Arts Briefs

A playreading of “Skin,” Studio Art Tour is back, Nutcracker to bow at Kay White Hall, and more.

November 17, 2022 1:30 am
(Left) “Goose,” an oil on panel painting by Hartmut Reimnitz. (Top center) Lisa Witherspoon, who creates jewelry out of a storybook studio in Dockton, will show her work in VIVA’s Holiday Studio Tour. (Top right) Cathy Sarkowsky, Pink Moon Quilt (1), a work on paper, can be seen with more local artists work on VIVA’s Holiday Art Tour, coming up the first two weekends in December. (Bottom right) “Skin” is the latest play to get a reading in Vashon Repertory Theatre’s ongoing series of readings (Courtesy Photos).
(Left) “Goose,” an oil on panel painting by Hartmut Reimnitz. (Top center) Lisa Witherspoon, who creates jewelry out of a storybook studio in Dockton, will show her work in VIVA’s Holiday Studio Tour. (Top right) Cathy Sarkowsky, Pink Moon Quilt (1), a work on paper, can be seen with more local artists work on VIVA’s Holiday Art Tour, coming up the first two weekends in December. (Bottom right) “Skin” is the latest play to get a reading in Vashon Repertory Theatre’s ongoing series of readings (Courtesy Photos).

Playreading of “Skin”

At 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 21, Vashon Repertory Theatre’s (VRT) Incubator Play reading series will presents two stories in “Skin”— one historical fact, the other contemporary fiction.

The true story is that of Jeoly, a young man from the Philippines, who was kidnapped and enslaved by a British captor who paraded him about as a freak, due to his intricate tribal tattoos. The play’s intention is to investigate the colonization of tattoos as an art form.

After Jeoly’s death, in his early 20s, from contracting a disease from which he had no immunity, his skin was preserved and displayed in a British history museum, so the public could look at his tattoos — a gruesome display credited with giving Western sailors the idea of receiving tattoos.

Playwright Anamaria Guerzon weaves Jeoly’s tragic story with that of a young Filipino girl, applying for a tattoo internship today.

VRT’s reading of “Skin” is directed by Zenaida Smith and stars Taylor Melville, Ayo Tushinde, Graham Arthur Blair, Chad Sommerville, Eloisa Cardona, and Minki Bai.

Vashon Rep’s Incubator Series of new plays is curated by island playwright Trista Baldwin. All readings are at Vashon Center for the Arts and admission is pay-what-you-can, with a suggested donation of $10.

Studio Art Tour is back

The 2022 Vashon Island Holiday Art Studio Tour will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, Dec. 3-4 and 10-11 — a long-anticipated return to an island tradition which has been on hiatus for the past years, due to COVID restrictions.

The tour is a free, self-guided event, produced by Vashon Island Visual Artists, a membership organization that provides a range of services and opportunities for local artists.

A detailed map and full-color guide to the tour, showing all participating studios, is available at vivartists.com.

The tour got its start in the 1970s as a way to support local artists and offer islanders and visitors an opportunity to shop locally during the holiday season.

This year’s tour includes 38 stops, at studios and local galleries presenting fiber art, glass, jewelry, candles, pottery, tile and mosaic art, photography, sculpture, prints, paintings, and more.

Hardware Store Gallery

Ilse and Hartmut Reimnitz are showing their artwork at The Hardware Store Restaurant Gallery throughout the month of November.

The couple has lived for more than 40 years on Vashon Island, and have opened their studio, Reimnitz Studio One Family’s Art, every year for the island’s Studio Art Tour on Vashon — a tradition they will continue during this year’s Holiday tour.

Nutcracker to bow at Kay White Hall

A holiday tradition at VCA, “The Nutcracker” ballet has been celebrated by islanders every holiday season for decades. Vashon Center for Dance will once again present the beloved ballet for all ages, at 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Dec. 1 and 2, and at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 3 and 4.

Find out more and purchase tickets at vashoncenterforthearts.org.

Joseph Keckler to perform

Joseph Keckler, a singer, writer and multimedia creator, will perform a concert at 7:30 Friday, Dec. 9, at Vashon Center for the Arts. Kicker performs both absurdist operatic monologues and eerie, emotive ballads, often zeroing in on moments of daily life and spinning them as underworld voyages. His performances have been presented by the NPR Tiny Desk concert series, Lincoln Center, the Centre Pompidou, in Paris, and on multiple occasions by Fusebox. His first collection, “Dragon at the Edge of a Flat World,” was published in 2018 by Turtle Point Press. This year, he is an artist in residence at Dartmouth College and the Ringling Museum of Art. He is currently working on films, a new video series, and recordings.

Purchase tickets and find out more at vashoncenterforthearts.org.