Homer Tribune » Arts

Comedy mystifies at Pier One

Newsroom — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:30:03 +0000

• Dead man’s cell phone ensnares curious stranger
By Randi Somers
Homer Tribune

HOMER TRIBUNE/Randi Somers - While Gordon (Dylan Carter) sits dead in a cafe, a stranger, Jean, (Bailey Richards), bothered by his ringing cell phone, answers and gets involved in his life on Earth and on “the other side.”

A man sits dead at a table in a diner.
When his cell phone rings incessantly, bothering a stranger at a nearby table, she answers it and is drawn into his life and death.
“After you’re gone, how will you be remembered?” is the main question addressed in Sarah Ruhl’s grim comedy, “Dead Man’s Cell Phone,” which plays at Pier One Theatre through the next three weekends. Ruhl explores that question by entrusting the memory of a not-so-dearly departed man, played by Dylan Carter, to a woman he never met. Bailey Richards plays the central character, Jean.
Seeing a dead man at a nearby table might prompt a normal stranger to shout desperately into the phone for an ambulance, which she does. But then, she inadvertently drops the phone into her purse, leading her into unexpected complications. To her perverse enjoyment, she finds that merely being the voice on the receiving end of the dead man’s calls gives her instant access to the world he left behind. Discovering his bizarre business starts her on an odyssey that leads to people in his inner circle as well as a destination she would rather not have visited. For a character who begins the play as a corpse, this guy has a lot to say about the nature of true love and life beyond death.
Continuing to answer his phone, Jean becomes involved with other people in his life; his mother, Harriet (Margaret Quarton), brother Dwight (Emerson Quarton), widow Hermia (Leeza Maestre) and a friend, played by Maria Fourier.
Marc Oliver, another young Pier One star, directs the play.
“I learned about the play at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival last year and it sounded interesting,” Oliver said. “I didn’t see it. If I had, it might have influenced my perception of how it should be done. But I read it, liked it, pitched it to Lance and he said ‘go for it.’”
This is Oliver’s second year directing and his third production. Last year he directed “Mixed Nuts” and “Hit and Run.”
On the opening weekend, the play does not perform on Thursday, but it does the two following weekends. On the final weekend, it does not perform on Sunday. The play contains language and mature themes, and parental guidance is suggested.

Dead Man’s Cell Phone
When: Pier One Theatre
Where: July 9-11, 15-18, 22-24,
8:15 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays
7:30 p.m. Sundays and Thursdays
Tickets: $14, available in advance form Etude Studio and The Homer Bookstore, or by calling Pier One at 235-7333
More info: www.pieronetheate.org

Concert-style singalong music

Newsroom — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:46:39 +0000

• Yellow Cabin entertains at Pier One
By Randi Somers
Homer Tribune

From left, Johnny Bell, Matt Farnsworth, Atz Lee Kilcher and John Cottingham perform at Down East Saloon. Not present for this photo, Jane Kilcher, keyboard. Yellow Cabin will play at Pier One Theatre this weekend.

On their website, local band Yellow Cabin wryly lists their influences as “…loud crappy or borrowed amplifiers, smoky bars and their drunken patrons, epic bartenders, Guinness, not practicing original songs and of course Cabin Fever. Also the color green.”
All that “atmosphere” is missing when the band performs in concert at Pier One Theatre this weekend. What remains is solid entertainment.
The band, comprised of musicians who also play in several other bands, is slated to perform at Pier One Theatre for three nights, July 1,2 and 3.
Jane Kilcher on keyboard, Atz Lee Kilcher, bass, John Cottingham, guitar, Matt Farnsworth, drums and visiting musician Johnny Bell playing banjo and harmonica currently make up the core of the band. Bell, a former Homer resident, is visiting for a couple of weeks from New Mexico. All take turns leading and harmonizing on the vocals for their original songs.
“The music is all ours,” Kilcher said. “Jane, John (Cottingham) and I wrote the songs.”
Titles include “I’ll Black Out with You,” “Two of a Kind,” “Mimosa” and “Ditch Water.”
When playing their usual Wednesday night gig at Down East Saloon, the group takes a couple of breaks. For the Pier One performance, however, “… we’ll play straight through, concert-style,” Kilcher said.
All of their music has a danceable, singalong quality.
“One of the reasons we’re doing more music gigs at Pier One is that lots of people don’t enjoy the smoky bar scene, but like to listen to and appreciate live music,” Pier One Artistic Director Lance Petersen said. “Pier One is providing that opportunity.”
“Fluidity” could be added as another quality of Yellow Cabin, as most of the band members also are key players with other groups. Atz Lee Kilcher and Cottingham both play with Three-Legged Mule, and Kilcher plays with other bands, including Twitching Sushi and Iron Mermaid.
Kilcher also just concluded another starring performance in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.”
Both Three-Legged Mule and Yellow Cabin have been booked to play for KBBI’s Concert on the Lawn July 31 and Aug. 1.

Yellow Cabin
When: Pier One Theater
Where: Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.
Tickets: General Admission $16
More info: Advance tickets available at Etude Studio, the Bookstore and or by phoning 235-7333 for reservations.

‘Hedwig’ returns to Pier One stage

Newsroom — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 17:52:52 +0000

Atz Lee Kilcher reprises role in musical comedy with a twist

By Randi Somers
Homer Tribune

HOMER TRIBUNE/Randi Somers - Atz Lee Kilcher (right) stars as a conflicted victim of a sex-change operation in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” Kathleen Gustafson (left) directs and acts in the play.

Having enthralled audiences in Homer and Halibut Cove at the close of last season, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” opens at Pier One Theatre this weekend. Atz Lee Kilcher stars in this musical comedy with a somber undertone.
While the play entertains with humorous songs and dialogue, the theme of a young man escaping Communist East Berlin by enduring a botched sex change, underlies the story with more serious themes.
Hedwig becomes a woman (almost) in order to marry an American soldier and escape to freedom. And although Hedwig manages to get out of Germany, she can’t elude her fate. Disconcerted by the incomplete sex-change, her soldier divorces and abandons her in a trailer park in Kansas, and she sets out to build a new life. An “internationally ignored” rock singer, Hedwig searches for love and stardom while dealing with the botched operation.
Hedwig has considerable talent. She forms a rock band and falls in love with her protege, Tommy Gnosis, who also abandons her. He steals her songs, and uses them to develop a successful singing career.
A one-man tour de force, Kilcher vamps through the performance in skimpy dresses and gaudy wigs, contrasting with his “husband,” Director Kathleen Gustafson who sings harmony, garbed in a drab blue coverall. The only other performers on stage are the back-up band, Jane Ferman Kilcher on piano, Steve Collins, guitar, Ben Gerhards, bass, Matt Farnsworth, drums and Mike Shelman, guitar.
Kilcher turns in a performance worthy of an Off-Broadway Award.
Hedwig, with her band, “The Angry Inch,” haunts Tommy Gnosis on his tours, performing in strip-mall restaurants for pleasantly surprised diners and a few devoted fans. Through songs and flashbacks, Hedwig tells her life story, borrowing on her past connection with Gnosis for celebrity.
In the title role, Kilcher — better known for his musical talent than acting — impresses audiences with his versatility during the one-man show.
As befits a musical comedy, this one has a happy ending, as Hedwig eventually finds true love and resolves her identity uncertainty.
Written by John Cameron Mitchell, with lyrics by Stephen Trask, the musical was originally produced in Off-Broadway clubs in New York City as a cabaret-style play in 1998.
Combining Hedwig’s monologues with songs that range from power rock ballads to rockabilly, the play sketches the history of rock ‘n roll in America while exposing the problems of a man who hasn’t quite become a woman. Pier One’s schedule calls it a “Curiously poignant glam/rock musical steeped in the androgynous 1970s era of David Bowie and Iggy Pop.”
Gustafson uses rear projection of images produced by video artists Kevin Co and Kathy Brennan to graphically illustrate the story.
Pier One Artistic Director Lance Petersen said that due to adult language, themes and lyrics, audience members must be 18 or older.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch
When: June 17, 7:30 p.m., 18, 8:15 p.m. and 19, 10 p.m.
Where: Pier One Theater
Tickets: General $16, Senior citizens $15, Ravens and students $12. Advance tickets available at Etude Studio, The Bookstore or by phoning 235-7333 for reservations.
More info: 235-7333 or www.pieronetheatre.org

Book survival in a Twitter-driven world

Newsroom — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 17:39:01 +0000

• Writers’ Conference panel talks of the future of the written word
By Naomi Klouda
Homer Tribune

HOMER TRIBUNE/Naomi Klouda - A panel discussion, "Where's Writing Going?" explored E-books, blogs, tweets and webpages, one of the presentations at the Kachemak Bay Writers' Conference.

While today’s readers carry a shorter attention span in America’s high-speed culture, the “brick and mortar” of books likely won’t go away soon.
That was one of the messages at the 10th-Annual Kachemak Bay Writers Conference talk “Where’s Writing Going?” on Sunday, as publishers, agents and writers gathered to discuss ways for writers to find themselves a home in the future of literary publishing.
E-based social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, along with the electronic books made available online, increasingly define modern communities of readers and writers. Writers can use those to reach readers eager to connect, said author Dinty W. Moore.
“Whether you like it or not, the future is coming,” said Moore, author of “Between Panic and Desire,” “  The Accidental Buddhist,” and the writing guide, “The Truth of the Matter: Art and Craft in Creative Nonfiction.” He also is editor of Brevity.com, a website for creative nonfiction.
The panel included managing editor of University of Alaska Press Elisabeth Dabney, literary agent April Eberhardt, book editor at Harper-Collins Jennifer Pooley, and Stephanie Elizondo Griest, award-winning writer of “Mexican Enough: My Life Between the Borderlines.” The discussion was moderated by Bill Roorbach, author of seven books and winner of the Flannery O’Connor prize in short fiction and the O. Henry Prize.
The work of satisfying voracious readers by supplying good writing is still part of the literary landscape, Dabney said, but the modern tools “are supplemental — not a replacement.”
Still, today’s books do tend to be shorter in length, and more lead time goes into getting one published in a highly competitive market. Publishers must find ways to grab readers’ attention or the book won’t sell. And while the “fat book” is facing an evolution of still being needed, maybe not all of it is needed at once. Online marketing can offer up the fat book in pieces, so that readers can buy whatever portion they need at the time, or all of it for their permanent library, Dabney said.
“The brick and mortar of books aren’t going away on Kindle or through electronics,” Dabney said. “Readers are selfish. They want every avenue, whether that’s on iPod or Kindle or an old-fashioned book.”
Pooley advised writers to follow the reader. Today, the potential exists for writers to weigh in at book clubs, answer readers’ questions via e-mail, or speak to them on blogs, because “every reader is important.” Given the reality of competing with many sources of reader attention in a fast-paced world, communicating with readers becomes crucial.
Elizondo-Griest writes hand-written thank-you notes to readers, librarians and bookstores.
“If you really want to get someone’s attention, write them a note,” she said. “I think ‘thank-you notes’ save the world.”
This helps make for closer-knit communities of readers/writers that then ensure writings are read. Twitter and Facebook acquaintances can become every bit as important as other nurturing community contacts.
“Because they took the time to follow me on Twitter; because they got to know me, they were buying my books,” Pooley said.
A successful writer takes the time to care about individual readers’ questions or issues enough to acknowledge and respond, even if the note back is brief.
The optimistic talk didn’t sidestep the frightening new frontier writers are finding in the modern marketplace. Writer and moderator Roorbach asked panelists what happens to the pay issue? How do writers get compensated for their work if readers can find it for free online and they don’t have to go to the bookstore?
“I’m paid less now than I was 10 years ago,” he said. “Publishing is a business, but writing is not.”
Brevity.com editor Moore pointed out he doesn’t get paid for his website, nor do his writers receive compensation. What they do get is the satisfaction of getting their work out there more quickly, and contributing good writing to the body of e-literature. The market for “literary” writing has always been a small one, he said.
Publishers pay royalties on e-books, Pooley pointed out. Look for the avenues that fit modern needs. One innovation that has caught attention is geared to fit the time-crunched modern reader. Dubbed “One Story Magazine,” the small press puts out one short story every three weeks. Pooley said she subscribes to it, receiving it in her traditional mailbox.
“This is making the short story more accessible, and it’s wonderful to receive it in the mail,” she said.
Self-publishing is also paying off, noted Eberhardt. Some 750,000 books were self-published last year, a large fraction of the entire body of new titles making their entrance. As an author-advocate, she is working on a creating a website to market such books by creating an A-List recommending titles.
“That’s a vetting process as well, meaning we as agents are recommending your book,” she explained. “It presents many options to get work out there more quickly so that you get paid more quickly.”

First Friday celebrates Homer Spit

Newsroom — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:13:51 +0000

By Naomi Klouda
Homer Tribune

Kachemak Bay in Black and White by Taz Tally

Photographer Taz Tally studied the Homer Spit for four months in scenes of black and white. He watched the iconic landscape through all types of winter moods, before settling on one found through his lens the first week in May.
The Spit is one part of a “morphology” of Kachemak Bay and the Chugach Mountains.
“The whole package is of interest to me. There was still snow on the ground, but we didn’t want a full winter shot,” Tally explained, referring to his collaboration with Karin Marks at the Art Shop Gallery. “A lot of people don’t see Homer that way; with a lot of snow on the ground.”
But every tourist and photographer in Homer — sooner or later — focuses on the Spit.
“That made it a bit of a challenge to do it differently,” he said.
The difference, in Tally’s case, is the use of triptych, splicing a photo in three sections. The result is a 17-by-25 inch panel; an art technique developed during the Renaissance meant for adorning large walls.
Tally’s chosen genre is landscape photography in black and white.
“I love the tones and textures,” he said. “I keep color out of it because I like to emphasize texture, fabric, form — and color can distract from that.”
The Art Shop Gallery will host an artist reception for Tally on Friday from 5-7:30 p.m. Combined with several other prints, his show is titled “Kachemak Bay in Black and White.”

Bunnell Street Arts Center presents two simultaneous solo exhibits, including the new work in porcelain by Carla Potter, an Alaska ceramic sculptor who recently completed her MFA at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.
Encaustics by Alexandra Feit, an artist from Haines, are also on display. The show opens Friday with an artists’ talk at 6 p.m., and remains on display through June 30.

Homer Council on the Arts presents “49th Wanderlust,” paintings by local artist, Stacy Naden, throughout the month of June. A reception opens the show Friday from 5-7 p.m. Naden, raised in Alaska, began teaching at Homer High School in the fall of 2008 part-time as a 2- D art teacher. She joined the HCOA Board of Directors in February.

Fireweed Gallery presents “Reality Check” with acrylic paintings by David Fuller. According to Fuller’s artist statement, Norman Rockwell and Andy Warhol are his role models.
“They deliver a simple message for the common man, woman or child in all of us and I like that,” he said. First Friday at Fireweed runs from 5-7 p.m.

At Picture Alaska Art Gallery, artists Kathy Smith and Judy Winn present new paintings. Smith’s small “backyard landscapes” feature visiting Steller Jays painted in oil and encaustic. Winn’s acrylics combine her love of nature with her love of painting landscapes. The Friday reception is 5 to 7 p.m.

The Back Room Gallery of Ptarmigan Arts will once again be highlighting “New Works” created by Ptarmigan artists over the past seven months. Works by Toby Tyler, Caryl and Dave Christy, Kathleen Drew, Jan Peyton and Bev Macy, Alice Haggerty, Jewels and Peggy Fischer , Deb Lowney, Ted Heuer, Dan Fischer, Cindy Nelson, Janaan Kitchen, Mavis Muller and Karen Roush are on display. Reception is 5 to 7 p.m.

Comedy spices up Pier One summer season

Newsroom — Wed, 26 May 2010 17:50:02 +0000

• Shakespeare’s mischief-filled romp opens this weekend
By Randi Somers
Homer Tribune

HOMER TRIBUNE/Randi Sommers - Love and sanity triumph and young lovers Hero (Maura Gibson) and Claudio (Alder Fletcher) lead family and friends into a celebratory dance.

After enchanting audiences for three nights at Alice’s Champagne Palace in late April, Pier One opens its theater on the Spit for a three-week run of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing.”
The show starts Memorial Day Weekend, May 28, 29 and 30.
Twenty actors, most of whom are familiar to Pier One regulars, amazed and amused with their ability to move from scene to scene in the awkward staging conditions at Alice’s. Using the upstairs space as backstage, the troupe raced up and down the stairs and aisles, carrying the complicated comedy forward smoothly. Stage manager Andy Bullock added to the fun, changing the “scenes” adroitly by swapping table cloths and two flats that represented outdoors scenes. These offered convenient hiding places for eavesdropping — which is key to the plot.
Set in Sicily, the plot revolves around efforts to unite two sets of lovers, complicated by a meddlesome relative bent on making trouble.
New director Bobbie Lee Briggs, who has taken on this role for the first time after many years of tech work, confirmed that staging the play at Pier One will be much easier.
Summer offerings lean toward comedy, but Pier One’s artistic director Lance Petersen said the lighter vein in each play actually holds a more serious message.
“There is a balance to the season in several ways,” Petersen said. “Old plays like Shakespeare are combined with new plays, such as ‘Dead Man’s Cell.’ We have big casts and one-man shows, (including) the return of last season’s closing musical comedy, ‘Hedwig’ and two other musical events. Youth Theatre events are sprinkled here and there, as well.”
On June 17, 18 and 19, Pier One reprises “Hedwig and The Angry Inch,” starring Atz Lee Kilcher. Although it can be viewed as lighthearted entertainment, the theme of a young man trying to escape warring Germany by enduring a sex change underlies the story with more serious issues. Adult language, themes and lyrics mean the show is for those over 18.
Youth Theatre will showcase new and experienced thespians, fresh from a three-week skills camp on June 25 and 26. Clara Noomah and Leeza Mastre direct, culminating in a late July/early August performance.
The first weekend in July features the band, Yellow Cabin, followed by a comic mystery, Sarah Ruhl’s “Dead Man’s Cell,” with Marc Oliver directing. He is also fairly new to this position. The play runs three weekends, beginning July 9.
Another one-man show takes the stage the weekend of Aug. 12, 13 and 14. Ross Howard’s play, “Arthur and Esther,” will be performed by Tom Atkinson. Described in the Pier One schedule as a dark comedy, the article goes on to describe how the play, “probes the murky and marvelous world of small-town librarian. A spectacular story of one man’s unorthodox attempt to reconcile the ghosts of the past with the promise of the future.”
Karen Strid-Chadwick and Friends present “Ridiculous Jazz” Aug. 19, 20 and 21, with different sets and featured musicians each night.
Finishing out the season, from Aug. 27 through Sept. 11, Kathleen Gustafson directs “We Won’t Pay, We Can’t Pay!” Playwright Dario Fo takes us to a supermarket that has increased prices dramatically overnight, resulting in shoppers leaving with the food they came to buy plus some extras without paying.
“Much Ado About Nothing”
When: May 28 and 29, 8:15p.m.; May 30, 7:30 p.m. (Show continues through the weekends of June 3 and 10)
Where: Pier One Theatre, Homer Spit
Tickets: $14, general admission; $13, students and seniors; $12, Raven Club members. Available in advance at The Book Store and Etude Studio, and at the box office on performance nights.

Winter works into spring

Newsroom — Wed, 05 May 2010 17:39:10 +0000

• First Friday gatherings celebrate season’s beginning

image provided - Artist Karin Franzen of Fairbanks produced this sandhill crane tapestry, which will be on display as part of the Bunnell Street Arts Center’s First Friday event.

The Back Room Gallery of Ptarmigan Arts will be highlighting “New Works” created by Ptarmigan artists over the past six months.
“Winter is a great time to explore our creativity and produce new artwork for the upcoming season,” said Ptarmigan owner Jewels. “Come in and see what’s new.”
The show features works by Toby Tyler, paintings on barrel stoves, Caryl Christy’s fused glass, Kathleen Drew’s encaustics, Jan Peyton’s monotype oils, Bev Macy’s watercolors, the jewelry of Alice Haggerty, Jewels and Peggy Fischer, Deb Lowney’s woodblock prints, Ted Heuer’s turned wood, Dan Fischer’s marquetry, Cindy Nelson’s mosaics, Janaan Kitchen’s batiks and Karen Roush’s photography. The First Friday Reception is 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The Bunnell Street Arts Center is showing kelp sculptures by Leah Danberg from California, and Sandhill Crane tapestries by Karin Franzen from Fairbanks as part of their First Friday event from 5-7 p.m.
Danberg uses Pacific kelp to create sculptural baskets in geometric flat-weave sculptures and round crocheted baskets with shawls of kelp bladders. She has been a fiber artist and basket maker since 1984, and constructs her vessels primarily from the abundant natural plant material she collects in Southern California. Danberg holds a master’s degree in mathematics and is a retired computer systems analyst.
Karin Franzen is a long-time resident of Alaska and a full-time studio artist. Franzen’s art is the result of an eclectic past. Youthful days spent exploring the surrounding prairies and wetlands initiated a love of the biological world that would eventually lead her to a degree in Biology with an art minor. Franzen uses the skills honed over a lifetime of drawing, mathematics, structural design, sewing and an understanding of biology to create her work.

Fireweed Gallery features two exhibits for May: the annual watercolor society spring show, and mosaics by Bob Southwick.
The Kachemak Bay Watercolor Society’s annual spring show, featuring new work by members, is showcased in the Main Gallery. “Down by the Sea, a First Look,” is Bob Southwick’s debut exhibition of colorful mosaic wall art, displayed in La Petite Gallerie. Meet the artists during the opening reception on Friday 5 to 7 p.m.

The Art Shop Gallery announces its lineup of Alaska artists for their annual Summer Alaskan Artist Series to include Byron Birdsall and Barbara Lavallee. The gallery hosts a First Friday event, and some special Saturday events throughout the summer.
For First Friday, look for “Functional Works in Clay” by Soldotna potter Libby Berezin in an opening reception 5 to 7:30 p.m. Using stone wear clay, Berezkin creates useful pieces like platters, bowls and covered jars. In a tribute to Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival, she includes bird feeders and baths.

Picture Alaska Art Gallery presents “Coastal Life” paintings by Kurt “Jake” Jacobson, an Alaska born and raised artist who expresses his love of the Alaska outdoors in oils and acrylics. His work in this show reflects scenes based on living on the coasts of Alaska and how it influences our lives. Jacobson is a realist painter with a touch of impressionism.
His show, “Coastal Life” will be featured in the gallery May 7 through June 3, with an opening artist reception this Friday from 5-7:30 p.m.

Kachemak Kids will join the First Friday event by hosting its first Children’s Art Exhibit entitled “Children Explore the Masters.” The event will be held at Kachemak Kids Early Learning Center, 3838 Bartlett St., from 5-7 p.m. The public and families are welcome. Hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will be provided.

Celebrating with Shakespeare

Newsroom — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 17:58:45 +0000

Preview at Alice’s serves up beer and burgers with the Bard
by Grace Smith
Homer Tribune

HOMER TRIBUNE/Sean Pearson - BobbieLee Briggs directs her cast in Monday night’s rehearsal of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing.”

This weekend, Pier One Theatre celebrates Shakespeare’s 446th birthday at Alice’s Champagne Palace with a preview production of the classic comedy. “Much Ado About Nothing.” The evening also marks the directorial debut of BobbieLee Briggs, technical director at Pier One since 1998.
“I’ve been doing tech since freshman year of high school,” Briggs told the Tribune before Monday night’s rehearsal. “I always enjoyed it, and I’d help directors when they needed help. For the last couple of years, I started thinking it would be nice to do my own play. I decided at the end of last season that it was time to direct my own show.”
Briggs said she decided on the play — a story of two Italian royal lovers whose plans to trick two notoriously single-and-loving-it friends into falling for each other get thwarted by the more sinister trickery of a jealous, illegitimate brother. She wanted to commemorate the Bard’s birthday, to do a comedy, and she couldn’t find any evidence that a full production had been done in Homer … ever.
For those who don’t know the story, Briggs tried to summarize the plot.
“In one word, it’s eavesdropping,” she said. “From the start of the play, one character is eavesdropping on other characters, and it just keeps going.”
Briggs said the play is “spying and fooling, with a little love thrown in.” There are two major tricks: Claudio and Hero, the engaged pair, trick Beatrice and Benedict, both known for shunning the opposite sex, into falling for each other; Don John, Claudio’s half-brother, tricks him into thinking his loyal lover Hero has been cheating on him. Asked why the trouble-causing Don John is so bent on destruction, Briggs explained, “he just got his ass whooped by Claudio, so anything he can do to cross him or make him look bad, he’s gonna do it.”
Both of the tricks work, but that’s just the beginning.
BobbieLee said she was lucky to work with such a diverse cast of more than 20 people.
“I’ve got people who’ve been doing theater for years, and people who are newbies,” Briggs said. “The oldest castmember has not confirmed her age, but she has confirmed she’s the oldest.”
Briggs said it will also be the acting debut the youngest cast member — Denver.
“Everybody has been very helpful throughout this whole experience,” she said. “It has been a lot of fun.”
Food and drinks will be available, so come on down to Alice’s for some beer, burgers and the Bard — the way plays used to be.
The play will re-open Memorial Day weekend for a three-week run at Pier One Theatre on the Spit.

Much Ado About Nothing
When: 7:30 p.m., Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
Where: Alice’s Champagne Palace
Tickets: $14
Discounts available for students, seniors and Ravens Club members

Exploring the whimsical nature of song

Newsroom — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 17:52:36 +0000

Classical teachings provide traditional structures to unconventional sounds
By Katie Emerick
Homer Tribune

Photo by Nancy Palmieri - Erin McKeown brings her whimsical sensibility and playfulness — along with a soaring vocal range — to the Down East next Thursday.

Erin McKeown contends that she’s incapable of copying things. That’s not to say she’s without influences, however, with “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy,” Ani Difranco and Greg Brown all standing as inspirations to the multi-instrument songstress. Like many children, McKeown grew up writing stories and poems, fueling an ever-hungry imagination that has continued to guide her work through the release of seven albums since her debut on the music scene in 1999.
Raised in Fredericksburg, Va., McKeown began playing classical piano as a young girl and writing songs in high school. It wasn’t until studying ethnomusicology at Brown University that she made the decision to pursue music as a career, and went on to make two albums before graduation. For the past 10 years, McKeown has been an intriguing and growing facet in the singer/songwriter community. Her unique voice and guitar style has been likened to that of Cat Stevens and Jeff Lang. Her repertoire of releases has explored a variety of genres, flowing from folk to rock to pop; Each effort maintains a whimsical sensibility and playfulness.
Vocally, McKeown holds a timeless quality that is distinctively jazz with its effortless range, soaring emotion and controlled vibratos. From the song “Blackbirds,” off her 2000 album “Distillation,” to the collection of jazz standards McKeown released on “Song for Sinners,” it’s clear that the genre holds a special quality for the artist.
And while her sound has been categorized in so many different ways, McKeown is one who’d rather have her music defined by the way it makes you feel; which may reveal why jazz has such an appeal. Its form is based off the exploration and improvisation of emotion.
It’s McKeown ability to experiment with arrangements that makes her a compelling artist in contemporary songwriting. She likes to explore and expand musical structures. Her classical training at an early age gave her the understanding of traditional structures and music history needed to create in a way that is still comprehensive. On her most recent release, “Hundreds of Lions,” McKeown took a unique approach to her orchestrations. Recording the record independently gave her the luxury of time — and the space to be innovative. Working out of an old farmhouse in rural New England, she laid brass and woodwind tracks early on in the project, rather than layering on the parts later in the recording process as is traditionally done. Combined with McKeown’s soulful vocals, they serve as an unconventional backbone to her songs.
Infused with synthesizers and orchestral strings, “Hundreds of Lions” has attained a polished finish, while still maintaining the funky edge typical of McKeown. “Santa Cruz” is an energetic pop song for the more rock savvy appreciator. Backed by a driving, stripped-down rhythm section, McKeown weaves the piano and electric guitar together in a call-and-answer type format. She builds movements that sweep and dive as she sings.
Stoutly left-wing and an activist, McKeown’s music doesn’t dwell in political expression. Instead, she uses her songs as a reflective space to detail emotions and experiences that make up the human condition. She is a poet and an essayist infusing her writing with a whimsical lyricism both honest and theatrical. In the song, “The Lions,” McKeown sings: “She and I were circus loves, cannonball, somersault, split/ we were made to smile in sawdust and mean every word of it/ nothing turned us on more than to turn every eye…/but in the moment before the curtain dropped, I wondered/ why am I always the bottom and never the top?”
Following her unique sensibilities, McKeown is a do-it-yourself musician, evidenced by her string of independently released albums, including her most recent project promoted through a four-part series of live Internet performances from her living room.
Appreciated by fellow musicians and audiences alike for her quirky sense of musicianship and driven dedication, McKeown carries her theatrical nature to the stage whether solo or backed by her band. She appears as the quintessential artist — intelligent, thoughtful, colorful and wonderfully carnival-esque.

Erin McKeown
When: 7 p.m., Thur., April 29
Where: Down East Saloon
Tickets: $20
This is a no-smoking show.

Finding social significance

Newsroom — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 17:30:46 +0000

• Music’s peaceful poet for the ‘new left’

By Katie Emerick
Homer Tribune

Photo by Andre Lyager - David Rovics

Much can be said about the political scope belonging to David Rovics. He’s a troubadour musician and independent artist, an advocate for free speech, outspoken critic of the military and the government, and has been providing soundtracks to various activist campaigns for a decade now.
Like the forefathers of folk who inspire him, Rovics’ sound is reminiscent of the “working class” ideologies brought to folk music by such artists as Utah Phillips, Phil Ochs and Woody Guthrie. His music has been featured on “Democracy Now!,” the BBC and Al-Jazzeera, and he’s written a number of political essays, as well as children’s songs. Armed with his guitar, Rovics isn’t afraid to speak his mind and has traveled the world bringing his message to the people through wit and humor, self-expression and honesty.
Born into a family of classical musicians, Rovics became a fan of populist regimes in his early years, rebelling against the conservative leanings of his hometown. Leaving college early, he spent several years living in Berkeley, Calif., before moving back east to become a professional Busker on the subways of Boston. While Rovics had been making music on the streets, it wasn’t until a close friend was killed that he turned his attention full time to songwriting; initially as a means of dealing with his grief.
Rovics released his debut album, “Make It So,” in 1996. Since then, he’s gone on to release 16 studio and live records, filling them with original songs that address nearly every hot political topic from nuclear proliferation to the environment, to Guantanamo Bay. If simply looking at his album labels is any indication, Rovics is a man with a message.
In 2003, Rovics released “Who Would Jesus Bomb,” and in 2006, “Halliburton Boardroom Massacre.” And while Rovics’ revolution is through music — a tool he feels is the most optimistic form of communication — his capacity to provide anthems to a host of political campaigns is impressive. Perhaps it’s his passion that attracts so many activists to his music, for Rovics is one who lives what he believes, stating in one song, “Every song I’ve ever written has been a love song.”
One element that makes Rovics a poster boy for independent music is the fact that he’s made every one of his songs available for free online. Stating his belief that the music industry is a broken machine — no longer concerned with the quality of what it produces — Rovics has gained a greater fan base through free distribution.
Having spent much time over the past 10 years touring across Europe, Latin America and Asia, he’s gathered an arsenal of material from the experiences and people he’s met along the way. But it’s Rovics’ strong sense of advocacy that is commendable, whether or not you agree with what he says. He sings a number of songs about Palestine and has had tours canceled on him for being “anti-Semitic,” despite his Jewish heritage. Undeterred, however, whenever he’s shut down, Rovics holds strong to his beliefs and has a way with humor that makes his music and his persona approachable. His talent as a musician, with fiery fingers traversing the strings, is equally to his advantage as his humble attitude.
So from concert theatres to union halls, libraries to bars, Rovics has a song for everyone:
Gardening and bicycles? Check. Hugo Chavez and Hugh Thompson? Check. Marijuana and polyamory? Check. Endangered species and pirates? Check.
Filled to the brim with wit and irony, Rovics challenges hypocrisy with an intelligence that’s always refreshing on the political scene.
“Well, plastic forks are fun and paper cups are cool, I like to be on the move when I eat my gruel/ Don’t get me wrong, disposable diapers are fun too/ but my favorite feature of these United States are parking lots and strip malls.”

David Rovics
When: Saturday, April 17, 8 p.m.
Where: Down East Saloon
Tickets: $5
This is a no-smoking show