T
Over the next two weekends at Chandler Music Hall in Randolph, she will play a doctor who loses a patient during a routine procedure in Love Alone, one of three plays with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) themes that Vermont Pride Theater is staging for its annual summer festival.
“After trying out for Belle, I auditioned for Dr. Becca Neal in April, then got a callback for Belle,” Apata, who lives in Lebanon, said last week. “I went back to” Love Alone director Margo Whitcomb “and had to tell her, ‘Well, I’ve got this big thing coming up.’ And she said, ‘Let’s just go for it.’ ”
Despite the relative shortage of time to catch her breath and to rehearse, the 27-year-old soprano figures she can pivot from a musical to “a straight play, no pun intended” when she and her castmates tackle Love Alone on Sunday night and the following Friday at the Chandler.
“Dr. Neal stood out to me as a younger person who’s very ambitious,” Apata said. “Plus she’s married and juggling those ambitions with other important things that happen to you in life.”
Apata has been juggling roles and responsibilities of her own since moving to the Upper Valley three years ago: While supervising the music library at Dartmouth College, she’s also pursuing a master of arts in liberal studies (MALS) at Dartmouth and shopping around for master’s-degree programs in library science.
“It’s a challenge,” Apata admitted. “But I think I’m really lucky in that I’ve found a job that combines a lot of the things I love about music — language and theory and history — plus being around music nerds.”
And then there are the plays and operas and concerts in which she’s performed since she and her husband, a psychologist, relocated from Arkansas. Among the non-musical roles were the title character in BarnArts’ production of Oleanna, the David Mamet drama about a college student who accuses a college professor of sexual exploitation, and the Vermont Pride Festival’s production of The Kid Thing in 2015.
A 2012 graduate of the University of Arkansas with a bachelor’s degree in voice performance, Apata also has sung in the chorus of two Opera North productions and understudied to play the mother of the lead character in Opera North’s Amahl and the Night Visitors.
“It’s a lot of commitment, but it doesn’t usually feel like a job,” Apata said of the performance side of her life. “It’s such a gift to be able to step onto the boards and yell and scream at someone, to get all of the frustrations in life out.
“The safest place in the world is onstage.”
Before the first performance of Love Alone on Sunday, the festival will open Friday night with the comedy Family History, followed on Saturday night by Out of the Closet, a package of eight 10-minute plays. South Royalton School graduate William Wuttke, who performed in Raggedy And during the 2016 Pride festival, will appear in three of the Out of the Closet plays.
“What stands out this year is the positivity of all these shows,” Wuttke, who recently completed his freshman year at the University of Vermont, wrote during an exchange of emails this week. “They’re all different than anything we’ve put on at Pride before, and they’re all funny. This is definitely the happiest and most upbeat performance I’ve ever seen at Pride, although the shows do touch upon a darker tone at times.”
Vermont Pride Theater’s seventh annual summer festival of plays begins Friday night at 7:30 with a staging of DC Cathro’s
Best Bets
On the theme of “Midnight at the Museum,” Circus Smirkus performs at Fullington Farm Field in Hanover today and Friday, with shows each afternoon at 1 and 6. For tickets ($16 to $22) and more information, visit smirkus.org.
The Norwich Fair kicks off this afternoon at 5:30 on the village green, with music from guitarist Jamie O’Keefe, rides, a dunk tank, food and more food and Bingo games benefiting area social-service agencies.
Friday’s activites, which start at 5, include The Flames covering music of the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, and a pig roast.
Saturday’s festivities include a parade at 10 a.m., free pony rides, and music from Tuck’s Rock Dojo from 3 to 5:30 in the afternoon and from Socially Awkward from 6:30 to 9:30, after which the fireworks begin.
Ride tickets go on sale at 11:30 Sunday morning, and the fair ends at 3 p.m. with the traditional meadow-muffin contest. For more details, visit norwichlionsclub.org/norwich-fair.
Director/producer/actor Jarvis Antonio Green reviews the first year of his JAG Productions’ efforts to bring theater with African-American themes and actors to the Upper Valley, this afternoon at 4:30 at Dartmouth College’s Loew Auditorium in Hanover. While admission is free, reservations are recommended by visiting blacktheatreun.brownpapertickets.com. To learn more about the event and about JAG Productions, visit jagproductionsvt.com.
The Bow Thayer Band, Rick Redington & The Luv and the folk duo Jennings & Macomber are among the acts scheduled to perform during the NoTown Music Festival on the grounds of Tweed River Tubing in Stockbridge on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Ticket prices include $35 for a single day’s admission to $90 for a full-weekend pass that includes camping. To learn more, visit notownfestival.com.
The Chicago-based Bassel and the Supernaturals play blues and funk at Union Episcopal Church in West Claremont on Saturday night at 6:30 and at the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish on Sunday afternoon at 2. Admission to the concert at Saint-Gaudens on Sunday is included in the $10 entry fee to the park.
Fiddler Richard Forest and guitarist Everest Witman set the Americana rhythm for dancing and David Millstone calls the steps for the Muskeg Music contra dance at the East Thetford Pavilion on Saturday night starting at 8. Admission is $5 to $10.
Before the dance, Forest and Witman will lead a jam of Quebecois music at 5, which musicians are welcome to join. Admission to the jam, is $10, separate from the contra dance.
Linda and the Barn Cats, mostly strays from the former Dr. Burma ensemble, rock the common in Strafford on Tuesday night at 6. While admission is free, donations are welcome, with part of the proceeds benefiting the project to renovate the spire of the neighboring Strafford Town House.
For a caffeinated dose of bagpipe-centered, Celtic-American rock, check out the Prydein ensemble on the Fairlee Town Common on Tuesday night at 6:30.
Channeling the Cuban dance music of the 1940s and 1950s, Septeto Santiaguero performs a free concert on the green in Hanover on Wednesday afternoon starting at 5:30.
Looking Ahead
The Hot Club of Cowtown will swing through the Skinny Pancake in Hanover with its jazzy country vibe next Thursday night at 8. Tickets cost $25 in advance and $27 at the door. To reserve seats and learn more, visit skinnypancake.com or call 603-277-9115.
Theater/Performance Art
Upper Valley campers in the Chelsea Funnery program perform an outdoor adaptation of Hamlet at the Tunbridge Central School at 6 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday. Admission is by donation. To learn more, visitthechelseafunnery.com.
The New London Barn Playhouse stages West Side Story over the next three weeks, including performances tonight, Friday night and Saturday night at 7:30 and Sunday afternoon at 5. For tickets ($20 to $40) and for more information, visit nlbarn.org or call 603-526-6710.
The Old Church Theater in Bradford, Vt., holds auditions this weekend for its October production of Ethan Frome, Gary Blackwood’s adaptation of the Edith Wharton novel. To learn more about the auditions, scheduled to start at 2 in the afternoon on Saturday and Sunday, visitoldchurchtheater.org or call 802-222-3322.
The Lincoln, N.H.-based IMPACT Theatre Company performs Snow White and Rose Red at the Claremont Opera House on Monday morning at 10, in the venue’s weekly series of musical adaptations of popular fairy tales. General admission costs $6. To learn more, visit claremontoperahouse.org.
Music
Singer-guitarist Frank Kelecy performs classical, folk and pop music at the Newberry Market in White River Junction this afternoon between 4:30 and 6:30.
Singer-songwriter Timothy Gurshin serenades the Lebanon Farmers Market between 4 and 7 this afternoon in Colburn Park.
Sensible Shoes rocks the weekly Feast and Field Market tonight starting at 5:30, at the former Clark Farm in Barnard.
Singer-songwriter Kris Delmhorst plays Pentangle Arts’ weekly Brown Bag concert on the green in Woodstock Village this afternoon at 5:30.
Gretchen & The Pickpockets perform a set of rock at Lebanon’s Colburn Park tonight starting at 7.
The Flames visit Lake Sunapee twice in the coming week, playing dance music of the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s on the gazebo at Newbury Harbor tonight at 7, and on Wednesday night at 7 on the Ben Mere Bandstand in Sunapee Harbor.
Larry Allen Brown and the Acoustic Earth Trio perform folk music at the ArtisTree Community Arts Center in South Pomfret on Friday night at 7. Tickets cost $15 in advance and $18 at the door. To reserve seats and learn more, visit artistreevt.org.
The Claremont American Band plays its weekly concert on Broad Street Park in Claremont tonight from 8 to 9.
Thetford-area musicians range among jazz, Celtic, opera and other genres at the Post Mills Congregational Church on Friday night at 7, in a concert benefiting the congregation’s effort to repair its steeple and paint the building. Admission is by donation.
Cellist Peter Stumpf and pianist Cynthia Huard perform works of Bach, Hindemith, Schumann, Schubert and Vaughan-Williams at the Federated Church of Rochester, Vt., on Friday night at 7. While admission is free, donations are welcome.
The Americana ensemble Whiskey Geese plays at the East Common in Orford on Saturday night at 7.
Kid Pinky and the Restless Knights perform the blues on the Flanders Stage at Sunapee Harbor on Saturday afternoon from 5 to 7.
Blue Fox plays a set of blues during the monthly house concert at 30 Summer St. in Bradford on Saturday night at 7. Admission is by donation.
Tammy Jackson and her band perform country on the Newport Town Common, Sunday night at 6.
Reckless Breakfast plays bluegrass on the bandstand at Colburn Park in Lebanon on Monday night at 7.
Soulfix appears at the recreation park in Grantham on Tuesday night from 6 to 8.
Toast performs funk and soul at Lyman Point Park in White River Junction on Wednesday night at 6:30.
Dance
The Tango Norte quintet sets the rhythm for the next session of milongas social dance at the ArtisTree Community Arts Center in South Pomfret on Sunday afternoon. Before the dance ($15 admission) that runs from 4 to 7, ArtisTree provides a dance lesson at 3, for a fee of $10. Dancers taking the lesson and staying for the main event pay $22. To learn more, visit artistreevt.org.
Bar and Club Circuit
The Jakals put their spin on traditional New England folk music at the Skinny Pancake in Hanover tonight starting at 7. Following them to the venue are the Endless Field duo of guitarist Jesse Lewis and bass player Ike Sturm on Friday night at 8, the soul trio Navytrain on Saturday night at 7:30 and Americana master Bow Thayer on Wednesday night at 7:30.
Carpoolparty pulls into Windsor Station tonight at 7:30, to perform its blend of disco, vaporwave, funk and hip-hop. Also visiting over the coming week are the rock ensemble Dionysia on Friday night at 9:30, the Sullivan, Davis & Hanscom Band on Saturday night at 9:30 and country singer Jeff Przech on Tuesday night at 6.
Enfield-native singer-songwriter Brooks Hubbard jump-starts the weekend of music at Salt hill Pub in Hanover with a performance tonight starting at 8. Following him into the venue on Saturday night at 8 is singer-songwriter Chris Powers.
Singer-songwriter Ben Fuller plays Salt hill Pub in Lebanon on Friday night at 9.
Singer-songwriter Rory Loughran appears at Salt hill Pub in West Lebanon on Friday night at 9.
The 360 Band performs a set of rock at Salt hill Pub in Newport on Saturday night starting at 9.
Singer-songwriter Chris Powers appears in the tavern at Jesse’s in Hanover at 5 p.m. on Friday.
Still Hill plays bluegrass at Skunk Hollow Tavern in Hartland Four Corners on Friday night at 9.
The roots-rock ensemble Muddy Ruckus performs at The Pizza Stone in Chester, Vt., on Saturday night from 7 to 10.
Open Mics
String players of all ages and abilities are welcome at the weekly acoustic jam session at South Royalton’s BALE Commons on Friday night from 6:30 to 10.
Joe Stallsmith leads a weekly hootenanny of Americana, folk and bluegrass at Salt hill Pub in Hanover on Monday nights at 6.
Bradford’s Colatina Exit holds an open mic, Tuesday nights at 8.
Jim Yeager hosts an open mic at Hartland’s Skunk Hollow Tavern at 8:30 on Wednesday night.
David Corriveau can be reached at dcorriveau@vnews.com and at 603-727-3304.