Capital City Pride 2017 will be the first such celebration in decades without local activist Anna Schlecht at the forefront. In honor of her work over the years, here’s a retrospective of Schlecht’s social-justice work, co-presented by ThurstonTalk and OLY […]
by Nora Kovacs for OLY ARTS “Once upon a time, there was a young woman who knew exactly what she wanted out of life.” That woman is Elizabeth Lord, and thus begins her story as an Olympia-based actor, teacher, vaudeville […]
by Kelli Samson for OLY ARTS Meet Jen and Ted Ryle, the couple behind Olympia Family Theater. Theater is a touchstone for the Ryle family. Fittingly, the Ryles met each other at an audition at Shoreline College. “I nudged my […]
by Kelli Samson for OLY ARTS Jason Haws is a shapeshifter. Whether onstage or in front of a classroom, he glides effortlessly between roles and is utterly unforgettable in each, always stealing the show. As director Brian Tyrrell, who’s known […]
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS Occasionally, we all stumble across real places that make us feel like we’re in a fictional world, places where we can do or be anything we want. Olympia has at least one of those […]
by Kelli Samson for OLY ARTS With her jazzy voice, inflamed red hair and that mischievous twinkle in her eye, Harlequin Productions’s resident secret weapon has for years been none other than actor Maggie Ferguson-Wagstaffe. She’s currently gracing Harlequin’s State […]
by Christian Carvajal for OLY ARTS For many people, theater is a way of life. For Olympia-born Pug Bujeaud, it began as a way of staying alive. “I had social anxiety before those things were talked about,” Bujeaud says. “I […]
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS One might think, if one pored through painter and gallery owner Susan Christian’s biography, that she’s the kind of creative being one might expect to have seen hanging out with Picasso and Hemingway at […]
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Heather and Michael Christopher are a power couple in the Olympia theater scene. Heather is a teacher and director with Olympia Family Theater’s children’s programs and a near-ubiquitous actor. Michael is an actor, director […]
by Kelli Samson for OLY ARTS Kathy Dorgan, a member of the Washington State Thespians Teacher Hall of Fame, is celebrating 20 years of directing plays at Olympia High School. If not for a broken leg as a teen, however, […]
