Chesapeake Center

If the mission of the Chesapeake Center for the Creative Arts is to encourage artistic expression, the center's opening gala certainly set a good example. Some 250 guests were treated to tours of the old Brooklyn Park High School -- newly converted to hold classes in arts like dance, theater, painting and ceramics. The building's main gallery offered a feast for the eyes, displaying not only the work of some of the country's top artisans but also a bounteous hors d'oeuvres buffet. It all helped whet the appetite for music and dance performances in the building's main theater.

I crossed the Patapsco River and arrived in Brooklyn in search of the Chesapeake Center for Youth Development. It was not hard to spot in this neighborhood in the southern section of the city, not too far from the Anne Arundel County line. The Chesapeake Center is housed in an old Brooklyn landmark, the quaint-looking former Crisp Presbyterian Church, on Patapsco Avenue at Third Street. It sits atop a hill, and its belfry is the highest point around. As I arrived from downtown Baltimore, the little chapel seemed a remnant of the one-time village that was Brooklyn before all the industry arrived long before the two world wars.

The Chesapeake Center for the Creative Arts is looking for professional artists from northern Anne Arundel County, including Pasadena, to exhibit their work during the center's opening celebration Jan. 10 at the old Brooklyn Park High School.The celebration also will include performances by Jay Kishor, a master sitar player; the Ballet Theatre of Annapolis; the Gospel Praise Dance Group; and a one-act play called "This Is a Test" by local high school students.To apply, call Bob Nichols at 410-691-9725.

Celebrate the arts at "The Winter Doldrums: A Sunday Afternoon of Music and Fine Art," the annual Harford Community College music faculty concert and fine art faculty art and photography exhibition. The event will be held on Sunday, Feb. 9, from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Chesapeake Theater and Student Center on the HCC campus. The HCC music faculty will perform in the Chesapeake Theater. After the concert, visit the Chesapeake Gallery in the Student Center and enjoy works created by HCC's Visual, Performing and Applied Arts faculty who present an exhibit of paintings, sculpture, photographs, digital art and ceramics.

LATELY, LIFE HAS been hectic at Chesapeake Center for the Creative Arts - its three full-time staff members are busy making sure the grand opening week that started yesterday runs smoothly. They've booked the performers, arranged for art to be displayed in the gallery, tested the lighting and sound systems, and made sure the studios are ready for the first day of classes. It's not as easy as having Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney say, "Hey, kids, let's put on a show!" And it takes more than the efforts of the full-timers, who have had a small army of volunteers behind the effort to get this show on the road.

A SNEAK preview of the offerings at Chesapeake Center for the Creative Arts will be available Tuesday at Baltimore- Washington International Airport. Chesapeake Center will sponsor a day of entertainment and the arts, celebrating the unveiling of an airport collage saluting "A Century of the Arts in Maryland." From 10: 45 a.m. to 3: 30 p.m., the center will present singing and dancing and an artisans' exhibit featuring members of the Maryland Poetry and Literary Society, painters and Clayworks artists.

The opening celebration of the Chesapeake Center for the Creative Arts on Saturday turned into north county's version of "Field of Dreams." "If you build it they will come," said the voice in the movie. And come they did.More than 1,000 people packed the old Brooklyn Park High School auditorium on Hammonds Lane for a lengthy -- the first half lasted two hours -- program of speeches, singing and dancing organized by Wayne Shipley.Democratic Del. Joan Cadden, whose district includes the high school, was joined by Republican County Executive John G. Gary, State Sen. Philip C. Jimeno, a Brooklyn Park Democrat; Del. Michael W. Burns, a Glen Burnie Republican, and Democratic state Comptroller Louis L. Goldstein.

For the first time, the Chesapeake Center for the Creative Arts will premiere a play in the Baltimore Playwrights Festival season. With the opening of Theodore Groll's Run Past the Sun at 8 p.m. tomorrow, the theater will join the festival's 20th season, during which six plays will be premiered. Other theaters in the festival are the Vagabond Players, Fells Point Corner, Arena Players, and Spotlighters theaters, all in Baltimore, and Kittamaqundi Center in Columbia. Groll's play was selected for a reading at the Baltimore Playwrights competition in Fells Point and was later sent to CCCA Executive Director Wayne Shipley.

Phones have been ringing constantly at the Chesapeake Center for the Creative Arts as the facility nears completion and schedules of coming shows and "mini-mester" course samplers were mailed, board member Joan Maynard said. Maynard, who is also chairwoman of the opening gala in January, anticipated that the center will be "a focal point of the community that will reach out to the whole county." She noted that with a staff of three, everything is being pulled together largely through the efforts of "a cadre of volunteers that is unequaled."

It all began on Jan. 8, 1998 - when lavender invitation leaflets blanketed Brooklyn Park and people who found makeshift parking along Hammonds Lane slogged through mud to reach the auditorium - the night when Del. Joan Cadden's dream of a performing arts center in the community was publicly announced. Supporters filled just about every seat in the old Brooklyn Park High School auditorium to hear words of greetings from an assortment of politicians, among them Maryland Comptroller Louis L. Goldstein, who pronounced the school site "a real gem - all you have to do is polish it."

Artspower will perform "The Monster Who Ate My Peas" at the Amoss Center in Bel Air on Friday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m. Based on the book by Danny Schnitzlein and Matt Faulkner, this new musical tells the funny and poignant story of a young boy who doesn't want to eat his peas. What would you give a monster to eat your peas? Children and adults alike will be entertained and engaged by this wonderfully written tale about the value of willpower. Tickets are $7 to $15 and are available at tickets.harford.edu, the HCC Ticket Office in the Chesapeake Center, or by calling 443-412-2211.

Theater fans have another cause for celebrating the new year with Janet Luby's return to the stage in Theresa Rebeck's one-woman show, "Bad Dates" at the resurrected Bay Theatre. Weekends through Jan. 26, longtime Annapolis favorite Luby can be found in Brooklyn Park, at Chesapeake Arts Center's Studio 194 Theatre After a fruitless search for a suitable Annapolis location, Bay Theatre chose Chesapeake's studio venue for a November Wine and Words reading that attracted an audience exceeding capacity.

The National Players will perform "Macbeth" in the Chesapeake Theater on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m. For an ambitious couple gripped with murderous thoughts, reality proves to be elastic. Witches, floating daggers, moving forests and blood that refuses to wash away – who can tell what is real and what is imagined? Shakespeare's twisted tale examines the brutal consequences of unchecked ambition. Tickets are $10 to $16 and are available at tickets.harford.edu, the HCC Ticket Office in the Chesapeake Center or by calling 443-412-2211.

Almost Elton and the Rocket Band starring Craig A. Meyer will perform at the Amoss Center on Saturday, Nov. 16, at 7:30 p.m. Considered to be the best Elton John tribute artist in the market, Meyer's strong vocals, striking resemblances and amazing talent on the piano have audiences everywhere remembering when rock was young. Featuring a live band playing music from decades of chart topping hits by Sir Elton John, including "Benny and the Jets," "Philadelphia Freedom," "Crocodile Rock," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" and "Candle in the Wind," this show has captivated audiences with its celebration of the character, costumes and charisma of the famed pianist and singer.

Mary Monica Skelton-Kerner, who sold residential real estate and was a hospital volunteer, died of heart disease Sunday at Sinai Hospital. She was 79 and lived in Bel Air. Born Mary Monica Skelton in Williamsport, Pa., she was the daughter of William Skelton, a Glenn L. Martin flight manual writer and engineer, and Mary Monica Skelton, a nurse. She lived in Overlea as a young woman and was a 1952 graduate of Kenwood High School, where she sang in the girl's chorus and the glee club and belonged to the Civil Air Patrol.

Harford Community College's Harford Dance Theatre will present its annual Halloween treat, 'Harriet's Happiest Halloween,' in the college's Chesapeake Theater on Oct. 17 at 7 p.m., Oct. 18 at 5:30 and 8 p.m., Oct. 19 and 20 at 1 and 4 p.m. The show is recommended for ages 5 to 12. Harriet's back for another fun-filled Halloween adventure, searching for the perfect Halloween costume. While searching through her attic, Harriet accidentally casts a magic spell but, with the help of her imaginary friends, she defeats her scariest fears.

Je'nell Scroggins, 20, points proudly to the computer-generated signs and graphics that deck the walls of the Hollywood Diner on Saratoga Street, near City Hall. "I did all those on my computer," she says, smiling. Scroggins' love of working with computers grew out of her boss' assigning her to create a poster. She is in her second semester at Baltimore City Community College, studying computer programming. Scroggins is one of thousands of youths who have benefited from Chesapeake Center for Youth Development, which has provided educational, vocational, counseling and recreation activities for troubled youths since 1974.

Judging by the amount of activity going on at Chesapeake Center for the Creative Arts, you might think the grand opening was next month rather than the beginning of next year. The center office in the 7400 block of Baltimore-Annapolis Blvd. in Glen Burnie reflects multilevel planning for a wide range of activities. Volunteer Charlene Servey of Linthicum keeps things moving, tracking dates for a variety of activities on giant calendars that nearly cover two walls. The calendars reflect the planning for fund raising, community outreach, cooperative ventures, and large and small performing arts activities to benefit the center and keep its name alive during the final phase of construction.

After losing its home on West Street in Annapolis earlier this year, Bay Theatre of Annapolis has found an ideal temporary home at Chesapeake Arts Center's 110-seat Studio 194 Theatre in Brooklyn Park. The arrangement came at the invitation of Chesapeake's executive director, Belinda Fraley Huesman, and allows for Bay Theatre to host shows in November and January.  Janet Luby, Bay Theatre's artistic director and co-founder, said the company has an event scheduled even before those performances.

"Angelina Ballerina The Musical" will be performed by Vital Theatre Company at the Amoss Center on Friday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. Based on the critically acclaimed children's books and "Angelina Ballerina, The Next Steps" on PBS Kids, this family-friendly musical features the mouse you've come to know and love as you've never seen her before. A special guest is coming to visit Camembert Academy, and Angelina and her friends are very excited. They will perform all types of dances, including hip-hop, modern dance, the Irish jig and ballet for their famous visitor, and Angelina is hoping she will have a moment in the limelight.