Blog-ah

Operation Homecoming tonight

The editor of several best-selling books, Andrew Carroll has joined forces with David Fischer, executive director of the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts, to bring Tacoma stories from his book Operation Homecoming: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families.

The book’s title may not roll off the tongue, but the stories are touching accounts of war. Fischer explained that the book, published in 2006, was made possible through a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. Nationally renowned writers such as Tom Clancy worked with service members and their families across the country in workshops to develop the stories. Hundreds of stories were accepted for possible publication in the book, and Carroll was the man responsible for selecting and editing the stories.

“I’ve been aware of the project and always appreciated it,” Fischer commented. “I thought why don’t we do a salute to the book and also add our own update to it with local stories.”

For the past month, the Broadway Center accepted stories from local Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their family members, who have endured lengthy deployments. Carroll agreed to select the best local stories and edit them for inclusion in the live performance of Operation Homecoming at Theatre on the Square tonight.

Fischer expects the show to contain several local stories, but a majority of the stories will be from the national community.

[Theatre on the Square, Operation Homecoming, Saturday, March 15, 3 and 7:30 p.m., $12-$24, 915 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.591.5894]

Fort Lewis Soldier Lines Up For Idol Audition

Sgt. Jessica Robson of Fort Lewis made her way to San Diego in hopes of being a star. Click here for the AP report.

Soldier Art

The Weekly Volcano, the Authority on South Sound Culture, runs the following stoy in its entirety this Thursday. The following is a preview....

It won’t be long before you see the work of Gordon Swetland and his company of soldiers turned artists.

In fact, if Swetland and partners in the so-called Patriot House project have their way, art produced by local military types will soon adorn lobbies, galleries, museums, public spaces and military buildings. Veterans have deep creative drives, say Patriot House proponents, and represent diverse, unique perspectives worth sharing and expressing.

That is, if they can get someone to show their artwork.

“For everyone that gets their art into a gallery, there are another 15 or 20 that would like to get in,” said Swetland. “Our goal is to help veterans get their art into the public eye.”

Swetland suggests that sun-bleached classic prints and other outdated works adorning Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs buildings, for example, could be replaced with works created by soldiers at little cost.

Those interested in adding their names to the list of supporters are encouraged to visit www.Patriothouse.org, and then join organizers for coffee and grub at Corina Bakery, 510 Sixth Ave., in Tacoma Friday, Feb. 2, at 4 p.m. RSVP by e-mailing vets4art@yahoo.com.

3 Divas Cheap for Troops

When three tenors get together there’s a butt-slapping bravado going on that smells an awful lot like a men’s locker room, full of sweat and testosterone.

Get together three divas, individually incomparable singers of great accomplishment, and you’d probably have something like rapier-sharpened nails and French perfume.

Put those curvalicious women in a parlor-like setting, with Mozart librettos to sing, and you have the makings of an infinitely, intimately fascinating evening.

That’s the intention of the Northwest Sinfonietta as they introduce the 3 Divas Lambroula Maria Pappas, Vanessa Conlin and Melina Pyron for two very special evenings at the Rialto in Tacoma, Saturday January 27 at 8 p.m., and Sunday January 28, at 2 p.m.

Before the Saturday performance, there will be a Washington wine tasting beginning at 6:30, while the Sunday performance will feature chocolate decadence at 12:30. At the same time, the librettos will be discussed, so that those who are clueless as to the purpose of operatic arias can smile and act as if they’re filled with refinement and culture, even as they learn that classical music is filled with timeless emotional fervor and some kick-butt energy, to boot.

now the best part - tickets are $60 per couple for military rather than the $100 price civilians have to pay. That's a big Hoo-ah (in Soprano 1, of course).
– Jessica Corey-Butler

Controversial history rears its head in Lakewood

If you blink you’ll miss “Stuff Happens,” a controversial history play held tonight at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Lakewood Playhouse.

A minimalist black-box theater, which boasts a podium and folding chairs on the upper level, with steps and a very last-supper-esque banquet table on the level below, plays host to the cast of 12 reading the show, clothed in suits and ties.  The story that unfolds is of duplicitous diplomatic dealings and bumbling president never seen alone.

The president is none other than George W, opening all his staff meeting with the hands of his staff clasped in prayer, putting together a jigsaw puzzle with Laura, and tripping through a teleprompter-mistake with severe diplomatic repercussions.

Most surprising about this “staged reading”, written by Englishman David Hare, which takes a critical look at the events leading up to the United States’ declaration of War on Iraq, is that it’s being staged right now at the Lakewood Playhouse, sandwiched right in between two military installations, whose most recent show was the rave-reviewed "Seussical."

The whole play feels experimental, with its stripped-down staging and impromptu nature.  All the actors read from notebooks, which are often used as props.  Many of the actors play multiple parts, most notably Jamie Pederson, Aaron Heinzen, Charles Canada, Jack House, and Jim Patrick.  Cynthia Bette also reads for a plethora of personalities, effectively so, as Chad Russell directs, with stage management by Brie Yost and technical direction by Ali Criss. 

The play was originally performed in London in 2004 as an epic, 40-person cast piece, and then stripped down for Los Angeles’ Mark Taper Forum.

It was the latter that Russell was shooting for in his conception of the staging of the play, paring down the actors to 12, with only three weeks (and six rehearsals) to prepare for opening night.

This is the first in what Managing Artistic Director Marcus Walker hopes will be a series of plays done in a workshop style, “in between shows” that will take on edgier themes than the standard community theater fodder.

For this play, moments of acerbic British wit highlight a riveting text full of scene-by-scene conflict made more interesting by the playwright’s skillful manipulation of on-the-record statements with those conversations behind closed doors that can only be speculated. A post-show discussion with actors and audience provides further insight as to the play, events, point-of-view, and acting process: kind of like an "Inside the Actor’s Studio" without that goofy A&E host.

Admission is by donation ($10.00 recommended). — Jessica Corey-Butler

A minimalist black-box theater, which boasts a podium and folding chairs on the upper level, with steps and a very last-supper-esque banquet table on the level below, plays host to the cast of 12 reading the show, clothed in suits and ties.  The story that unfolds is of duplicitous diplomatic dealings and bumbling president never seen alone.

The president is none other than George W, opening all his staff meeting with the hands of his staff clasped in prayer, putting together a jigsaw puzzle with Laura, and tripping through a teleprompter-mistake with severe diplomatic repercussions.

Most surprising about this “staged reading”, written by Englishman David Hare, which takes a critical look at the events leading up to the United States’ declaration of War on Iraq, is that it’s being staged right now at the Lakewood Playhouse, sandwiched right in between two military installations, whose most recent show was the rave-reviewed "Seussical."

The whole play feels experimental, with its stripped-down staging and impromptu nature.  All the actors read from notebooks, which are often used as props.  Many of the actors play multiple parts, most notably Jamie Pederson, Aaron Heinzen, Charles Canada, Jack House, and Jim Patrick.  Cynthia Bette also reads for a plethora of personalities, effectively so, as Chad Russell directs, with stage management by Brie Yost and technical direction by Ali Criss. 

The play was originally performed in London in 2004 as an epic, 40-person cast piece, and then stripped down for Los Angeles’ Mark Taper Forum.

It was the latter that Russell was shooting for in his conception of the staging of the play, paring down the actors to 12, with only three weeks (and six rehearsals) to prepare for opening night.

This is the first in what Managing Artistic Director Marcus Walker hopes will be a series of plays done in a workshop style, “in between shows” that will take on edgier themes than the standard community theater fodder.

For this play, moments of acerbic British wit highlight a riveting text full of scene-by-scene conflict made more interesting by the playwright’s skillful manipulation of on-the-record statements with those conversations behind closed doors that can only be speculated. A post-show discussion with actors and audience provides further insight as to the play, events, point-of-view, and acting process: kind of like an "Inside the Actor’s Studio" without that goofy A&E host.

Admission is by donation ($10.00 recommended). — Jessica Corey-Butler

Iraq War in Lakewood

This just in from our friends at the Lakewood Playhouse...

Lakewood, WA., Lakewood Playhouse presents a staged-reading of David Hare’s STUFF HAPPENS January 19 and 20 at 7:00 PM and January 21 at 2:00 PM. Admission is by donation at the door.

Hare wrote Stuff Happens in response to the Iraq War. Hare describes it as "a history play" that deals with recent history. The title is inspired by Donald Rumsfeld's response to widespread looting in Baghdad:

"Stuff happens and it’s untidy, and freedom’s untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things.” (April 11, 2003)

The play presents a mix of viewpoints, including arguments for and against the attack on Iraq, mixing verbatim re-creations of real speeches, meetings and press conferences and fictionalised versions of private meetings between members of the Bush and Blair administrations, and international figures such as Hans Blix and Dominique de Villepin.

Lakewood Playhouse is located at 5729 Lakewood Towne Center Blvd SW in the Lakewood Towne Center. This staged reading is directed by Chad Russell. Please visit www.lakewoodplayhouse.org for directions and more information.

Fort Lewis helps brighten downtown Tacoma

Tacoma’s 60th tree lighting ceremony began small and built steadily, until the newly refurbished lobby at the Pantages was filled Thursday, Nov. 30.  There was also a large crowd outside under the tree, waiting for the ceremony to begin, not realizing the festivities were taking place mostly inside.

I overheard one crowd member say to another of the family-heavy atmosphere, “There are a lot of children here.  A lot.”

Many of those parents had been hoping for a parade, but that tradition has been postponed for a year, and may possibly span three Christmas tree lightings, next year: the Stadium tree, the Broadway Center tree, and a new tree in the Tollefson Plaza.

Lack of parade notwithstanding, the crowd was an events-producer pleaser, “about triple” the size it had been last year.

Inside the Pantages lobby, TAG’s Tacky Christmas Sweater Chorale led a sing-along of Christmas carols while sugarplum fairies, toys, snowflakes, and other cast members from the "Nutcracker" mingled with guests.  The Fort Lewis I Corps band took the stage, not in tacky Christmas sweaters, and played more carols while visually serving as a reminder of what the event commemorates — a long-term link between the military community surrounding Tacoma and the City of Tacoma. 

Brig. Gen. William Troy, representing I Corps at Ft Lewis, commented on the sad fact that 5,000 individuals from Fort Lewis are unable to celebrate the season here as they are in the Middle East. He reminded the crowd, “Their families are with us.”

He acknowledged of the supportive Tacoma community, “We feel that you care about us.”

Mayor Bill Baarsma spoke next.  Saying he wanted to  “give credit where credit is due,” he talked about the past.  In 1946, Mayor Harry P. Cain returned from the war, a decorated veteran, and wanted to create a tie between the Fort Lewis community and the city.  Mayor Baarsma acknowledged a similar military tie, that of his son’s service in Iraq with the Navy.  That tie between the supportive Tacoma community and the local military community is still a strong one, and the symbolism of the huge donated tree from Fort Lewis keeps the communities bonded.

Finally, David Fischer, executive director of the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts, acknowledged the new space the crowd gathered in, suggesting that the discussion had been held, “would there be enough room for this event?”  He answered his own question, “Last year, there wouldn’t have been.  This year, there is.”

With that, Santa was introduced to the crowd, and that jingling man led us all outside to a chorus of "Jingle Bells," which petered out by about the second chorus.

In moments, the tree was lit, eliciting "oohs" and "ahhhhs" from the crowd in addition to sighs of relief from the present firefighters.

The crowd petered out just like the "Jingle Bells" singing, which meant the majority of the attendees missed some beautiful music from harpist Brianna Spargo and flutist Emily Levandowski, two talented Tacoma Youth Symphony musicians.

In the end, the tree sparkled in the Thursday night, even without a crowd of admirers, reminding me of the presence of communities supporting communities. — Jessica Corey-Butler

More photos of the downtown tree lighting on Kevin Freitas' blog.