“Found Space” Finds Space for Reading of Chekhov

Found Space theatre group: Trevor Pendras, Olivia Seward, Emily Cohen, Luke Amundson, Ashley Tiffany, Everett McCracken. Photo: Emily Cohen.

A local, independent theatre group, Found Space Productions, will present a fully-staged reading of Nina Variations by Steven Dietz on Friday, June 1 and Saturday, June 2 at 8 pm at the Live Paint performance space (formerly Toy Boat Theatre). Nina Variations offers 42 short modern variations on a scene from Chekhov’s The Seagull. The company of six actors (Luke Amundson, Emily Cohen, Everett McCracken, Trevor Pendras, Olivia Seward, and Ashley Tiffany) joyfully presents this funny, lively, and poignant little play with 15+ combinations of Ninas and Treplevs.

According to founder and artistic director, Suzy Willhoft, Found Space was established in 2000, “As a way to do plays with Tacoma actors of all ages, an ever-changing ‘company of souls’. We strive to explore deeply, cherishing the joy of rehearsal, and present the works of many playwrights, both well-known and local, using, whenever possible, a site-specific setting. Performances are free of charge and often only given once. Sites have included under the 11th St. Bridge, a truck, a restaurant, a park bench, and an academic office, as well as more traditional theater spaces.”

Performances of Nina Variations are free but seating is limited (not as limited as a park bench, though). Live Paint is located at 1314 MLK Way in Tacoma.

Three Spaceworks Recipients Join Faculty of Campus MLK

The computer lab at FABITAT Expressive Art Center.

It’s an idea so simple as to be brilliant: Marshal five already-effective community-based arts organizations under one banner with a commitment to help underserved youth access experience and education in the visual, literary and performing arts, including one-on-one tutoring and mentoring. The result: Campus MLK. Their online presence says it all: “Block by block, building connections for Hilltop youth to access the best in local culture.”

We’re excited to see what this powerful collective will produce as it develops in the coming months. The five grassroots organizations that form the “faculty” of Campus MLK have the bases covered for starting a rich conversation in the community:

• The award-winning nonprofit, Fab-5, is a proven magnet for creatively inclined youth, cultivating community through urban arts education. The FABITAT Expressive Art Center on MLK Way provides a place where youth from diverse backgrounds can gather, collaborate, learn and share ideas.
• Write@253 is a writing and mentoring center with a mission to inspire the latent writer in everyone, and celebrate the tremendous talents of our community. Inspired by Dave Eggers’ successful San Francisco writing lab, 826 Valencia, Write@253 works within the Tacoma Public Schools and runs a center on Martin Luther King Jr. Way.
• Post Defiance is an online magazine, the latest comer to stir the pot of independent journalism in Tacoma.
• The DASH Center provides quality performing arts instruction, education and mentoring to lower-income families in Tacoma-Pierce County, offering programs to directly counteract gang and drug influences and empower inner city youth.
• The Warehouse is a Tacoma-based production company committed to bringing high-quality music experiences to various locations around the city. The Warehouse showcases both new and established talent, local and otherwise, creating DIY pop-up events in unlikely venues and underused spaces.

Fab-5 and the Warehouse are alumni of Spaceworks Tacoma’s creative residency program; Write@253 are current artists-in-residence.

The Campus MLK website states its mission as such: “Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood is home to dozens of community organizations, agencies, and businesses who offer creative opportunities to our young neighbors: Campus MLK will reach out and share these opportunities in a comprehensive and captivating way, allowing youth to pick and choose, using their neighborhood as a student would a campus.” The Hilltop is a vibrant, dynamic, multifaceted community and this sounds like a potent concoction for creative learning – stay tuned.

Can’t Get Enough of the Arts in Tacoma?

…Then check out Spaceworks’ sister blog, Tacoma Arts. We cover the visual arts, music, performance and literary arts in the city. Be a part of the creative culture of the South Sound. Come on over to TA.

Post of the Week…

Our quick-witted mayor, Marilyn Strickland, posted this gem on Spaceworks Tacoma’s Facebook page, May 18: “En route to a meeting at the Hotel Murano I was reminded that it does take a village.”

We Want to Hear from You: Arts Advocacy Meeting

We are starting a series of community-wide conversations focused on what the arts are and should be in Tacoma.

Our community is made up of individual artists, grassroots organizations, large organizations and everything in-between. We want your voice at the table and to hear about your concerns, suggestions, and input as we move forward in developing a long-term, proactive plan intent on creating positive cultural policy and sustainable funding for the current and future arts and culture needs of Tacoma.

The first meeting will be held in tandem with the Washington State Arts Alliance’s monthly meeting in Tacoma:

Pierce County Arts Advocacy Meeting
Wednesday, May 23, 2011
747 Market Street – 9th floor, Visibility Center
Downtown Tacoma
Meeting is 12:45 to 1:30 pm

We strongly encourage you to attend, if possible, and join in the conversation.

Spring Shakespeare Showcase May 21 at Broadway Center

Those wacky thespians: Adult Ensemble 915 taking ten. Photo: Emily Cohen.

The Broadway Center Conservatory will present the Spring Shakespeare Showcase on Monday, May 21, 6-9 pm. This three-hour extravaganza includes two programs: “Pieces of Virtue”, a series of short scenes from 11 Shakespeare plays performed by Adult Ensemble 915; and a 45-minute adaptation of “The Tempest” performed by the Young Actors’ Ensemble. “Pieces of Virtue” is the culmination of a 10-week acting intensive taught by Spaceworks alumni Marilyn Bennett at the Broadway Center this spring.

The public is welcome to attend one or both programs; admission is free but donations are greatly appreciated. Here’s the scoop:

Rachel Lionheart and Gabriel McPherson in “Othello”. Photo: Emily Cohen.

6 pm – Young Actors’ Ensemble’s “The Tempest”, directed by Scott Campbell. Seven intrepid young actors perform every role in an abridged version of Shakespeare’s play

6:50 pm –  Intermission. Complimentary coffee, tea and cookies

7:10 pm –  Ensemble 915: Mangy Dog Players present “Pieces of Virtue: Shakescenes high and low” directed by Marilyn Bennett. Twelve actors of a combined 150 years experience interpret 17 engaging moments from 11 of The Bard’s plays

8:15 pm –  Reception for companies and guests; complimentary appetizers, desserts, beverages

Broadway Center is located at the corner of 9th and Broadway in downtown Tacoma. To get to 915 Studio #3, take the silver elevator from the street just south of the Broadway Center Ticket booths on Broadway; go to the 3rd floor, studio is straight ahead.

“Queering the (Art) Museum” Events in Seattle and Tacoma

“Coding/Uncoding”: new work by Holly Senn.

Don’t miss the opening reception for Hide//Seek//Difference//Desire//Northwest, a group exhibition opening at The Space (720 Court C in Tacoma) on Saturday, May 12, 7:30-10 pm. This show is a local-level response to the acclaimed and controversial traveling exhibition HIDE/SEEK: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture currently on display at the Tacoma Art Museum. Curated by Erin Bailey, the exhibit features 19 local artists from the Pacific Northwest including Holly Senn, Amy Ryken, Rafael Soldi, Sabina Sun, Julia Barbee, Erin Oly, T-Town Transgender Neighbors, Clyde Petersen, Sharon Styer, Cody Blomberg, Leigh Riibe, Ric Hall/Ron Schmitt, Abby Lazerow, Steffen Minner, #1 Must Have Zine, Rebecca Maxim, Zephyr Elise, Lauren Faulkner. The result is a thought-provoking portrait of Pacific Northwest queer culture.

Hide//Seek//Difference//Desire//Northwest is part of Queering the (Art) Museum, a weekend of associated events from the Tacoma Art Museum and the Henry Art Gallery in Seattle. Opening reception at The Space will feature performances by Tender Forever; show runs May 12 – July 30, 2012. Other events include a presentation by HIDE/SEEK co-curator Dr. Jonathan Katz at the Henry Art Gallery on Friday night, as well as a symposium plus gallery tour at TAM at 2:30 on May 12. More information at queeringthemuseum.org.

Applications Open for Tacoma Arts Commission

Art by Julian Peña.

The Tacoma City Council invites individuals who are knowledgeable and passionate about the arts (literary, visual and performing) to apply for the Tacoma Arts Commission. If you are interested in supporting, enhancing and providing leadership for the arts in Tacoma, this is a great opportunity.

Tacoma Arts Commission, a body of 15 volunteers, advises the City Council on arts-related projects and allocates funding for a wide range of cultural projects, including grassroots art experiences, individual artists’ works and arts institutions. The commission is also responsible for the oversight of the Municipal Art Program that devotes one percent of capital construction costs to public art. Commissioners play a vital role directing cultural policy, being ambassadors for the arts and supporting programs such as Art at Work: Tacoma Arts Month and the Tacoma Murals Project.

Commission meetings are held at 5 p.m. on the second Monday of each month. Members serve three-year terms and are recommended for appointment by the Council Appointments Committee and confirmed by the City Council.

The Tacoma Arts Commission is especially interested in applicants who live in under-represented parts of the City and bring diversity to the group. To apply, contact Cindy DeGrosse, Mayor’s Office, at (253) 594-7848, or visit http://tacomaculture.org/arts/tac.asp.

Unicorn Petting Zoo at Live Paint, in May

Photo courtesy of Live Paint.

Okay, so there won’t be any unicorns to feed pixie dust-sprinkled carrots to, but little ones will still find plenty of fun at A Kids’ Fairy and Wizard Interactive Theater and Art Event, on May 3, 7, 10, 11, 17 and 18 at Live Paint. For a limited time, tickets are just $8 per session – that’s 50% off! – when you order online. Live Paint is a “family-friendly theatre, art and special events company,” and the brainchild of local educator and actor, Cindy Arnold.

Arnold has been throwing family-friendly creative events all winter at Live Paint’s Spaceworks residency studio on the Hilltop. She’s stepping it up a notch with this event, co-presented by LivingSocial. Check out the invitation, and sign up!

From LivingSocial: “Your little fairy prince or princess has spent afternoons in the garden searching for gnomes and nymphs, but all he or she’s found have been squirrels and spiders. With today’s deal from Live Paint, you can give your darling an enchanted evening, and you don’t even need to search under toadstools. Pay $8 [limited-time only!] for a ticket to a fairy and wizard spring interactive theater and art event for kids (regularly $16). A fun-filled family event geared toward children ages 3 to 8, the spring show shares tales of magical fairies and wizards. Incorporating theater, story, and art, this show takes kids on a journey through a magical forest in need of help. Kids will create a craft project to use as a prop to help save the day, and then take it home. Shows will be held May 3, 7, 10, 11, 17, and 18 at 5:30 p.m. at the colorful studio located on MLK Way. Attending is a great Mother’s Day activity, since even pixies aren’t as magical as bonding with your baby.” Live Paint, 1314 MLK Way in Tacoma. Individual sessions May 3, 7, 10, 11, 17 and 18; info at 206/732-0224 or 253/756-2169.

Landau Associates Delivers the Dirt on Tacoma, Artfully

Landau Associates office staff turned out for the Spaceworks display opening March 30, 2012. Left to right: Theresa Turpin, Eric Weber, Lauren McIntire, Sierra Mott and Sarah Weeks.

For environmental experts, taking a core sample out of the ground may be akin to retrieving a time capsule of an area’s history. And as a recent geo-study by Landau Associates reveals, while growth and development in Tacoma is often described in terms of the changing skyline, some of the city’s most important work over the past 20 years has actually taken place at grade or below the earth’s surface.

Landau Associates, an environmental services and consulting firm, has created a Spaceworks installation at 11th and Commerce that provides a fascinating glimpse into this underground world. Photographs of real core samples collected during subsurface investigations in downtown Tacoma have been enlarged to nearly 400 percent of their actual size, and wrapped around 3-dimensional models. These forms, combined with text and photographs of Tacoma, reveal the physical and mechanical features of the earth below the city’s sidewalks and buildings – and a slice of local history.

Core values: earth samples from downtown Tacoma tell a story of the city's past. Photo courtesy of Landau Associates.

The core samples were taken just down the street from the display at one of Landau Associates’ project sites – the Sauro’s property at 1401 Pacific Avenue. This four-block area possesses a complex social history: It has been used for a mix of commercial and industrial activities since the 1880s with tenants including a dry cleaners, an electroplating company and a hatter’s facility. Investigating the underground conditions at this site helped make it possible for the City to determine if people and the environment were potentially at risk and to develop a strategy for returning the site to beneficial reuse. Most recently, the City has completed a public parking facility which is helping to generate revenue until a larger development plan is prepared for the site and surrounding properties. The Sauro’s property is an example of how cleanup and redevelopment can transform a perceived problem into a community asset.

Tacoma continues to be a success story in the making: Thanks to a multi-agency and multi-disciplinary effort, hundreds of acres of contaminated land are being turned into safe and usable properties for the benefit of all to enjoy.

Landau Associates is an environmental and geotechnical engineering, environmental permitting, and natural resources consulting firm celebrating their 30th anniversary this year with offices in Edmonds, Tacoma, Seattle, Spokane, and Tri-Cities, WA and Portland, OR. Their Spaceworks installation is at 11th and Commerce through June 30, 2012.