MARSHALL, Michigan â The Franke Center for the Arts is pleased to offer a new six-week songwriting workshop with favorite local performer Jim Oliver.
Whether a seasoned working musician or a beginning songwriter, Jim Oliverâs workshop will help songwriters take their work to the next level. Participants will learn to define song structures, use simple language to write songs that sound organic, write using real experiences, edit the songs theyâve written and more.
The class is for ages 16 and up and will take place in-person in the Downstage Club at The Franke Center. It will takes place on Thursdays from 6-7:30 p.m., July 15, 22, 29 and August 5, 12, and 19. The cost is $100 for the six-week session.
MARSHALL, Michigan â Hip hop artist Jordan Hamilton will perform at The Franke Center for the Artsâ Downstage Club at 8 p.m., May 14th.
The Kalamazoo-based rapper, vocalist and cellist also performs with Last Gasp Collective and the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra. In his solo work, Hamilton merges songwriting, loop pedals, sample machines and vocals to create a sonic landscape of experimental hip hop, folk, soul and classical music.
The Western Michigan University graduate aims to find new ways for the cello, a traditional instrument, to relate to a modern audience, and he can be found playing the music of Bach, the Beatles or Chance the Rapper. Filled with an eclectic range of songs, Jordan Hamiltonâs set is sure to capture the heart and mind while reflecting on new horizons. Jordan is a Jammie Award winner and winner of the Local Spinsâ Emerging Artist of the Year award for 2019. Tickets are $14, and doors open at 7:30 p.m.
MARSHALL, Michigan â The Franke Centerâs Youth Theater is pleased to announce auditions for its high school production of âLittle Shop of Horrorsâ on April 12-14. A deviously delicious Broadway and Hollywood sci-fi smash musical, âLittle Shop of Horrorsâ has devoured the hearts of theatregoers for more than 30 years.
This play will be rehearsed and performed at the Calhoun County Fairgrounds in Marshall, Michigan. Participants will be socially distanced and masked as COVID conditions require. The cast will be limited in size to 30 students and will be rehearsed in pods as much as possible.
There is a $10 non-refundable registration fee to audition. All auditions must be scheduled in advance. This production will be limited to 30 cast members, and students who are in grades 9-12 for the 2020-21 school year are encouraged to participate.