High School Students Working Miracles

Many Islanders are unaware that Helen Keller often visited Martha’s Vineyard decades ago as the guest of Katharine Cornell. She stayed at Chip Chop on Tashmoo, where, according to a 1968 letter written to former Gazette editor Henry Beetle Hough by Ms. Keller’s nurse-companion Winifred Corbally, she “loved to bathe in the ‘sea.’”

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Good Luck Juliet Benoit

Good Luck Juliet Benoit

West Tisbury native Juliet Lynn Benoit is in Orlando Florida this week to compete in the world-famous Millie Lewis Actors, Models and Talent Competition, which runs from Dec. 30 to Jan. 4. Ms. Benoit was one of only 24 performers selected to participate in the competition out of an audition pool of 400.

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The Patriot Act Wins Edgartown Playwright Edinburgh Raves
Mike Seccombe

One day, after a performance of his play The Patriot Act a couple of weeks ago, Ronald B. Campbell Jr. was approached by an audience member, an older man, in tears.

The estrangement between the central character in the play and his son echoed the audience member’s own estrangement from his son.

“I’m going to call him,” the man said.

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Playwrights Competition Seeks Entrants: Cash Prize

The third annual full-length playwright competition is now open for playwrights on the Cape and Islands. Sponsored by Eventide Arts Inc., the contest will award a $1,000 Kaplan prize to one play selected by the judges. The winning play will have a staged reading next June in West Dennis.

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Creative Drama Classes for Children Begin Soon

Phyllis Vecchia will be holding a fall creative drama workshop for four-and-a-half to ten-year-olds at the Oak Bluffs School in the home economics room. Classes will be held on Thursday afternoons from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m.

The series of classes will begin on Thursday, Oct. 2, and run weekly until Dec. 4.

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Seussian Entertainments

Seussian Entertainments

How the Grinch Stole Christmas is playing at the Wang Theatre, and the Edgartown Council on Aging is sponsoring a trip to see Wholhillation in Boston. Enjoy this Broadway spectacular, an Italian family-style lunch at Vinny T’s and shopping time at Copley Place. The trip is set for Dec. 4. The cost is $105 per person for orchestra seating, center stage. Organizers say it is guaranteed to be a great time with lots of surprises, so don’t wait because tickets will sell out. For details, call 508-420-5288

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The Jetty Set Arrives for Seaside Play
Nicole Galland

Word gets around on a small Island. “I only wanted to do this for my grandmother,” explained Michael Domitrovich to the crowd, “but you tell one person, who tells one person, who tells one person, and then somebody tells the Gazette, and then suddenly . . . .”

Then suddenly you’ve got an audience of more than 100 people, sitting in neat white folding chairs on State Beach, for an evening at once unique and yet quintessentially Vineyard.

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Radio Play Auditions

Radio Play Auditions

The Vineyard Playhouse is holding open auditions today, Friday, Nov. 21 from 4 to 6 p.m. for the supporting roles in Frank Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life–The Radio Play by Philip Grecian. Auditions are at the playhouse, 24 Church street in Vineyard Haven, for older teens, men and women, plus children ages 11-14. The show runs two weekends from Dec. 12 to 21. For details, call 508-693-6450, extension 18.

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So You Think You Can Dance, Islanders?
Nicole Galland

Whether consuming or creating, Vineyarders are known for their enjoyment of the arts. On one side, the Island has a lot of galleries, artisans’ festivals and professional performances; on the other, there are classes and quality amateur opportunities for theatre, dance, music and fine arts. But it’s not common for the vocational and avocational processes to intertwine. Over the past two weeks at The Yard, choreographer Sarah Wilbur has masterminded just such an intertwining.

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Limon Dancers Dedicate Next Season to Founder of The Yard

The renowned Limón Dance Company will dedicate its coming season to the founder of the Chilmark dance colony, The Yard, the late Patricia Nanon.

The dedication was announced shortly after President Bush awarded The JoséLimón Dance Foundation with a 2008 National Medal of Arts for Lifetime Achievement in a ceremony held in the East Room of the White House on Nov. 17

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