photography courtesy tennessee shakespeare company
Free Shout-Out Shakespeare Series: The Tempest
Overton Square’s Chimes Square | Friday, October 6, 7 p.m.
Woodlawn, LaGrange, TN | Saturday, October 7, 4 p.m.
The Dixon Gallery and Gardens | Sunday, October 8, 3 p.m.
A man once wrote, “Hell is empty and all the devils are here.” And I’m not saying that this quote necessarily applies to anything going on in my life, but, man, imagine popping into a party and dropping that one-liner. You might not make any friends, but you will make an impression. That’s my hot tip of the day, and my fun fact of the day is that the man who wrote that quote is the Bard himself for his play The Tempest.
Now, if you’re expecting me to tell you what The Tempest is all about, maybe the devils are all here (here’s a nice Wiki link), but I will happily tell you that the Tennessee Shakespeare Company is making all the world a stage (to quote As You Like It), putting on free (abridged) outdoor performances of the play all around town this October, kicking off this weekend. Audiences are encouraged to bring their own chairs and picnics, and it’s first-come, first-seated.
And if you’re not a fan of the Great Outdoors, a phrase that to my knowledge was not coined by Shakespeare, the last two performances of the series on October 28 and 29 will be ticketed and indoors. You can check out a full schedule of performances here.
photography courtesy paint memphis
Paint Memphis
The Edge District
Saturday, October 7, noon – 6 p.m.
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. … I mean, listen, I get that Shakespeare was writing in a time before hell was empty and the devils were all here and making global climate change feel like hell on earth, but I feel like being compared to a summer’s day is quite a low bar. Because a summer day is not necessarily really lovely nor is it really temperate these days — at least in my opinion. Sooner or later, though, we’ll be able to say, Shall I compare thee to all the Edge District’s beautiful murals? Because that bar will be set incredibly high this weekend, thanks to Paint Memphis. The daylong festival will have 100 artists from all over the country painting murals throughout the neighborhood, and you can watch the district be completely transformed.
In addition to the live mural painting, Curtis Glover will offer a free mural workshop at noon, and Eli Gold will do some live metal sculpting. To celebrate World Hoop Day, Grind City Flow Arts will stun audiences with hula hooping and fire dancing performances, and they will offer a beginner hoop class for all ages at 3:30 p.m. and an intermediate hoop tricks workshop for ages 16 and up at 5 p.m. Festival-goers can also expect music, an immersive kids area, food trucks, a vendors market, and artist gallery.
Paint Memphis, in partnership with local businesses, has also opened a number of events to the public, including an art show opening at the Ravine on Friday at 5 p.m., a drink-and-draw event also on Friday at 8 p.m. at Brinson’s, an after-party on Saturday at 8 p.m. at Inkwell, and a “women in murals” panel discussion on Sunday at 8 p.m. (location TBA). Keep up with all that’s happening at Paint Memphis’ socials.
photography courtesy saddle creek
Barktober Fest
Saddle Creek North
Saturday, October 7, noon – 4 p.m.
Did you know that Shakespeare coined the term “puppy dog”? He did. For King John. I shan’t tell you more than that … mostly because that’s as far as my Googling went, but as good luck would have it (to quote The Merry Wives of Windsor), you have access to Google, should you want to know more. And since you’re already here on the internet, you might as well get yourself some tickets to Streetdog Foundation’s Barktober Fest.
The festival will have live music by CharveyMac, a game zone from Board to Beers, a photobooth, caricature art, tasty treats from Blanchard’s Organic Breads, and beer — lots of beer. You’ll be able to sample brews created just for the event by local homebrewers, as well as your faves from local breweries, Cooper House Project, Crosstown Brewing Co., Ghost River Brewing Co., Hampline Brewing Co., Memphis Made Brewing Co., Soul & Spirits Brewery, and more.
Early Bird tickets are $30 and can be purchased here. A limited number of tickets will be available the day of the event for $35. All of your ticket purchase directly benefits Streetdog Foundation. Kids and leashed dogs are welcome. The cat will mew, and dog will have his day! (Quoting Hamlet here, folks.)
Fat Ham
The Circuit Playhouse
Performances through October 8
To go or not to go? There’s no question when it comes to Playhouse on the Square’s latest production. Fat Ham is a deliciously funny retelling of the guy we’ve been talking about’s Hamlet. Except this one is set in the American South, where William returns home after his father’s death and must confront corruption and betrayal, deciding whether to seek revenge or forge a new path. The DRAMA! This weekend will be your last chance to catch a performance, so head over to the Circuit Playhouse on Friday or Saturday at 8 p.m. or Sunday at 2 p.m. For tickets ($25), go here, or call 901-726-4656.
Rachelle Thiewes, Reverb, 2019. Steel, silver, auto paint. Courtesy of the Artist.
Hued
Metal Museum
On display through January 28
Brevity is the soul of wit, Shakespeare said. So I’ll make this short and sweet. El Paso-based Rachelle Thiewes has been named this year’s Master Metalsmith at the Metal Museum. Her jewelry, on display in the “Hued” exhibition, plays with rhythmic repetition, architectural forms, and vibrant auto paint.
