(PITTSFIELD, Mass.) – The third annual 10×10 Upstreet Arts Festival in downtown Pittsfield, featuring an array of art, theater, dance, film, music and more, takes place from Thursday, February 13 to February 23, 2014 in various venues around the city. The festival kicks off on Thursday, February 13, with two art openings at Pittsfield City Hall and the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, the classic film “10” at the Beacon Cinema, an opera recital at the Whitney Center for the Arts, and the first preview night of Barrington Stage’s 10×10 New Play Festival.

Organized by the City of Pittsfield’s Office of Cultural Development and Barrington Stage Company, the festival features dozens of artists, actors, musicians, playwrights, comedians and performers. Festival partners this year include Berkshire Museum, Berkshire Theatre Group, the Whitney Center for the Arts, Miss Hall’s School, Berkshire Art Association, the Crowne Plaza, the Beacon Cinema, Berkshire International Film Festival, the Berkshire Music School, the Laugh Lounge, Gypsy Layne Cabaret, and more.

Highlights of the festival include Barrington Stage Company’s popular 10×10 New Play Festival, featuring ten new 10-minute plays; the 10×10 Real Art Party fundraiser organized by Berkshire Art Association at Berkshire Museum; and the TEN SPOT art show at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts, featuring ten of the best contemporary artists in the Berkshires both in the gallery and on billboards throughout Berkshire County.

This year there are a variety of family-friendly free or low-cost daytime activities, perfect for a week when many schools are on vacation. They include daily adventure play at the Berkshire Museum, a teen art show at Pittsfield City Hall, a concert at Berkshire Music School, a free presentation by Hancock Shaker Village at the Whitney Center for the Arts, and the DANCE TEN performance showcase.

The 10×10 Upstreet Arts Festival is a winter arts festival located in Pittsfield’s Upstreet Cultural District in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, organized by the City of Pittsfield and Barrington Stage Company. Berkshire Gas is the lead sponsor and additional support is provided by Greylock Federal Credit Union, Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Berkshire Eagle, and Lamar Advertising. Performances and events will take place every day during the festival. For more information, visit 10×10 Upstreet Arts Festival or call 413-499-9348.

 

2014 10×10 UPSTREET ARTS FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY

St. Germain Stage, Sydelle and Lee Blatt Center for the Performing Arts

36 Linden Street, Pittsfield

10×10 New Play Festival

Feb. 13-Mar. 2. Thurs-Sat at 7:30pm; Sat/Sun at 3pm

Tickets: $25 Thursday evenings, Sat/Sun matinees; $30 Friday/Saturday evenings; $15 previews 2/13 & 2/14. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Barrington Stage Box Office at 413-236-8888 (toll free: 855-TIX-2BSC) or online at barringtonstageco.org.

Every 10 minutes, a new play begins. Join Barrington Stage for an evening of ten new 10-minute plays by 10 playwrights, featuring six dynamite actors – playing for an extended 3-week run. Featured playwrights are Suzanne Bradbeer, Ron Burch, John Cariani, Megan Dieterle, David MacGregor, Scott McCarrey, James McLindon, Gwendolyn Rice, Lynn Rosen, and Jodi Rothe. The 10×10 Repertory Company features Emily Kunkel, Matt Neely, Dina Thomas, Peggy Pharr Wilson, John Zdrojeski, and Robert Zukerman. Directed by Julianne Boyd, Christopher Innvar, and Kristen van Ginhoven. All seating is reserved. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Barrington Stage Box Office at 413-236-8888 (toll free: 855-TIX-2BSC) or online at barringtonstageco.org.

TEN SPOT ART SHOW

Lichtenstein Center for the Arts

28 Renne Avenue, Pittsfield

Feb. 13-28, Open Wed-Sat 12-5pm

First Fridays Artswalk Preview: Friday, Feb. 7, 5pm-8pm

Opening Reception: Thurs. Feb. 13, 5pm-7pm

The third annual TEN SPOT invitational art show features ten of the best contemporary artists from throughout the Berkshires. This year’s artists come from Great Barrington to Williamstown and in between, and include Gabrielle Senza,  Michael Rousseau, Joan Ciolfi, Peter Gordon, Karl Mullen, Peggy Rivers, Douglas Paisley, and Laurie McLeod.  Each of the artists will have work  featured on ten different billboards throughout the Berkshires  during the festival, bringing the gallery out into the community for all to enjoy.

 

TEEN TEN ART SHOW

Pittsfield City Hall

70 Allen St, Pittsfield

Feb. 13-28; M-F 8:30am-4pm

Opening reception: Thurs. Feb 13, 4-6pm

The second annual Teen Ten art show at Pittsfield City Hall is organized by Miss Hall’s School student. Over 100 artworks by Berkshire teens are posted online at for the public to view and vote for their favorites at http://woobox.com/zi8e38. The top ten votegetters will be displayed at City Hall.  Artwork from students at Pittsfield High School, Taconic High School, Wahconah High School, Lee High School, Lenox Memorial Middle & High School, Berkshire Country Day School, Monument Mountain Regional High School, and Miss Hall’s School are included and artists’ names and schools are kept anonymous during voting, which ends February 7th.

10×10 FILM SERIES

Beacon Cinema

57 North St, Pittsfield

Thursday evenings Feb 13 & 20; Sunday matinees Feb 16 & 23

Admission is free, generously underwritten by NBT Bank.

In association with the Berkshire International Film Festival, the Beacon Cinema screens four “ten” themed movies.

Thursday, Feb. 13 “10”, with Bo Derek and Dudley Moore, time TBA

Sunday, Feb. 16 “10 Questions for the Dalai Lama,” a documentary directed by Rick Ray, time TBA

Thursday, Feb. 20 “How To Lose a Guy in Ten Days,” with Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey, time TBA

Sunday, Feb. 23 “The Ten Commandments,” with Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner, time TBA

 

TEN POPULAR ARIAS

The Whitney Center for the Arts

42 Wendell Ave, Pittsfield

Thurs, Feb 13 & Fri, Feb.21 at 7:30pm

Tickets: $20 tix@thewhit.org

Enjoy 10 popular arias by top opera professionals in an elegant setting. Opera Notte @the Whit will be a regular event at the Whitney Center for the Arts, always performed by top level classically trained musicians.

 

WEE MUSE: TEN DAYS OF PLAY

Berkshire Museum 39 South St, Pittsfield

Feb. 14-23, Daily: Mon-Sat 11am-3pm, Sun 12pm-3pm

Free with Berkshire Museum admission

The Museum’s Crane Room will be transformed into anything a child might imagine, using readily available and recyclable materials from cardboard to fabric and tape. Join the museum staff and patrons in a 10-day festival supporting child-directed play one cardboard box at time! Presented in partnership with the Transition Team of Pittsfield and Pop-Up Adventure Play. Supported in part by a grant from the Pittsfield Cultural Council.

 

TEN FINGERED JAZZ WITH THE ROY GERSON TRIO

Baba Louie’s Backroom

34 Depot St., Pittsfield

Sat Feb 15 8pm

Tickets: $15 in advance (available at Baba Louie’s and online at www.BerkshiresJazz.org), $20 at the door.

An intimate evening of jazz, cabaret style, presented by Berkshires Jazz. The Roy Gerson Trio features jazz piano standout Roy Gerson. He’ll put his unique spin on historic and iconic jazz compositions that were popularized by 10 different jazz pianists over the decades.

 

10×10 REAL ART PARTY PREVIEW

Berkshire Museum 39 South St Pittsfield, Mass

Art on display Feb 15-20 during Museum hours

Feb 20th 5:30pm preview 7:00pm Art Raffle

FREE to attend; $25 raffle tickets guarantee a 10×10 inch artwork

Enjoy a sneak preview of dozens of miniature masterpieces by local artists! Each original work of art is 10”x10” and could be yours for just $25. Area artists are donating the work to raise money for arts education in the Berkshires through the terrific programs of the volunteer led Berkshire Art Association.  Donations of 10”x10” original art will be accepted at the Berkshire Museum on Sunday, February 9th, and Monday, February 10th. For more information, visit berkshireartassociation.org or email berkshireart@gmail.com.

 

MUSIC TEN

Berkshire Music School

Taft Recital Hall, 30 Wendell Ave, Pittsfield

Tickets $10 at the door

An afternoon of music at the Berkshires’ only community music school Enjoy ten diverse performances by ten students and teachers. Coffee and dessert will be served.

 

WEE MUSE: TEN DAYS OF PLAY COMMUNITY NIGHT

Berkshire Museum 39 South St, Pittsfield

Wed. Feb. 19, 5-7 pm

Tickets: Free and open to the community.

Celebrate as we mark the beginning of a national play tour with our partners, Pop-Up Adventure Play, when “play” takes over the whole Museum! Participate in play in its many forms and experience a giant shadow puppet screen, an instrument petting zoo, marble tracks, and our popular child-directed play center among other family fun play stations. Sponsored in part by the TD Charitable Foundation.

 

10×10 REAL ART PARTY

Berkshire Museum

39 South St Pittsfield

Thursday, Feb 20th 5:30pm reception; 7pm Art Raffle

FREE to attend; $25 tickets guarantee a 10×10 inch artwork; tickets on sale at the Berkshire Museum during regular hours beginning Feb.15

Everyone’s invited to the 10×10 Real Art Party, a fundraiser benefitting Berkshire County art students and organized by the Berkshire Art Association and the Storefront Artist Project.  Each ticket entitles the buyer to one piece of 10”x10” original artwork, to be chosen when your number is called.

 

PECHA KUCHA PITTSFIELD

Berkshire Museum

39 South St, Pittsfield

Thursday, Feb. 20, 8 pm

FREE

The innovative, inspiring, and super-fast presentation style of Berkshire County PK returns for its ninth installment. Devised by Klein Dytham Architecture and known globally as the 20 x 20 format where 20 slides progress automatically every 20 seconds, Berkshire Museum brings you the coolest 6-minute-40-second presentations you have ever seen. For more information, visit www.berkshiremuseum.org

10 COMEDIANS: 2 COMEDY SHOWS

Top of the Crowne; Crowne Plaza Hotel

1 West St, Pittsfield,

Tickets $15 in advance  $20 at the door (per evening)

The Laugh Lounge, the Berkshires’ leading comedy presenter, returns to the 10×10 Festival with another terrific weekend of laughter!  Each night will feature a completely new lineup of comedians with 4 of the best local/regional comics followed by a national touring comic!

Friday, Feb 21st 8pm Tickets: http://10×10-mikev.brownpapertickets.com

Friday’s headliner,  recently heard on Marc Maron’s prestigious WTFpod, is brilliantly funny headliner Mike Vecchione (Comedy Central specials, NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” and “The Tonight Show,” winner of the People’s Choice Award at the 2010 NY Comedy Festival.)

Saturday, Feb 22nd 8pm Tickets: http://10×10-adrienne.brownpapertickets.com

Saturday’s headliner is the lovely and dark Adrienne Iapalucci, who was just featured in November on CBS’ “Late Show With David Letterman” with a critically acclaimed performance. Adrienne is also a winner of the NY Comedy Festival’s People’s Choice Award (2009), and a semifinalist on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing.”

 

10 REAL & IMAGINED SHAKER INVENTIONS

Hancock Shaker Village at The Whitney Center for The Arts

42 Wendell Ave, Pittsfield

Sat, Feb 22nd at 2pm

FREE

The Shakers are credited with inventing a large number of now-common everyday items, as well as more unique, unusual things.  In this illustrated lecture, Hancock Shaker Village staff Lesley Herzberg and Todd Burdick will explore this topic, and reveal information on 10 real and supposed Shaker-invented items.  Learn about which ones are really a Shaker invention, which are not, and which might be because scholars and historians still debate the issue.  Did the Shakers really invent the circular saw, the seed packet, clothes pins, the round barn, the flat broom, and more?  Come to this presentation, and see for yourself!

 

GYPSY LAYNE CABARET & COMPANY

Spice Dragon Upstairs

297 North St, Pittsfield

Saturday, Feb 22nd Doors open 8pm, show starts at 9pm

Tickets: $20 at the Door (cash only). Reservations encouraged at Gypsylayne.com

Gypsy Layne Cabaret & Co. celebrates its 10th performance in Pittsfield at the 10×10 Festival. Hailed as “a sexy highpoint of classic burlesque entertainment in the Berkshires” by Berkshire Magazine, Gypsy Layne’s hallmark of bawdy humor, live music, dynamic dance routines, and cheeky sex appeal are prominently featured in their latest extravaganza. “This show navigates various emotional territories—it really takes our audience on a ride,” says Artistic Director Nicole Rizzo. “We continue to challenge ourselves as performers, and our shows become more innovative each season. Yet we always remain true to who we are.”

 

The Royal Berkshire Improv Troupe Presents 10 Musicals: Unscripted

The Garage at the Colonial Theatre

111 South St, Pittsfield

Sunday, February 23 at 2pm

Tickets: $10 in advance, $12 at the door

The Royal Berkshire Improv Troupe (RBIT) explores the boundaries of theater improvisation through audience participation and the use of theater games reminiscent of the TV show Whose Line Is It Anyway? For this special 10×10 performance, RBIT will collaborate with musician Carlton Maaia to perform 10 unscripted short musicals providing the greatest spontaneous musical theatre ever seen!

 

Dance Ten: Celebrating Community Dance Schools & Ensembles

Boyd-Quinson Mainstage

30 Union Street Pittsfield

Sunday Feb 23rd 3pm

Tickets $10 for adults $5 for children under 12; Tickets may be purchased online at barringtonstageco.org or in person on 2/23/14 at the box office starting at noon.

A first ever showcase of ten exciting Berkshire County dance groups including Terpsichore School of Dance, All Berkshire Dance Team, DysFUNKCrew, Cantarella School of Dance, Youth Alive, Olga Dunn Dance Company, Albany Berkshire Ballet, Studio One, and The Funk Box Studio.