Arts Spaces & Companies

Sam Miller’s Letters from Jail

Comedian Sam Miller and his mother, Mary Soehnlen, performed “The Jail Letters Project” several times in 2017, when Miller was doing standup locally and hosting a comedy open mic. They’re revisiting it now because Stand Up Records, which produced Miller’s 2023 Round Trip, is working on a documentary about him. “I’m used to standup, and I’m good at standup,” he said. “Even though I’ve done this show before, it is more challenging. … The thing about my drinking and using that I am most ashamed of is how I treated my mom. Doing a show with my mom about that time is the hardest thing.”

Artists’ Gallery Summer Party: You’re Invited!

Founded in downtown Olympia in 1980 by a group of artists dedicated to bringing their work directly to and fostering a dialogue with the community, the Artists’ Artists’ Gallery in Capital Mall celebrates 45 years of cooperative art this summer with live music and an opportunity to meet and talk with the artists, and view a wide selection of drawings, paintings, sculpture, jewelry and other artworks.

For Colored Girls who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow is Enuf

“For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow is Enuf,” now being staged at Lakewood Playhouse, is a show that mainly consists of poetic monologues delivered by seven emphatically engaged performers, interspersed with wildly physical musical numbers. It’s a show that demands that you be as present as possible — a show of giddy highs and devastating lows.

Explore Olympia’s Bustling Zine Community at the 2025 Olympia Zine Fest

More than 80 vendors will be present at the Olympia Zine Fest, May 30-31, primarily featuring zines and similar art forms. Co-organizer Kerry Martin describes the format of the Tabling Expo as a cross between an art gallery opening and a craft fair, with the opportunity to meet and chat with zine creators while enjoying the different writing and artwork on display. Zines featured in the expo may be available for a small fee, and zine artists may also be open to trading or exchanging zines with fellow zine authors.

‘Lizzie’ rocks at South Puget Sound Community College

SPSCC Theater Collective’s rock musical “Lizzie” about Lizzie Bordon, accused of the ax murder of her mother, assumes Lizzie’s guilt, according to its director. It also doesn’t shy away from suggesting that Lizzie’s relationship with her father included sexual abuse, a theme explored in the song “This Isn’t Love,” one of the 26 songs that tell Lizzie’s story.

Olympia Is Searching for Next Poet Laureate

Since 2017, the City of Olympia Poet Laureate has used the written word as a frame to explore timely topics, facilitate community conversations and revisit local landmarks and landscapes. This spring, the City of Olympia is searching for the next Olympia Poet Laureate and is inviting members of the public to submit applications for the position.

Labyrinths at Thurston County Museum of Fine Arts

Thurston County Museum of Fine Arts supports experimental and experiential art. They have made themselves quite the legacy. They usually house group shows twice a year, with some solo shows in between when possible. The Spring Arts Walk show through May 24 is a local open call. The theme is Labyrinth, and it is a deeply intriguing show because of its multiple interpretations of this universal theme and the uses of varied materials and compositions.

Bug at Tacoma Little Theatre

In Tacoma Little Theatre’s production of Bug, Peter starts to see bugs in Agnes’ room, and soon enough, Agnes thinks she might see them, too. Bug, written by Tracy Letts, and directed for Tacoma Little Theatre by Blake R. York, has a reputation for its intensity, and it’s well-earned: once tensions begin to mount, they never let up, building to a manic crescendo as we helplessly watch two people spiral into madness. The play elicits plenty of nervous laughter from the audience, as they witness some truly horrifying events, but there are also audacious moments of humor.

Monster Puppet Readings of Jonah Barnett’s Moss-Covered Claws

Up in the loft at Browsers Bookshop, genderqueer writer, filmmaker, and multi-media phenom Jonah Barnett will be performing a series of readings from their 2021 short-story collection “Moss-Covered Claws,” which mashes dreams and reality together in 11 macabre tales of speculative fiction: tales of anxiety-feeding demons, anti-fascists that travel dimensions, and the vengeful spirits of dead seabirds.

Magic Curtain Mornings at Olympia Family Theater

Olympia Family Theater’s new Magic Curtain Morning shows engage and delight toddlers and preschoolers. Each show runs no longer than 30 minutes, providing littles a playful introduction to the magic of live theater. The first show is “Little Red and the Dancing Wolf,” offering a new take on the old tale, running April 18, 25, and 26.

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