Out of the Silence

The Weekly Volcano, Feb. 7, 2013

We Are all Different, by Deborah Freng

I attended the opening of Out of The Silence, an art exhibit in Olympia’s Urban Onion lobby. It was a phenomenal event and a phenomenal exhibition. As they say in high society, everyone who is anyone was there: Mayor Stephen Buxbaum, Congressman Denny Heck, a handful of City Council members, school teachers and administrators, and leaders of the gay rights movement. The exhibition is being held as a fundraiser for Pizza Klatch, a support group for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth and their allies in Olympia area high schools.

Credit calligrapher Sally Penley for coming up with the idea and pulling the whole thing together with a lot of help from other community members — most notably Lynn Grotsky and the board and facilitators of Pizza Klatch. Penley’s idea was to invite calligraphic artists from all over the country to make art based on inspirational quotes related to bullying and youth suicide or quotes of hope such as Harvey Milk’s famous and simple quote, “You gotta give ‘em hope.”

Martin Luther King, Jr. was quoted in many of the pieces, as were Gandhi and other famous people. But there were also profoundly moving words from youth and their parents. For instance, one heart-stopping piece is a calligraphy and collage piece by Raina McBride that includes an envelope from a mother to her son marked return to sender with the address crossed out and a hand-written note saying “Doesn’t live here” and a poem by Edna St. Vincent Mallay that begins “Where you used to be there is a hole in the world.”

Begin Now, by Laurie Doctor

Also quoted liberally was songwriter Steve Schalchlin. It was his benefit performance PFLAG at Traditions Fair Trade a year ago that inspired Penley to pull the show together.

There are 60 works of art in the exhibit from 39 calligraphers from across the United States and Canada. Some of the messages address the issues, and others promote love, self-worth and hope for a better future that celebrates diversity and equal rights for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. 

There were tears in the eyes of patrons at the opening, and their conversations expressed awe and solidarity. I expected to read powerful words, and I expected flowery and perhaps overly sweet lettering of these words. My expectations were totally off the mark. Yes, some of the calligraphy is a little too sweet and decorative for my taste, but much more of it is visually astonishing. This is not just fine craft, it is fine art; it is not just pretty lettering, it is words presented as design with beautiful use of color and texture and composition and inventive uses of materials. It’s not just pretty writing; there are paintings, a quilt, and hand-made books.

Many of these artists may never again have their work on display in Olympia, so for many patrons this is a one-time-only opportunity. Among the most powerful pieces are “Exclusion” by Sondra Veneble, “Don’t Belittle Yourself” by Anita Bigelow and “We Are All Different, We Are All The Same” by Deborah Freng,

The show runs for two months at the Urban Onion and will then travel for two years first to the University of Washington and then various venues on the West Coast. When the show closes, the original art will be offered in an online auction. 

All proceeds from the sale of the original art and prints/cards online at www.out-of-the-silence-exhibit.artistwebsites.com will go to support Pizza Klatch. For more information about Pizza Klatch, visit www.pizzaklatch.org. 

For more background on the project, visit www.outofthesilence.us

Also see my comments on this show in the Spew blog.

[Urban Onion, Out of The Silence, through March 30, 116 Legion Way, Olympia.]

Next to Normal at Capital Playhouse

From left: Bruce Haasl, Lars Foster-Jorgensen, Kurt Raimer, Jana Tyrrell and Gordon Shaughnessy. Photo by Dennis Kurtz

I was not prepared for Next to Normal. Perhaps I should have been. I had read about it and even listened to the Broadway cast album before going to the theater. But nothing can prepare you for something like this. This is an astounding play, from the opening numbers—the prelude in which we find the Goodman family unable to sleep in the pre-dawn hours of night and “Just Another Day,” a song that establishes Diana (Jana Tyrrell, wife of director Brian Tyrrell) and her family as anything but a normal family—to the final uplifting song that offers hope but no easy resolutions.

Diana has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Her husband, Dan (Kurt Raimer) is, in Diana’s words, boring; but he steadfastly loves and supports her through hell. Their teenage daughter, Natalie (Erin Snodgrass) is a smart over-achiever on the verge of entering a world of romance, drugs, and a rocking club scene. The Goodman’s son, Gabe (Lars Foster-Jorgensen) is absent in ways that only gradually come clear. Also making an appearance in their fucked-up lives are Bruce Haasl as Diana’s doctor and Gordon Shaughnessy as Natalie’s boyfriend, Henry, a sweet and devoted stoner kid.

I used the term “fucked-up” because that is the word used in the play—often and most emphatically by Natalie.

Kurt Raimer and Jana Tyrrell. Photo by Dennis Kurts.

Interestingly, the director wrote in the program a couple of the things I thought about: first that Next to Normal has a lot in common with Rent—both are hard-hitting, uncompromising looks at contemporary life done rock-opera style—and second that it is nothing like what many theatergoers think of when hearing the word “musical.” What Tyrrell wrote was: “…its gritty realism more closely resembles the works of playwrights like Miller, O’Neill and Williams than it does Sondheim, Schwartz or Rogers and Hammerstein. It’s not a musical with huge production numbers of spell-binding spectacle but rather heartfelt, truthful, face-to-face interactions that are startlingly moving.”

In that opening number the family appears typical and likeable as they begin “Just Another Day,” but as the song progresses Diana becomes increasingly manic and bizarre, and her husband and children are horrified. Dan and Diana both begin to wonder if it’s just her or if maybe there’s something else wrong, as expressed in the song “Who’s Crazy/My Psychopharmacologist and I.” From there the drama becomes more and more intense as Diana’s mind deteriorates, in large part thanks to the ineffectiveness of her doctor.

The acting throughout is excellent. If it were a movie both Tyrrells would surely be up for an Academy Award. Jana Tyrrell is so convincingly manic/depressive that you might think she has spent time in a mental hospital studying for the part. Her singing is quite strong—mellow and full bodied.

Haasl does his usual fine job. As the doctor he seems arrogant and self-contained, and on the hard rocking song “Doctor Rock” he switches gears with lightning speed to depict the mad doctor Diana fears he might be on her first session with him. He electrifies the stage on this song.

In addition to being a fine actor and singer Haasl is the Capital Playhouse resident set designer, and he outdid himself on this one with a set that is stark and stunning with a house-shaped wall of white slats against black curtains and an industrial riser. Everything is in black and white except for turquoise kitchen chairs and painted riser edges that match the chairs. The stark white on everything else allows for outstanding lighting effects from light designer Matt Lawrence and light board operator Kris Mann.

Next to Normal was nominated for 11 Tony Awards in 2009 and won three: Best Original Score, Best Orchestration and Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical. It also won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It is the finest show I’ve seen at Capital Playhouse since Rent in 2010. Bravo, CPH! Folks, don’t miss this one!

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday through Feb. 17

Where: Capital Playhouse: 612 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia

Tickets: $28-39

More information: 360-943-2744, capitalplayhouse.com

Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks

Sharry O’Hare and Micheal O’Hara are charming in “Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks” at Tacoma Little Theatre, and the play is a delight. 

If words like “charming” and “delightful” connote lightweight, do not be fooled; this play is anything but light. Major social, religious, psychological and political issues are brought into scrutiny in the witty dialogue between Lily Harrison (O’Hare) and Michael Minetti (O’Hara). 

I cannot say what these issues are without spoiling plot surprises. Suffice it to say that reality lurks underneath the sweet comedy of Lily and Michael’s relationship.

Lily is an old woman who hires Michael to teach her ballroom dancing — the six lessons of the title. Michael is a much younger man, and their backgrounds, beliefs and way of life are as different, and in surprising ways as similar, as antonyms and synonyms.

From their initial meeting they lie to each other, and as their stories unfurl in lesson after lesson the lies are confessed or discovered and the layers of their lives are peeled away, and it is all done with acerbic wit.

Presenting such heavy material in a ways that are funny and making such complex characters both believable and loveable requires two things: an intelligent and inventive script, and a pair of actors who are not only seasoned professionals but who can play off one another as lovers can. Richard Alfieri’s script and the casting of O’Hare and O’Hara fulfill both conditions.

These two actors are married to each other, and each of them has long and impressive theatrical credentials. This is the third two-person show they have done together, the others being “I Do! I Do!” and “Love Letters.” And this is the second time they’ve performed “Six Dance Lessons…”

The play is presented in two acts with seven scenes, each of the first six scenes being a separate lesson — swing, tango, Viennese waltz, foxtrot, cha-cha, and contemporary dance — and the seventh scene being a “bonus lesson.” Each scene requires a costume change because Michael insists on dressing the part for each dance. The costumes by Michele Graves range from ludicrous to elegant. The downside to the many costume changes is the long breaks required between scenes. These are not effectively filled by music and projected images. Opening night the music needed to be louder, and while many of the projected images were dark they were lit enough to show stagehands working on the set each time. I’m not sure what could have been done to better cover the time between scenes, but something better was needed.

I was slightly disappointed in Blake York’s set, which was not up to his usual excellence. I did, however, like the drop ceiling and ceiling fan and some of the furniture. Too bad they had to roll up the carpet in every scene and a stagehand had to come out and unroll it during every scene change, a distraction that did not.

O’Hara, an excellent actor, seemed slightly stilted in the first two scenes, which could be chalked up to playing a character who was pretending to be something he was not. After that he eased into his character much more naturally. O’Hare was fully into her character, natural and believable, from the moment she stepped on stage. The writing also seemed slightly contrived in the first few scenes, but by the time they got halfway through the tango every joke and every surprising plot point flowed naturally from the characters and situations. 

The play is billed as a comedy, but it is much more than just funny bits. Ultimately, it is a love story. Not a romantic love story but the far deeper and more endearing love story between two people who grudgingly become friends. Lily and Michael start off prickly and at each other’s throats, and their relationship ends up being more like that of best friends or like mother and son.

O’Hara and O’Hare are probably close in age, but they convincingly play people with an approximate 30-year difference in age. This is made possible by costuming, a couple of natural looking wigs and some outstanding acting.

I can’t imagine anyone going to this play and not walking away feeling better about themselves and the world they live in.

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:00 p.m. Sunday through Feb. 10, WHERE: Tacoma Little Theatre, 210 N “I” St., Tacoma

TICKETS: $15 - $25

INFORMATION: 253-272-2281, www.tacomalittletheatre.com.

Collaborative light

Digital Media and Ceramic Installation at Kittredge Gallery 

The Weekly Volcano, Jan. 31, 2013

 by Alec Clayton

The latest show at Kittredge Gallery, University of Puget Sound, is a fascinating installation that may prove difficult to describe. I’ll do my best while suggesting that you see for yourself.

It is called Kūkai, and it is a collaborative project between digital media artist Robert Campbell and ceramic sculptor Yuki Nakamura, who previously worked together for an installation called Floating Plaster/City Motion, a multimedia installation comprising video, audio, and cast sculptures for the New Works Laboratory, a program between 911 Media Arts Center and the Henry Art Gallery at University of Washington in Seattle.

The current installation is all about light and sound — mostly light. 

The gallery door is partially closed — open only a crack. And inside it is dark. Some visitors may think they are closed, but walk on in. Inside there are a few upright posts in the middle of the room, and projected on them or projected from inside of them (it’s impossible to tell which) are streaks of light like bolts of lightning that change from moment to moment. On two panels on either side are projected light images  and on another side there is what appears to be hundreds of little standing figures that move about in ever-changing patterns as if on a motorized turntable on the black floor. From my point of view I thought they were made of cut sheets of metal. But when I walked around to the side I saw that they are actually projected streaks of light on the floor. Other light images are projected on the back wall.

The whole thing is in constant fluctuation or movement as if dancing to some seductive but strange music that sounds alternately like pneumatic hammer-driven pylons or fireworks explosions. Or perhaps a composition by the love child of John Cage and Phillip Glass.

As I said, the whole thing is almost impossible to describe, but it is mesmerizing.

The press explains: “Kūkai is an extension of and elaboration on some of the revisited experimentations and ideas generated during (the artists’) six-month residency in 2006, and an installation at SOIL in 2012. The artists have noted: ‘We live directly across Puget Sound from one another — one on Vashon Island, the other in the Old Town district of Tacoma. Sea and sky are omnipresent in our daily imagery: as we watch the floating forms of ships, tankers, and drifting objects, we think of the sea between the Pacific Northwest and Japan, and the parts and pieces of homes washed away during Japan's recent tsunami which are floating toward these shores. The forms which we are reactivating are based on traditional Japanese wood joinery: forms that create bonds that hold parts together. We are basing our approach to combining our respective art forms on these general ideas.’ The installation is an immersive environment created using digital projection, porcelain, and Mylar. This project is supported in part by the Tacoma Artists Initiative Program.”

In the smaller back gallery there is an excellent but sparse exhibition of contemporary drawings that includes, among others, a still life by Alice Neel, a great drawing of a recumbent fat man by Jerome Witkin, and the wicked “Smirking Virgin” by Gerald Purdy.

[Kittredge Gallery,  Kūkai by Robert Campbell and Yuki Nakamura, through March 2, Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday noon to 5 p.m., 1500 N. Warner St., Tacoma, 253.879.3701]