A season of innovative and entertaining performances begins this week as musicians, puppets and vaudeville acts star in SummerStage at the Mattin Center, a new event sponsored by the Homewood Arts Program.

The weekend series of low-cost family-oriented shows by local artists begins Friday, May 10, and runs through Saturday, June 22.

Parking is available in the visitor's lot off Wyman Park Drive. Tickets are cash or check only. For more information about the events, call the Swirnow Theater Box Office recording at 410-516-4695.

Friday, May 10. Peabody Ragtime Ensemble and Mattin Center Art "pARTy." 4-6 p.m., Mattin Center Courtyard. A first-birthday celebration for the Mattin Center with music by the Peabody Ragtime Ensemble, named "best jazz band of Baltimore" by Baltimore magazine, and an opportunity to view the work of students in the Homewood Art Workshops and the Digital Media Center. Refreshments and birthday cake. Rain site: SDS Room of the Mattin Center. Free.

Friday, May 17, and Saturday, May 18. Film night. 8:30 p.m., Mattin Center Courtyard. The 1928 comedy Steamboat Bill Jr., a classic silent film starring Buster Keaton with original score and live accompaniment by the local band Boister. $5 general admission, $3 students and seniors, free for courtyard or balcony standing room. Rain site: SDS room of the Mattin Center.

Friday, May 31, and Saturday, June 1. New vaudeville. 8 p.m. on Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. on Saturday, Swirnow Theater. "Prescription for Laughter," a celebration of new vaudeville, showcasing the circus skills, clowning and magic of the area's best professional variety performers. Each performance will feature different acts by mix-and-match groups of the dozen clowns who are part of the Big Apple Circus' Clown Care Unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital. All proceeds from the shows will benefit the Clown Care Unit and Laughter Arts Foundation. $10 general admission, $8 students and senior citizens.

Friday, June 7. Jazz. 8 p.m., Swirnow Theater. Quartet Zero, a modern jazz group known for its unusual grooves and group improvisations, playing original tunes. $7 general admission, $5 students and seniors.

Friday, June 14, and Saturday, June 15. Cabaret. 8 p.m., Swirnow Theater. Joyce J. Scott and Lorraine L. Whittlesey, the Dueling Divas, in "Ebony & Irony V: Unleashed"--a showcase of original music, topical humor and improvisational social commentary. Named "best cabaret/performance piece" by Baltimore magazine. $10 general admission, $8 students and seniors.

Saturday, June 22. Puppet show. 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., Swirnow Theater. The Black Cherry Puppet Theater, which has entranced local audiences for more than 20 years, with two marionette productions--"Hansel and Gretel" and "The Sultan's Review." $5 general admission, $3 students and seniors.