The Marion Art Center will have two major offerings in addition to their regular classes at the end of February and the beginning of March.

The Marion Art Center will welcome The David Mitton Project to the MAC stage on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. Doors will open  at 7 p.m.   

David Mitton, a 2010 graduate from the Longy School of Music is a saxophonist and composer.  Since graduating he has produced three albums: Catapult in 2013, Microcosm in 2015, and Trace, last year. 

Mitton has been performing regularly with The Flying Dutchmen for nearly 5 years and is in the process of writing a practice guide for scales in relation to composition and improvisation.

Mitton’s musical style focuses on hard bop and free jazz, as well as more popular styles such as funk and R&B. Listeners should expect to hear interplay between instruments and improvisation influenced by those genres.

Mitton will perform original material and what he calls “underrated standards,” rearranged to make them his own.  

The David Mitton Project also includes Jim Robitaille on guitar, John Dalton on drums, and Stefano Battaglia on bass. Jim Robitaille is a seasoned guitarist and composer and a professor of music at UMass Dartmouth, having performed with legendary musicians such as David Liebman and Royal Hartigan. John Dalton, a graduate from UMass Dartmouth, is making his way through the Boston music scene as both a performer and teacher. Stefano Battaglia is a bassist from Italy and a student at the world-renowned Berklee School of Music in Boston.

Tickets are available in person, by phone, or online at http://www.marionartcenter.org/musicatthemac/. A limited number of cabaret tables with seating for four are available.  Attendees may bring their own refreshments to enjoy with the music.

Auditions for Be My Baby at the MAC

The Marion Art Center has announced open auditions for the upcoming production of Be My Baby by Ken Ludwig, directed by Pippa Asker.

“Be My Baby” tells the story of John, an irascible Scotsman, and Maud, an uptight English woman, both in their 60s, who take on the journey of a lifetime. When their young wards, Christy and Gloria, decide to marry and then to adopt a child, the older couple (who despise each other) have to travel 6,000 miles to California to pick up the child and bring her safely home to Scotland.

Along the way they encounter a host of characters (played by man and women who tackle multiple roles) and form a new partnership while caring for the baby.  Sometimes hilarious, sometimes poignant, “Be My Baby” is a heartwarming story of life, of loss, and most of all, love.

Auditions for the production will be held on Saturday, March 2, from 10 a.m. to noon, and on Tuesday and March 5 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Marion Art Center.

Performances will be Friday, May 31 through Sunday June 2 and Thursday June 6 through Sunday, June 9, 2019.  The Sunday performances will start at 2 p.m. and all other performances will start at 7:30 p.m.

Director Pippa Asker will be casting three women and three men.  Accents required are required for the roles, with direction provided to master the accents.

Major roles include: John Campbell, a Scotsman who reads 55 to 65, Maud Kinch an Englishwoman who reads 50 to 65, Christy McCall, John’s ward and a Scot who reads 20-something and
Gloria Nance, Maud’s niece and English who also reads 20-something.

Additionally, Asker will cast two ensemble parts, described as fun roles with great variety. A Male ensemble actor will play several small roles, such as gardener, Scots priest, bellhop, waiter and judge. A Female ensemble actress will play a cook, flight attendant, social worker, attorney and waitress.

Director Pippa Asker is also seeking a stage team to work with the director to create and change unique settings for several scenes. Backstage roles include: stage manager, stage hands, and stage designers.