Have you ever been to one of the Open Mic Nights in Tisbury? Well, last Tuesday, I was able to catch the tail end of the final one hosted at the Katharine Cornell Theater. The Vineyard Haven library has been hosting these community events inside the historic theater on Spring Street, sitting above our Tisbury Town Hall. For those of you who have never walked into the Katharine Cornell Theater, you enter and are engulfed on each side by beautiful painted murals. Painted by Stan Murphy, these paintings depict four Martha’s Vineyard scenes: the Wampanoag Vineyard creation story, a whaling scene, a day at the beach, and a view of Menemsha in wintertime. The ceiling even boasts another painting, with seagulls soaring above the audience’s heads in the sky.
What started as a “make it work” moment of needing a new location once Island Music closed its doors has turned into a really special experience for anyone who wanders in to be inspired to perform and share their special talents. With comfortable chairs for the audience, a raised stage, lighting and sound equipment, along with a Steinway grand piano for musicians to use, these Open Mic Nights have really found a welcome new home.
However, with summer booking conflicts coming up, June 16 marked the last of this event (until further notice). Andy Herr, who has been organizing these biweekly events since 2016, talked to the attendees at the end of Tuesday night, highlighting the importance this space holds for so many performers on Martha’s Vineyard: “This, for a lot of people, was an early performance space for them … plays, music events, First Night, and even the Wintertide rotating coffee house performances on occasion.”
While on a break for now, I hope I will be writing here again soon saying these unique opportunities for our community to share songs, poems, jokes, or whatever else they’re brave enough to get up onstage and perform are back up and running, either in this beautiful theater or elsewhere.
In other arts news, the M.V. Playhouse art gallery is currently showing “Portraits: Black and African Countenance,” with multimedia collages by Janice Frame and black-and-white photographs by W. Leo Frame Jr. (both retired art teachers at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School). This show will be up through June 27, and can be viewed Tuesday through Saturday from 11 am to 4pm.
I also want to shout out Vineyard Haven Harbor Cultural District president, local artist, and close friend Althea Freeman-Miller. Her studio, Althea Designs, is located across the street from the ArtCliff Diner. She has recently expanded her outdoor patio space with a shaded seating area, just waiting for anyone to come and sit, draw, read, and explore through artmaking. On Friday and Saturday mornings, 10 am to noon, Althea hosts weekly “art hangs,” where everyone is invited to stop in and join the fun: sketching, coloring, experimenting, or whatever creative act you’re drawn to! Bring your own sketchbook, or use Althea’s supplies onsite. Free and welcome to all, with donations appreciated.
Do you have an upcoming birthday or something you want shared in a future Tisbury column? Email me at tisburycolumnist@gmail.com with your own stories of our town, or upcoming events you’d like to see spotlighted here.