Listen up to local theater
A new company, Vashon Repertory Theatre, aims to make a splash in October with two different radio theater productions.
First up, islanders can enjoy the talents of local actors in VRT’s production of “Home” — a set of seven short radio plays that will be broadcast on Voice of Vashon at 8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18, 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21 and 8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25, on Voice of Vashon. Listeners can access the show at voiceofvashon.org, under the “Shows” tab.
“Home” debuted at vashoncenterforthearts.org, on Oct. 8, with a cast including Ming Montgomery, Emily Bruce, Mik Kuhlman, Michael Shook, Amy Broomhall, Kat Eggelston, Kate Dowling, Cate O’Kane, Tami Brockway Joyce, Sarah Overman, Yuto Yawata, Rowin Breaux, Jeanne Dougherty, Brian Tyrrell, Ronnie Hill, Susan McCabe and Paul Shapiro.
The plays that make up “Home” — each with small casts — come from all over the world. Playwrights include two Vashon writers (Trista Baldwin and Bill Wood), one from Seattle, one from Olympia, and others from Kentucky, New York and New Zealand. The show was produced in partnership with Northwest Playwrights Alliance.
Foley and sound effects — so important to the radio drama experience — were spearheaded by Michael Golen Johnson.
The group’s second production, “War of the Worlds,” will premiere at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, on Vashon Center for the Arts’ Facebook page and vashoncenterforthearts.org.
“War of the Worlds,” a play about an alien invasion, was first broadcast as a radio drama on Oct. 30, 1938, and was narrated and directed by Orson Welles. The show, mistaken by many to be a news broadcast, caused nationwide panic.
Today’s listeners might find some contemporary themes in the script — such as the United States being dominated by powerful external forces, the dangers of complacency in the face of existential threats, the impulse of politicians to downplay real danger and, most of all, the power of the media.
This production, its presenters said, is a perfect pandemic opportunity to gather the family around the computer, just as families gathered around the radio in 1938, to watch and hear the creation of a classic thriller and just get lost in the magic of radio.
Vashon Repertory Theatre was founded this year by local theater artist Charlotte Tiencken. She hopes to provide a series of socially relevant plays, performed by the company in repertory, that will not only entertain, but also spark discussion and debate about important topics.
Breathe deeper with yoga
Nyn Grey, of The DOVE Project, a domestic violence advocacy organization, will explore ways to nurture and fortify mind and body in the age of coronavirus, in a program presented by The Vashon Senior Center.
Grey will lead two guided meditations with easy breathing practices, as well as demonstrate ways to balance the nervous system based on Ayurvedic medicine at 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16. For the Zoom meeting number as well as other Senior Center programs, please log onto vashoncenter.org/virtual-activities.
Call for miniature art from VCA
Vashon Center for the Arts has announced a call for art for its 14th annual Miniature Show.
The deadline is Thursday, November 12, at 12 a.m. Pacific Time. Art will be exhibited at VCA from Dec. 4 to 23. The details and application form can be found at vashoncenterforthearts.org/gallery/artist-calls.
The only rule is that all two-dimensional pieces must be at most 6 inches by 6 inches (or 36 square inches) or 6 inches by 6 inches by 6 inches for three-dimensional work. The call is open to all artists and all forms of media who can submit up to three pieces of art to be considered.
Unlike other art shows in which art stays in the gallery until the end of the exhibition, all miniature art will be available for the buyer to take home upon purchase and gift to others during the winter holidays.
