posts that contain mini-bios of our writers
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS There’s something unique about the Olympia arts community, especially when it comes to cross-genre collaborations. The arts community is constantly pushing its members to hone their craft, whether through music, theater, writing or dance. This June, that spirit of encouragement and growth will be showcased at the ARTery Community …
by Nora Kovacs for OLY ARTS Saint Martin’s University will open its doors to 15 local fiction writers for the second installment of its Summer Creative Writing Institute. The small, week-long intensive invites writers of all ability levels to live and work on campus, collaborate with peers, learn from professionals in the field and develop …
WEEKEND PREVIEW is your weekly guide to events in Thurston County. This week, Olympia’s musical season ramps up with show-stopping concerts all over town. And don’t forget the EGYHOP fundraiser this weekend, either, where you can enjoy everything the local arts scene has to offer while supporting a worthy cause. Click here to listen …
THEATER REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS What a wonderful play! Fishnapped! at Olympia Family Theater is a wildly rocking, sweet, touching musical, ostensibly for kids but a treat for all ages. It’s a world premiere, too, locally written by Amy Shephard and Andrew Gordon with music and lyrics by Daven Tillinghast and directed …
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS For some people, reading and writing are creative outlets that allow them to tap into the extraordinary without being hindered by “reality.” For Kenda Tanacea, a San Francisco-based poet and attorney, poetry is that outlet, and it gives her the chance to let the mundane aspects of everyday life …
WEEKEND PREVIEW is your weekly guide to events in Thurston County. This week, there’s an amazing lineup of musical performances and theater around town for you to enjoy, plus a spectacular InNOVAvator’s Arts & Makers Market Fair where you can find hand-crafted goods. Click here to listen to our podcast version of Weekend Preview, sponsored …
by Kelli Samson for OLY ARTS Jason Haws is a shapeshifter. Whether onstage or in front of a classroom, he glides effortlessly between roles and is utterly unforgettable in each, always stealing the show. As director Brian Tyrrell, who’s known him for over twenty years, articulates, “Jason Haws is a chameleon.” Though Haws had dreams …
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS Once a year, comic book creators, readers and enthusiasts around the Puget Sound converge on downtown Olympia to immerse themselves in the vibrant world of comics. You might think we’re talking about Comic Con, the famous, yearly comics and pop-culture convention, but the event in question is very different, …
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS Occasionally, we all stumble across real places that make us feel like we’re in a fictional world, places where we can do or be anything we want. Olympia has at least one of those places tucked right into the heart of the downtown area. You can feel the shift …
by Kelli Samson for OLY ARTS With her jazzy voice, inflamed red hair and that mischievous twinkle in her eye, Harlequin Productions’s resident secret weapon has for years been none other than actor Maggie Ferguson-Wagstaffe. She’s currently gracing Harlequin’s State Theater stage as both Miss Erikson and Lady Saltburn in Present Laughter. She describes this …