Monthly Archives: August 2019

Farewell Party at the Arkansas Arts Center today

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The Arkansas Arts Center is celebrating the end of an era!

After 56 years, it is time to say goodbye to the current MacArthur Park space with a party that takes over the whole building.

They have filled the galleries with a carnival of activities – karaoke, giant yard games, a beach party, photo booth, and inflatable fun zone. Don’t miss music, dancing, food, drinks and much more!

Join the AAC for family-focused fun and activities for all ages from 2–5 p.m. Starting at 5 p.m., the Farewell Festival will be 21+.

The Farewell Festival is free for Arkansas Arts Center members, with special perks available for members of ’22&You.

Membership Card Required for Entry

PS – Stay tuned for announcements of upcoming events! Just because the facility in MacArthur Park will be closed for reconstruction does not mean the AAC is ceasing having events.

Directors Panel, Arkansas Short Films on tap for Filmland’s daytime schedule

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So much is going on at Filmland today there will be two separate entries on the blog.

Things start with a Directors Panel at 11:30am (doors open at 11:00am).

Jeff Nichols, Andrew Stanton and Joel Edgerton will discuss the art and science of filmmaking from the perspective of the director.  Nichols is founder of the Arkansas Cinema Society.  Stanton and Edgerton will both be screening movies at Filmland this year.

Next up is a duo of Arkansas made short films:  Purple Monster by Damon McKinnis and Dragonslayer by Mark Thiedeman. Note, these films contain adult content.

  • PURPLE MONSTER: Three friends prepare for a carefree night of relaxing and getting high only to end up discovering the deeper problems weighing on their minds.
  • ‍DRAGONSLAYER: In rural Arkansas in the 1990s, a gay teenager agrees to chauffeur his only friend to a meeting with a stranger from an online chatroom, all the while battling his own romantic feelings.

Doors open at 1:00pm with the screening starting at 1:30pm.

At 3:00pm, the second block of Arkansas made short films starts.  (Doors open at 2:30pm.)

These selected shorts will be screened in this order:
ODD HAPPENINGS IN A TINY TENT by Jesse Burks SHELTER by Daniel Hanna
THE BENCH by Bronson Crabtree
UNOS HUEVOS by David C Cruz
INTO THE GREEN by Mary McDade Casteel
MIKE THE BIRDMAN by Paige Murphy

Following the screening, there will be a Q&A with Arkansas filmmakers.

All of the events take place at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater.

Help the Little Rock Zoo name the new baby organutan

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The Little Rock Zoo is asking the public to help choose a name for the new baby orangutan born to Berani and father Bandar on July 29, 2019. The young female is the first infant born to Berani and the fifth born to Bandar.

The public is invited to vote by online poll available at the Zoo’s website and Facebook page.  The voting will end Friday, August 30, 2019, when the winning name will be announced. The Zoo keepers have selected four names from which to choose.

The choices are:

  • Kasih (pronounced KAH-see)  (Malay), which means love
  • Markisa (pronounced Mark-KEE-suh) (Malay), which means passion fruit
  • Sabah (pronounced SA-bah  (Malay), which is the name of the state in northern Borneo where orangutans are found
  • Madu (MAH-do) (Malay) which means honey.

The baby orangutan’s birth came at the recommendation of the Orangutan Species Survival Plan® (SSP), a program that cooperatively manages orangutan species in zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) to further conservation goals. This SSP Program coordinates species conservation, research, husbandry, management and educational initiatives. The Little Rock Zoo also participates in the AZA SAFE (Saving Animals From Extinction) program for orangutans. AZA SAFE programs combine the collective strength of AZA organizations to help save species in the wild.

THE OLD MAID & THE THIEF – A 1939 Radio Hour presented by Opera in the Rock this weekend

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Step back to 1939! This one-act opera described by the composer Gian Carlo Menotti as “an opera-buffa for radio in fourteen scenes” tells a twisted tale of morals amongst a gaggle of nosy women and an unsuspecting man. Commissioned by NBC Radio in 1939, it was one of the earliest operatic works composed specifically for live radio.

In what’s sure to be a fun-filled evening of laughs and spectacle, Opera In The Rock will be presenting the work as a live radio play, complete with larger-than-life actors, on stage music, live sound effects, and comical commercial breaks. Starring Metropolitan Opera singer Diane Kesling alongside local soprano favorite Christine Donahue, the cast also includes Shannon Rookey, Ron Jensen-McDaniel, Sarah Stankiewicz Dailey, and Kevin Lambert of Lancaster, PA.

“The Old Maid and The Thief: A 1939 Radio Hour” will be sung in English with music direction and piano accompaniment by John Willis.

Performances are August 23 and 24 at 7:30pm and August 25 at 2:30pm.

Ticket Types:
General Admission, $35
Student Ticket, $25
VIP Ticket, $50 (Includes Drink Voucher & Prime Reserved Seating)

Venue Information:
The Studio Theatre
320 W 7th Street

Tonight at Filmland 2019: FREE SOLO on the CALS Ron Robinson screen

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Free solo climbing is the most dangerous form of rock climbing. No ropes, no harness, no protective equipment.

The documentary FREE SOLO follows Alex Honnold’s free-solo ascent in 2017 of El Capitan in Yosemite as he becomes the first solo climber to do so. FREE SOLO won an Academy Award this year for Best Documentary Feature.

Q&A following the screening with producer Evan Hayes.

Evan Hayes won an Oscar for producing the film FREE SOLO. Evan was also the production executive on the hit TV show “Outlander”, and during his eleven years at Working Title Films he worked as a producer or executive on such films as EVEREST, LES MISERABLES,TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, FROST/NIXON, A SERIOUS MAN, BURN AFTER READING, HOT FUZZ, and UNITED 93.

The screening starts at 6:30pm tonight (August 23) with doors to the CALS Ron Robinson Theater opening at 6:00pm.

Following the film, the after-party will take place at The Railyard from 9pm to midnight.

The Oxford American kicks of 2019-2020 Concert Series with Amy Helm tonight at South on Main

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Amy Helm [AMERICANA SERIES]The Oxford American magazine is excited to welcome Amy Helm to the South on Main stage!

This event kicks off their 2019-2020 Concert Series and is the first show of their Americana Sub-Series. Doors open at 6:00 PM, with dinner and drinks available for purchase at that time. The series is made possible in part by presenting sponsor Stella Boyle Smith Trust, as well as their season sponsor University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Additional season partners include Chris & Jo Harkins, J. Mark & Christy Davis, Cypress Properties, Inc., UCA College of Fine Arts & Communication, Margaret Ferguson Pope—Thank You Aunt Margaret!, EVO Business Environments, Jay Barth & Chuck Cliett, Stacy Hamilton of Desselle Real Estate, Downtown Little Rock Partnership, Arkansas Arts Council, Department of Arkansas Heritage, Rosen Music Company, and Steinway Piano Gallery Little Rock.

There are no tickets available at this time. Please visit the venue on the night of the show when doors open to inquire about any potential ticket releases.

Amy Helm sought what she calls a “circular sound” for her new album. It’s a well-rounded one, marked by streaks of Americana, country, blues, and gospel, and the kinds of four-part harmonies that can burst open a melody and close the loop of an octave. It’s a sound that represents the feeling of community.

This Too Shall Light, released September 2018 on Yep Roc Records, comprises ten songs produced by GRAMMY-winning producer and songwriter Joe Henry. During the four-day session in Los Angeles, the musicians were directed not to overthink the songs, and Helm herself barely performed any of the selections while preparing to record. As a result, the sessions forced fast musical trust among the collaborators and yielded the vibrant instrumental improvisations heard throughout This Too Shall Light.

Although a profound songwriter herself, Helm and Henry jointly arranged a diverse collection of songs for the record, which range from Rod Stewart’s “Mandolin Wind” to Allen Toussaint’s “Freedom for the Stallion” and even the Milk Carton Kids’ “Michigan.” The title track in particular, written by Hiss Golden Messenger’s MC Taylor and Josh Kaufman, is a brilliant summation of the record’s sound and spirit.

Helm’s voice veers from commanding to supplicating within a single soulful verse, as she manipulates that message so that light leads throughout even the darkest of times.

Helm’s parents—The Band’s legendary drummer and singer Levon Helm and singer/songwriter Libby Titus—guided her training and influences. A lifelong musician and music-lover, she later became a founding member of the alt-country collective Ollabelle and served as a backing musician in her father’s Midnight Ramble Band. On This Too Shall Light, Helm says that two songs in particular pay homage to Levon—“The Stones I Throw,” a song he released in 1965 with Levon and the Hawks, and the closing traditional number, an a cappella version of the hymn “Gloryland,” which was passed from father to daughter.

While This Too Shall Light is only Helm’s second album under her own name, it serves as a comprehensive portrait covering her life’s journeys and recoveries; these songs are stories that, no matter where they take her, seem to end and begin in the same place like a circle.

TROOP ZERO and short films made by Arkansas teen girls highlight first night of Arkansas Cinema Society FILMLAND

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Mckenna Grace in Troop Zero (2019)On August 22, Filmland’s curated programming officially gets underway with Troop Zero, which stars Viola Davis, McKenna Grace, Jim Gaffigan, and Allison Janney.

In rural 1977 Georgia, a misfit girl dreams of life in outer space. When a competition offers her a chance to be recorded on NASA’s Golden Record, she recruits a makeshift troop of Birdie Scouts, forging friendships that last a lifetime.

The film marks a reunion for Oscar winner (and Tony nominee) Janney with Oscar winner (and Tony winner) Davis who appeared in THE HELP.  It also reunites Janney and Grace, who appeared together in I, TONYA.

Before the film, “Ensemble” and “Justitia” two short films from the ACS Filmmaking Lab for Teen Girls will be screened.

After the film, there will be a Q&A moderated by ACS founder Jeff Nichols with writer Lucy Alibar and director BERT.

The showing is taking place at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater.  Doors open at 5:30pm for a 6:00pm screening.  The after-party will be at Buenos Aires Grill.