Bill Reid's creatures have flown (or swam) the coop. The sculptor's fantastical metal birds, fish and more that had taken up residence in the Racine Art Museum's Fifth Street windows for the past year have gone home to roost and a new - and very different - sculptural display has taken their place.

The latest window exhibition at the RAM, which opened on Sunday, is the work of Chicago sculptor Diane Simpson. Called "Window Dressing," it was created by Simpson specifically for the RAM windows and pays homage to the window dressers of 1920s and 1930s department stores, and the streamlined Art Deco style of that period.

Simpson, whose work is the public collections of both the Art Institute of Chicago and Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art (as well as other museums), is perhaps best known for her minimalist sculptures that explore the form and structure of clothing as it translates into unconventional materials such as fiberboard, perforated metals and faux fur. Her inspiration for "Window Dressing" was taken from sources that include vintage wallpaper and linoleum, Art Deco tiles found on the walls of a New York City subway station, and trade journals published for windows designers from the 1920s and '30s, according to the artist.

"Window Dressing" will remain in the RAM's windows through July of 2008 and during that time, the artist will come periodically and make changes in the display. As it has done with many of the artists who have exhibited at the RAM, the museum will give the public the opportunity to meet Simpson during her exhibition's run. At 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 7, she will guide visitors through a behind-the-scenes tour of her work, along with Bruce Pepich, RAM's executive director. The tour will take place during Downtown's September First Friday event, when admission to the museum will be free until 9 p.m. Simpson will also lead a tour of her new installations at RAM in May of 2008.

In the meantime, take a few minutes (or longer!) to stop by the museum's Windows on Fifth Gallery to see what Simpson has created specifically for us.

Not only is it on the way to any of the events at Festival Park or Monument Square (or one of your favorite Downtown restaurants), it is free. For more information about "Window Dressing," go to http://www.ramart.org or call (262) 638-8300.

Feeling flaky?

With all the recent heat and humidity, it may seem a bit early to be thinking about snow. The folks at the Sixth Street Theatre, however, are already looking to February and their Snowdance 10 Minute Comedy Festival. And they are hoping that playwrights everywhere are thinking that way too.

The theater, which is home to the Over Our Head Players, has put out its call for scripts for the festival competition, which has drawn entries from playwrights near and far for the past three years.

Each year, 10 to 12 entries are chosen from those submitted and all of those selected are performed together in one theater presentation, by the OOHP Snowdance Ensemble, at the Sixth Street Theatre.

The 2008 Snowdance 10-Minute Comedy Festival will take place Feb. 1 through 24.

As in year's past, audience members will get to vote for the play they like best and once the votes from all four weeks of performances are tallied, the winners will be announced at the final show of the run.

The Snowdance Festival play writing competition is open to unpublished, 10-minute or less comedies which are free of royalty and copyright restrictions. Manuscripts, which must be typed in standard format and securely bound, should be submitted to SNOWDANCE, c/o Sixth Street Theatre, 318 Sixth St., Racine, WI 53403.

Each entry should include a title page, where the writer's name, address, phone number and e-mail address (if applicable) are listed. The title page should also include a cast list and a one-to-three sentence synopsis of the play.

Submit enough copies of the script for the number of characters in the cast, plus two. Entries must be postmarked by Nov. 1.

A complete explanation of Snowdance competition rules is available at the theater Web site, http://www.overourheadplayers.org

Questions should be directed to Rich Smith at (262) 632-6802 or via e-mail at snowdance318@gmail.com

Go ahead, put that funny skit you've been thinking about down on paper and give it a shot. You don't have to be Neil Simon to go Snowdancing.

Lee Roberts is the arts and entertainment reporter for The Journal Times. Scene & Heard appears every other Thursday. Lee can be reached by phone at (262) 631-1755, by e-mail at at lee.roberts@lee.net and by mail at 212 4th St., Racine WI 53403.