At The Dietrich

By
Hildy Morgan

How do they do it? The people who leave the northeast and head for one-season towns? How can they bear to miss the rolling thunder that is the springtime? Right now, walking through Tunkhannock (or my beautiful South Auburn) is like walking through the staged beauty of a movie set. The pinks of the dogwood, the lilacs in bud, the rich green of the grass and the new leaves casting tentative shadows, along with the riot of color from tulips and hyacinths and, Lord knows, a hundred million other shrubs and bushes and plants that flower are enough to fill the spirit with almost unbearable joy. Sometimes I just have to stop in my walk and look around and say – “Thank you, God, for all of this – it is so breathtakingly beautiful it almost hurts. It has come on us with such a joyous rush that suddenly we can’t remember the grayness of the winter. Thank you, thank you.” And somehow, that simple “thank-you,” which is the best we can do, is so inadequate in the face of all the beauty that surrounds us.

Reminds me of the old Methodist hymn (to me, hymns don’t get better than those simple and powerful tunes and lyrics I grew up with) “This Is My Father’s World.” (And no, I don’t believe that the creative force is male, or female for that matter, but the folks that wrote those old hyms did believe that and it doesn’t take one whit of meaning away from them.) To me, the words are Franklin Shepherd’s need to say thank-you far more eloquently than I ever could.

“This is my Father’s world, and to my listening ears, All nature sings and around me rings, the music of the spheres. This is my Father’s world, I rest me in the thought, of rocks and trees, of skies and seas, His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father’s world, the birds their carols raise, the morning light, the lily white, declare their maker’s praise. This is my Father’s world, he shines in all that’s fair; In the rustling grass I hear him pass, he speaks to me everywhere.”

Is that the most perfect hymn to spring, to the feelings of gratitude that rush through us when we see such beauty? And all our paintings and songs and books and films can’t come close to the beauty of a spring day, here in northeast Pennsylvania, in our creator’s world.

And speaking of the beauty of nature, come see the Tree Association’s annual photo contest in the Dietrich Gallery. Oh, my oh my, are those photos beautiful! Trees are the life’s blood of the planet and what makes our town so beautiful and what cleanses the air around us. They carry a tremendous emotional impact and their beauty and steadfastness are something to cherish. Jennie Pitkus (my most loved kid sister), Ingrid Rogler (our dear theater friend and mother of our superstar Erica) and Diane Secor (most excellent volunteer) put up the display yesterday. Come see what local photographers have done. It’s a gorgeous display!

Ironman still at the movies. It’s quite good for that type of film. Little romantic comedy called Forgetting Sarah Marshall in the Murray. Next week Narnia. Oh, and if you come to see Ironman (and we hope you will) do come in time to catch the trailer of Mamma Mia starring Meryl Streep. It looks to me to be the best musical on film since Chicago. So much fun! Can’t wait to bring it in.

You have a wonderful week, now, you hear?

Get outside and enjoy these perfect days and the kaleidoscope of colors surrounding you.

See you at the Dietrich.

Live at The Dietrich

By
Erica Rogler

We had a blast on our Ellis Island Bus Trip. Thirty of us enjoyed the day out at New York City’s Battery Park, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty and Chelsea Market. We could not have asked for a better day. The Statue of Liberty was breathtaking! What a symbol of our freedom. And I loved visiting Ellis Island. It’s a wonderful museum. The audio tour was terrific. It gave you a glimpse into what immigrants experienced as they passed through this processing station in hopes of achieving the American dream. To hear the recorded accounts of immigrants who passed through Ellis Island was something to experience, and to see some of the ships’ manifests and some of the immigrants’ belongings was incredible. We ended that lovely day by having dinner at Chelsea Market; there was something for everyone there. We can’t wait to plan our next trip to New York City.

This summer the Dietrich will be taking our annual bus trip to the Everhart Museum and Nay Aug Park in Scranton. During the trip, we receive a private tour of the Everhart before the museum is open. I especially enjoy their American folk art exhibit. They have quite a collection. The museum usually has a visiting exhibit too. After the tour we enjoy lunch in Nay Aug Park. Then there is time to visit Nay Aug Gorge, Nay Aug Tree House and the museum’s gift shop. It’s a fun and educational trip and you are home around 2:00 pm. This year’s trip will take place on Saturday, July 12th and the bus will depart at 9:30 am. The cost is $10 per person and box lunch from Heavenly Ham is included in that price. Call the Dietrich at 570-996-1500 to reserve your space on this trip.

Our own Esther Harmatz has a full class for this month’s Jewelry Making: Glass Fusing class for adults. This class is so popular; those who take it are just thrilled with the earrings and pendants they make. Esther will be offering a simpler Jewelry for Kids class this summer. On Tuesday, July 8 from 2:00 – 4:00 pm, students ages eight and up will learn about glass fusing as they create two glass pieces which can be turned into jewelry.
Admission is $25, including materials. Call the Dietrich at 570-996-1500 to register.

The Dietrich also has a great variety of summer camps for children of all ages. In June, students will be able to take an adventure in Far Out Fairy Tales Theatre & Arts Camp. Under the instruction of Amy Colley and Michaela Moore, campers will become a hero, a fairy, a sea monster or a mythical creature of their very own invention while they make up characters and myths! Students will create sets, costumes, and tons of art projects that are all about fantasy and imagination! Far Out Fairy Tales will be held on Monday – Friday, June 23 –27. Campers age 5 –12 will meet from 10 am to noon and little ones ages three to five will meet from 1:30 – 2:30 pm.

During that same week, Michaela Moore will also be offering an Acting Camp for Kids in the afternoon from 3:00 – 4:30 pm. Students ages six to eleven will learn all about acting through theatre games, improvisation, story telling, play making, character creation and more! Students will create their own characters and play. A casual performance will end each week. Admission is $50 for this camp. Call the Dietrich at 570-996-1500 for more information about Dietrich summer camps.

More than the Movies at the Dietrich Theater

Acting Camp for Kids, ages 6 -11

Use your imagination and learn all about acting through theater games, improvisation, storytelling, play making, character creation and more! Students will create their own characters and stories while learning how to act and how much fun theater is. a casual performance will end each week.

Camp 1: Monday - Friday, June 23 - 27 from 3:00 - 4:30 pm. Camp 2: Monday - Friday, August 11 - 15 from 3:00 - 4:30 pm.

Admission: $50

Instructor: Michaela Moore, All About Theatre

All About Pottery & Sculpture, ages 5 -12

Students will learn hand building techniques including coil and slab construction, glazing techniques, and experience using the potter's wheel.

Thursdays, May 8, 15, 22, 29 from 4:00 - 5:30 pm.

Admission: $35

Instructor: Steve Colley

All Kinds of Sculpture Camp

Create sculptures using an assortment of media including string, paper, clay & recyclables.

Monday - Friday, July 21 - 25. Ages 5 -8: 10:00 - 11:30 am. Preschoolers: 12:00 - 12:45.

Admission: Ages 5 -12: $50. Preschoolers: $35

Amy Colley

Cuddly Characters for Preschoolers

Preschoolers will use soft materials to bring to life their own cuddly characters. For ages 3 - 5.

Thursdays, May 1, 8, 15, 22 from noon - 12:45 pm.

Admission: $30

Instructor: Amy Colley

Dance! Dance! Dance!, ages 2 - 17

Learn different styles of dance with Judy Weist of Stage Door Dance Studio. No dance experience is required. Special needs students invited. Call for info.

July 7, 8, 9. Ages 2 - 4: 9:00 - 10:00 am. Ages 5 -7: 10:30 - 11:30 am. Ages 8+: noon - 1:00 pm.

Admission: Free

Instructor: Judy Weist, Stage Door Dance Studio

Decorative Painting, ages 16 and up

Learn decorative painting techniques while creating decorative pieces for your home or to give as gifts. Preregistration required. Call 570-996-1500 to sign up.

Wednesdays from noon - 3:00 pm. May 14, 21, 28. June 11, 18, 25. July 16, 23, 30. August 13, 20, 27.

Admission: $20/class plus the cost of painting surfaces

Instructor: Eileen Balboa

Dig Art!

Create and explore seeds, leaves, bugs, and more! Investigate the world around you this July at the Dietrich. Based on the Everhart’s exhibit, Art of the Land, learn about and be inspired by the plants, animals, ground, and sky that make up our Pennsylvania terrain.

Mondays, July 7, 14, 21, 28. Ages 5 - 8: 10 - 11 am. Ages 9 - 12: 11:30 am - 12:30 pm.

Admission: Free

Instructor: Everhart Museum Educator

Digital Arts Camp, ages 8 - 13

Explore the arts through claymation, robotics, and special effects.

Monday - Friday, July 14 - 18 from 2:00 - 4:00 pm.

Admission: $50

Instructor: Rand Whipple of Box of Light Theatre.

Fantastical Inventamania Camp

Join us as we go on a Dr. Suess-like adventure where we learn all about inventions. We will create characters, stories and amazing inventions! We will learn about innovations that have changed our world and talk about what wonderful inventions we would like to invent in the future!

Monday - Friday, July 14 - 18 from 10:00 to noon

$50

Amy Colley and Michaela Moore

Far Out Fairy Tales Theatre and Arts Camp

Enter the world of fantasy and storytelling! Become a hero, a fairy, a sea monster or a mythical creature of your very own invention while we make up characters and myths! We will create sets, costumes, and tons of art projects that are all about fantasy and imagination!

Mondays - Fridays, June 23 - 27. Ages 5-12: 10:00-noon. Ages 3-5: 1:30-2:30

Ages 5-12: $50, Preschoolers: $35

Amy Colley and Michaela Moore

Golden Days of Radio Players Group

Do you remeber old time radio? Did you always wonder how all the sound effects were made...like a door opening and closing or someone walking on gravel? Or wonder how it would feel to stand in front of a microphone and read the lines of the characters you are playing? Or to act like a hero or a villiam? Or use your voice to sound very old or very young? Join us and you will learn and experince all of this and more. Oh, did I mention that we always have a lot of fun putting a show together to be played for an audience? Laughter is expected.

Tuesdays, April 1 - May 13 from 7:00 - 9:00 pm.

Admission: Free

Instructor: Valerie Paulus

Intergenerational Quilting - Spring

"Reflections" - Learn quilting techniques as you experiment by designing a quilt with mirrors. This bold quilt design will add a dose of kaleidoscope magic with its sense of excitement and movement.

Wednesdays through May 28 from 6:00 - 7:30 pm.

Admission: $6 per class, materials provided.

Instructors: Peggy Lane, Terry Keller, and Ingrid Rogler

Intergenerational Quilting - Summer

"Tea Gardens" - Learn quilting techniques as you create a charming tea cup quilt that will bring back memories of clinking cups and giggles of childhood friendships. Learn how to use fabrics to create different effects. For ages 13 and up.

Wednesdays, June 11 - July 30 from 6:00 - 7:30 pm.

Admission: $6 per class; materials provided.

Instructors: Ingrid Rogler, Peggy Lane, and Terry Keller

Jammin' in a Jugband, ages 13 - adult

Join Timothy Walker and David Driskell, PCA rostered artists, as you create and make music with homemade instruments such as a washboard, washtub bass, spoons, whistles, saws, and a jug, as well as the conventional guitar, banjo, clarinet and saxophone. Find out that music is fun!

July 21, 22, 23, 25 from 1:00 - 2:15 at the Dietrich. Tuesday, July 22 from 3:00 - 4:00 pm at Tunkhannock's Senior Center

Admission: Free

Timothy Walker and David Driskel, PCA rostered artists

Jammin' in a Jugband, ages 6 - 12

Join our jugband as you create and make music with homemade instruments such as a washboard, washtub bass, spoons, whistles, saws and jug, as well as the conventional guitar, banjo, clarinet, and saxophone. Find out that music is fun!

July 21, 22, 23, 25 from 10:00 - 11:15 am.

Admission: Free

Instructors: David Driskell and Timothy Walker

Jewelry for Kids - Glass Fusing

Students will learn about glass fusing as they design and create two glass pieces which can be turned into jewelry - pendants or pins!

Tuesday, July 8th from 2:00 - 4:00 pm.

Admission: $25, materials provided.

Instructor: Esther Harmatz

Knit a Hat, ages 10 through adult

Learn how to knit a hat using round knitting needles. Choose from three hat styles. All materials are included.

Tuesdays, July 29 & August 12 from 7:00 - 9:00 pm.

Admission: $20.

Instructor: Sarah Sidorek

Mehoopany Mixed Media, ages 5 -12

Students will learn about famous artists and create their own works using materials including clay, tempera, watercolors, collage, etc at the Mehoopany Outreach Studio (87 Main Street; Mehoopany, PA)

Wednesdays from 4:00 - 5:30 pm. Session 2 - May 7, 14, 21,28.

Admission $35 for each session of four classes.

Instructor: Steve Colley.

Mount Olympic Theater & Visual Arts Camp

Learn all about the Olympics, its orgins in ancient Greece and Beiing China in this unique camp that arrives just in time for the summer Olympics. Become an Olympic hero or super talented gymnast while creating a fabulous play! Plus make medals, trophies, laurel wreaths, togas, torches, and flags to celebrate this wonderful tradition and our fantastic country! Tons of fun and lots of learning! For ages 5 -12

Monday - Friday, August 11 - 15. Ages 5 -12: 10 am - noon. Preschoolers: 1:30 - 2:30 pm.

Admission: Ages 5 - 12: $50. Preschoolers: $35.

Instructors: Amy Colley & Michaela Moore.

Move Over Mr. Spielberg: Digital Film Making

Learn how to create your own digital films using a digital camera and a computer. Using everything from clay actors to human ones, the class will edit, score, and output a short film in the course of a week. Script Writing Workshop - July 7, 8, 10 at 6:00 - 7:30 pm.Instructor: Ann Vitale. Admission: Free.Write a script for your digital film and be ready to start filming in your Move Over Mr. Spielberg project.

Monday - Friday, July 14 -18 from 6:00 - 8:30 pm.

Admission: $50.

Instructor: Rand Whipple, Box of Light Theatre

Open Studio for Painting, Drawing & Pottery

Students of all ages and levels of experience will have the opportunity to work at their own pace and with the medium of their choice.

Tuesdays from 7:00 - 8:30 pm Session 3 - April 29, May 6, 13, 20. Session 4 - June 3, 10, 17, 24. Session 5 - August 5, 12, 19, 26.

Admission: $15 per class or $50 for four classes.

Instructor: Steve Colley

Photography Workshop

Improve your photogrpahy skills with an experienced instructor. Students will meet a the Dietrich each week and then proceed to a variety of locations to photograph. Gain practical shooting experience along with personalized instruction.

Wednesdays, May 7, 14, 21, 28 from 7:00 - 9:00 pm. Saturday, June 7 from 1:00 - 3:00 pm.

$75

Instructor: Kenny Ganz, Steamtown Historic Site Photographer

Pottery & Sculpture, ages 13 to adult

This class is designed for students of all levels of experience. Students will work on pottery wheels and learn hand-building and sculpture techniques.

Mondays from 7:00 - 8:30 pm. Session 3 - April 28, May 5, 12, 19. Session 4 - June 2, 9, 16, 23. Session 5 - June 30, July 14, 21, 28. Session 6 - August 4, 11, 18, 25.

Admission: $50, materials provided.

Instructor: Steve Colley

Quilting for Kids - Spring

"Mamma Kitty" - Learn quilting techniques as you create a cat quilt. These quilted scrap cats hanve one orange ear, the other purple. For ages 6 and up

Wednesdays through May 28 from 3:30 - 5:00 pm.

Admission: $6 per class, materials provided.

Instructors: Terry Keller, Peggy Lane and Ingrid Rogler.

Quilting for Kids - Summer

"Tea for Two" - Learn quilting techniques as you create a charming teac cup quilt. Come with a friend, be a mom and me team, or bring any family member. Work on a quilt together or make your own. We'll end the class with a tea party.

Wednesdays, June 11 - July 30 from 3:30 - 5:00 pm.

Admission: $6 per class.

Instructors: Terry Keller, Peggy Lane, and Ingrid Rogler.

Woodwinds Master Class

David Driskell, a classically trained clarinet player, will conduct a woodwinds master class for all ages. Call the Dietrich at 570-996-1500 to register.

Monday, July 21 from 2:30 - 3:30 pm.

Admission: Free

Instructor: David Driskell

Writers' Group

Come and read your work or listen and be inspired. Learn the craft of writing as you write. All genres and levels of writing are welcome.

Thursdays from 7:00 - 8:30 pm. Meetings are ongoing.

Admission is free.

group format - no instructor

Yoga for Kids, ages 8 and up

Explore yoga postures, relaxation, and breathing techniques with Melissa Russo, certified yoga Ed. instructor, that will help calm the body, strengthen muscles, and stretch your mind. Bring a yoga mat or beach towel.

Wednesdays, July 30, August 6, 13, 20 from 1:00 - 2:00 pm.

Admission: $35.

Instructor: Melissa Russo

Yoga for You

This class will teach and reinforce the basic yoga poses (asanas)which gently stretch and strengthen the body. Attention will be given to breathing and alignment in postures. Call 570-996-1500 to confirm dates. Please bring yoga mat or beach towel.

Wednesdays, 10:00 am - 11:00 am, Call 570-996-1500 for class dates.

Cost: $10 per lesson. Children are free.

Certified Hatha Yoga Instructor: Melissa Russo