Photo by Cat Laine. The logistics, physical, and emotional demands of the production are mind-boggling – one actor spending 80 minutes morphing among 12 characters with unique accents and mannerisms while delivering lines almost non-stop and,...
Henry Nwaru in SAME DIFFERENCE at Wilbury Theatre Group. Photo by Erin X. Smithers. It’s 1993 in Providence. A gang leader from Harlem lands at his ex-girlfriend's apartment in the middle of the night — wounded,...
A reimagined production of the international, award-winning musical The Bodyguard will arrive at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC), October 23 – 25, 2026, as part of the Theatre’s 2026/2027 *Encore Series. Based on the 1992...
All photos by Lillian MK Photo. RI Battle of the Bands had a smooth run this year, every performance dodging the monsoons that have plagued past iterations. The year started out with 16 highly accomplished, but...
Okee dokee folks… I mentioned this in my column a few months ago and now it is coming close to being (IS) a major issue. GASOLINE. Before the mango moron started his war of distraction...
We all know that women were the first to make beer, right? It was discovered by accident when grains were used to make other foods digestible. Dried grain was stored and used to make bread....
Haunted Attractions 1. Factory of Terror Terror experience for all ages, including a variety of imaginative themes and thorough design. 120 Pearl Street, Fall River, MA 774-415-0153 factoryofterror.com 2. Scary Acres Fall festivities with the main attraction - a three-part terror experience...
Cover artist Nilton Cárdenas of Cranston refuses to stand still. “I am constantly moving, and creating art,” he says in an interview at Sharks Peruvian Cuisine on Broad Street in Central Falls. And when he’s not...
Photos by the author. Magda León is more than a multidisciplinary artist; she is an immigrant woman who uses art to explore her identity, her roots, and her connection to community. When I asked her how...
Photo by Scott Lapham. For the Rhode Island artist, educator and muralist, creativity has become a way to open doors, strengthen community and help others discover possibilities within themselves. For Nilton Cárdenas, giving back does not begin...
Every Hispanic Heritage Month, we are given an opportunity to look back.We celebrate the pioneers who came before us, the traditions they preserved, the institutions they built, and the sacrifices they made so generations that...
Photo by Dave Cantelli. Ever rummaged through your spouse’s sweater drawer expecting to find argyles, yet instead stumbling across a secret fetish so utterly demented that it immediately sent you bolting toward a new life? Deftly...
Rachael Warren as Clare. Photo by Mark Turek. If there is such a thing as too much of a good thing, The Getaway Driver at Trinity Repertory Company is it. The world premiere of the two-person play...
Photo by Jesse Dufault. Hark, spectators of the realm! If thy soul doth hunger for a "reverent irreverence" turning a 77-seat black box into a roaring arena of wretched romance, get thee to the Burbage Theatre...
RI Music Hall of Fame plaque honoring Rudy Cheeks/The Fabulous Motels/The Young Adults. (Photo: Michael Bilow) Much has already been written on the passing Sep 18 at age 76 of Bruce McCrae, who used the stage name...
Crook Point Brewing Company, 65 Massasoit Ave., East Providence; photo credit: Sean Carlson Over the past year, The Grind has gleamed as one of Rhode Island’s coffee gems. Set up at Crook Point Brewing Company (65...
Natasha Hodgson in the Broadway Company of Operation Mincemeat. Photo by Matt Crockett. The Tony Award® and Olivier Award®-winning musical launches the North American leg of its world tour at the Providence Performing Arts Center September...
Hunter Brown, Allie Seibold, and Seth Eliser in You've Still Got a Friend, playing at Bill Hanney's Theatre By The Sea from August 20 - September 13, 2026. Photo by Michael Derr Okee dokee folks… Tonight, at Theatre By The...
Photo by Steve Ahlquist. The unionized workers of the Community Libraries of Providence have been without a contract for two years now. Their patience, which had been wearing thin, was stretched to the breaking point by...
Photo: L-R: Pénélope Rose, Manya Glassman, Emeline Easton, and K. Elisa Garcia. by Mike Ryan. The Rhode Island International Film Festival, also known as Flickers, took place August 4 through August 9, bringing filmmakers, actors, industry...
I think museums and the culture around them have historically gotten a bad rap. When you think of museums, you might associate them with classism, inaccessibility, and wealthy donors and patrons. There’s also the issue...
As the leaves change to amber hues, so do fall beers. Our local brewers are excited about the opportunity to offer these loved styles of craft beer. If you are looking forward to cozy sweaters...
Illustration by Sadie Levine. 1. Adams Farm (pumpkins, hay rides, corn mazes) Plus: Variety fall farm stand 158 Burnt Swamp Road, Cumberland 401-714-4425 2. Appleland Orchard (apples) Plus: Cider, wine, and donuts 135 Smith Avenue, Greenville 401-949-3690 3. Barden Family Orchard (apples, pumpkins) Plus: Farmers...
Okee dokee folks… I just realized that I have been attending concerts for 50 years now. In that span of time I have seen countless shows. I honestly have no idea how many I have...
Moon Leone didn’t set out to make your run-of-the-mill pop songs. They build whole worlds, embodying different characters and using visuals to tell stories that ultimately help people heal from trauma. Performing as YourFriendM00n, they...
On August 12, Motif cohosted a forum on the Arts in Providence featuring Democratic Primary Mayoral candidates Brett Smiley and David Morales. In Providence, the real election typically happens in the primary. The winner will go...
Every election cycle, Motif brings you the candidates in their own words so you can try to compare apples to apples. It’s our way of contributing to the political process while not having the fact-checking...
Environmental Organizations Endorse Foulkes for Governor PROVIDENCE — The Providence Streets Coalition, a grassroots activist organization devoted to increasing funding, safety, and reliability in the state’s transit network, announced July 21 that it is backing former...
For the cover of Motif’s Fall Guide, painter and muralist Nicholas “Niko” Tolentino of Cranston drew inspiration from his childhood days, he relates in an interview at White Electric Coffee Co-Op in Providence. Roger Williams Park...
Centerville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket hosted its first live music event in August. It started big with the Island Roads Fest, featuring popular reggae/ rock bands including Sublime, Slightly Stoopid, Iration, Action Bronson, DENM, Bumpin...
While some Rhode Islanders have the second Monday of every August off to commemorate Victory Day, Japan comes together for a Peace Memorial Ceremony every August 6. The event is held at Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims (Memorial Monument for Hiroshima, City of Peace) in Hiroshima’s Peace National Park. The goal of this memorial is […]
The time is upon us for yet another edition of the historic Newport Jazz Festival. This year for a change of pace from past guides, I’m going to focus on artists or collaborations that may not garner the same recognition as some of the bigger names on the poster. Here are three picks for each […]
Is there a moment in a horse’s stride when all four hooves are off the ground? was the question Leland Stanford wanted Eadweard Muybridge to investigate. In 1878, Muybridge, a photographer roaming the western U.S. in a horse-drawn carriage/darkroom, took a series of photographs at Stanford’s Palo Alto racetrack. Muybridge photographed a horse named Sallie […]
When art succeeds it inspires. It asks questions. It holds mirrors. Curating Commemoration: Poiesis / Remedy, on display at the WaterFire Arts Center, features the works of 45 area artists. Curated by Melaine Ferdinand-King and Joel Rosario Tapia, two rising curators selected for a curatorial mentorship initiative of the Providence Biennial for Contemporary Art, Curating […]
Paralleling this year’s events at Newport Folk Fest is a show called “ALL FEMALE FRONT: A Newport to Nashville Festival Night,” produced by Spring Street Productions at Newport Playhouse. Normally, you would only associate a playhouse with the typical plays and theater productions, but Newport’s one-and-only houses much more than just that! On Friday, July […]
Two years ago Rob Pena began work as a community organizer for a marijuana justice campaign within Reclaim Rhode Island. He was campaigning to help craft the future of Rhode Island’s cannabis industry, doing the work to ensure the Rhode Island Cannabis Act included social equity provisions and record expungement. In 2022, when the bill […]
“Do you have any idea what’s going on?” “None at all. Isn’t it great?” – Overheard at the Bartenders’ Ball This year’s award ceremony took place just above the go-kart track at R1 Indoor Karting in Lincoln. Go-karts whizzed around the racetrack and the room’s high ceilings and the purple and blue lights emanating from […]
The most delicious school project ever conceived in the Ocean State is coming to a school near you this fall. Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE)’s Menu for Success Student Food Truck Initiative, originally announced in December 2022 with a roughly $1.6 million investment from the School Building Authority Capital Fund, has empowered 13 school […]
With 48 hours of jam-packed production time, from casting to editing, small groups of filmmakers came together early this summer to build 7-minute stories. The rules were simple: include a character (either Edward or Elizabeth Vanterbus, Marine Life Scientist), a prop (a cone) and a line (“Read the sign. What does it say?”) but each […]
This summer has been unruly, with days swinging from blisteringly hot to torrentially rainy. During the second week of August, when everyone else is asking themselves, Will the weather hold so I can make it to the beach?, put something fun and interesting on the calendar instead — catch dozens of new films, including several […]
