It’s 2003, Thursday afternoon, in a quiet little town called Eberndorf, in the deep south of Austria, surrounded by fields, trees, and medieval churches; 10-year-old me is in my parents’ living room, glued to the...
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...
THU FEB 24 – FRI MAR 1 Providence French Film Festival: 14 films in French with English subtitles, most screened twice. Public invited. Brown University Granoff Center for the Arts, 154 Angell St, PVD. brown.edu/campus-life/events/french-film-festival/ See motifri.com/pvdfrenchfilm2019 THU 21 Sofia Ribeiro Quartet: Portuguese music. 7:30pm. Zeiterion Performing Arts Center, 684 Purchase St, New Bedford, Mass. […]
Currently, the right to abortion is protected under landmark US Supreme Court decisions, Roe v. Wade (and its lesser-known companion Doe v. Bolton decided on the same day) in 1973 and Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992. “Viability” is defined to occur when a fetus is sufficiently developed to live, with artificial aid, outside the […]
Beware the pretty; it is a spinning maelstrom, a black hole that will suck you in and leave you in the dark. Pretty things distract viewers from the reality that lies beneath what they see. Maybe when things get too pretty, a barrier between the art and the viewer forms that says, “I am here and […]
Rhode Island is a small state — the smallest, in fact, which you all already knew — but here’s another example. My first encounter with Becca Brady and Tiffany Ting, co-founders of Hometown Cafe and Poké, was not at their brand new brick and mortar location, or even when they began serving poké bowls from […]
Rhode Island’s Mark Binder was named a finalist for the 2019 Audie Awards for Best Original Work for his audiobook titled Loki Ragnarok. This 77-minute audiobook is based on Norse mythology and weaves a tale of Viking Armageddon from the titular character’s point of view. Listeners might come away from the experience with a greater understanding of violence and […]
Ulya Aviral is a New England filmmaker who lives in Cambridge and teaches at CCRI and RISD. She was born in 1991 and grew up in Turkey seeking out theater, film and art in general amid chaos, violence and war. At 17, she moved to the US by herself and settled in the suburbs of Chicago […]
You wouldn’t think there were many teenagers living in Pawtucket in the late 1960s who were heavily into John Coltrane, Thelonius Monk and Bob Dylan. But then again, Rudy Cheeks (nee Bruce McCrae) has always danced to his own drummer — and quite successfully — which is why he is receiving Motif’s Impact Award for his lifetime […]
Okee dokee folks… I find myself often starting sentences with the phrase, “When I was young.” Just one of the realities of aging, I guess. Anyway, when I was young, when we wanted to start a band we would just ask schoolmates who played the instruments we wanted to have in the group, we met up […]
Dear C and Dr. B; I live with my brother, who is an environmental activist. Nothing wrong with that, but he takes it to the extreme. He doesn’t sleep, eats little and is always upset over the state of things. He collects articles and papers his room with them. Twice he was even arrested for acts […]
Last month, members of the United Nurses and Allied Professionals (UNAP) Local 5110 picketed informally outside Fatima Hospital in North Providence. UNAP’s contract expired at the start of February, but their protest is about more than just bargaining for higher pay. The union has made safety and all related grievances a mainstay of their platform. […]
