posts that contain mini-bios of our writers
by Ned Hayes for OLY ARTS OLY ARTS reported in June that The Evergreen State College was cutting heavily into staff and facilities that made theater possible at Evergreen. The Experimental Theater (COM 124, a 200-seat, black-box venue) and its costume and scene shops will close at the end of the spring 2018 semester. Faculty and staff members …
By Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS In June, Lakewood Playhouse will host a staged reading of a play based on the best-selling novel The Eagle Tree by Olympia novelist Ned Hayes as a special presentation of the Northwest Playwrights Alliance. (Hayes used the royalties from his novel to found this publication, OLY ARTS.) * Set in …
By BILLY THOMAS for OLY ARTS As summer begins, master storyteller Elizabeth Lord invites you to join her on a journey into Camp Galilee, a (fictious) Christian summer camp on the shores of Lake Tahoe. Lord’s new one-woman show will be on stage at Olympia Family Theater in mid-June, and brings her audience with her …
By ALEC CLAYTON for OLY ARTS Singer, actor and all-around funny lady Lauren O’Neill is half of the team hosting Capital City Pride this year. This is her second Pride as master of ceremonies for the parade, and she says she’s thrilled to share the honor with Elizabeth Lord and friends on the mainstage. O’Neill …
By ALEC CLAYTON for OLY ARTS Olympia’s master of storytelling, the one and only Elizabeth Lord, will cohost this year’s Capital City Pride with Lauren O’Neill. She’s an Olympia legend from her work as an actor, storyteller and all-around entertainer. Lord’s first paid storytelling gig was in 1994. For 20 years she’s been an actor …
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 …