Theatrical presentations claim spotlight in November cultural calendar

For journalists covering arts and entertainment, the emphasis in November’s public arts and entertainment events at Bates College is on stage. Two productions apiece are planned by the college’s theater and dance programs, and three by the student theatrical troupe, making the month rich for performance fans.

Another highlight for your story planning is the fact that Frank Glazer, an artist in residence at Bates and a pianist of international stature, has two concerts on tap during November.

In addition, the month holds one must-cover in literature at Bates, a reading by Camden’s own Pulitzer Prize winning novelist, Richard Russo (Empire Falls).

Full press releases will follow for most of these events.

• Stage: The Robinson Players, one of the oldest student theater companies in the nation, continues an ambitious year with three November productions. David Ives wrote two of them: The Red Address, which started in October and closes Nov. 3, and All In The Timing, a collection of absurdist one-acts (Nov. 15-17). Also this month the “Rob Players” present Love Changes Everything, an original cabaret of popular love songs from such Broadway hits as West Side Story, South Pacific and My Fair Lady (Nov. 8-9).

• Meanwhile, the Department of Theater and Rhetoric at Bates has its own fish to fry. Professor Paul Kuritz directs Oscar Wilde’s sparkling comedy of manners, Lady Windermere’s Fan (Nov. 1-3, 8-10). Starting later in the month (Nov. 19 and 21, Dec. 5-6) is Sex and Death, a collection of one-acts written by Diana Amsterdam and directed by students in Kuritz’s directing class. Finally, the department’s dance program offers showcase performances of work by two visiting big-name choreographers: New York’s Ben Munisteri on Nov. 1, and from Boston, Sara Sweet Rabidoux on Nov. 15.

• Literature: Richard Russo, the Camden author who won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize in fiction for his novel Empire Falls, reads from his work on Nov. 14. This Annual Writers Harvest event is sponsored by Bates and the national anti-hunger organization SOS.

• Another compelling event in the humanities is a talk on Nov. 11 by Marcus Borg, best-selling author and a professor of religion and culture at Oregon University. His talk is likely to be an attention-getter: The Bible: Instrument of Oppression or Liberation?

• Music: With two concerts in November by Frank Glazer, who is well into his 80s, the time is ripe for a long-overdue major Glazer profile. On Nov. 9, the pianist is joined by his New England Piano Quartette colleague Curtis Macomber for a program of Beethoven violin sonatas. On the 20th, it’s just Glazer with music by Schumann, Beethoven, Debussy and Liszt.

• Two student ensembles have their autumn concerts this month, too. The Bates College Orchestra performs music by Haydn, Brahms, Stravinsky and Pärt on Nov. 1. On Nov. 15-16, the Bates College Choir sings a cantata from Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio” and Mozart’s “Solemn Vespers of the Confessor” with orchestral accompaniment.

• Visual Arts: November is the month for lectures by visiting artists, notably Maine’s own Joel Babb (Nov. 7), who is exhibiting Maine landscapes at the college through the end of the year. Others discussing their work are Alyssa Hinton, who uses mixed media to explore the folklore and history surrounding her Native American roots and has the exhibit Spiritual Archaeology at Bates (Nov. 10); and Pheobe Farris, a Purdue University professor of art, design and women’s studies, with a survey of contemporary female Native American artists (Nov. 15).