IAT's 4th Annual Short Women's Play Festival (Fri-Sun, 7 p.m.)
Get ready for another festival, and this one won’t have you standing in the Q before the show. The Independent Actors Theatre is hosting the 4th Annual Short Women’s Play Festival at The Bridge. In conjunction with Woman’s History Month, the six featured plays are new works by female playwrights from around the country.
Although the playwrights hail from New York, Tennessee and Colorado, local talents will direct, stage manage and perform each 10-minute play. Audiences should expect a wide variety of works from the whimsical to political, from the dramatic to comedic.
The Naturelles, a female a cappella group, will perform before the plays. Stick around after to show to hear local musician Ruth Acuff on the harp. A Q&A with three featured playwrights will follow the show. “People should come out to support the arts in Columbia and the development of new works," said Emily Rollie, Artistic Director of IAT. New works help sustain theater and performance, she said
So, support local theater. Tickets are $8. For more information visit www.iatheatre.org.
Other Events:
COMOPOLO Pullout Bike Polo Tournament (Sat, 12 p.m.)
You might have heard these guys and gals knocking mallets atop Hitt Street Garage or seen them cruising around Cosmo Park. This Saturday, COMOPOLO will host the 3rd Annual Pullout Bike Polo Tournament. Bike polo is an internationally-recognized sport that combines the bike-handling skills of mountain biking and the team-sport strategies of hockey and polo (the Brits on horseback variety). Teams from Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City and Lawrence, Kansas, are expected to attend the tournament.
Feed your curiosity. Pack a picnic and head out to Cosmo Park. Spectators are welcome. And who knows, COMOPOLO might even let you borrow a helmet and take a crack at playing.
Women in the Arts Gallery Show (Fri, 10 a.m.; Sat-Sun, 12 p.m.)
Kick off Women’s History Month with the Craft Studio in its annual exhibition of women artists in Missouri. Visitors can expect to see a variety of media and subject matter that is not always about women, said Kelsey Hammond, coordinator of the show. “One artwork is a mini terrarium, another is a photograph of a nude woman, and yet another is a wood turned lamp.” You can catch the show all month.
Stephens College Annual Dance Company Spring Concert (Fri-Sat,7:30 p.m.; Sun, 2 p.m.)
Two dances are worth hopping, or rather jumping, over to see at the spring dance concert at Stephens College. “Jump Rhythm Jazz,” the brain-child of Brandi Coleman, is a dance that uses body and voice to express musical rhythm, said Carol Estey, Chair of the Dance Department at Stephens College. The other, “Landscape Painting,” is a contemporary Chinese dance that incorporates martial arts and props.
“Professor Zuccini’s Traveling Tales” (Sat, 2 p.m., 5 p.m.; Sun, 4 p.m.)
Check out this family-friendly play on its opening weekend at The Berlin Theatre, and follow Professor Zuccini’s three short stories: “The Flower Sisters,” “The Pasta Brothers” and “The Proud Prince.” The event is BYOP (Bring Your Own Pillow) for the kids.
The CoMo Weekender is curated by Trupti Rami in hopes of enlivening those 55 hours away from the workweek. Email questions, comments or suggestions to events@kbia.org. Be sure to check out our Event Calendar below for other great stuff happening in CoMo and more.