Schedule

This course will take place on Tuesday at  10:30 for five weeks (3/8/25-4/15/25). 

This course will take place at the Arlington Council on Aging located at 27 Maple St., Arlington

Directions and Parking: https://www.rainbowlliboston.org/location

Liz Heichelbech, Instructor

Course Description. Explore the powerful art of comedy improv, learning to use spontaneity, creativity, and humor in a supportive community. Whether you're looking to enhance your communication skills, build confidence in thinking on your feet, or just have a blast, this course equips you with practical tools to apply improv techniques for greater joy and laughter in your life. 

Through games, exercises, and group scenes, you'll practice key principles like active listening, quick thinking, collaboration, and embracing failure as part of the creative process in an encouraging atmosphere.

Each class starts with a check-in and collaborative warmups, followed by short scene practice, props work, games, and longer scene work. Each class ends with a brief reflective conversation on what we learned and how we might apply it in our lives. 

Whether you're a seasoned performer or a total beginner, Applied Comedy Improv will help you find the humor in everyday life and make it work for you.

Required materials. Readings are short excerpts from Improv for the Spirit, by Katie Goodman. The instructor will email these to students the week before. After the first class, students will be asked to bring props from home. 

What to prep for first class

Come as you are!

Instructor Bio

Liz Heichelbech is an author, artist, educator and creativity coach. Her most rigorous training in comedy improv derives from twenty years as a middle school teacher. She holds a masters degree in Education from Lesley University, and first began practicing group comedy improv games as an undergrad at University of Arizona. She has taken classes at Improv Asylum, Improv Boston, and Center for Expressive Arts, and has performed at various venues throughout the country. She directed the Boston Women’s Improv Group for two years, and has taught comedy improv at the Waldron Center for the Arts, the Weston Public Schools Professional Development Academy, and at various churches, improv groups, schools, and community education organizations. A recent graduate of Martha Beck’s Wayfinder Life Coach Training Institute, Liz is passionate about helping others live their best lives through engagement with creativity and art making.

Schedule: 

This course will take place on Tuesdays at 1:30 PM for five weeks (3/18/25 - 4/15/25).  This course will take place at the Arlington Council on Aging.

Directions and Parking: https://www.rainbowlliboston.org/location

Course Description.  

Literary translation is different from conveying what a patient is trying to tell their doctor or converting an instructional manual from one language to another. A literal translation won’t suffice. Words have connotations and nuances that have to do with time and place; to translate colloquial expressions and slang requires a particular skill. To do justice to the text, Gregory Rabassa, renowned translator of Spanish into English, would try to imagine he was writing the book the author would have written if he or she were writing in English. This class will compare two or more translations of excerpts from works of Chekhov, Shalom Aleichem, Juan Rulfo, Dostoyevsky, Camus, and Colette. 

Materials. 

The instructor will provide links and excerpts of works to be considered. 

Instructor Biography

Monica Hileman has published over a dozen short stories in journals such as Arts & Letters, The Baffler, the Chicago Tribune’s Printers Row Journal, and Catamaran Literary Reader. Originally from the Chicago area, she holds an MFA from the University of North Carolina and lives just north of Boston. Many years ago, she wrote reviews for Gay Community News and edited short bits for the monthly woman’s newspaper Sister Courage. More recently, a few of her reviews are on the Arts Fuse, a local online magazine. 

Schedule

This course will be held on Wednesdays, 1:30-3:00 begining on 3/19/25. It will be on Zoom and onsite at The Pryde, 59 Harvard Ave.. Hyde Park.

Thea Iberall, Instructor

Course Description.

The course will be hybrid—conducted both in person and on zoom—and will be held at The Pryde, located at  55 Harvard Ave., Hyde Park.

Have you ever tried to share an event of your life and it just falls flat? In this course, you’ll learn the basics of telling a great story. You’ll learn how to set up the story and bring it to life so that people are sitting on their edge of their seats wondering how it will end. A story is a journey. Don’t bore your family and friends ever again.

Each class will start with a lesson. For some of the classes, there will be a guest storyteller to show how storytelling can be done effectively. Then we’ll break into small groups and tell stories. The listener will listen for the lesson. We’ll gather back together to discuss our experiences. For homework, students will flesh out their stories and write them out if they want.

The 5 classes will have these lessons:

1.  Story structure. Anchoring the story. Plant a hook. Heightened moment.

2.  Types of story. Showing vs telling. Conflict and risk.

3.   Voice and perspective. Elements of the story.

4.   Subtext (theme). Book-ends.

5.   Lessons learned.

Required materials.

The instructor may have some handouts.

What to prep for first class 

N/A

Instructor Bio

Gayle Brandeis, author of Drawing Breath, called Thea Iberall ‘a shimmering bridge between heart and mind.’  An inductee into the International Educators Hall of Fame, Thea has been a featured storyteller at venues in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, California, and Greece. She represented Los Angeles at the National Poetry Slams in 1998. Thea hosted Expresso Yourself Coffeehouse, and is the playwright of We Did It For You— the story of how women got their rights in America. She is the author of the ecofeminist novel The Swallow and the Nightingale. Thea has a Master’s degree in Professional Writing (USC). Member: Northeast Storytellers, Jewish Storytellers Coalition. 

Schedule: 

This course will take place on Tuesdays at 10:30 AM for five weeks 4/29/25 - 5/27/25).  This course will take place at the Arlington Council on Aging.

Directions and Parking: https://www.rainbowlliboston.org/location

Course Description. This course will introduce participants to the great game of American Mah Jongg. No prior experience of the game is required. We will start at the beginning, reviewing the different types of tiles: the suits, dragons, winds, flowers, and the jokers. We will learn how to set up the walls, distribute the tiles, conduct the Charleston (that is distributing the tiles—not the dance!),  learn how to read the Mah Jongg card, practice forming  Mah Jongg sets (or hands), discuss the rules of Mah Jongg, and begin playing. The class will be very hands-on and highly participatory. Other than some preliminary information and explanations by the instructor, class time will be spent discussing and practicing every aspect of the game. Our goal is for students to be able to begin playing by the second or third class.

Required materials.  All students will need to purchase a 2025 Mah Jong card from the National Mah Jongg League or another legitimate organization such as Hadassah (which orders in bulk from the National Mah Jongg League). The cards are copyrighted (so we can’t make copies) and usually come out in late March each year but can be ordered starting in January. Please see “Preparation for the first class,” below, for details.

We will also need multiple sets of Mah Jongg. I have a Mah Jongg set that we can use in class but in order for students to learn the game and play with the tiles, we will need a set for every four students, if at all possible. Registered students are urged to look into borrowing sets from Mah Jonng players of your acquaintance.

Preparation for the first class. Registered students are asked to order the card (preferably the large print version which is $15) from the Nationalmahjonggleague.org a few weeks before class begins so they will have the cards by the time of the first class meeting.

Students will be sent a few pages of introductory materials on Mah Jongg and asked to review them prior to the first class.

Instructor Bio.  Marjorie is a happily retired social policy researcher who started her career working on a locked psychiatric unit—where she learned about life.  She has a love of games including Mah Jongg, bridge, RummyKub, Qwirkle, and Mexican Train—to name but a few. Having grown up in the Boston area, Marjorie is fortunate to be able to spend time with old friends and family who live locally—and enjoys a regular Mah Jongg game with her cousins!

Schedule

This course will take place on Zoom on Tuesday, beginning at 10:30, 4/29/25 - 5/27/26.

Course Description.  We will trace the evolution of American racial innocence from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1884, through 

The Fire Next Time in 1963, to the National Book Award winning James in 2024. Through our analysis of racial innocence, we will explore the nature of our racial, cultural, political and social identities at a time of seismic demographic change.

Session 1. Back to School— Protecting Racial Innocence/Revisiting The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn/Resisting an Imperfect Messenger

Session 2.  James Baldwin and the “Crime” of American Racial Innocence—The Indictment and the Punishment

Session 3.  Contemporary Messengers/Michelle Alexander, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Eddie Glaude, Imani Perry, et al—Stuck in a Recurring Nightmare

Session 4.  James by Percival Everett—From Moral Suasion to Black Agency

Session 5.  James by Percival Everett—Finding the Cost of Freedom

Students will receive guiding questions several days before each class to prepare for discussion.  There will be 1-2 hours of reading each week.

Required materials 

James by Percival Everett.  I will provide all other materials via email.

What to prep for first class

Read “Teaching Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Shelley Fisher Fishkin and  “The Essential Discomfort of Reading Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Derek Bunting.  I will send these articles by email the week before we start.

Instructor Bio. 

Joshua Frank provides Adult Education in Racial Equity and American History. He worked as an educator for twenty-eight years in public schools--sixteen as

a teacher, and twelve as an administrator. He completed his undergraduate education at UMass/Amherst, and received Master’s degrees from UMass/Boston and the Harvard Graduate School of Education. His areas of special interest include fostering positive, effective teacher-student relationships, and promoting cultural competence and equity in schools. Josh’s 2007 Education Digest article, “When White Educators Discipline Students of Color,” was republished as a “classic” in the August 2015 Connections:  The Journal of the National School Reform Faculty.

Schedule: 

This course will take place on Tuesdays at 1:30 PM for five weeks (4/29/25 - 5/27/25).  This course will take place at various locations

Various instructors.

Course description. Join us for a series of beautiful and accessible walks through some of the most scenic locations in Massachusetts. Each walk is hosted by a member of the Rainbow community. These outings are designed for a relaxed pace, providing an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors in an informal and educational group setting. Connect with nature and make new friends while exploring the beauty of glorious Spring in Massachusetts– reserve your spot today! 

Horn Pond (Woburn)  -  April 29 

Site Leader: Catherine Lord

Enjoy a tranquil loop around this picturesque pond, surrounded by lush greenery and a variety of local wildlife. A smooth walking path makes this spot perfect for a stress-free walk. Parking is available in the main lot at Lake Avenue, and portable restrooms are located near the entrance.

Boston Public Garden (Boston)  -  May 6

Site Leader: Liz Diamond

Join us for a leisurely stroll through America’s first public botanical garden, a MetrOasis, featuring an array of 9,000 vibrant tulips, the graceful lake dotted with swans and ducks, and a blast of color with May’s flowering trees. The flat, paved pathways ensure a comfortable experience. Parking garages are located nearby, with restrooms accessible at the Boston Common Visitor Information Center.

Arnold Arboretum (Boston) - May 13

Site Leader: Carolyn Cronin

Amble on the wide paths of this world-class botanical collection with a wide variety of blooming trees and bushes. Learn fascinating details about the plant life’s origins and ecological importance. Parking is available near the main entrance, and restrooms are located at the Hunnewell Visitor Center.

Great Meadows Wildlife Refuge (Concord) – May 20

Site Leader: Mary Kay Swan

The trails run by two broad freshwater marshes. A wooden observation deck juts out over the water, giving a clear view of geese, mallards, and the occasional great blue heron standing motionless in the shallows. Red-winged blackbirds cling to the tops of cattails, their sharp calls cutting through the quiet. The trail is mostly flat, with wooden bridges crossing narrow channels. Bring binoculars if you have them.

Free parking is available off Monsen Road. Restroom facilities are available. A small entrance fee is charged.

Breakheart Reservation (Saugus) – May 27

Site Leader: Catherine Lord

Walk through serene forests and around peaceful lakes on gentle trails, ideal for an enjoyable, low-intensity outing. The reservation offers a mix of paved and unpaved paths. Free parking is available at the main entrance on Forest Street, with restrooms provided near the visitor center.