At The Dietrich

By
Hildy Morgan

So once again Hollywood makes us look like we’re living on another planet. About sixty seconds after last week’s column went to press we heard from Disney that they had decided to make more prints of Eight Below so we could therefore have one. Not that we’re not totally thrilled. We are! We are! But sometimes we feel sort of like a ping-pong ball in a stormy sea - - bounced around with no control whatsoever.

But, so what? At least we got the movie, right? And what a movie it is. If you are a dog lover (and most of us at the Dietrich are) then this is the movie for you. This is family entertainment at its best. Rated PG, it’s the story of a sled team unwillingly abandoned during a terrible storm, and their attempt to get back home while their owners try to rescue them. It’s thrilling, exciting, sad, wonderful and based on a true story. I can’t wait to see it! (And so far the reviews are terrific!)

We have Pink Panther for another week. The audiences have really liked it so far. Lots of laughter coming from the theater, and folks walking out feeling pretty good. A couple people told me it was good to have a funny movie again after so much serious fare. It was number one in the nation last week, so come give it a try. Steve Martin is delightful and it’s full of silly pratfalls and generally slapstick stuff. Just fun. (Which is sort of a lot, don’t you think?)

So get this. Tunkhannock is mentioned in the March edition of House and Garden. It’s a gorgeous glossy magazine, and there is a story in it about Bonnie Gayle who came to the Dietrich last year to teach willow basketry. It was a phenomenal course and after it was completed she went to Riverside Park and a few students helped her build the Wee Willow Dome for children to play in. Included in the article about Bonnie and her basketry is the story of the Wee Willow Dome in Tunkhannock. Totally cool, if you ask me.

So, that’s the theater news for the week. But as those of you who live in town must know by now, Mary Lynn Loftus died Sunday of a massive heart attack. I’m stunned, as are all of us at the Dietrich who knew and loved her. Frankly, I can’t imagine the downtown without her elegant and delightful store. And I can’t imagine the store without her in it. To me Mary Lynn was symbolic of everything I love about this town.

She was wonderfully funny, devoutly Catholic with a little touch of Irish magic woven into the religion, kind and always concerned with the health and happiness of her friends. Sometimes I’d just stop in to see her, to talk for a bit, because no matter how blue I was when I went there, I knew I’d feel better when I came out.

When I was in the middle of my chemo and feeling pretty punk and sorry for myself, I went into the Mary-Go-Round to buy a pair of earrings. I was having a lousy day, nauseated and grumpy. But she made me laugh with some off-color joke (never too off-color, you understand, just a teensy bit ribald) and then she said we’d look at the earrings. We must have looked at every pair in the case at least once while she told me funny stories. Finally I picked a pair and when I reached for my checkbook she shook her head. “It’s my little gift,” she said. I started to object and she shook her head at me. “You just take this. You can do the same for someone else sometime, but right now, you take these as a gift. It’ll make you feel better.”

I did feel better. Not because I’d been given a gift of earrings, but because she was so generous with her friendship. She shared her laughter with me and her sorrow. She was smart, and funny and so very, very kind. She loved the movies, she loved her friends, she loved life.

May the road rise up to meet you, Mary Lynn, and may you have gotten to heaven a half hour before the devil knew you were dead. God bless and keep you, you wild Irish lass. You will be sorely missed.

Live at The Dietrich

By
Erica Rogler

Tonight is our Jez Lowe and the Bad Pennies Concert! This is bound to be a great show. We sold out late last week. I will have to give you my review of the show next week.

Our Wyoming County Reads book discussions will continue at the Tunkhannock Library next Wednesday at 7:00 pm. The topic will be “Western Civilization: Veneer or Foundation?” led by Dr. Justin Nordstrom of Penn State Hazleton’s Department of History. We have had great turnouts so far with an average of forty people attending each discussion. It’s a great forum to share your views in regard to “Lord of the Flies” and the discussion topics. Admission is free and refreshments will be provided.

Looking forward to March, we will have a few new class offerings including Introduction to Sign Language, Painting on Glass, and Afternoon Adventures for Girls. In Introduction to Sign Language, participants will learn the manual alphabet and some basic signs. According to instructor Fern Boyce, the class will be a basic survival sign language course. Fern started learning sign language to communicate with her son who is deaf and for the past four years, she has been a substitute teacher at the Scranton School for the Deaf.

What is so amazing is that infants can even learn sign language. My cousins’ children even at 10 months old learned how to do basic signs like “more”, “hungry”, and “please”. Fern hopes this class will help people become more aware of sign language. And the more people who know sign language will make it easier for deaf people to communicate. She hopes students who take this class will come away from it with an even greater interest in learning more sign language. Classes will be held in the Dietrich’s Peg Fassett Performance Studio on Tuesdays in March from 7:00 - 8:30 pm. The four class series is $30.00. Call the Dietrich to sign up at 996-1500.

On Wednesday, March 1st, the Dietrich will also offer a “Painting on Glass” class from 6:30 - 8:30 pm. Instructor Sarah Sidorek will teach you how to paint a spring bouquet on a vase. All levels of experience are welcome. This class is for students ages 13 to adult. Admission is $17, all materials are provided. Please call the theater to preregister.

And we will also be bringing back Afternoon Adventures for Girls for grades 5 -8. This program will be held at the Tunkhannock Area Middle School. On Thursdays, March 9, 16, 23, 30, and April 6th from 3:30 - 5:15 pm, middle schoolers will learn about their talents and their place in the world through interactive seminars on voice, body, culture, art and environment. This is a great program that we do with the Everhart Museum. Admission is free.

More than the Movies at the Dietrich Theater

Afternoon Adventures for Girls, grades 5 - 8

Hey girl! You are a force to be reckoned with, an independent spirit. Celebrate yourself and your place in the world through interactive seminars on voice, body, culture, art and environment. Classes will be held at the Tunkhannock Middle School.

Thursdays, March 9, 16, 23, 30, April 6 from 3:30 - 5:15 pm.

Cost: Free!

Instructor: Everhart Museum Staff.

Decorative Painting, ages 13 and up

Learn decorative painting techniques while creating decorative pieces for your home or to give as gifts. Each project will be completed within one to two classes. All levels of experience welcome.

Wednesdays from noon - 3:00 pm. March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29.

Cost: $15 per class plus the cost of the painting surface. Preregistration required.

Instructor: Eileen Balboa

Dietrich After School Players

For grades 5 - 12. Learn the theatre arts while preparing for the play "Get a Clue!" including costuming, set design, makeup, and performing for an audience at the Dietrich. Sponsored in part by State Farm Insurance and PA Partners in the Arts.

January 9 - March 4th. Mondays, Tuesdays & Thursdays from 3:30 - 5:30 pm.

Admission is $80 for the nine-week workshop

Directors: Carl Candey and Patti Dunning, First Act Children's Theatre.

Functional Mosaics, ages 13 to adult

Students will provide their choice of furniture (end table, mirror, etc.)to enhance by using mosaic tiles in their own unique design.

Thursdays, March 9, 16, 23, 30 from 7:00 - 8:30 pm.

Cost: $45, includes all materials.

Instructor: Steve Colley, B.F.A., M.F.A.

Intergenerational Quilting, for all ages

"Interlocking Boxes" - Learn the tricks of discovering new patterns inside this intriguing design. Family members can collect these charming 6" blocks and stitch them into one memorable quilt.

Wednesdays through March 29 from 6:00 - 7:30 pm.

Cost: $6 per lesson, all materials provided.

Instructors: Ingrid Rogler and Peggy Lane

Introduction to Sign Language

Learn the manual alphabet and some basic signs. For ages 8 to adult.

Tuesdays, March 7, 14, 21, 28 from 7:00 - 8:30 pm.

Admission is $30.

Instructor provided by the Scranton School for the Deaf

Jewelry for Kids, ages 8 and up

Make a necklace and bracelet, one jute and one on wire - large selection of beads to choose from.

Tuesday, March 14th from 3:30 - 5:00 pm.

Cost: $9, includes all materials.

Instructor: Sarah Sidorek

Mixed Media, ages 5 - 8

A new artist will be introduced each week as students learn about famous artists in Impressionism, Abstract Expressionism, Cubism, etc. and create their own works using a variety of materials including clay, tempera, charcoal, ,pastels, etc.

Fridays, 4:00 - 5:30 pm, Session 2 - February 10, 17, 24, March 3; Session 3 - March 10, 17, 24, 31.

Cost: $30 for each series of four classes.

Instructor: Amy Colley, B.F.A., M.F.A.

Mixed Media, ages 9 -12

A new artist will be introduced each week as students learn about famous artists in Impressionism, Abstract Expressionism, Cubism, etc. and create their own works using a variety of materials including clay, tempra, charcoal, pastels etc.

Thursdays, 4:00 - 5:30 pm. Session 3 - March 9, 16, 23, 30.

Cost: $30 for each series of four classes.

Instructor: Steve Colley, B.F.A., M.F.A.

Mommy & Me Mixed Media

For ages 3 and 4. Young artists and their moms, dads, or grandparents will create works of art using an assortment of materials, including clay, tempera, watercolor and collage.

Fridays, 10:30 - 11:15 am, March 3, 10, 17, 24.

Cost: $25 for each series of 4 classes.

Instructor: Amy Colley, B.F.A., M.F.A.

Mosaic Murals, ages 13 to adult

Students will learn the process of creating ceramic murals as they design their own original works using clay and plaster molds.

Thursdays, February 9, 16, 23, March 2 from 7:00 - 8:30 pm.

Cost: $45, includes all materials.

Instructor: Steve Colley, B.F.A., M.F.A.

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 medium of their choice with instructor Steve Colley. A model will be provided for an additional fee if the group chooses.

Tuesdays from 7:00 - 8:30 pm, Session 2 - Feb. 7, 14, 21, 28; Session 3 - March 7, 14, 21, 28.

Cost: $45 for each series of four classes.

Instructor: Steve Colley, B.F.A., M.F.A.

Painting on Glass

Paint a spring bouquet on a vase. All levels of experience welcome. For students ages 13 to adult.

Wednesday, March 1 from 6:30 - 8:30 pm.

Cost: $17, all materials included.

Instructor: Sarah Sidorek

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 2 - Feb. 6, 13, 20, 27. Session 3 - March 6, 13, 20, 27.

Cost: $45 for each series of four classes.

Instructor: Steve Colley, B.F.A., M.F.A.

Preschool Art, ages 4 and 5

Preschool students will be introduced to a famous artist each week as they explore a variety of materials such as clay, tempera, watercolors, collage, etc.

Thursdays, noon - 12:45 pm, Session 2 - February 9, 16, 23, March 3. Session 3 - March 9, 16, 23, 30.

Cost: $25 for each series of four classes.

Instructor: Amy Colley, B.F.A., M.F.A.

Pull the Strings, grades 4 - 6

Lights! Camera! Action! Go behind the scenes, write an original play and create a cast of puppet characters for a puppet performance in the Dietrich's very own theater.

Tuesdays, March 28, April 4, 11, 18, 25 from 4:00 - 5:00 pm.

Admission is free!

Everhart Museum Staff

Quilting for Kids, ages 6 and up

"Friendship Star" - Experience the joys of team quilting while playing our new quilting games. Each student will take home their own quilt. Stitch one star in three lessons or stitch a sky full.

Wednesdays through March 29 from 3:30 - 5:00 pm.

Cost: $6 per lesson, all materials provided.

Instructors: Ingrid Rogler, Gloria Eastwood, Terri Keller, Mary Louise Dodge

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. Meeting are ongoing.

Admission is free.

group format - no instructor

Yoga for You

Accomodations will be made for beginners, experienced practitioners, and those with special needs. 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.

Instructor: Melissa Russo: Certified Hatha Yoga Instructor

Yoga for You at Night!

Accomodations will be made for beginners, experienced practitioners, and those with special needs. Call 570-996-1500 to confirm dates. Please bring yoga mat or beach towel.

Mondays from 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm. Classes are ongoing.

$10 per class

Instructor: Mary Frances Giodano, certified Hatha yoga instructor

Yoga for You -Saturdays

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

Saturdays from 10:00 am -11:00 am. Classes are ongoing

Admission is $10 per class.

Instructor: Mary Frances Giordano, certified Hatha yoga instructor