Artists in Conversation is a weekly column running Wednesdays on QuadCities.com. It features a conversation with a local creator going into their artistic process, projects and more. Get to know your local arts scene and local creators better on QuadCities.com with Artists In Conversation! If you’re a local creator and would like to be featured, please email us at Sean@QuadCities.com or Tristan@QuadCities.com! THIS WEEK: Educator, director and performance artist Shelley Cooper who is at the helm of Circa ‘21’s BEEHIVE! What attracted you to BEEHIVE? Beehive is a 60’s concert to celebrate... Read More

BEEHIVE The ’60s Musical is buzzing in to Rock Island’s Circa ’21 May 19-July 10! A fun, frothy flashback to the fabulous females who unmistakably left their mark on ’60s pop music. Matching big voices with big hairdos, Beehive features nonstop hits from early decade bubble gum classics to the explosive late ‘60s soul sound. Paying tribute to performers such as Brenda Lee, The Supremes, Connie Francis, Janis Joplin, Tina Turner and Aretha Franklin, this irresistible revue will fly you back in time to experience firsthand the music that thrilled a generation. Come rock... Read More

The Black Box Theatre is holding auditions for the upcoming spring/summer season. Auditions will be held at the theatre located in downtown Moline at 1623 5th Avenue, Moline, IL on Saturday, May 15 from 10 am to noon. If you are unable to attend the audition, please contact the theatre at thebbtheatre@gmail.com and arrange for a video audition to be delivered no later than May 15th. Roles open include: Hate Mail – One male, one female. Late 20’s – early 30’s (these are readers roles and require nominal memorization.) Runs late May early June. I and You – One male (must be African American)... Read More

Black Box Theater is holding auditions for the upcoming spring/summer season. Auditions will be held at the theatre located in downtown Moline at 1623 5th Avenue, Moline, IL on Saturday, May 15 from 10 am to noon. If you are unable to attend the audition, please contact the theatre at thebbtheatre@gmail.com and arrange for a video audition to be delivered no later than May 15th. Roles open include: Hate Mail – One male, one female. Late 20’s – early 30’s (these are readers roles and require nominal memorization.) Runs late May early June.  Directed by Lora Adams I and You – One male... Read More

After a long time in quarantine, things are finally starting to open up, people are getting vaccinated, and things are looking up for our country, and the Quad-Cities! That’s good news! And every month, we bring YOU more good news! In conjunction with our partners at KWQC-TV6’s “Paula Sands Live,” we bring you What’s The Good News, a rundown of some of the positive things going on in our community. So, what’s the good news for May? Let’s take a look… New Theater Coming To Davenport! A new theater experience, The Mockingbird On Main is coming to 320 N. Main St., in downtown... Read More

Angela Rathman joins Susan Perrin-Sallak, Liz Coin, Joanna Mills, Kim Kurtenbach, and Kayla Jo Pulliam in Nora and Delia Ephron’s “Love, Loss and What I Wore” – a funny, sad, hopeful, truthful slice of clothing life, running through next weekend at Black Box Theater in Moline. Rathman and her friend Perrin-Sallak are making their third appearance in the series of monologues and ensemble pieces, again directed by Black Box co-founder Lora Adams. Performances at BBT will be 7:30 p.m. this Thursday to Saturday, and 2 p.m. this Sunday. Tickets are $13 for Thursday performances and $16 for all... Read More

Isabel Dawson, a 2020 Augustana College graduate, wears many hats – which each reflect her many skills in theater and business. The bright, enthusiastic 23-year-old, who did a lot of theater in high school in Normal, Ill., is the new assistant executive director for Genesius Guild and is helping assemble this summer’s abridged schedule of three productions outside in Rock Island’s Lincoln Park. Doug Tschopp has been executive director for about 15 years, involved in Genesius for 25 years, and worked closely with Dawson at Augie, where she majored in theater and business management. “I just... Read More

The last time Angela Rathman performed on stage was over two years ago – in Prenzie Players’ “Macbeth,” in January 2019 – when she embodied a witch, a murderer, a thane and a doctor. The Prenzie veteran – who also co-starred in Genesius Guild’s “Taming of the Shrew” (as Kate) in 2011 – is making her debut at the four-year-old Black Box Theatre of the Quad Cities, 1623 5th Ave., Moline, in a familiar staged reading. Starting Thursday night, Rathman joins Susan Perrin-Sallak, Liz Coin, Joanna Mills, Kim Kurtenbach, and Kayla Jo Pulliam in Nora and Delia Ephron’s “Love, Loss... Read More

Mockingbird on Main, a planned theater/cabaret space taking shape at 320 Main St., Davenport, is debuting with an online cabaret! “New Beginnings” – a tantalizing teaser online cabaret – is led by Quad-Cities actor Tristan Tapscott and his girlfriend, Savannah Bay Strandin. “The Mockingbird is committed to supporting artists and providing a space for them to create,” its social media says. “We will produce projects as creators bring them to us.” A frequent actor and director in the area, Tapscott co-founded his own company in 2008 — Harrison Hilltop Theatre at 1601 Harrison St.,... Read More

EXCLUSIVE: A new theater experience, The Mockingbird On Main is coming to 320 N. Main St., in downtown Davenport! The new performance venue will kick off its existence with NEW BEGINNINGS, a virtual cabaret, on Saturday, April 10 at 7 p.m. This virtual cabaret will feature well known performers from the Quad Cities and performers from across the United States. Tune in to find out the who, the what, the when and the where and hear some of the finest performers from across the country. Here are the details: NEW BEGINNINGS A Virtual Cabaret Saturday, April 10 – 7pm On Facebook – Follow... Read More