MONROE — It may be cold outside, but the Monroe Arts Center is set to warm hearts and delight souls. The public is encouraged to come in to get out of the cold and enjoy a full palette of offered choices — whether they enjoy the visual arts or theater.
Currently gracing the walls of MAC’s Frehner Gallery through March 8 is watercolor artist David O. Williams show — A Street Less Traveled. Williams is Past President of the Madison Art Guild, Vice President of the Madison Watercolor Society, a member of the Transparent Watercolor Society of America and a professional member of Wisconsin Visual Artists. His work features urban landscapes from the Madison and Monroe area.
“I am interested in exploring unusual perspectives of the urban landscape. By looking around the corner and beneath the surface, I expose unexpected narratives. These new ways of looking at the mundane provoke discussions of what is interesting and important,” Williams said.
He will be at MAC from 5-6:30 p.m. on Feb. 15 to do a live painting demo as part of MAC’s art and theatre reception and preceding MAC’s production of Love Letters. The free reception will be located in Frehner Gallery/Rudd Hall.
Madison Contemporary Fiber Artists (MCFA) show will be at MAC from Jan. 31 through March 5. Guests can come hear this vibrant group of artists talk about their array of fiber mediums from 5-7 p.m. Feb. 7 in MAC’s Wellington/Muranyi Gallery as the Monroe Arts Center hosts a free artist reception for the public. MCFA artists’ work currently includes art quilts, surface design, beading, paper making, thread painting, hand embroidery, weaving, contemporary dolls, wearable art, felting, hand stitching, fabric dyeing, and mixed fiber media.
Those looking for a family event may like the Missoula Children’s Theatre’s productions of Hercules on Feb. 1 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Students in grades K-12 will audition to be in the cast on Jan. 27 and turn around to perform just five days later. Tickets are on sale now at https://monroeartscenter.com/event/2777-2/.
Valentine’s Day offers so many choices to contemplate what love means to each individual, but those that want to understand what love does for a life-time can look no further than MAC’s upcoming performance of Love Letters with Monroe’s own Dan Blum and Janelle Massey. A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters, is the story of a 50-year correspondence between Melissa Gardner and her childhood-friend-turned-love-interest, Andrew Makepeace Ladd III. As a Pulitzer Prize finalist, Love Letters has been performed in theater spaces all over the world.
Love Letters is theatre down to its most simple level — the spoken word. Guests can put away their phone as they travel back in time when old-fashioned pen and paper was the only thing required to bloom a bond of friendship and love. This special production aims to give spectators much to think about and what it means to truly think with one’s heart.
Join the cast of Love Letters on Saturday, Feb. 15, at the Monroe Arts Center and stop by for a free artist and cast reception from 5-6:30 p.m. in Frehner Gallery/Rudd Hall prior to the show. Tickets are available at https://monroeartscenter.com/event/love-letters/.
