Mesquite Arts Center abuzz with sculpture exhibition, community theater

If it's art you want, they're bringin' it.

The Mesquite Arts Center

The Mesquite Arts Center is currently displaying the works of local sculptor Billy Renfro. The exhibition runs through February 28.

MESQUITE — There is always something to see and do at the Mesquite Arts Center this month. The arts center features many different types of visual and performing arts as arranged by the Mesquite Arts Council.

The art center gallery is currently filled with stone sculptures by local artist Billy Renfro. The sculptures are on display at the center through Thursday, February 28.

"He drove up in a van and had these beautiful stone sculptures. I was very intrigued and told him of course I would like to display them. It generally takes us a year or more to get everything in place to put them on display but they are here now and in the gallery," said Mike Templeton, arts center director.

The stone sculpture exhibition is titled What I See.

The Mesquite Arts Center

Mesquite sculptor Billy Renfro uses stone to depict images. The exhibition, What I See, is currently on display at the Mesquite Art Center.

"I called the exhibit What I See because the stone sculptures are mostly heads," Templeton said. "The images in the stone are very approachable and pleasing."

The Mesquite Community Theater is currently featuring a play by Jones Hope Wooten called Rex's Exes. The play is a comedy that revolves around the Verdeen cousins. It features them in a period of transition. One of the cousins is nearing her 15th birthday, one is struggling to make a new business successful and the other cousin is haunted by visions of her presumed-dead husband, Rex. The play has performances on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through February 23 in the art center's Black Box Theater.

"The play is hilarious. It's filled with very colorful characters, mostly in their 50s and 70s. It's based around a typical week in the lives of these characters. There is a lot of slapstick, over-the-top drama," Templeton said. "They have had quite a few sellouts already."

The community theater also just concluded auditions for its next play, Almost Maine, by John Cariani.

For information on the arts center including current and upcoming events, visit the city's website at www.cityofmesquite.com or call 972-216-6444.