posts that contain mini-bios of our writers
By Molly Gilmore Since it started in 1981, Olympia’s Creative Theatre Experience (CTE) has produced 120 summer shows. It’s also built the confidence and skills of two generations of theater-loving students. “Forty years is pretty impressive,” said Elizabeth Swanson, vice president of the CTE board. “We now have children in the program whose parents were …
Theatre Review By Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS “Equivocation” at Olympia Little Theatre (OLT) is wild. It is ludicrous. It is funny and tragic and gruesome. Written by Bill Cain and directed at OLT by Pug Bujeaud, the play is a farcical tragedy, a takeoff on and about Shakespeare (Drew Doyle), who is alternately called …
By Lucy Volker Kicking off its fifth year as Seattle’s up-and-coming classical music company, Emerald City Music often graces the pages of OLY ARTS with showcases featuring world-renowned artists who specialize in reimagining the boundaries of classical music. This year is no exception; come February 15, the Grammy-nominated Aizuri Quartet will perform its collection “Songs …
THEATER REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS At least once in every season Olympia Family Theater presents a serious drama in lieu of their usual fare of upbeat children’s stories told with song and dance. This season’s drama is Number the Stars, based on the Newbery Award-winning book by Lois Lowry, adapted by Dr. …
By Alec Clayton “Stop Kiss,” by Diana Son, was timely and controversial when it debuted off Broadway in 1998 at The Public Theater in New York City. According to critic Becky Sarwate, writing in The Broadway Blog, it still resonates today. “Stop Kiss delivers a 90-minute emotional wringer, set to a nostalgic, late 20th-century pop music soundtrack,” Sarwate wrote. “The …
By Molly Walsh Crossing old-time folk with percussive dance, Oakland, California-based duo Evie Ladin and Keith Terry bring a fresh take to the longstanding old-time-music tradition. Echoing the rich sounds of Appalachia, Ladin and Terry marry notes from a clawhammer banjo, bass and guitar with dance and storytelling. A daughter of a folk-dance teacher, Ladin …
By Molly Walsh A hometown act, Yodelady, has been kindling the traditional music scene in Olympia and surrounding areas since forming in 2010. The members of this triple threat trio have deep roots in the Pacific Northwest old-time music community, and their sets boast three-part harmonies that send audience members to their feet for a …
ART REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Tacoma artist Sharon Styer is primarily known as a photographer whose photographs of vacant and abandoned buildings, among other subjects, are haunting and mysterious. Now she’s onto something new. About two years ago, Styer began making collages that are funny, bizarre and intelligent – often with known …
By Ned Hayes In 1991, MC Hammer was huge. I was a published music critic; yet I wouldn’t write about Hammer’s platinum hit “U Can’t Touch This.” Instead, I was obsessed with a young, touring folk musician. In an era when hip hop was going corporate and rap and rock bands were increasingly signing their …
By Lucy Volker Transformation is the theme for Harlequin’s 2020 season. They begin the New Year with Noises Off and The Highest Tide. Riffing on the season’s theme, Noise’s Off is said to be “one of the funniest plays ever written, offering the community some much-needed comedic relief.” The Highest Tide is a coming of …