posts that contain mini-bios of our writers
by Molly Walsh As the pages turn from winter to spring, a series of special events from Olympia Timberland Library will allow attendees to discover regional bands, share their favorite stories, engage in meaningful philosophical discussion and reconnect with their inner child. Programming includes events for infants, toddlers, school-age children, teens, adults and families. According …
by Rachel Benton Joy and excitement fill the air as Olympia’s own Masterworks Choral Ensemble (MCE) begins to prepare for their season finale Women Rock concert. Women Rock is a pops concert that highlights the works of female songwriters, some of whom wrote songs that were made famous by male performers, giving the audience a …
by Alec Clayton The South Sound Studio Tour is a free self-guided tour of artists’ studios throughout Olympia, Tumwater and Lacey with more than 75 artists in more than 25 studios where you can see their recent work and talk to them about their art. Here are four artist studios not to be missed: Joe …
by Lynette Charters Serembe Celery Jones has been making art since she could hold a pencil. Her parents met at art school, and her mother, De Selby (dselby.com), went on to become a professional oil painter. Jones vividly recalls frustration during childhood art lessons with her mom De, as she guided her to hone her …
by Diane Chiddister It was dark, cold and wet last April 27, but the dismal day didn’t dampen the high spirits in downtown Olympia. Drums rumbled and saxophones wailed as a cavalcade of creatures — huge swooping butterflies, a truck-sized blue peacock, and leaping dolphins, among others — progressed down Legion Way. Kids had transformed …
Speaking of the Center Salon at The Washington Center, Jill Barnes, executive director of the center, said, “It’s really fun to see so many different genres of art in one night. It’s pretty special. The center hosts touring artists from all over the world, and this event showcases our homegrown talent. It complements the rest of our programming and who we are and what we do.” Co-curated by Olympia’s own, Bryan Willis, the Center Salon will fill the center’s black box on the evening of Saturday, March 22.
In Lorca in a Green Dress at Tacoma Little Theatre, the “Lorca Room” is neither heaven nor hell, but rather a space for the poet Lorca to spend 40 days coming to terms with his death, and the Lorcas around him represent different sides of his personality. …the conversations and events that take place feel very much like a dream. It’s as if the mind of Lorca has shattered into pieces, creating the hall of mirrors that is the Lorca Room; everyone’s dialogue shares a musicality, as they trip through lush language and finish one another’s sentences.
Aaron Lamb, director of Harlequin Production’s Is This a Room, has created a piece of moving, powerful theatre with a light and confident artistic hand. Jeannie Beirne’s set design, Savannah Van Leuvan’s lighting design and Keith Jewell’s sound design with its weird cover of the redacted dialogue rendering it unspeakably inaudible, accomplishes a trifecta. The strange stage set enables us to take in the equally strange encounter that occurred on June 3, 2017, when 11 FBI agents arrived unannounced at the home of Reality Winner (portrayed most affectingly by Olivia Finkelstein, in her Harlequin debut).
Lin Tokura and Ava Pakiam “… are two young fearless women, taking on these challenging pieces,” Music Director Alexandra Arrieche said. “This is the type of concert where you see young people embracing and pouring their hearts into music, and it reminds us of why we do what we do.” “Open Doors,” a concert by the Olympia Symphony Orchestra is Sunday, March 16 at the Washington Center.
If you enjoy a good old-fashioned multi-disciplinary arts party, including more than a dozen zero-budget film productions by local artists, the Ground to Sound Arts Festival in Tacoma might be your lucky festival. Co-sponsored by Foster’s Creative and the City of Tacoma, the Ground to Sound Arts Festival began last year with local artists creating original short films highlighting the problem of untreated water and trash and its journey to the Sound in documentary form. This year there will be a Music Open Mic, film and art, a Literary Reading and Open Mic.