posts that contain mini-bios of our writers
THEATER REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS The setting is bleak, harsh, cold. Everything is gray. When the lights come up we see a figure in a fetal position on a square riser. Four men and one woman come in, all wearing black suits and white shirts, with a skirt on the woman, the …
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Contrary to the old saying, sometimes it’s Mother who knows best. Just ask Kevin “Kev Marcus” Sylvester, violinist for Black Violin. Sylvester and violist Wilner “Wil B” Baptiste bring their mixture of classical chops and hip-hop beats to Olympia this Tuesday. Sylvester took up violin in elementary school, and …
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS The Olympia theater scene is no stranger to the idea of a performer who can seamlessly transition from actress to director to playwright without skipping a beat. One such performer is local actor, director and playwright Kate Ayers, who has over 20 years of experience in the world of …
by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS South Puget Sound Community College and the Lacey-Mińsk Mazowiecki Sister City Association are hosting an evening of music by Frédéric Chopin, featuring the two local winners of the Chopin Competition held March 20-23. The winners are students from southwest Washington. Highlighting the concert will be a solo performance by …
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Just two days after the inauguration of Donald Trump, Pug Bujeaud knew it was time for 1984. She’s directing Theater Artists Olympia’s production of George Orwell’s dystopian classic, opening March 24. “1984 is a story of what happens when people in power have too much power,” she said in …
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Ebb and Flow is the story of an immigrant family and an immigrant oyster. The documentary follows longtime oysterman Jerry Yamashita of Seattle and his father, Masahide Yamashita, who emigrated from Japan to the United States in 1902 at age 19. Masahide was instrumental in bringing to the Northwest …
VISUAL ARTS REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS Once again Susan Christian is showing her painted stick constructions at her own gallery, Salon Refu. The paintings are assemblages of various kinds of sticks, mostly lathe, which she puts together in rectangular shapes and paints as if they were stretched canvases. The last time I …
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS With so much crossover of entertainment, fashion and pop culture in today’s society, it’s almost impossible to make music that fits into a single genre. The Donny MCaslin band, also known as “David Bowie’s last band,” makes no apologies for not even trying to do that. Comprised of saxophonist …
by Christian Carvajal for OLY ARTS The Capital Food & Wine Festival is an annual 501(c)(3) fundraiser for Saint Martin’s University. Al Eckroth, director of the first and second installments, describes it as “a huge annual block party, where neighbors and friends unite in a spirit of community.” He says the festival “began in 1989 …
WEEKEND PREVIEW is your weekly guide to events in Thurston County. This week, Olympia has enough musical performances to keep you entertained from morning till night! And don’t worry, we’ve got the inside scoop on all the concerts and theater productions around town, so you don’t have to worry about a thing. Just sit back and …