Solo Performance Festival #4 at TOJ

Last Week of Solo Performance Festival

2010-03-27T13:59:00.001-07:00

SPF #4 is in it's last week of performances! Don't miss the great shows left in the festival!Tickets: http://bit.ly/spf4tix
Saturday March 27:Jake's Gift by Julia Van Stralen
Gunpowder by J. MacDonald
10pm LATE NIGHT at The Canoe Social Club at Theatre Off Jackson:
Monologue Slam (improvised monologue competition - come compete or witness the fun)
hosted by Kevin Kent and Jennifer Jasper

Monday March 29:
The Dwellers by Jonah Von Spreecken
Cooking with Peggy Platt

Tuesday March 30:
Worse Places by Erin Jorgensen
Demonstrate the Place of My Abode by Lisa Koch

Wednesday March 31:
Worse Places by Erin Jorgensen
Kitty in The City by Jeff Freiders
Not. Stable. At All. by Paul Budraitis (a dded by popular demand)

Thursday April 1 - Saturday April 3
Middle by Jennifer Jasper
Ben DeLaCreme's Piece de Resistance: (the piece she should have resisted) by Ben DeLaCreme
Ernie Von Schmaltz: The Total Package by Ernie Von Schmaltz (Anna Allen)

Sunday April 4:
Added by popular demand: Demonstrate The Place of My Abode by Lisa Koch

Show Descriptions & Performer Bios in alphabetical order

Ben DeLaCreme's Piece de Resistance! (the piece she should have resisted)

April 1, 2, 3
At last Seattle's terminally delightful star of stage and street shares the secrets that have tricked dozens of audience members into enjoying her company. Join DeLaCreme as she peels back the outer layers of makeup and artifice to reveal the makeup and artifice within.

Ben DeLaCreme has appeared in theaters and nightclubs from coast to coast ever since the fateful day in 2002 when she realized that normally unsavory behavior is better received the more makeup one wears. Hailed by The Stranger as "the reason live performance was invented," DeLaCreme combines her background in the performing & visual arts with a love of spectacle, glamour, and Saturday morning cartoons to create a thick sludge of sparkly entertainment certain to stick to your ribs. Favorite local venues include The Triple Door, ACT Theater, Theater Off Jackson and West Hall where DeLaCreme produces and directs the annual seasonal spectacle HOMO for the Holidays. You may recognize DeLaCreme from her engagement as the in-house MC at the award winning Can Can Cabaret, as an instructor at the Academy of Burlesque, or as the drunk you've avoided any number of places. Ben DeLaCreme doesn't miss a moment of Seattle's rainy season, but escapes that nasty two months of sunshine by summering in Provincetown, MA with The Atomic Bombshells.

Demonstrate the Place of My Abode by Lisa Koch
March 9, 12, 17, 30
Stories of a funny father, the music he inspired, and a quirky look at life and death.

An irreverent Seattle singer/actor/comedian, Lisa Koch has released four solo recordings, is one-half of loony sketch-comedy duo, Dos Fallopia (Ham for the Holidays, My Breasts Are Out of Control), and is an alumnus of cult quartet Venus Envy (I'll Be A Homo for Xmas). She performs at folk and comedy festivals all over the world, and has shared the stage with Steve Martin, Dave Brubeck, Suzanne Westenhoefer, Kate Clinton, and Janis Ian. Lisa has co-written such warped cabaret shows as The Carpeters: Uncomfortably Close To You, Déjà Poo, and Ham for the Holidays: Lard Potion No 9. She has toured two one-woman shows (Two’s Company, I’m a Crowd, Return to Planet Lisa) and regional theater credits include The Vagina Monologues (Phoenix Theatre) Dirty Blonde (AZ Theatre Co.) and as the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz (5th Ave Theatre). She is the composer of a recent Off-Broadway musical about Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas (27, Rue de Fleurus), published by Samuel French. She performs regularly on Olivia Cruises, has been seen on LOGO, and her latest CD, Tall Cool Drink contains the internet hit, “I’m a Middle-Aged Woman.” http://www.heylisa.com/

The Dwellers by Jonah Von Spreecken
March 4, 8, 17, 19, 29
There is a building where the floors are thinner than the walls. The residents' shoes populate the lobby as there is a no-shoes ordinance past level one. A young man lives amongst the piles of shoes, and takes charge of making them not so empty all the time.

Gunpowder by J. MacDonald
March 25, 26, 27

Jake’s Gift by Julia Van Stralen
March 25, 26, 27
Jake’s Gift is a surprisingly funny drama about a WWII veteran's reluctant return to Normandy, France, for the 60th Anniversary of D-Day. While there Jake meets Isabelle, a precocious 10-year-old from the local village, whose inquisitive nature and charm challenge the old soldier to confront some long ignored ghosts. Most notably, the wartime death of his eldest brother, Chester, a once promising young musician. This multi-award winning show has been described as "an acting tour de force not to be missed," and will stay with you long after the lights go down.

Julia Van Stralen was born into a very active theatre family in Birmingham, England and moved to Canada when she was three years old. She grew up in Montreal, and received an education degree from McGill University before heading out west in 1993 to pursue acting and writing. In 1995 she started doing just that with Victoria’s Theatre SKAM, and has since worked with many other theatre companies across Canada. Since 2007, Julia has toured Jake's Gift to rave reviews at theatres and festivals across Canada.

Kitty in The City by Jeff Frieders
March 12, 20, 22, 31
A story about Ronney Bridestar, owner and operator of "Kitty in the City Beauty Bar and Day Spa for Feline Friends by Ronney Bridestar." This full length piece chronicles Ronney's journey toward success as he struggles to distinguish between fantasy and reality.

Jeff Frieders is thrilled to be making his SPF debut. Kitty in the City was originally produced as a senior thesis at Cornish College of the Arts. It was most recently work-shopped in Wisconsin during an internship with Milwaukee Repertory Theater and is preparing to tour the Canadian fringe circuit. Recent credits include Gus in The River Why (Book-It Repertory) and Ferdinand in The Tempest (Seattle Shakespeare). Jeff is excited to be working with the hilarious and talented Chelsea Anderson and sends his love to his family and his beautiful partner, Erika.

Late Night Monologue Slam: Hosted by Kevin Kent
at Canoe Social Club - above Theatre Off Jackson
March 13 & 27 - 10pm
Selected performers compete in a winner-takes-all showdown where the audience and local celebrity judges pick the fiercest most daring solo performer. Hosted by Teatro Zinzanni's Kevin Kent.

Middle by Jennifer Jasper

April 1, 2, 3

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to grow up in a house with five girls with a mother with a propensity for falling down, a father who doesn’t really like children, and a grandfather whose hobby is making dildos? Well, this is Jennifer Jasper’s life. She has a unique and hilarious way of telling these stories. And the most disturbing part…they’re all true. Performed improvisationally, she takes you on a journey from growing up as the middle child in a middle class family to the middle of her own mid-life.

Jennifer Jasper has been performing and directing in Seattle for almost 20 years and has performed nationally. She was a co-founder of Kings’ Elephant Theatre (10 years) and co-founder of Pulp Vixens (10 years). Most recently she can be seen hosting burlesque and performing it as well as the scotch-swilling “Maggie”. In 2009 she directed Keefee’s House of Cards and Teensploitation for Printer’s Devil Theatre of which she is a member. Through improvisation she is continuing to develop her stories into a longer form and looks forward to performing them wherever she can.

Not. Stable. At all. By Paul Budraitis
March 6, 10
Uncertainty and instability at a personal and societal level. The spontaneous following of questionable impulses, the impossibility of connection, the mistrust of authority and the presence of chaos and random violence in our lives. Paul Budraitis dives into these themes and takes his audience on a ride that is part punk-rebellion and part narrative rollercoaster.

Paul Budraitis is a director, actor, writer and teacher of acting and stage movement. In Seattle, he has worked with Annex Theatre, New City Theatre, On the Boards, and the Degenerate Art Ensemble. Paul recieved his master's degree in theatre from the Lithuanian Music and Theatre Academy. Paul worked with innovative Finnish director Kristian Smeds on a contemporary re-imagining of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard. Paul's recent director credits include David Mamet's Edmond at Balagan Theatre. As a teacher, Paul has worked as a lecturer in the acting and directing faculty of the LMTA, teaching acting and stage movement.He has also taught the “biomechanics” technique of Russian theatre director Vsevelod Meyerhold at the LMTA, as well as to students at the Iceland Academy of the Arts in Reykjavik, Iceland.

The Total Package: A Journey Into Manhood by Ernie Von Schmaltz (Anna Allen)
April 1, 2, 3
Take a ride on the mustache express with this hilarious gender-bending guide to masculinity! Ernie Von Schmaltz leads this 30 minute excerpted show demonstrating the finer points of being a man. Using dance, song, film, humor and flow charts, you will experience a transformative seminar like no other.

Ernie Von Schmaltz is a ladies man. Ahead of the curve (in fact so far, he’s coming around from behind again) Ernie is a true renaissance dude. Known as The Man, The Myth, The Mustache, Ernie is a dancing, emceeing sex machine that’s been pushing the edge of Seattle’s burlesque scene since 2005. Ernie is the regular host of Seattle’s Dr. Sketchy’s anti- art school, was recently featured in burlesque films A Wink and a Smile and Waxie Moon. He has appeared many times all over the northwest and at national burlesque conventions.

The character behind the character is Anna Allen. Anna grew up in a small northern California town enjoying theatre, dance and costumed expression. In college, she minored in theatre arts and took every physical movement and acting class she could get her hands on.After relocating to Seattle in 1996, Anna sought out fringe theatre (EXITheatre) and was a founding member of a Seattle comedy improv group (Comedy Court). Post improv, she found burlesque at the Academy of Burlesque and began developing her personae. She also helped found Seattle’s award winning comedy burlesque power trio The Von Foxies in mid 2004. In 2009, The Von Foxies said goodbye and Anna is now pursuing a solo burlesque career.

Monologue Slam: KEVIN DARES YOU

2010-03-26T16:47:00.000-07:00

A message from Kevin Kent, host of the fabulous Monologue Slams:

Monologue Slam this Saturday Night - 11PM go time.

Come at 10.45 to sign up as a contestant and have a drink - you may need it.

Fou Fou & Babette (Kevin Kent & Jennifer Jasper) are back, and they are going....

Once more into the breech, or perhaps, your Breeches!, Dear Friends with the 2nd Monologue Slam of the Festival.

Come compete for wonderful prizes - including two tickets to Teatro Zinzanni. (That's a super prize, folks--and all you need to do is slam some monologues!)

No Prior Experience Necessary - All improv all the time.

Bhama Roget was the winner of the last go-round, come try to wrest her title from her. She dare you, Fool!

Monologue Slam: 11pm, Canoe Club (above Theater Off Jackson), Saturday March 27th.

Interview and preview of Gin Hammond's Returning the Bones

2010-03-18T10:46:00.001-07:00

Here's an interview from Freehold's Spring Newsletter, with Gin Hammond, author and performer of Returning the Bones.

Returning the Bones with Gin Hammond

Gin Hammond is an actor, writer, producer and Freehold faculty member. Gin's play RETURNING THE BONES is based on the true story of her aunt, an African American doctor, Caroline Beatrice Montier, (aka "Bebe") now 84. After being invited to finish her medical degree in Europe shortly after WWII, Bebe has to choose between staying in the South (and continuing to risk her life in the fight for Civil Rights), or escaping to Paris to live a life she's always dreamed of.

Gin, can you share with our readers what inspired and motivated you to write and perform Returning the Bones?

When I was growing up I hadn't heard much about my Aunt Carolyn (aka Auntie Bebe). We didn't grow up near any relatives. In my 20's, I realized how ridiculous it was that my nuclear family was pretty much all the family that I knew. I didn't like feeling cut off from my own history. I was compelled to find out more about where I come from. I was very nervous about facing rejection, about being the wierdo relative who shows up out of nowhere, but it was worth the risk. My Aunt Carolyn was very welcoming to me and generous with the family stories, and spending time with her made it easier for me to eventually connect with the rest of my extended family.

To read more, click here: Freehold Newsletter.

And watch a preview of Returning the Bones:

Gin Hammond performs Returning the Bones this Friday and Saturday (click on each day to buy tickets!).

Second half of Festival - Calendar Update!

2010-03-16T12:05:00.000-07:00

We're half way through the Solo Performance Festival - with some amazing performances behind us and fantastic performances ahead! For advance tickets, visit our page on Brown Paper Tickets.

Wednesday March 17:
Demonstrate the Place of My Abode by Lisa Koch
The Dwellers by Jonah Von Spreecken

Thursday March 18:
Kitty in the City by Jeff Frieders
Traveling Panties by Mike Harris
Your Own Personal Alcatraz by Suzanne Morrison

Friday March 19:
The Dwellers by Jonah Von Spreecken
Returning the Bones by Gin Hammond

Saturday March 20:
Kitty in the City by Jeff Freiders
Returning The Bones by Gin Hammond

Monday March 22:
Kitty in the City by Jeff Freiders
The Price is Not Right by Carrie McIntyre
Traveling Panties by Mike Harris

Tuesday March 23:
Best in Shorts
Blue's Not Black by David Schmader
De: Colores: Flying with Color by Ben Gonio
No Game by Noah Benezra
Rapid Slippage Along a Fault by Keira McDonald
What You are Unaware of is This by Tina Kunz Rowley
Shall I Compare Waxie to a Summer's Day by Waxie Moon
Little Boy in Flames by Giuseppe Ribaudo
Jam by Peggy Platt

Thursday March 25 - Saturday March 27
Jake's Gift by Julia Van Stralen
Gunpowder by J. MacDonald

Saturday March 27:
10pm LATE NIGHT at The Canoe Social Club at Theatre Off Jackson:
Monologue Slam (improvised monologue competition - come compete or witness the fun)
hosted by Kevin Kent and Jennifer Jasper

Monday March 29:
The Dwellers by Jonah Von Spreecken
Cooking with Peggy Platt

Tuesday March 30:
Worse Places by Erin Jorgensen
Demonstrate the Place of My Abode by Lisa Koch

Wednesday March 31:
Worse Places by Erin Jorgensen
Kitty in The City by Jeff Freiders
Added by popular demand: Not. Stable. At All. by Paul Budraitis

Thursday April 1 - Saturday April 3
Middle by Jennifer Jasper
Ben DeLaCreme's Piece de Resistance: (the piece she should have resisted) by Ben DeLaCreme
Ernie Von Schmaltz: The Total Package by Ernie Von Schmaltz (Anna Allen)

Sunday April 4:
Added by popular demand: Demonstrate The Place of My Abode by Lisa Koch

Tickets on sale now - click here.

Bhama Roget wins first late night monologue slam

2010-03-15T22:20:00.000-07:00

Seattle actor, Bhama Roget, won the Solo Performance Festival's March 13 Monologue Slam this last weekend and challenges you to join her for the next one!

On her win, Roget writes, "Winning the monologue slam was surely one of the highlights of my career. I was especially honored to be in the company of such esteemed talents as Kevin Kent, Jennifer Jasper, and my fellow nominees. That said, I challenge any of you to come join me on the 27th, and attempt to pry my title from my catlike claws. Bring it!"

TPS Members can save $2 in advance or at the door with code word TPS (must show TPS card at box office).

Come participate or just witness the fun with local actors, Teatro Zinzanni's Kevin Kent, the incredible Jennifer Jasper and celebrity guests as they join together in the Canoe Social Club at Theatre Off Jackson.

Full event details here at Brown Paper Tickets.

Already going?

Join our facebook page and spread the word!

Can't make it but think your friends should check it out or compete? Spread the word!

Photo - one of our hosts, Jennifer Jasper at the last Monologue Slam:

Keira & Tamara: Video!

2010-03-14T16:04:00.000-07:00

Curator Keira McDonald talks with Tamara Ober, the Minnesota-based artist behind the dance piece Pipa. They talk about Ober's experiences here in Seattle, what she thinks of SPF, and the opportunities that can come out of solo performance.

Keira steals some time from Michael Harris on Vimeo.

Videos are here!

2010-03-14T10:07:00.000-07:00

Here is curator Keira McDonald interviewing a patron from last weekend.

Keira interviews an audience member from Michael Harris on Vimeo.

Lisa Koch's Demonstrate the Place of My Abode

2010-03-12T12:53:00.000-08:00

A letter from the Board President of Theatre Off Jackson:

I'm writing because I would love for you to come see Lisa’s new show at SPF. I caught it earlier this week and can’t stop thinking about it. It’s a beautiful, loving tribute and a frank look at helping those you love through death. I honestly feel transformed and think it’s one of the best shows I’ve seen. She’s put everything she has into it, and we can all relate to her story.

Lisa’s father was diagnosed with a pretty advanced cancer in January 2009, and passed away a few short months later. An Oregon resident, he inquired about the Death With Dignity law and wanted to explore his options. Washington passed a similar law last year, and so far we’re the only two states to do so. This is a poignant story about courage, love and laughter. I can't recommend it highly enough, and wish I possessed the eloquence to describe it justly.

There are 3 more shows:

Fri 3/12 – paired with Suzanne Morrison’s Your Own Personal Alcatraz (growing up with Ted Bundy!) and Jeff Frieder’s Kitty In the City

Weds 3/17 – paired with Jonah Von Spreecken’s The Dwellers

Tues 3/30 – Paired with Erin Jorgensen’s Worse Places

Amanda Slepski
Board President
Theatre Off Jackson

Compete or just witness our Monologue Slams with Kevin Kent & Jennifer Jasper

2010-03-11T11:59:00.000-08:00

SPF Monologue Slam - March 13th & 27th, 10.30 PM
at The Canoe Social Club (right above Theatre Off Jackson)
Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/producer/1693
$10

Danger & Delight on two Saturday Nights!

Come witness the carnage of Solo Performance Festival's Monologue Slam.

Or join in . . . Use those improvisational skills that your Papa told you would someday get you into trouble. (Let this be the day).

Sign up at 10.30 on the spot to “compete” for fabulous prizes - including Pocket Lint and Two Tickets to Teatro Zinzanni.

How the competition works:
10:30-10:45 signups

Round One Timed Monologues - 30 seconds ea. (Suggestion Optional)

Round Two Timed Monologues - 1 min. (audience provides suggestion of title or surprise sentence insert)

Judging

Round Three the Lightning Round - details at event!

Hosted by Jennifer Jasper & Kevin Kent
Appearing as: Mistress Fou Fou (Kevin Kent of Teatro Zinzanni) And Babette, A Ladies Maid. (Jennifer Jasper the Genius behind Maggie).

Judged by a bevy of Seattle Celebrities!

**
For more info on the Solo Performance Festival, visit http://bit.ly/tojspf4

Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=401896714347&ref=mf

BroadwayHour loves solo performance!

2010-03-09T11:52:00.000-08:00

All this month, BroadwayHour.com is reviewing various shows in the Solo Performance Festival lineup. Both veteran BroadwayHour-ers and guests will be popping in to see shows and posting their thoughts. Want to be involved in reviewing? Now's your chance! Email broadwayhour AT sbcglobal.net and let us know what shows you're itching to review.

For now, take a look at the first couple reviews up on the blog:

Pipa & Frontier: Valley of the Shadows

One of the best parts of Seattle's Solo Performance Festival is the sheer amount of variety in the acts brought to the stage. Curator Keira McDonald pairs performers that otherwise might never share the stage, and that pairing brings out nuances in each act. Such was the case with Friday night's show, which paired Tamera Ober's Pipa and Ki Gottberg's Frontier: Valley of the Shadows.
....
Ober's movements are beautifully controlled, whether she is carefully measuring herself out on the floor, or catapulting around the stage.... Her quirky and charming choreography takes us through her house and on a journey to the supermarket that quickly turns fantastical.
....
Gottberg is a master storyteller, able to change her voice and body at a moment's notice to imitate her father's gruff German accent, or her mother's wispy Indian voice..... Though the story has a happy ending, Gottberg does not shy away from baring her grief to the audience, and bringing us close to her.

The Dwellers & Samson

Von Spreecken as Yerda is a very engaging performer. Every expression and action is very specific, including a catalogue of repeated hand gestures that provide some of the funniest bits of the evening. You feel a part of this world before the show even begins, and long after it ends, just what a successful solo performance hopes to achieve.
......
This piece, a re-telling of the story of Samson and Delilah, is her [Wildrick's] first foray into a new world and it is an excellent start. When the piece hits its mark, and her beautiful voice intertwines with Josh Carter’s haunting music, it soars.

Solo Performance continues all this month!
Check it out:
http://www.theatreoffjackson.org/spf4.html

SPF in the Times!

2010-03-01T19:36:00.001-08:00

Seattle Times theater critic Misha Berson has a lot of good things to say about the Solo Performance Festival, or, as she puts it, "a month's worth of 30-plus eclectic pieces by a small army of local solo auteurs."

Berson describes the list of upcoming performers as "tantalizing," and quotes SPF producer Keira McDonald: "And since I've been teaching classes on solo performance here...I've seen a lot of great talent come through. So I've invited people to come to the table, try something new and scare themselves! And they've responded."

You can read the whole article here: http://bit.ly/dl09WP

(Tamera Ober in 'Pipa,' which runs this weekend.)

Want to see that great response to Keira's invitation?

For the Festival Page, visit http://bit.ly/tojspf4

Tickets at Brown Paper Tickets: http://bit.ly/spf4tix

TWO FOR ONE Tickets for March 3 - 6

2010-03-01T17:16:00.000-08:00

Use code word TANLINE at the door when buying tickets for March 3 - March 6 performances this week and get two for one! Invite all of your friends - 6 of you can get in for the price of 3. Crazy how that works!

Theatre Off Jackson's Festival page, here for full show descriptions.

This week's festival:

Wednesday March 3:
Best in Shorts

Daddy is Plastic by Elspeth Walker

A One Man Miss Saigon by Manuel R. Cawaling

Rapid Slippage Along a Fault by Keira McDonald

The Riverboat Runs Aground: Based on a True Story by Wesley K. Andrews

Sick by Elizabeth Kenny

Above Normal Range by Rebecca M. Davis

Clown Car by Emmett Montgomery

Jam by Peggy Platt

Thursday March 4:
The Dwellers by Jonah Von Spreecken
Pipa by Tamara Ober (details and reviews here: http://bit.ly/9bkBOn)

Friday March 5:
Frontier: Valley of the Shadow by Ki Gottberg
Pipa by Tamara Ober (details and reviews here: http://bit.ly/9bkBOn)

Saturday March 6:
Not. Stable. At All. by Paul Budraitis

Pipa by Tamara Ober (details and reviews here: http://bit.ly/9bkBOn)
The Price is Not Right by Carrie McIntyre
Traveling Panties by Mike Harris

Feel free to spread the word!

Festival Focus: Best in Shorts March 3 - Comedians, Love and a Solo Miss Saigon

2010-03-01T16:16:00.001-08:00

Highlights of this week at Solo Performance Festival: Wed March 3rd - Best in Shorts

(Facebook event page here)

Comedian and Seattle favorite, Peggy Platt (Dos Fallopia, Ham for the Holidays) presents her new show, Jam.
Cornish teacher and SPF founder, Keira McDonald shares her story about the Nisqually earthquake, war and love
Manuel R. Cawaling is going to do his interpretation, solo of course, of Miss Saigon in 10 minutes. This is going to be fun.
Comedian Emmett Montgomery takes the stage with Clown Car. Anyone who can pull off a unicorn suit is in my book under awesome (unicorn suit may not be present)

The night features even more solo performance shorts.

Use code TANLINE at the door for 2 for 1 tickets (regular door price $18)

Festival Focus: PIPA by Tamara Ober

2010-03-01T15:39:00.001-08:00

Zenon Dance Company member, Tamara Ober, has worked with over 30 national and international, emerging and world-renowned choreographers, touring to New York, St Petersberg and Budapest.

She was awarded a Minneapolis Sage Award for Outstanding Performer for her work Pipa, which plays Theatre Off Jackson March 4, 5 and 6, as part of the Solo Performance Festival.

Pipa is a richly layered dance work, integrating dynamic movement, a beautiful musical sound score, video and spoken text. It tells the story of an accident prone girl who is unable to take the direct route to anywhere. Wandering the broken lines of a map between worlds of the appearing and disappearing, Pipa never ceases to risk it all.

"A stand out performer...Ober is a talent to watch." - Minnpost.com

"A versatile and creative artist in whom the gesture suggests a shared imagination and movement redefines the dimensions of an extraordinary fantasy world." -- Voir, Montréal.

"Ludwig Mies van der Rohe once said God is in the details. He might well have been describing Ober's meticulous choreography. When a dancer's feet are as expressive as her hands, you know you are witnessing something special." And when the exquisite denouncement began to unfold, I found myself holding my breath, wishing it would never end." - Montreal Gazette

"Pipa is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my life...had me on the edge of my seat with my head in my hands and my mouth hanging open." "This is art in the greatest sense of the word."- CBC

To visit the Theatre Off Jackson Festival Page, click here.

Festival Page on TOJ Site

2010-02-22T12:55:00.000-08:00

Check out our FESTIVAL PAGE

on Theatre Off Jackson's web site, here.

SMUT: Dirty Stories Read by Pretty Ladies!

2010-02-18T14:30:00.001-08:00

Hello friends of SPF!

Join us this Saturday, February 20th, at 9:30pm after the fantastic Cody Rivers show, for a late night festival of smut, to raise money & love for SPF #4.

Tickets here: http://ow.ly/19g29

Take a look at this lineup: who wouldn't want to come check this out?

* The Vaudvillians, a musical duo frozen in time from the 1920's

* Dirty stories written by Gillian Jorgensen and read by pretty ladies Elizabeth Kenny, Bhama Roget, Tina Kunz Rowley, and Billie Wildrick

* Phone Sex! Featuring the sexy voices of Erin Kraft & Jason Harber, Peggy Gannon & Mark Boeker, and Tim & Tracy Hyland.

* Plus solo turns by Ernie Von Smaltz, Maggie, and Keira McDonald, and Mike eating ice cream!

All that for just $15.

Check back here next week for a blog post roundup of the evening! If you were there, you can relive the memories. If you weren't, you can curse yourself, and pledge to be there at every solo performance this festival offers, just to make up for it.

Award Winners & Local Stars join the SPF lineup!

2010-02-03T13:18:00.000-08:00

Lisa Koch, David Schmader, Gin Hammond, Ben DeLaCreme, Tamara Ober, Billie Wildrick and more join the lineup at Solo Performance Festival #4 at Theatre Off Jackson

Solo performers from the dance, writing, musical theatre and burlesque worlds join together
March 3 - April 3, 2010

SEATTLE, WA - Solo Performance Festival (SPF #4: Can You Get My Back) presented by Theatre Off Jackson is the fourth installment of Seattle's annual solo performance festival, and is dedicated to presenting fearless, cutting-edge, diverse performances by solo theatre artists. SPF #4 invites you to celebrate solo artists through storytelling, music, dance, fiction, memoirs and whatever else their lone voice can dream up.

Lisa Koch (Dos Fallopia, Ham for the Holidays) brings us Demonstrate the Place of My Abode with a look at the life and music inspired by a funny father. Weekly pop culture-and-politics columnist of The Stranger's "Last Days," David Schmader takes the stage exposing his relationships with women in Blue's Not Black. Helen Hayes Award winner, Gin Hammond, shares the true story of civil rights African American doctor, Caroline Beatrice Montier in Returning The Bones.

Drag queen extrordinaire Ben DeLaCreme (Can Can Cabaret, Atomic Bombshells, Academy of Burlesque) shows us what's behind the makeup in Ben DeLaCreme's Piece de Resistance (the piece she should have resisted) now in IMAX 3-D! Minnesota's Sage Award Outstanding Performer, Tamara Ober brings dance performance Pipa to Seattle, which has captivated audiences with it's dynamic mix of spoken word, dance, video and beautiful musical score. Billie Wildrick (ACT Theatre, 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle Children's Theatre, Footlight Award Winner, Gregory Award Nominee) brings her commanding and luminescent vocal talent to Theatre Off Jackson to the story of Samson.

Performances range in date from March 3 - April 3 and are at 7:30pm. Tickets for Solo Performance Festival at Theatre Off Jackson are $15 ($10 for Late Night Monologue Slams at 10pm) or $99 for a all-access festival pass. Tickets at Brown Paper Tickets at http://bit.ly/spf4tix.

Using code SUNSCREEN, early purchasers can recieve a discount on all performances and the festival pass, while supplies last. Stay with Solo Performance Festival through our blog and our Facebook Fan Page at http://bit.ly/spf_4

Read on through our blog for a list of performances and show and performer descriptions.

Theatre Off Jackson ensures that a vibrant arts culture thrives in Seattle by operating a sustainable venue dedicated to performance, art and community. A 140 seat venue, Theatre Off Jackson is located at 409 7th Avenue South, just off Jackson Street in the International District. theatreoffjackson.org

Tickets at Brown Paper Tickets: http://bit.ly/spf4tix
Facebook Fan Page for SPF http://bit.ly/spf_4

2010 Show Descriptions & Performer Bios

2010-01-27T13:09:00.000-08:00

Above Normal Range by Rebecca M. Davis - Best in Shorts

March 3

A woman with an unusual vocal attribute interviews for a specialized dating service.

Rebecca M. Davis Her first foray into Solo Performance was with Alice B’s Shades of Alice in the last century (eek!). She followed that up with pieces for back-to-back NW New Works Festivals at On The Boards, in conjunction with Matthew Reynolds. Most recently, Rebecca performed with Lisa Sanphillipo for the January edition of 12 Minutes Max. She has appeared in countless fabulous productions of Ian Bell’s Brown Derby Series at ReBar, and has hosted the The Stay Up Late Show (Seattle's only LIVE talkshow/variety show) for the last seven years. Recent favorite roles written by other people include Mrs. Muller in Doubt for Spokane Interplayers, the Nurse in Balagan Theatre's Romeo and Juliet, and Mama in Book-It Theatre’s Bud, Not Buddy.

Ben DeLaCreme's Piece de Resistance! (the piece she should have resisted)
April 1, 2, 3
At last Seattle's terminally delightful star of stage and street shares the secrets that have tricked dozens of audience members into enjoying her company. Join DeLaCreme as she peels back the outer layers of makeup and artifice to reveal the makeup and artifice within.

Ben DeLaCreme has appeared in theaters and nightclubs from coast to coast ever since the fateful day in 2002 when she realized that normally unsavory behavior is better received the more makeup one wears. Hailed by The Stranger as "the reason live performance was invented," DeLaCreme combines her background in the performing & visual arts with a love of spectacle, glamour, and Saturday morning cartoons to create a thick sludge of sparkly entertainment certain to stick to your ribs. Favorite local venues include The Triple Door, ACT Theater, Theater Off Jackson and West Hall where DeLaCreme produces and directs the annual seasonal spectacle HOMO for the Holidays. You may recognize DeLaCreme from her engagement as the in-house MC at the award winning Can Can Cabaret, as an instructor at the Academy of Burlesque, or as the drunk you've avoided any number of places. Ben DeLaCreme doesn't miss a moment of Seattle's rainy season, but escapes that nasty two months of sunshine by summering in Provincetown, MA with The Atomic Bombshells.

Blue’s Not Black by David Schmader - Best in Shorts
March 16, 23
Blue's Not Black is David Schmader's solo play about the women in his life. The second half of this work will be a solo play with another performer in it. This is from the first half.

David Schmader is a writer and performer who’s been living and working in Seattle since 1991. His solo plays include Letter to Axl and Straight, which he’s performed in Seattle and across the U.S. Since 1999, Schmader’s been an editor and staff writer for the Seattle newsweekly The Stranger, for which he writes the weekly pop culture-and-politics column “Last Days.”

Clown Car by Emmett Montgomery - Best in Shorts

March 3

Emmett Montgomery tells jokes and makes neat things. One of the founding members of the People's Republic of Komedy and currently a writer/performer for the live late night variety show, Get Loweded, Emmett has been featured in festivals nationwide including Bumbershoot, Sasquatch, the Bridgetown Comedy Festival and SPF#3. http://www.emmettmontgomery.com/

Cooking with Peggy Platt by Peggy Platt

March 9

Daddy is Plastic by Elspeth Walker - Best in Shorts
March 3
A short performance piece about a girl who goes to London to meet a dad she hasn't seen in eleven years and finds that her knight-on-white-horse vision is actually self-centered, fat, self-destructive and ugly. Daddy is Plastic is a valley-girl's wrestling match with the duplicities of images we create for a single person; a deconstruction of our nasty human tendency to fabricate idyllic, porcelain people out of their primal, repulsive counterparts.

Elspeth Walker is a senior Theater & English major (French minor) at Seattle University. She was last seen as Cleanthis in SU's winter 2010 production of Marivaux's The Island of Slaves. Elspeth is planning to perform the full version of her piece Daddy is Plastic for her departmental honors project in SU Theater this spring. She was recently awarded a scholarship for Artistic Achievement in Theater from the department. She is also the Literary Intern at ACT this year.

De: Colores: Flying with Color by Ben Gonio - Best in Shorts
March 16, 23
A boy, his father and a family's arrival to a new land. A timeless and familiar story that re-plays countless times in a young Filipino immigrant's journey. Mack Ati recounts the wondrous expectations of his childhood as he recounts his embarkment to the United States in the late 1970s. A story brimming with universal themes.

Ben Gonio is a local actor and producer in the Seattle area. A recipient of the 2007 Artist Trust Grant for his solo show As Boundless As The Green Earth, Ben also received a 2009 City of Seattle, Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs Grant, for his solo-show project about Carlos Bulosan. Regional credits include Seattle Repertory Theatre, The 5th Avenue Theatre, ACT Theatre, Seattle Children's Theatre, Empty Space Theatre, Village Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare Company and Alice B. Theatre. He has performed nationally at Tony Award winning Minneapolis Children's Theatre, The Guthrie Theatre, Houston's Arena Theatre, and Sierra Repertory Theatre. bengonio.com

Demonstrate the Place of My Abode by Lisa Koch
March 9, 12, 17, 30
Stories of a funny father, the music he inspired, and a quirky look at life and death.

An irreverent Seattle singer/actor/comedian, Lisa Koch has released four solo recordings, is one-half of loony sketch-comedy duo, Dos Fallopia (Ham for the Holidays, My Breasts Are Out of Control), and is an alumnus of cult quartet Venus Envy (I'll Be A Homo for Xmas). She performs at folk and comedy festivals all over the world, and has shared the stage with Steve Martin, Dave Brubeck, Suzanne Westenhoefer, Kate Clinton, and Janis Ian. Lisa has co-written such warped cabaret shows as The Carpeters: Uncomfortably Close To You, Déjà Poo, and Ham for the Holidays: Lard Potion No 9. She has toured two one-woman shows (Two’s Company, I’m a Crowd, Return to Planet Lisa) and regional theater credits include The Vagina Monologues (Phoenix Theatre) Dirty Blonde (AZ Theatre Co.) and as the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz (5th Ave Theatre). She is the composer of a recent Off-Broadway musical about Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas (27, Rue de Fleurus), published by Samuel French. She performs regularly on Olivia Cruises, has been seen on LOGO, and her latest CD, Tall Cool Drink contains the internet hit, “I’m a Middle-Aged Woman.” http://www.heylisa.com/

The Dwellers by Jonah Von Spreecken
March 4, 8, 17, 19, 29
There is a building where the floors are thinner than the walls. The residents' shoes populate the lobby as there is a no-shoes ordinance past level one. A young man lives amongst the piles of shoes, and takes charge of making them not so empty all the time.

Frontier: Valley of the Shadow by Ki Gottberg
March 5, 13
In a whirl of immigrant family history past and future, Ki Gottberg swirls transformatively though all the characters in her own humorously intimate story about spiritual hunger, physical appetite and the quest for faith. One hour long.

Ki Gottberg is a Seattle native. New City Theater, where Frontier: Valley of the Shadow (Seattle Times Footlight award) ran September-November 2009, has been her recurrent artistic home since 1983; her plays Hunger, Stript and Big Boss or the Inner Life of Everything all began life there, and she has appeared in numerous New City productions. Work staged in Seattle other places include The Compendium of Nastiness at The Womb Theater, her commissioned adaptation and direction of Ubu Roi at the Empty Space Theater and an operetta, Mirabelle, a Breeze, commissioned by the Seattle International Children’s Festival (Giant Magnet). She is a recipient of numerous awards and grants for playwriting including a $25,000. NEA/TCG Playwriting Fellowship with New City Theater. After a career in Seattle theater, Ki is now a professor at Seattle University in Fine Arts, where she teaches acting, playwriting, and directs student productions. She is a graduate of the U of W Professional Actor Training Program.

Gunpowder by J. MacDonald
March 25, 26, 27

Jake’s Gift by Julia Van Stralen
March 25, 26, 27
Jake’s Gift is a surprisingly funny drama about a WWII veteran's reluctant return to Normandy, France, for the 60th Anniversary of D-Day. While there Jake meets Isabelle, a precocious 10-year-old from the local village, whose inquisitive nature and charm challenge the old soldier to confront some long ignored ghosts. Most notably, the wartime death of his eldest brother, Chester, a once promising young musician. This multi-award winning show has been described as "an acting tour de force not to be missed," and will stay with you long after the lights go down.

Julia Van Stralen was born into a very active theatre family in Birmingham, England and moved to Canada when she was three years old. She grew up in Montreal, and received an education degree from McGill University before heading out west in 1993 to pursue acting and writing. In 1995 she started doing just that with Victoria’s Theatre SKAM, and has since worked with many other theatre companies across Canada. Since 2007, Julia has toured Jake's Gift to rave reviews at theatres and festivals across Canada.

Jam by Peggy Platt - Best in Shorts

March 3, 23

Middle by Jennifer Jasper

April 1, 2, 3

My Little Loves by Rebecca M. Davis - Best in Shorts

March 16

Internationally known opera star Bitsy Malouf shares stories and song of her multi-decade career, life and loves.

No Game by Noah Benezra - Best in Shorts
March 16, 23
"Dudely" comedy about hip hop, getting arrested and losing virginity in the Bush Era.

Not. Stable. At all. By Paul Budraitis
March 6, 10
Uncertainty and instability at a personal and societal level. The spontaneous following of questionable impulses, the impossibility of connection, the mistrust of authority and the presence of chaos and random violence in our lives. Paul Budraitis dives into these themes and takes his audience on a ride that is part punk-rebellion and part narrative rollercoaster.

Paul Budraitis is a director, actor, writer and teacher of acting and stage movement. In Seattle, he has worked with Annex Theatre, New City Theatre, On the Boards, and the Degenerate Art Ensemble. Paul recieved his master's degree in theatre from the Lithuanian Music and Theatre Academy. Paul worked with innovative Finnish director Kristian Smeds on a contemporary re-imagining of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard. Paul's recent director credits include David Mamet's Edmond at Balagan Theatre. As a teacher, Paul has worked as a lecturer in the acting and directing faculty of the LMTA, teaching acting and stage movement.He has also taught the “biomechanics” technique of Russian theatre director Vsevelod Meyerhold at the LMTA, as well as to students at the Iceland Academy of the Arts in Reykjavik, Iceland.

A One Man Miss Saigon by Manuel R. Cawaling - Best in Shorts
March 3, 16
In these difficult economic times, why produce a major Broadway musical with a cast of 30 or more when it can be performed with just one person? And with our shrinking attention spans, why produce a three hour musical when a story can be told in under 10 minutes? Manuel Cawaling returns to the Theatre Off Jackson stage with his hilarious parody of Miss Saigon. Through “movement”, karaoke, lip-synch, a helicopter and the use of a very large fan, Cawaling tells the tragic story of war torn lovers like it’s never been told before.

Manuel R. Cawaling has worked professionally in the Puget Sound as an artist and administrator since 1989. Over the last 20 years, Cawaling has explored a variety of professional interests—arts administration, stage directing, performing, arts education, exhibit development and community organizing. Cawaling is the Executive Director for Youth Theatre Northwest and the President for the Washington State Arts Alliance Foundation. Cawaling is a well-known local director and his work has been seen in various venues across the city. Cawaling recently directed The Fantasticks for Civic Light Opera, Theory of Everything for SIS Productions and Orbis, a unique performing arts installation celebrating the Winter Solstice at Seattle Center.

Pipa by Tamara Ober
March 4, 5, 6
Pipa, a richly layered dance work integrating dynamic movement, a beautiful musical sound score, video and spoken text, tells the story of an accident-prone girl who is unable to take the direct route to anywhere. She wanders the broken lines of a map between worlds of the appearing and disappearing, never ceasing to risk it all.

Tamara Ober has been a member of Zenon Dance Company since 2002 where she has worked with over 30 national and international, emerging and world-renowned choreographers, touring to New York, St. Petersburg and Budapest. She graduated from the University of MN in 2001 with a BFA in Dance, BA in Sociology and travelled the US and Canada to study the techniques of Ailey, Graham, Limon, Varone, and Contact Improvisation. Tamara has performed and taught with Sean Curran’s Dance Company at NYU Tisch School of the Arts in 2007, consulted for the Northrop Auditorium in the renovation and development of new visions and programs in 2008, and successfully created and toured her first original solo dance-theater work, Pipa, to Montreal, Winnipeg, Minneapolis and Edmonton Fringe Festivals, as well as Budapest, Hungary this past summer. She was awarded 'first-runner-up Best English Language Production' in Montreal, 5 Stars from CBC Winnipeg, and a Minneapolis Sage Award for Outstanding Performer for the work Pipa and Zenon's Spring Performance.

The Price is Not Right by Carrie McIntyre
March 6, 22
An enquiring niece interviews her aunt for a history project and learns family secrets.

Rapid Slippage Along a Fault by Keira McDonald - Best in Shorts
March 3, 23
In the first minute of the first year of the 21st century a girl falls...in love. First comes the earthquake and then the declaration of war.

Keira McDonald (Creator/Performer) is a self-producing theatre artist who lives in Seattle. Her first one woman show Showerhead was seen at Mae West Fest, Odd Duck Studio, Re-Bar, Frontera Fest (Best of fest, Austin, TX) UNO SOLO festival (Victoria, BC) and Manhattan Theatre Source’s EstroGenius Festival (New York) Her second one woman show The Bridesmaid premiered at The Comedy Tree (London) and was featured at Theatre Off Jackson, CHAC and Bryant Lake Bowl (Minneapolis) It toured The Canadian Fringe Festival Circuit to sold out audiences in 2007. Her third one woman show BLAsTronaughy! premiered at The Regina International Theatre Festival and toured to Winnipeg and Saskatoon, San Francisco and Austin, TX. Her fourth solo show XXXplicit was performed at SPF #3 and is heading to Orlando in May 2010. She is the Founder and Producer/Curator of Seattle's Solo Performance Festival (SPF) at Theatre Off Jackson.

Returning The Bones by Gin Hammond
March 11, 19, 20
How do you choose between your country, your people, and yourself? This is the question Returning The Bones asks. It is based on the true story of the African American doctor, Carolyn Beatrice Montier, (aka "Bebe") now 84. After being invited to finish her medical degree in Europe shortly after WWII, Bebe has to choose between staying in the South (and continuing to risk her life in the fight for Civil Rights), or escaping to Paris to live a life she's always dreamed of. Returning The Bones is a solo show with 26 characters and multiple dialects performed by Helen Hayes Award-winner, Gin Hammond. Classic storytelling combined with a fluid physical style will bring you on a journey of many miles, perspectives, and epiphanies.

Gin Hammond received her MFA from the A.R.T. at Harvard University/Moscow Art Theatre. She has performed nationally at theatres such The Guthrie, Arena Stage, The Longwharf Theatre, Seattle’s ACT, The Pasadena Playhouse, the ART, The Berkshire Theatre Festival and The Studio Theatre in Washington D.C., where she won a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actress for her performance of The Syringa Tree. Internationally, she has performed in Russia, Germany, Ireland, Scotland and England. Ms. Hammond also received a Kathleen Cornell award, and WA state grants from Allied Arts, The Mayor’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, Artist Trust, 4 Culture, as well as from the NEA. Her voice(s) can be heard of Jim French's Imagination Theatre, Super Granny, Cake Mania, Westward, and Nancy Drew video games, a wide range of industrials, audiobooks produced by Redwood and Cedar House Audio, and Halo 3 ODST. She currently resides in Seattle with her husband, where she writes, directs, teaches and performs.

The Riverboat Runs Aground: Based on a True Story by Wesley K. Andrews. - Best in Shorts

March 3, 16

Wesley K. Andrews performs an excerpt from his original work, The Riverboat Runs Aground: Based on a True Story. Tonight's performance will be Chapter III: The Fairbanks High School Constitutional Crisis, a story of careless endangerment and rebellion in the context of a post-Columbine school system.

Wesley K. Andrews is a performer and playwright in Seattle, Washington. A 2004 graduate from the University of Puget Sound, Wesley has performed at On the Boards, Annex Theatre, Macha Monkey Theatre, Balagan Theatre, the Lee Center for the Arts, and other venues. Non-theatrical publications include ArtsReach Magazine and Redefine Magazine. He is employed at Kirkland Performance Center as Development and Communications Manager and Admins the Facebook group Seattle Comp Tickets in his spare time.

Samson by Billie Wildrick
March 8, 13, 18, 29
It ends with rubble. A great pile of destruction obscured by the unbreathable dust of collapse, moving like dry fog. It is over before the dust settles. We all know the end of Samson's story. But whose choices got him there? Why did the strongest man in the world lay his head in a woman's lap and allow her to begin the end of his life? Underscored by guitar and acoustic percussion, and illuminated by a melodic vocal through-line, Samson's is a story of longing to tear through the pages of a life already written with humanity both given and denied by a then-silent god.

Billie Wildrick is a local singer/actor who has been described by the press as an “engaging” “super,” “awesome,” “adorable,” “sassy,” “charming,” “luminous,” “terrific,” “wildly talented” “bright-eyed and beautiful. A “sultry siren,” with a “Crayola box of skills,” “warmth,” “charm,” “effervesence and natural, unforced talents” who “sparkles,” “shines,” burns scenery “to a crisp” and “couldn’t be more appealing if she were a banana.” Her voice has been described as “lovely,” “bell-like,” “nightingale-caliber,” “crystal clear” “strong, “stunning,” “sweet,” “melodious,” “commanding” and “magnificent” full of “vivacity.” Billie was nominated for a Gregory Award for Best Actress in 2009 for her work in Sunday in the Park with George at The 5th Avenue Theatre and Dås Barbecu at ACT. She was named in The Seattle Times Footlight Awards for her performances in Wonderful Town at The 5th Avenue Theatre and Seussical! at Seattle Children’s Theatre. Billie has written and performed solo work that divorces and remarries music and theatre in places that no longer exist such as the Seattle Fringe Festival, the Liberty Deli and Thumper’s. She hopes SPF survives her efforts.

Shall I Compare Waxie to a Summer's Day by Waxie Moon - Best in Shorts

3/23

Sick by Elizabeth Kenny - Best in Shorts

March 3, 16, 23

SUBPRIME!: Inside the Heart of the Mortgage Meltdown by Norman Bell.

March 10, 11

A fun, fast-paced roller coaster tour through the turbo-charged world of the subprime mortgage industry - a world of fast-talking loan officers, opportunistic condo flippers and hopeful first-time homeowners, all looking for their piece of the American Dream.

Norman Bell is a solo performer and playwright. His original performances include SUBPRIME!, Mango, Little Hand and Think. Norman has also performed in theatre, TV and film. In theatre, he played a lead role in David Mamet’s Sexual Perversity in Chicago, and acted in Ghetto by Joshua Sorbol and The Hothouse by Harold Pinter. On TV, he was featured in the popular Spanish soap opera Cor de la Ciutat. In film, he played opposite Christian Bale in The Machinist.

The Total Package: A Journey Into Manhood by Ernie Von Schmaltz (Anna Allen)
April 1, 2, 3
Take a ride on the mustache express with this hilarious gender-bending guide to masculinity! Ernie Von Schmaltz leads this 30 minute excerpted show demonstrating the finer points of being a man. Using dance, song, film, humor and flow charts, you will experience a transformative seminar like no other.

Ernie Von Schmaltz is a ladies man. Ahead of the curve (in fact so far, he’s coming around from behind again) Ernie is a true renaissance dude. Known as The Man, The Myth, The Mustache, Ernie is a dancing, emceeing sex machine that’s been pushing the edge of Seattle’s burlesque scene since 2005. Ernie is the regular host of Seattle’s Dr. Sketchy’s anti- art school, was recently featured in burlesque films A Wink and a Smile and Waxie Moon. He has appeared many times all over the northwest and at national burlesque conventions.

The character behind the character is Anna Allen. Anna grew up in a small northern California town enjoying theatre, dance and costumed expression. In college, she minored in theatre arts and took every physical movement and acting class she could get her hands on.After relocating to Seattle in 1996, Anna sought out fringe theatre (EXITheatre) and was a founding member of a Seattle comedy improv group (Comedy Court). Post improv, she found burlesque at the Academy of Burlesque and began developing her personae. She also helped found Seattle’s award winning comedy burlesque power trio The Von Foxies in mid 2004. In 2009, The Von Foxies said goodbye and Anna is now pursuing a solo burlesque career.

Traveling Panties by Michael Harris
March 6, 10, 18, 22
An angry cross dresser tells tales of I-90, thongs and beyond!

Michael Harris recently graduated from Cornish College of the Arts with a B.F.A. in Acting. He recently performed in Wrecks by Neil LaBute put on by The Community Theater. He is enjoying his post-graduate life and keeping busy with two jobs, walking his four legged companion, and continually working on his solo show. He would like to say thank you to his director, the talented Chelsea Anderson, and Keira McDonald, TOJ, friends, family and his driving force Maggie.

What You Are Unaware of is This by Tina Kunz Rowley - Best of Shorts

March 16 & 23

Worse Places by Erin Jorgensen
March 30, 31
Music, singing and text combine in a hypnotic voyage incorporating amplified and acoustic marimba, original music, Bach, a Disney tear-jerker, and stories of childhood visions and accidental evil.

Erin Jorgensen is a musician with a day job. She dropped out of college, where she studied classical percussion and composition, to focus on playing marimba. She plays music ranging from Johnny Thunders to J.S. Bach. You can find her playing in bars, at weddings, in museums and theaters, among other places. She lives in Seattle and works at On the Boards. For more info and upcoming events, visit erinjorgensen.com

Your Own Personal Alcatraz by Suzanne Morrison
March 12, 18
Stories from growing up on an island in the Northwest and of adolescent fascination with Ted Bundy (who just so happened to be a good family friend.)

Suzanne Morrison is the author of Yoga Bitch, a memoir that will be published by Broadway Books in Spring of 2011 and internationally in Summer of 2011. Based on her long-running one-woman show of the same title, Yoga Bitch has been called “Ambitious, ballsy, and hilarious” by Seattle Weekly and “New Age Nirvana” by Time Out London. A 2009 recipient of 4Culture and Artist Trust grants for solo performance, Suzanne is developing a new show, Your Own Personal Alcatraz, about growing up on an island in the Northwest and her adolescent fascination with Ted Bundy. A blogger for the Huffington Post Books Section, you can also find Suzanne at her own blog,suzannemorrison.blogspot.com, where she writes about absolutely everything she’s reading, writing, and rehearsing. Your Own Personal Alcatraz is made possible in part due to the generous support of 4Culture and Artist Trust.

***

SPF #4 Calendar of Events

2010-01-11T22:12:00.000-08:00

Our Solo Performance Festival #4 Calendar of Events:
Tickets available now through Brown Paper Tickets!

Wednesday March 3:
Best in Shorts

Daddy is Plastic by Elspeth Walker

A One Man Miss Saigon by Manuel R. Cawaling

Rapid Slippage Along a Fault by Keira McDonald

The Riverboat Runs Aground: Based on a True Story by Wesley K. Andrews

Sick by Elizabeth Kenny

Above Normal Range by Rebecca M. Davis

Clown Car by Emmett Montgomery

Jam by Peggy Platt

Thursday March 4:
The Dwellers by Jonah Von Spreecken
Pipa by Tamara Ober

Friday March 5:
Frontier: Valley of the Shadow by Ki Gottberg
Pipa by Tamara Ober

Saturday March 6:
Not. Stable. At All. by Paul Budraitis

Pipa by Tamara Ober
The Price is Not Right by Carrie McIntyre
Traveling Panties by Mike Harris

Monday March 8:
The Dwellers by Jonah Von Spreecken
Samson by Billie Wildrick

Tuesday March 9:

Cooking with Peggy by Peggy Platt

Demonstrate the Place of My Abode by Lisa Koch

Wednesday March 10:
Not. Stable. At All. By Paul Budraitis

SUBPRIME! by Norman Bell
Traveling Panties by Mike Harris

Thursday March 11:

Returning the Bones by Gin Hammond
SUBPRIME! by Norman Bell

Friday March 12:

Demonstrate the Place of My Abode by Lisa Koch
Kitty in The City by Jeff Frieders

Your Own Personal Alcatraz by Suzanne Morrison

Saturday March 13:
Frontier: Valley of The Shadow by Ki Gottberg
Samson by Billie Wildrick
and

10pm LATE NIGHT at The Canoe Social Club: Monologue Slam hosted by Kevin Kent

Tuesday March 16:

Best in Shorts
Blue's Not Black by David Schmader

De: Colores: Flying with Color by Ben Gonio

Little Boy in Flames by Guiseppe Ribaudo
No Game by Noah Benezra

A One Man Miss Saigon by Manuel R. Cawaling
The Riverboat Runs Aground: Based on a True Story Wesley K. Andrews

My Little Loves by Rebecca M. Davis

What You are Unaware of is This by Tina Kunz Rowley

Sick by Elizabeth Kenny

Wednesday March 17:

Demonstrate the Place of My Abode by Lisa Koch

The Dwellers by Jonah Von Spreecken

Thursday March 18:

Kitty in the City by Jeff Frieders
Traveling Panties by Mike Harris
Your Own Personal Alcatraz by Suzanne Morrison

Friday March 19:
The Dwellers by Jonah Von Spreecken
Returning the Bones by Gin Hammond

Saturday March 20:

Kitty in the City by Jeff Freiders
Returning The Bones by Gin Hammond

Monday March 22:

Kitty in the City by Jeff Freiders
The Price is Not Right by Carrie McIntyre

Traveling Panties by Mike Harris

Tuesday March 23:

Best in Shorts

Blue's Not Black by David Schmader

De: Colores: Flying with Color by Ben Gonio

No Game by Noah Benezra

Rapid Slippage Along a Fault by Keira McDonald

What You are Unaware of is This by Tina Kunz Rowley

Shall I Compare Waxie to a Summer's Day by Waxie Moon

Sick by Elizabeth Kenny

Jam by Peggy Platt

Thursday March 25 - Saturday March 27
Jake's Gift by Julia Van Stralen
Gunpowder by J. MacDonald

Saturday March 27: 10pm LATE NIGHT at The Canoe Social Club: Monologue Slam hosted by Kevin Kent

Monday March 29:
The Dwellers by Jonah Von Spreecken
Cooking with Peggy Platt

Tuesday March 30:
Worse Places by Erin Jorgensen
Demonstrate the Place of My Abode by Lisa Koch

Wednesday March 31:
Worse Places by Erin Jorgensen
Kitty in The City by Jeff Freiders

Thursday April 1 - Saturday April 3
Middle by Jennifer Jasper
Ben DeLaCreme's Piece de Resistance: (the piece she should have resisted) by Ben DeLaCreme
Ernie Von Schmaltz: The Total Package by Ernie Von Schmaltz (Anna Allen)

Solo Performance Festival #4 at TOJ

Last Week of Solo Performance Festival

Monologue Slam: KEVIN DARES YOU

Interview and preview of Gin Hammond's Returning the Bones

More video: a moment with Keira

Second half of Festival - Calendar Update!

Bhama Roget wins first late night monologue slam

Keira & Tamara: Video!

Videos are here!

Lisa Koch's Demonstrate the Place of My Abode

Compete or just witness our Monologue Slams with Kevin Kent & Jennifer Jasper

BroadwayHour loves solo performance!

SPF in the Times!

TWO FOR ONE Tickets for March 3 - 6

Festival Focus: Best in Shorts March 3 - Comedians, Love and a Solo Miss Saigon

Festival Focus: PIPA by Tamara Ober

Festival Page on TOJ Site

SMUT: Dirty Stories Read by Pretty Ladies!

Award Winners & Local Stars join the SPF lineup!

2010 Show Descriptions & Performer Bios

SPF #4 Calendar of Events