Music, drama, literature and visual art all combine tonight in a unique event being held at EastSquare ArtWorks in Salisbury.
Folk and world music trio Momentary Prophets, from Virginia, will be singing and playing their original acoustic music Thursday, and also improvising a musical accompaniment to a reader’s theatre presentation of the story of Pinocchio. The reading begins at 7:30 p.m.
Subtitled “the dark tale of a disobedient puppet,” this will be an abridged version of the original Carlo Collodi story which appeared as a serialized allegory and cautionary tale in an Italian magazine 1881-83.
Listeners accustomed to the Disney version of the story may be surprised by the murder and mayhem of the original story and will discover that Collodi’s marionette is quite a brat. Even Collodi became weary of the puppet and had him hanged in the fifteenth chapter, which he intended to be the end. But when his publisher insisted that he revive his popular character, he added more chapters and published the story as a children’s book in 1885. It was translated into English a decade later.
For tonight’s reading, Pinocchio will be portrayed by Chris Speer and Linda Jones will be narrator. The voices of the other 22 characters will be provided Buddy Farnan, Becky Lippard and Gary Thornburg.
The reading helps draw attention to this summer’s St. Thomas Players production, a world premiere of Jenny Hubbard’s play “Pinocchio’s Sister.”
Set in small Southern town, the main character, a 40-year-old woman who becomes guardian for her best friend’s son, must confront a dark secret from her childhood. The Collodi tale of Pinocchio, connects the past to the present in this play. Hearing the original version of the story read tonight will help prepare play-goers for what they will experience when they see “Pinocchio’s Sister” in June.
There will be two intermissions during the reading, with refreshments provided by Simply Good Natural Foods. Visitors can view the featured exhibit of paintings, “Medicine Trees” by Ted Packard, one of the members of Momentary Prophets. According to Packard, the art is “an expression of the weaving and piecemeal movement of personal growth.”
Packard, along with the other band members Jake Hull and Logan Byrd, will continue to perform after the reader’s theatre presentation.
Admission is free, but donations will be accepted for St. Thomas Players.
EastSquare ArtWorks is located at 120 E. Innes St., behind Bernhardt’s Hardware. It is the working art studio of Whitney Peckman and Syed Ahmad.
For more information, call Center for Faith & the Arts, 704-647-0999 or contact faithart@bellsouth.net.