posts that contain mini-bios of our writers
By Alec Clayton Local comedian Sam Miller has teamed up with storyteller and StoryOly co-founder Elizabeth Lord to bring to Olympia “Choice Comedy,” an evening of all-female standup comedy to benefit reproductive rights in Alabama. The show will be hosted by Lord and will feature Amanda Biddle from Olympia plus Jill Silva from Tacoma, and Portland’s Tory …
By JONAH BARRETT The Olympia Film Society is now accepting submissions for its 36th-annual Olympia Film Festival. Filmmakers are welcomed to submit their films online until the deadline of December 23, 2019. Named one of the “Top 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World” by MovieMaker Magazine in 2018, the Olympia Film Society has hosted the …
By Alec Clayton The Chinese dragon mural in downtown Olympia will be dedicated Saturday, August 24 to honor Chinese-American history. The public is invited to attend the dedication at noon on the corner of Fifth Avenue SW and Columbia Street SE. Dragon Mural Committee spokesperson Anna Schlecht said, “In 2015, I was inspired by a …
By Molly Walsh Hailing from Olympia, Ethan Tucker’s acoustic-guitar-driven songs range from midtempo party anthem “Crazy Tonight” to the melancholy strums of ballad “Josephine.” Expanding beyond his Pacific Northwest origins, Tucker has toured the country with such acts as Jimmy Cliff, Buddy Guy and The Wailers. With a slightly raspy, soulful voice and sweet, acoustic …
By CHRISTIAN CARVAJAL On April 18, 2019, after almost four weeks in the hands of Attorney General William Barr, Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s findings on the subject of foreign involvement in the election of President Donald J. Trump were released to Congress and the public — albeit heavily redacted — by the Department of Justice. …
THEATER REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS The Tempest — third and final of this area’s outdoor-summer-Shakespeare plays — opened Thursday, August 15 at the viewing tower at Olympia’s Port Plaza. It opened with the crash of thunder and lightning in a chaotic scene of a storm at sea performed in front of the …
By Alec Clayton The storytellers at StoryOly are at it again. The fourth-annual StoryOly Grand Slam competition will be held at Rhythm & Rye Saturday, September 7. StoryOly is Olympia’s premiere story-slam event. Community members come together every month to share, compete and tell true stories based on a monthly theme. Past themes have included …
By Molly Walsh Inspired by Los Lobos, Santana and WAR, Flor De Luna is classic Latin rock with hints of blues, jazz and Afro Cuban influences over a wide range of classic-rock hits. Band members range from their 20s to their 60s. Thus, the band’s classic playlist dons a modern edge. A Flor De Luna …
by Tom Simpson William Shakespeare will return to the South Sound this summer with an exceptional production of his classic, magical romance The Tempest at Olympia’s Port Plaza. The production will feature professional stage actors from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and is co-sponsored by Olympia Harbor Days, which will bring tall ships as stage scenery …
By Jonah Barrett When one hears about electronic music, pianos don’t necessarily come to mind. This August, one-man musical project Beetle Box will perform in Olympia for two consecutive days. He’s brought his piano. Beetle Box is the brainchild of John Pennington of Little Rock, Arkansas. A series of piano lessons having ick-started his love …