Photo courtesy of World Artists Experiences. Kenyan musicians and dancers, Kenge Kenge, perform at 7 p.m. Sept. 8 at Mount Airy Mansion in Upper Marlboro.

Published on: Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Annabelle Ferguson Auditorium

Suitland High School

5200 Silver Hill Road

www.promise-productions.net

“He’s Not Mine * She’s Not Mine”

Ray Quick presents the theatrical stage play, “He’s Not Mine * She’s Not Mine” Saturday, Sept. 18.

Written and produced by Quick, this heartfelt story exposes the challenges and struggles of blended families. A non-biological son and husband refuse to get along— what role did the wife play in this? Will they ever survive? It delivers a powerful performance that highlights both points of views from the man’s and woman’s perspective. The play in unquestionably structured to bring awareness, communication and healing to an ever growing population of blended families.

The Art Gallery

1202 Art-Sociology Building

College Park

“The Very Queer Portraits of Heyd Fontenot”

Through Dec. 4, The Art Gallery at the University of Maryland presents the exhibition “The Very Queer Portraits of Heyd Fontenot” by Austin, Texas-based artist Heyd Fontenot.

An exhibition catalogue featuring an interview with the artist by guest curator and recent University of Maryland art history doctorate graduate Jonathan Walz will also be available for purchase.

In conjunction with the exhibition, a discussion called The Queerest of Discussions: A Curator’s Talk with Heyd Fontenot and Anne Goodyear will be held on Nov. 4 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. with light refreshments served at 6:00.

“Queer Portraits” showcases Fontenot’s paintings that focus upon one of art’s most basic subjects, the human nude. Fontenot emphasizes the expressive features of his subjects, as well as the meaningful props surrounding them, to provoke viewers to question what their definition of “queer” truly is. The playful oddity in “Queer” is not the nude subjects themselves, but Fontenot portraying them as they are in real life, without airbrushing, resurfacing or other sorts of image reconstruction society has become used to. All of Fontenot’s subjects retain their curves, shortcomings, freckles and most of all, personality.

The Art Gallery’s exhibitions and events are free and open to the public. The facility is wheelchair accessible and assistance for the hearing impaired can be arranged with advance notice by calling 301-405-2763. The Art Gallery’s hours are Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Art Gallery observes University of Maryland, College Park closings. For further information regarding this exhibition or future events and activities call 301-405-2763 or visit www.artgallery.umd.edu.

Chesapeake Choral Arts Society

PO Box 476

Port Tobacco

301-642-0594 or 301-934-5447

www.chesapeakechoral.com

Auditions by appointment: Chesapeake Choral Arts Society. Sept. 13 at 6:30 p.m. La Plata United Methodist Church, at the intersection of Routes 6 and 301, La Plata. Auditions will consist of vocal warm-ups, pitch matching and vocal exercises to determine the singer’s vocal range. No prepared piece is necessary. High School age singers and up are welcome! Call 301-642-0594 for audition appointment. Visit www.chesapeakechoral.com for information about the CCAS.

Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center

University of Maryland, College Park

www.claricesmithcenter.umd.edu

Liz Lerman Dance Exchange’s “The Matter of Origins,” Sept. 10-12.

Act One is a dance performance illuminated by video and a vivid soundscape, exploring the nature of beginnings and the physics that underlies the origin of matter. Act Two will incorporate tea, cake and conversation as Dance Exchange cast members serve tea and chocolate cake made from the famous recipe of Edith Warner, the Los Alamos local whose tea house was a gathering spot for the scientists at the Manhattan Project. This experience will allow audiences to respond to what they have seen and contribute their own insights to the spirit of discovery at the heart of “The Matter of Origins.”

Greenbelt Arts Center

123 Centerway, Greenbelt

301-441-8770

www.greenbeltartscenter.org.

 “King Lear,” through Sept. 4. From The Rude Mechanicals.

ALONIZ Improv Team (Eleanor Roosevelt High School) – Sept. 5-6

Announcing our 31st season:

Note: Show dates subject to change

Sep 24 - Oct 16: “Volpone,” by Ben Jonson, directed by Bill Jones

Nov 12 - December 4: “Chapter Two,” by Neil Simon

Laurel Mill Playhouse

508 Main St., Laurel

301-452-2557

www.laurelmillplayhouse.org.

One Act Festival, produced by Maureen Rogers and Diana Simmons. Performances run Sept. 3-5, 10-12 and 17-19, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

General admission tickets are $10 each or to see all three weekends, special price of $25. For reservations, please call 301-617-9906 and press 2.

“The American Way,” a play being produced in partnership with Montpelier Mansion and the Laurel Museum. The play, which runs October 1 through October 22nd, is part of a project called Barriers and Gateways: The Immigrant Experience, which in turn is part of a larger project with the Smithsonian Institution called Between Fences. If you have any questions, please contact Holly Burnham at Montpelier Mansion, 301-377-7817, holly.burnham@pgparks.com, or Maureen Rogers at Laurel Mill Playhouse, at 301- 452-2557, maureenrogers@gmail.com. Thank you very much.

Port Tobacco Players’ Theatre

508 Charles St.

La Plata

301-932-6819

www.ptplayers.com

“Arsenic and Old Lace,” through Sept. 12.

A farcical black comedy set in Brooklyn, New York during the 1940s. The play revolves around two nice, sweet old ladies who murder nice, sweet, lonely old men by offering them elderberry wine laced with poison. The Brewster sisters live with their mentally challenged nephew Teddy who believes he is Theodore Roosevelt and frequently charges up the stairs as if it were San Juan Hill. Matters get complicated when a second nephew Mortimer, a theater hating drama critic discovers the murders.

Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 3 p.m.

Admission: $17 for adults; $14 for students/seniors/military.

Prince George’s Arts Council

The Prince George’s Arts Council is pleased to announce its Hispanic Heritage Month Exhibition: “The Love of Artistic Expressions” featuring artists Marite Vidales and Rafael Corzo. The exhibition will take place Sept. 15- Oct. 15 at University Town Center Metro 3 Building, 6525 Belcrest Rd. Hyattsville, MD 20782. Therewill be a closing artists reception From 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 13. For more information, please visit www.princegeorgesartscouncil.org or call 301 277-1402.

World Artists Experiences

Mount Airy Mansion

8714 Rosaryville Road

Upper Marlboro

301-586-9656

www.worldartists.org

Kenyan musicians and dancers in concert

An energetic group of nine musicians and dancers from Kenya will give a free concert at 7 p.m. Sept. 8 at Mount Airy Mansion, 8714 Rosaryville Road, Upper Marlboro. Known as Kenge Kenge, the vibrant group brings an exhilarating experience of traditional and root music of songs and dances from Western Kenya on native instruments, including drums, lyre, flute, horn and fiddles. Widely known throughout Kenya, the group recently has given concerts in Europe and Western Asia. Their name, Kenge Kenge, roughly translates as “a medley fusion of small exhilarating ecstatic instruments.”

This Kenyan experience is presented by World Artists Experiences, an organization bridging international understanding through cultural and citizen diplomacy, in cooperation with Allegany College. Additional information

is available by calling 301-856-9656, 410-647-4482, by e-mailing wae@comcast.net or visiting www.worldartists.org.