Brianna Kramer

Take a Walkabout at MCE’s Outback Odyssey

by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Masterworks Choral Ensemble’s Outback Odyssey, set for Saturday, will include the United States premiere of “Dreams & Visions,” a 50-minute piece by Australian composer John Peterson. A 10-piece string orchestra will accompany the choir for the concert, which focuses on contemporary choral and orchestral music of Australia. Commissioned by …

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Scatterbrains

An Evening of Alternative Facts: An Improv Comedy Show

by Ned Hayes for OLY ARTS An improv resurrection is happening in Olympia. One of the Puget Sound region’s leading improvisational groups, the Scatterbrains Improv Comedy Troupe, disbanded years ago after being featured at Seattle’s Bumbershoot, Olympia’s Capital City Pride, Tacoma’s First Night and leading theatrical venues all around Puget Sound. The group didn’t disband because members …

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Black Violin

Chops and Hip-Hop With Black Violin

by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Contrary to the old saying, sometimes it’s Mother who knows best. Just ask Kevin “Kev Marcus” Sylvester, violinist for Black Violin. Sylvester and violist Wilner “Wil B” Baptiste bring their mixture of classical chops and hip-hop beats to Olympia this Tuesday. Sylvester took up violin in elementary school, and …

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Restless Vocal Band

All Vocals, All Night

by Jennifer Crain for OLY ARTS On March 18, the human voice takes center stage at the Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival. This popular event brings the vocal acrobatics and stage flair of the a cappella scene to the public in a high-energy sing-off. By the end of the evening, one group will be selected …

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The Pirates of Penzance

The Pirates of Penzance at The Washington Center

by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS The ever-popular The Pirates of Penzance, or The Slave of Duty is coming to The Washington Center this spring, performed by the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players. Pirates is a witty comic opera in two acts, featuring what is popularly known as “The Major General Song,” a so-called …

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Becky Knold

REVIEW: The Ways We See

VISUAL ARTS REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Now showing in The Washington Center for the Performing Arts are paintings by Lois Beck, Becky Knold and Mia Schulte, three women whose paintings have a lot in common—so much so, in fact, that unless you’ve studied their paintings in detail over time you’d be hard …

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Sarah Vowell

Sarah Vowell: Learning From Dead People

by Christian Carvajal for OLY ARTS To read Sarah Vowell’s bestselling nonfiction works or hear her frequent appearances on public radio is to experience our history through the eyes of, in her own words, a “partly cloudy patriot.” Her most recent book, Lafayette in the Somewhat United States, is a quirky biography of a French …

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STOMP, photo by Steve McNicholas

Stomp Clangs Its Way to Olympia

by Guy Bergstrom for OLY ARTS The international hit Stomp—which first hit the London stage in 1991 and has been playing on Broadway since 1994—is coming to Olympia in January 2017. Creators Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas go back another decade to 1981. Cresswell is a self-taught drummer who left school at 15 for music. …

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Masterworks Choral Ensemble

Jingle: A Christmas Celebration

by Jennifer Crain for OLY ARTS On December 3, the Masterworks Choral Ensemble’s annual Christmas concert kicks off the Yuletide season. Gary Witley, director of the community chorus since he helped found it in 1981, says listeners can expect a family friendly evening with traditional favorites, sing-alongs and tunes to make them laugh. “Every Christmas …

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Jill Carter's preparation for The Nutcracker

Jill Carter’s Land of the Sweets

READ COMPLETE JILL CARTER INTERVIEW HERE >> PRINT ARTICLE BELOW >> by Ned Hayes for OLY ARTS When the curtain first rose on Jill Carter’s original set design for Land of the Sweets 20 years ago, there was a gasp from the audience, followed by a round of applause. The audience cheered for the scenic design …

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