially World War Two history. We inherit the history from what the Nazis meticulously recorded of their atrocities against humanity. We inherit the history from the liberating armies and military of the United States. Right, the liberation of Auschwitz and things like this. But what we haven’t historically had the opportunity to do until recent times, most recent times like we’re seeing today in the Ukraine is sort of a personable experience. But we didn’t really get that when we learned about the Holocaust, or at least my generation, people that didn’t grow up in this moment in time. Julia Mintz: We know the stories that we heard were through that lens. And

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  5. 28/02/2022

    Will Call #74 — NTRVW w/Michael Bobbitt

    Jason Velazquez: Today is Sunday, February 27th, 2022, and this is Episode number 74 of Will Call. I’m your host, Jason Velazquez, and I do thank you for tuning in to this episode, which has been a long time coming. For some reason, the Winter months tend to make the production of Will Call a problematic process. There’s no reason for there’s so much going on in and around the Berkshires when it comes to performing arts. I could have a weekly show, and I still wouldn’t be able to keep up with everything going on in the area, when it comes to dance theater, music — you name it. I should probably find somebody else who can do it and really crank it out because they’d never run out of material. But this particular episode is exciting because it’s going to launch a sort of a mini series. I’m not going to call it an investigative series because the stuff is right out there in the open, but we’re going to start with a conversation that I just had with Michael Bobbitt, who, as the new executive director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, takes over from Anita Walker, who had left some really big, very stylish, shoes to fill. And I think he’s doing a fine job. And I say this because in Anita Walker’s farewell address, she begins by saying: “Endings are beginnings as we wrap up our 13 years together, masked and digitized and buildings closed by COVID and wrestling with how to shut down once and for all the structures of systemic racism, we face the daunting task of recovering, rebuilding and renewing the cultural landscape of Massachusetts.“ Michael Bobbitt, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council Jason Velazquez: And in an interview her final interview on WAMC with Josh Landis, she she brought up racism as the thing that the new director, whoever it was going to be at the time, should focus on was racism and and bringing equity into the arts. And so Michael Bobbitt is going to be discussing it with me the racial equity plan that is brand new and that attempts to bring equity not just to the stages, not just to the gallery walls, but throughout the the Commonwealth’s cultural landscape. And it’s an ambitious plan and it is, again, an overdue plan. And I think that it’s very important that that it begin with an incoming director who can who can make decisions and push for priorities that are not encumbered by a lot of baggage, if you know what I mean. So this is a conversation that is going to kick off, for us, a series that will take a look at racial equity in the Berkshires and probably more than racial equity. We’ll just say diversity in the Berkshires cultural sector. Now there’s a lot of lip service that’s been given to it in the last couple of years, and we’re going to find out exactly what’s really being done behind the scenes. In some cases, I think we’re going to find out that we’re impressed and what organizations are doing in terms of bringing up and combating discrimination racism. I think in other instances, we’re probably going to be kind of disappointed. But we’re going to find out, and it’s going to be ugly in some places and it’s going to be less so in others. So with that, let’s begin with our interview with Michael Bobbitt here on Will Call. The Greylock Glass: And with me on the line is Michael Bobbitt, director of the Mass Cultural Council. Good morning, Mr. Bobbitt. Thanks so much for coming on the show. Michael Bobbitt: Thanks for having me, I’m excited to talk to you, all your constituents. The Greylock Glass: It’s a great show because Will Call was one of the first things we ever did at the Greylock Glass and it makes sense. Berkshires is a huge arts and culture mecca. It’s not the only part of our economy, but it’s sure has sort of stepped up to help make up for some of the losses of the post-industrial world. And it’s also bringing in quite a quite a a lot of change into our area because it attracts people from so many places. So we don’t have the sort of inflow and outflow of people that you do in a large city like Boston or New York. But but it’s nice to have that influx of new ideas. Do you do you get out to the Berkshires much? Michael Bobbitt: Yeah, I think I’ve been out there about four times since assuming this job, and I have fallen madly in love with every single arts organization and artists that I’ve met out there and I can’t really wait to get out there and spend quite a significant amount of time out there to really sort of get to know them on a deeper level. A lot of my visits have been quick in and out to get to know them to get a tour of the space and to find out where the pain points are and how mass cultural counselor can help. But I really enjoyed my visits out there and to your point, one of the things that the arts and culture sector can do is to help drive the economy and make the places we live just more vibrant and more exciting. And and it also expands our mind to the creative process, making our areas more attractive to businesses and to residents and to tourists and to students and all kinds of things. Racial_Equity_Plan_FY22_24Download The Greylock Glass: Right, right. Yeah, it’s I love the fact that you can be walking through, say, Mass MOCA, and on a busy weekend you can hear four or five different languages, which I think is is the hallmark of a place that is is getting a recharge from from new, new ideas, new opinions. Because these are people who, well, you know, they they may decide to. As one family I know did, they’re from Belgium and they sent their kids to the Shakespeare and Company Varieties youth camp every summer. They came here just on vacation and they saw a show during the summer, found out about the program, and the kids fell in love with it. And they decided to send them from Belgium to the United States to Lenox every summer to to take part in the the summer camp so it can have a huge effect. Let’s talk. Michael Bobbitt: Yeah, yeah. You know, one of the things I think is so great about people of color or ethnicities, whether or not it’s a European ethnicity or what it is. If you ask someone to describe their culture or their ethnicity, one of the things that is prevalent if it’s not at the top of the list is art. You know, it’s baked into the sounds and the music and the way they dance and the language and the food and the in the fashion art is kind of baked in. So to your point. Arts and culture can do a lot to sort of bring a group of people together from diverse backgrounds. The Greylock Glass: Right, right. And that’s and you brought up the main issue of this conversation, but I know that your predecessor, Anita Walker, was asked in her, I guess, really pretty much the last interview she did as director with Josh Landis at WMC. He asked her what, what the new director, what her replacement should consider doing. And she said one of the first things that I think any new leader should do is take some time, take some time to learn about the organization, to know the organization, to understand the programs and initiatives and take time to travel. And then she goes on to discuss why it’s important to to go around the state. So mono quiz and the Berkshires was was to see if you followed her advice and you obviously did. And and because we get forgotten about by so many other organizations at the state level, it’s nice to know that the arts hasn’t forgotten about us. But the other thing that she said during that interview was at the very end of the interview. She said right next to that is this is the same question, you know, what should her what should her successor focus on? She said right next to that is the issue of racial injustice. There’s a legacy of white privilege in our organizations, and as long as we’re rebuilding, this is like after COVID and after her departure. This is the perfect time to look to look at and it’s square in the eye and defeat it. So that was on her mind on her last week as director, the issue of racial injustice in the arts. This is a. A source subject out here, I’m sure it is in Boston. Give us your sense of historically who has owned the arts in Massachusetts and the United States at a broader level. Michael Bobbitt: Well, it depends on what perspective or what angle you’re coming to it from a funding perspective, and I will say not just state funding, but philanthropic funding, corporate funding, individual funding, absolutely most of the philanthropic dollars in this country has gone to white organizations. There are multiple hundreds of studies out there that have proven this. And you know, in fact, I think it’s an oversight, even based on what I just said, that people of color and people of different ethnicities. One of the things that is baked into who they are is arts and culture. So there are many organizations that are losing out on large groups of patronage and even contributions because they haven’t diversified their work. One of the things I’ve said before many times before predominantly white institutions were designed to be that way. I don’t mean to suggest that it was designed out of malice. Maybe some were, but most were designed. Just the business model was designed by white people for white people because the perspective of the people creating the organization was was wasn’t diverse. It was little homogenous. And so even with the intention of building a diverse patron base, if you only have white people or one demographic in a room making the decisions about the business model, then unfortunately, that’s what’s that’s what you’re going to get. You’re going to get one perspective as patronage and donors. And so one of the things I tell people, if they want to diversify, they have to go back and look at who’s making the decisions about how the organization is run. So who do you have on your

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  6. 16/08/2021

    Will Call #73 — NTRVW: Robert Miller of Project Grand Slam

    In this episode, the first of our sort-of post pandemic shows, we speak with the wise, witty, and very talented Robert Miller. A lot of people people launch a second Nact after they conclude one career. Most people don’t decide to grab an axe and take to the stage in pursuit of rock stardom. Fortunately for all of us, Robert did! His band, Project Grand Slam is a tight, rhythm-driven engine that cranks out one great track after another. Solid songwriting and heartfelt lyrics complete the sound, providing the answers about how this Jazz/Rock/Latin fusion act has risen so far so fast. After running down and catching a big life goal of his own, Robert Miller decided to share his own wisdom that he’s picked up along the way, as well as that of the artists and other guests he has on his own podcast, “Follow Your Dream.” He started this project at the height of the pandemic in 2020, and has had some amazing guests on that you’ll want to check out. Project Grand Slam August 17, 2021; 8:30 p.m. Shakespeare & Company Tina Packer Playhouse 70 Kemble Street, Lenox Mass. Project Grand Slam (PGS) is the brainchild of acclaimed leader/bassist/composer Robert Miller. PGS is a celebrated fusion of Rock and Jazz with a twist of Latin and a New York City groove. Be sure to listen to our interview with Allyn Burrows, artistic director of Shakespeare & Co.! TICKETS Robert Miller; submitted photo. Robert Miller is the creative force behind Project Grand Slam (PGS), as the band’s leader/bassist/composer. PGS plays a fusion of Jazz/Rock/Latin music with a NYC groove. Plus Robert’s reimagined versions in PGS’s style of iconic ‘60s British Invasion hits by artists such as Jimi Hendrix, The Kinks and The Beatles. In just over the past 5 years PGS has released 10 highly acclaimed albums including a Billboard #1, has over 4 million video views, over a million Spotify streams, played festivals and concerts around the world, and opened for Edgar Winter, Blues Traveler, Boney James, and Mindi Abair, and an after-show for YES. PGS today consists of Robert supported by a group of young, extremely talented, mainly foreign born musicians from places like Mexico, Venezuela, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Canada. Beginning in 2015 Robert began transforming the band’s music, initially mainly contemporary jazz instrumentals, and now consisting almost entirely of original vocal songs. Robert’s songs channel his love for rock music, jazz fusion, and ‘60s British Invasion hits. With this eclectic mix, Robert has blazed a completely original path for PGS. The pandemic severely affected musicians and all artists. PGS was somewhat fortunate in that the band’s latest album, East Side Sessions, was release in January 2020 just before the world closed down. However, the band was unable to tour in support of the album, so Robert decided instead to release videos of four of the songs from the album, which collectively received about a million views. [broadstreet ad=”390646″] The post Will Call #73 — NTRVW: Robert Miller of Project Grand Slam appeared first on The Greylock Glass.

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  7. 15/12/2019

    Will Call #72 — NTRVW: Joanna Seaton & Donald Sosin on scoring for silent film

    We speak with two artists who keep alive a musical pursuit born during the nascent sensation of cinema — the scoring of silent films, on location and in real time. Donald Sosin and Joanna Seaton spoke with Will Call by Skype prior to their appearance at Images Cinema in Williamstown for “An Evening with Charlie Chaplin.” About Donald Sosin and Joanna Seaton (courtesy http://silent-film-music.com/) “For twenty years Donald Sosin and Joanna Seaton have been among the only major performers in the US creating and performing music for classic silent films with vocals as well as instrumentals, and have won high praise from experts in the field, as well as enthusiastic supporters of all ages everywhere they appear. Their unique blend of keyboard, vocals, electronics and percussion delights a wide variety of audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. Their film scores incorporate original songs with Joanna’s lyrics and Donald’s music, as well as select songs from the early 20th century appropriate to the film, and even, in some cases, giving voice to the muted singing of the actors onscreen.” An Evening with Charlie Chaplin Monday, December 16, 2019; 8:00 p.m. Images Cinema 50 Spring Street Williamstown, Mass. From Images Cinema “By 1916—the same year the Walden Theater opened in Williamstown—Charlie Chaplin had become the most famous entertainer in the world, a mere two years after appearing in his first motion picture. Buoyed by his enormous success and popularity, he was offered the largest contract ever extended to a movie star— $670,000 for a single year’s work—to make 12 short comedies at Mutual Film Corporation. For Mutual, Chaplin produced what many film historians believe to be his best works, including the three featured in this program: The Immigrant, The Adventurer and The Count.” MORE INFO Music heard on this show Orchestration for THE COUNT (1916) dir. Charles Chaplin. Music (2013) by Donald Sosin For String quartet, piano, and bass Orchestration for THE PAWNSHOP (1916) dir. Charles Chaplin. Music (2016) by Donald Sosin, orchestrated by Peter Breiner. Live at Cowell Theater, San Francisco, March 26, 2017. San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, Benjamin Simon, music director. 25 players with the composer at the piano. Musical examples from THE DOCKS OF NEW YORK (1927, von Sternberg), J. Seaton, D. Sosin Joanna Seaton and Donald Sosin were commissioned by the Criterion Collection to create a piano/vocal score for Josef von Sternberg’s silent drama, THE DOCKS OF NEW YORK (1927). These excerpts illustrate the use of the title song (lyrics and vocals by Joanna Seaton, music composed and performed by Donald Sosin) in several different contexts. The post Will Call #72 — NTRVW: Joanna Seaton & Donald Sosin on scoring for silent film appeared first on The Greylock Glass.

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  8. 01/11/2019

    Will Call #71: Jennifer Trainer on Museum Town

    In this episode, we speak with Jennifer Trainer, director of the documentary, Museum Town which released earlier in 2019, debuting at SXSW. Museum Town tells the story of MASS MoCA, arguably the United States’ most expansive contemporary art space, but it does a lot more besides. This flick situates the museum within the various contexts of history, culture, and economic development. With memories and observations contributed by political figures, local business owners, the general public, artists, and the architects of the original idea, Museum Town takes an unflinching look back at how their instincts were, in many ways, spot on, but at the same time missed the mark here or there. Podcast Player Thanks for tuning in to Episode #71 of Will Call here at the Greylock Glass, the Berkshire’s mightiest independent alternative newsthing. I’m your host, Jason Velazquez, and I’d like to remind you that if you like the programming and articles you find at the Greylock Glass, you can support our work by becoming a member for as little as a dollar per month. Find out more by going to greylockglass.com/membership. The film presents some of the most relevant and interesting history of the mill complex, from the days of Sprague Electric back to its inception as Arnold Print Works; still from Museum Town; image courtesy the filmmaker. Such a documentary, in part compiled of photos footage collected by the museum itself over the years, risks being overly promotional, yet Trainer stops well short of creating an overly self-congratulatory paean to an institution that has, at time generated intense criticism. The film makes its cinematic debut at Images Cinema in Williamstown, Friday, November 1 with a discussion featuring Jennifer Trainer, Representative John Barrett, producer Noah Bashevkin, producer Rachel Chanoff. Museum Town — showing 11/1 through 11/7 Director: Jennifer Trainer Runtime: 1 hour 15 minutes Images Cinema 50 Spring Street Williamstown, Mass. For showtimes, clique aqui. For more info, visit the documentary’s website. Jennifer Trainer, on Museum Town Jennifer Trainer at Hancock Shaker Village, where she serves as Director; submitted photo. My goal was really to tell what I knew. My goal was to tell the history of MASS MoCA and what MASS MoCA is today, and to tell a story about risk and taking risk, and what that means…To compress 30 years into 90 minutes is impossible, and, as my cinematographer said to me, you’re going to leave many of your babies on the cutting room floor, because they don’t serve the point, the purpose in the end, and that was so true. It killed me to leave out something that we had filmed. But, ultimately, we picked five characters, and they were an artists that we followed through an installation for 18 months, a curator and how the curatorial process works, because I also wanted to show what it’s like to work inside a museum. And then we picked the guy in the basement who’s actually fabricating some of these works, because so many of these massive contemporary pieces are not just made by one person in their studio — they’re really like a film their collaborative effort. Installation of Christoph Büchel’s unfinished Training Ground for Democracy; still from Museum Town; image courtesy the filmmaker. I also saw the buildings as a character, because the buildings inform so much of what is done there The buildings informed the whole idea. The buildings represent the New England before the Civil War, before World War I, after World War II, the post-industrial community. They are beloved by people who live in North Adams. Nick Cave completes Until, in 2016; still from Museum Town; image courtesy the filmmaker. And then I really wanted somebody from North Adams who could really act also as every man, you know, the guy who walks into a gallery and says “my kid could paint that — what is that?” Because I wanted the perspective of somebody who approached it from the outside, from the community. So then we braided all that together with historic footage and the soundtrack, which I felt was also really important, because I wanted really great music. The documentary make surprise some viewers unaware that musical performance has been part of MASS MoCA’s DNA long before the introduction of Fresh Grass, shown here in 2011; still from Museum Town; image courtesy the filmmaker. Again, Museum Town runs November 1 through November 7 at Images Cinema, 50 Spring Street, Williamstown, MA As always, we’ve provided links in the shownotes to all the important info mentioned on the show. Thanks for tuning in, and, until next time, get off the couch and go see something live. The post Will Call #71: Jennifer Trainer on Museum Town appeared first on The Greylock Glass.

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This weekly exploration into the Berkshires arts world offers behind-the-scenes insights with news, exclusive interviews, and analysis of the ever-fluid state of our cultural organizations.