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REVIEW OF HUMP! FILM FESTIVAL >>> If there's any lingering doubt about the mainstreaming of porn, even low-fi amateur porn, reflect that it launched the highly lucrative careers of a whole coven of Kardashians. We love porn. So while there were some timid faces in the crowd at Olympia's first-ever screening
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If, thanks to youth or agoraphobia, you've never seen the 1982 musical stage version of Little Shop of Horrors, you've missed something special. Strange story short, nebbishy Seymour Krelborn tries to escape Skid Row by raising a bloodthirsty plant. He names the diabolical alien flytrap Audrey II (Audrey Junior in
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After months of worsening conflicts between the board and staff of Olympia Film Society, volunteers Lisa Hurwitz and Marcy LaViollette petitioned the board to hold a special public meeting April 14. The meeting's purpose was to discuss these conflicts with OFS members, who would then vote on three proposals. First,
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And we're back! Nerd Alert is the Spew blog's recurring events calendar devoted to all things nerdy. I myself am a Star Wars fan, mathlete, and spelling bee champion of long standing, so trust me: I grok whereof I speak. After a slow start, this week will kick you squarely
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THE WEEK IN GEEK IN THE SOUTH SOUND >>> And we're back! Nerd Alert is the Spew blog's recurring events calendar devoted to all things nerdy. I myself am a Star Wars fan, mathlete, and spelling bee champion of long standing, so trust me: I grok whereof I speak. As a
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THE WEEK IN GEEK IN THE SOUTH SOUND ... AND BEYOND >>> And we're back! Nerd Alert is the Spew blog's recurring events calendar devoted to all things nerdy. I myself am a Star Wars fan, mathlete, and spelling bee champion of long standing, so trust me: I grok whereof I
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And we're back! Nerd Alert is the Spew blog's recurring events calendar devoted to all things nerdy. I myself am a Star Wars fan, mathlete, and spelling bee champion of long standing, so trust me: I grok whereof I speak. Monday, April 9 A week before two headline gigs at Coachella, Thom
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Welcome to the first in a semi-recurring series of Spew blog entries devoted to all things nerdly. I myself am a Star Wars fan, mathlete, and spelling bee champion of long standing, so trust me: I grok whereof I speak. Monday, April 2 Westeros hangover. Take it easy and drink plenty of
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APPLAUSE >>> As part of its drive to recruit new subscribers (and repay $75,000 to the IRS), Capital Playhouse announced its 2012-2013 season via curtain speeches for Hello, Dolly! "Season in a Box" will host five shows, plus additional projects to be named down the road. While it's unlikely an "Act
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CHANNELING CHANNING >>> The musical Hello, Dolly! has always seemed somewhat old-fashioned, despite the fact that it hit Broadway in the mid-'60s. It's set in the early 20th century, granted, and brassy original lead Carol Channing will never be confused with Selena Gomez. But would you be more excited if we
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We seldom devote print space to choral music in the Volcano, and I can understand why. It's not a genre that excites the average 20-something. I'm a skeptical agnostic myself, yet I find devotional music beautiful. I enjoyed singing in my college chorale and missed it over the years. My
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WALK THIS WAY >>> Do you enjoy comedy? Do you like bliss? Then you'll want to catch the musical Newsday called "blissfully funny," Mel Brooks's adaptation of Young Frankenstein at the Washington Center. It was developed in Seattle in 2007 and hit Broadway two years later. A mostly faithful translation
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NEW ENTERTAINMENT VENTURE SETS SAIL >>> Does Tacoma really need a new theater company? As Gold From Straw proved last year, new ventures add vitality to the live entertainment scene, along with fresh new voices and talents unlikely to be readily embraced by more traditional companies. I spoke
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WHY THERE AND NOT HERE >>> For my wife's birthday, I surprised her with a weekend trip to Ashland, Ore. and a visit to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. I'd never been there - unheard of for a theater guy on the West Coast - so it was a treat for me
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LAST CHANCE >>> Animal Fire Theatre's A Midsummer Night's Dream production is adorable. Not every joke's a corker, mind you, but remember that the definition of "comedy" in the early 1600s was that someone gets married at the end. A Shakespearean romp doesn't have to be joke-setup-joke like an episode of
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WHEN IT ALL GETS A LITTLE TOO REAL >>> In David Mamet's Oleanna, a play in which I just appeared thanks to Theater Artists Olympia, a blowhard professor is accused of sexual harassment, battery, and attempted rape by his student, Carol, played in our production by a lovely, dedicated actor
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WHAT I REALLY WANT TO DO IS DIRECT ... >>> I'm always skeptical when someone tells me he or she has directed dozens or hundreds of shows. It's too much work. Where'd they possibly find the time? I have an MFA in directing, and I've managed less than a dozen
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MEETING THEATER PATRONS HALFWAY >>> It's that time of year again, when theater companies gather to haggle over their upcoming seasons. For various reasons (including, I suspect, our training in academic theater), most troupes operate from September to May. Directors stride into meetings with all guns blazing, ready
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SLAP-HAPPY JOYS OF BACKSTAGE CHATTER >>> Gene Siskel used to say the mark of a bad movie was when you'd rather watch its actors sitting around the craft services table chatting than the movie itself. I'm blogging to you almost-live today from Olympia Little Theater, where we'll be
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I'VE GOT DREAMS TO REMEMBER >>> The other day in Oleanna rehearsal, I expressed my theory that David Mamet hates actors. "Mamet loves actors," our director countered, "the way Sondheim loves singers." Some of you laughed really hard at that. You others aren't theater geeks, so why are you reading this? My annoyance