Photo by Jesse Dufault. Picture this: grief and laughter, absurdity and tenderness coexisting cohesively. Not easy to do, yet Burbage Theatre Company’s production of The Memory of Water adeptly captures this ephemeral equilibrium. Under the expert...
Aura never planned to fall in love with chocolate. Chocolate may not have been her first choice, but it became the obvious one for her pastry adventures. When she enrolled at Johnson & Wales University, her...
Does true love exist or is this something found only on the Hallmark Channel? If you aren’t familiar with this network, it usually involves a baker, country music singer, hockey player, or a prince who...
Okee dokee folks… “Sto lat, sto lat.” It’s a traditional Polish song that is meant to wish a long life to a person. “Sto lat” roughly translates to “100 years” and is a common Polish...
Illustration by Maddy Bormes Valentine’s Day is on its way, and so is the heteronormativity that accompanies it. From the popular rom-coms we guiltily indulge in to the traditionalist ideals that have a grip on many,...
It’s that time of year again, where love is in the air and the stores are filled with as much chocolate as the eye can see. Typically it’s considered a holiday where you spend time...
If you’re as chronically online as I am, you might have caught wind of the way people from in and out of state romanticize a Rhode Island summer and share the nostalgia of having fallen...
Ricardo and Bernadet Pitts-Wiley of the Mixed Magic Theatre in Pawtucket have been married for 48 years, and have been colleagues in the theatre space for 26. Over the last few years, I’ve noticed how...
While gathering profiles of local Black artists, We had far more suggestions from our guest editor and advisors than we could ever hope to cover. Kelly Marino interviewed three RI makers who are making waves...
The Langston Hughes Community Poetry Reading is returning for its 31st consecutive year, to begin black history month. The annual free event will celebrate the powerful work of poet Langston Hughes with community poetry readings...
Sarcastic Sweets Black excellence is something that should be celebrated every day. Black History Month not only honors that excellence but places it front and center. In that spirit, I invite you to visit one or...
You know how when you talk to people about something or someone they love they suddenly sit up straighter, remember things they thought they’d forgotten, and share their experiences with a sparkle in their eyes?...
Rhode Island is bursting with creative energy. Providence calls itself the Creative Capital but that concept doesn’t stick to the confines of the city’s boundaries. The creatives that help make the Ocean State one helluva...
There are some places in RI that feel less like a business and more like a trip back home. The Sandwich Hut is one of them. It all began in 1963, when Joe Tatulli, a World...
Give and you shall receive! The time of year for giving is upon us, and the Parent Support Network of Rhode Island (PSN) continuously provides care and services to the community for those in need....
Abuse is an experience that many individuals have unfortunately lived through, but it is a topic that doesn’t get the coverage it deserves. There is a stigma, along with the plethora of other emotions a...
Resolutions are great if they are realistic. However, isn’t resolving to always or never do something setting one up for failure? The best advice that I have is to set some goals that are achievable,...
On a chilly December morning, Robert recounts to me the time he played his mother's favorite song, Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road" through his hi-fi system. After the cumbersome time spent lugging the equipment and then...
Okee dokee folks… Well, it’s a new year. People put way too much stock in that. Shit just carries over from the previous year. Time is a human-made construct. In the big picture it doesn’t...
Photo courtesy of Gina Montecalvo Recent news has been grim about the future of medical care in our capital city. Dire finances have essentially endangered two of our local institutions: Roger Williams Medical Center and Fatima...
I get it. It’s the new year and yes! Finally a reason to lock into some new routines. I love that. I’ve been there. However, the clock’s midnight strike is not turning your glass slippers...
News broke of an audacious operation on Jan 3 where US forces flew into Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, captured dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife, and flew them out to stand trial in federal...
Cover artist Dalton Kaplan of Pawtucket always had the art bug. “When I was a kid, I watched way too many cartoons,” the illustrator and graphic designer laughs. While sitting in front of the TV he...
At Providence, a clipper low Mon night followed by a shortwave Tue night into Wed morning will bring two separate episodes of precipitation, the first beginning as minimal snow possibly changing to freezing rain and...
Claudio Manuel Neves-Valente, identified by authorities as the suspect in both the Dec 13 mass shooting at Brown University in Providence that killed two and injured nine and the Dec 15 murder of MIT Professor...
Cibber-Vanbrugh’s The Provok’d Husband, a comedy about an extravagant wife, was a huge success in Newport. And Nicholas Rowe’s brooding The Tragedy of Jane Shore, inspired by the life of the mistress of Edward IV, drew standing-room only...
We asked Motif’s resident video production supervisor to recommend some locally grown vids that made his year: 1. Dawn the Duck You may think you have a robust social life, but just know that there's a duck...
By Steven R. Porter Rhode Island is known nationwide for its vibrant arts community. But the state’s published authors, despite their talent and success, are too often an afterthought. The year 2025 saw an absolute cornucopia...
The holidays, over the years, have changed. This may be true for you as well. As a toddler most of us have followed family traditions. My late sister and I would wait for my father...
Heather Rose in Clover Okee dokee folks… If you listen to music enough you can always find lines in a song or whole songs that relate to the world around you. Lately I have been elder-Ubering...
The first hole of the miniature golf course at The Dusty Planet in Olneyville is emerald, like any other putting green. The second hole is golden, like a cornfield on […]
Ants in the City column celebrates one year with Motif. “Stick to ants” he cried, hiding behind a zoom chat rather than showing up to say it to me in […]
Saved by our rhodes US Attorney General Pam Bondi has sent a letter of official chastisement to Governor McKee, saying that Rhode Island’s status as a sanctuary state “ends now.” […]
I spent nearly every day of the past three months scouring Rhode Island’s radio stations for the elusive “Song of the Summer”, even as an endless parade of national media […]
Happy fall, Motif readers! As leaves begin to drop from the trees, local acts continue to drop amazing music. Here are five crisp cuts! Caitlyn Mitchell — “Icarus” Caitlyn Mitchell’s […]
The evening of August 7 might have been just another ordinary Thursday night had I not walked into The Met in Pawtucket. Stepping inside felt like being transported back in […]
Okee dokee folks… WBRU used to be my favorite radio station. I would always hear an eclectic mix of music played and I was introduced to many new artists this […]
I’d never heard of (or listened to) Bowling Shoes, but that can be said of so many local bands. I suppose this is why I so enjoy writing for and […]
I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on this, and however controversial it may be, I’m just going to come out and ask this question: “Who doesn’t love ice cream?” […]
A year and a half ago, Head Brewer Elijah Lawrence joined Apponaug Brewing Company in Warwick because it gave him the opportunity to be creative, he related. And he immediately […]
