posts that contain mini-bios of our writers
ART REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS The 2019 Southwest Washington Juried Exhibition at South Puget Sound Community College has opened. It is sparser this year than previous shows — and that’s a good thing. It means a larger percentage of the art is of top quality and the show does not look overcrowded. …
By Molly Walsh Hometown Olympia act WineHouse Band is a young, seven-piece, alternative-rock lineup that crosses funk with hints of rock and jazz. It recently released an extended-play album, Le Voyeur. Half the band’s members are teenagers, but don’t let that distract from their especially tight, enthusiastic performances, as on the tune “Midnight.” Dreamy vocals …
For music fans who started collecting albums before the arrival of Spotify, Tacoma Dome has scheduled an epic run of bucket-list concert acts.
THEATER REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Director Aaron Lamb and the cast and crew of Harlequin Productions’ Man of La Mancha took a calculated risk that is paying off marvelously in their production of the classical musical by Dale Wasserman with music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion. Lamb has updated …
By Alec Clayton Writing and illustrating a children’s book has been Nancy Thorne Chambers’ dream since childhood, but her passion took an unexpected turn after she retired from a lifetime as an illustrator and family therapist. In a dramatic turn from her plans, she taught herself ceramic sculpture. “I learned by reading books and trial …
By NOAH SHACHAR Summertime is coming around, and Olympia Film Society (OFS) welcomes warm weather with a new set of extraordinary films including Olivier Assayas’s philosophical romp Non-Fiction and Eric Becker’s documentary Return to Mount Kennedy. We spoke with programming director Rob Patrick about the screenings. As for Assayas, Patrick said, “The French director’s acclaimed …
By Alec Clayton For three days in July, volunteers will get together to create a mosaic mural for the Plum Street Tiny Home Village in Olympia. Participants will create a welcome sign measuring roughly three by five feet comprising several small, house-shaped mosaics. The project is spearheaded by Stacey Waterman-Hoey, director and founder of Arbutus …
By CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL Alejandro de Acosta, philosophy faculty member at The Evergreen State College, is the essayist and translator responsible for a Texas micro-press called mufa::poema. Born in Argentina, de Acosta translated poetry collections by Jorge Carrera and Carlos Oquendo de Amat. His wife, Elise Dressler, is the poetry coordinator who leads a modern-poetry book …
By Molly Walsh Capital Lakefair is a local carnival full of fun and nostalgia. Here is the full schedule of this year’s events. Read more of OLY ARTS’ Lakefair coverage here. Wednesday, July 17 Noon – 11 p.m. Arts-and-crafts vendors, carnival, entertainment, food concessions 6 p.m. Battle of the high-school bands, main stage Thursday, July …
By Molly Walsh and Billy Thomas On Olympia’s third week of July, a five-day summer vacation rolls into town with an opportunity for residents and visitors to relive childhood memories and create new ones. Capital Lakefair delivers time-honored landmarks evoking an atmosphere best suited to balmy summer evenings. Flashes of color whirl around the festival’s …