Young Arts Ambassadors, 2016

Young Arts Ambassador Youth Showcase

by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS The arts are for everyone to create and to enjoy. The Washington Center for the Performing Arts’s Young Arts Ambassadors are learning about the arts from the inside out, and they’ll share their knowledge and creations at a showcase this Saturday. A benefit for the program, the showcase features …

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Amy Shephard, photo by Heather Schofner Photography

Center Salon at The Washington Center

by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Billed as being “much like Parisian salons of old,” Center Salon at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts will fill the intimate space of the Black Box with art, literature, music and theater. Amy Shephard, actor, singer and co-founder of StoryOly at Rhythm & Rye, will emcee the …

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River Ridge High School Drama Club

Thurston County Scores Big at the State Thespian Festival

by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Student actors, playwrights and stage crews scored big in the latest statewide Thespian Festival, held at Central Washington University March 16-17. Students and their teachers are rightfully proud and look forward to nationals this summer, though it isn’t clear all will be able to attend. Here’s what a few …

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Luminary Procession 2017 – Photo Essay

OLY ARTS is excited to partner with Shanna Paxton Photography for complete photographic coverage of Procession of the Species 2017! ((See also our PROCESSION OF THE SPECIES photo essay here.)) CLICK THROUGH FOR ALL THE PICTURES >> CLICK THROUGH FOR ALL THE PICTURES >> CLICK THROUGH FOR ALL THE PICTURES >> CLICK THROUGH FOR ALL …

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Procession of the Species 2017 – Photo Essay

OLY ARTS is excited to partner with Shanna Paxton Photography for complete photographic coverage of Procession of the Species 2017! ((See also our LUMINARY PROCESSION photo essay here.)) CLICK THROUGH FOR ALL THE PICTURES >> CLICK THROUGH FOR ALL THE PICTURES >> CLICK THROUGH FOR ALL THE PICTURES >> CLICK THROUGH FOR ALL THE PICTURES …

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Giselle at Studio West Dance Theatre

Weekend Preview: April 28, 2017

WEEKEND PREVIEW is your weekly guide to events in Thurston County. This week, we’re bringing you everything you need to know about amazing events you can only find in Olympia, including the Spring Arts Walk, Luminary Procession and Procession of the Species. We hope you’re ready for a weekend full of jaw-dropping visual arts, theater …

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Use Your Words at Saint Martin’s Summer Creative Writing Institute

by Ned Hayes for OLY ARTS Fiction writers will spread their creative wings at the Summer Creative Writing Institute at Saint Martin’s University this summer. If you apply before April 29, you could be one of only 15 writers who are chosen as participants. The second-annual Summer Writing Institute takes place at Saint Martin’s University …

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Blubber with puppet designer Jamie Jenson

OFT’s Original, Punk-Rock Musical: Fishnapped!

by Kelli Samson for OLY ARTS Evergreen State College alumna Amy Shephard has collaborated with Andrew Gordon and Daven Tillinghast to write Olympia Family Theater’s final show of its 11th season, Fishnapped! “It’s an interactive, musical mystery involving a missing goldfish,” says Shephard, who also choreographs the production. The musical numbers, composed by Tillinghast, are …

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Shakespeare in Hollywood

Shakespeare in Hollywood (and at OLT)

by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Imagine you’re on the set of a Hollywood movie made in 1934, with big-name stars filming A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and magically the real Oberon and Puck from the Shakespeare play show up on the set. If such a thing could happen, it would be a recipe for comedy…or …

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Ken Waldman, photo by Art Sutch

Fiddling Around With Poet Ken Waldman

by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS “Good satire has its place.” That’s a simple, yet timely point made by fiddler and poet Ken Waldman about today’s tumultuous political climate. Like many poets and musicians, Waldman uses his storytelling craft, not only to process his reactions to politics, but to create meaningful art as well. This …

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