Arts writer Meredith Moss shares tidbits each Sunday about events and individuals who are making arts news in our region.
If you have news you’d like to include, contact Meredith: MMoss@coxohio.com Please provide a daytime phone number and a photo when available.
The biblical Joseph story will be told at Grace Church
What a cool idea! The folks at Grace United Methodist Church in Dayton are using the arrival of the Schuster Center’s production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” as a jumping off point to tell the original Bible story that inspired the popular musical.
Biblical storytellers will share the tale at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 2, at the church located at Salem and Dartmouth in Dayton. In “Joseph: A Family Reunion,” 17 Grace storytellers will each tell part of the story, as it is written in Genesis 37-50, by heart.
“In the story of Joseph, we hear the difficulties and demands, the pleasures and possibilities of family life,” says the Rev. Dr. Sherry Gale, Pastor of Grace Church. “It is our desire that experiencing this telling will renew hope in the positive transformational prospects of our life together as family.”
For the past seven years, Grace members have told the scriptures by heart during worship services, rather than reading from a printed page. This will be the first time that a story of this length and complexity will be told in one setting, about 80 minutes.
The church will create a “family reunion” atmosphere, gathering at tables with refreshments while the stories are told, in the spirit of how stories might have been passed from generation to generation by Jacob’s descendants.
“Biblical stories are meant to be told out loud, by heart,” says the Rev. Dr. Thomas Boomershine, founder of the Network of Biblical Storytellers international and emeritus Professor of New Testament Studies at United Theological Seminary in Dayton. He has taught biblical storytelling to pastors, students and lay persons throughout the United States and in Australia, Cambodia, Cameroon, the Gambia and India. “That’s how the stories survived and gave meaning to people’s lives for generations before anyone ever wrote them down.”
Boomershine leads Grace by Heart, a group of Grace members and staff who learn the scriptures in order to tell them by heart each week in worship. For videos of story tellings, see “Grace United Methodist Church biblical storytellers” on
Photo Contest Winners will be honored
The Centerville Arts Commission and the Washington-Centerville Public Library will award prizes to individuals for their outstanding digital photographs entered into the photo contest, Beyond Point and Shoot. A winner’s reception will be held 2:30-3:30 p.m. today at the Centerville Art Gallery located at the Centerville Police Department, 155 W. Spring Valley Road in Centerville.
A panel of local photographers including Ed Ponikwia, Gary Kunze and Jerry Huffman were tasked with judging all of the photos submitted: 206 photographs were entered in five subject categories. You can view the winning photos at http://www.wclibrary.info/photocontest/winners_2014.asp
Dayton History begins Dunbar House shuttle tours
The folks at Dayton History are now offering shuttle van tours of the Dunbar House. The historic home was the final residence of the first internationally-acclaimed African American poet and author. In 1936, the Dunbar House became the first African American history site in the nation to be owned by a state.
Tours will depart from Carillon Historical Park year round on Tuesdays at 1 p.m. and Saturdays at 3 p.m. Admission rates remain unchanged at $6 per adult (18 and older) and $3 per child (3-17). During the past eight years, Dayton History has also offered shuttle van tours of Hawthorn Hill, another National Historic Landmark and a unit of Dayton’s National Park.
The Paul Laurence Dunbar House Historic Site is owned by the Ohio History Connection and has been managed by Dayton History since 2009. The Dunbar House complex is also a unit of Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park.
Those interested in learning more about the life and times of Paul Laurence Dunbar should call (937) 293-2841 to make an advanced, pre-paid reservation.
Dayton’s Alanna Wall to be featured on Nickelodeon concert
Fourteen year old Alanna Wall of Dayton is a recipient of the Nickelodeon HALO Award and will be featured on the hour-long special celebrating kids who are “Helping and Leading Others” (HALO) in their communities. Alanna is being honored for creating Polished Girlz, the organization that brings nail art parties to those with special needs and frequent hospitalizations.
Alanna also recently inspired the audience at TEDx Dayton.
Alanna was given a $10,000 check for her organization by HALO. The Nickelodeon HALO Awards hour-long concert special will be held at New York’s Pier 36 and premiere at 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 30. The star-studded musical event will also feature performances by Nick Jonas, Meghan Trainor, Echosmith, and The Vamps.
Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra performs in Centerville
The Centerville Arts Commission will present “An Afternoon of Light Classics” with the Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra on Sunday, Nov. 2. The one-hour concert will be held at St. Leonard, 8100 Clyo Road.
The program will include selections for brass and wind ensemble as well as the Mozart Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major, famously known as his “Eine kleine Nachtmusik.”
This free and open to the public program will be performed in the Auditorium in Chaminade Hall, and is made possible through funding provided by the Centerville Arts Commission. Tickets are not needed for this event.
UD’s ArtStreet Intersection: How Do I Tell My Story?
The community is welcome to attend the next University of Dayton ArtStreet Intersection, a conversation on the topic “Self-Authorship and the Art of Bookmaking.”
The dialogue, led by community wellness experts Jacqueline Milling and Vernique Coleman-Stokes and artist Leesa Haapapuro, will be held from 7:30-9 p.m. at the ArtStreet Creator Space on Kiefaber Street on campus. There is no admission charge.
This Intersection will discuss how we can tell our individual stories while exploring the art of altered books.
About the Author
