CSPS Hall Archives | Little Village

Play in verse ‘There Is A Happiness That Morning Is’ masterfully presented

Posted on Nov 1, 2018 by Laura Johnson

The day after Bernard (Matthew James) and Ellen (Angie Toomsen) are caught making passionate love on the college green, they are informed they must apologize publicly for their display or face termination. The play opens when Bernard takes the stage, lecturing on the ecstasy that is Blake’s poem “Infant Joy” from Songs of Innocence; Ellen’s final class centers on “The Sick Rose” from Songs of Experience. Both characters spend the bulk of the the play connecting the poems to their lives and their 20-year long relationship. […]

Writers’ Workshop alumnus Kevin Gordon brings his poetry-fueled country blues to CSPS

Posted on Oct 11, 2018 by Michael Roeder

Most reviews and interviews with Gordon mention that he spent time attending the Writer’s Workshop at the University of Iowa in the late ’80s getting his Masters in Poetry. But during this time he was also performing his music around eastern Iowa. […]

Woodstock’s break-out chanteuse Melanie heads to Cedar Rapids

Posted on Aug 17, 2018 by Genevieve Trainor

Forty-nine years ago this week, a relatively unknown young woman took the stage at perhaps the seminal cultural event in U.S. history. Melanie Safka-Schekeryk was only 22 when the Woodstock Music and Art Fair — “3 Days of Peace & Music,” the posters read — took over a farm in upstate New York and changed the course of music. […]

On the 10th anniversary of the 2008 flood, Cedar Rapids artist Mel Andringa looks back to look forward

Posted on Jun 5, 2018 by Genevieve Trainor

In 2008, he had been considering retirement. Now, he’s curating two major shows, both opening June 7. One is of his own post-flood work (running through July), and will be held at CSPS Hall, the renovated New Bo building that houses his studio and Legion Arts, both of which suffered great losses due to the flood. The other (running through June 16) is a look back at the 2x2xU exhibit that was hanging all around New Bo when the flood came through. […]

Analog Vault record store is moving

Posted on May 23, 2018 by Paul Brennan

Analog Vault, the Cedar Rapids independent record store, is moving from the space it’s occupied in on the second floor of the converted bank building that’s now home to the Chrome Saloon & Slop House in the New Bo District. […]

Nellie McKay and her dog Bessie are coming to Cedar Rapids

Posted on May 3, 2018 by Genevieve Trainor

When delightful East Coast songstress Nellie McKay makes a tour stop in Cedar Rapids this weekend, she won’t be alone. “She will be coming to Iowa, her first time in Iowa,” McKay said in a phone call of her travel partner, her beloved rescue dog Bessie. “She’s looking forward to lots of skips and rolls.” […]

Rural Route Film Festival’s ‘Very Best Of’ tour rolls into Cedar Rapids

Posted on Apr 19, 2018 by Genevieve Trainor

Elkader native Alan Webber is back in Iowa for two presentations of his Rural Route Film Festival — tonight, April 19 at CSPS Hall in Cedar Rapids (tickets are $10) and Sunday, April 22 at Luther College in Decorah, as part of the Oneota Film Festival. […]

Five questions with: Cavan Hallman of Mirrorbox Theatre

Posted on Apr 4, 2018 by Genevieve Trainor

The newest addition to the Eastern Iowa theater scene, Mirrorbox Theatre, opens its inaugural production this weekend. The play, Ike Holter’s “Exit Strategy,” runs Thursday, April 5 through Saturday, April 7 in the C Space at CSPS Hall in Cedar Rapids’ NewBo District. […]

Desdemona redux: Emily Martin explores animation at CSPS

Posted on Feb 1, 2018 by Genevieve Trainor

Book artist Emily Martin, whose work has been displayed across the country and the world, has turned her attention to a new medium for her exploration of William Shakespeare’s Othello through the words of the tragic Desdemona: animation. […]

Dan Tedesco chases the lightning to Cedar Rapids

Posted on Dec 14, 2017 by Michael Roeder

Dan Tedesco will be at CSPS Hall in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, Dec. 14. He’ll show the film, then hold a Q&A which will be followed by a short solo acoustic set. Tickets are $13 in advance and $16 at the door. […]

Ventriloquist Denny Naughton picks up his dummies again for a NCSML fundraiser

Posted on Nov 13, 2017 by Rob Cline

Denny Naughton and Friends CSPS Legion Arts — Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. “The first show I did was a talent show,” Dennis Naughton said, reflecting on his adventures as a ventriloquist. His mother had some advice after that fledgling performance. “Maybe next time you shouldn’t read the routine out a joke book,” she […]

Interview: Folksinger Richard Shindell on his influences and his love of Cedar Rapids’ CSPS Hall

Posted on Oct 31, 2017 by Rob Cline

Songwriter, guitarist and folksinger Shindell returns to CSPS Hall on Wednesday night for a concert presented by Legion Arts. Tickets are still available — $18 in advance and $22 at the door — for the concert, which begins at 7 p.m. Shindell will be joined by Marc Shulman on electric guitar. […]

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