Arts Notebook: Jan. 13, 2022

LEVERETT — Activist singer Annie Patterson, who has been using music “to lift hearts” and “spur courage and resilience” for more than 40 years, will perform Saturday, Jan. 15, at 7:30 p.m. at Mount Toby Friends Meetinghouse, 194 Long Plain Road (Route 63).

Accompanying herself on banjo and guitar, Patterson performs songs from a repertoire ranging from Appalachian banjo tunes to Celtic ballads, jazz standards and covers of contemporary folk songs. As one of the creators of the popular songbooks “Rise Up Singing” and “Rise Again,” Patterson “has worked tirelessly to make the world a better place through song.”

Recommended donation: $15 to $30. Reserve seats by emailing diacrowe@yahoo.com or call 413-336-2589.

GREENFIELD — The LAVA Center, Silverthorne, and the ti: theater initiative of Temple Israel announced collaborative auditions will be held this month.

Actors of all ages and identities are invited to audition for any or all of a number of upcoming play readings at The LAVA Center. Actors will have an opportunity to be seen by representatives of three different theater companies for readings slated for February through the fall. Honoraria vary; each production company will include that information in casting offer.

Auditions will be held at The LAVA Center, 324 Main St. in Greenfield, on Sunday, Jan. 16 and Sunday, Jan. 23, from noon to 4 p.m.

Social distancing will be observed, and all actors, directors, writer, and others who attend are asked to provide proof of full vaccination and to wear masks. Actors will read from play scenes, and will read in groups of six or fewer. Expect to stay for approximately 40 minutes. No advance preparation is required.

To sign up for an audition slot, visit bit.ly/3reF9fc and add your name to one slot. Then, email robby@localaccess.org with your name, phone number, and the date and time you are auditioning to confirm.

NORTHAMPTON — Forbes Library invites Western Massachusetts creatives to submit recent work for a virtual exhibit on the theme of “Home.”

The submission deadline is Feb. 11, at 6 p.m. The online virtual exhibit is from March 1 to April 30.

Home has many facets. Organizers envision a range of creative work that engages with any aspect of the theme, including (but not limited to) how we live and who we live with, what makes us feel at home, making a home, homesickness, houses versus homes, housing insecurity, immigration, emigration, community, the neighborhood, the city, the country or the world. With this theme, organizers are interested in seeing, reading or hearing how you experience the intimacy home may provide, the strangeness it can induce or the alienation it may elicit as one seeks shelter.

Creators must reside in Hampshire, Hampden, Franklin or Berkshire counties. Work must have been created in the last two years (since Jan. 1, 2020).

Formats are: visual art, writing, video, music and dance (in video format). The limit is three item submissions per person.

Written submissions (poetry, essays, stories): 500-word limit. Video, music, dance: four-minute limit. 2D image files: 1 to 4MB.

The exhibit will be curated by Faith Kaufmann, Pamela Acosta and Art Middleton (writing).

For the entry form for submissions, visit forbeslibrary.org/virtualexhibit2022.