5 Things To Do Today: Improv comedy, B&I photo show, beer tasting, Vokab Kompany and more ...

By Volcano Staff on March 19, 2014

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19 2014 >>>

1. Christian Doyle was voted Best Actor in the 2014 Best of Olympia issue. "You may remember that show for his lovable impersonation of Charlie Chaplin, easily as dead-on as any Little Tramp at Universal Studios. More recently, he's distinguished himself as a fine rock wailer, fight choreographer, and ad-lib impresario," wrote Weekly Volcano theater critic Christian Carvajal in the Best of Olympia issue, describing Doyle's latter role as manager of Harlequin's improvisational troupe, Something Wicked. Doyle has made one thing clear from the start: every show will be completely different. Doyle and the other 10 wicked minds are primed to deliver another show at 8 p.m.

2. Gary Lappier received a camera for his fifth birthday, which is around the same time he made my first visit to the B&I Shopping Center. It was a technicolor buzz full of goodies and amazements. A crown jewel in a city full of promise named Tacoma. Since a young age he had fantasized about documenting this unique place and the variety found within. As he grew and developed his craft, the B&I aged and declined. "Sent from Somewhere Else" at Fulcrum Gallery is the photographic result of this exploration. See it noon to 6 p.m.

3. A group of Tacomans determined to "Save Hilltop" Tacoma will voice their opinion during the Tacoma Planning Commission meeting at 4 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. The group wants to keep low-income/affordable housing on Hilltop Tacoma.

4. Pint Defiance hosts Denver's Great Divide Brewing for a tasting from 5-7 p.m. The beer store will pour tastes of Lasso, an IPA brewed with a robust roundup of Columbus, Centennial and Cascade hops; Nomad, a spin on the classic Bohemian Pilsner; and the 9.5 APV Pablo's Espresso with its vanilla oak character, intense roasty maltiness and bold hop profile.

5. The Vokab Kompany is a San Diego based hip hop/soul/electro act that is gaining notoriety in the south California scene. With bigger than life stage presence and dynamic studio work, including collaborations with national acts, such as: Killer Preist (Wu Tang Clan), Lateef the Truth Speaker (Blackalicious, Latyrx), they are crossing genre lines up and down the west coast, including Jazzbones at 8 p.m. 

LINK: Wednesday, March 19 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area