1. art and entertainment
2. shows and events
3. festival

Lawrence D. Coppel
Gordon Feinblatt LLC
President
Lee Sachs
Arts Advocate
Vice President
Ronnie A. Wooten
BB&T
Treasurer
Laura Wetherald
Howard County Government
Secretary
Press Contact:
Jennifer Culotta
[email protected]
Todd Olson
Executive Director
Kevin J. Kelehan
Carney, Kelehan et al, LLP
Legal Counsel
Columbia Festival of the Arts Announces
Spring 2015 Line-Up
Gary J. Stacharowski
Certified Public Accountant
Columbia, Maryland - The Columbia Festival of the Arts is pleased to announce its 2015
Spring Festival, featuring an array of free and ticketed events including theatre and concert
performances, readings, and visual arts activities.
Trustees
The American Routes 2015 Spring Festival runs April 16 through 19, and is a weekend full
of intimate chamber performances in venues throughout greater Columbia. From full
theatrical productions in Oliver’s Carriage House, a stone and timber structure built in the
1830’s, to wide-ranging performances by renowned musicians, the artists of the American
Routes Festival are at the intersection of American traditions and the ever-evolving
American journey. You’ll find people and stories of our shared history, some whose roots
began here and others whose routes have brought them to us.
Ron Briggs
Robert A. Altieri
Howard Bank
Tom Coale
Goodell DeVries
Larry Evans
LG-TEK
Renee Foose
Howard County Public Schools
Michelle Miller
Columbia Association
For a complete 2015 Spring Festival Schedule, please visit columbiafestival.org
Ron Nicodemus
Nicodemus Communications
Group
TICKETED EVENTS
Festival tickets will go on sale to the public on March 9; SPARK tickets are already on sale.
Supporters of Columbia Festival of the Arts can purchase guaranteed, pre-sale tickets before
the public. Also available for the Spring 2015 Festival is an ACCESS Pass - for $125 attend
all ticketed events during the Spring Festival (SPARK not included). For additional
information about tickets, or how to become a Festival supporter, visit
www.columbiafestival.org or call 410-715-3044.
Kelli Shimabukuro
Howard County Library System
Mary Kay Sigaty
Howard County Council
Stephanie Waters Thompson
BellaRose Associates
Marie Westhaver
Howard Community College
PORTLAND CELLO PROJECT
The Gathering Place
Saturday, April 18, 8 pm
Board Emeritus
Steven Sachs
Willis
Team Members
"It doesn't get much more genre-crossing than this" - MTV.com
Jennifer Culotta
Marketing & Communications
Associate
Indie orchestra giving classical music a jolt of energy! Since the group's inception in
2007, the Portland Cello Project (or PCP as their fans affectionately call them), has wowed
audiences all over the country with extravagant performances, everywhere from Prairie
Home Companion, to parties on loading docks in NYC, to symphony halls from coast to
coast, to punk rock clubs. The group has built a reputation mixing genres and blurring
musical lines and perceptions wherever they go.
Diana S. Forbus
Development &
Support Services Coordinator
Martha Rose
Bookkeeper
Dave Simmons
Programming Coordinator
Tickets: $30
Sustaining Sponsor
-------------------- more -
THE ROUSE COMPANY
FOUNDATION
5575 Sterrett Place
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Suite 280
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Columbia, MD 21044
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410.715.3044
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Fax 410.715.3056
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www.columbiafestival.org
THE SKIVVIES
The Gathering Place
Saturday, April 18, 9:30 pm
"...a hot musical comedy duo specializing in unexpected arrangements, incongruous mashups and, of course, highly
toned displays of skin" - The New York Times
Adult, late-night cabaret by People Magazine’s “Most Playful Performers.” Called “smart, sophisticated, ingenious”
by The Wall Street Journal, the Skivvies are two award-winning Broadway singer/actor/musicians. Lauren Molina and Nick
Cearley perform stripped down arrangements of eclectic covers and eccentric originals. Not only is the music stripped
down - cello, ukulele, glockenspiel, melodica - the Skivvies literally strip down to perform. There is so much humor,
inventiveness, real musicality and fun had on their stage, it's infectious.
Tickets: $20
-------------------THE WHIPPING MAN a Civil War Drama
By Matthew Lopez
Directed by Alan Bomar Jones
Oliver’s Carriage House
Friday, April 17, 8 pm
Saturday, April 18, 8 pm, with post-show talkback
Plus free lecture, Saturday at 10:30 am
It is the end of the Civil War, and Caleb DeLeon, a badly wounded Jewish Confederate soldier, returns home to find his
former slaves, Simon and John. They wrestle with their shared past, the bitter irony of Jewish slave-owning, and the
reality of the new world in which they find themselves. Race, faith, and history collide as the men struggle to find their
positions in the new world in The Whipping Man, one of most produced plays in American Theatre in the each of the last
three years.
Tickets: $25
-------------------THE AMISH PROJECT a one-woman tour-de-force
By Jessica Dickey
Directed by Todd Olson
Oliver’s Carriage House
Friday, April 17, 6 pm
Saturday, April 18, 2 pm and 6 pm
Post-show talkbacks follow each performance
Plus free lecture, Saturday at 12 pm
A sensation at the New York International Fringe Festival, The Amish Project is a devastating look into the mystical world
of the Amish and the act of forgiveness. On October 2, 2006 a thirty-year-old man walked into a one-room Amish
schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania and opened fire. Later that same day, the Amish community forgave the
gunman in an act that shocked the world with its unprecedented display of forgiveness and compassion.
Tickets: $25
-------------------HOT OFF THE PRESS SERIES: staged readings of new plays.
Roger Carter Community Center
5575 Sterrett Place
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Suite 280
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Columbia, MD 21044
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410.715.3044
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Fax 410.715.3056
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www.columbiafestival.org
Sunday, April 19, 1:30 pm
Post-reading talkbacks with actors and playwrights
ORSON WELLES/SHYLOCK a Docu-Fantasy Radio Play
By Matt Chiorini
American icon Orson Welles accomplished more by the age of 30 than most do in a lifetime. Amidst his
prodigious achievements, one character consistently eluded him: the character of Shylock from Shakespeare's
Merchant of Venice. This original play tells the story of Welles' many unsuccessful attempts to play the role he
coveted - a fast and funny tragicomedy that gives a fresh new look at an extraordinary artist.
CIVILIZING LUSBY a Maryland Civil War Tale
By John Morogiello
A play that explores the limits of industry, government, personal freedom, and marital relations. Shortly after the
Civil War, two businessmen plan to make a killing on a Maryland railroad venture. When they condemn the shack
of a Chesapeake Bay waterman, the business gets personal, and the waterman plans a killing of his own. Penned
by John Morogiello, playwright-in-residence at the Maryland State Arts Council, Civilizing Lusby was awarded last
year’s Holland New Voices Playwright Award.
Tickets: $10
-------------------DINAW MENGESTU Ethiopian-American novelist
Presented in partnership with Howard County Poetry & Literature Society
Oliver’s Carriage House
Saturday, April 18, 4 pm
Post-reading talkback and book signing
“Rapidly becoming a writer on the global stage” -The Guardian
Recipient of a MacArthur Foundation genius grant, Dinaw Mengestu’s route to America began when his family fled wartorn Ethiopia and immigrated to the United States when he was two years old. His novels and nonfiction pieces open a
window into the little-explored world of the African diaspora in America. "This is not an immigrant story we already know
quite well," writes The Washington Post.
Tickets: $15
-------------------OPERADELAWARE Opera performance
Historic Oakland
Friday, April 17, 8:30 pm
OperaDelaware, a 70-year-old organization, presents WINE, WOMEN, AND FOOD! This opera performance features a
full menu of delicious operatic excerpts, including a performance of Bon Appétit - a 20-minute one-woman opera created
for Jean Stapleton. Based on Julia Child, Bon Appétit brings to life all the joie de vivre of the original French Chef.
Tickets: $25
-------------------TOWNHALL Original Folk Music with a Mozart Twist
Historic Oakland
Saturday, April 18, 2 pm
Featuring HoCo natives Thomas Hunter and Joshua Barnett, with Carol Anne and Karl Mitze, TownHall presents a new
kind of American folk music. Their sound has come by route of Appalachia and Ireland, and is fueled by Mozart. With
5575 Sterrett Place
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Suite 280
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Columbia, MD 21044
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410.715.3044
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Fax 410.715.3056
•
www.columbiafestival.org
original material and Mozart's 1785 masterpiece, Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, K. 478, this unusual musical blend is
part Tom Waits and part The Chieftains. TownHall’s songs are at once new and traditional, influenced by the past, and
inspired by the present.
Tickets: $15
-------------------MARK EDWARDS Classical Guitarist
Historic Oakland
Saturday, April 18, 12 pm
Mark Edwards’ route to classical music began as a 13-year-old student in Alabama, lead him to The Peabody Institute of
Music, then on to concerts throughout the world. Since 1998, Mark has earned 32 top prizes in The United States,
Canada, Italy, Germany, and Thailand. Recent engagements include Trinity Church in New York City, The Toronto Guitar
Symposium, the Mississippi Guitar Festival. His most recent recording is a three disc set, “…for Moonlight,” “Yule Like
This,” and “Giving Voice,” featuring the music of Baltimore composer, Karen Amrhein.
Tickets: $15
-------------------E. SHAWN QAISSAUNEE Jazz with an Afghan Twist
Roger Carter Community Center
Sunday, April 19, 6:30 pm
“[His] ability to transcend the confines of a single style of music speaks volumes of his skills as an artist” –jazzreview.com
E. Shawn Qaissaunee’s route to America took him from Afghanistan to Berklee College of Music. A fellow with the Mid
Atlantic Arts Foundation, he has been in demand as a multi-instrumentalist and composer for over twenty years. He has
performed or recorded with virtuoso classical violinist Xiang Gao, world-renowned musician David Bromberg, Allman
Brothers saxophonist Ron Holloway, among others. Sought for his talents on guitar, bass, piano, rubab and dutar, Shawn
is known for his musical sensitivity, lyricism, and spirited drive to create excitement.
Tickets: $15
-------------------SPECIAL EVENT – SPARK!
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Belmont Manor
6:30 pm
Kick off the 2015 Columbia Festival of the Arts season at SPARK! at Belmont Manor. Each room of this 18th Century
home will ignite with live visual and performing artists. Watch visual artists at work and listen to live music during this
progressive evening. Guests can learn Bollywood-inspired dance, draw on a paper costume worn by a live model, chat
with a playwright as he works on a new play, participate in a drum circle or dance the night away. The evening includes
food and drink by Linwoods and a silent auction. All proceeds benefit the Columbia Festival of the Arts.
Tickets $100 / $180 per pair
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FREE EVENTS
5575 Sterrett Place
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Suite 280
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Columbia, MD 21044
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410.715.3044
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Fax 410.715.3056
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www.columbiafestival.org
Fine Arts Activities for Children
Presented in partnership with KidzArt.
Historic Oakland
Saturday, April 18, 10 am
Roger Carter Community Center
Sunday, April 19, 11:30 am
Children aged 5-11 are invited to explore the visual arts with unique activities on the Festival’s American Routes theme
led by KidzArt, Howard County’s celebrated advocates of childhood creativity. Each guided art class will last
approximately one hour. Pre-registration is recommended, as each project is limited to 25 participants. Register by calling
410.715.3044 or email [email protected].
-------------------Live Model Drawing
Historic Oakland
Saturday, April 18, 11:30 am
Roger Carter Community Center
Sunday, April 19, 11 am
Whether a beginner or an advanced artist, Live Model Drawing classes are a great opportunity to develop or refine lifedrawing skills. These intimate classes allow you to draw the figure at your own pace and receive individual critique from
the moderator. CFA provides model and moderator; drawing supplies not included. Register by calling 410.715.3044 or
email [email protected].
-------------------Columbia Festival of the Arts
Founded in 1987, Columbia Festival of the Arts is Howard County’s largest ongoing arts event. Columbia Festival of the
Arts presents four weekend-long arts festivals throughout the year, comprised of both free and ticketed events, featuring
world-class performances, exhibitions, concerts, family activities, master classes, workshops and community dialogues.
The Festival brings together the arts community, businesses, local schools, and individuals to create events that shine a
spotlight, not only on the arts, but also on the Howard County community as a Maryland showplace. For more information,
please visit www.columbiafestival.org.
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5575 Sterrett Place
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Suite 280
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Columbia, MD 21044
*
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*
410.715.3044
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Fax 410.715.3056
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www.columbiafestival.org