Betty Sapp Ragan Retrospective at UPS

Photo: “Boxed,” hand-colored photo collage by Betty Sapp Ragan, collection of Mac Ragan, photo by Ross Mulhausen.

Published in the Weekly Volcano, Sept. 17, 2015

“Boxed,” hand-colored photo collage by Betty Sapp Ragan, collection of Mac Ragan, photo by Ross Mulhausen.

I regret that I did not get to see more work by Betty Sapp Ragan or get to know her personally before she died in May 2014. I reviewed a couple of group shows she was in, and I had the pleasure of visiting her studio during last year’s Tacoma Studio Art Tour, where I talked to her about the latest series of paintings she was working on. Now, having seen her retrospective exhibition at Kittredge Gallery, University of Puget Sound, I am convinced that she was an underrated artist — a talent worthy of celebration and honor.

The retrospective surveys  45 years of her paintings, prints, mixed-media objects, and photographs. It was curated by Becky Frehse, instructor, and Janet Marcavage, associate professor in the Art Department at UPS, in collaboration with the artist’s son, Mac Ragan.

Untitled (from Geometry Rising series), by Betty Sapp Ragan, photo by Ross Mulhausen

That final series I saw in the studio tour included paintings with collaged digital prints of buildings in their environments, an inspired series that involved extensive research and meticulous craftsmanship. These large works in acrylic on board, now fill the back room of Kittrege Gallery at UPS.

Painted are the scenes where the buildings were, are, should be, or might have been located. The colors are bright and sunny with a predominance of blue. Everything is painted with precise detail but softly focused, like a cross between photo-realist paintings and pastel drawings. The buildings themselves are digital prints of architectural drawings, mostly black and white line drawings that are collaged into the paintings.

The actual buildings are not in the paintings. Rather, what we see is the settings before the buildings were built. These settings range from open fields to a coastal village to a dense urban scene. In one titled “Bonehouse Here?” we go back to prehistoric times to see a pair of mastodons standing on a glacier, and the drawing of the “house” is an igloo-shaped hut made of animal bones. The two mastodons are the only animals left from the herd, and the bones of their brothers and sisters have been used to make a house. Works such as these may not be exactly surrealistic, but they call reality into question. 

In the front room are photographs, photo collages, prints and paintings. One group of five photo collages depicts buildings that could be from ancient Greece or Rome with women’s dresses in doorways and windows, some hanging and some on dress dummies. They seem natural in the settings and appear to be posed photographs rather than collages, but they jar the senses because the styles are out of keeping with the architecture and the scale is all wrong. Most of the dresses are relatively gigantic, but due to the artist’s careful cropping and arranging it is only on a second or third look that they appear outsized.

Similarly, another wall features five hand-painted photo collages of contemporary women in Renaissance or Middle Age architectural settings. They look hype-realistic but anachronistic.

All of Ragan’s figures and portraits are women or are represented by women’s clothing. Her son said she was a staunch feminist all her life. “As a member of the Guerrilla Girls group in New York in the mid-1980s she worked with other women artists to promote gender and racial equality in the fine arts,” he said.

There are two large abstracts with bands of dripping monochromatic color, one all blue and one all red. The blue one has a few women’s faces collaged into it, one of which is almost totally hidden behind cut-out strips of paper.

Among a group of intaglio prints are a couple that remind me of Matisse’s large dance paintings and his paper cuts from the “Jazz” series. One of these with intertwined bodies being crushed by flat, multicolored coffee cups is particularly exciting.

Ragan’s work is inventive, thoughtful and skillfully executed. We have only this weekend to see her exhibition before it closes. There will be a closing reception Friday, Sept. 17, from 5 to 7 p.m.

[Kittredge Gallery,  A Life in Art: Betty Sapp Ragan Retrospective, through Sept. 19, Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday noon to 5 p.m., 1500 N. Warner St., Tacoma, 253.879.3701]

Hot New Shows in Federal Way

Centerstage Theatre’s Fall Shows

Published in the Weekly Volcano, Sept. 10, 20154

from left: Roger Curtis, Dale Bowers, Alicia Mendez and David Bestock from the 2010 production of Sleeping Beauty. Courtesy Centerstage Theatre.

Not enough people south of the King-Pierce County line know about Centerstage in Federal Way. I could not count the times over the past 13 years I’ve been writing theater reviews that I’ve recommended a play at Centerstage only to discover the person I’m talking to has never heard of the place. I tell you, folks, you’re missing something grand.

Centerstage, located in the Knudson Family Theatre at Dash Point Park, is a professional theater on a level with ACT and Seattle Rep and comparable to Harlequin in Olympia, but what makes it stand out is its decidedly British flavor. Managing Artistic Director Alan Bryce worked for years as an actor, director and playwright in London’s West End, which is England’s version of Broadway.

Most uniquely and enjoyably, he has brought to Puget Sound the delightful winter holiday tradition of the panto or pantomime, which has nothing whatsoever to do with white-faced, speechless mimes. The British panto is an outrageous, tongue-in-cheek form of musical comedy. The stories are always based on popular children’s stories such as Jack and the Beanstalk or Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella. They’re narrated by a fairy godmother and feature ugly-as-homemade sin witches or ugly stepsisters who are always played by men in drag, and the jokes are aimed at children and adults alike — loved by the children for their outlandishness and loved by adults for risqué use of double entendre and sly sexual innuendo.

They are audience-participation shows with candy thrown to the children and with hard-rocking pop music with comical lyrics added to hit songs of the day.

This year’s panto is Sleeping Beauty, scheduled for Nov.28 to Dec. 20. It’s back by popular demand, having played at Centerstage five years ago. In that performance there was a giant puppet and a slew of popular songs with twisted lyrics, such as the every popular “For Once in My Life,” “Another Brick in the Wall,” “Don’t Stop Believing” and the theme song from “Ghostbusters.” Plus there was word play like the following exchange: “I have a strange foreboding.” “Well, I have a strange foreboding as well.” “That’s eight forebodings.” Then they both say, “That doesn’t bode well.” That’s just a small taste of the insanity you can expect from this fractured Sleeping Beauty, directed by Vince Brady, who has directed several pantos before. Has directed shows for Greenstage and Seattle Musical Theatre and played King Lear for Greenstage.  “Sleeping Beauty herself is played by Sarah Mather. Sarah is the youngest leading lady we have ever had at Centerstage (17) but we believe we have a star in the making,” Bryce says.

Also coming for a two-night production Sept. 12-13 is Albert Einstein: The Practical Bohemian starring Ed Metzger from the Los Angeles and Off Broadway productions.

And then for one performance only Sept. 27, Centerstage brings back David Duvall's Purple Phoenix Orchestra featuring Meg McLynn as Judy Garland in I Could Go on Singing: The Judy Garland Songbook. McLynn, who sang the National Anthem for the Seahawks game against the Denver Broncos, is well-known to Centerstage audiences from her performances in Girls' Night, It's only Rock and Soul, and Pinocchio the panto. On Nov. 7-8 Centerstage will bring in Randy Noojin from New York with his multi-media one-man show Hard Travellin’ With Woody, portraying the legendary Woody Guthrie.

Squeezed in before Woody will be the murder mystery fundraiser The Object, “about a trailer trash family who are not-so-prominent members of the local Spiritualist church,” Bryce explains. It is scheduled for Oct. 23 at the Twin Lakes Country Club in Federal Way.

Centerstage at the Knutzen Family Theatre 3200 SW Dash Point Road, Federal Way, www.centerstagetheatre.com.

The City of Lakewood Celebrates Lakewood Playhouse Theatre Day

Published in the Weekly Volcano, Sept. 3, 2015

poster for A Few Good Men, art by James Stowe

By way of celebrating a local treasure, the City of Lakewood has proclaimed Sept. 18 Lakewood Playhouse Theatre Day. The day will be celebrated with a special ribbon cutting ceremony presented by the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce and with a reception with food provided by Carr’s Restaurant and a house full of local dignitaries and actors from previous and current Playhouse shows.

The company was founded in 1938. The building that now houses the theater was built in 1965 by the Lakewood Community Players and the Lakewood Arts Foundation. Since opening its doors 50 Years ago, it has presented more than 300 productions on both its main stage and through its Lakewood Institute of Theatre Education Program (established in 2002). 

During those 50 years, the Lakewood Playhouse has hosted special presentations by hundreds of local groups including The Lakewood Senior Players, the Pierce College Theatre Group, Last Ditch Efforts, New Muses Theatre, The Outfit Theatre Group, the Asian Film Festival and countless number of music groups.

A true community theater that provides education for youth and performance opportunities to local actors, Lakewood Playhouse has always striven for professional level performances. Former Managing Artistic Director Marcus Walker, who died March 11, 2011 of metastatic melanoma, often told me he wanted me to review their shows with the same strict criteria I would use when critiquing a professional company such as Seattle Repertory Theater. That is indicative of the level of professionalism Lakewood Playhouse has always insisted on. And by-the-way, I reviewed My Name is Asher Lev, the last play Walker directed, at both Seattle Repertory Theater and Lakewood Playhouse, and the Lakewood play was the better of the two.

The theater’s current manager, John Munn, is only the sixth managing artistic director in the theater’s 50-year history. This season is Munn’s fifth at the helm. He says he is proud to be supported by a staff of “incredibly creative and dedicated professionals and artists.”

“We have assembled an amazing array of shows this season with something for everyone,” Munn says. “The directors for each of the productions have such a passion and vision for their shows that we can’t wait to share them with you.”

Munn says he has no formal training as an artist. Outside of a few years in college and in high school, 

his training comes from working in local community theatres over the past 40 years in more than 100 shows as either an actor or director. 

 “When I sit inside our 172 Seat Theatre, and I start to think about all of the shows that have happened under its roof, it is both staggering and humbling to know that we are the caretakers of that. Just stop and think of the lives that were changed here by either being in a show or by seeing one. I know that almost sixty thousand people have seen our shows over the last four seasons that I have been here. Imagine that number over this Playhouse's 50-year history. Consider all of the actors whose lives were forever changed by being a part of that "one show." There you have to realize all of the amazing stories that have been told by the thousands of creative artists who have made them possible. Fifty years. One building. Only made for one purpose. To house a rich theatrical history. We are all a part of that. You. Me. Folks that are reading this article and smiling. All of us. With this next season, we begin the journey of the next 50 years ... and who wouldn't want to be a part of that?”

The 2015-2016 season kicks off Sept. 11 with A Few Good Men, the military court drama by Aaron Sorkin, winner of the 1990 World Theatre Award. A Few Good Men will be followed by the live radio show of the horror classic The Birds Oct. 23-25. This will be the eighth of the Playhouse’s live radio shows. They are always wonderfully fun entertainments. Next up will be Treasure Island, followed by Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, the ever-popular Noises Off, and finally the Tony Award-winning Avenue Q.

“We have so many other 50^th Anniversary Surprises in store for you,” Munn continued, “You won’t want to miss a single thing.  And, as you know, we always look forward to welcoming you home soon!”

The ribbon cutting ceremony and reception on Sept. 18 is scheduled for 5:30-6:30 p.m. Guests are invited to come back later that evening for the 8 p.m. performance of A Few Good Men.

Lakewood Playhouse Theatre Day, Sept. 18, 5729 Lakewood Towne Center Blvd., Lakewood, 253.588.0042

A Fun New Pop-up Show at B2

New show has a Little of Everything

Published in the Weekly Volcano, Sept. 3, 2015

“Love Forty,” acrylic on cotton rag by Hiawatha D. Courtesy B2 Gallery

The difference between what B2 Gallery is calling it’s “Pop-Up” shows and its regular shows is 1) the Pop-Ups don’t run as long and 2) the art is more reasonably priced. As for the quality of the art, there is little or no difference.

The Pop-Up running through Sept. 26 features art by Hiawatha D, Leah Fitts, Francesca Fuller, Joe Gallagher, Hossein Peigahi, Becky Knold, and jeweler Delores Weir. It’s a fun show.

Peigahi’s colorful and stylized landscapes dominate the large front room. They are playful and simple with few details, and look a lot like they could be children’s book illustrations. One of his nicest pieces is “Twin Barns of Nisqually.” The barns are ghostlike in pales tones of yellow, blue and green that are almost white. They seem to be shimmering in the heat. They sit on a field of hot orange grass. 

Also by Peigahi is a little 12” x 12” untitled landscape that is pseudo-pointillist but not as precise as the pointillism made famous by  Georges Seurat. Above this painting is “Garden,” an oil and monotype of about the same size with flowers depicted in large strokes as if the pointillist dots from the painting below have blossomed into fast strokes like a section ripped from a Van Gogh. His “Summer Day” has marvelously hot: orange, blue, pink and green colors. Near it is the hottest and best of his paintings, a Giclée print called “Fall” picturing a single line of trees with orange leaves on rolling hills that are almost the same color as the leaves. This is a stunning little painting.

Hiwatha D’s acrylic-on-cotton-rag paintings of jazz musicians look more like illustrations than serious paintings, but they grow on you in a wonderful way. These musicians (as well as the people in all his other paintings) are almost genderless, and they don’t have faces, hands or feet. They are decorative and nicely composed. His other paintings are scenes that have the feel of the jazz age. Among these is a matched pair, “Bastile” and “Love Forty” — a man in one painting and a woman in the other, seated in a bar with wine glass and bottle on the table and their chins rested on see-through hands. The contours of these figures are nicely curvilinear, which is stylistically enhanced by the see-through aspect of the hands. His other paintings depict groups of people in urban settings. 

 

Fuller is showing a set of paintings of flowers with metal sheets screwed to the surface, combining delicate flower petals in transparent washes with minimalist abstract forms created by the metal sheets. The combination is original, startling, and quite attractive.

Fitts’ work is mostly abstract. She has nine paintings of expressive circles and lines and other highly gestural marks on fields of shallow , amorphous spaces and one outstanding landscape of a line of trees with almost identical clumps of orange leaves and sky and ground that look like the background on her abstracts but more nuanced. (I understand that my description of this painting might read like my earlier description of Peigahi’s “Fall,” but the only thing they have in common is that they are two of the best paintings in the show.

Gallagher’s paintings of humorously surrealist bodies, faces, fish, octopi and mermaids are colorful and childlike, although I can see that to many viewers they may look ominous. 

Knold is showing a group of paintings from her recent show at B2. They are all nice paintings, but not among her best. The richness of texture and the contrasts of thick-thin, opaque-transparent that is a trademark of much of Knold’s paintings are not so much in evidence here. Weir’s jewelry nicely combines tribal and contemporary looks with images such as faces and complex beadwork.

Summer Pop Up at B2, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, till 9 p.m. Third Thursdays, through Sept. 26, 711 St. Helens Avenue, Tacoma, 253.238.5065.