Elsewhere in entertainment and the arts:
WEDNESDAY
'Reading Makeover'
Danny Brassell, associate professor in the teacher education department at California State University, Dominguez Hills, will give a talk titled "The Reading Makeover," 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sturgis Hall, University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, 1200 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. The program is in partnership with Arkansas Reading Association. Admission is free; reserve seats by calling (501) 683-5239 or by emailing publicprograms@clintonschool.uasys.edu. Visit clintonschool.uasys.edu.
Fairy tale concert
The Platypus Players -- Arkansas Symphony Orchestra musicians Beth Wheeler, oboe; Katherine Williamson, violin; Tze-Ying Wu, viola; and Ethan Young, cello, plus Naoki Hakutani, piano, and narrators Stephanie Smittle and Dr. Richard P. Wheeler -- will perform at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Hospital Lobby Gallery, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 W. Markham St., Little Rock. It's part of the Dr. Ruth Marie Allen Concert Series at UAMS. The "Fairy Tales With the Platypus Players" program (incorrectly reported to have been scheduled for Nov. 7): Little Red Riding Hood by Bruce Adolphe and The Emperor's New Clothes by Peter Schickele. Admission is free, Call (501) 666-1761, Extension 1.
Roundtable talk
Helena-West Helena native Bobby Roberts, former director of the Central Arkansas Library System and author or co-author of several books and articles about the Civil War, will present a program titled "The Unburdening of Southern History: Will the Removal of Confederate Monuments Unburden Us of Our Past?" for the Civil War Roundtable of the Delta, 6 p.m. Wednesday at Beth El Heritage Hall, 406 Pecan St., Helena-West Helena. Sponsor is the Delta Cultural Center. Admission is free. Call (870) 338-4350 or (800) 358-0972 or visit the website, deltaculturalcenter.com.
AUDITIONS
Island singers
Opera in the Rock will hold auditions to complete production and outreach casting for William Grant Still's opera Troubled Island (libretto by Langston Hughes and Verna Arvey), 1-4 p.m. Saturday at Christ Episcopal Church, 509 Scott St., Little Rock. Principal roles are available for sopranos, tenors and basses, as well as minor roles for all voice parts and eight chorus roles. Auditioners should plan to sing three to four arias, at least one in English; supply the music for the accompanist ($15 fee). All engagements will be paid. Contact Artistic Director Arlene Biebesheimer by phone, (870) 219-4635 or email arleneb@oitr.org, immediately to make an appointment. Music and staging rehearsals begin April 16; performances will be May 4 and 6.
ETC.
Poetry contests
Poet's Roundtable of Arkansas is promoting three poetry contests to middle and high school students:
• The Sybil Nash Abrams Memorial Student Contest, for grades 6-8 (junior division, first prize, $30; second prize, $15; third prize, $10; three honorable mentions receive books) and 9-12 (senior division, first prize $50; second prize, $30; third prize, $20; three honorable mentions receive books). Free-verse poems on any subject are eligible; there's a 24-line limit. There is no entry fee. No entries before Jan. 1; postmark entries by March 1.
• The Manningham Trust Student Poetry Contest, 2018 Annual Competition, sponsored by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies Inc., open to all U.S. students in two divisions -- grades 6-8 (Junior Division) and 9-12 (Senior Division). Prizes in each division, first place, $75, second place, $50, third place, $40, fourth place, $35, fifth place, $30; five honorable mentions, $10 each. Each state can submit 10 poems in each division. Poems can have been previously printed and/or have won previous awards. Entry deadline is Feb. 1.
• NFSPS Annual Student Contest, open to students in grades 9-12; poems in any form and on any subject, 32-line limit. Prizes: first, $50; second, $30; third, $20; seven honorable mentions: $5 each. No entry fee. Entries must be postmarked between Jan. 1 and March 15.
Additional details on qualifications, entry deadlines and procedures and submission information is available online at poetsroundtableofarkansas.org (click on the "Contests" tab).
Style on 11/14/2017