Waterville
Maine
Waterville Creates Arts Spotlight from April 1 - 7, 2024
Arts and Entertainment
April 2, 2024
From: Waterville Opera HouseF E A T U R E D
SLICE: SPRING 2024
Multiple Locations
Tuesday, April 2, 9, 23 + Thursday, May 2
3–5pm
Free, registration required
SLICE (Students Learning Innovative Creative Endeavors) is a series that explores cool career paths in the arts! This program encourages students ages 13-18 to explore Waterville’s unique, high-quality arts and cultural programs. Each afternoon will be packed with information, inspiration, and pizza. Please note the location where each session will take place.
This is a free program but registration is required. Sponsored by the Colby Center for Arts & Humanities.
SPECIAL EFFECTS MAKE-UP FOR STAGE + FILM
Date: Tuesday, April 2 at 3-5pm
Location: Paul J. Schupf Art Center, 93 Main Street, Waterville
INTRO TO THEATRICAL SOUND DESIGN
Date: Tuesday, April 9 at 3-5pm
Location: Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts, Colby College
CONNECTING COMMUNITY WITH ART!
Date: Tuesday, April 23 at 3-5pm
Location: Paul J. Schupf Art Center, 93 Main Street, Waterville
MINI FANTASY TERRARIUMS + FIGURES
Date: Thursday, May 2 at 3-5pm
Location: Waterville Public Library, 73 Elm Street, Waterville
A R T S
TOGETHER
Multiple Locations
April 5–April 29
Hours: Wednesday–Monday, 11am–7pm
Together features three art exhibitions and four events during the month of April to highlight diverse aspects of community life in and around Waterville.
For months, Bruun immersed himself in the Waterville area, holding dozens of conversations, and facilitating multiple art-making workshops. With its culmination in April, Together shares models of healthy community, advances ongoing community-building initiatives, and fortifies existing relationships in Waterville and beyond.
This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and realized in partnership with the Colby College Museum of Art and its Lunder Institute for American Art.
TEEN CLAY CLUB: APRIL 2024
Art of Clay Studio
93 Main Street, Waterville
Wednesday, April 3 + April 17
3–5pm
$51
Eligible for the Youth Arts Access Fund
In this bi-monthly exploration of clay, teens ages 13–16 will learn about hand-building, glazing, surface design, and more. Each young artist will be encouraged to independently find their own unique approach to clay in a supportive environment.
WATERVILLE CREATES IS HIRING!
Interested in the performing arts, independent cinema, and the visual arts? Applications are currently being accepted for an Event + Volunteer Coordinator! Join our creative and dynamic team supporting the arts in Waterville!
YOUTH ARTS ACCESS FUND: WE NEED YOUR HELP!
Established in March 2022, the Youth Arts Access Fund (YAAF) provides youth aged 18 and under with free access to Waterville Creates events and programs—all of them!
For just $1,000/month or $5,000/6 months, your business can be recognized as a YAAF sponsor of the month and provide critical support for this beloved program.
The Colby Center for the Arts and Humanities inspires discussions and challenging conversations around campus. They raise and amplify the intellectual might and passion of the Colby student body, empowering students to chart their own course inspired by the transformative experience of work, play, and collaboration in the arts and the humanities.
F I L M
THEY SHOT THE PIANO PLAYER
Maine Film Center
93 Main Street, Waterville
April 2
7:10pm
From $9
Eligible for the Youth Arts Access Fund
A true original, They Shot the Piano Player is an entirely animated film blending fact and fiction. An American journalist (voiced by Jeff Goldblum) wants to get to the bottom of the disappearance of Brazilian jazz bossa nova pianist Francisco Tenório Jr., who’s maintained a cult following after his “disappearance” while on tour in Argentina in 1976. The music is terrific, the animation is innovative, and the story compelling in the “visually exuberant” (Karen Gordon, Original Cin) new movie from Academy Award winner Fernando Trueba (Belle Époque, Chico and Rita) and Javier Mariscal. “This is a film that comes from a place of love and celebration, rather than a searing excavation of the truth”–Washington City Paper.
BIRDS + OUR BACKYARDS: INTRODUCED SPECIES AND THE WILD PARROTS OF TELEGRAPH HILL
Maine Film Center
93 Main Street, Waterville
April 7
3pm
From $9
Eligible for the Youth Arts Access Fund
The second in a three-part Science on Screen® series!
This event is free for Waterville Creates Members.
New 20th anniversary 4k restoration of the delightful indie classic.
The true story of a Bohemian St. Francis and his remarkable relationship with a flock of wild green-and-red parrots, The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill returns to carry you away in this beautiful new restoration. Mark Bittner, a "dharma bum" (a homeless street musician in San Francisco), falls in with the flock as he searches for meaning in his life, unaware that the wild parrots will bring him everything he needs. “It is that rare documentary that has romance, comedy and a surprise ending that makes you feel as if you could fly out of the theater”–San Jose Mercury News.
After the film, join guest speaker Herb Wilson as he asks and answers the question: what does introducing a species to a habitat do? The influence of invasive species on global bird populations is profound and far-reaching. Delving into the specific instances of introduced bird species unveils a spectrum of impacts on ecosystems. From subtle alterations in some regions to significant disruptions in others, the consequences echo through local species and their habitats.
Part of Science on Screen®, an initiative of the COOLIDGE CORNER THEATRE, with major support from the ALFRED P. SLOAN FOUNDATION.
P E R F O R M I N G A R T S
JUSTON MCKINNEY
Waterville Opera House
1 Common Street, Waterville
April 6
8pm
Tickets: $31
Eligible for the Youth Arts Access Fund
With multiple appearances on The Tonight Show, one-hour specials on Comedy Central and Amazon Prime, including “Parentally Challenged” and “On Mid-Life Support”, Juston is at the top of his game. He just released his fifth stand-up special, “On the Bright Side”, currently streaming on his YouTube channel.
In the late 1990s after spending seven years as a Deputy Sheriff in rural Maine, he traded his gun for a microphone and moved to NYC to pursue a career in comedy. He quickly became a regular at Comic Strip Live, Stand-Up New York, Dangerfield’s, Gotham, and Caroline’s on Broadway. The New York Times called him, “Destined for stardom.”
C O M M U N I T Y
FIRST FRIDAY IN DOWNTOWN WATERVILLE
Downtown Waterville
April 5
5–7pm
Free
First Fridays celebrate the vibrant creativity in Waterville through a wide array of arts experiences. On the first Friday of every month, visit downtown Waterville to meet artists, see performances, listen to live music, eat delicious food, shop at local businesses, enjoy the arts, and come together as a community.
Join us April 5 for the opening reception of three exhibitions for the Together project: Holding, Hearing, Healing; Anecdotes and Inspirations; and Art for All!
U P C O M I N G
POPOVICH COMEDY PET THEATER
Waterville Opera House
1 Common Street, Waterville
April 11
7pm
$44-$54
Eligible for the Youth Arts Access Fund
The world famous Popovich Comedy Pet Theater is a family-oriented blend of the unique comedy and juggling skills of Gregory Popovich, and the talents of his furry costars. There are more than 30 pets in the show. Each one has been rescued from animal shelters and given a new leash on life! They love to perform their skills and stunts onstage.
HERE
Maine Film Center
93 Main Street, Waterville
Opening April 5
From $9
Eligible for the Youth Arts Access Fund
A true discovery, Here is "Remarkable...A quietly overwhelming study of human connection and our relationship with the natural world."–Tim Grierson, Screen Daily. Stefan, a Romanian construction worker living in Brussels, is about to return home to visit his mother and perhaps stay for good. While waiting for his car to be fixed, he meets Shuxiu, a Belgian-Chinese woman preparing a doctorate on mosses. Her attention to the near-invisible stops him in his tracks, and as he spends time with her, he begins to examine his life in much the same way. Here captures both the longing of contemporary urban life and the potential for enchantment that still exists in spaces shared by strangers from different worlds. "A modestly proportioned movie of quiet magnificence, one that feels spun of gossamer summer light and rooted in unshakeable depths..." -Sheri Linden, Hollywood Reporter.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY (EXTENDED EDITION)
Maine Film Center
93 Main Street, Waterville
April 14
The Fellowship of the Ring at 10am
The Two Towers at 2:15pm
The Return of the King at 6:30pm
From $9
Enjoy a special discount when you reserve all three tickets in a single purchase
Eligible for the Youth Arts Access Fund
One marathon to rule them all.
Enjoy the extended editions of the genre-defining The Lord of the Rings trilogy with our all-day marathon! Featuring more than two additional hours of extra footage across the three films, the vast majority of fans agree that the extended editions are the best (and only) way to watch The Lord of the Rings. Relive the adventures of Frodo and the Fellowship with other diehard fans, or experience the grand high fantasy epic for the first time! Special discount for purchasing tickets to all three films.
HEAD OVER HEELS
Waterville Opera House
1 Common Street, Waterville
April 26, 27 + May 3,4 at 7:30pm
April 28 + May 5 at 2pm
$29–$39
Eligible for the Youth Arts Access Fund
Songs by The Go-Go’s
Based on The Arcadia by Sir Philip Sidney
Conceived and Original Book by Jeff Whitty
Adapted by James Magruder
Sponsored by Surette Real Estate, New Dimensions FCU, and Maine Savings FCU
Bright and boppy, wild and colorful, this hilarious musical breaks down barriers and celebrates individuality with every chance it gets. Follow a diverse cast of characters on an outrageous odyssey of love, lust, sequins, and all-female power-pop anthems.
ASL interpreted performance on Sunday, April 28 at 2pm. Seats marked "L" (orchestra right) have an excellent sightline to the interpreter(s).
2024 Season Pass: If you loved our last show, it’s not too late to get our Season Pass Discount! Ticket holders from Drinking Habits will receive a 20% discount when they purchase tickets to the remaining 2024 stage shows in the same order! (Head Over Heels, Miss Holmes Returns, The SpongeBob Musical)
M E M B E R S H I P
Our membership program provides benefits across all divisions, including the Waterville Opera House, Maine Film Center, and Ticonic Gallery + Studios, as well as special gifts from founding partners the Waterville Public Library and the Colby College Museum of Art. Your support will help sustain outstanding, accessible arts programming for all members of the community.
Click Here for more information.