Ice House

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - Imagination, inspiration and good art teachers produced a gallery filled with youth artwork at the ninth annual Morgan County Student Art Exhibit. More than 200 people attended Friday night's exhibit opening at the Ice House Gallery to see the artwork represented by all Morgan County schools and home-schooled students from preschool through 12th grade. Hundreds of pieces were on display, from ceramics to two- and three-dimensional art, and the gala opening included musical and poetry performances by Morgan County students.

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - As part of establishing West Virginia's first arts incubator, the Morgan Arts Council is conducting a series of business training workshops for artists. The first of the series of How to Write a Business Plan on Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Ice House in Berkeley Springs. The hands-on workshop is led by the Small Business Development Center. All attendees will write a plan during the workshop. Participants receive a workbook, door prizes from sponsor Cheap Joe's Art Stuff and refreshments.

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - After meeting with the Morgan County Commissioners on Monday, West Virginia Secretary of State Betty Ireland toured the Ice House in Berkeley Springs with Wendy Wells, executive director of the Morgan Arts Council. Ireland and Wells are "mothers-in-law," said Ireland. Wells' daughter is married to Ireland's son, she said. Ireland said Wells has "great vision' with what she accomplished in Mathews County, Va., at the Bay School Cultural Arts Center, where Wells previously worked.

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - Actress and storyteller Ilene Evans moves from the Morgan County schools to the stage of the Ice House on Tuesday at 7:30pm for a free performance of "General Moses," stories from the life of Harriet Tubman. The evening event is produced by the Morgan Arts Council (MAC) as part of its Adopt-a-School program. Evans stages her one-woman show as part of the West Virginia Humanities Foundation's "History Alive!" program. The Ice House is on the corner of Independence and Mercer streets in downtown Berkeley Springs.

Auditions ongoing for One Act Play Festival BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - Auditions for parts in the Morgan Arts Council's One Act Play Festival are scheduled to continue tonight and Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Ice House in downtown Berkeley Springs. Six plays are featured offering roles for men and women of high school age and older. "It's a terrific chance for people to get involved, whether you have never acted before or whether you've been doing it for years," producer Mary Alice Ross said in a news release.

trishr@herald-mail.com BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - More than 200 works of art produced by Morgan County public and home-schooled students are on display at the Ice House Gallery. Every school in the county is represented, said Sandra Earls, Morgan Arts Council event organizer. The Youth Art Month exhibit opened Friday night with a concert beginning with music performed by Berkeley Springs High School band members and singing by the high school's advanced vocal ensemble.

trishr@herald-mail.com BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.VA. - The Ice House production of "Annie" is what community theater is all about. Beth and Tom Brooks, directors of the play, have been instrumental in bringing community members in to perform in the Ice House Theater Projects in Berkeley Springs. Tom Brooks and his wife have acting backgrounds. He received a master's degree in acting from the University of Alabama and spent more than 20 years in little theater production as an actor and director.

trishr@herald-mail.com BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.VA. - Theater productions will continue as renovations to the Ice House building go on, Morgan Arts Council Ice House Director J.W. Rone said. "Keeping it open and keeping all the programs going is important to the community," Rone said last week. "People lose interest if you close down. " Demolition work continues on the south wall and a structural engineer is always on the job, Rone said. When renovations started on the wall, problems were discovered and the only choice was to remove the wall.

andrear@herald-mail.com BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - "Bite me," actor Angela Petry instructed "Dracula" co-star Tom Brooks as the duo contemplated the placement of fang marks during a recent dress rehearsal for the Morgan Arts Council's newest show at the Ice House theater in downtown Berkeley Springs. It's a play into which audiences will truly sink their teeth. The 10-show run of "Dracula" starts at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 15, at the former apple storage facility on the corner of Mercer and Independence streets.

'Oklahoma!' Greencastle-Antrim High School Drama Club presents the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical about Curly, a handsome cowboy, and Laurey, a winsome farm girl. Today, 7:30 p.m. Greencastle-Antrim High School auditorium, Greencastle, Pa. $5; tickets will be sold at the door. Call 1-717-597-2186. 'Li'l Abner' More than 50 students will perform the story of Li'l Abner Yokum, Daisy Mae and the people of Dogpatch. Today, 7:30 p.m. South Hagerstown High School auditorium, South Potomac Street, Hagerstown.