posts that contain mini-bios of our writers
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Billed as being “much like Parisian salons of old,” Center Salon at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts will fill the intimate space of the Black Box with art, literature, music and theater. Amy Shephard, actor, singer and co-founder of StoryOly at Rhythm & Rye, will emcee the …
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Student actors, playwrights and stage crews scored big in the latest statewide Thespian Festival, held at Central Washington University March 16-17. Students and their teachers are rightfully proud and look forward to nationals this summer, though it isn’t clear all will be able to attend. Here’s what a few …
WEEKEND PREVIEW is your weekly guide to events in Thurston County. This week, we’re bringing you everything you need to know about amazing events you can only find in Olympia, including the Spring Arts Walk, Luminary Procession and Procession of the Species. We hope you’re ready for a weekend full of jaw-dropping visual arts, theater …
by Kelli Samson for OLY ARTS Evergreen State College alumna Amy Shephard has collaborated with Andrew Gordon and Daven Tillinghast to write Olympia Family Theater’s final show of its 11th season, Fishnapped! “It’s an interactive, musical mystery involving a missing goldfish,” says Shephard, who also choreographs the production. The musical numbers, composed by Tillinghast, are …
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Imagine you’re on the set of a Hollywood movie made in 1934, with big-name stars filming A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and magically the real Oberon and Puck from the Shakespeare play show up on the set. If such a thing could happen, it would be a recipe for comedy…or …
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS “Good satire has its place.” That’s a simple, yet timely point made by fiddler and poet Ken Waldman about today’s tumultuous political climate. Like many poets and musicians, Waldman uses his storytelling craft, not only to process his reactions to politics, but to create meaningful art as well. This …
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Heather and Michael Christopher are a power couple in the Olympia theater scene. Heather is a teacher and director with Olympia Family Theater’s children’s programs and a near-ubiquitous actor. Michael is an actor, director and set and lighting designer. Michael most recently directed Theater Artist Olympia’s Playhouse Creatures and …
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Pamela Rotner Sakamoto’s Midnight in Broad Daylight is the sweeping and true tale of a Japanese-American family divided, fighting on opposite sides in World War II and suffering tragedy when the United States bombed Hiroshima in 1941. “This is an American story of immigrants and somewhat like a Civil …
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Prepare to laugh when Harlequin Productions stages the Noel Coward comedy Present Laughter — with “Present” pronounced as the adjective, not the verb. Written in 1939 and first staged in 1942, this classic farce is about the successful, self-obsessed actor Garry Essendine as he confronts a midlife crisis while …
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS This Thursday evening, comedian Sam Miller is getting serious. Miller, host of the weekly open-mic event Vomity (9 p.m. Wednesdays at Le Voyeur), shares the story of his time in jail in The Jail Letters Project, based on letters he exchanged with mom Mary Soehnlen. If you know Miller, …