posts that contain mini-bios of our writers
By ALEC CLAYTON for OLY ARTS Headlining on this year’s Capital City Pride entertainment stage will be drag-dance sensation The Caravan of GLAM. This Portland, Oregon-based troupe has been involved with Pride for three years. Its shows are highly interactive and audience-driven, so much so that they often invite local performers to join them on stage. …
By ALEC CLAYTON for OLY ARTS Olympia counselor and LGBTQ activist Teresa Guajardo has been selected as this year’s recipient of the prestigious Pride Day Award, given annually for outstanding support and advocacy for the community. Owner and founder of Rainbow Health Center, Guajardo first became active in support of the LGBTQ community when she …
By JONAH BARRETT for OLY ARTS Pride is here again, a celebration that includes all the different LGBT groups that march in the parade. But what is a drag queen, what is a leather daddy and why do they march? What follows is a glossary of terms. Bears: larger gay men who sometimes project an …
By Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Leslie Cushman is the 2018 Pride Activist of the year. Leslie, an attorney and community organizer, is being recognized for her work to reform the use of deadly force in law enforcement. In 2015, in the aftermath of the police shooting of Andre Thompson and Bryson Chaplin, Leslie and …
By ALEC CLAYTON Jakes on 4th is, as it has been, “Pride Party Central” in Olympia. “Jakes has been in business since August 2004, and we’ve been a Pride supporter since then. I have attended Olympia Pride every year since it began,” says owner Rob Cameron. Capital City Pride founder Anna Schlecht says, “Rob supported …
By Yvonne Joyce for OLY ARTS “My name is Emma González. I’m 18 years old, Cuban and bisexual.” In the February 2018 issue of Harper’s Bazaar magazine, a young woman wrote those words, bringing together her youth, national origin and sexuality as she courageously took the national stage. This year, Capital City Pride honors the …
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Internationally renowned artist Christian Moeller is a professor of art at UCLA in Los Angeles. This German artist’s large media installations are of architectural scale and are kinetic in nature. Moeller’s site-specific works have been exhibited worldwide, including installations in Tokyo, London, Singapore, Silicon Valley – and now Olympia. …
by Kelli Samson and Yvonne Joyce for OLY ARTS The 5th Avenue Theater in Seattle is staging a new rendition of The Hunchback of Notre Dame in the month of June, loosely based on the Disney film, but with darker tones drawn from the original Victor Hugo novel. This new version of Hunchback has the notable distinction …
By BRYAN WILLIS for OLY ARTS Olympia audiences have one more chance to catch free, aerial performances as The Brotherhood Takes Flight celebrates the end of its ninth season. Longtime fan Marcia Burnett offers excellent advice to anyone going for the first time: “Come early, especially if you’re going with friends.” Aerial performances are presented …
by Yvonne Joyce for OLY ARTS “All of the shows next year are based on books – we are excited to connect kids to literature!” This is the introduction Olympia Family Theater artistic director Jen Ryle provides for the theater’s just-announced 12th season. Six plays are planned in the 2018-2019 season, and these literary shows …