SAXTONS RIVER — After a hiatus of more than a year, Main Street Arts has a full slate of arts classes for adults and older teens this fall. Offerings include theater, visual arts, writing, movement, and music, all hosted at 35 Main St.
Come learn about the classes and meet the teachers at an open house on Sunday, Sept. 26 at 5 p.m., and enjoy a potluck around MSA's new fire pit.
In addition to classes, MSA is hosting a number of community gatherings, including a monthly Community Fire for potlucks, conversation, and making friends.
A new show in the art gallery will feature collage and text by Gordon Korstange and Matt Peake, both of Saxtons River. There will be an opening reception and artist talk on Friday, Oct. 1, at 5 p.m. The duo will also offer a two-session workshop on collage and writing on Saturday, Oct. 16, and Saturday, Oct. 23.
Charles Norris-Brown and Jean Cannon, familiar artists in the Rockingham area, are leading figure drawing and watercolor classes, respectively.
Catherine Despont, a writer and artist new to the area, will teach Drawing with Words, a writing class including observation, conversation, reading and, of course, lots of writing.
She also hosts Poetry in the Village, described as “a monthly poem bash where everyone is welcome to speak a poem.”
Actor and director John Hadden will lead two theater workshops this fall: Shakespeare's Game and Theater Lab. Both courses welcome actors of all levels of experience, with the lab including directors and auditors. Focusing on the process and craft of doing theater, both workshops will support work that may become public performances.
Qigong (a Chinese healing practice) and the Feldenkrais Method (designed to heal the mind-body connection) intend to bring balance and better health through movement and breathing.
John Bohannon brings his Saxtons River Qigong practice to MSA for the first time as a weekly group, while Paris Kern, a new Saxtons River resident, will introduce Feldenkrais through three different three-hour workshops.
Rounding out the fall offerings is one of MSA's most popular and longest-running groups, String Band, familiar to those who attend Saxtons River Fourth of July parades and other community celebrations. Jill Newton has kept the group going virtually all through the pandemic.
Veteran participants and newcomers alike are needed to “bring MSA back to being a central place for gathering, learning, and creating,” the organization implores in a news release. “Check out the MSA website for details and to register. Scholarships are available.”
For the safety of participants and the community, MSA asks that everyone wear a mask while participating in classes and events. All staff and faculty have been asked to be fully vaccinated, and the organization is limiting class size to allow social distancing.