Have you ever been to an Open Mic Night at the Dietrich? If not, I recommend checking it out. It is just a fun, relaxing night out to experience local talent of all ages. Last month, nine participants performed in the open mic portion of the evening. We heard a little bit of everything that evening from singing to guitar to piano and even ventriloquism. Then, singer/songwriter Alex Creamer took the stage as our featured artist.
We encourage you to come out and share your abilities at this month’s Open Mic Night at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 25. It doesn’t matter if this will be your first time performing or your 50th time. All that matters is you give it a shot.
This open mic will be a real treat for us at the Dietrich, because not only will Angelo Maruzzelli emcee the event, but he will headline the evening, which will be a first for us. He has occasionally performed in the open mic portion of the evening for us, but never as the feature. Maruzzelli is well known throughout the region as a member of the band London Force and as an audio engineer at The Stude at TwentyFiveEight Studios.
It should be a great night of entertainment so we hope to see you there.
If you play the mandolin, guitar or banjo, we not only invite you to perform for us at the Dietrich’s Open Mic Night, but we have an opportunity for you to improve on your skills at the Fifth Annual Northeast String Workshops which will return to the Dietrich Theater on Sept. 1. The workshops will feature all day instruction on mandolin, guitar and banjo and is geared for musicians of all skill levels to learn from today’s best. The day will be jam-packed with five hours of instruction covering a wide range of topics. The instructors are Dominick Leslie (mandolin), Grant Gordy (guitar) and Steve Leonard (banjo).
The cost is $50 and you can register by contacting Jillian Hannigan at 570-250-7464.
If you want to talk in person with Hannigan about the Northeast String Workshop, a good time to make that connection with her is at 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 27, when she and members of Hickory Project will be at the Dietrich for a Hickory Project concert. They are a phenomenal bluegrass band and I look forward to hearing them play every chance I get. Oh, and the best part: admission to the show is free. Yes, free, but donation are always welcome.
Other free events coming up in September include Fall Film Festival Preview Day and the Discovering Northeastern Pennsylvania River Towns presentation and bus trip. The Dietrich will show movie trailers for the 22 films that will be showcased in the Fall 2017 Film Festival at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7. I enjoy watching movie trailers almost as much as seeing movies, so I can’t wait.
Films in this fall’s festival include: “The Beguiled,” “The Big Sick,” “Centralia: Pennsylvania’s Lost Town,” “The Hero,” “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power,” “Lady Macbeth,” “Like Crazy,” “Lost in Paris,” “The Lovers,” “Dawson City: Frozen Time,” “The Exception,” “The Fencer,” “Marie Curie: The Courage of Knowledge,” “Maudie,” “Megan Leavey,” “The Midwife,” “Moka,” “Obit.,” “Step,” “Tommy’s Honour,” “The Women’s Balcony” and “A Woman’s Life.”
Preview Day is a great way to learn more about these films and to decide which films you would like to fit into your schedule to see.
Then, Rick Hiduk will give a presentation on the river towns throughout our region from Tunkhannock to Sayre and all the river towns in between at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10. I have lived here all my life and have been to or driven through some of the towns on the tour but do not know much about their history and am looking forward to the opportunity to learn more about the Endless Mountains. Admission is free, thanks to support from the Endless Mountains Heritage Region with support from the Pennsylvania DCNR.
In conjunction with the presentation, the Dietrich will also offer a Discover the Endless Mountains River Towns Bus Trip, so that participants can visit these towns and see the sights firsthand. The bus tour will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 13. It’s free as well, thanks to our friends at the Endless Mountains Heritage Region. Just call us at 570-996-1500 for more information or to register.
From sharing your talents at Open Mic, to checking out what films you want to see at Fall Festival to exploring our region’s great river towns, there is so much to do at the Dietrich!
