Out on a Limb dancers, photo by Josolynn Jones

Experimental Choreography at Out on a Limb

by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Out on a Limb, Olympia’s second-annual showcase for experimental dance, promises some surprises, a few chills and a chance to be part of the dance. The event, curated by members of the Random Acts of Dance Collective and Company Y, features a diverse selection of work inspired by butoh, …

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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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Tumwater Timberland Library

The Battle of Tumwater Library

by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS What happens in the library after the lights go out? Friday night at Tumwater Timberland Library, the answer sounds like something out of a fantasy novel: The library will become a battlefield, with intrepid teens forming teams to play capture the flag—or in this case, capture the glow wand—and …

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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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Mark Alford, Xander Layden and Morgan Picton in TAO's 1984

Yesterday’s Tomorrow Is Today

by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Just two days after the inauguration of Donald Trump, Pug Bujeaud knew it was time for 1984. She’s directing Theater Artists Olympia’s production of George Orwell’s dystopian classic, opening March 24. “1984 is a story of what happens when people in power have too much power,” she said in …

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Ebb and Flow

Ebb and Flow With the Yamashitas

by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Ebb and Flow is the story of an immigrant family and an immigrant oyster. The documentary follows longtime oysterman Jerry Yamashita of Seattle and his father, Masahide Yamashita, who emigrated from Japan to the United States in 1902 at age 19. Masahide was instrumental in bringing to the Northwest …

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St. John's Episcopal Church

Bach Around the Clock

by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS March 21 is the 332nd birthday of composer Johann Sebastian Bach, and Olympia organist Curt Sather will spend the day—the whole day—celebrating. Sather, the music director at St. John’s Episcopal Church, will play all of the composer’s organ works—nearly 300—in a 24-hour marathon performance he’s calling Bach Around the …

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Lauren Love

Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom

by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS If Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom sounds more like the name of a horror video game than the title of a play, there’s good reason: Neighborhood 3, opening Thursday at South Puget Sound Community College, is a play about a video game—a creepy one in which reality and virtual …

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Tents

Tents at Timberline High School

by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS The first musical by Olympia Choral Society director Terry Shaw, opening Thursday, tells the stories of people living not in houses or apartments but in Tents. He describes the musical as “a story of stories” about the lives of eight residents of a homeless camp. Though performances are at …

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Aphra Behn (J Benway) and Nell Gwyn (Shannon Agostinelli) in Or,

Or, at Olympia Little Theatre

by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Olympia Little Theatre’s latest production, entitled Or, (including the comma), involves sexual freedom, lime-green fabric printed with butterflies and an invitation to tune in and turn on. “It’s a bedroom farce with a more serious message of love and tolerance,” said director Toni Holm. Yes, it is set in …

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