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 The Infamous Stringdusters return to town to perform at the historic Sheridan Opera House, the lead act on a double bill for the Spring Fever Weekend. (Elephant Revival "opened" for them Saturday night.) The concert takes place Sunday, March 20, 8 p.m.

The progressive acoustic group first performed in town at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. That was four years ago, in 2007, with the release of their now acclaimed first album, Fork in the Road, on Sugar Hill. The collection earned the newbies three top awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association for Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Emerging Artist of the Year, not bad in an industry that generally forces anyone wet behind the ears to pay big dues before commanding the limelight.

18 March, 2011 /
[click "Play" to hear Sasha Cucciniello talk about the program]

 

kicker: Program follows course at Ah Haa

Sugar Telluride's Ah Haa School for the Arts promoted the class this way:

"Join artistic director Sasha Cucciniello of SquidShow Theatre and Melissa Sumpter of Durango’s Salt Fire Circus, as they take you on a three-week journey into the world of burlesque dancing and performance. At the close of the class, students will be given the opportunity to show off their skills during a live variety show on the stage of the Sheridan Opera House!"

Their time is now. On March 25, 8 p.m., at Telluride's historic Sheridan Opera House, Sasha and SquidShow Theatre present an evening of burlesque, which includes "boylesque," boys doing burlesque. Sasha promises an evening that is at once "daring, sexy and scandalous." And Sasha always delivers the goods.

16 March, 2011 /

by Jim Bedford

Gnomeoandjuliet_smallteaser Blackswan_smallposter2 In this post-Ides of March week, the Nugget Theatre in beautiful downtown Telluride has three great movies on the bill for Friday, March 18 through Thursday, March 24.

THE BLACK SWAN (R), with Oscar winning Natalie Portman, continues through Wednesday and is surprising, stirring and unpredictable.

For families and the younger set, GNOMEO AND JULIET (G) adds to the Disney canon of great animations, and runs through Tuesday.

127hours_smallposter And on Wednesday and Thursday only, the Telluride Film Festival Presents 127 HOURS (R), a hit at last year's festival with James Franco being directed by Danny Boyle (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE).

Click here for the Nugget website for trailers and reviews, and below for movietimes.

 

 

16 March, 2011 /

On Thursday, March 17, 5 – 8 p/m/. Telluride's Lustre Gallery hosts a reception for a trunk show featuring bling with a pedigree: historic art nouveau jewels, handcrafted in Barcelona from original molds and enameling technique created by artist Lluis Masriera. Representatives from Masriera...

15 March, 2011 /
[click "Play" to listen to Susan's conversation with Jennie Franks]

 

 

FJL_Final The Telluride Playwrights Festival spilled out of the pen of Telluride local Jennie Franks, founder of Sparky Productions. While writing one of her own plays, Jennie realized playwrights like herself need to hear their words spoken out loud during the evolving process of refining a script. The Telluride Playwrights Festival has little to do with splashy productions and everything to do with theatre basics: speaking words that tell a story. The event is, in effect, a laboratory setting for actors, playwrights and directors and a vehicle for exploring ideas, issues and our own humanity through theatre. Plays germinated at the Telluride Playwrights Festival are now blossoming all over the country in major markets with full productions.

Now in its fifth year, the Playwrights Festival continues to expand upon its collaborative mission, bringing a full production of a new dark comedy by William Missouri Downs. "Forgiving John Lennon" is part of the University of Wyoming’s Summer Theatre Program. This timely, shattering comedy explores a clash of cultures in a world where, as Lennon says “nothing to kill or die for” might not be so easily imagined. As with all Telluride Playwright Festival productions, feedback from the audience after the performance is a valued next step towards a polished finished project.

14 March, 2011 /

[click "Play", Rhonda Muckerman and Kathy Jepson talk about the event]   It's a mash up, Telluride style.Friday, March 18, 7 p.m., the Michael D. Palm Theatre presents a first ever: The Telluride Showcase is an...

14 March, 2011 /

[click "Play" to hear Susan speaking with Rev. Pat Bailey about Easter and Lent]   Reverend Pat Bailey of Telluride's Christ Church poses a question: What comes to mind when you hear the the term “Lent?”...

13 March, 2011 /

[click "Play", Rev. Pat Bailey speaks with Susan about Charter for Compassion]

 

Logo The answer my friend is blowing in the winds of change: Two different and highly respected institutions in Telluride are talking about the same thing more or less at the same time. And it's a good thing.

On March 7, the Telluride Institute blogged about its upcoming Second Annual Compassion Festival, scheduled for this summer, July 8 – July 10. (The Institute announced early because it is looking for volunteers.) The unique event and the newest festival on Telluride's cultural calendar is dedicated to exploring compassion for a world in crisis. It is byproduct of last year's Language of Mental Life conference, also hosted by the Telluride Institute.

Then as now, while some people appear ready to storm the barricades, others are turning inward in an attempt to find ways to play nice in not so nice times: Compassion as an antidote for overheated passions.

During the period of self reflection known as Lent, Reverend Pat Bailey of Telluride's Christ Church plans to offer a study of Karen Armstrong's "A Charter for Compassion" and her book Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life. The study takes place right after the Sunday service, starting this Sunday, March 3 through April 17 (11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.) or on consecutive Wednesdays, March 16 – April 20, 12 – 1 p.m.

12 March, 2011 /