#StageLeft

Avalon Family Christmas Plays Offer Generational Roles

Story by Amy Steward | Photos by Caroline J.

Dec 2, 2019
9 min

Avalon Family Christmas Plays Offer Generational Roles

In 1997, The Cricket Theater rented The Avalon Theatre to put on “A Christmas Carol,” a three-day Christmas show. It was a hit, and the Avalon Foundation approached the group and with an offer to assume the business side of the event if Cricket Theater took care of the craft side. Since then, in the past 22 years, more than 1,000 people have been involved in the Christmas shows, bringing to life such shows as “Miracle on 34th Street,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “A Christmas Sto

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Story by Raymond Cummings | Photos by Caroline J.

Nov 15, 2019
3 min

Stage Left: Sean F. Schultz of Soñder

On a Sunday afternoon in early August, Foxy’s Harbor Grille is a sociable cacophony: laughter, chatter, drink orders, and televised sports blur into an atmospheric din as thick as Saint Michaels’ baby blue skies are clear. Glance outside, and a postcard-perfect view of the Miles River gazes affably back at you. Singer, multi-instrumentalist, and Saint Michaels native Sean F. Schultz, 50, is wholly in his element here. This is where he works, where he performs, where he knows

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Photographer Sam Shoge’s drone photography tells stories of Eastern Shore landscapes

Photos by Sam Shoge

Sep 17, 2019
1 min

Photographer Sam Shoge’s drone photography tells stories of Eastern Shore landscapes

Sam Shoge, owner and proprietor of Shore Studios, uses aerial drone photography to tell stories. Working mostly during sunrise and sunset, Shoge seeks golden light, dynamic skies, and magical, fleeting moments in his documentary-style images. He is interested in Eastern Shore landscapes. Never formally trained in art, Shoge was drawn to drones as a tech-savvy adult who had long been seeking a creative outlet. The new horizons of drone photography provided a maker’s path for S

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Vintage Tractors at the Thresherman’s Show

Photos and captions by Erin Fluharty Lewis

Aug 8, 2019
1 min

Vintage Tractors at the Thresherman’s Show

Threshermen’s shows offer a glimpse into the history and industrial beauty of antique farm machinery #StageLeft #Tractors #Farms #August2019

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Stage Left: Local Music Duo, Wooden Ships

Story by Michael Valliant // Photos by Caroline J.

Jun 3, 2019
3 min

Stage Left: Local Music Duo, Wooden Ships

Wooden ships never go out of style. And neither does great live music played well on the Eastern Shore. And those two things come together with John Brittingham, J. Guy George, and Jon Jacobs and their band, Wooden Ships. The band takes its name from a Crosby, Stills, and Nash song. That’s a feeling and an image for which the Eastern Shore is known, and it’s also part of the reason for the name — band members are connected to the water, sailing, and the classic, free, and eas

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Story by Michael Valliant // Photos by Caroline J.

Apr 30, 2019
5 min

Stage Left: Shakespeare on the Shore

For Avra Sullivan and Chris Rogers, Shakespeare is a lifelong love. They each encountered and were changed by “the Bard” (as Shakespeare is affectionately referred to) when they were in elementary school, and for the past seven years, they have made it their mission to bring Shakespeare to the Eastern Shore. “The first Shakespeare I ever memorized was Macbeth’s tomorrow speech, when I was in fifth grade,” Rogers said. “I didn’t understand what it meant, but it was really cool

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Chestertown’s printing press: The art and power of ink on paper

Story by Daniel Divilio // Photos by Caroline J.

Apr 4, 2019
4 min

Chestertown’s printing press: The art and power of ink on paper

One snowy afternoon in February, a short stack of poetry postcards sits on the industrial paper cutter in the print shop at Washington College’s Rose O’Neill Literary House. Red ink on white paper and featuring a poem by Nick Flynn, the postcards are from a student project, the tympan paper for which is still sitting on the platen of an early 1900s press. The print shop is operated by Mike Kaylor, a man with a certain Hemingway-esque look about him, a master printer who also

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Stage Left: An Interview with Dell Foxx Company

Interview by Sarah Ensor // Photos by Caroline J.

Feb 18, 2019
2 min

Stage Left: An Interview with Dell Foxx Company

Our conversation with members of the local band about how they got started and what influences them to make music. Dell Foxx Company Members: Vocals – Duan Wright Guitar/Vocals – Brent Schraffenberger Bass/Vocals – Cody Shingleton Drums/Vocals – Jake Shingleton What kind of music do you play? D.W.: We play an eclectic mix of music including genres ranging from classic rock and country to pop and rap. We all love music and do our best to play songs that anyone in the audience

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Story by Daniel Divilio | Photos by Caroline J.

Jan 10, 2019
5 min

Stage Left: WACappella finds harmony

To call WACappella a musical group falls short. Officially considered a club by Washington College, it is more a tight-knit community, small with between 20 and 25 members, comprising students who share a passion for one thing singing. Having formed about 10 years ago, WACappella is a more recent addition to the offerings at the historic liberal arts college in Chestertown and likely one of the few to include beat-boxing. Alum Taylor Goss, who grew up in Denton and is now in

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Living on Clough’D 9: Our look at the clever creations of cookie crafter Amy Clough

Story by Katie Willis | Photos by Caroline J.

Dec 3, 2018
6 min

Living on Clough’D 9: Our look at the clever creations of cookie crafter Amy Clough

’Twas the week before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring ... except for Amy Clough, who’s just finished several batches of Christmas sugar cookies and is quietly making her way to bed at the witching hour. Snowflakes, gingerbread houses, stockings, snowmen, and snow-capped Christmas trees all quietly sit drying as she tip-toes through her quiet house to bed. It’s been a long night. These cookies were not born out of a log of commercial sugar cook

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Artist Dawn Tarr offers a new take on pet portraiture

By Amelia Blades Steward

Nov 27, 2018
3 min

Artist Dawn Tarr offers a new take on pet portraiture

Her artwork has been on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, Animal Planet, and the Bonnie Hunt Show. Among the celebrities who have her pet portraits are TV personalities Anderson Cooper, Conan O’Brien, Rachel Ray, and Shorty Rossi of Pit Boss. Painter Dawn Tarr of Snow Hill has been painting her whole life and even shares a birthday with the famous painter Vincent Van Gogh. She calls herself an Impressionist painter and pop artist. Her style of pet portraiture is whimsical, capturing

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Preston artist Dawn Malosh on the spiritual creation of Gargoyle Bells

Story by Amelia Blades Steward // Photos by

Oct 4, 2018
3 min

Preston artist Dawn Malosh on the spiritual creation of Gargoyle Bells

Each of the Gargoyle Bells born at Aesthetic Alternatives Art Studio has its own personality, purpose and name. Their faces are unique, some comical and others serious, and they all have their own voices. Although artist Dawn Malosh accidentally stumbled into creating these creatures while making a simple pinch pot in 2001, their beginnings harken back to medieval times when gargoyles were placed on cathedrals throughout Europe to ward off evil spirits from entering the churc

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National bluegrass outfit The High and Wides talk about the influence of rural roots on their music,

Story by Robyn Barberry

Sep 14, 2018
3 min

National bluegrass outfit The High and Wides talk about the influence of rural roots on their music,

Photo by Walter Bowie It’s 7:30 on a ridiculously gorgeous Thursday night in June. At a wrought iron table on the patio of MaGerk’s, a bustling Baltimore sports bar, sit Mike Buccino and Marc Dykeman of The High and Wides, an up-and-coming bluegrass group with its roots in Kent County. Buccino is wearing a navy baseball cap and an unassuming gray camp shirt. Dykeman is wearing a subtle Western shirt in faint blue and high-waisted pants with a fist-sized belt buckle. Buccino o

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Art in the Yard: Jan Kirsh’s Garden Creations

Story by Sarah Ensor | Photos by Arden Haley

Aug 2, 2018
3 min

Art in the Yard: Jan Kirsh’s Garden Creations

Atop a pillar at the end of a private lane in Bozman sits a bright red pepper. It’s shiny and curled upward, almost as if it is waving a welcome. Come in, it says to visitors, I have delightful secrets. Further down the lane, giant stalks of aqua, indigo and green asparagus nod toward one another as if confiding secrets. Just across from them, a lone purple artichoke coolly rests atop another pillar. Sculptures of round, luscious fruits and vegetables live in many spots all o

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Bird Dog Wheeler: At the intersection of music and beer

Story by Amelia Blades Steward | Photos by

Jul 5, 2018
4 min

Bird Dog Wheeler: At the intersection of music and beer

Catching up with musician Bird Dog Wheeler these days means finding him between music gigs and riding his bike or playing a round of golf. In December 2017, the iconic Eastern Shore musician retired from his job as vice president of sales after 31 years with Kelly Distributors to spend more time doing what he loves most – writing and playing music with his band of over 40 years, Bird Dog and the Road Kings. However, the intertwining of his two professional lives, beer sales a

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Local Artist Marc Castelli Captures the Grit of Watermen on the Chesapeake Bay

Story by Amelia Blades Steward | Photos by

Jun 4, 2018
5 min

Local Artist Marc Castelli Captures the Grit of Watermen on the Chesapeake Bay

Over the past 25 years, Marc Castelli has been painting watercolors of the lives of Chesapeake Bay watermen. This year marks his 25th year working with Carla Massoni and her gallery in Chestertown. In his words, his paintings are reflections of the deep and profound magic of the light in the air and the water that continue to inspire him. But, he said, his paintings also reflect the relationships he has built with watermen while becoming a part of their world. He has taken ad

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Behind the Scenes at the Paul Reed Smith Factory in Stevensville

Story by Amelia Blades Steward | Photos by

May 23, 2018
5 min

Behind the Scenes at the Paul Reed Smith Factory in Stevensville

We look behind the scenes at the Paul Reed Smith factory in Stevensville, where world-famous guitars are built for some of the biggest names in music. Some of the most treasured guitars being played by musicians today are being built from a factory on Kent Island. Carlos Santana, Neal Schon, Mark Holcomb, John McLaughlin, Zach Myers, Mark Tremonti, and Alex Lifeson, to name a few, all currently play Paul Reed Smith (PRS) guitars. The newest person to be added to the list? Gra

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Returning and Reinventing: Artist Kevin Garber

Story by Michael Valliant // Photos by Larry Reese

Apr 20, 2018
4 min

Returning and Reinventing: Artist Kevin Garber

The Eastern Shore is an opportunity for artist Kevin Garber. It’s an opportunity to be connected to nature, weather, tides, and to create art that speaks to this connection. And it’s an opportunity to fish. “It’s so visceral here — every day can be different based on the weather. Watching the watermen, who are so tied to natural forces like wind and tide,” Garber said. “I never thought I’d be following the tide like I do. I love to fish and have always fished. I always have a

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Jay Fleming: Capturing a Unique Perspective of the Chesapeake Bay

Story and photos by Caroline J. Phillips

Mar 20, 2018
3 min

Jay Fleming: Capturing a Unique Perspective of the Chesapeake Bay

Many of those who spend time around the Chesapeake Bay are captivated by its beauty and charm. The sunsets, the shoreline, the natural architecture — the uniqueness of the Eastern Shore is constantly captured by cell phones and cameras. Everyone has their own perspective of what makes the Chesapeake Bay area special, and local photographer Jay Fleming has a point of view that truly is captivating. As the son of a National Geographic photographer, Fleming grew up in Annapolis

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