PORTLAND

Society to honor designer of museum’s Payson Wing

The Portland Society of Architects will present architect Harry Cobb with the 25 Year Building Award for the Payson Wing of the Portland Museum of Art in a ceremony at 6 p.m. June 16 in the museum auditorium. Cobb, who designed the wing, will speak after the ceremony.

The event is open to the public. Admission is $10.

This event is in conjunction with the Unbuilt Design Awards, PSA’s second showcase for works of architecture that will not be constructed or manifested as a physical work. Competitions, shelved projects and projects stalled by budget, regulatory or client issues are eligible. All submissions will be on display at the event, and competition jurors will be present to offer their thoughts on the winning entries.

RSVP to Carole Merrill at: carolemerrill@maine.rr.com

Military personnel, families admitted free to museum

For a second summer, the Portland Museum of Art will participate in the Blue Star Museums Program to offer free admission to military personnel and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

The program is available to active-duty military and their immediate family members. Active-duty military include Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard and Reserve.

The Blue Star Museums Program is a partnership among Blue Star Families, the National Endowment for the Arts and more than 1,300 museums across America.

SOUTH PORTLAND

French-themed dinner/dance to raise funds for PORTopera

PORTopera will host its annual dinner/dance and auction at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Sable Oaks Marriott. This year’s gala supports the company’s 17th-season mainstage performance of Donizetti’s “The Daughter of the Regiment.”

The gala is French-themed. It begins with a cocktail hour, including wine and hors d’oeuvres. Master of ceremonies is Frank E. Reilly. The Bob Charest Band will perform until 11 p.m.

Items for auction include “walk-on” roles in the opera performance, as well as a week in a Swiss chalet; a PORTopera design pendant crafted by Peapod Jewelers; opera trips to New York, Washington, Santa Fe and San Francisco; and more.

The gala is PORTopera’s largest fundraiser. Tickets cost $125 per person, and tables of eight or 10 are available. Tickets must be purchased in advance through the PORTopera office at 879-7678.

‘Dreaming of Wolves’ book captures excellence award

“Dreaming of Wolves: Adventures in the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania” by Alan E. Sparks recently won the 2011 Indie Excellence Award in the category of nature, and was a finalist in the adventure category.

The Indie Excellence Awards recognize published books in various genres. Criteria include overall excellence in presentation. This award celebrates the highest achievements in independent press and self-publishing.

Winners and finalists were announced May 15. For a complete list, visit indieexcellence.com.

BRUNSWICK

Group seeks original artwork for sale to benefit students

Maine artists are invited to submit original artwork to Brunswick’s fourth annual 10 X 10 Benefit Art Exhibit & Sale.

All accepted work will sell for $200. The artist receives $100, and $100 benefits Arts Are Elementary, a local nonprofit agency that provides artists-in-residence to all Brunswick students in grades K-5.

The 10 X 10 Benefit Art Exhibit & Sale will be held Sept. 30 at the Morrell Meeting Room, Curtis Memorial Library, 23 Pleasant St., and Parish Hall, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 27 Pleasant St. Visit 10x10brunswick.org for details.

Juilliard School student wins festival’s composition award

The Bowdoin International Music Festival has announced that Molly Joyce, a first-year student at The Juilliard School, has won the festival’s fourth annual student composition competition.

Joyce will receive $500, and her work for solo viola, “Dear Elizabeth Hayes,” will receive its world premiere in the July 30 Charles E. Gamper Festival of Contemporary Music concert.

Joyce, a 19-year-old composer from Pittsburgh, is the first female and the youngest winner in the four years of the competition. She was the recipient of a 2010 ASCAP Morton Gould Award, and was selected as a finalist for the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts 2010 Young Arts Competition, among many other recent honors. For more information, visit bowdoinfestival.org.

WESTBROOK

Theater companies combine for actor auditions at one site

Acorn Productions hosts the Southern Maine combined theater auditions from 7 to 9:30 p.m. June 8, and 7 to 9:30 p.m. June 15 in the Acorn Studio Theater, 90 Bridge St., in Westbrook’s Dana Warp Mill.

The auditions offer local actors a chance to showcase their talents in front of many directors and casting agents in southern Maine. Although most companies seek professional actors, Acorn welcomes any actor to audition. Actors wishing to sign up for an audition slot can do so at acorn-productions.org.

Companies attending the auditions include Acorn Productions, Add Verb Productions, AIRE Theater Company, Fenix Theatre Company, Freeport Shakespeare Festival, Gitgo Productions, Harbor Light Stage, Mad Horse Theatre Company, Open Waters Theater Arts, Portland Stage Company, The Public Theater, Snowlion Repertory Company and The Theater Project.

Auditioning actors are asked to perform two contrasting monologues of no more than two minutes total. If an actor wants to audition for Acorn’s Naked Shakespeare Ensemble, at least one of the pieces must be a Shakespearean speech of at least 10 lines of verse. All actors will also need to provide about 20 current headshots and resumes.

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