The drag duo of Sutton Lee Seymour and Cacophony Daniels will appear live in “Drag-a-Maniacs” at Pilgrim House at 336 Commercial St. in Provincetown. The dates: Thursday, September 10th, 7 and 9 p.m.; Friday, Septemer 11th, and Saturday, September 12th, 7 p.m. Tickets are $35 at pilgrimhouseptown.com.
Pilgrim House
Progress With Plastic
Dixie Longate’s “Tupperware Party” comes to Pilgrim House’s outdoor stage at 336 Commercial St. in Provincetown, Tuesday through Saturday at 7:00 p.m., August 25th to 29th, and September 1st to 5th. Tickets are $35 at pilgrimhouseptown.com.
Progress With Plastic
Dixie Longate’s “Tupperware Party” comes to Pilgrim House’s outdoor stage at 336 Commercial St. in Provincetown, Tuesday through Saturday at 7:00 p.m., August 25th to 29th, and September 1st to 5th. Tickets are $35 at pilgrimhouseptown.com.
“The Lady Gaga Songbook” Outdoor Concert
“The Lady Gaga Songbook,” a show by the cello and vocal duo Branden & James, at Pilgrim House’s outdoor venue on Tuesday, Aug. 11, through Saturday, Aug. 15, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $35 at pilgrimhouseptown.com.
DRAG
Cacophony Daniels Celebrates Her Own Family Values
The show-tune belter returns to Provincetown
“Cacophony is all about enjoying the moments we have,” Courter Simmons says of his drag persona, Cacophony Daniels. “I’ve always wanted her to be the kind of person you get a feeling of love and acceptance from, someone who will make you laugh.”
Daniels is back at Pilgrim House in Provincetown, following a successful 2019 debut, with a new show, “So Close and Yet So Far,” which Simmons says is “Cacophony’s guide to surviving the pandemic.” Performances, which are held outdoors and are socially distant, run daily at 7 p.m. through Saturday, Aug. 1.
“Last year was the first time I dipped my toe in the water of P’town, and I loved it,” he says. “The audiences are very discerning. They know good entertainment and a night of fun when they see it. If you can do well here, then you can do well anywhere, because everywhere else in the world pales in comparison to Provincetown.”
David Burbank, the events and entertainment manager at Pilgrim House, invited Cacophony back to town as soon as it was possible to launch an outdoor summer series. “The audience loved Cacophony when she was here last year,” Burbank says. “I’ve been watching her virtually throughout the quarantine. She offers some great vocals from Broadway to ballads with such strength and joy. Our patrons can use some of that now.”
![](https://provincetownindependent.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Fulcher-Cacophony-Daniels-photo-2-courtesy-Cacophony-Daniels-300x300.jpg)
Cacophony has been performing live on Facebook every Tuesday at 8 p.m. and intends to continue throughout the pandemic. “It’s important to remember to take time out of our lives to recharge our batteries,” Simmons says. “Especially now, when we’re all worried about tomorrow.”
Simmons started performing very young and went professional at age 12. “I grew up in a small town in California that had a children’s theater program,” he says. “That’s where I was bit by the theater bug. In 2001, I moved to New York City to pursue acting and singing.”
Cacophony was born to fill a vacuum. “Being a stage performer means that you go through times when you are unemployed,” Simmons says. “And when we think of an unemployed actor, we think of financial hardship, but, really, the saddest thing is that you have nowhere to express your creativity.”
Developing Cacophony not only fit Simmons’s stage talents, it matched his stature and the unusual timbre of his voice. “It is higher in pitch than that of most men,” he says. “I discovered that singing as Cacophony allows me to belt way up there in the stratosphere, and that’s where my voice naturally sits.”
It didn’t take long for Simmons to realize that, as Cacophony, he was more independent, career-wise. “As a theater or screen actor,” he says, “you’re relying on casting directors, directors, choreographers, and producers to hire you. As a drag queen, I’m able to do what I want to do. When I have a song I’d like to sing, I choose that song. And when people enjoy my show, which is the experience I’ve had, more and more audiences will want to see it. Cacophony has gone from performing at a couple of bars in New York City to traveling the world.”
Cacophony’s appearances have also become a way for Simmons to support LGBTQ pride, a mission that is close to his heart. “It’s important to make use of the voice you have been given to speak out for others, who may not have a voice themselves,” he says. “I am blessed that I grew up in a family that was always accepting and supportive of me, but not everyone is that lucky.” Simmons’s father, a minister, married Simmons and his husband, Jason Cianciotto, a gay rights activist and co-author of the book LGBT Youth in America’s Schools.
![](https://provincetownindependent.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Fulcher-Cacophony-Daniels-photo-1-courtesy-Cacophony-Daniels-300x200.jpg)
The couple recently welcomed their son, Derrik, into their lives. “We knew that we wanted to adopt an older kid out of the foster system, maybe three to seven years old,” Simmons says. “We started to look at profiles of children who have no family to go to, and we came across Derrik’s video. Even though he was only 10 when it was shot, there were clues about who he might grow up to be. He talked about playing with dolls, talked about singing, and there was a moment when he crossed his legs in a very fabulous kind of way. There was no way of knowing for sure, obviously, but my husband said, ‘He is older than we were planning on, but I think if we take this kid in, we’re probably going to save his life.’ So many LGBT kids struggle through adolescence, but kids in the foster system have an even harder time.”
As soon as they met Derrik, Simmons says, “There was never any question that he was always supposed to be a part of the family. Derrik needed parents to usher him through the rest of his life, and that’s what we are privileged to do.”
When Derrik moved in with them in 2018, they “gave him the full crayon box of anything that he wanted to play with and experiment with as far as who he was and wanted to be,” Simmons adds. “Derrik took an immediate interest in Cacophony. He started to ask, ‘Can I have a dress? Can you put makeup on me?’ ”
That same year, Derrik attended RuPaul’s DragCon in New York City with Simmons and Cianciotto, wearing a dress that Simmons, who creates his own wardrobe, made to match Cacophony’s. “Bringing Derrik to the convention was a great way for him to see that there are thousands of people just like him, and that he doesn’t have to feel shame or isolation because of who he is. Doing drag and being in drag means being oneself and celebrating whatever that is.”
Broadway Baby
The event: Cacophony Daniels in “So Close and Yet So Far”
The time: Daily at 7 p.m. through Saturday, Aug. 1
The place: Pilgrim House, 356 Commercial St., Provincetown
The cost: $35 at pilgrimhouseptown.com
our picks for the week of July 30 through August 5
Indie’s Choice
Outer Cape Calendar
An Artist’s Lot
![Nectar by Traci Harmon Hay](https://provincetownindependent.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Indies-Choice-photo-1-Traci-Harmon-Hay-300x300.jpg)
The Arts Foundation of Cape Cod is hosting an online silent auction starting on Thursday, July 23, at noon through Sunday, Aug. 9, at 9:30 p.m., featuring art by Traci Harmon-Hay, Sarah Lutz, Pete Hocking, and others. There will also be a live auction, streaming from the Chatham Bars Inn on Thursday, Aug. 6, at 6 p.m., with works by Donald Beal, Cynthia Packard, and more. Visit artsfoundation.org to register and bid.
Into the Woods
The Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary is offering a few socially distanced activities. Among them is a kayak trip through Nauset Marsh in Eastham on Friday, July 31, at 8:30 a.m., tickets $70-$85 (call 508-349-2615 to register); and a full moon hike on Monday, Aug. 3, at 7:30 p.m., tickets $14, children free (register at massaudubon.org).
Advice Versa
The Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown is hosting a virtual one-hour poetry workshop led by Nick Flynn that is designed to inspire unexpected and surprising new poems on Thursday, July 30, at 6 p.m. Registration is $10 at fawc.org.
Ukulele Lady
The Eastham Public Library is holding a virtual ukulele workshop with Julie Stepanek on Saturday, Aug. 1, at 1 p.m. Ages six and up are welcome. There is also a live-streaming animal show via Zoom on Tuesday, Aug. 4, at 5 p.m. Go to easthamlibrary.org to register; both events are free.
Feed Your Ears
The Wellfleet Pearl restaurant continues with live music daily (except Monday) from 3 to 5 p.m., no cover. Featured this week: Catie Flynn Band (Thursday, July 30), Boston Naturals (Friday, July 31), Pitchfork (Saturday, Aug. 1), Bruce Maclean (Sunday, Aug. 2), Brandon Manter (Tuesday, Aug. 4), and Jordan Renzi (Wednesday, Aug. 5).
World Tour
Great Music on Sundays @5 presents “Marimba and Piano Global Rhythms” on Sunday, Aug. 2 at 5 p.m. This free live-streaming concert, with Brian Calhoon on marimba, John Thomas on piano, and Chanthoeun Varon Collins on cello, includes music from Argentina, Bulgaria, Italy, Romania, and the U.S. For details, go to ptownmusic.com.
For a Song
Steeple Street Music Academy in Mashpee is running a songwriting competition called Mash-ville. The entry deadline is Saturday, Aug. 1, and you must be at least 13 to enter. The fees: $25 for your first song, $10 for each additional song. The grand prize: two round-trip tickets to Nashville, Tenn. Winners will participate in a songwriting showcase on Aug. 15. Visit steeplestreetmusic.com for details.
Drag Picnic
Marti Gould Cummings in “Picnic in the Park” is coming to Pilgrim House’s outdoor stage from Tuesday, Aug. 4 to Saturday, Aug. 8. Tickets are $35 at pilgrimhouse.com.
Bracelets for BFFs
The Truro Public Library is hosting a virtual friendship bracelet-making class with Sophia and Maggie Prickitt on Wednesday, Aug. 5, at 10:30 a.m. via Zoom. Call 508-487-1125 or email [email protected] to receive the link. Materials will be provided through curbside pickup.
Backyard Boogie
Wellfleet Preservation Hall is presenting a backyard concert series. First up is Zoë Lewis on Wednesday, Aug. 5, at 7 p.m. (rain date Aug. 6). Tickets are $15 for adults, $7.50 for children 13 and under. Groups are limited to six people; bring a blanket or lawn chair. Reserve in advance at wellfleetpreservationhall.org.
Puppet Party
The Provincetown, Truro, and Wellfleet libraries are holding a virtual puppet show, “A Celebration of Imagination,” performed by Caravan Puppets, on Thursday, Aug. 6, at 10:30 a.m. For a Zoom link, email [email protected] with the names and ages of your viewing party.
Painting With Pete
One highlight of the online and on-campus classes offered at Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill is “Making Pictures,” with Pete Hocking, which will be held live, from 9 a.m. to noon on Monday, Aug. 3, through Thursday, Aug. 6. The four sessions cost $455. Register at castlehill.org.
Young at Art
The Provincetown Art Association and Museum is offering several live outdoor classes for kids. Hannah Capra teaches “Little Artists Outdoors” on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. for children 4 to 7, and “Young Artists Outdoors” on Thursdays at 10 a.m. for children 8 to 10; both are $40 per session. Grace Emmet teaches “Plein Air Painting” on Fridays at 8:30 a.m. for children 10 to 15, $50 per session. Go to paam.org to register.
![The Grab Brothers are performing in the “Virtual Music at Mayo” online concert series on Friday. (Photo Grab Brothers)](https://provincetownindependent.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Indies-Choice-photo-2-Grab-Brothers-300x300.jpg)
Hold the Mayo
The Wellfleet Recreation Dept. is hosting “Virtual Music at Mayo,” an online concert series. The Grab Brothers Band performs on Friday, July 31, at 6:30 p.m., and the Rip It Ups get in the groove on Thursday, Aug. 6, at 6:30 p.m. Visit the Wellfleet Rec’s Facebook page for details.
Picnic in the Park with Marti Gould Cummings
Marti Gould Cummings in “Picnic in the Park” is coming to Pilgrim House’s outdoor stage from Tuesday, Aug. 4 to Saturday, Aug. 8. Tickets are $35 at pilgrimhouse.com.
our picks for the week of July 23 through July 29
Indie’s Choice
Outer Cape Calendar
The Pearl Can’t Help It
Music at the Wellfleet Pearl is back! The Aaron Norcross Trio performs Sunday, July 26, at 3 p.m. at 250 Commercial St. No cover. Visit wellfleetpearl.com for the full schedule.
Early Birders
Join Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary at 291 Route 6 for Early Bird Walks on Tuesdays at 7 a.m. and Thursdays at 8 a.m. Bird watchers will explore the sanctuary’s scenic trails. Group size is limited to eight, and masks are required. The walk costs $22 a person (members $18); purchase tickets at massaudubon.org.
Road Runners
The Wellfleet Recreation Dept. is holding its 46th annual road race virtually this year. Register by 6 p.m. on Friday, July 24, and run the five-mile race anywhere you’d like, as long as it’s before 6 p.m. on Friday, July 31. Registration costs $20 if you can pick up your T-shirt locally, $25 if you want it mailed. Visit the recreation dept.’s Facebook page for details.
A Capella Fellas
Great Music on Sundays @5, normally a staple at the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House in Provincetown, has gone virtual this year, with eight online concerts available on Great Music on Sundays @5’s YouTube channel. The first engagement, featuring the all-male a capella group Hyannis Sound, will take place on Sunday, July 26, at 5 p.m. Find future events at ptownmusic.com.
Call of the Wild
![Jeffrey Ward](https://provincetownindependent.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Indies-Choice-photo-1-courtesy-Payomet-Performing-Arts-Center-e1595441057133-300x258.jpg)
Payomet Early Stages presents a free Zoom conversation on coastal birding with wildlife biologist Danielle Belleny and Jeffrey Ward. They will discuss issues of conservation and climate change, as well as birding tips. You must register at payomet.org to participate before the event on Sunday, July 26, at 11:30 a.m.
Plastic Bagged
The Center for Coastal Studies is streaming the film The Story of Plastic for free from Monday, July 27, through Friday, July 31. It will be followed by a live-stream discussion on Monday, Aug. 3, at 6 p.m. with Madhavi Venkatesan, executive director of Sustainable Practices, and Laura Ludwig, coordinator of the center’s marine debris and plastics program. Register at coastalstudies.org.
Loud and Proud
Drag “screlter” (a portmanteau of “screamer” and “belter”) Cacophony Daniels graces Pilgrim House’s outdoor stage to perform “So Close and Yet So Far” at 7 p.m. nightly from Tuesday, July 28, through Saturday, Aug. 1. Tickets are $35 at pilgrimhouseptown.com.
Hold a Kandall
![](https://provincetownindependent.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Indies-Choice-photo-3-courtesy-Amy-Kandall-300x290.jpg)
Amy Kandall, the ceramics and painting teacher at Nauset Regional High School and founder of Green Thumb Ceramics, is having a show of “Quarantine Paintings” at Spiritus Pizza at 190 Commercial St. in Provincetown. Have a slice and scan the walls.
Jungle Fever
The Eastham Public Library is launching a virtual children’s show featuring Jungle Jim on Tuesday, July 28, at 5 p.m. The show, which is free, will be available to screen the entire week following. Register at easthamlibrary.org.
Making the Zine
The Wellfleet Public Library is looking for submissions of poetry, fiction, or prose written during the pandemic for its Quaranzine. Submissions of 1,000 words or less are due by Friday, July 31. Email them to [email protected] or [email protected].
Painters Paired
![](https://provincetownindependent.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Indies-Choice-photo-2-courtesy-Stewart-Clifford-Gallery-300x298.jpg)
Through Wednesday, July 29, the Stewart Clifford Gallery at 338 Commercial St. in Provincetown is hosting the show “Colorful Explorations,” featuring work by Nick Peterson-Davis and Bill Chisholm. Get a virtual glimpse at stewartcliffordgallery.com.
Gorey Details
The Edward Gorey House, at 8 Strawberry Lane in Yarmouth Port, is reopening on Wednesday, July 29, with the exhibition “He Wrote It All Down Zealously: Edward Gorey’s Interesting Lists,” including writings, drawings, and musings by Gorey that (mysteriously) never made it to publication. This summer, Gorey House visits are by appointment only: reserve at edwardgoreyhouse.org.
Mazur League
The Fine Arts Work Center is hosting a Zoom discussion on Tuesday, July 28, from 6 to 7 p.m. with poet Gail Mazur and artist Bert Yarborough on the subject of the late Michael Mazur’s New Provincetown Printmaking Project, which brought renowned artists together from 1990 to 1994 to create limited print portfolios as a fund-raiser. Register for $10 at fawc.org.
Arts Briefs and Listings
Arts Briefs for July 16 through July 22
In-Person Classes Return to Castle Hill
![Rob DuToit pastel](https://provincetownindependent.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Arts-Briefs-Castle-Hill-photo-1-courtesy-Truro-Center-for-the-Arts-at-Castle-Hill-300x190.jpg)
Following its success with virtual classes this summer, Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill is reintroducing in-person instruction, starting in August. Classes will be held outside, either at Castle Hill’s main campus at 10 Meetinghouse Road, or at the spacious Edgewood Farm on Edgewood Way, off Route 6. They will be limited to seven students, with masks required and social distancing.
Twelve classes will be offered, including sketchbook drawing and writing with Nick Flynn and Mark Adams, photography with Robert Johnson, “Making Pictures” with Pete Hocking, hand building with Chris Watt, pastels with Rob DuToit, and plein air landscape with Cammie Watson. Visit castlehill.org for dates and times. Classes cost between $280 and $490.
What James Balla Sees in Provincetown
![The Plague by James Balla](https://provincetownindependent.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Arts-Briefs-Jim-Balla-photo-2-courtesy-Albert-Merola-Gallery-300x236.jpg)
Artist James Balla, who has run the Albert Merola Gallery in Provincetown along with its namesake for three decades, is having a show there, “What I see when you’re not here,” from Friday, July 17, through Aug. 5 at 424 Commercial St.
The work on view is a series of pencil drawings of things seen around Provincetown during the winter and spring, “when the crowds are gone, when people are not here, except the locals, and we have time to make note of the small things, or the personal things, or the simple reading of a book or watching of a film,” Balla writes in the announcement for the exhibit.
The gallery is open noon to 5 p.m. on Wednesday through Sunday, and by appointment (508-487-4424).
Virtual Reading of The Great Believers
![Rebecca Makkai](https://provincetownindependent.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Arts-Briefs-Great-Believers-photo-3-New-England-College-300x200.jpg)
East End Books Ptown is hosting a virtual book reading and discussion on Friday, July 17, at 5 p.m., with Rebecca Makkai, author of The Great Believers. The novel was one of the New York Times’s top 10 picks for 2018.
The Great Believers tells two intertwining stories. The first is about the director of a Chicago art gallery in the ’80s who loses countless friends to the AIDS epidemic. He becomes close to the younger sister of one of those friends, and the second story tells of her journey, 30 years later, to reconnect with her estranged daughter, who has joined a cult.
To register for this free Zoom event, or order a signed copy, visit eastendbooksptown.com.
Miss Richfield Sprinkles ‘Sunshine’ at Pilgrim House
![Miss Richfield](https://provincetownindependent.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Arts-Briefs-Miss-Richfield-photo-4-courtesy-Miss-Richfield-1981-300x225.jpg)
Miss Richfield 1981 is back in Provincetown, and ready to replace your Covid blues with a full spectrum of living color. She will be performing in “Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows,” something she is calling her “outdoor parking lot show.” And indeed, it will take place outdoors at Pilgrim House, 336 Commercial St. in Provincetown, with social distancing, on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 9 p.m. through Sept. 12.
Miss Richfield, a Provincetown favorite, has been doing virtual editions of “Bingo Bonanza” and “Trivia Shack,” but this is her first in-person show here since last year. Ticket holders (at $35 a pop) are seated first come, first served, and early shows have been selling out, so visit pilgrimhouseptown.com in advance to ensure yourself a good spot.
![Conversations on the T by Salvatore Del Deo](https://provincetownindependent.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Arts-Briefs-Del-Deos-photo-5-courtesy-Berta-Walker-Gallery-300x238.jpg)
![Hope by Romolo Del Deo](https://provincetownindependent.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Arts-Briefs-Del-Deos-photo-6-courtesy-Berta-Walker-Gallery-300x252.jpg)
Del Deos at Berta Walker Gallery
The Berta Walker Gallery at 206 Bradford St. in Provincetown is celebrating “Provincetown 400” with a season full of artists who are new to its roster. But included in the show that opens on Saturday, July 18, and runs through Aug. 8, will be two ever-talented stalwarts of the Provincetown art colony, painter Salvatore Del Deo and his son, Romolo, a sculptor. (Also in the show are works by the late Elspeth Halvorsen and by painter Laura Shabott, who will be profiled in next week’s Independent.)
During the Covid-19 crisis, the gallery will be open by appointment only (go to bertawalkergallery.com) from noon to 4 p.m. on Wednesday through Saturday.
Classical Musicians Step Up to the Virtual Mic
![Tiberius String Quartet](https://provincetownindependent.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Arts-Briefs-Open-Mic-Classical-photo-7-courtesy-Open-Mic-Classical-300x200.jpg)
Open mics aren’t only for pop musicians. Open Mic Classical, which usually hosts events at First Parish Brewster Unitarian Universalist Church, has gone virtual. Classical musicians hoping to share their talent can participate in an informal Zoom concert, during which audience members can give feedback and ask questions.
Founded by clarinetist Monika Veress Woods and sculptor Bob Marcus, Open Mic Classical meets on the third Sunday of the month. On Sunday, July 19, at 3 p.m., it will feature the Tiberius String Quartet, an internationally acclaimed quartet from Transylvania. To register, visit openmicclassical.org.
Wellfleet Preservation Hall Launches Doc Days
![Flannery O'Connor](https://provincetownindependent.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Arts-Briefs-Doc-Days-photo-8-Georgia-Humanities-300x169.jpg)
Wellfleet Preservation Hall is presenting the first of its virtual Doc Days Film Series from Friday, July 17, through July 31. The opening title is a premiere: the documentary Flannery, about Flannery O’Connor, author of the novel Wise Blood and numerous short stories with a perversely ironic and morally complex view of midcentury Southern life. The movie was the first winner of the Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize (for $200,000), given to independent filmmakers telling stories of American history.
For $10, you can rent the film for 72 hours and stream it at home. Go to wellfleetpreservationhall.org for details.
Mike Wright and Paul Kelly at Alden Gallery
The Alden Gallery at 423 Commercial St. in Provincetown will present new work by sculptor Mike Wright and painter Paul Kelly in a two-person show opening Friday, July 17, and on view through July 30.
Both artists have lived and worked in Provincetown for decades. Wright uses found painted wood for her modernist sculptures, and Kelly paints Provincetown landscapes from unusual (and sometimes imaginary) vantage points.
The gallery is open noon to 5 p.m. daily during the Covid-19 crisis, and masks are required.
![Hunk by Mike Wright](https://provincetownindependent.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Arts-Briefs-Alden-Gallery-photo-9-courtesy-Alden-Gallery-245x300.jpg)
![Paul Kelly, Captain Jack's Wharf](https://provincetownindependent.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Arts-Briefs-Alden-Gallery-photo-10-courtesy-Alden-Gallery-300x222.jpg)
Arts Briefs and Listings
Arts Briefs for May 7 through May 13
![Mackenzie and Austin Tyler](https://provincetownindependent.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Arts-Briefs-Mackenzie-photo-1-courtesy-Austin-Tyler-300x169.jpg)
Virtual Drag Race With Mackenzie
It’s become something of a Provincetown tradition: RuPaul’s Drag Race screened live on a big TV at Pilgrim House or the Crown & Anchor Cabaret, while drag stars provide barbed commentary in person.
But since the coronavirus has chased all social activities into cyberspace, so it goes with Drag Race. Now, every Friday at 8 p.m., local drag star Mackenzie hosts a virtual watch party via Pilgrim House’s Facebook page. Mackenzie provides live banter, while co-host Austin Tyler fills the comments section with his own comedic shtick. Viewers can watch the show on their TVs while simultaneously playing the live-stream on a laptop or smart phone.
“It’s a digitally immersive version of a drag host and her standup comic co-host in your living room,” Tyler says.
Though Mackenzie hosts from her own home, her looks are no less impressive. One week she rocked an all-orange number to rival the Lorax, the next, a black-and-white look that was haute couture Cruella de Vil.
For Mackenzie, performing online is a whole different animal. “I am used to that interactive back and forth with the audience, but in this case, I just have to trust that people are still rooting me on and having fun,” she says.
Tyler feels that drag queens are having a heyday during the crisis, because “they are a complete distraction from what is going on in the world.”
Mackenzie agrees. “We are putting on makeup and hair and encouraging positivity and laughter and light,” she says. “We want to be a beacon of hope and happiness and love and joy and acceptance and tolerance, things that might be currently lacking in the world.” —Saskia Maxwell Keller
Provincetown Galleries Convene on Coronavirus
PROVINCETOWN — Twenty-seven gallery owners and directors met on Zoom on May 1 to discuss the upcoming summer season. Jill Stauffer, executive director of the Provincetown Commons, along with Liz Carney of Four Eleven Gallery, Stewart Clifford of Stewart Clifford Gallery, Marian Peck of Adam Peck Gallery, Scot Presley and Jill Rothenberg-Simmons of On Center Gallery, and Marla Rice of Rice Polak Gallery started the group to help galleries band together in the face of the pandemic. Stauffer told the Independent that it seemed like a natural thing to do, considering that the Commons’s mission is to “buoy the arts community as well as support the local economy.”
During the virtual meeting, which lasted an hour, gallerists shared their concerns about reopening. Some of the ideas discussed included safety protocols; buying masks, gloves, or signage in bulk; and creating a shared website listing galleries and hours of operation.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty,” Stauffer said. “We don’t know what the guidelines are going to be or the capacity. However, one upside is that most of the galleries here are small, and usually only have two or three people in them at one time.”
The group will meet again this Friday and has started a private Facebook group called P’town Gallery Stroll. While open to any Provincetown gallery, the group is not yet open to the public. Stauffer says a survey to hear the views of gallery-goers is currently in the works. —Saskia Maxwell Keller
![The School With No Students](https://provincetownindependent.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Arts-Briefs-School-No-Students-photo-3-courtesy-Thomas-Dirsa-295x300.jpg)
Empty Schools Inspire a Children’s Book
Thomas Dirsa is a 1959 graduate of Provincetown High School whose career as a teacher took him to Alberta, Canada, where he raised a family, eventually became a principal, and retired in 2005. Now he writes children’s books and history textbooks and, since the coronavirus caused schools to shut down throughout the U.S. and Canada, a picture paperback called The School With No Students, put out by Lulu Publishing and available at lulu.com for $11.38 (U.S.).
“I was fortunate enough to get the cooperation of a local school and take photos of the empty hallways, classrooms, gym, lunchroom, and playground,” Dirsa says via email. “The book starts off with the question ‘Where are the students?’ We meet Ms. McNiff, who explains where they are and when they will return.”
Ms. McNiff, as it turns out, is the name of Dirsa’s fourth-grade teacher when he was a student at Provincetown’s Central School in the ’50s. He says that The School With No Students will soon be available on Amazon, and, he hopes, at Provincetown bookstores and the library, as some of his other books have been. —Howard Karren
![Solar Lights](https://provincetownindependent.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Arts-Briefs-Critchley-Solar-Lights-photo-2-courtesy-Jay-Critchley-300x225.jpg)
Jay Critchley’s 36 Solar Lights
“I’ve had eight gigs canceled in the last couple of months,” Provincetown performance-installation artist Jay Critchley tells the Independent. Among them were his ambitious plans to fill the V.F.W. hall with artifacts and collective memories before the town razed it, an exhibit at the Fine Arts Work Center, and his May show, “The Moo Moo World,” at AMP Gallery.
Undeterred, Critchley has created a piece of street art called, straightforwardly, 36 Solar Lights, which he’s been planting around town and photographing. “It’s just the beginning,” he says. —Howard Karren