tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74006576064458464522024-03-13T11:43:53.541-07:00South Sound Arts etc. - Alec ClaytonArt and theater reviews covering Seattle to Olympia, Washington, with other art, literature and personal commentary.
If you want to ask a question about any of the shows reviewed here please email the producing venue (theater or gallery) or email me at alec@alecclayton.com. If you post questions in the comment section the answer might get lost.Alec Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15518600413157551190noreply@blogger.comBlogger1704125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400657606445846452.post-10790864601518530682022-11-28T10:11:00.000-08:002022-11-28T10:11:05.532-08:00Becky Knold’s exciting new paintings<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Like a collection of elegant and mysterious religious icons
dug up from a newly discovered ancient civilization, Becky Knold’s mixed-media
scrolls on display in the lobby of the State Theatre during the run of Harlequin Productions' “A Christmas Carol” evoke the
balance of light and dark, good and evil, with their contrasts and harmonies
of non-traditional form and media. They are constructed/painted with tar and
many other media on tarpaper — re-cycled posters and art papers, acrylic, oil,
and spray paints, metallic pigments and powders, hand-painted papers for
collage elements, wood laminate, used metal sanding discs, sandpaper, assorted
found fabric, string, wire, and more. Each scroll has a glowing disc at the top
with strips of painted and troweled layering of paint below. These paintings
are the apotheosis and culmination (so far) of Knold’s art over the past few
decades.</div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There will be an
artist’s reception in the lobby Sunday, Dec. 11 from noon to 1 p.m. Learn more
about Knold’s art <a href="http://harlequinproductions.org/2022/11/16/meet-becky-knold-featured-artist-for-a-christmas-carol/" target="_blank">here</a>. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">From a written statement by Becky Knold:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>“Sometimes the discovery of a new material, or tool, or
process can inspire new possibilities in one’s artwork. For me in this case, the catalyst was the
discovery of tar as a painting medium, and tar paper as a surface to paint on. It was a couple of
years ago that I became enamored with tar. Such a beautiful substance – thick, richly hued
black and earth tones, shiny, gooey, with a semi-gloss finish that just feels good and honest. </p><p class="MsoNormal">"Inspired by artists before me such as Anselm Kiefer, Guy Anderson, Morris Graves, and Theaster
Gates, who have used it to great effect, I began experimenting. I found a tar-derived product
called roof sealant used by roofers to protect against moisture. It can be thinly applied with a
brush or thickly with a trowel. At the same time, I came across another product that was bound to
change my work – a deliciously smooth and absorbent black paper, sold in big, wide rolls –“roofing felt.” a.k.a. tar paper. When unrolled, it drapes gracefully and can be hung on the wall
as a scroll, frameless. Perfect for the large scale, experimental paintings I wanted to try. . . .</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“As for the motivation and theme of these new paintings,
they are also consistent with some of my past work. The motivation came, in part, from an
inescapable feeling of the increasing“darkness” of our times (which could be discussed at
length). However, I need to add that this perceived condition has also served to reinforce and deepen
my desire to focus on and create paintings that affirm the existence of “light” – an
affirmation that will add to our sense of well-being and optimism. By overlaying a symbol of hope and
beauty (the circle, in golden colors) on top of a starkly dark background, I want to show two sides
of the same reality – the dark and the light, the ugly and the beautiful as they exist simultaneously,
with the lightness symbolically transcending the darkness. I paint because I love the
materials and processes of making art, but when these things can be married to the message – the dualities
– inherent in our reality, well, I love it even more!”</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p><b>IMPORTANT NOTICE</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">With a few rare exceptions such as this review, I will not
continue posting art and theater reviews on this blog. Going forward, my
reviews will be posted only on <a href="https://olyarts.org/" target="_blank">OLY ARTS</a> . <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">OLY ARTS offers Olympia’s best and virtually only coverage
of the arts by a team of many of Olympia’s best professional arts writers who are
themselves active performers, playwrights and visual artists. <o:p></o:p></p>Alec Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15518600413157551190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400657606445846452.post-14505845701088356652022-10-11T13:06:00.001-07:002022-10-11T13:06:32.344-07:00<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><b></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiplH0m-QbPISDJow9gmStnj4PnjStui-1dC4YCM5gxh-m935n5eCtTl5O_jP5rv-iEMd6E07YWDgLAsoYK1M0iBJhES4uKAnPza4QvLqaQrthuCdwyt0GU329S5Oyr6ReabcoMngAx_CilM19ci0lonAvLhvtGpHnFIhkRrwnKzaAG-GeN3fcuBgEMmQ/s3476/SusanPier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2245" data-original-width="3476" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiplH0m-QbPISDJow9gmStnj4PnjStui-1dC4YCM5gxh-m935n5eCtTl5O_jP5rv-iEMd6E07YWDgLAsoYK1M0iBJhES4uKAnPza4QvLqaQrthuCdwyt0GU329S5Oyr6ReabcoMngAx_CilM19ci0lonAvLhvtGpHnFIhkRrwnKzaAG-GeN3fcuBgEMmQ/s320/SusanPier.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></div><b><br />Susan Christian’s <i>Blue</i> at LGM Studio</b><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">By Alec Clayton<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Through popular use, the term <i>abstract</i>
has come to mean what the term <i>nonobjective </i>once meant, that is
paintings with no recognizable subject matter. Many of the paintings in Susan
Christian’s exhibition “Blue” at LGM Studio are nonobjective, some are
abstract, a couple are almost realistic; and all are lovely, deceptively simple,
and exciting for viewers who take the effort to really look. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">There are 24 to 25 paintings in the show, all
but two are paintings on strips of lathe that are put together in rectangular shapes
of various sizes. The two exceptions are a pair of older paintings on facing
walls of water and sky in arresting shades of blue painted wet-on-wet with acrylic
paint. There are drips and splatters and puddled paint — expressive and
gestural, but not in the aggressive manner of abstract expressionism but rather
soft, and contemplative and restful.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9NEqwcdJ31nvT7JhCOQ9GIgmYHKjZR5rzbqnxE1gR4_WfGnBENemm3byfS57un1gHnHdNN9BnfSQKuoMJgNQhNTEKuMM-nmc0w2XJFBoOpNAltMtWGkvp9PWg12GRjmM3DTBdRjJO3Bs22ccEw26XW3cEtpowDRMtOvbWNMh5mggU1PJfbPiTVJjEsA/s3156/Susan%20Endlessness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="3156" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9NEqwcdJ31nvT7JhCOQ9GIgmYHKjZR5rzbqnxE1gR4_WfGnBENemm3byfS57un1gHnHdNN9BnfSQKuoMJgNQhNTEKuMM-nmc0w2XJFBoOpNAltMtWGkvp9PWg12GRjmM3DTBdRjJO3Bs22ccEw26XW3cEtpowDRMtOvbWNMh5mggU1PJfbPiTVJjEsA/s320/Susan%20Endlessness.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />There is a feeling of aloneness and quiet
strength in all of these paintings, a love of color and love of the water and
sky surrounding her home on the bay. A favorite is a small painting called “Endlessness.”
It is light blue-gray with in the center a rectangle of soft white that glows
beckoningly like light from a window seen through dense fog. Above it is a tiny
streak of red that is recognizable only up close as a broken strip of wood, and
even more subtle above that a strip of green. Such subtle contrasts of color
and texture in fields of solid color are a hallmark of all of these paintings.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">There is a structurally strong painting called
“Solidarity” that is a solid color, deep blue, in which the only contrasts are
in the placement of the strips of lathe: 15 vertical strips above three sets of
three strips that form a group of squares along the bottom.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk_IThFlQEc6DnXi-xSfx5sndJRB5JOhwf-d8e5OfFy6LH1NnpQGvJMCi51FKoyUUtsrsKAJYFCguuiVX_b-T3UKwVYlclG3f71TktFO2A1yyU3y51wEetcX2xLK66qLUfRROXeIpwUTjCVgwxt0Dj9_QxVHa61-pDMwE09EjAyo76ZXkPXTyKiucpKQ/s2677/Susan%205%20paintings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2677" data-original-width="2549" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk_IThFlQEc6DnXi-xSfx5sndJRB5JOhwf-d8e5OfFy6LH1NnpQGvJMCi51FKoyUUtsrsKAJYFCguuiVX_b-T3UKwVYlclG3f71TktFO2A1yyU3y51wEetcX2xLK66qLUfRROXeIpwUTjCVgwxt0Dj9_QxVHa61-pDMwE09EjAyo76ZXkPXTyKiucpKQ/s320/Susan%205%20paintings.jpg" width="305" /></a></div><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Along one wall is a group of five paintings with
stronger contrasts of color and texture than the rest, and less abstract than
the rest are a painting of a lonesome country road and two paintings of boats.
One titled “La Mystere” is an empty boat floating on the bay and casting a dark
blue shadow down deep, deep, deep into the water. This one is a powerful image
due to its simplicity and strong contrasts. In the other boat picture, the
empty boat rests on land and is delineated by lines of dots.</span></div><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Susan Christian’s longtime friend and neighbor
Llyn de Danaan recognized that the way Susan lives in an old oyster factory
that juts out over the water on Oyster Bay affects her vision of the world and
her art. In a review posted on Facebook, de Danaan wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">“There is blue. There is white. There is a
seeming portal…a “Lonesome Road,” with bits of green, a yellow with blood or
flame called ‘Annunciation,’ a couple of phantom boats. ‘House Plan’ has a lot
of red. And the mountain, there across what might be the bay, at sunset. I love
her depiction of our mountain, the mountain of our lives seen from the west
side of Oyster Bay.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">And: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">“What is important here is color, big swathes
of it. Like color field painting, we are invited to simply engage with color
and the marks made with it and on it. And to celebrate the way Susan sees the
world.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">A number of her paintings were sold at Arts
Walk. Whether you are thinking of buying or just want to look, there are
limited opportunities to see these fine paintings.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Blue: new paintings by Susan Christian <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Noon to 5 p.m. Thursday-Sunday through Oct. 30<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">Artist talk 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #050505; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;">LGM Studio, 114 Capitol Way N, Olympia</span><o:p></o:p></p>Alec Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15518600413157551190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400657606445846452.post-10591439426784348472022-08-13T14:24:00.001-07:002022-08-14T09:14:43.697-07:00‘The (one act) Play That Goes Wrong’ at BOP<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoECMjiIoVhuEUzrXKwGMnCuWmCqN03RlegxH1B5mDFg7hN-pju7wXozP6uaFIhtHgJSeyppZg5kF_JpwIyk-TDzZzWu3bbipV9i233ubWHprcsOR8fT27ev4ycy0MyNwFkaUkpBGAHY6Bhl7k5nREZ_d5Kjm_3DphaCUrxUH4GNP0yBVaxm_sHrOH4Q/s2515/play%20that%20goes%20wrong%20cast.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1886" data-original-width="2515" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoECMjiIoVhuEUzrXKwGMnCuWmCqN03RlegxH1B5mDFg7hN-pju7wXozP6uaFIhtHgJSeyppZg5kF_JpwIyk-TDzZzWu3bbipV9i233ubWHprcsOR8fT27ev4ycy0MyNwFkaUkpBGAHY6Bhl7k5nREZ_d5Kjm_3DphaCUrxUH4GNP0yBVaxm_sHrOH4Q/s320/play%20that%20goes%20wrong%20cast.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If you’ve read <a href="https://olyarts.org/2022/08/08/broadway-olympia-productions-and-theater-artists-olympia-pair-up-in-the-one-act-play-that-goes-wrong/" target="_blank">OLY ART</a>S, you know that BOP and TAO have merged to
bring Olympia top notch stage musicals, comedies and drama. You probably
already know that BOP is Broadway Olympia Productions now located in Olympia’s
Capital Mall and TAO is Theater Artists Olympia. If their first joint
production, <i>The (one act) Play That Goes Wrong</i> is any indication, the
merger of these two companies is going to be a roaring success.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Comedies about inept theater companies producing disastrous plays
has become so ubiquitous that they deserve to be in a genre all their own.
There are musicals, dramas, comedies, romantic musical-comedy-dramas; and now
plays about plays (usually farces) that go wrong—with actors who forget their
lines, run into props, walls and into other actors; and props that fall apart,
doors and windows that won’t open or close, and things that fall off walls. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The (one act) Play That Goes Wrong</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, directed by Pug Bujeaud<i>,</i> has all of
this and more, and, despite the genre, it is all unexpected. And the acting is great.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Unlike other plays about plays, this one has no backstage scenes;
there are no love affairs between the actors, no backstory. There is nothing but
the play within the play. Or to put it more succinctly, there is nothing but
the play. The “director” (Xander Layden) walks onto the stage and welcomes the
audience with a short curtain speech, and the play, </span><span style="background: white; color: #272727; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">a 1920s murder mystery<em> </em><em><span style="font-style: normal;">called</span> The Murder at Haversham Manor</em>, begins.
Almost immediately, Charles Haversham (Josh Palmer) is murdered on the day
before his wedding to Florence Colleymore (Heather Christopher), who is having
an affair with Charles’s brother Cecil (Sebastian Cintron). As in most good
murder mysteries, a police inspector is called in and everybody is locked in the
house, and they all know that someone in the house is the murderer. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: #272727; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">Beyond this setup, there is nothing I can reveal about the
story that won’t ruin some delicious surprises.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: #272727; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">Also starring George Blanchard as the butler, Marko Bujeaud
as the lighting and sound guy who is missing his Duran Duran CD, Robert
McConkey as Florence’s brother, and Andrea Weston-Smart as Annie, the stage
manager.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: #272727; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">Michael Christopher and Marko Bujeaud did a marvelous job
designing a beautiful set that does things inanimate objects shouldn’t do.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: #272727; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.2pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: white; color: #272727; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.2pt;">This might be the funniest play you’ll see all year.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;">Masks are required at all shows.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Aug.
18-20 at 7:30 p.m., Aug. 21-28 at 2 p.m.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">BOP
Studio in Capital Mall<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tickets:
</span><a href="https://www.broadwayolympia.com/tickets"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">https://www.broadwayolympia.com/tickets</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">253-961-4161
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:info@broadwayolympia.com"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">info@broadwayolympia.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>Alec Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15518600413157551190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400657606445846452.post-28707630122029657402022-05-28T08:49:00.003-07:002022-05-28T08:49:20.924-07:00Cry It Out<p> </p><p align="center" class="NormalParagraphStyle" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1LXVG3KQJro3KXPdK79gSKsWFwb71m8X-AUq77OuRryPuNJngGlsTeLehnJmt33dTpQKIMgwruWt_d5PN0WBLGXzlTFtle4S32gbBLckiJYbPawf26xNzUb7kVVPnOaly0DJG-crEzD68m2I9ShR5QTs6n0PcwslH1fuKcA7Q5Zpcss_lMbxL5PZXqA/s1464/Cry%20It%20Out.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1088" data-original-width="1464" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1LXVG3KQJro3KXPdK79gSKsWFwb71m8X-AUq77OuRryPuNJngGlsTeLehnJmt33dTpQKIMgwruWt_d5PN0WBLGXzlTFtle4S32gbBLckiJYbPawf26xNzUb7kVVPnOaly0DJG-crEzD68m2I9ShR5QTs6n0PcwslH1fuKcA7Q5Zpcss_lMbxL5PZXqA/s320/Cry%20It%20Out.png" width="320" /></a></b></div><b><br />A Tacoma Little Theatre’s ‘Off The Shelf’ Production<span style="text-transform: uppercase;"><o:p></o:p></span></b><p></p>
<p class="NormalParagraphStyle" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;"><b><span style="font-size: 4.0pt; line-height: 150%; text-transform: uppercase;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Tacoma Little
Theatre's Off the Shelf program presents Molly Smith Metzler’s </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">exploration of motherhood, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Cry It Out, </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">directed by Suzy Willhoft with a four-actor cast
featuring Claire Garcia, Ashley Evergreen, Erin Hess, and Jason Kosenski. Coming
June 9.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Cry It Out</span></i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">
is a biting comedy about the challenges of new parenthood, the hard realities
of socioeconomic class and the importance of friendship. This funny and moving
play takes three new mothers and one new father and shares their struggle with
staying home (or not) with baby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their
changing choices are complicated, emotional, and deeply personal as we all
explore “the other side of everything.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Tickets for the June
9 performance at 7:30pm are $10.00 for non-TLT Members, and FREE for members.
Tickets may be purchased online at www.tacomalittletheatre.com, or by calling the
Box Office at (253) 272-2281.</span></b><b style="text-align: center;"><span style="line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">TLT's OFF THE SHELF<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“We know that there is a tremendous amount of wonderful
theatre that deserves to be heard but sometimes just doesn’t get an
opportunity. With ‘Off the Shelf’ local directors and actors will be bringing scripts
to life that we hope you will find entertaining, challenging and educational to
our stage. We hope that you’ll sit back and enjoy an evening of theatre. You
never know, you might see one of these shows on our mainstage in the future.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>Alec Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15518600413157551190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400657606445846452.post-12746246216445578022022-05-21T13:14:00.002-07:002022-05-21T13:14:22.133-07:00[title of show] at SPSCC<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMkB8e1HUPsu1a__6uXPP8adMyj6zwIYRx5ZWmddEJJTahm5vyI_AImdpcqot3HDKaQgI-yfbBFt2tYMvEwVtCIVzfekCopzradTDBy3ZdVduC2QEKadrmhvu5AJmE56nY_w1nK6TWNGSmzLGNw4PmP3aCh25nzjySYK_CKQMX-1TeWD2Aj0r4C_6BJw/s5932/TitleOfShowRehearsal-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3955" data-original-width="5932" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMkB8e1HUPsu1a__6uXPP8adMyj6zwIYRx5ZWmddEJJTahm5vyI_AImdpcqot3HDKaQgI-yfbBFt2tYMvEwVtCIVzfekCopzradTDBy3ZdVduC2QEKadrmhvu5AJmE56nY_w1nK6TWNGSmzLGNw4PmP3aCh25nzjySYK_CKQMX-1TeWD2Aj0r4C_6BJw/s320/TitleOfShowRehearsal-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">from left: Charlie Kuvangasan and Chris Bolduc, photo by Sara Gettys</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9d7pMBGZOvu68l5KNJsYegzh-PGg9mjnMWrXJK4NJ6ur3dfqelI8UVTb9Mgd38XPbigYlvQTYNtPKhHN0rr1YNChklrlN_mA4D1zHYVojGIb1Jvn8f3ak_qdRv3vW_34B2hJk9JIutM71Yr5E6BAzpzF9zc6YfJ3EgpQfk3d3kdhrQb3Cl_33IlnYVw/s5875/TitleOfShowRehearsal-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5875" data-original-width="3917" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9d7pMBGZOvu68l5KNJsYegzh-PGg9mjnMWrXJK4NJ6ur3dfqelI8UVTb9Mgd38XPbigYlvQTYNtPKhHN0rr1YNChklrlN_mA4D1zHYVojGIb1Jvn8f3ak_qdRv3vW_34B2hJk9JIutM71Yr5E6BAzpzF9zc6YfJ3EgpQfk3d3kdhrQb3Cl_33IlnYVw/s320/TitleOfShowRehearsal-6.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">from left: CGiselle Jensen and Jesse Morrow, photo by Sara Gettys</div><br />Reviewed by Alec Clayton<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[title of show]</span></i><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">— yes, that’s the title of the show, brackets, lower case
type and all. It’s a musical about how a musical became an Internet sensation
and ultimately . . . careful here, I’m giving away too much . . . suffice it to
say it is a show about the writing and production of itself. This show has won an
</span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Obie Award</span><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> and was nominated for a </span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Tony Award</span><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> for </span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Best Book of a Musical</span><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Two young unknown writers, Jeff Bowen (Chris
Bolduc) and Hunter Bell (Charlie Kuvangasan) challenge themselves to write a
play and enter it into New York’s Musical Theatre Festival. The submission
deadline is a mere three weeks away. It is clearly an impossible challenge for
a pair of unknown and fairly inexperienced writers, which they express along
with their hopes and dreams in the song "Two Nobodies In New York."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">With the help of two actress friends, Heidi (Jesse
Morrow) and Susan (Giselle Jensen) they write the story and songs, singing and
dancing and dealing with their personal joys and fears along the way.<sup> </sup>When
they feel down, unworthy and defeated, Susan encourages them to keep going and “kill
their vampires,” an uplifting song that is worthy of a big Broadway production
number thanks to video projections and great dance moves.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The story arc is typical of shows about the
entertainment industry: a rise from nowhere, personal conflicts and doubts, and
ultimate joy. There are hints at romance and same-sex attractions, but these
are kept at a minimum. Ultimately, <i>[title of show] </i>is a feel-good show filled
with music, physical comedy that verges on slapstick, and clever lines
delivered with pizazz by the young cast. It’s like a lightweight “A Chorus
Line” or “Tik, Tik, Boom.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Half the cast, Bolduc and Morrow, are
experienced community theater actors, and half are SPSCC students who each also
have experience, and it shows. They, each and every one, dive into this
performance with enthusiasm, great moves and excellent singing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The direction by Lauren Love is outstanding,
and choreographer Nicholas Main deserves kudos aplenty. The keyboard accompaniment
was played with style by Kyndal Meister; and a fifth character, Dr. John
Guarente as Larry, was in a small supporting role which worked well with the
others in the cast.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Love wrote in a program note: “It sings to the
‘showmo’ in all of us; it venerates our nerdiest fantasies; it celebrates our
adoration of this glitzy, gritty, glamorous North American form of theatre
through the rose colored and sometimes lovingly critical glasses of the queer
community. It inspires us to dream of a life where what we know, what we love,
and who we love are valued.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Her statement sums it up beautifully, although
it implies a much greater emphasis on queerness than is in the show.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">WHAT<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">[title of show]<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">WHEN<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday
through May 29<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">WHERE<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Kenneth J. Minnaert Center Black Box, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">South Puget Sound
Community College, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">2011 Mottman Rd. SW., Olympia<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">INFO<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">360.753.8586.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">COST <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Suggested $15 donation<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #202122; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Alec Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15518600413157551190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400657606445846452.post-48393497390856263712022-05-13T08:49:00.001-07:002022-05-13T08:49:12.149-07:00Yellow Fever at Centerstage<p> </p><p style="background: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Centerstage opens the noir detective thriller <i>Yellow Fever</i>
by Rick Shiomi Friday, May 20. This one is set right here in our beloved Pacific
Northwest, and told through the lens of the Japanese and Chinese immigrant
communities in the 1970s. From the press release: “The shadows of the
internment camps linger over a vibrant community as it fights to establish
itself just a few decades after losing so much. <span style="background: white;">In
the midst of it all is detective Sam Shikaze, a <i>nisei </i>private
eye...and he’s got a story to tell.</span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif;"> </span><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif;">“The show brings exciting new talent to Centerstage, along with a
few familiar faces. Tim Takechi, last seen in our livestreamed 2020 venture <i>Theatre
Magic</i>, portrays our iconic private eye, Sam Shikaze, who’s every bit as
hardboiled and cynical as a good noir detective should be. Takechi has been
recognized for his work all around the Puget Sound area, and was recently seen in
Lakewood Playhouse’s <i>A Christmas Carol …</i>. His easy style and comedic
timing are an ideal match for our hero. Portraying Rosie, a café owner and
mother-like figure to Sam, is Aya Hashiguchi, well known in the South Sound as
one of the co-founders and owners of Dukesbay Productions, which provides a
space for small theatres to produce their shows. Dukesbay also mounts their own
shows throughout the year, including their recent <i>God Said This</i>, which
also featured the multitalented Hashiguchi onstage. She is also an active member
of the Centerstage Advisory Board. Annamaria Guerzon, last seen as both an
actor and playwright in Centerstage’s afternoons of New Works, <i>First
Impressions</i>, appears as the determined young reporter Nancy Wing. Guerzon
is a bright young talent at the very start of her career, and she is one to
watch. Van Lang Pham plays Chuck Chan, a lawyer and friend of Sam. His resume
includes the critically acclaimed <i>Washer/Dryer</i> at SIS Productions and
Pratidhwani in 2019. Minki Bai portrays Captain Kadota, a member of the police
force torn between his loyalties to his community and his brothers on the
force. Bai has appeared with Jet City Improv productions in Seattle, as well as
other local theatres. Graham Arthur Blair is Sargent MacKenzie, a member of the
local police who has it in for Sam and doesn’t make a secret of it. Kadota’s
supervisor, Superintendent Jameson, is played by Danny Lacker, a local
performer who has performed with multiple Puget Sound Theatres, (and made it to
Hollywood on <i>American Idol</i> when he was in High School!). Travis Martinez
plays the mysterious Goldberg, a man deeply interested in Japanese culture, who
seeks to ingratiate himself with the locals in the International District.
Finally, Keith Ordonez, recently of<i> First Impression</i>s, is our swing for
the show. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in;"><i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Yellow Fever</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif;"> is directed by Mimi Katano. Katano is the Executive Artistic
Director of Youth Theatre Northwest, with a long list of directing credits to
her name and many theatre professionals who consider her their primary mentor. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif;">During the many years I was The News Tribune and Weekly Volcano
theater critic I often reviewed shows at Centerstage. Their shows were always
excellent. For people in Olympia and Tacoma it might be a little off the beaten
path, but it is well worth the drive.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" style="background: white; line-height: 14.0pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif;">RUN
DATES: May 20<sup>th</sup> through June 12<sup>th</sup><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" style="background: white; line-height: 14.0pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif;">TIMES:
Fridays – 7:30 pm;</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" style="background: white; line-height: 14.0pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Saturdays
–7:30 pm;</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" style="background: white; line-height: 14.0pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Sundays
– 2:00 pm</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" style="background: white; line-height: 14.0pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif;"> </span></b><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" style="background: white; line-height: 14.0pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 9.5pt;"> </span><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" style="background: white; line-height: 14.0pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif;">TICKET
PRICES: <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" style="background: white; line-height: 14.0pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif;">$32 <span class="il">for</span> adults; $28 <span class="il">for</span> seniors/military;
$15 <span class="il">for</span> ages 18 – 23;</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" style="background: white; line-height: 14.0pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif;">$12
ages 17 & under. Per ticket Facility Use Fees apply.</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" style="background: white; line-height: 14.0pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif;">Tickets
available online at </span></b><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><a href="http://www.centerstagetheatre.com/" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif;">www.CenterstageTheatre.com</span></b></a></span><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" style="background: white; line-height: 14.0pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif;">or
by phone: (253) 661-1444</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" style="background: white; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif;">LOCATION: Knutzen Family
Theatre, 3200 SW Dash Point Rd, Federal Way, WA</span></b><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Alec Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15518600413157551190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400657606445846452.post-86122133206951757562022-05-09T09:56:00.000-07:002022-05-09T09:56:16.801-07:00Harlequin Productions' Sovereignty<div>by Alec Clayton</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Xmnj3UA7fpE16LQXA8RrQQLY9FlHzZwVJnUDl9vgl7x1xANZNqk0y2xMzKaI5ihL01DA_OnqklQaxQgxfIycnc_yu70yurCFdl83yQbqV2oOAnfGWHRNwXj9y9daQ4OtDb1YMYoylO3ZyPXv5z77B1VkSPepsCJoX0GSd-u1wWpLuRJeZuvZuHNR0A/s2048/Sovereignty%20cast.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="2048" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Xmnj3UA7fpE16LQXA8RrQQLY9FlHzZwVJnUDl9vgl7x1xANZNqk0y2xMzKaI5ihL01DA_OnqklQaxQgxfIycnc_yu70yurCFdl83yQbqV2oOAnfGWHRNwXj9y9daQ4OtDb1YMYoylO3ZyPXv5z77B1VkSPepsCJoX0GSd-u1wWpLuRJeZuvZuHNR0A/w345-h230/Sovereignty%20cast.png" width="345" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>From my Oly Arts article on Harlequin Production’s <i>Sovereignty</i>: </div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Sovereignty </i>is a historical drama about Native Americans written and directed by Native Americans and performed by an ensemble of Native and non-Native regional and local actors with direction, set, costume and lighting design by Native artists who have been brought to Olympia from cities all over the United States. </div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div>On returning to her homeland, a young Cherokee lawyer, Sara Ridge Polson (Josephine Keefe), balances personal life at work and with her family and friends with the strain of arguing before the United States Supreme Court the repeal of a long-standing law that makes it illegal for law enforcement by the Cherokee Nation when a non-native comes onto Cherokee land and commits a crime—specifically and most egregiously rape of a Cherokee woman. If she wins her case, it will confirm the Nation as a sovereign nation. And if she loses, she will lose the rights her family worked and died for.</div><div><br /></div><div>Brilliantly, playwright Mary Kathryn Nagle (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma) and director Esther Almazán (Yaqui/Yoeme) alternate scenes during the presidency of Andrew Jackson (Avery Clark in a dual role also as the white man who becomes Sara’s fiancé). There are interesting parallels between scenes from different centuries in which, in many ways, nothing has changed. There are lessons to be learned here. </div><div><br /></div><div>Harlequin has recruited professional actors from all over the country, and every Native American character is played by a Native, while white characters such as Andrew Jackson and Sara’s fiancé are played by white actors. Six of the nine cast members play two or more parts.
Keefe is outstanding in the role of Sara Ridge Polson. Kenneth Ruthardt (Mescalaro Apache) is mesmerizing as the Cherokee elder dubbed “Major Ridge” by President Jackson. Nathan Rice, billed as “white chorus man,” who plays a contemporary barkeep and a vicious 19th century cop, two very different characters played convincingly. </div><div><br /></div><div>The set by Tommer Peterson and lighting by Olivia Burlingame are outstanding.
<i>Sovereignty</i> runs approximately two-and-one-half hours including a 20-minute intermission. </div><div><br /></div><div>In the lobby is a show of artifacts lent and curated by the Squaxin Island Tribe Museum. </div><div><br /></div><div>Harlequin no longer requires proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test to enter the State Theater, but all patrons are still required to remain masked while in the theater space. </div><div><br /></div><div>For more background information read the Oly Arts article: </div><div><div><a href="https://olyarts.org/2022/05/03/celebrating-sovereignty-at-harlequin-productions/" target="_blank">Celebrating Sovereignty at Harlequin Productions</a> | May 3, 2022 | by Alec Clayton</div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>WHAT <br /></b>Sovereignty </div><div><b>WHERE
<br /></b>Harlequin Productions at State Theatre, 202 4th Ave. East, Olympia </div><div><b>WHEN
<br /></b>7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday,2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday May 5-28 <br />Thursday, May 19 7:30 PM - Pay What You Choose</div><div><b>COST
<br /></b>$35, Senior/Military $32, Student/Youth $20 </div><div><b>LEARN MORE</b></div><div><a href="https://harlequinproductions.org/">https://harlequinproductions.org/</a> </div>Alec Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15518600413157551190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400657606445846452.post-84195134505431261832022-03-25T11:27:00.001-07:002022-03-25T11:30:02.783-07:00Sara Gettys ‘Warmer Days’ at Childhood’s End
Reviewed by Alec Clayton
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs_mabyYVTyOCLRX-FWI4FI6iC_ZBqDV5t75c3AUaCdZb4oFMmHL_0fLB5YnySzPdBrN9rDpcDaEdxidxeKoKp9NAu7ZS5oq2P4aYcOkk_V_gjd34ndcdHpf8usi1VvZZ0iQKjhOxZhalWuJ2iAwMJLb-MFuGOEB9D3y943CLAtGhNhZCkE462y7zCFA/s4032/Sara%20Getty%20installation.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs_mabyYVTyOCLRX-FWI4FI6iC_ZBqDV5t75c3AUaCdZb4oFMmHL_0fLB5YnySzPdBrN9rDpcDaEdxidxeKoKp9NAu7ZS5oq2P4aYcOkk_V_gjd34ndcdHpf8usi1VvZZ0iQKjhOxZhalWuJ2iAwMJLb-MFuGOEB9D3y943CLAtGhNhZCkE462y7zCFA/s320/Sara%20Getty%20installation.jpg"/></a></div>
In the early-to-mid 20th century, commercial art and comic art were considered something less than fine art. And then along came Andy Warhol with his soup cans and multiple celebrity portraits and Roy Lichtenstein with his blown-up comic strip images and the surrealistic comic art of the Chicago School, a.k.a. the Hairy Who. The border between so-called fine art and comics and advertisements vanished, and many people didn’t know what to take seriously and what to ridicule. As the song says, “Anything Goes.”
<p>
There are elements of all these approaches to art in Sara Gettys’ exhibition “Warmer Days” at Childhood’s End Gallery. In the front window hangs the massive “Exuberance,” a painting in acrylic on wood of two black bunnies boxing. The exuberant flair of this painting will hopefully draw many pedestrians and motorists into the gallery where they will find almost a hundred works of art by Getty, including paintings and porcelain/mixed media sculptures — all colorful, playful, and exciting. Yet, as playful and cartoonish as they are, this is serious art.
<p>
Her images are mostly of rabbits with a few horses and birds and flowers thrown in. Her sculptures include bowls, plates, and flowerpots with fantasy flowers that stand alone or hang on walls. Edges of shapes in her paintings are generally hard, but the paint application within shapes varies from smoothly to roughly brushed with interior patterns of dots or stripes, and large swaths of color. In other words, the rabbits and birds and flowers appear on first look to be flat cut-out shapes adhered to canvas or wood with all the painting being patterns and shapes within them.
<p>
“Hare” is a large red and pink head of a rabbit with overlapping areas of color and a dot pattern outside the image on a ground that appears to be behind the rabbit in places and to overlap the rabbit in other places.
<p>
“Rabbit 1-16” is a stacked series of 16 paintings with paper, ink, and thread with large areas of loosely brushed red, blue, turquoise, and orange with line drawings of rabbit heads that weave in and out.
<p>
“After Everything We’ve Been Through” pictures the silhouette of a bird soaring from bottom right to upper left with inside the silhouette expressively painted areas of yellow, orange and blue.
<p>
“Big Agave” dominates the back wall of the gallery going almost floor to ceiling. It pictures a stylize red agave plant above a line drawing in white and blue of three rabbits.
<p>
“Dream Rabbit in Moonlight” is a black porcelain rabbit imprisoned by what appears to be bands of gold duct tape. It is a morbid image among so many playful images.
<p>
Overall, this is an impressive show and a bright welcome to the warmth of spring after a long and depressive winter and fall. In a statement on the gallery website, Gettys said "Warmer Days is a project I started as a way to push back on the chill dreary days of our PNW winter and the anxiety and uncertainty of the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic."
<p>
On Dec 6th, 2021, the Cultural Key to the City was awarded by Mayor Selby to Childhood’s End owners, Bill and Richenda Richardson, followed by the Business of the Year award from the Olympia Downtown Alliance
<p><b>
Sara Gettys ‘Warmer Days’<br>
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday<br>
Childhood’s End Gallery<br>
222 4th Ave W Olympia</b>
Alec Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15518600413157551190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400657606445846452.post-38735283374872635352022-03-21T08:41:00.002-07:002022-03-21T08:41:55.018-07:00God Said This at Dukesbay Productions<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Reviewed by Alec
Clayton<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilKuZU5V_V0pRC_a3brkYm3Gh9HgPJKJrQ2MO8hnU9TIw7r_xOr7t1c0fEjfjOJ57QuF3zvk4LaQ9if8c0IMeNw7eBcf59qTMSc1u8mQjwL8gpGRqPtWN_-zXWyJQXbUQmBTAy0MZZkPHX0JrMzi4Wt26NBfpYoSeyJ-gBIJCjQ3ddhkovFF9cbrgqVw/s5612/Jim%20Winkler%20and%20Aya.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3746" data-original-width="5612" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilKuZU5V_V0pRC_a3brkYm3Gh9HgPJKJrQ2MO8hnU9TIw7r_xOr7t1c0fEjfjOJ57QuF3zvk4LaQ9if8c0IMeNw7eBcf59qTMSc1u8mQjwL8gpGRqPtWN_-zXWyJQXbUQmBTAy0MZZkPHX0JrMzi4Wt26NBfpYoSeyJ-gBIJCjQ3ddhkovFF9cbrgqVw/s320/Jim%20Winkler%20and%20Aya.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jim Winkler and Aya Hashiguchi</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">James
(Jim Winkler) is a gruff, profane and loveable Kentucky hillbilly, a recovering
alcoholic obsessed with collecting and selling rocks. He serves as character in
and narrator of Leah Nanako Winkler’s <i>God Said This</i>. The “audience” to
his narration are fellow alcoholics (not seen on stage) at his AA meeting. He
opens the play by introducing himself and saying he’s an alcoholic, that his wife,
Masako (Aya Hashiguchi), is in the hospital with cancer, that his oldest
daughter, Hiro (Leilani Berinobis), hates him, and his youngest daughter, Sophie
(Jasmine Jaqua), has found religion. James and Hiro think Sophie’ religiosity
is absurd, but Masako prays with her, and that just might have healing power.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">During
his drinking days, James was an abusive father. Now he wants to make up with
his daughters, but they’re having nothing to do with it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Hiro
is a worldly rebel determined to crush the expectations of a dutiful Japanese-American
girl. All of the women, in fact, shatter the cliched images of Japanese women,
and James is nothing like the stereotypical redneck alcoholic. They are all well-rounded
complex human beings.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Enter
John (Jacob Tice), Hiro’s old high school friend. He is a single father who
never left his Kentucky home, and Hiro assumes he’s a downhome, uncomplicated
playboy. They get drunk and high together, and Hiro wants to “make out” (her
term) with him. But he wants nothing to do with that. He wants their friendship
to be one-hundred percent platonic (his terminology)—proving that he, like all
the family, fits no stereotypes. He has a post-graduate degree and is dedicated
to loving and protecting his thirteen-year-old son.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">The
cast is outstanding, including Berinobis as Hiro is a stand-in for the
originally cast actor and had only four rehearsals before opening night. She
performed with script in hand but did not need it all the time and did not let
that hamper her performance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Both
Winkler and Tice fit so smoothly into their roles that it seems they are not
acting at all.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Hashiguchi
plays the wife/mother, Masako, as brave and loving with the sweetest of smiles,
but <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif0CzIQsZpDrJM-IALEL3zX0sQBrxY5YHXSx5N-zs8mdnejDSPm0wC-y9wihp50MRPCaXfEL6L5IoPz45Drp4fNA450nOOjJlLCiReIfTrqjy9FoZahey8Io_hf46202nz0VV2EI7JgQsF7uPSZv6dQ7uRO01Tn2klg6m2DhbcPf_SbPt5LttsHfBX5A/s4032/Leilanie%20Berinobis%20a%20Hiro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif0CzIQsZpDrJM-IALEL3zX0sQBrxY5YHXSx5N-zs8mdnejDSPm0wC-y9wihp50MRPCaXfEL6L5IoPz45Drp4fNA450nOOjJlLCiReIfTrqjy9FoZahey8Io_hf46202nz0VV2EI7JgQsF7uPSZv6dQ7uRO01Tn2klg6m2DhbcPf_SbPt5LttsHfBX5A/s320/Leilanie%20Berinobis%20a%20Hiro.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left; text-indent: 48px;">Hiro (Leilani Berinobis) and John (Jason Tice)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />she sometimes breaks down into unstoppable sobbing. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Jaqua’s
Sophie is the only character who comes close to behaving like the sweet and
dutiful Japanese daughter. She is quiet and seemingly shy but stands up bravely
in the practice of her brand of Christianity and surprises everyone from time
to time with her rebelliousness (smoking a joint, for instance).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">The
family was not able to get along in the past, but in coming together to be with
Masako they learn to forgive and to love one another.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Kudos
to director Randy Clark, sound designer Niclas Olson and lighting designer
Michelle Weingarden Bandes for their excellent work.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">God
Said This</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"> was the
2018 winner of the Yale Drama series competition chosen by Pulitzer
Prize-winning playwright Ayad Aktar, who described it as conveying “a deeply
felt sense of the universal—of the perfection of our parents’ flawed love for
each other and for us . . .”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">God
Said This<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">7:30
p.m. Friday, Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday through April 3<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Dukesbay
Theater, 508 6gh Ave. upstairs above the Grand Cinema (no handicap access)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">$15
at DukesbahyGodSaidThis.eventrite.com<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: 8.0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">www.dukesbay.org</span><span style="color: #404040; font-family: "Source Sans Pro",sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Alec Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15518600413157551190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400657606445846452.post-83626421588643950922022-03-06T14:28:00.004-08:002022-03-06T14:28:35.912-08:00A Chorus Line at Tacoma Little Theatre<p> </p><p align="center" class="NormalParagraphStyle" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: center;"><b><span style="text-transform: uppercase;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiIbx20c6ejWPzfF3_bU3b4_m_OYeAMGTn3P_IOoNswWbMj4wa5tW0qqueQPhxzxXA70DFWRMsFWLG2xV8AJjpfwmDB5HORDKhfuA0t3wz2ICv5eABhNq5gGjEWYRyyBSp3M87IjW1iY91KRLz_Wb1qli-v4mwL7cr1dnD7pByBVLE9ftyTGeEPbtBooA=s6188" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3481" data-original-width="6188" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiIbx20c6ejWPzfF3_bU3b4_m_OYeAMGTn3P_IOoNswWbMj4wa5tW0qqueQPhxzxXA70DFWRMsFWLG2xV8AJjpfwmDB5HORDKhfuA0t3wz2ICv5eABhNq5gGjEWYRyyBSp3M87IjW1iY91KRLz_Wb1qli-v4mwL7cr1dnD7pByBVLE9ftyTGeEPbtBooA=w471-h265" width="471" /></a></div><br />The ever popular <i>A Chorus Line </i>was scheduled
to open at Tacoma Little Theatre two years ago but got shut down by Covid. Finally
it’s back, with direction and choreography by Eric Clausell and musical
direction by Jeff Bell<i>.</i> <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">From the pen of legendary composer
Marvin Hamlisch, come seventeen Broadway hopefuls who divulge their very
touching life stories as they sing and dance their hearts out in a cattle-call
style audition for a new Broadway musical.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">A Chorus Line</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"> brilliantly
evokes both the glamour and grind of showbiz, and is the musical for everyone
who’s ever had a dream and put it all on the line. The iconic score of this
Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winner features such classics as “What I Did for Love,”
“One,” “I Hope I Get It”, “Singular Sensation” — and let’s not forget the
hilarious “Tits and Ass.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tacoma Little Theatre’s production
of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Chorus Line </i>features: Heather
Adams Arneson as Lara, Ian Bartlett as Mark, Haunz Stroschein as Gregory,
Mallory Carbon as Judy, Richard Cubi as Mike, Loucas Curry as Richie, Roycen
Daley as Paul, Emma Deloye as Maggie, Nick Fitzgerald as Bobby, Valentine Fry
as Kristine, Melanie Gladstone as Val, Anna Herron as Vicky, Keola Holt as
Diana, Devin Jackson as Ensemble, Danielle Locken as Sheila, Annelise Martin as
Ensemble, Allen Melo as Ensemble, Derek Mesford as Don, Rebecca Nason as
Ensemble, Micheal O’Hara as Zach, Alan Plaster as Ensemble, Whitney Shafer as
Cassie, Natalie Silva as Bebe, Josh Wingerter as Al, Hannah Ashcraft as
Ensemble, and Thea Frances Yumang as Connie. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">WHEN<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">7:30
p.m. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday through April
3.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">WHERE<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tacoma Little
Theatre, 210 N. I Street, Tacoma<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">COST<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">$29.00,
$27.00 (Seniors 60+/Students/Military), and $22.00 (Children 12 and under), pay
what you can March 24<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal; text-align: justify;">A Chorus Line </i><span style="text-align: justify;">is recommended for ages 12 and up.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes; text-align: justify;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;">TLT requires proof
of COVID-19 vaccination at the door for all audience members and masks will
also be required while inside the building.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For our full COVID-19 protocols please visit <a href="http://www.tacomalittletheatre.com/covid">www.tacomalittletheatre.com/covid</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Photo courtesy of Dennis K Photography</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Alec Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15518600413157551190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400657606445846452.post-52169549317767101082021-12-05T12:36:00.003-08:002021-12-05T12:36:51.661-08:00Olympia Little Theatre fractures the season with The Wickhams: Christmas at PemberleyReviewed by Alec Clayton
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhNrtOc4iCa4vE4BwXPhgEkphp4XzqiSRJ_vDzhYLoD0EdwrmTZvYhwk4a2rkz02TYkBgT8YJY-H-fwcO2mP9cS_eIYCrQol41uXxYGciQSWnp1OVCVDsNXCJ1sJhZxqNjHQG8aF-Xca5Xe_d-lav6xtKE3XzwoYo_hzS5x0QxEieRJONnxjCQN_6cglg=s1024" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhNrtOc4iCa4vE4BwXPhgEkphp4XzqiSRJ_vDzhYLoD0EdwrmTZvYhwk4a2rkz02TYkBgT8YJY-H-fwcO2mP9cS_eIYCrQol41uXxYGciQSWnp1OVCVDsNXCJ1sJhZxqNjHQG8aF-Xca5Xe_d-lav6xtKE3XzwoYo_hzS5x0QxEieRJONnxjCQN_6cglg=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anne Tracy as Lizzy, Jennie Jenks as Mrs. Reynolds and Erin Cariker as Lydia; photos courtesy Olympia Little Theatre<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><i>
The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley </i>by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon is a companion piece to their Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley (OLT 2019). Both plays take off from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. If you liked P&P and “Downtown Abbey,” you’ll like <i>The Wickhams</i>. <div><br /></div><div>To quote local actor, director, novelist, former critic, all-around good fellow and my colleague at Oly Arts, Christian Carvajal — “ ‘For what do we live,’ asks Mr. Bennet in Jane Austen’s 1813 classic <i>Pride and Prejudice</i>, but to make sport of our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?’ Austen may be two centuries in her grave, but her gift for sly satire earned her A-list celebrity- -writer status to this day.</div><div><br /></div><div> Ably directed by Kathryn Dorgan, who recently retired as theater teacher at Olympia High School, with beautiful period furniture and gilded wallpaper (properties by Barb Matthews) and costumes by Diana Purvine and Bitsy Bidwell, this production gently sweeps the audience into the Darcy’s palatial estate, Pemberley in England, Christmas time 1815. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2MELcluEPYZUih3yUjfis-4OioOI4Shi2H2dym5pJ9PfwZ6iL7wImTysea30B3YaQv5e-lQqM8DO7Rk8l_kSuSrCb3l78drB82hW_d2rxgHe43rQTiv_93lf6I1E6XivQGHU8FQR-JO1JwN4PrnLkLAJYjZ_ETsledZrNipedjS0GhpAgb0usQ--aJQ=s1024" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2MELcluEPYZUih3yUjfis-4OioOI4Shi2H2dym5pJ9PfwZ6iL7wImTysea30B3YaQv5e-lQqM8DO7Rk8l_kSuSrCb3l78drB82hW_d2rxgHe43rQTiv_93lf6I1E6XivQGHU8FQR-JO1JwN4PrnLkLAJYjZ_ETsledZrNipedjS0GhpAgb0usQ--aJQ=s320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Erin Cariker and Anne Tracy</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div>The action takes place downstairs in the servants’ work area while upstairs Darcy (Alex Tracy), his wife, Lizzy (played by Tracy’s real-life wife Anne), and Lizzy’s sister, Lydia (Erin Cariker) await guests for a Christmas party. Lydia, who in the first act appears to be a stereotypical airhead with an irritatingly squeaky voice, is at-the-moment, the sort-of-estranged wife of George Wickham (Andrew Stashefsky), a nasty and self-centered if not downright evil man who is Darcy’s sworn enemy. Cariker is reprising her role as Lydia from OLT's afore-mentioned <i>Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley</i>.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Downstairs, head housekeeper Mrs. Reynolds (Jennie Jenks), young servant girl Cassie (Kaylee Hawkins) and footman Brian (Leo King) are preparing for the party when the loud, obnoxious and drunken Wickham bursts in. What ensues is well-mannered farce and mayhem, with a bit of romance. Exception: there is nothing well-mannered about Wickham. </div><div><br /></div><div>Most of the cast, except for Jenks, are new or relatively new to Olympia stages. Jenks has performed in many OLT shows including <i>Jekyll and Hyde</i>, <i>Dixie Swim Club</i> and others, and has performed in area theaters for almost 30 years. As Mrs. Reynolds she is the glue that holds this play together. Her emotions, matching her character, are kept in check as subtly expressive. </div><div><br /></div><div> Hawkins was recently in <i>Go Back for Murder</i> at OLT and <i>How I Learned to Drive</i> at the Twilight Theater Company in Portland. She plays Cassie as sweet and innocent. Alex and Anne Tracy are recent transplants from Chicago and will be valued additions to the Olympia theater scene. Stashefsky is outstanding as Wickham — the only character in the play who is not restrained by 19th century manners. His acting is enjoyably over the top. And finally, this is Leo King’s first ever onstage performance, and he does a splendid job portraying the likeable Brian. </div><div><br /></div><div>Having said all that, <i>The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley</i> is a mildly funny period comedy that is well acted and directed. It is enjoyable, but I don’t suspect many people are going to rush to their phones to tell all their friends about it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Masks and proof of vaccination are required. </div><div><br /></div><div><i><b>The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley </b></i></div><div><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div>7:25 p.m. Fridays, Dec. 10 and 17; Saturdays, Dec. 4, 11 and 18 and Thursday, Dec. 16; 1:55 p.m. Sundays, through Dec. 19. <b>Note:</b> I just heard the Sunday shows Dec. 5 and 12 are sold out. </div><div><br /></div><div>Olympia Little Theatre, 1925 Miller Ave. NE, Olympia </div><div><br /></div><div>$9 – $15
360-786-9484 </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://olympialittletheater.org" target="_blank">olympialittletheater.org</a></div>Alec Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15518600413157551190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400657606445846452.post-32090034397690938362021-09-14T09:43:00.000-07:002021-09-14T09:43:43.679-07:00 Terms of Endearment at Tacoma Little Theatre<p>review by Alec Clayton</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fjNy9TMENG0/YUDPIhqG9YI/AAAAAAAAVhM/UEuruUkThykD07o71RIGDjB2TEnKgzlMQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/TLTTerms005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="195" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fjNy9TMENG0/YUDPIhqG9YI/AAAAAAAAVhM/UEuruUkThykD07o71RIGDjB2TEnKgzlMQCLcBGAsYHQ/w294-h195/TLTTerms005.jpg" width="294" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Derek Mesford as Flap and Ana Bury-Quinn as <br />Emma, photo by Dennis K Photography<br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Run, drive, crawl to Tacoma Little Theatre to see <i>Terms
of Endearment</i>—unless you’re not vaccinated; if you’re not vaccinated and
masked, you can’t get in, and kudos to TLT for that.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I’m guessing that many of you are familiar with the story.
The stage play is adapted by Dan Gordon from the novel by the great Larry
McMurtry and the screenplay for the 1983 movie by James L. Brooks. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It is inevitable that the principal characters: Stephanie
Leeper as Aurora, Ana Bury-Quinn as Emma, Scott C. Brown as Garett, and Derek
Mesford as Flap Horton, will be compared with the screen actors in those roles:
Shirley McClain, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson and Jeff Daniels. I kid you not,
these actors are every bit as stunning in their roles as were their movie counterparts.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VUssC0pqyJs/YUDQjsGl1lI/AAAAAAAAVhU/C_MqnLlYwQs3GhErgGhQemjiizPB3RYtgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/TLTTermsPre003.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1444" data-original-width="2048" height="226" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VUssC0pqyJs/YUDQjsGl1lI/AAAAAAAAVhU/C_MqnLlYwQs3GhErgGhQemjiizPB3RYtgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/TLTTermsPre003.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Stephanie Leeper as Aurora and Scott C. Brown<br />as Garrett, photo by Dennis K Photography</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Women who have had a difficult love-hate relationship with
her mother will relate to the bantering between Aurora and Emma, and anyone who has ever enjoyed a loveable rake such as the old astronaut Garrett,
who is the over the hill astronaut, and a drunken seducer of young women will
be wonderfully surprised at the rocky relationship between Aurora and Garrett.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bury-Quinn plays Emma so naturally it seems she appears to
be not acting at all but simply is Emma. In the opening scenes, Leeper seems not
so natural as Aurora, but soon what seems to be strained acting is actually the
visible proof of Aurora’s eccentricity. And then there’s infuriating and
loveable Brown. Outside of Jack Nicholson there are few actors anywhere whose
stage or screen presence is so dynamic and unforgettable. It is notable that Brown
was equally outstanding as <span style="background: white; color: #333333;">Randle
McMurphy, another character played by Nicholson, in the 2008 performance of <i>One
Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest</i> at Lakewood Playhouse.</span><span style="background: white; color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #333333;">Director Blake
R. York said in a program note that the script called for moving a lot of furniture
around on stage and that he and Kathy Pingle, who was originally slated to
direct, agreed that moving furniture would detract from the real crux of the
play—relationships between people. The static set by York and his wife, Jen, works
perfectly. The projected images on picture frames and windows adds just the
right touch without being obtrusive.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Terms of Endearment </i>flows easily from comedy to
tearjerker. Bring handkerchiefs.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">WHAT<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Terms of Endearment<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">WHEN<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m., Sunday through Sept. 26<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">WHERE<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Tacoma Little Theatre, 210 N. I Street, Tacoma<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">COST<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #454545; font-family: "proxima-nova",serif; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 107%;">$27 Adults - $25
Students/Seniors/Military - $20 Children 12 & Under</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;">LEARN MORE<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;"><a href="https://www.tacomalittletheatre.com/">https://www.tacomalittletheatre.com/</a>
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: -.5in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Alec Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15518600413157551190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400657606445846452.post-46247578459985861702021-05-19T09:20:00.002-07:002021-05-19T09:24:06.734-07:00These are my books<p> </p><p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-weight: normal; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;">Books by Alec Clayton</span></strong><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; padding: 0in;">People have asked "What are your books about?" These
are my books, so far, in capsule and in order of publication. As of this writing there are three more novels in the works. For more information on the books visit <a href="https://mudflatpress.com/" target="_blank">Mud Flat Press</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; padding: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" style="background: #F7F7F7; margin: 0in; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;">FICTION<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p>
<p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;">Until
the Dawn</span></i></b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;"> – </span><span style="background: #F7F7F7; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">A legendary artist vanishes at the
height of his career – Red Warner, an artist from a small town in Mississippi,
makes it big in New York and then vanishes following a wild party in his SoHo
loft. To discover what happened and why, a childhood friend immerses himself in
their shared history in a search that carries him back to his Mississippi home
and a secluded fishing camp on the coastal bayous. Along the way we learn how a
small town football player coming of age in the time between World War II and
the sixties became a leading artist of his time and about the secret that has
haunted him since he left the South.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: #F7F7F7; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><i><span style="background: #F7F7F7; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">Imprudent Zeal</span></i></b><i><span style="background: #F7F7F7; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></i><span style="background: #F7F7F7; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">- From Mississippi to New York to Seattle, from the 1940s
to the close of the twentieth century, five characters who come of age at
different times and in different parts of the country are thrown together
through happenstance in this saga of modern life.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">The Wives of Marty Winters</span></i></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"> - Gay
rights activist Selena Winters is shot in the head while giving a speech at a
Seattle Pride celebration. She is rushed to the hospital where a blood clot is
removed from her brain. She slips into a coma. Selena’s husband, Marty, and
family members gather to wait and see if she will ever regain consciousness.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">Family conversations lead back to old
conflicts and memories of Marty’s first wife, Maria in the 1960’s.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;">Freedom
Trilogy Book 1: The Backside of Nowhere</span></i></b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;"> - </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">a drama
of family conflict set in a fictional town near the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Popular
movie star David Lawrence has not spoken to his father in more than twenty
years. When the old man has a heart attack while driving drunk and careens off
the top of a parking garage, David leaves his girlfriend and frequent co-star
Jasmine Jones to go home to the little bayou town of Freedom to be with his
family while the old man hovers near death. While there, he falls in love with
his old high school sweetheart, confronts a lifelong enemy (the local sheriff),
and discovers that his beautiful adopted sister, Melissa, is not who he thinks
she is.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;">Freedom Trilogy Book 2: Return
to Freedom</span></i></b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;"> - </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"> the day of the hurricane that wiped out
the little bayou village of Freedom, Mississippi. Malcolm Ashton’s wife and
children and Sonny Staples are scrambling to get out of town, while Beulah
Booker is riding out the storm with her boyfriend and other friends in the
Lawrence family home.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">Readers
of <i>The </i><em><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-style: normal; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Backside</span></em><i> of
Nowhere</i> will remember Malcolm and Sonny as the teenage hoodlums who looted
an electronics store during a flash flood many years ago. They’re grown up now.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: #F7F7F7; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; outline: 0px; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">All of these characters and more end up living in the
same condo overlooking the bay, and the ways in which their lives intersect are
as stormy as the hurricane from which they are still recovering.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;">Freedom Trilogy Book 3: Visual
Liberties</span></i></b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;"> </span></i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;">- </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">Molly Ashton is now a college student
majoring in art. She is trying hard to grow up, find her way in the world, but
it seems she does nothing but make bad choices … until she makes friends with
Francis Gossing. Francis is Molly’s only friend in college. He is socially
awkward but an artistic genius, and he is haunted by a frightening vision of
his mother and a man with a gun. He can’t tell if the vision he’s obsessed with
is a memory or a nightmare from long ago.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: #F7F7F7; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">“It’s a great conclusion
to Alec Clayton’s Freedom Trilogy. There are artists, lusty art students, horny
professors, ordinary people in extraordinary situations, resonant passions.
What’s not to like?” – Larry Johnson, author or <i>Veins</i>.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">Reunion at the Wetside</span></i></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"> - Romance
blossoms at Barney’s Pub between Alex, a left-wing Democrat, and Jim, a
Libertarian-leaning Republican – old friends from half a century ago. Meantime,
someone is killing off all the old drag queens, and Jim may be the only person
who can catch the killer.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: #F7F7F7; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">“The writer is clever and
cutting-edge in tone, and the characters kept me hungry for their lives.”</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><br style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" />
<span style="background: #F7F7F7;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Holly Hunt – amazon.com review</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><i><span style="background: #F7F7F7; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">Tupelo</span></i></b><b><span style="background: #F7F7F7; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"> </span></b><span style="background: #F7F7F7; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">- A tale told from beyond the grave by Kevin Lumpkin,
youngest of a set of identical twins, Tupelo is the story of a small town in an
era of reluctant change. as seen through the eyes of a white boy born to
privilege who comes of age in the time of Freedom Riders, lunch counter
sit-ins, civil rights marches and demonstrations.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: #F7F7F7; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Alec Clayton is a true original, delivering
his readers a fraught and powerful story of family and community laboring
through the past decades of change in the South. Tupelo is a haunting and
personal tale, reminiscent of the best of Pat Conroy. Highly recommended!” –
Ned Hayes, author of <i>The Eagle Tree.</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: #F7F7F7; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; orphans: 2; outline: 0px; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">“As much as I have enjoyed his other novels, I have to
say this one may be his best. Perhaps it is the consistent through-line, the
tight plot provided by his focus on the twins, Kevin and Evan, and their
differing lives and behaviors: One grows gradually into the bigotry so
prevalent around him, one becomes that dreaded southern phenomenon, a liberal.”
– Jack Butler, author of <i>Jujitsu for Christ</i> <i>and Living in Little Rock
with Miss Little Rock.</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: #F7F7F7; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;">This
is Me, Debbi, David</span></i></b><b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;"> </span></b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;">– Debbi Mason is a self-declared
loudmouth, fun loving, rabble rousing, perverse woman. David Parker says he has
always been something of a nebbish little mama’s boy who never took a chance on
anything in his entire life. When Debbi breaks up with David and runs off with
a man she thinks can provide wealth and security, Debbi and David each embark
on adventures that are, in turn, romantic, funny, enlightening and
scary—adventures that take them from the French Quarter in New Orleans, to
Dallas, and to New York City’s East Village. And into their own hearts.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background: #F7F7F7; box-sizing: border-box; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0in; orphans: 2; outline: 0px; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; vertical-align: baseline; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; outline: 0px;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; outline: 0px;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-weight: normal; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;">“Alec Clayton at his best.</span></strong><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;"> He
presents the reader with two lead protagonists, each with a compelling account
of the year after their break-up. Major dramatic questions emerge early on: 1.
how will the beautiful and exotic Debbi survive a violent situation and why
can’t she seem to escape her Texas entrapment; 2. will David be able to follow
his bliss amid the bizarre, quirky, sometimes evil, sometimes lovable
characters who give him a lift along his journey to New York; and 3. will Debbi
and David ever meet up again? Try as you might to anticipate the answers, I
predict you will be surprised. Truly a great read. Expertly crafted!” –
Morrison Phelps, author of <i>Bluebird Song.</i></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" style="background: #F7F7F7; margin-bottom: 15.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: #F7F7F7; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">NONFICTION</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;">What
is What the Heck is a Frame-Pedestal Aesthetic?</span> </i></b><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;">- </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">Alec
Clayton’s 1970 graduate thesis at East Tennessee State University with the
academic-sounding title, <em style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; outline: 0px;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">A Ground for the New Art: An
Alternative to the Frame-Pedestal Aesthetic, </span></em>analyzed what
many at the time called <em style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; outline: 0px;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">the new art</span></em>. This
book is that thesis with a new title and updated materials. It is an examination
of the multitude of new art forms that exploded on the scene in the 1960s, from
Pop to Happenings to Color Field Painting to Earth Art to Photo-Realism to mail
art and more.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: #F7F7F7; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Alec
Clayton’s refusal to hold an exhibition for his Master of Art degree from East
Tennessee State University was a ground-breaking event in 1970. Now fifty-years
later with a rich career as an artist, art critic, and novelist, Clayton
revisits his master’s thesis, <em style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; outline: 0px;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">What
the Heck is a Frame-Pedestal Aesthetic?</span></em>, a critical
essay about the contributions that Cage, Duchamp, Johnson, Kaprow, Pollock,
Warhol, and others made to move art forward through the use of new concepts,
experiences, formats, materials, and spaces for art. I especially enjoyed
learning about his collaboration in a mail art piece with Richard C. and Ray
Johnson.” – Jennifer Olson Gallery Director and Art Historian Tacoma Community
College.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h1 style="background: #F7F7F7; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></h1>
<h1 style="background: #F7F7F7; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;">As If Art Matters: Modern and post modern art reviews and
commentary</span></i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;"> - </span><span style="background: #F7F7F7; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-themecolor: text1;">A look at the essential elements
that lift the best of fine visual art above the mundane, including reviews
ranging from Vincent van Gogh to the New York School to contemporary video,
film and installation artists such as Bill Viola and Sandy Skoglund, plus
reviews of many artists in the Pacific Northwest who are recognized regionally
but do not enjoy the wider acclaim they richly deserve.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></h1>
<h1 style="background: #F7F7F7; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></h1>
<h1 style="background: #F7F7F7; margin: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: #F7F7F7; color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-themecolor: text1;">“His interpretation reveals a
breadth of knowledge that he generously shares without pretension, illuminating
the art, the artists, and exhibits with a point of view that reveals his
interest and curiosity in an honest and clear voice.” – Amy McBride, Public
Arts Administrator</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F7F7F7; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-outline-level: 1; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Alec Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15518600413157551190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400657606445846452.post-47086261063686583682021-01-03T11:26:00.005-08:002021-01-03T13:02:38.793-08:00Peps Point and the Hi-Hat Club<p> </p><br />
<p class="MsoNormal">by Alec Clayton</p><p class="MsoNormal">The first thing I thought about when I woke up this morning
was that in 1955 when I was in the ninth grade at Beeson Junior High my twin brother
and a friend and I were suspended for the day for wearing Bermuda shorts to school.
Wearing shorts was against the rule, but we decided that if enough of us agreed
to come to school wearing shorts on the same day they couldn’t suspend us all.
Word was spread, and it was agreed among almost half the boys in the ninth
grade. And how many actually showed up the next morning? We three. That’s all.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So we were suspended, and we decided that if we couldn’t be
in school we should to Pep’s point, a popular recreation area on a lake with swimming
and a water slide and, best of all, giant innertubes we could get inside and our
buddies would give up a push, and we’d roll downhill and into the lake. I
thought about sharing that memory with the Facebook group “Good time remembered
in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.” And then it dawned on me that among people in the
group who are around my age, almost half of them have no memories of Peps Point
because they are black, and blacks were not allowed at Pep’s Point in those
days.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The saddest thing about that for me, a white boy who grew up
enjoying privileges that were denied to almost half the people in town, is that
I did not even know I was privileged. Black kids could not go to Peps Point and
could not go to the dances we went to at the Community Center on Front Street,
not even when Little Richard came to play for one of the dances, and they could
not eat at any of the restaurants where we ate or even at the lunch counter at
Woolworths, and if they wanted to see a movie at the Saenger Theater they had
to enter through a side door and sit in the balcony. I guess they had no access
to the concession either. I guess I was vaguely aware of some of that, but I
never gave it a second thought.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Oh, they were also not allowed in the country club where I
played drums in a band. Unless they were janitors or waiters or cooks. I can’t
remember the name of the band, but I remember that the band leader played the accordion
and we played pop music and a little country and a little rock, and there was
one old white dude who came out every Saturday night and always requested “Mack
the Knife” (but he called it “Jack the Knife”) and when we played it he tipped
the band $100.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thinking back on it now, I think the only really good thing
we white kids were denied were the marvelous musicians that played at the Hi-Hat
Club in Palmers Crossing. Some of the best blues musicians in the world played
there.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Segregation hurt blacks and whites alike but not to the same extent. We white kids
never gave it a second thought, but I suspect black kids thought about it a lot.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I sympathized with those who put their lives and their
livelihood and their bodies on the line for civil rights in the 1960s, but I
did not take part in the movement, nor did I speak out among my white friends. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The University of Southern Mississippi was racially
segregated when I started my freshman year there in 1961. After dropping out to
spend two years on active duty in the navy reserve and then resuming my studies
at USM, the school was integrated for the first time, and I was happy to make
friends with one of the few black students and, later, when I was working at
the downtown Sears, I made a point of sitting at the same table in the
employees lounge with the first black woman who was hired as a salesclerk—my
miniscule and only civil rights action.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only other significant
action I took was in 1967 or ’68 when I was part of the U.S. Teacher Corps, a
federal program in which teachers were trained to work in poverty areas and
then lent to public school districts to use as they saw fit. In Hattiesburg we
were used for federally mandated integration. There were about fifty of us in
the program, approximately half black and half white. They sent all the black
teachers to work in previously all-white schools and all the white teachers to
black schools. I was the art teacher rotating between Mary Bethune, Lilly
Burney and Rowan elementary schools. I don’t think I accomplished much as a
teacher, but I was proud to have been part of the effort and proud of the work
done by other teachers in the Teacher Corps. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I left Hattiesburg for good in 1988, but I’m still in
contact with some of my old friends. I understand that Peps Point is still a
popular recreation area, and I hope it is fully and comfortably integrated. I
also know that some of my white friends started going to the Hi-Hat, and I envy
their having had that experience.<o:p></o:p></p>Alec Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15518600413157551190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400657606445846452.post-51919555459775618512020-11-21T10:20:00.001-08:002020-11-21T10:36:01.469-08:00Memorable moments<p> </p><br />
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A friend posted on Facebook, “What is something you've done
that you're pretty confident you're the only person on my friends list to have
ever done?” The responses flooded in with many amazing things such as:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“I once told Steven Spielberg, to his face, that I didn’t
like ET as a kid.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Tara Reid once threw a LIT cigarette at me.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“I waited on Adam Arkin.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Shook hands with Pope John Paul II.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Attended a callback for Cirque du Soleil as a ventriloquist.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And “Dressed up as an electric fence for Halloween. (Wrapped
myself in silver ribbon and carried a stun gun).”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I posted that I once hugged Tipper Gore and ate dinner in
the same restaurant and at the same time as the Chicago Bulls—at least a group
of their players including Scotty Pippin and Luc Longley. I’ll elaborate on
that and at least one other memorable moment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When I was in junior high school, I was voted Homecoming
King. It was clearly a sympathy vote because I had been injured playing
football and was confined to a wheelchair. But at halftime of the game against
our rival, Laurel, I was pushed out to the center of the field in a wheelchair—fifty
yard line, pushed by my identical twin brother who was in uniform (he was on
the team) and accompanied by my queen, Kay Beard, with whom almost every boy in
the school had a mad crush. Including me. After we were crowned, Kay leaned
over and kissed me. Oh boy! <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Three years later, another homecoming game against the same
rival, but this time in high school. I was not Homecoming King, nor was I on
the team. My knee injury never healed sufficiently for me to play again. But my
twin brother was on the team. He was the smallest boy on the team. Laughably small
for football. Probably the smallest boy ever to play for the Hattiesburg High
Tigers. Normally he was a backup running back, but in this game, for reasons I
can’t recall, he was put in as a defensive back forced to cover, at five-foot-three,
a six-foot-tall wide receiver. And late in the fourth quarter he made a
miraculous leap to intercept a pass and run it back sixty yards for the winning
touchdown. It was my moment of glory as well as his, because back then my twin
and I thought and acted and felt as one person.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Fast forward to 1996. We were at a PFLAG gathering in
Seattle on the same night that the World Champion Chicago Bulls were playing
the Seattle Sonics. After our meeting and after the game we went to a hotel
restaurant for a late dinner. The Bulls’ team bus pulled up as we were parking,
and the players unloaded and went into the hotel. I remember seeing Luc
Longley, center, seven-feet tall, duck to go through the door. A group of the
players came into the restaurant while we were eating. The great Michael Jordan
was not with them. The restaurant was full, and they had to wait for a table. I
overheard Scotty Pippin say to one of his teammates, “If Michael was with us we
wouldn’t have to wait.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I’ll bet he was right.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Four years later we went to Washington D.C. for a PFLAG
conference and the Millennium March on Washington, a march for LGBTQ rights.
Naturally, we didn’t know anyone else on the airplane except for one other
person from Olympia. When the airplane got to D.C. and the pilot announced we
were preparing to land, he said, “If you’re going to the Millennium March, have
a great time,” and the entire plane erupted in cheers. Everyone on the plane
was going to the march, and suddenly it was as if we were all old friends. And
in the city it was as if all the people in D.C. were old friends. I had never
in my life seen so many rainbow flags.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 6pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-weight: normal; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">I can’t remember the exact sequence of events,
but there was a dinner and a keynote speaker, and entertainment by our friend
Steve </span><span style="color: #050505; font-weight: normal;">Schalchlin,
who sang for the first time in front of an audience “Gabi’s Song,” a song he
wrote about our son Bill who committed suicide after a gay bashing. It was such
a wonderfully sad moment, and Gabi and I were smothered with support.<br /> <o:p></o:p></span><span style="color: #050505; font-weight: normal;">I can’t remember if this came before or after the dinner and Steve’s
performance. There was a keynote speech by Tipper Gore, Second Lady of the
United States, and after her speech there was a receiving line. Tipper stood
behind a rope guarded by Secret Servicemen. One of the Secret Servicemen said “Do
not touch the Second Lady. Do not try to shake her hand.”<br /></span><span style="color: #050505; font-weight: normal;">The line filed past her, and everyone in their turn said hello and
thank you, and Gabi whispered to me, “When it’s our turn, I’m going to tell her
about Bill.” And she did. And when she did Tipper Gore reached across the line
and gave each of us a big hug. You know, I knew hardly anything about her
except she was married to the vice president and had headed up some silly
campaign against profanity in music. But that moment—Wow! I felt like I imagine
that person who said they shook the pope’s hand must have felt.</span></span></p>
<h1 style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0in 6pt;"><o:p></o:p></h1>Alec Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15518600413157551190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400657606445846452.post-69714689046233112082020-11-20T11:20:00.001-08:002020-11-20T11:20:08.446-08:00Tacoma Musical Playhouse’s filmed production of Assisted Living; The Musical<p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FZD2D9ReW5Q/X7gT-W352CI/AAAAAAAAVHE/0__M1FoEpy4AoA1ALgz31hX11h0tRhf9gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/Assisted%2BLiving%2Bcast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1280" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FZD2D9ReW5Q/X7gT-W352CI/AAAAAAAAVHE/0__M1FoEpy4AoA1ALgz31hX11h0tRhf9gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Assisted%2BLiving%2Bcast.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cast of Assisted Living from left: Lissa Valentine, Frank Kohel, Sharry O'Hare, Micheal O'Hara<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Assisted
Living: The Musical </span></i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;">is
a comedic romp through an assisted living home where, as director Jon Douglas
Rake puts it, “</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">70-something
is the new 20-something, only with looser skin.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">The
cast includes <span style="background: white;">Frank Kohel</span>, <span style="background: white;">Sharry O’Hare</span>, <span style="background: white;">Micheal
O’Hara</span> and <span style="background: white;">Lissa Valentine</span>. O'Hara
and Kohel have appeared opposite one another in three shows in the past five
years, including <i>The Story of My Life</i> at Olympia Little Theatre, <i>Hairspray</i>
at Auburn Community Players and <i>Man of La Mancha</i> at 2nd Story
Rep-Redmond. Valentine played Sherlock Holmes’ mother in Tacoma Little Theatre’s
<i>Holmes for the Holidays</i>. O’Hare is practically a South Sound theater
institution all on her own, having appeared often in many area theaters over
the years, many times playing opposite her husband, O’Hara—don’t you just love
the pairing of the names, and is the “chemistry” between these two any wonder?
Recently she was seen in <i>Forbidden Broadway</i> at Lakewood Playhouse, <i>The
Full Monty</i> at TMP and <i>Calendar Girls</i> at TLT. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Music,
lyrics and book were written by Rick Compton and Betsy Bennet, set by Bruce
Haasl, costumes <span style="background: white;">by Julles Mills,</span> and
filming and editing by <span style="background: white;">Dennis Kurtz.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Assisted
Living</span></i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> is a vaudeville-style show of silly
skits, bad jokes, and silly songs—many of which are parodies of pop music and
showtunes, all set in the Pelican Roost retirement home, and all poking fun at
senior citizens. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">O’Hara
falls to the floor from his motorized cart and sings “Help, I’ve fallen for you
and I can’t get up.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Valentine
sings a song about her ageing body with the refrain “saggy, saggy, sagging.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Pushing a
food cart, Kohel sings “Sunday night is steak night and my teeth have gone
away.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">O’Hare
sings a sweet and sad lament about internet acronyms and online dating and a
sweetheart who writes BYB (be right back) but never comes back.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">In a wild
and crazy windup to the evening’s entertainment, the duo of O’Hare and O’Hara
perform a tribute to Viagra as a medley of pop songs such as “Up, up and away
with his beautiful blue pills” and “Viagra, I just took a pill called Viagra” (you
know the tunes).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">O’Hare
writes about the rehearsals, staging and filming process:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">“</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">When
Jon brought us all together via Zoom, he let us know that this was going to be
a collaborative effort and that we would do some rehearsals (via) Zoom and then
a few times in person for marking our staging. He sent the music we would be
using over the computer and guided us through our characters, truly allowing us
generous liberties in creating them. We had three Zoom rehearsals; each of us
had individual rehearsals at the theatre, and then we all met to put the opening
and closing on stage. In addition to the normal concerns when directing, Jon
now had to ensure that we were all social distanced and masked until we
actually sang. None of us faced each other in the foursome during the numbers. We
all decided the final week that we wanted in-person rehearsals and kept to the
protocols in place. That final week was such a treat—got to see all the other
skits and songs in the show. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">“The filming was a new
experience for all of us. It took a little over six hours. Some of the numbers
went quickly and in one take. The most difficult solo I had went so well to my
surprise. But I attribute that I had my personal conductor, Jeffrey Strvrtecky
down at the edge of the stage guiding me through with the tricky rhythms. Micheal
and I had a very challenging duet that we performed to perfection the first
time and we all cheered at how well it went only to discover that the sound
wasn't on! It was a struggle to get back on track, but with the magic of film
they can splice our best work and piece it all together. Dennis Kurtz, who is a
phenomenal photographer, did the tapings. Again, so strange to be distanced and
masked throughout, except when we were actually performing. When we were
finished, we all cheered and gave ourselves and the crew, Jon and Jeff,
jubilant applause. It had been a long day, but one that lifted us from the
troubles outside and brought us back on stage with a set, lights, props,
costumes, makeup, and each other. Because, after all, isn't that what theatre
does for us—both the performer and the audience regardless of what is going on
in reality?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;">ASSISTED
LIVING: THE MUSICAL </span></i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;">plays virtually filmed from the Tacoma Musical Playhouse stage.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><u><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;">Show
Times</span></u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;">Friday,
November 20 | 7:00 PM</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;">Saturday,
November 21 | 2:00 PM </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;">Sunday,
November 22 | 2:00 PM</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;"><br />
<u>Ticket Prices</u></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;">General
Ticket Price $27.00</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><u><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">Run Time</span></u><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">1 hour 15 minutes</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><br />
<u><span style="background: white;">Rating</span></u><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;">PG</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;">Tickets
are on sale and can be purchased online at </span><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><a href="http://www.tmp.org/" target="_blank"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;">www.tmp.org</span></a></span><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1; padding: 0in;"> only. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Alec Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15518600413157551190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400657606445846452.post-11851714297703989242020-11-08T06:37:00.000-08:002020-11-08T06:37:01.626-08:00Theatre Magic (And Other Things We Need)<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Reviewed by Alec Clayton<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LlkCK3j8hQ8/X6gBjJ_jy6I/AAAAAAAAUa8/Z1GLEk9TWkgitu_rN0XiJQCui_VFUGuNwCLcBGAsYHQ/s630/Andrea%2BBenson.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="420" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LlkCK3j8hQ8/X6gBjJ_jy6I/AAAAAAAAUa8/Z1GLEk9TWkgitu_rN0XiJQCui_VFUGuNwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Andrea%2BBenson.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: start;">TimTakechi</span><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YAGaNBLJIWI/X6gBjFlS86I/AAAAAAAAUa4/krfAhs-75XgHtuDZYjeSqaK_SVax-G4pQCLcBGAsYHQ/s525/LaNita%2BHudson%252C%2BSharon%2BArmstrong.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="525" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YAGaNBLJIWI/X6gBjFlS86I/AAAAAAAAUa4/krfAhs-75XgHtuDZYjeSqaK_SVax-G4pQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/LaNita%2BHudson%252C%2BSharon%2BArmstrong.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></span></i></p><div style="text-align: center;">LaNita Hudson Walters, Sharon Armstrong</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; text-align: start;" /></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bsU9t_9wgY4/X6gBvcAVb9I/AAAAAAAAUbA/uf5qHtxSnUswva8CwoNnJ-uEgq-e2w0wACLcBGAsYHQ/s630/Andrea%2BBenson.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="630" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bsU9t_9wgY4/X6gBvcAVb9I/AAAAAAAAUbA/uf5qHtxSnUswva8CwoNnJ-uEgq-e2w0wACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Andrea%2BBenson.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: small; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: times;">Andrea Benson</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Theatre Magic (And Other Things We Need)</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">
at Centerstage is a group of eight one-acts written by eight different
playwrights, with four different directors (Trista Duval, Angela Bayler, Alyson
Soma and Tori Dewar) and performed over a period of about an hour and a half by
a hard-working and talented ensemble cast comprised of Sharon Armstrong, Andrea
Benson, Cassie Fastabend, Jacob Tice, Tom Livingston, Tim Takechi, and LaNita Hudson
Walters.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Centerstage Artistic Director Trista Duval said, “The
stories depicted in this evening of scenes cover a range of eras, life
experiences, locations, and emotions. I think they say something a little
different to everyone, depending on where you are mentally and emotionally in
this moment. It is my sincere hope that you experience moments of joy and fun
during these performances, and that you experience moments where you feel
understood and seen in your darker and tougher times.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Some of the scenes are funny, some touching, and most
involve a big of magic realism. And, as is to be expected with different
writers and directors, the quality varies. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The first scene, “Our Ten,” by Mark Harvey Levine, is
one of the weaker of the eight—or maybe I was caught off balance because I
wasn’t expecting the magic element. It seemed to start out as a radio broadcast
with the cast performing as DJs, announcers, and a call-in listener. And then
it switches to a live scene of events taking place on a freeway: a woman giving
birth and a person threatening suicide by jumping off an overpass; and all the
people who were in the radio station moments before are witnesses to what
happens on the freeway. It is inventive and, to me, a sometimes hard-to-understand
story.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“You Can Thank Me Later” by Ruben Carbajal features
Takechi as a man flying over a city and into restricted air space over an
airport in a lawn chair lifted into the air by 45 weather balloons, and
Livingston as a man on a phone trying to talk him down. This one is hilarious
and thought provoking.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“Poof,” written by Lynn Nottage, is one of the most
brilliant and entertaining scenes of the evening, and also one that comments
importantly on domestic violence. In this scene, Loureen (Armstrong)
accidentally kills her abusive husband in a magical way which I will not give
away here. (Or she thinks she has killed him.) And she calls her neighbor Florence
(Walters) to help her figure out what to do next.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In “Ghost Story,” written by Rachel Luann Strayer,
Natalie (Fastabend) obsessively reads a ghost story on Christmas Eve while her
husband, Doug (Tice) tries to get her to help him trim the Christmas tree. It
is realistic with a bit of nostalgia, and beautifully acted by Tice and
Fastabend.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“Spam Symphony” by Alex Broun is a surrealistic modern
dance or poem with the entire cast performing as spam emails sent to Takechi.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In “Ghost of a Character,” written by Mranalini
Kamath, Tice as Sir Conan Doyle talks to Sherlock Holmes (Livingston) about an
actual case involving a racist murder. In the process of solving the murder,
Doyle and his most famous character reveal much about the minds of writers—of
this writer in particular. At one point in the story Holmes says to his
creator, “Why do you not leave me alone?” which might be the central question
about the relationship of any writer to his or her characters.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Finally, one of the deepest stories of the bunch, is
“Real Art,” written by Louise Wigglesworth. In it, a woman named Loretta
(Andrea Benson) wants to buy a piece of “real art” by Abby (Fastabend), but Abby
doesn’t want to sell it because it’s her first and only “Best in Show.” Somewhat
like the writer-character exchange in “Ghost of a Character,” this one becomes
a philosophical discussion on art between the artist and her patron. Stellar
acting by Fastabend and Benson.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Theatre Magic (And Other Things We Need) </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">was
filmed at Dukesbay Theatre and can be watched online. Virtual <span style="background: white; color: #222222;">tickets give access to the show for 24
hours, anytime from now to Nov. 15.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Go to </span><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><a href="http://centerstagetheatre.com/tickets-2/?fbclid=IwAR274sPnd2P6A-bPo1EkyriZ-D0ChFjzk0TGGc01kOCTtdnJZ0T8zQ53uOY" target="_blank"><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; padding: 0in;">centerstagetheatre.com/tickets-2/</span></a></span><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> to buy your tickets for the date and time you
want to “go to” a performance. After purchasing your ticket, you will receive a
separate email 24 hours later with a link to your scheduled stream. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #050505; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For more information, call (253) 661-1444 or
email robin@centerstagetheatre.com.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Alec Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15518600413157551190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400657606445846452.post-64628213338417500352020-10-29T07:05:00.002-07:002020-10-29T07:05:31.703-07:00<p> <b style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 36px; text-transform: uppercase;">AUDITIONS: PAGE TO SCREEN READINGS</span></b></p><div class="ii gt" id=":4j6" jslog="20277; u014N:xr6bB" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; direction: ltr; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem; margin: 8px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><div class="a3s aiL " id=":4j5" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 1.5; overflow: hidden;"><div dir="ltr"><p align="center" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 24px; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 36px; text-transform: uppercase;">NOVEMBER 8<sup>TH</sup> & NOVEMBER 9<sup>TH</sup></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Tacoma, WA</span></i><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">- Tacoma Little Theatre is holding auditions for two Page to Screen virtual readings, <i>Buenas Noches Mamá</i>, by Emily Cohen, and <i>Skin</i>, by Anamaria Guerzon. TLT’s Page to Screen welcomes local playwrights an opportunity to have their scripts performed in a virtual staged reading. Pieces will range in length from scenes, one acts, or full length plays and musicals</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b><i><u><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">SKIN</span></u></i></b><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><br />Auditions for <i>Skin</i> will be held on Sunday, November 8<sup>th </sup>virtually via Zoom. Audition appointments will be set starting at 7:00pm in five-minute increments. <i>Skin </i>braids together two stories: one true story as a retelling from the past; and one fictionalized story in the present. Skin investigates and explores the colonization of tattoo as an art form. Specific roles for actors who are Filipino, Filipinx, Black, Filipina, and White and represent all gender identities. For a full breakdown please visit (<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.tacomalittletheatre.com/blog/2020/pageauditions&source=gmail&ust=1604016416157000&usg=AFQjCNE3S0pLvD9YV1uIQWMsXnxVqVM0Bg" href="https://www.tacomalittletheatre.com/blog/2020/pageauditions" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://www.<wbr></wbr>tacomalittletheatre.com/blog/<wbr></wbr>2020/pageauditions</a>).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b><i><u><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">BUENAS NOCHES MAMA</span></u></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Auditions for <i>Buenas Noches Mamá</i> will be held Monday, November 9<sup>th</sup> virtually via Zoom. Audition appointments will be set starting at 7:00pm in five-minute increments. <i>Buenas Noches Mamá</i> focuses on the impacts of the Dirty War in Argentina and centers on Pablo, a person who discovers that he was illegally adopted by his military family. Throughout the play we learn about his real mother, Sofía, the circumstances that lead to her disappearance, and the history that followed afterwards. Specific roles for actors who are Latinx and represent all gender identities. For a full breakdown please visit (<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.tacomalittletheatre.com/blog/2020/pageauditions&source=gmail&ust=1604016416157000&usg=AFQjCNE3S0pLvD9YV1uIQWMsXnxVqVM0Bg" href="https://www.tacomalittletheatre.com/blog/2020/pageauditions" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://www.<wbr></wbr>tacomalittletheatre.com/blog/<wbr></wbr>2020/pageauditions</a>).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Auditioners are asked to prepare a short, one-minute contemporary monologue. There will also be cold reads that will be emailed out the day prior to auditions. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">To reserve an audition time, follow this link (<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.tacomalittletheatre.com/blog/2020/pageauditions&source=gmail&ust=1604016416157000&usg=AFQjCNE3S0pLvD9YV1uIQWMsXnxVqVM0Bg" href="https://www.tacomalittletheatre.com/blog/2020/pageauditions" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://www.<wbr></wbr>tacomalittletheatre.com/blog/<wbr></wbr>2020/pageauditions</a>), or call our Box Office for assistance at (253) 272-2281.</span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Once cast, both shows will hold up to two virtual rehearsals for a virtual reading in the latter part of November or beginning of December (based upon actor schedule conflicts). </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">TLT's PAGE TO SCREEN</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;">Tacoma Little Theatre’s Page to Screen welcomes local playwrights an opportunity to have their scripts performed in a virtual staged reading. Pieces will range in length from scenes, one acts, or full length plays and musicals. To submit your script for consideration, please visit <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.tacomalittletheatre.com&source=gmail&ust=1604016416157000&usg=AFQjCNGQYtfygdvbWJrIals6tT3aWfxUSQ" href="http://www.tacomalittletheatre.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">www.tacomalittletheatre.com</a></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 9pt;">###</span></b></p></div><div class="yj6qo"></div><div class="adL"></div></div></div><div class="hq gt" id=":4jo" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem; margin: 15px 0px;"><div class="hp" style="border-top: 1px dotted rgb(216, 216, 216); width: 1024px;"><br /></div></div>Alec Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15518600413157551190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400657606445846452.post-81206692587730313842020-09-27T11:07:00.000-07:002020-09-27T11:07:19.181-07:00The Driftwood Bridge streaming free online<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3EOUtPQIU3Q/X3DUkpVy6GI/AAAAAAAAUXM/0fHtSVy5jjU7Uaczd3cA9p0xrJXzFQgZwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1080/Thomas-Hitoshi-Pruiksma-and-David-Mielke-2-courtesy-photo.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="1080" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3EOUtPQIU3Q/X3DUkpVy6GI/AAAAAAAAUXM/0fHtSVy5jjU7Uaczd3cA9p0xrJXzFQgZwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Thomas-Hitoshi-Pruiksma-and-David-Mielke-2-courtesy-photo.tif" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma and David Mielke</div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Courtesy Photo</div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />Not even a worldwide pandemic can stop theater
people from doing their thing, as demonstrated by such events as Harlequin
Productions’ ongoing radio web series of theatrical shows and Pug Bujeaud’s
Zoom performance of her drama <i>The Culling</i>. And now comes <i>The
Driftwood Bridge - An Offering of Story and Song</i> by David Mielke and his
husband Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This cabaret-style musical can now be seen free
of charge online.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The show started as something the couple wrote
and performed for their wedding guests in 2018 at Open Space for Arts and
Community on Vashon Island. It quickly evolved into a full professional
theatrical production that was staged in November of 2019 in the Kay White Hall
at the Vashon Center for the Arts. At the time it was called <i>Gaybaret</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It was scheduled for a five week-run in Seattle
at the 12th Avenue Arts Studio Theater but had to be rescheduled because of the
pandemic. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times",serif;">“Due to
heartfelt requests from previous </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times",serif; mso-themecolor: text1;">audience members who want to share the
show </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times",serif;">with their
friends, we've decided to make <i>The Driftwood Bridge</i> available to theatre
audiences free on-demand online by streaming the production we filmed in
November,” Mielke says. “Since it touches on themes that have become even more
relevant in these challenging times, we wanted to make it available in people’s
homes.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times",serif;">Mielke
explains:<i> “The Driftwood Bridge</i> is a two-person theatrical and musical
memoir about taking experiences that wash up on the existential beaches of our
lives and using them to build a bridge to carry us forward. The show explores
life after loss, intergenerational forgiveness, and the ways mentors and
friends help us feel ready to say yes to love—gay, straight, or otherwise.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times",serif;">With
Pruiksma on piano, each performer alternately tells their own story and sings
songs—about letting go of old shame, learning to trust, and acknowledging the
mystery of life. As with many rituals honoring what is known but unseen, the
show bows to the joyful play of what seems to be serendipity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times",serif;">“There’s
a thread running through the show about openness to wonder, to the poetry of
lived life,” Pruiksma says. “Our experiences may appear to be chaotic and
random, but often there is some more mysterious pattern we can see or help to
create that leads to unexpected gifts.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="background: white; margin-bottom: 6.0pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times",serif;">The show continues
until December 31, on </span><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><a href="http://www.driftwoodbridge.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "Times",serif;">driftwoodbridge.com</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times",serif;">, where Mielke and Pruiksma are
also showcasing another Covid-coping endeavor, a video series they've produced
called </span><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><a href="https://driftwoodbridge.com/broadway-in-the-yurt/" target="_blank"><i><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "Times",serif;">Broadway in the Yurt</span></i></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times",serif;">, recently featured in the </span><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/12/style/modern-love-coronavirus-living-together.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "Times",serif;">"Modern
Love" column of the New York Times</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times",serif;">.</span><o:p></o:p></p><br /><p></p>Alec Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15518600413157551190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400657606445846452.post-60747642217672674982020-09-23T14:40:00.004-07:002020-09-23T14:41:54.687-07:00Tacoma Little Theatre’s ‘Page to Screen’ Presents the Final Assignment<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sVluW3PazLU/X2vArv0cy3I/AAAAAAAAUW8/92Mmx_6WL7YioHEjlczZKgPTikVxvFLlwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/TLT%2BThe%2BFinal%2BAssignment%2B%25281%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sVluW3PazLU/X2vArv0cy3I/AAAAAAAAUW8/92Mmx_6WL7YioHEjlczZKgPTikVxvFLlwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/TLT%2BThe%2BFinal%2BAssignment%2B%25281%2529.png" /></a></div><br />Tacoma Little Theatre's Page to Screen
program presents an exciting virtual drama: James A. Gilletti’s, <i>The Final Assignment, </i>directed by pug
Bujeaud, <span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">stage managed by Nena
Curley </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">and featuring some of the Pacific
Northwest’s finer actors. It is a one-night-only staged reading, and it is free
and online.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is Gilletti's
first off-the-shelf production with TLT. When he isn't busy writing, Gilletti
can be found baking, infusing booze, or selling real estate. “But not
simultaneously, thank goodness,” he quips. He lives with his wife, two dogs,
and tortoise in Lakewood.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">The Final Assignment</span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"> follows a young college graduate on the last day of
his internship with a radio station. On a fateful day, Nov. 22, 1963, when a
fellow reporter no-shows at the last minute, the intern gets tapped for a
mobile news unit post at the corner of Elm and Houston Street just as President
Kennedy's motorcade passes the Texas Schoolbook Depository. What follows is a
sequence of events that will push this young man's capabilities to their
limits, force him to confront his greatest fear, and change his life
irreversibly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Gilletti describes <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Final Assignment</i></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> as an historical drama that tells the story of Sam Patterson, a
young man who dreams of working in radio and finally gets his big break just as
. . . well, you read the previous paragraph. </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Final Assignment</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">
features the talents of: Joel Thomas, Mason Quinn, W. Scott Pinkston, Randy
Clark, Steve Tarry, Ronnie Allen, Gretchen Boyt, Frank Roberts, Paul Richter,
Jess Allan, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-align: justify; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Tacoma Little Theatre’s Page to Screen
welcomes local playwrights an opportunity to have their scripts performed in a
virtual staged reading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pieces range in
length from scenes, one acts, or full length plays and musicals. To submit your
script for consideration, please visit <a href="http://www.tacomalittletheatre.com/">www.tacomalittletheatre.com</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: justify;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Final Assignment</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> is
free, Oct. 3, 2020 at 7 p.m. with donations gladly accepted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To watch the performance you may join by
visiting www.tacomalittletheatre.com, or by following the link to YouTube (<a href="https://youtu.be/-O8DYII1CXg">https://youtu.be/-O8DYII1CXg</a>)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For questions or more information, call (253)
272-2281.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Alec Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15518600413157551190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400657606445846452.post-10936743963616716222020-09-07T09:50:00.007-07:002020-09-07T09:56:06.334-07:00Harlequin Announces Free Radio Series<p style="text-align: center;"><b> </b></p><p>Along with other live events across the nation, Harlequin Productions’ 2020 Season was halted in March 2020. To complete this year’s season, the theater announces a six-week online radio series, to run September 20 – October 31, 2020. Productions will run for one week each, premiering Sundays at 7:30 pm PST, with a run proceeding Tuesday – Saturday of that week at 7:30 pm PST. Local and regionally known directors will helm each work. All performances are free to the public; space is limited for each performance. To reserve a free ticket or for more information, visit HarlequinProductions.org or HarlequinProductions.org/Radio.</p><p> <b>Sept 20 – Sept 26</b>: The Highest Tide directed by Aaron Lamb</p><p>A sensory experience emanates from the pages of local author Jim Lynch’s bestselling novel, which instantly transports us beneath the waters of a marine world teeming with infinite life and exquisite possibility.</p><p> <b>Sept 27 – Oct 3</b>: For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday directed by Kathryn Dorgan</p><p>The refusal to grow up confronts the inevitability of growing old in Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright Sarah Ruhl’s lyric comedy.</p><p> <b>Oct 4 – Oct 10</b>: A Bright Room Called Day directed by Aaron Lamb</p><p>From the Pulitzer-winning playwright behind Angels in America comes a dramatic parable for our time. This early Tony Kushner work follows a group of artists and political activists struggling to preserve themselves in 1930s Berlin as the Weimar Republic surrenders to the seduction of fascism. </p><p> <b>Oct 11 – Oct 17</b>: This Flat Earth directed by Lauren Love</p><p>Stuck at home in a state of shocked limbo after a horrific school tragedy, Julie and Zander, two twelve-year-olds, try to make sense of what they witnessed, their awkward crushes, and an infinitely more complicated future — but the grown-ups are no help at all. An urgent response to our times by playwright Lindsey Ferrentino.</p><p> <b>Oct 18 – Oct 24</b>: Snow in Midsummer directed by Desdemona Chiang</p><p>In a contemporary re-imagining of one of China’s most famous classical dramas, a young widow curses those who executed her for a crime she did not commit. Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig’s new interpretation of the Guan Hanqing original was first produced as part of the “Chinese Translations Project” at the Royal Shakespeare Company. A second production was received in 2018 at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.</p><p><b> Oct 25 – Oct 31</b>: Halloween Surprise directed by Corey McDaniel</p><p>For our last offering in the series, join us for a gripping radio drama in the best Harlequin tradition of chills and thrills, just in time for All Hallow's Eve. </p><p>WHAT: Harlequin Productions presents a free six-week online radio series, completing the 2020 season.</p><p> WHEN: September 20 – October 31, 2020, at 7:30 pm (Mondays are dark)</p><p> WHERE: HarlequinProductions.org/Radio</p><p> TICKETS: Space is limited for each performance; audiences should reserve their free tickets online at harlequinproductions.org/radio</p><p> All casts to be announced</p>Alec Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15518600413157551190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400657606445846452.post-48113718736748319042020-07-11T10:32:00.001-07:002020-07-11T12:41:21.033-07:00How I faked my way into becoming a theater nerd<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lgjBCUYEqIk/Xwn3iI1KwnI/AAAAAAAAUQg/KZImwSIMm9EPs52WNfXAdOSLMIkjXKWHgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Sock%2Bn%2BBuskin.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1276" data-original-width="1525" height="267" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lgjBCUYEqIk/Xwn3iI1KwnI/AAAAAAAAUQg/KZImwSIMm9EPs52WNfXAdOSLMIkjXKWHgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Sock%2Bn%2BBuskin.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">It
all started when I was in high school—Hattiesburg High School, Hattiesburg,
Mississippi, 1960. Everyone was encouraged to join some kind of school club or
activity, 4-H, Junior Kiwanis, Young Republicans, debate team or something. I
chose Sock and Buskin, the drama club. We never did any drama. I can’t remember
if we ever even talked about it. The reason I picked that club was the faculty
advisor was a former Miss Mississippi. Every boy in my class and possibly quite
a few of the girls had a gigantic crush on her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The
only thing the club ever did was to cover a convertible with toilet paper
flowers and ride in the homecoming parade.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Fast
forward ten years. I’m applying for a job teaching art at a school in Clarkton,
Missouri, population 1,207 in 2017. Lord knows what it was back then. I got the
job. When I met with the principal for the first time, he said, “I see here on
your application that you were in the drama club.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Yes
sir, I was.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">“Well,
how would you like to direct the school play? We’ll pay you an extra $200.” (equal to $1,321 today according to what I could find on Google)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Oh
yeah, I was all in for that. Never mind that I had never directed a play or even
been in a play. Except . . . oh, wait, I played one of the dwarfs in <i>Snow
White</i> in the first grade. I almost forgot about that. I not only had no
theater experience at the time, I hadn’t even seen more than four or five plays
in my life. Naturally, I said, “Yes sir, I’d love to do that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The
play was some stupid teenage comedy about a bunch of boys dressing up as girls
and crashing a girls-only spend-the-night party. Whoever chooses the plays—most
likely a committee of parents and teachers—had already ordered scripts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I
held auditions in the gymnasium and cast everybody who showed up. Everyone who
didn’t get cast as a named character was put in the ensemble. I told them to
hang around on stage and pretend they were talking to other cast members. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The
cast was as skeptical as I was, and from the first day of rehearsal they
started improvising. Most of the improvised lines were better than what was in
the scripts, so I’d say, “Yeah. Let’s keep that.” Other than letting the
students rewrite the play, I can’t remember what I did by way of rehearsal. But
the play was a hit. The audience laughed hysterically. Afterwards, one of the
parents who helped picked the play told me it was the best play ever done at
Clarkton High School and said, “I hope you can direct our play every year.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Well,
I didn’t do that because they didn’t hire me back, not as a director and not as
an art teacher. That’s a whole different story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Let’s
fast forward another decade. By then, I had seen a little more than four or
five plays. Maybe as many as ten total, mostly Off-Broadway and
Off-Off-Broadway when I was in New York. And then we moved back home to
Mississippi where my nine-year-old son got cast as one of the Lost Boys in a
local production of <i>Peter Pan</i>, and he fell in love with theater. From
then on, he was a theater kid all the way through high school and college, and
I went to see as many of his plays as I could. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">In
about 2003, I got a part-time temporary job as an assistant features editor at
The News Tribune. The job lasted nine months. And at the end of that time my
editor asked if I would be willing to write theater reviews. She had no idea
how little I knew about theater but trusted I could do it. I managed to fake it
while I learned. Since that beginning, I have written something more than a
thousand theater reviews, and I feel like I’m beginning to get the hang of it. It’s
been a great learning experience, and I’ve made many wonderful friends in the
theater community. I so look forward to when live theater can start back. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Alec Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15518600413157551190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400657606445846452.post-65130216233378210642020-06-08T12:55:00.002-07:002020-06-08T12:55:44.870-07:00American Way: A virtual theatrical experience at Tacoma Musical Playhouse<br />
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Not to be defeated by the
coronavirus pandemic, Tacoma Musical Playhouse is doing a virtual performance
of American Way by Jeremy Gable, one night only, Friday, June 12 at 7:30 p.m.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Faced with disappointing comic
book sales, benefit packages and retirement, four superheroes take a break in
their secret cafe to reminisce about the good old days. But when an unexpected
tragedy hits the town, they are forced to deal with being powerless for the
first time in their lives.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CUJptUNtd-s/Xt6XojQOl6I/AAAAAAAAUOg/-CVJoEZFflQNXVLd-mvkQuRy5_MhjoccQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Social%2BMedia%2BAmerican%2BWay%2BSuper%2BHero%2BStream%2BOnline.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CUJptUNtd-s/Xt6XojQOl6I/AAAAAAAAUOg/-CVJoEZFflQNXVLd-mvkQuRy5_MhjoccQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Social%2BMedia%2BAmerican%2BWay%2BSuper%2BHero%2BStream%2BOnline.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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“Gable’s distinctive voice offers
great promise… His lacerating piece evokes a tragicomic<o:p></o:p></div>
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Kubrick-esque brilliance.” –
BACKSTAGE WEST<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Wickedly funny stuff.” – L.A.
TIMES<o:p></o:p></div>
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“A superhero parody with a lot more
brewing beneath the surface.” – L.A. WEEKLY<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>The Cast<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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CARL OLSON (Crescent Wonder)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Carl is a retired teacher from South Kitsap High School in
Port Orchard. His last full-time assignment included teaching Stagecraft,
Beginning Acting, and serving as the Win Granlund Performing Arts Center's
technical director and directing thirteen productions during his tenure. Carl
has been active in area community theater since 1985, both as an actor and
director…many wonderful shows and memories. Carl is excited to be once again
working with his former student, Erik Furuheim.<o:p></o:p></div>
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RAFE WADLEIGH (Fire Bang)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rafe is a teacher and musician from Tacoma, Washington. When
he is not directing choirs or playing rock and roll, he can be found on stage
mugging for a laugh (and a few tears) in local musicals. Rafe is a father to
two teens, Ava and Dean, and his wife Dawn is a midwife. He is thrilled to be a
part of this unique production surrounded by talented artists.<o:p></o:p></div>
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ARIEL VAN DYKE (Mandible Maiden_<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ariel is a native Washingtonian, having taken classes at
Pacific Lutheran University and been a Tacoma School of the Arts graduate. She
is inspired not only by music but visual and digital art in her spare time. She
can be seen at the Tacoma Musical Playhouse every so often, and dedicated each
performance to her husband, son, and daughter.<o:p></o:p></div>
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BENJAMIN USHER (Pungent Huboldt)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Benjamin grew up in Kitsap county. He headed east to
graduate from Central Washington University with a BFA in Musical Theatre,
apart from pursuing a career in performing, he also enjoys building sets and
solving problems in creating magic off-stage.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Producer, Director & Sound Design ERIK FURUHEIM ()</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Erik resides in Newport, Oregon, with his beautiful and
talented 10-year daughter. In the past two years, he has been in numerous
productions all over the US, portraying “The Big Bopper” in Buddy: The Buddy
Holly Story. In his daily life, he is a Network Security Engineer for
Checkpoint Software and loves the job and flexibility it gives him to perform
anywhere in the world and spend quality time with his kiddo. Erik was last seen
on TMP’s stage in TheFull Monty, and Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (Big Bopper).
He hopes you enjoy the presentation and hopes that everyone is safe and sane. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Donation – Pay What You Can ($5.00 minimum) - All proceeds
go to Tacoma Musical Playhouse<o:p></o:p></div>
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Order the link Online:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>www.tmp.org<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>| Season + Tickets
(Tab) | Virtual Events<o:p></o:p></div>
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https://tmp.org/index.php/virtual-shows/<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Alec Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15518600413157551190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400657606445846452.post-38509730534690237442020-06-08T10:41:00.001-07:002020-06-08T10:41:18.808-07:00The strange wonder of the juxtaposition of disparate objects or the Surreal legacy of modern day collage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-themecolor: text1;">Sharon Styer and Gail Ramsey Wharton</span></h1>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-themecolor: text1;">By Alec Clayton <o:p></o:p></span></h1>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-themecolor: text1;">I recently wrote about collage artists Sharon Styer and
Gail Ramsey Wharton for Oly Arts (see </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: .75pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><a href="https://olyarts.org/2020/06/01/creative-minds-the-collage-art-of-sharon-styer-and-gail-ramsey-wharton/" target="_blank">CreativeMinds: The Collage Art of Sharon Styer and Gail Ramsey Wharton</a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><span style="letter-spacing: .75pt;">). Since writing that article, I have had
additional thoughts about their work that I’d like to share.</span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: .75pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></h1>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9OGVpKXRpYw/Xt53uLpPUEI/AAAAAAAAUOA/vNv-8aoiFdAEmyIKmwrpj9OX0llUTSJ9QCEwYBhgLKs0DAL1OcqwmlrbvYcu6ZTHDvcdJYcUbqWF8gHTJOO4a3P_vReVOcZ1awIz8MMWOzS1SDhibm4Y4dG5eHR8emp6dz4Nybc0dxxjqyDjfldsok2l_wDfjGgU1xrvXpWc8Avsmudw2-wM4QEnA15Ln34of9t76TIo6oGVyw6nSNT0sYe-8z4JoIKIm3c3Be4wg8i75w7KH_9d57cwqroTsZVEGsPKrDZZwQbf1-hiY6yPDlMrJYIj9n4uLz5ImtpDWUdyuFVOCIhDvHKhYzB0NC4M5bN3IlhdgApaNHss_ZQFqXXOgBB1zZAnNtXqsHjzO0yIbAND02jFJ5e23OlUXcKYDPkw76uXvqR0FkUm84nWdus0Z7GH3sh0uceceY1S3Eqw15_qJ9_KM0BjniN8eL-13rBsBKv4qcrpXuBfrA4G28MxEqupCYBnSgG6MrgKbBKWHSU-0Ljw4yHrIBP_omEM3fZDQNxGYP_8hIbC06SLfvHADgp21zz2hL_zL8WKkmq6scRULrpu6XNzzLhq3-aCoIx0VdOEyq3_L8jT3lg0GwAjVYUYsyCayPyJDnKKRMOK4T_HZNL3wxT2Q8H3nF4QKg8pDNSR4tQpqwhP0jk4wqfT59gU/s1600/from%2Bfood%2Bfor%2Bthought%2Bseries.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1053" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9OGVpKXRpYw/Xt53uLpPUEI/AAAAAAAAUOA/vNv-8aoiFdAEmyIKmwrpj9OX0llUTSJ9QCEwYBhgLKs0DAL1OcqwmlrbvYcu6ZTHDvcdJYcUbqWF8gHTJOO4a3P_vReVOcZ1awIz8MMWOzS1SDhibm4Y4dG5eHR8emp6dz4Nybc0dxxjqyDjfldsok2l_wDfjGgU1xrvXpWc8Avsmudw2-wM4QEnA15Ln34of9t76TIo6oGVyw6nSNT0sYe-8z4JoIKIm3c3Be4wg8i75w7KH_9d57cwqroTsZVEGsPKrDZZwQbf1-hiY6yPDlMrJYIj9n4uLz5ImtpDWUdyuFVOCIhDvHKhYzB0NC4M5bN3IlhdgApaNHss_ZQFqXXOgBB1zZAnNtXqsHjzO0yIbAND02jFJ5e23OlUXcKYDPkw76uXvqR0FkUm84nWdus0Z7GH3sh0uceceY1S3Eqw15_qJ9_KM0BjniN8eL-13rBsBKv4qcrpXuBfrA4G28MxEqupCYBnSgG6MrgKbBKWHSU-0Ljw4yHrIBP_omEM3fZDQNxGYP_8hIbC06SLfvHADgp21zz2hL_zL8WKkmq6scRULrpu6XNzzLhq3-aCoIx0VdOEyq3_L8jT3lg0GwAjVYUYsyCayPyJDnKKRMOK4T_HZNL3wxT2Q8H3nF4QKg8pDNSR4tQpqwhP0jk4wqfT59gU/s320/from%2Bfood%2Bfor%2Bthought%2Bseries.png" width="263" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Collage from Food for Thought series by Gail Ramsey Wharton</td></tr>
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: .75pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></h1>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nnyinsitPR0/Xt53YsmkeeI/AAAAAAAAUN4/8Jc6SQd89Pg6G2SGtFc6BSPyYfN-FyG3wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/01%2Bwhat%2Bshe%2Breally%2Bwanted%2Bwas%2Bto%2Bjust%2Bstop%2Bworrying.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1102" data-original-width="1600" height="220" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nnyinsitPR0/Xt53YsmkeeI/AAAAAAAAUN4/8Jc6SQd89Pg6G2SGtFc6BSPyYfN-FyG3wCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/01%2Bwhat%2Bshe%2Breally%2Bwanted%2Bwas%2Bto%2Bjust%2Bstop%2Bworrying.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 1px; text-align: start; text-indent: 48px;">“What she really wanted was to just stop worrying” collage by Sharon Styer<br /><br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Poet Isidore-Lucien Ducasse, writing
under the nom de plume Comte de Lautréamont, penned the line "as beautiful
as the chance encounter of a sewing machine and an umbrella on an operating
table," and André Breton adopted that line as a guiding principle of
Surrealism. The beauty of chance, and the strange wonder of juxtapositions of disparate
objects. That is in essence a description of both Dada and Surrealism and of collage
as medium and as a method of design. It has been paramount in the works of
artists from Picasso and Braque to Duchamp, to Jasper Johns to David Salle.
Collage, in fact, has been the design method of just about every art since
Picasso and Braque first glued imitation wood grains into their paintings—whether
or not the actual gluing of paper or other materials is involved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Collage as a method of design is not
hierarchical. There is no main character centerstage with smaller supporting
cast off to the sides such as in the typical Renaissance triangular
composition. Rather, all characters, images, shapes tend to be of equal value.
Rules of perspective are often ignored. There are realistic images because the
images tend to be taken from photographs ripped from the pages or newspapers
and magazines, but the relationships of the various images are often
unrealistic. Parts of bodies don’t match. Background images may be larger than
foreground images. Collages are narrative by nature, but the narratives are
more implicit than explicit. If there are stories, they are stories with no
logical beginning, middle and end.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">A collage from </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Gail Ramsey Wharton’s “Food for
Thought” series pictures an androgynous figure in an interior setting seated on
an antique chair. There’s something strange and comical about the figure, and
about the entire scene. For starters, the figure’s head is way too large for
the body. And for quite some time I thought of the figure as a woman, but
eventually noticed that her (or his) chest is bare and does not look like a
woman’s breast, and he’s wearing long stockings and men’s pointy-toed saddle
oxford shoes. And there are things in that room that do not belong (as out of
place as the sewing machine and umbrella on a dissecting table). He or she is
eating an apple, there’s a snake coiled around the chair leg, and there’s a
peeping Tom at the window who looks like popular images of Jesus. And then it
dawns on me: it’s Adam (or Eve) in the Garden of Eden, but the garden is a
Victorian era bedroom, and if that’s God watching over him or her, he’s a very
creepy god. Quite often art is both upsetting and funny.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">A friend of mine owns another Ramsey
Wharton collage. It pictures a woman riding an ironing board as if it is a
surfboard. I’ve often enjoyed looking at it, but it only recently dawned on me
that the artist’s turn of mind in noticing that an ironing board is shaped like
a surfboard and coming up with the quirky idea of putting a surfing woman on it
is akin to the kind of thinking Picasso must have done when he combined a
bicycle seat and handlebar to make a sculpture of a bull.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Collage artist Sharon Styer’s “What
she really wanted was to just stop worrying” is a languid, pastoral scene with
a pair of lovers reclining on a bridge. The scene is a surrealistic mix of
photographs and images cut from paintings. The landscape is a photograph—all
but the blue tree in the foreground, which is painted in a single, flat color,
as are the clothes and the bodies of the man and woman. Pop Art images with a
hint of Asian art. The man is clothed in a blue suit, and the woman is naked.
Her flesh is purple. Even though her head and shoulders rest on his body, they
seem unattached and uninterested in one another. The bridge they rest upon is
an arch of something like a Japanese paper lantern. The bridge and the man and
woman are gigantic in relation to the landscape. By comparison to the size of
the bodies, the creek is a mere trickle only a few inches wide. No bridge
should be needed to cross it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; letter-spacing: .75pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Much of the beauty of “What she
really wanted was to just stop worrying” is in the movement of lines, the bend
of the tree that mimics the shape of the bridge and the sensual lines of the
people’s bodies, particularly the position of their arms. Every edge, every
line, directs the viewers’ eyes in lyrical movement across the surface. And there
are butterflies. There is clearly a story behind this picture. We want to know
what they are doing and why, how they got there and what is going to happen
next.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Alec Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15518600413157551190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7400657606445846452.post-22158333283306326802020-05-12T09:17:00.002-07:002020-05-12T09:17:22.879-07:00Becky Knold’s Veiled Distance and other works<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A coronavirus sampler<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">By Alec Clayton<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-caa9cLqye1w/XrrLIQn-T8I/AAAAAAAAUKg/woz0l3kJnLsi0pYG_meNEIqa48SxHh3twCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Veiled%2BDistance%252C%2Bacrylic.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="639" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-caa9cLqye1w/XrrLIQn-T8I/AAAAAAAAUKg/woz0l3kJnLsi0pYG_meNEIqa48SxHh3twCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Veiled%2BDistance%252C%2Bacrylic.png" width="255" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Veiled Distance</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Art galleries and
theaters being closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, I am forced by boredom
to review works in my own collection. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Becky Knold’s painting
“Veiled Distance” has been hanging on my living room wall for years. Recently,
I moved it to the bathroom where, to my surprise, I look at it much more often
and more thoroughly. I stare at it and find myself being drawn into its veiled
depths. (The title does not refer to social distancing and the wearing of masks;
it was painted and given that title long before the present horror.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I have never asked the
artist about the media, but I assume from the appearance that it is acrylic on
paper, a heavy paper with a simulated canvas surface. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“Veiled Distance” is a
contemplative and mysterious painting. There are three flat black opaque shapes
floating on the surface, with a <i>background</i> of loosely brushed,
transparent, washes of watery paint in white, orange and pink. I italicize the
word <i>background</i> to indicate it is not really background but rather the
lively, atmospheric surface upon which and over and under which the black
shapes are painted. We’re seeing here mysterious organic shapes in space—outer
space or perhaps under water or wrapped in layers of transparent muslin, the
veil of the title. The spatial ambiguities are fascinating. At top there is a
circular shape that is only partially overlapped by the muslin veil, which
opens up to a deep hole in space through which a fiery sunset sky can be seen.
Below that is a heavy black shape that looks like something prehistoric. It
brings to mind the slung bone in the opening scene of <i>2001: A Space Odessey</i>.
(Here’s a reminder: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypEaGQb6dJk">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypEaGQb6dJk</a>)
The third black shape is also bone-like. It stands upright on the shores of an
orange lake. This interpretation of abstract forms evoking water, sky and bone
are perhaps but one of many possible interpretations. I wish you could see it
in person, because a reproduction on a computer screen can’t possibly do it
justice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--8ArYud772s/XrrLcMkWpsI/AAAAAAAAUKo/qN5FN1iUlf4hymlQnUaFYzztLzlJCTGVACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Riches%2BOver%2BRags%2B1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1302" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--8ArYud772s/XrrLcMkWpsI/AAAAAAAAUKo/qN5FN1iUlf4hymlQnUaFYzztLzlJCTGVACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Riches%2BOver%2BRags%2B1.png" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Riches Over Rags" mixed media on cardboard</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gby4HzD2VhE/XrrLT4lW30I/AAAAAAAAUKk/tOx6HKoWj0QPSuGikypO4bU2bZSQDtR7gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Cave%2BDweller%2B1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="929" data-original-width="756" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gby4HzD2VhE/XrrLT4lW30I/AAAAAAAAUKk/tOx6HKoWj0QPSuGikypO4bU2bZSQDtR7gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Cave%2BDweller%2B1.png" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">"Cave Dweller" mixed media on cardboard<br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This is an early Becky
Knold painting, typical of many works she did in the early 2000s when she first
began painting fulltime after retiring from teaching. More recently she has
started experimenting with little collage paintings on cardboard and other
found materials. She has been posting photos of these on Facebook but has not
yet shown them in a gallery. I hope she will be able to post pandem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The paintings on
cardboard are not atmospheric as the earlier works are, but have a kind of
solidity, or more specifically the appearance of solidity one might associate
with heavier materials. Many of these latest works appear heraldic like
medieval armaments, shields or coats of arms. And they are not constricted by
the traditional rectangular format of most paintings. Typically, there is a
standing vertical rectangular shape topped by a horizontal shape. The colors
are bolder than in her earlier paintings, and the paint tends to be heavier and
more opaque. There are strong contrasts between expressive marks and flat
shapes reminiscent of Adolph Gotlieb and Robert Motherwell. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I have written an
in-depth profile of Knold that was recently published by Oly Arts. See it at </span><a href="https://olyarts.org/2020/05/05/evolving-artist-becky-knold/">https://olyarts.org/2020/05/05/evolving-artist-becky-knold/</a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Alec Claytonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15518600413157551190noreply@blogger.com0