Arts notes

Alternative theater to premiere edgy one-acts

English Alternative Theatre will stage a double bill of two student-written one-act plays — both highly provocative — next weekend at the Lawrence Arts Center.

“The Sunshine Game” by Tim Macy follows a group of blind people who decide to exact revenge on seeing people.

Then, in “Sam’s Club” by Mark Frossard, Sam, a strange but attractive young man, has blind dates with all sorts of marginalized people in the private club he owns and operates with a bizarre staff of kitchen workers.

The plays were written in beginning playwriting classes taught by KU playwriting professor Paul Stephen Lim, and the double bill has been entered in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.

The shows play at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2:30 p.m. Oct. 3 at the arts center, 940 N.H. Tickets are $10 for the public, $6 for students and $8 for seniors.

For more information, call 843-2787.

Dancers to teach in Lawrence schools

Pilobolus Too, a performing and outreach ensemble founded in 1996 by the Pilobolus Dance Co., will be in residency for students in Lawrence Public Schools Monday through Friday.

The artists will work with students and teachers in third- and fourth-grade classrooms on skills such as cooperation, balance, support and teamwork. They will emphasize verbal and nonverbal problem solving.

The weeklong residency is part of the smARTS project (Strategies in Math, Arts and Reading for Teachers and Students), a cooperative program between Lawrence Public Schools, the Lied Center, Adventures in Imagination, U.S. Bank and Baker University. The project is funded by a two-year, $85,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Pilobolus Too also will give two school-only performances at 9:45 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday, and conduct an educator workshop.

Handbell ringers join for anniversary concert

The Plymouth Ringers on Oct. 3 will join other members of the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the national organization.

The Plymouth Ringers have been part of the guild for 30 years.

The performance will be at 4 p.m. Oct. 3 at Plymouth Congregational Church, 925 Vt.

Choirs participating are: Alleluia Bells and Jubilee Ringers from First Presbyterian Church, Carolyn Jordan, director; Generation Ringers, First Baptist Church, the Rev. Sandy Walton, director; Jubilee Ringers from Overbrook United Methodist Church, Mary Gates, director; Wittenberg Ringers, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Geoffrey Wilkin, director; Celebration Ringers, First United Methodist Church, John Paul Johnson, director; Westminster Ringers, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Ottawa, Blakely Bunning, director; and the Plymouth and Covenant Ringers, Plymouth Congregational Church, Barbara and Bill Kelly, directors.

Dinner theater troupe to have auditions

Leavenworth Players Group will audition actors for “Beefing With the Wellingtons,” an interactive murder mystery comedy, at 9:15 a.m. Saturday at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vt.

Those interested in auditioning should arrive by 9:15 a.m.

The audition will consist of cold readings from the script.

KU playwright shines with 24-hour plays

For the fourth year in a row, a playwright from Kansas University’s English department was invited to participate in the 24-hour playwriting event sponsored by Independence Community College in Independence.

Zacory Boatright’s “Everything in its Place” was performed along with works by five other student playwrights.

The play is about three teenage boys who kidnap a girl on the eve of their high school graduation. Their actions lead to violence and death.

Lecture and parties mark museum’s birthday

Kansas City, Mo. — The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a lecture at 6:30 p.m. Friday and two free parties from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday at the museum, 4420 Warwick Blvd.

Architect Gunnar Birkerts, who designed the museum’s roof and gallery spaces, will speak Friday in the museum atrium. The talk is free, but tickets are required. Call (816) 457-6100.

At the first party, The Power of Ten Birthday Bash, visitors can meet artist Joe Walters and create clay projects inspired by his work. They also may draw portraits from live models and eat birthday cake while watching the 1977 film “Powers of Ten.”

The late party, for adults 21 and up, will feature live music by Crisis and appearances by the Rah Booty Cheerleaders and the Burly-Q Girly Crew. Guests can vote on a top-10 list of works in the current exhibition, “The First Ten Years: Conversations with the Collection.”

Get a taste of Japan in Kansas City

Overland Park — The seventh annual Greater Kansas City Japan Festival will be from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 3, in the Carlsen Center at Johnson County Community College.

The festival focuses on Japanese art and culture and includes hands-on workshops, demonstrations, lectures, live performances and children’s activities.

Toku Shimomura, the grandmother of recently retired Kansas University professor Roger Shimomura, will be the subject of a lecture by Hofstra University professor Yuki Terazawa called “The Midwife, Toku Shimomura, and the Japanese American Women’s Community in Seattle, 1912-1926.” The talk will be at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Tadashi Isozaki, KU assistant professor of graphic design, will talk about the featured festival exhibit, “Modern Japanese Posters.”

Admission Saturday is $5 for adults, $3 for students and free for kids under 5. Sunday tickets are $5.

Red Balloon To Do issues call for artists

Applications for artists who want to be part of the second annual Red Balloon To Do are available at Olive Gallery and Art Supply, 15 E. Eighth St.

Application deadline is Oct. 15.

Last year’s inaugural event drew hundreds of people to downtown Lawrence galleries and private homes in the city to look at artworks created by student and professional artists. This year’s To Do is set for Oct. 23.

For more information, contact the Olive Gallery at 331-4114.