CITY THEATER COMPANY PRESENTS TRIBUTE TO JOAN DIDION

Having never attempted portraiture work before, she picked up her graphite pencil and began drawing. It was a cathartic experience that allowed her to say goodbye to her son.

City Theater Company returns to the Wings Black Box at The Delaware Contemporary (200 S. Madison St., Wilm.) this February with Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking. The one-woman show is based on the beloved author’s award-winning bestseller of the same name.

Location: Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington DE Date: June 1, 2023 – Dec 3, 2023

Debut

The Screening Room at 1313, a new independent movie theater located at 1313 N. Market Street in downtown Wilmington (formerly known as the Hercules Building), is opening in February. The theater will be in the lower-level atrium of the building and offers three hours of complimentary parking (MonFri after 5:30pm; Sat-Sun all day). Until construction of the theater is completed this spring, the theater will operate in an existing space that seats 100 people in a theater/lounge with sofas and armchairs. The Screening Room will offer first-run independent films including Oscarnominated short films scheduled for the weekends of February 17 and 24.

Sponsored by: DE Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health with support from Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield DE

In so doing, Theresa tapped into an entirely new calling – drawing the faces of others who had lost their lives to drug addiction. From there, INTO LIGHT Project held the first exhibition in Baltimore in 2019. Since then, exhibits have been held in 7 states, with more booked for 2023.

Adapted by the author for Broadway in 2007, the play is a riveting and heartfelt elegy that expands on the memoir, which won the National Book Award and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. It is an exploration of Didion’s grief following the deaths of her husband John Gregory Dunne and daughter Quintana Roo.

In Partnership: DE Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, Office of the Lt. Governor of DE, and the DE Art Museum

For more information contact: Jane Donovan

Mary Catherine Kelley, a member of CTC’s Fearless Improv team, stars as the Joan Didion character in the play. Kerry Kristine McElrone, CTC’s artistic director, directs. Kelley and McElrone have worked together frequently for the past 20 years, acting opposite one another for CTC (The Dead, Sunday In the Park With George, Merrily We Roll Along) and elsewhere.

DE State Ambassador, INTO LIGHT Project 302-438-5537 ajanedonovan@verizon.net Theresa Clower Founder, INTO LIGHT Project 302-455-9595 tclower@intolightproject.org

Performances are Feb 10, 11, 16, 17; all shows at 8pm. Tickets are $45 and available at City-theater.org.

To find out more about INTO LIGHT Project’s founder and Executive Director Theresa Clower, watch this biography Or visit https://intolightproject.org/ Thank you for considering a submission to our project.

We look forward to working together to change the conversation about drug addiction and erasing the stigma of SUD by helping others to better understand this insidious disease.

Be The Life Of The Party At The Delaware Contemporary

INTO LIGHT Project, a national non-profit organization to changing the conversation addiction and erasing stigma, the personal stories.

The Delaware Contemporary will host ART pARTy: Nourish, the organization’s major annual fundraiser, on Sat., Feb. 25 from 6-10pm. The event highlights elements from TDC’s Winter/Spring 2023 season presenting how family, friends, neighbors and peers bring nourishment to our lives. The evening features a DJ and live music, burger sliders with a milkshake bar, a candle makeand-take, a plant bar and raffle baskets. Tickets are $75 with a Kids Party option for $20 per ticket. Visit DeContemporary.org.

Mlk Voice 4 Youth 2023 Crowns Winners

In the first year of the contest being open to junior high students, Ayomikun Adeojo, a 8th grade student from Newark Charter High, won the $2,000 firstplace prize during last month’s MLK Voices 4 Youth spoken word competition at the Baby Grand in Wilmington. Adeojo, the youngest winner in the contest’s eight-year history, won an additional $250 as the junior-high student with the highest score. Adeojo, whose winning piece was titled "Keep Moving", opened his performance with:

You can’t do this; you can’t do that. Oh, you’ll never be able to do this, and it’s impossible to do that. That’s just a fraction of what we hear from some of the people we love or hate and even the people we know or don’t know because there will always be people wishing for your downfall.

You see, I like to think that me and Martin Luther King are somewhat alike. We are both strong black men; we stand for what’s right; we are headstrong and we don’t stop until we get what we desire. This means Dr. King and I never give up and never let the oppressors and bullies puncture and tear through our skin like flesh eating lions feasting on their prey. In other words, as a young black man I've learned to stand up for what I believe in no matter what the consequence is. Even if my voice starts out as just a whisper.

Second place ($1,000 prize) went to Boluwatife Aminu, a senior at MOT Charter and third place ($500 prize) went to Iveena Mukherjee, a junior at The Charter School of Wilmington. The four other finalists were Ayotomiwa Anawo (grade 8, Millsboro Middle), Obaapa Asante (grade 10, Christiana High), Skyy Kelly (grade 12, William Penn) and Julia Nowaczyk (grade 11, Padua).

New Jazz Series At Delaware Art Museum

Well-known performer and arts advocate Raye Jones Avery will host a new jazz series at the Delaware Art Museum this winter. The jazz piano concerts will feature regional jazz musicians Orrin Evans (Feb. 2) and Dave and Alex Posmontier (Mar. 2) playing on the museum’s Steinway grand piano. Each 1.5-hour performance starts at 7 p.m. and includes an artist chat led by Avery. Tickets: $20 members; $25 nonmembers. Visit Delart.org.

A Fun Run With Purpose

Wilmington’s Cupid Fun Run encourages participants to brave the cold and enjoy a costumed fun run and party to benefit the Children’s Tumor Foundation (CTF). The event is set for Feb. 25 at noon at DECO (111 W. 10th St.) in downtown Wilmington. The event raises awareness of neurofibromatosis (NF), a genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body. Proceeds benefit NF research through the CTF. Visit My.Cupid.org/event/2023.

Dine Downtown Deal Returns

Save your receipts when dining in or ordering takeout at Downtown Wilmington eateries, and Downtown Visions will reward you with a gift card equal to 20% of your total meals purchased (before tip). Maximum gift card is $100.

To participate, take a photo of each receipt from a restaurant in the Downtown Business Improvement District and text it to Downtown Visions (DTV) at 302-502-6003 (include name, dining location and date). DTV will keep track of your purchases and once you have five, a gift card will be mailed to you. The promotion ends March 31, 2023. Visit DowntownWilmingtonDe.com.