MARION – From joining a play to learning photography, the Marion Art Center (the MAC) has lots of events scheduled that will allow you to take part in the arts. 

The MAC invites you to join a holiday classic. Their theater announces open auditions for the upcoming production of the holiday classic A Christmas Carol, adapted for radio from Charles Dickens’ novella by Anthony Palermo, directed by Rick Sherburne.

Auditions will be held in the MAC’s Anne Braitmayer Webb Theater on Saturday, Oct. 1, 12 p.m. to 2:00pm and Sunday, Oct. 2, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., with callbacks on Monday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. if necessary. The MAC is located at 80 Pleasant Street in Marion, MA. Performance dates are scheduled December 2, 3, 9, 10, 11. Some dates are subject to change. Evening shows begin at 7:30 p.m. while Sunday matinees begin at 2:00 p.m. Only fully vaccinated actors will be considered for roles.

Auditions will consist of the reading of scenes from the show for the many familiar characters: Scrooge, the Cratchits, Jacob Marley and the other spirits of Christmas and numerous supporting roles. While this is written as a radio play, this production will focus on its storytelling nature, focusing on the quality of the performances as heard through the voice. As such, individual cast members may play multiple parts, and male and female roles may not be gender-bound. In short, those who wish to audition should come prepared to try out for whatever part appeals to them.
Further information can be found online at marionartcenter.org/auditions.

The Sippican Historical Society will host an author event on Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. in the Marion Art Center’s Anne Braitmayer Webb Theater. Author Carol Wallace will discuss her latest book, Our Kind of People. Carol Wallace has written more than twenty books, including the New York Times bestseller To Marry an English Lord, which was an inspiration for Downton Abbey. She is also the author of an historical novel, Leaving Van Gogh, and a co-author of The Official Preppy Handbook. Wallace holds degrees from Princeton University and Columbia University, and is the great-great-granddaughter of Lew Wallace, author of the novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, which was first published in 1880. She currently lives in New York, New York. A reception and book-signing will follow the talk. The presentation is free, but space is limited, so please register by emailing info@sippicanhistoricalsociety.org

For those that want to learn photography skills, The Marion Art Center welcomes photographer John Wiliszowski, who will give an educational lecture, Photography’s Path to Digital Expression, on Saturday, October 15 at 10:30am in the MAC’s Anne Braitmayer Webb Theater. Tickets are just $15 for MAC members and $20 for nonmembers. The presentation is an introduction to a series created for artists interested in digital art. Wiliszowski details the creation of digital images as the canvas. He will decode the tools and techniques of digital artistry used to enhance and share the emotion, the spectacle, and the dynamics of the moment, as digital art. Learn how digital images can be rendered as giclées on canvas, watercolor paper, metal, or glass. There will be time for a Q&A during the event. Space is limited, and advance registration is strongly recommended. Purchase tickets at marionartcenter.org/events.