As the summer has finally been buried under the weight of autumn, it is again time to reshift our focus from the outdoors and into the crackling inferno that is the Seattle arts community. Over the next few months, the blogging team at the UW ArtsLink program will be bringing you events, news, and interviews from every vehicle of art– dance, architecture, drama, literature, and so much more!

Set the dial on your RSS feeds, and get ready for a fabulous winter of Seattle arts!

Best,

Jessie Frederick

ArtsLink Blogmaster

It is not often we get to see a one-actor performance piece that can take two hours and fill it with as much grit, love, and humanity as Charlayne Woodard’s piece at the Rep right now. I have only heard great things about it. It just shows you don’t have to millionaire Brangelina types to make a difference in the lives of our world’s youth.

Please watch this video made by Charlayne herself to see more into her process and conception of this interesting piece: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uA_9z53Kmow

————

Buy Tickets HERE

The Night Watcher by Charlayne Woodard
Directed by Daniel Sullivan
September 25 – October 26, 2008
Running Time: approximately two hours with one intermission

Charlayne Woodard’s poignant new one-woman show, directed by Dan Sullivan

Playwright and actress Charlayne Woodard (Pretty Fire, Purgatorio) and director Dan Sullivan return to Seattle Rep with Woodard’s new, inspiring one-woman show. Aunt, godmother and friend to countless kids, Woodard beautifully weaves together stories of the ordinary and extraordinary ways she’s mentored the children in her life.

Seattle Times Review

Seattle PI Review

Last night I attended the Chamber Dance company’s 20th anniversary performance at Meany Hall. Celebrating the modern/post-modern in dance, I am both pleased to recommend the performance as well as hesitant to brand it an all together dance-piece. The first three performances were set to famous music pieces (Night on Bald Mountain, Valkeryie) and utilized silk sheets and a fantastic lightshow to create a very fluid, mesmerizing performance. But the “dance” aspect itself was lost in the push for modernist interaction with various medias. Little more than spins and repetitive arm movements (to move the sheets connected as seen in the picture to the left) were used. The lights were gorgeous, but then again, I didnot attend the Chamber performance for a LSD-inspired lightshow.

Finally, the core dance program was brought onto stage with the fourth performance. From then until an unfortunate post-modernist piece, there was compelling choreography and movements to entertain your eyes (no lights! thank goodness). After two fabulous performances, the most unfortunate piece came onto stage.

Now I appreciate social/political commentary… as a political science student, I know the necessity of bringing issues to light with whatever means possible. But the Bull (1994) “dance” (there goes those “’s again) between two males in tuxedos did not succeed in its message. Touching, grouping, slapping, and much crotch-grabbing was the jist behind this overly-long “comedic” piece. There was no dance involved (albeit one intricate balls-grabbing jump into each other’s arms). It was noisy, offensive to conservatives in the audience, and unfortunate that the few children in the audience were enjoying the slapstick more than the adults.

For two amazing dance performances, please check out the Chamber Dance Program’s 20th anniversary at Meany Hall.

Ticket Pricing:
$18 General Admission
$16 Faculty/Staff/UAA
$10 Students/Seniors

For a light show and a poor effort at social comedy– well…. check out the Chamber Dance Program’s 20th anniversary.

(As always, the review is IMHO *in my humble opinion*)

Roma, Citta Aperta (Rome, Open City) directed by Roberto Rossellini and co-written by Fellini is a staple of the foreign film enthusiast. Metro Cinemas, with a penchant for the classics and avant-garde, is putting this film back up on the big screen for a few weeks. Whether you’re a writer, a film-maker, a photographer, historian, or any kind of self-proclaimed artist, I entreat you to see this film.

A customer-written review from IMDB.com does a good job of providing a summary:

During the Nazi occupation of Rome, the resistance leader Giorgio Manfredi aka Luigi Ferrari (Marcello Pagliero) is chased by the Gestapo. His friend Francesco (Francesco Grandjacquet), who is going to marry the widow Pina (Anna Magnani), together with the priest Don Pietro Pellegrini (Aldo Frabrizi) help him to get a new identity and leave Rome. [[Rest deleted for spoiler-sake]]

Check out this film at Metro theatre, blocks away from the UW campus:

Metro Cinemas
4500 9th Avenue NE
Seattle, WA 98105
(206) 781-5755

… get down and fandango! Oh yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

For those interested in current social issues with an eye towards the saying “history always repeats itself”–

Essayist and social commentator Sarah Vowell releases her new historical novel, The Wordy Shipmates coming to Town Hall next Monday to read from the book, sign autographs, and answer questions. Below is a description from Publisher’s Weekly:
Essayist and public radio regular Vowell (Assassination Vacation) revisits America’s Puritan roots in this witty exploration of the ways in which our country’s present predicaments are inextricably tied to its past. In a style less colloquial than her previous books, Vowell traces the 1630 journey of several key English colonists and members of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Foremost among these men was John Winthrop, who would become governor of Massachusetts. While the Puritans who had earlier sailed to Plymouth on the Mayflower were separatists, Winthrop’s followers remained loyal to England, spurred on by Puritan Reverend John Cotton’s proclamation that they were God’s chosen people. Vowell underscores that the seemingly minute differences between the Plymouth Puritans and the Massachusetts Puritans were as meaningful as the current Sunni/Shia Muslim rift. Gracefully interspersing her history lesson with personal anecdotes, Vowell offers reflections that are both amusing (colonial history lesson via The Brady Bunch) and tender (watching New Yorkers patiently waiting in line to donate blood after 9/11). (Oct.)

Town Hall
October 13th
7:30pm
1119 Eighth Ave.
Seattle, WA 98101

Excerpt from the novel:

The only thing more dangerous than an idea is a belief. And by dangerous I don’t mean thought-provoking. I mean: might get people killed.

Take the Reverend John Cotton. In 1630, he goes down to the port of Southampton to preach a farewell sermon to the seven hundred or so colonists of the Massachusetts Bay Company. Led by Governor John Winthrop, a gentleman farmer and lawyer, these mostly Puritan dissenters are about to sail from England to New England on the flagship Arbella and ten other vessels in the Winthrop fleet.

By the time Cotton says amen, he has fought Mexico for Texas, bought Alaska from the Russians, and dropped napalm on Vietnam. Then he lays a wreath on Custer’s grave and revs past Wounded Knee. Then he claps when the Marquis de Lafayette tells Congress that “someday America will save the world.” Then he smiles when Abraham Lincoln calls the United States “the last best hope of earth.” Then he frees Cuba, which would be news to Cuba. Then he signs the lease on Guantánamo Bay.

Cotton’s sermon is titled “God’s Promise to His Plantation.” He begins with one of the loveliest passages from the book of Second Samuel, an otherwise R-rated chronicle of King David’s serial-killer years. Chapter 7, verse 10: “I will appoint a place for my people in Israel, and I will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more.” Sounds so homey, like that column in the real estate section of the New York Times about how people found their apartments. Until I remember that talk like this is the match still lighting the fuse of a thousand car bombs.

What Cotton is telling these about-to-be-Americans is that they are God’s new chosen people. This they like to hear. In fact, they have been telling themselves just that. The Old Testament Israelites are to the Puritans what the blues was to the Rolling Stones—a source of inspiration, a renewable resource of riffs. What Cotton is telling them is that, like the Old Testament Jews, they are men of destiny. And, like the Old Testament Jews, God has given them a new home, a promised land. And, like the Old Testament Jews, God has printed up eviction notices for them to tack up on the homes of the nothing-special, just-folks folks who are squatting there.

(http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/excerpts/2008-08-19-wordy-shipmates_N.htm)

Down at the great Town Hall venue comes the Choral Arts in their amazing 16th season.  The new piece “Poemas de Amor” by Stephen Paulaus highlights the show, as well as composer Jake Heggie new choral piece using the love poems of Emily Dickinson as the primary text. Is this October or Valentine’s Day? Either way, explore pure sound on Friday, October 17th.

Friday, October 17, 2008 -
Town Hall @ 7:00pm
1119 8th Avenue, Seattle

Purchase advance tickets here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/44095

I hide myself within my flower,

That wearing on your breast,

You, unsuspecting, wear me too –

And angels know the rest.

I hide myself within my flower,

That, fading from your vase,

You, unsuspecting, feel for me

Almost a loneliness.

-Emily Dickinson “With a Flower”

I didn’t get the chance to see this aerobic troupe in 2006, so I am beyond excited to hear that they are returning to the UW World Series for another stunning series of performances!

Thursday-Saturday, October 16-18, 2008 - 8 PM
Single-ticket price: $42; $39 for subscribers; $20 for students

The sell-out hit of the UW World Series 2006-07 dance season, this company of dancer-illusionists is back with Best of MOMIX, a collection of some of the company’s favorite works. Expect unexpectedly inventive, beautiful, whimsical, and awe-inspiring choreography and a packed house. Buy your tickets early!

Buy them here– http://www.uwworldseries.org/artists.cfm

The 2008 Smith winning original production of “Black Gold” opens in West Seattle on October 22nd! Directed by Christopher Zinovitch, actor and Educational Director of ArtsWest produces this sprawling satire, consisting of six actors playing over 80 parts! My head would spin if I had to memorize all those different lines/characterizations!

Check out the summary from the ArtsWest homepage:

What happens when an African-American man living in Detroit’s inner-city purchases an oil rig on eBay and discovers one of America’s largest oil reserves right under his own backyard? Will the poor get rich or will the rich just get richer?

Christopher Zinovitch (ArtsWest Director of Theater and Education) directs six actors playing over 80 roles in the World Premiere of this fast-paced, vaudevillian satire of class, race and greed in a country that will go to dangerous lengths to keep the cheap crude flowing.

The award-winning BLACK GOLD (2008 Smith Prize, Best New Play) is the perfect play for the days immediately preceding – and following – the 2008 presidential election.

Buy your advance tickets HERE: https://www.choicesecure01.net/mainapp/eventschedule.aspx?clientID=artswest

The always fun Jack Straw productions close to our UW campus on Roosevelt is featuring a new sound/light installation. By taking an intricate look at water and vocal migrations, and how they might adapt to one another, this project utilizes voice and beautiful landscapes to create a truly intense harmony. Shot through

out the various Northwest water sources (everything from fountains to rivers) this recording and presentation of footage is not to be missed.

For more information: http://www.jackstraw.org/programs/mediagallery/gallery_current.shtml

Jack Straw New Media Gallery
4261 Roosevelt Way NE, Seattle 98105

Gallery Hours: Monday - Friday, 9 - 5

Check out the latest from the always lovely Seattle Asian Art Museum this coming Thursday, October 16th at 7pm. Peter Y.K. Lam, art historian and author of “2000 Years of Chinese Lacquer” and “Elegance and Radiance: Grandeur in Qing Glass” leads the lecture concerning Qing studio-marks.

From the Seattle Asian Art Museum website:

Emperors of China’s Qing dynasty (1644–1911), bored with the formal setup of the Forbidden City, preferred to spend part of the year in royal gardens in the suburbs and vicinity of the capital city, Beijing. Inside these gardens were halls, studios, pavilions, chambers and studies with names coined by the emperors. Very often art objects—porcelain items in particular—were inscribed with studio marks belonging to these gardens. Art historian and museum professional Peter Y. K. Lam introduces some of the studio-mark porcelainware commissioned by the Qing emperors.

Members: $4
Adults: $8
Students: $6
Seniors: $6

To purchase tickets for this event, call the Box Office at 206.654.3121 or email boxoffice@seattleartmuseum.org.

The smorgasborg event of Northwest jazz is soon upon us! Get your ears tuned and your feet ready for the 50+ events the nonprofit Earshot Jazz has prepared for us. Various events, concerts, and learning opportunities are spread throughout the greater Seattle area during the two week period. From The Triple Door to Town Hall, jazz music will rock the city.

Check out the sampling of events from Earshot’s main webpage:

Some of the highlights planned for this 20th Earshot
Festival include:

• NEA Jazz Master James Moody with the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra in a 4-day residency that includes oral history interviews, educational programs, and two concerts
• Pioneering avant-garde pianist and NEA Jazz Master Cecil Taylor in a solo concert at Seattle’s Town Hall
• Saxophonist Ravi Coltrane and his quartet at the Triple Door
• Pianist Marilyn Crispell in concert at the Chapel Performance Space
• Vocalist Simone, daughter of Nina Simone, in concert in Bothell
• A collaboration with the Langston Hughes Cultural center that includes concerts by violinist Billy Bang and Seattle jazz legends Julian Priester and Hadley Caliman.
• A pre-election concert at Town Hall by bassist Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra featuring pianist/arranger Carla Bley.
• A 20-year retrospective of internationally-known Seattle resident Wayne Horvitz featuring his groups, The President, New York Composer’s Orchestra West, Pigpen, and Zony Mashwith Horns
• Seattle’s award-winning Garfield and Roosevelt High School jazz bands in main stage concerts with guests such as Wycliffe Gordon.
• Eastern European prodigy Eldar with veteran singer Nancy King
• Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii with Rova’s Larry Ochs
• Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra accompaniment to three Laurel and Hardy films
• Each day, Earshot photographer Daniel Sheehan updates the Eyeshot Jazz photo blog with photos from the previous concerts: eyeshotjazz.wordpress.com
• And many, many more

Enjoy, and buy your tickets ASAP here: http://earshot.org/Festival/tickets.html