Bits and Pieces 10.18.12

Watermill Center Events

    The seventh annual Artist Residency Program at the Watermill Center will begin with residency events tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday at 5:30 p.m.

    Tomorrow, Bridget Leak will present her work to date on “Rhapsodies on a National Tragedy,” a new play that examines aggressors, victims, and community at times of tragedy, according to a release. On Saturday, Katharina Schmitt, Marsha Ginsberg, and the actor Jesse Lenat will present an installation and performance that looks at the role of the actor and questions the relationship between performer and audience.

    Under the residency program, each artist presents a public performance, lecture, or demonstration of the work they do while in residence at the center. The events are followed by a discussion and reception with the artists.

    Up-to-date information about the center’s residency events can be found at watermillcenter.org/events.

The Viola Question

    Yale University’s comedy improv group, the Viola Question, will perform at the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor on Saturday at 8 p.m. The Viola Question, formed in 1986, describes itself as Yale’s youngest and “most fit” comedy group, renowned for its quick wit, comedic daring, and vast array of original games.

    Members have performed their short- and long-form improvisational comedy across the nation, and with such stars as Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, Tim Meadows, Stephen Colbert, Gilbert Gottfried, Julia Roberts, and Kevin Nealon.

    The method to the group’s madness includes a series of unscripted scenes and plotlines, guided by audience suggestions and participation, and simple rules called the “game.” Quicker games focus on wit and audience interaction, while longer scenes revolve around character development, storytelling, and situational humor. The  games include “Revenge,” “Circle of Death,” “Chocolat,” “Pillars,” and “The Oracle.”

    The Viola Question promises fun for the whole family. Tickets are $10 at the door or at baystreet.org.

    The film “Jezebel,” previously scheduled for Saturday, has been moved to tomorrow at 8 p.m.

Broadway Bound

    The Montauk Library will charter a bus to travel to Manhattan to see Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” on Nov. 7, a Wednesday. The Hampton Jitney bus will leave at 8 a.m. from the parking lot of the Montauk Post Office and will pick up and drop off passengers along the Jitney’s usual stops on Route 27. Pickup and drop-off at these additional stops must be requested in advance.

    The matinee performance, which lasts three hours with two intermissions, begins at 2 p.m. at the Booth Theatre, 222 West 45th Street. The bus will return to Montauk at 8 p.m.

    Round-trip transportation and an orchestra-section seat is $90 and is nonrefundable. An optional three-course prix fixe lunch will be about another $39. Those interested in attending can take cash or check, payable to Montauk Library, to the library at 871 Montauk Highway, or mail a check to P.O. Box 700, Montauk 11954. Names, phone numbers, an e-mail address, and pick-up location must be included.

Johansson Celebration

    Dick Johansson of Sagaponack, formerly of Nashville and Sweden, will celebrate the release of his first solo album, “You Catch Me When I Fall,” on Sunday at the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett. Together with his band, the Highlanders — Randolph Hudson III, Klyph Black, Mariann Megna, and James Benard — he will welcome special guests, including Caroline Doctorow, who co-produced the record and will perform an opening acoustic set.

    Mr. Johansson wrote almost all of the lyrics, which he said were inspired by “relationships,” in which he includes his children, Grace and Tucker, to whom the record is dedicated.

    Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Cynthia Daniels, the album is available locally at Crossroads Music and Inner Sleeve Records in Amagansett as well as the Romany Kramoris Gallery in Sag Harbor.

Hargreaves Is Back

    Mick Hargreaves, who will perform with his band, the King Guys, at the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett on Saturday, is offering his new solo release, “Redemption Center II: Relics, Hell Licks & Psychedelics,” as a free download from his Web site, mickhargreaves.com. The release was delayed because of an ambush and attack he experienced on July 30 of last year after a performance in Bayport.

    Mr. Hargreaves recorded “Redemption Center II” with his own equipment, collectively known as the Lantern Sound Recording Rig. He was going through his archive material last year, he said, when “it dawned on me that, ‘You’ve got an entire unfinished record in here,’ when you add up everything I never finished.”

    Preliminary work was under way when the ambush occurred. “That delayed everything for quite a while. When I was better, the only thing I wanted to do was make the record. It was there when I needed it to be there. I was into being a recluse for a while anyway, and making a record is very conducive to that.”

    Mr. Hargreaves performed at the Talkhouse on Friday at a benefit for Cheryl Bennett, a mother of two who has cancer. He is offering his release for free as “a thank-you card for everyone that supported me this last year. It feels really good to be able to help someone else in the same way that people helped me.”     C.W

Singers, Songwriters

    A celebration of East End songwriting will take place on Wednesday at 8 p.m. at the Underground Sound, 230 Elm Street in Southampton (downstairs of the old Polish Hall), where musicians will each play a song by a local songwriter other than themselves. At press time, 18 singers were signed up.

    The event is produced by Job Potter, Scotte Hopson, and Cynthia Daniels, who will record the session for WPPB and posterity. Mr. Potter, the go-to guy for sign-ups, can be reached at jpotter2@ optonline.net or messaged on Facebook. Listeners will be welcomed, and the bar will be open.