Julia & Julie: Roger Ebert says Amy Adams and Meryl Streep are engaging, and Streep’s impersonation of Child is uncanny, but really, is the price of total obsession worth paying for the cost of a perfect boeuf bourguignon? Read his review here.
I have written about the niche youth theater not only fits in the communities but in the bottom line of the theaters. Such programs not only feed the pipeline of actors and volunteers for shows on the mainstages of theaters but they also provide an infusion of cash during the down summer months with programs that are covered by tuition for the weekly camps or grants or both. Ticket sales are all gravy to keep the theater going between the end of one season and the beginning of the next. And while there certainly is a practical reason for theaters to stage youth theater, I think is strikes at the heart of community theater's core mission of bringing art to the people.
For a list of upcoming performances of youth theater in the area, check out my column on the Weekly Volcano Web site.
RON SWARNER: MUSIC & ART IN WRIGHT PARK PRIMER >>>
The City of Tacoma is lucky when it comes to music. Both its history and its contemporary scene are vital and full of energy. Tacoma's music scene is young enough, however, that those involved with its germination remain essential today, making Tacoma unique.
This Aug. 15, Music & Art in Wright Park 2009, which began in 1993 as Music in the Park, returns to Tacoma â€" showcasing some of the best bands in the area, including Guns & Rossetti, Girl Trouble, Post Stardom Depression, Broken Oars, The Plastards, James Hilbourne and the Pain Killers, Zeke, C.F.A., Zook, Stone Axe, Starstruck, Tarek Wegner, Tallest Tree, The Coloffs, NeutralBoy, and Mico De Noche. The Saturday outdoor concert at Wright Park will be free.
The festival was founded by Kenny Johnson on Aug. 14, 1993 when Girl Trouble, Katie's Dimples, Portrait of Poverty, Spuj, Spontaneous Funk Whorehouse and Smelter rocked Wright Park. Johnson, as you may recall, owned Mother Records with Kelly Michelson, a label that later morphed into a record store across the street from Wright Park where Supernova Hair and Tattoo now sits. Johnson hosted the popular outdoor concert until 1997.
In the summer of 2001, Johnson fired Music in the Park back up with Bennett Thurmon, who owned Wrecking Ball Records â€" which represented the likes of Tramps of Panic, Those Who Dig, Katie’s Dimples, Zeke and Deflowers during the original Music in the Park shows. Chris Miller, a member of many local bands and current owner of The Red Hot, also jumped into the mix. Johnson, Thurmon and Miller held down the Music in the Park fort for three shows that year.
Flash forward to the present. Johnson, Thurmon â€" who has produced countless shows in Tacoma including many First Nights â€" and Cody Foster â€" a member of many Tacoma bands including C.F.A. â€" are the forces behind Music & Art in Wright Park 2009. Besides the three producers, many of the bands performing Aug. 15 have Tacoma musical roots dating back to the early ‘90s, and beyond as in the case of Girl Trouble. It will be a reunion of sorts for the Tacoma music scene, including myself, who has been covering it since 1987.
As a sponsor of Music & Art in Wright Park, the Weekly Volcano will highlight a band or two every day until the Aug. 15 show. First up, and rightly so, we present Girl Trouble:
The Tacoma Film Festival folks just sent this announcement to the Weekly Volcano World Headquarters:
Tacoma, Wash. â€" Drum roll please…the winning poster design artist is David Mackey, a native of Tacoma who now lives in France.
The contest was open to anyone who wanted to enter and the Tacoma Film Festival received over 120 submissions from all over the world. The idea of reaching out to our local artistic community turned into an international community. But after after two weeks of examining and re-examining each entry a choice had to be made. In the end, the “popcorn bucket†theme with bright red colors and stunning blue background won out with the idea that simple was better, but with a design that really “popped†(no pun intended.) The panel of Tacoma Film Festival staff and volunteers along with feedback received from Grand Cinema supporters, decided with most certainty to use the David Mackey design.
“The poster screams ‘movies’ along with highlighting landmarks of Tacoma and Pierce County,†explains Philip Cowan, The Grand Cinema Executive Director and brains behind the Tacoma Film Festival. “With the amount of talented submissions we received it almost seemed impossible to choose just one.â€
Thank you to each and every artist who submitted a design. The Grand Cinema is very lucky to have such great supporters that are willing to share their talent.
About the Artist David Mackey was born and raised in Tacoma, Wa and graduated from Wilson High School. A musician by trade he found out 5 years ago that he needed someone to design album covers and was having a hard time locating someone who could do that. He decided to design them himself and thus began his new career in graphic design. He currently resides in Venaco, Corsica, France (a village of about 700 people) along with his wife and son. His mother and brother still live in Tacoma.
About the Tacoma Film Festival The 2009 Tacoma Film Festival begins Thursday, October 1 with the Opening Night Reception at the Annie Wright Great Hall followed by the Opening Night Film at the Annie Wright Kemper Theater. The evening begins at 6:30p and the film will start at 8:00p. Films will continue through Thursday, October 8 playing at the Grand Cinema, Tacoma Art Museum and the Tacoma School of the Arts. The official Tacoma Film Festival program is scheduled to be ready by Thursday, Sept. 9. For more information visit www.TacomaFilmFestival.com.
The Eastside Club in Olympia is on a musical roll. It’s been a hot spot for seriously talented, seriously diverse musicians. Reggae, rock, punk, blues â€" you name it.
This week’s highlight is a group out of L.A. called Fishtank Ensemble. Having recently hit the road on a six month, cross-country tour, the band brings a taste of something different to Oly. With layers of worldly influence, this four-piece wows their audience with a weaving of sounds induced from such instruments as musical saws, violins, accordions and the slap bass. Top it off with flesh-raising vocals and a lively performance, and this assembly can’t be beat.
Fishtank’s music seems to be derived from the mesmerizing canals of Italy, the ancient hills of Japan, the wild celebrations of gypsies and the radios of young Americans.
So even if you haven’t traveled this summer, you can see this group and at least feel like you have.
[The Eastside Club, with Erev Ravs, Thursday, Aug. 6, 9 p.m., $5, 410 Fourth Ave., Olympia, 360.357.9985]
The Press Coffeehouse & Lounge 406 Washington St. S.E., Olympia, 360.239.4104 Happy Hours: 3-7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday Drink Specials: $1 off all beer and glasses of wine
CHILD'S PLAY: Meryl Streep delights as Julia Child in Nora Ephron's Julie & Julia.
JULIA & JULIA: A frustrated Queens wife vows to write a blog about cooking her way through Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,†524 recipes in 365 days. The film shows the effect of culinary dedication on both women’s lives and marriages. Amy Adams and Meryl Streep are engaging, and Streep’s impersonation of Child is uncanny, but really, is the price of total obsession worth paying for the cost of a perfect boeuf bourguignon? (PG-13) Two and a half stars â€" Roger Ebert
Also opening tomorrow: Captain Abu Raed, G.I. Joe: The Rise Of The Cobra, The Perfect Getaway and Summer Hours.
Discover what the hell these films are about and when they screen here.
1. Ocean Grooves throws 10 candles on the cake, and Donald Glaude, Omar and DJ dAb behind the turntables beginning at 9 p.m. at The Swiss, for a party Tacoma hasn’t seen since, well, Ocean Grooves’ ninth anniversary.
2. Summer Lunch Series continues at Tollefson Plaza featuring food, beverages, tables and chairs and a performance by Shakespeare in the Parking Lot from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
3. The Morton Loggers Jubilee will feature a queen coronation; carnival; lawnmower races; loggers’ breakfast; bed races; Grand Parade; the Main Street Dance; and the granddaddy of them all â€" the 2009 Jubilee Logging Show at Jubilee Arena Aug. 6-9.
4. Festival Northwest theater continues at Tacoma Little Theatre with an 8 p.m. performance of John Lennon's Gargoyle, a modern retelling of Voltaire's Candide.
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