Screening benefits festival

A screening of a prizewinning new film, “Buck Alamo (or a Phantasmagorical Ballad),” will have a screening at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 18, at Vashon Theatre.

The screening, presented by Vashon Film Institute, will be a benefit for the second annual Vashon Island Film Festival. The festival is set to unspool Aug. 10-13, also at Vashon Theatre.

“Buck Alamo,” an award-winner at the Austin Film Festival, follows the dream-like final days of a cosmic cowboy, Buck (Sonny Carl Davis). The film also stars Lorelei Linklater (“Boyhood), and two-time Oscar nominee Bruce Dern (“Nebraska”).

The film’s director, Benjamin Epstein, will join islander Mark Sayre — the film’s distributor and an organizer of the Vashon Island Film Festival, for a post-screening discussion. Watch the trailer and purchase tickets at vashontheatre.com.

The Witch of Edmonton

“The Witch of Edmonton” will be performed at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 19 and 20, and 1 p.m. Sunday, May 21, at Vashon High School’s theater. Madness, murder, and even the old English folk tradition of Morris dancing are all in the mix in a new student-written production.

Penned by VHS senior Phoebe Ray, “The Witch of Edmonton” re-imagines a 1621 English Jacobean play of the same name. Last August, Ray was commissioned to write the show by Andy James, who is closing out his second year as the theater teacher at VHS. The cast includes 15 VHS students.

Viewer discretion is advised, due to graphic violence and strong language. Tickets, available for purchase at the door, are $12 for general admission, and $10 for students.

Bach Festival

The Salish Sea Early Music Festival will continue with its May presentation of music by Johann Sebastian Bach, in a concert at 12 p.m. Monday, May 22, at the Church of the Holy Spirit, on Vashon. The program will include Cantata 209 “Non sa che sia dolore,” Suite No. 2 in B Minor and Brandenburg Concerto No. 5.

Performers will include Maike Albrecht (soprano), Hans-Jürgen Schnoor (harpsichord), Jeffrey Cohan (baroque flute), Carrie Krause (violin), Elisabeth Phelps (violin), Lindsey Strand-Polyak (viola) and Adaiha Macadam-Somer (cello). Admission is “pay what you can” with a suggested donation of $20 to $25; youth 18 and younger are admitted free.

Whim W’Him Dance

The acclaimed Seattle dance troupe, Whim W’Him, will present “Spring ‘23,” a dance concert featuring new creations by three renowned choreographers, at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 24, at Vashon Center for the Arts.

Emilie Leriche, a French-American choreographer based in Sweden, performs with GöteborgsOperans Danskompani and was a 2015 Princess Grace Award winner.

Rauf Yasit, also known as rubberlegz, is the creator of an original movement language that breaks down barriers between dance genres. Born and raised in Germany, Yasit is now a Los Angeles-based choreographer, director, dancer and visual artist.

In his third new work of the season, Whim W’Him founder and artistic director Olivier Wevers continues to explore his fluid movement language and theatricality, which makes Whim W’Him a standout amongst contemporary dance companies.

Find out more and purchase tickets at vashoncenterforthearts.org. Youth 18 and younger will be admitted free to the performance.

Nominate a poet

The call for nominations for Vashon Poet Laureate is due on June 1, with the new laureate announced in late June. Self-nominations are welcome. Submit three pages only (200 words about the poet and two poems only). Email questions and nominations to spiers@centurytel.net. The title is honorary only. There are no funds and no duties. Each laureate can rest on their laurels or create programs and represent poetry on the island and afar. Selectors are past laureates and other islanders.

Midsummer Night’s Dream

Vashon Center for Dance’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” will be performed at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, June 2 and 3, with matinees at 3 p.m. Saturday, June 3, and 4 p.m. Sunday, June 4, at Vashon Center for the Arts.

While the show will diverge in some ways from Shakespeare’s classic tale, fans of the play will still see a host of beloved characters, including Titania, Bottom, Puck, Oberon, and Hippolyta, each adorned in Kate Guinee’s unforgettable costuming.

Get tickets at vashoncenterforthearts.org.