The Arts Institute of Western Maine will sponsor a silent film night featuring Doug Protsik who will play a live and improvised score to the 1928, silent, feature-length comedy starring Buster Keaton in “Steamboat Bill Jr.” The event will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31, in the Emery Community Arts Center, 111 South St., Farmington, according to a news release from the institute.

Admission is $10 at the door, free for children 18 and younger and students with ID.

Storyline of “Steamboat Bill Jr.” from IMDB:

“Following through on a promise to his mother, William Canning Jr. goes to River Junction to meet his father who has not seen him since he was a child. The younger Canning isn’t quite what the elder was expecting but the old man has bigger problems. He’s being put out of business by J.J. King, who not only owns the local hotel and bank, but has recently introduced a new paddle wheel steamer that puts Cannings older boat, the Stonewall Jackson, to shame. Bill Jr. and Kitty King take a liking to each other much to the dismay of both of their fathers. When a fierce storm hits River Junction, Bill Jr. is forced to save Kitty, her father and his father.”

Protsik plays the “old-time piano” for dances, melodramas, honky tonk saloons, and silent movies. He learned his style from Otto Soper, Geneva Walton, and Danny Patt among many others, according to the release. He plays with the band Old Grey Goose and produced all three of their recordings, including the group’s first recording in 1978 for Folkways, “Old Time Country Dance Tunes and Songs from Maine,” now available again on CD. Doug also plays piano, accordion, and fiddle and is the camp director for Maine Fiddle Camp.

AIWM is an affiliate of the University of Maine at Farmington.

For more information, contact Emery Arts Center at 778-7000, president@artsinstitute.org or http://www.artsinstitute.org.