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2009 Spotlight Award: Ray Tagavilla
Actor Ray Tagavilla steals the show on small stages.
NAME: Ray TagavillaART FORM: TheaterWEB SITE: Look him up on Facebook.comNEXT UP: Tagavilla may perform at Capitol Hill’s Balagan Theatre in October; check balagantheatre.org Anyone who saw Washington Ensemble Theatre’s exquisite production of The Mistakes Madeline Made last February knows Ray Tagavilla—even if they don’t remember his name. The 31-year-old actor played Wilbur, the weird,…
2009 Spotlight Award: Karen Finneyfrock
Poet Karen Finneyfrock is queen of the spoken word.
NAME: Karen FinneyfrockART FORM: PoetryWEB SITE: finneyfrock.wordpress.comNEXT UP: Regular appearances with the Seattle Poetry Slam (seattlepoetryslam.org) at Spitfire downtown, 2219 Fourth Ave. Wednesdays, 8 p.m. $5 Anyone still unsure of exactly what spoken word poetry is should ask Karen Finneyfrock, the Seattle poet who, in 2006, was honored as a slam “Legend” at the National…
2009 Spotlight Award: Ellie Sandstrom
Dancer Ellie Sandstrom takes moving and shaking to the max.
NAME: Ellie SandstromART FORM: DanceWEB SITE: sandstrommovement.comNEXT UP: Performing with Locust and AMYO/Tiny Rage at Portland’s TBA Festival 9/3–9/13; see her Web site for additional appearances Watching Ellie Sandstrom dance is like watching a spider wrap a fresh kill in its web—it’s fascinating and a little frightening to witness something so precise, innate and powerful….
2009 Spotlight Award: Bao Tran
Filmmaker Bao Tran busts stereotypes on screen.
NAME: Bao tranART FORM: FilmWEB SITE: bookiethemovie.comNEXT UP: See Black Coffee on the big screen at Bumbershoot’s One Reel film festival 9/5–9/7; Also this month, watch Bookie online at bookiethemovie.com “I’m an old person in a young person’s body,” asserts local filmmaker Bao Tran. It’s a little hard to believe at first glance, given Tran’s…
2008 Spotlight Award: Zoe Scofield
Choreographer Zoe Scofield isn't afraid to dig in the dirt, creating imagery that connects with some
In the beginning, she was just in it for the tutu. As a young girl, choreographer Zoe Scofield coveted the scratchy pink skirt her older sister earned as a reward for completing a ballet class. She made it her mission to earn her own, and in the process learned she loved living in fantasy—even if…
2008 Spotlight Award: Lucia Neare
Lucia Neare’s theatrical wonders invite audiences into a beautiful, whimsical world.
If you were one of the estimated 10,000 people who happened to be near the Harbor Steps last May Day, you have already experienced one of artist Lucia Neare’s self-described “theatrical wonders.” The two-hour spectacle, Ooo-La-La, was inspired by the question, “What if we put love in the air in downtown Seattle, just for a few…
2008 Spotlight Award: Lynn Shelton
Seattle independent filmmaker Lynn Shelton finds that making a movie “in an upside-down way” lands h
“Do you consider yourself mumblecore?” The question was lobbed from the back of the Egyptian Theatre, over the heads of a full-house crowd, during the Q&A session at the 2008 Seattle International Film Festival premiere of Lynn Shelton’s feature film My Effortless Brilliance. From the stage, hand over her eyes to block the lights, the…
2008 Spotlight Award: Diem Chau
Diem Chau uses ordinary objects to create extraordinary art.
When Diem Chau wanders through thrift stores, she hears a cacophony of voices: A ceramic rice bowl whispers of family dinners, a porcelain teacup betrays shared confidences, a sturdy mug evokes memories of staying home sick and sipping Campbell’s soup. “I love more traditional techniques and mediums, but at some point I just found that…
2007 Spotlight Award Winners
Our picks for theater and arts top five arts talents of the year.
When it comes to big local art news, we all know it’s been Seattle Art Museum’s year. This past January the Olympic Sculpture Park opened, ushering in a brave new era of public art in Seattle. May marked the spring of SAM, so to speak, with the unveiling of the museum’s thoughtful downtown expansion. While…
2007 Spotlight Award: Greg Lundgren
Greg Lundgren is not an influential artist.
On a sunny afternoon last May, a Seattle mother had a perplexing conversation with her 6-year-old daughter at the Olympic Sculpture Park. Standing in front of a bright white swing set, she tried to explain to the puzzled little girl that the structure–a standard piece of playground equipment–was, in fact, not a swing set. The…
2007 Spotlight Award: Marya Sea Kaminski
Local theater pro Marya Sea Kaminski can do it all.
Much of the buzz surrounding Seattle Repertory Theatre’s controversial spring 2007 production, My Name Is Rachel Corrie, centered around a singular question: How to define its real-life title character’s refusal to settle for the status quo? For the play’s one and only actor, however, the answer was simple. “She was a hero, but not for…
2007 Spotlight Award: KT Niehoff
Choreographer KT Niehoff brings contemporary dance to the people.
KT Niehoff isn’t normally the life of a party. Throw her into a roomful of strangers, she says, and she feels deeply uncomfortable. But turn said room into a raw, light-filled dance studio and said party into Inhabit—the charmingly disarming interactive piece she created and performed with her local contemporary dance company, Lingo, last May—and…
2007 Spotlight Award: Seattle Art Museum
Meet the behind-the-scenes heroes at SAM.
If the Seattle Art Museum had sat in psychotherapy five years ago, its diagnosis would have been simple: Patient suffered from severe identity crisis. With a collection that was neither encyclopedic nor specialized–and trapped in an outdated building–SAM was best defined by a sense of fragmentation. To quote Gertrude Stein out of context, there was…
Brangien’s Weekend Arts Round Up
I’ll be making my second appearance on New Day Northwest tomorrow (11 a.m. on King 5), filling in for ArtZone arts maven Nancy Guppy, and giving viewers a to-do list of arty events this weekend. It’s supposed to be sunny (yeah, I’ll believe it when I see it), so most of them are outdoors. Tune…
Must Watch: Tour de France at Cafe Presse
If you’re a Francophile or a bicyclist, you’ve probably spent at least some time this month watching men in spandex race their way through the French countryside. Lucky for Tour de France fans, Cafe Presse is offering up a much needed escape from bite-sized ESPN recaps. Starting at 7 a.m. tomorrow, Friday and Saturday, you can belly up to the bar…
March to Marché with Greg Atkinson; Momiji Brings Sushi to the Corridor
March to MarchéWhen the news broke last fall that Greg Atkinson, the former Canlis chef and Seattle Culinary Academy instructor and current cookbook author, would be heading back into a restaurant kitchen at Kailash, local foodies were abuzz. But while that concept died, another idea was brewing. Atkinson will open Restaurant Marché, a bistro focusing…
Road Trip to Winthrop
Winthrop welcomes all comers—from fiddlers to insect wranglers.
WHERE: Winthrop, Washington, in the Methow Valley. WHY: For the BIG NORTH CASCADES OLDTIME FIDDLERS CONTEST (8/27. $15; kids younger than 12 are free. Spring Creek Ranch, 22 Belsby Road; 509.996.2111; winthropfiddle.org), where you’ll celebrate American folk music via hardcore fiddling competitions for all age divisions, from Pee-Wee to Senior. BRING: Your own insect or…
The Local Renaissance Faire Gets a Makeover
Regal knights, saucy wenches and eye-pacthed pirates.
The Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire cometh—now with pirates! This year, in addition to ye olde lineup of regal knights, saucy wenches and creepy jesters, organizers have added eye-patched, “arrrg”-spewing mateys to the mix. We suspect it’s a blatant attempt to widen the crowd appeal, and we’ve got a few ideas of our own for how…
Seattle’s Third Wave of Fro-Yo
Frozen yogurt is back, and this time, every ounce counts.
You may remember Seattle’s last frozen yogurt explosion back in 2008, when national chains like Pinkberry and Red Mango hit town and spawned countless imitators. Way back then, it was all about the flavor—frozen yogurt that actually tasted tart, like yogurt (as opposed to previous ice cream imitators a la TCBY). Now fro-yo is back…
So You Want to Own a Boat?
A look at the hidden costs of owning your dream boat.
Thinking about taking the plunge? Here’s a look at what kind of cash you’ll sink into boat ownership—first the purchase price, then the combined annual expenses of insurance, maintenance and moorage. Illustrations by Vidhya Nagarajan Intex Excursion 5 Boat: $450 + $0/year 16-foot Bayliner 160 OB Bowrider: $13,000 + $3,800/year 35-foot Tiara 3500 Sovran LE:…
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