At Great Barrington Public Theater, great stories start off as Wet Ink, a programmed series where audiences get first looks at stories writers, directors and actors have in development. Wet Ink 2021 reading series opens Saturday July 10, 4pm at the Great Barrington Townhall Bandstand with a free event, story reading by writers Elizabeth Nelson and award-winning Brendan Mathews. He teaches creative writing and literature at Bard College at Simon’s Rock. His recent short story collection debut, This Is Not a Love Song, was described in The New York Times as “admirably fearless”, and critics have compared him to Michael Chabon, E.L. Doctorow, and Dennis Lehane. Elizabeth Nelson, a member of Great Barrington Public Theater, is a playwright, poet, visual artist and fiction writer whose dark and lyrical stories can be read in Canyon Voices Magazine, the forthcoming summer issues of Heartland Society of Women Writers; Second Chance Lit and Rhodora Magazine, among others.
Great Barrington Public Theater is presenting this free event in partnership with Berkshire Busk, a festival project that creates a new and vibrant downtown cultural experience, by bringing together musicians and performers from the community and beyond, in a celebration of live performance, every weekend through the summer in downtown Great Barrington.
On July 12, 7:30pm, at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Daniel Arts Center, Liebowitz Theater audiences will get a taste of popular Berkshire writer Michael Brady’s new play Queen of the Sea. It’s about three strangers who meet on a cruise meant to be the ‘voyage of a lifetime’, who together meet the most unexpected, frightening and life-changing event that could happen in their lifetimes, never knowing if, when or whether they will ever be able to disembark. The reading is directed by Michelle Joyner, with a cast featuring Jessica Provenz, Elizabeth Aspenlieder and David Joseph. Tickets are only $10. Reservations and more information on Wet Ink2021 are on The Public’s website. www.GreatBarringtonPublicTheater.org
