A middle-aged American woman with a fear of heights stands on the high dive by a hotel pool in Greece. Her son encourages her to jump. She’s made it this far. Why not just do it? As she considers whether it would be best to take a step forward or a step back, her life literally flashes before her eyes. She begins telling stories about previous vacations and other moments in her life when she held back from making the big plunge. High Dive , a play by Leslie Ayvazian, opens this weekend at the Vortex Theatre (2004½ Central SE) in a new production directed by Tish Miller. Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Sundays at 6 p.m. Tickets are $12. To reserve yours, call 247-8600 or e-mail reservations@vortexabq.org.
Artscrawlin'
Downtown Albuquerque plays host to this month’s Artscrawl gallery tour with almost a dozen receptions sprinkled throughout the wider neighborhood. At Sol Arts (712 Central SE, 277-4332) the New Mexico Sculptors Guild will present a range of new work. AIA Albuquerque (202 Central SE, Suite 103, 242-9800) has an exhibit featuring Patrick Nagatani’s Chromatherapy project, consisting of color photographs examining the ancient art of “color healing.”There’s more of Nagatani’s work at 516 Arts (516 Central SW, 242-1445), this time involving art that incorporates the artist’s meticulous use of masking tape with photographs. At Artspace 116 (116 Central SW, Suite 201), there’s another photo exhibit: Steven M. Williams panoramic pinhole photographs of tombs, abbeys and disintegrating churches. The numerous artists who rent workspaces at the Downtown Contemporary Art Center (105 Fourth Street SW) will also open their studios that evening. Resident artist Carol L. Estes will present her abstract paintings at Sauce Liquid Lounge (405 Central NW, 453-6222). Sumner & Dene (517 Central NW, 842-1400) hosts the 10 th Annual Human Figure Show and a photo exhibit with work by Ann Bromberg. The Harwood Art Center (1114 Seventh Street NW, 242-6367) has an excellent contemporary photo show curated by Teresa Eckmann, Miguel Gandert and Holly Roberts. New gallery on the block, FHAB (1131 Mountain NW, 400-9313) offers work by Celeste Boals, Erin Adams, Michael Carter and owner Nick Harmon. The MoRo Gallery (806 Mountain NW, 242-6272) presents a photographic show featuring several guest artists. Lastly, Concetta D Gallery (20 First Plaza NW, Suite 29, 243-5066) opens a show called Color Poetry featuring work by Judy McCombs, Dan Beck and others. Whew! That enough for you? The gallery tour runs from 5 to 9 p.m. For details, go to www.artscrawlabq.org or call 771-4006.
