PT Arts Commission News 2005

PT Shorts December 3

PTHS sophomore Samantha Brazier-Agnew will read this month for PT Shorts stories by Ota Pavel, a writer who has been called "Czech Republic's Hemingway." Pavel writes from the perpective of a boy growing up in wartime, and his prose inspects the sublime and comic moments in the dailiness of family life.

Brazier-Agnew will read from the collection How I Came to Know Fish. On the surface this seems an odd choice for the "holiday" theme of this month's PT Shorts, yet Pavel's stories resonate with the comforts of home and hearth even though Hitler's army is a continual--and often out-witted--presence. Pavel's attention to the simple comforts which most of us have and take for granted are truly cause for celebration, and help us reflect on the places where the warm hearth and full pantry are not the norm, but the exception. In "Carp for the Wehrmarcht", the author shows how his father mocked the Nazis by poaching carp from a frozen pond just before he was to leave for Terezin ghetto. When the Nazi's returned to drain the pond for provisions--and to have a celebration--they found an empty pond.

"Only I knew that the band was playing in honour of my father," Pavel writes, "who with David's star on his coat had stolen a march on the Germans."

In the story "Death of Beautiful Deer" his father risks all to find food for his sons before they must leave for a concentration camp. The beauty he rediscovers, even with the Nazis looming around, is quiet and stunning.

Pavel's stories are beautiful and heart-wrenching and have been adapted to the screen in Europe; in the hands of this young actor the beauty and poignancy will be simultaneously heightened.

Port Townsend Shorts is an on-going FREE program of dramatic short readings (fiction or non-fiction) by local actors, presented by the Port Townsend Arts Commission on the first Saturday evening of each month, 7:30-8:30 p.m. at the Pope Marine Building following Gallery Walk. Pope Marine is a disability accessible facility.

Kana'ti and Selu: The Origin of Game and Corn at PT Shorts November 5

"When I was a boy this is what the old men told me they had heard when they were boys."

This is often the way that tellers of Cherokee myths and legends begin their tales. That tradition and more will be upheld when local actor and dramatic reader Raven brings the Cherokee myth of Kana'ti and Selu: The Origin of Game and Corn to life at PT Shorts, 7:30 - 8:30PM Saturday, November 5^th, 2005; in the disability-accessible Pope Marine Building, in downtown Port Townsend. Raven's rascally reading will occur in conjunction with Gallery Walk. PT Shorts is sponsored by the Port Townsend Arts Commission; all are welcome, everyone is free.

Says Raven, "If you close your eyes, you'll find yourself dreaming the ancient dream of the Tsalagi people and marveling at the wonder of animals and seeds. Trick-or-Treat !" Raven, who appeared at PT Shorts a year ago reading Ernest Thompson Seton's The Winnipeg Wolf, is both the co-founder of All My Relations, an environmental arts organization, and a dramatist known for his traditional, annual Port Townsend reading of Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

Raven's readings are highlighted by virtual shape-shifting into distinct characterizations, through changes of posture, voice and dialect. In addition, Raven's reading of this particularly powerful Native American story will include interludes of traditional Cherokee river cane flute music. So popular and real are the dramatic artist's literary enactments that anyone planning to attend his reading of Kana'ti and Selu at PT Shorts would be well-advised to arrive early and leave any disbelief in magic and myth securely suspended at the door.

Transfer of PT Shorts to Key City Players

The Port Townsend Arts Commission is pleased to announce that the administration of their popular program of short published literature, PT Shorts, now in its ninth year, will be transferred to Port Townsend's community theater, Key City Players. KCP board members DJ Adams and Catherine McNabb, and Denise Winter, recently appointed theater Artistic Director, will administer the program. The transfer will take place November 1, 2005 and the agreement will be for one year, renewable subject to review.

"Our intention is to continue PT Shorts under the current model as free-to-the-public monthly dramatic readings at Pope Marine Building in conjunction with Art Walk," reports Winter.

The program will be an important component of KCP's newly established Education and Outreach Programs. It will provide opportunities for new artists or artists simply new to Port Townsend to venture into public performance, serving as a venue for new performers as well as new directors. Readers will be cast from KCP's General Auditions held in January and additional auditions held at KCP throughout the year.. Directors will be chosen by KCP's program administrators and approved by the Artistic Director. KCP will provide advertising for the programs in the form of press releases, community calendar listings and inclusion in KCP's season brochure.

The Arts Commission will continue to sponsor PT Shorts by providing the Pope Marine Building as the venue for the monthly events. Annod Bickley, the most recent administrator of the program, will remain as liaison between KCP and the Commission and will lend support and consultation to KCP as they take over PT Shorts.

Says Bickley, "The transfer of PT Shorts to Key City Players is carrying out the mission of the Arts Commission to initiate and support innovative programs, the goal being to eventually transfer the responsibility for these events and programs to community groups and individuals who will assure their continuation as part of the vital, growing arts community in our city."

Angels and Patrons of the Arts

You are invited to join the Port Townsend Arts Commission to honor Don White as Angel of the Arts and Rocky Friedman as Port Townsend's first Patron of the Arts. Both men have made outstanding contributions to the cultural life of our city. The Patron of the Arts is a new award created this year by the Arts Commission to honor business owners who support the arts.

Be with us at the Pope Marine Building on October 14th at 5 PM to applaud Don White and Rocky Friedman for their good work.

October 1 PT Shorts

The first Saturday in October (Oct. 1) brings us the tenth PT Shorts presentation for calendar year 2005. October's presentation will be "Maze of Trees" written by prolific writer and teacher Claudia O'Keefe.

First published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, this poignant story explores our relationship to nature, using fantasy as a mechanism to give voice to the voiceless, focused desire to the inchoate.

Although only one story will be presented, there are three actors bringing the story to life in the style of Book-It Repertory theater. As described by Book-It on their website (www.book-it.org), their unique style preserves the narrative text as it is spoken, not by a single "narrator" but as dialogue by the characters in the production. Although this PT Shorts presentation will not be a full-on representation of Book-it's style, it will give the audience a sense of it.

Aimee Cowf was first seen by Port Townsend's theater audiences when she brought to life the character Babe in last fall's Key City Player staged reading of Crimes of the Heart. Accessible, charming and with a bell-like clarity, Aimee is a delight to listen to. She will be voicing Carly, the main character in the story. Carly is a Los Angeles urban woman who finds herself inexorably bound to the rural backwoods of West Virginia.

Caleb Stengal will be reading the words of Landry, the man Carly meets after ten years living close to nature in the Appalachian forests and who brings her a taste of the larger world. He will also voice a variety of minor characters throughout the story. For those fortunate enough to see it, Caleb was Puck in last month's Midsummer Night's Dream. Caleb always brings something different to the roles he inhabits, and has significant acting training which illuminates his characterizations.

Gale Wallis is well known to Port Townsend audiences. She was last seen in Key City Players' presentation of A Perfect Ganesh, playing the elephant god himself. She will be Carly's echo, which might sound strange but is elemental to the structure of the story.

Because this month's presentation is slightly out of the norm, audiences are encouraged to stay for a short discussion afterwards.

PT Shorts 8th Anniversary Readings September 3

PT Shorts ends it's eighth year using the theme from it's very first reading: Banned Books. The September 3rd. program will include new readers and material as well as selections from well-known, often banned texts.

Q. Which famous author lost his job at the U.S. Dept. of Interior for having a copy of his controversial book in his desk drawer?

A. Walt Whitman was fired for being the author of "an indecent book"(Leaves of Grass). The Rev. Bruce Bode will make his PT Shorts debut reading from Whitman's Leaves of Grass. A native of Lynden, Washington, Rev. Bode has recently returned to the Pacific Northwest and is now beginning his second year as minister of Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Port Townsend. Poetry has been an important part of his 27 - year ministerial career and he has facilitated poetry reading groups on Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Robinson Jeffers, Mary Oliver and Billy Collins.

Q. In May of 2000, what multi-award winning book, on the New York Times bestseller list for more than a year, was kept off school approved reading lists in Port Orchard, Washington?

A. The South Kitsap School Board kept Snow Falling on Cedars off the approved reading list because of complaints about "sexual content" and "profanity." One parent specifically complained that the book "teaches self-indulgence." Committees for the high school and district reviewed and later included the book on their reading lists.

Excerpts from Snow Falling on Cedars will be used in this, Deb Wiese's first PT Shorts reading. Ms. Wiese learned the ethics of free speech from her father. A lifelong Wisconsin Republican, he ended most of their political arguments with a quote misattributed to Voltaire, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." She has worked for two institutions committed to defending freedom of inquiry, The Seattle Public Library and the Multnomah County Library. She is the author of the novel, Hodag Winter and the play, "Amusing Frida," recently produced by Key City Players.

The final selection of the evening will be from one of the most frequently challenged books ever. While becoming a best seller, this book was the subject of a burning order in 1939. Photographs of its burning appeared in Look Magazine. Again in the 70's it was attacked in various states, and several times in the 1980's, in multiple locations. Censorship efforts continued in 1993, and in Puyallup, Washington in 1999. In the latter case the book was cited as containing racial slurs and contributing to a racially hostile environment.

An excerpt from this book, The Grapes of Wrath, will be read by popular veteran of Shorts and local theater, Marj Iuro. A member of Wild Rose Chorale and Rainshadow, Marj has also performed in several Key City and Bare Boards productions. This will be her third PT Shorts appearance. The Grapes of Wrath was suppressed on political grounds, Snow Falling on Cedars on sexual grounds and Leaves of Grass on social grounds. Come and see if you agree that each of these texts stirred passions for more reasons than those cited.

(Censorship Histories borrowed from 120 Banned Books, Nicholas J. Karolides, Margaret Bald & Dawn B. Sova; Checkmark Books, 2005) Port Townsend Shorts is an ongoing FREE program of dramatic short readings (fiction or nonfiction) by local actors, presented by the Port Townsend Arts Commission on the first Saturday evening of each month, 7:30-8:30 p.m. at the Pope Marine Building following Gallery Walk. Pope Marine is a disability accessible facility.

Thousand Nights and a Night on Saturday Night August 6

Come to a Thousand Nights and a Night on Saturday night, August 6, a Port Townsend Shorts presentation directed and coordinated by local actor and playwright Chris Hawley. Reading along with Hawley is Theresa Chedeon and Victoria Gibson, both well-known on the local performing arts scene. Together they present excerpts from "The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night," from the Sir Richard Burton edition.

Often referred to as "Tales of the Arabian Nights," the tales themselves are actually one long, complex tale broken into smaller stories, each story leading into the next. "In my opinion, says Hawley, "the piece in its entirety illustrates the art of storytelling to a phenemonal degree." Burton's 1885 edition is a translation based on a previous translation by John Payne. With each of the individual stories containing the threads of many other stories, "Nights" is presented by the princess Scheherazade to the king in order to put off her own beheading. To pass the time, she weaves one story after the other, each one leading smoothly into the next, some not being resolved until several stories later.

Port Townsend Shorts is an ongoing program of dramatic readings of short stories by local actors, presented at 7:30 p.m. on the first Saturday of each month during Gallery Walk at the accessible Pope Marine Park Building. PT Shorts is presented by the Port Townsend Arts Commission and is always free to the public.

Vic and Sade are back in town Oldtime Radio on PT Shorts June 4

On June 4 at 7:30 pm, PT Shorts presents four episodes of the classic radio series "Vic and Sade". Every weekday morning from 1932 to 1945, the great humorist Paul Rhymer woke up and wrote a short play. Every weekday afternoon, that play was broadcast nationwide as an episode of the radio series "Vic and Sade." In an era before re-runs and summer replacement shows, Paul Rhymer wrote every word of every episode of "Vic and Sade" himself, building a library of over 3500 scripts. Only a few recordings of the show have survived, and a handful of the scripts have been published in two books.

A 1930's and 40's era "Seinfeld", Vic and Sade is a "show about nothing." It chronicles the everyday lives of a mid-western family -- Victor Gook, his wife Sade, and their son Rush -- who lived in "the small house half-way up in the next block." There they live quite unremarkable lives, talk about fixing their washing machine, argue about their neighbors, try to cool off on the front porch, and chat about which movie they might go to.

Victor Gook will be read by local writer David Schroeder. Sade Gook will be read by Jeanette LaForge, recently seen at Key City in "Daddy's Dying, Who's Got the Will?" Rush Gook will be read by Kelsey Steffen, who appeared with the Port Townsend High School Players in "The Tempest" last fall.

Ray Bradbury, a great fan of "Vic and Sade," wrote: "Paul Rhymer collected bits and pieces of mediocrity from all our commonplace occupations, all our inane conversations, all our bored afternoons and long evenings when all we could think of to do was trot down to the YMCA and watch the Fat Men Play Handball.... he celebrated our simple conversations -- more brilliant in their pointlessness, circling around nothing, than anything written since by Pinter or Beckett."

Port Townsend Shorts is an on-going FREE program of dramatic short readings (fiction or non-fiction) by local actors, presented by the Port Townsend Arts Commission on the first Saturday evening of each month, following Gallery Walk, starting at 7:30 p.m. at the handicapped accessible Pope Marine Building (Water Street next to the police station) in downtown Port Townsend

PT Shorts May 7

From Mothers in Hell through to Franks and Beans at PT Shorts May 7 Port Townsend-- On May 7 at 7:30 p.m. , come to the Pope Marine Building for PT Shorts. This month's reading presents the three honorable mention winning plays from The 2005 Playwrights' Festival sponsored by the Port Townsend Art Commission. All plays are original and written by Jefferson Country playwrights.

Kevin Purcell, a local actor/director and frequent contributor to PT Shorts, will direct "Mothers in Hell" by Lucia Meijer, who introduces us to Mrs. Kraus and her best friend Sally as they conspire to survive and thrive in that special part of Hell reserved especially for mothers. Ms. Meijer, lives on Marrowstone Island with her husband Kevin and says, "I grew up with women like Mrs. Kraus and Sally and always imagined that they would set up house anywhere -- even in hell!" Nancy Stevenson who has been a frequent reader at PT Shorts, and Harriet Stay who you may recognize as the person giving the welcoming introduction for most of the KCP play performances, play the two mothers.

Gale Wallis directs "Second Cousin, Twice Removed" by Duane Johnson. Art imitates life in this satirical look at a particular Texas family, whose future political visibility are given some interesting context. Will the son ever succeed given his draft dodging, drinking, and inability to get into a law school? Find out with this reading by a talented local cast that includes Cheron Dudley, Marj Iuro, Catherine McNabb, and Mark Roark.

"Franks and Beans" was written by Jessie Paige and is directed by Nancy Stevenson. The spotlight shines on Horace and Marge, a husband and wife who live apart most of the year but come together for one week every six months. This system seems to have worked for them for over 23 years, that is, until this year. The play also introduces us to Matilda, Horace's mistress, and Fred, Horace and Marge's daughter. The cast of familiar faces consists of Don White as Horace, Patti Quintero as Marge, Catherine McNabb as Matilda, and Michelle Stay as Fredericka. Port Townsend Shorts is an on-going FREE program of dramatic short readings (fiction or non-fiction) by local actors, presented by the Port Townsend Arts Commission on the first Saturday evening of each month, following Gallery Walk, starting at 7:30 p.m. at the handicapped accessible Pope Marine Building (Water Street next to the police station).

A Theatrical Peek Inside the World of People with Disabilities

What are some of the struggles that people living with disabilities face?

How can I be a more effective ally to them? How can our community help?

Poetic Justice Theatre Ensemble and the audience will bring these questions to life in an interactive theater performance/community forum, "Just a Breath Away... a peek inside the world of people with disabilities". This event will take place at the Port Townsend Community Center (fully accessible) on Friday, April 22 , 7 to 9 PM. Admission is by donation, pay what you can.

Participants will enter the world of disability with the Poetic Justice" troupe. Audience stories, ideas, struggles, and dreams will come to life through physical imagery and improvisation as the troupe and the audience play, laugh, cry, celebrate, and share experiences and wisdom. The audience will be able to explore choices that will create the kind of world you want. Audience members can participate or simply witness the process.

Audience members who attended the first Disability Issues performance in February, said:

"...the most powerful thing... was being surrounded by people that understood what disability really means...and the ability of the performers to communicate my feelings in an art form."

"It illustrated how transient all of our bodies are, how we are all "only a breath away" and that persons with disabilities are whole people, individuals, not "other", and not all the same."

"... the audience's candor and insight and the keen perception and sensitivity of the troupe... opened our eyes to some disability issues of which we were unaware and gave us tools with which to cope with our own handicaps."

PT's Poetic Justice Theatre Ensemble is a multi-generational (ages 16-77) troupe of variously-abled local actor/activists who use interactive theatre as a tool for awareness and social change. Based on the Theatre of the Oppressed (T.O.) work of Brazilian, Augusto Boal and Playback Theatre developed by Americans, Jonathan Fox and Jo Salas, the troupe was developed as a local community resource to stimulate deep dialogue and invite positive action towards the creation of a more just and joyous world for all.

Sponsors include The Mandala Center which provides the Poetic Justice Theatre Ensemble under the guidance of Marc Weinblatt, DASH (Disability Awareness Starts Here), a Jefferson County organization of people with and without disabilities who believe that a disability does not lessen a person's worth, and that education and advocacy are key to improving community access for people with disabilities, Everybody Counts, a diverse group of local residents working on various rights protections in Jefferson County, and the North Olympic Human Rights Network which works for civil and human rights protections for all the people of the North Peninsula. Funded in part by the Port Townsend Arts Commission. Free transportation available for people with disabilities, including those in wheelchairs. For van reservations or performance information, contact 385-2212 or email gatosylibros@netzero.net.

PT Shorts "Readings of Shakespeare" for The Bard's Birthday Month

"...you can't get a sense of anything when you just read Shakespeare silently. It must be read aloud. He wrote it for actors to perform, for the words to be audible, to grab the actor by the throat and the audience by the heart." - Laurence Olivier

Come celebrate the beginning of The Bard's Birthday Month with Port Townsend's own Olympic Shakespeare Productions on April 2 at 7:30 pm in Pope Marine building. Six OSP readers who have been grabbed by the throat will grab you by the heart as they present "Readings of Shakespeare," a festival of sonnets, plays and a short story.

Readers include Ian Keith, Gail Bray, Pete Gillis, and Rebecca Wickens. They will read from: "Much Ado About Nothing", "Othello", "A Midsummer Night's Dream", and Sonnets 19 and 116. In addition, you will hear Virginia Woolf's vision of what it might be like if Shakespeare had been a woman, through the reading of her short story "A Room of One's Own". Kevin Purcell will introduce each piece.

This cast of experienced actors has been seen on PT stages many times, including Ian Keith as Malvolio in "Twelfth Night", and Gail Bray as Lady Macbeth in "Macbeth" and Beatrice in "Much Ado".

Port Townsend Shorts is an on-going FREE program of dramatic short readings (fiction or non-fiction) by local actors, presented by the Port Townsend Arts Commission on the first Saturday evening of each month, following Gallery Walk, from 7:30-8:30 p.m. at the wheelchair accessible Pope Marine Building (Water Street next to the police station).

PT Arts Commission Adds Disability and the Arts Committee

Have you attended a theater performance and been unable to hear the dialogue? Do you yearn to participate in a play but find that you can't get up on the stage because of physical limitations? Do the public restrooms in some performance venues confound you? Do you wish you could be more fully a part of the wonderful art events abounding in our community but feel limited by a disability

With the goal of enabling your wish to come true, the Port Townsend Arts Commission, at their March meeting, established a "Disability and the Arts" Committee. The stated purpose of this committee is to further the goal of fair access to all citizens of Port Townsend, regardless of physical or mental ability, in participation in and enjoyment of the arts, visual, theater, literature, music and dance, by heightening the awareness of persons with disabilities, by encouraging increased accessibility to arts events, and by encouraging persons with disabilities to avail themselves of such access and to participate in the arts as audience and as artist.

"I think this is a wonderful asset in our efforts to include everyone when we are thinking and planning for the arts here in town," says Joey Pipia, Chair of the Port Townsend Arts Commission.

The committee will encourage, sponsor and develop, in conjunction with DASH (Disability Awareness Starts Here) and other community equal access organizations, programs which increase visibility of and advocate for persons with disabilities by featuring them in arts events; programs which welcome them with accessible venues; and programs which educate arts promoters and producers in how to work with persons with disabilities. In addition they will seek out and develop programs which exemplify the contributions that can be made to our community by artists with disabilities.

According to Annod Bickley, Chair of the new committee, "The first actions of this committee will be to inquire about the accessibility of venues in our applications for sponsorship and to include information about such accessiblity in publicity released by us, such as the press releases for PT Shorts. We'll strongly urge sponsored groups and individual artists to do the same."

PT Shorts' "New Readers" present bears, the Dalai Llama, Grandmother, and Elvis

Q. What do Grandmother, the Dalai Llama, bears, "New Readers" and Elvis have in common?

A. They're all featured in the March PT Shorts First Annual NEW READERS' event.

On March 5 at 7:30 p.m., three of this year's new readers selected at our 1st Annual PT Shorts' Auditions in January will entertain you with four delightful, sometimes poignant, often witty and always surprising, stories. Our talented readers are "new" to PT Shorts but none of them is new to performing the written word.

Zach NeSmith will delight us with "Bears Discover Fire" by Terry Bisson, which blends the sadness of the loss of a loved one with humor in a meditative tale of a most improbable evolutionary leap. This entertaining story from Bisson's collection of the same title won both Hugo and Nebula awards. Said Booklist of Bisson's stories, "Highly recommended . . . brilliantly original . . . every story showcases Bisson's keen intelligence and distinctive gift for deliciously wry prose."

Michele Bruns presents us with "A Grandmother's Tale" by Donna Ball. Says Michele, "It's the thought that counts! An eccentric old woman demonstrates this principle for her family with her unusual gifts in a most surprising tale." From the collection, Sweet Tea & Jesus Shoes: New Stories of the South, "capturing the Southern experience. Pull up a rocker and pour another sweet tea."

Sandy Diamond will read "Seven Puffs on a Cigarette," by Pierre Delattre, from a collection of short-short adult fairy tales entitled Tales of a Dalai Llama. In this story, the author invites us to fantasize what it must be like to be at once a child, a king, and a Buddhist incarnation of holiness. Sandy will also read "Here", by S. Friedman, a tale from the hereafter told by a man "living" next to Elvis, trying to make connections in a bleak, yet funny, disconnected world. In addition, Sandy will be "Mother" in "Bears Discover Fire".

Michele Bruns comes to us from many years of story-telling and poetry reading with organizations such as Verbal Tease, PT Storytellers and at places such as Upstage, and other local venues, as well as from her leadership of educational nature walks and coordination and emceeing of seven years of Winter Wanderlust.

Sandy Diamond has read poetry publicly, "with terror and glee", says she, since l969 when she debutted in a Beat coffee house. A published poet and former Artist-in-Residence at Centrum, she's read from Cleveland to Port Townsend; she's read in prisons and schools and the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill; she's read solo, and with her jazz/blues band, "Quasimodo & The Bellringers". You may even have heard her on NPR's West Coast Live.

Zach NeSmith, has been performing for as long as he can remember, from school productions as The Pied Piper and The Great Kapok Tree to later roles in A Midsummer Nights Dream, and Key City productions of Laughter on the 23rd Floor, and Under Milk Wood. He is currently a senior at Evergreen State College where he will soon receive a Bachelors Degree in drama.

Husbands and Wives Read Love Stories From The New Yorker

"Lovers" will be the theme of the short stories read by two talented husband and wife teams on Saturday evening, February 5, at the Pope Marine Building at 7:30 p.m.

"These stories from The New Yorker collection entitled Nothing But You are the perfect Valentine for hearts in any condition," said Pattie Miles Van Beuzekom, the coordinator for this month's presentation of short fiction by the Port Townsend Arts Commission. "This evening of stories is for people who would rather kiss than watch television."

Lawrie Driscoll and his wife Ginger McNew will read How To Give The Wrong Impression by Katherine Heiny, a quirky love story about college roomates who share the same apartment but not the same bed - unless you count their adventure in a mattress store.

Erik Van Beuzekom and Pattie Miles Van Beuzekom will read Woody Allen's The Kugelmass Episode. Kugelmass is a man whose romantic fantasies whisk him all the way to France and into the arms of Madame Bovary. But he soon realizes that he will need the help of Persky the Magician if he wants to get back in time to meet his wife at Bloomingdale's.

As a hilarious finale, Lawrie Driscoll will share with the PT shorts audience Ian Frazier's courting guidelines in Dating Your Mom. Ginger McNew is and artist, costume designer, and chef who lives on Marrowstone Island with her husband, Lawrie.

Lawrie Driscoll has been acting and directing plays in Port Townsend for ten years. He can be seen this month in A Maid In Bedlam at The Paradise Theatre School in Chimacum.

Erik Van Beuzekom recently played Brick in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof and R. P. McMurphy in Key City Players' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. He is also cofounder of The Paradise Theatre School in Chimacum with his wife, Pattie. Pattie Miles Van Beuzekom recently played Maggie in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof for Key City Playhouse. You can see her in an upcoming production of her own play, A Maid In Bedlam at The Paradise beginning Feburary 11.

"Port Townsend Shorts is an on-going FREE program of dramatic short readings (fiction or non-fiction) by local actors, presented by the Port Townsend Arts Commission on the first Saturday evening of each month, 7:30-8:30 p.m. at the Pope Marine Park Building (603 Water St., next to City Dock across from the Police Station) following Gallery Walk.

PT Shorts Audition Night Results

Port Townsend Shorts is delighted to announce the results of its first annual open "Audition Night" for folks who wanted to read for PT Shorts and who had not yet had an opportunity to be known to those directing the readings.

The audition, in spite of the threat of bad weather, attracted a number of candidates and well-wishers, both folks who once read for the series but hadn't done so for awhile and those who never participated. Those who auditioned came from a wide range of backgrounds and levels of experience in public speaking, acting, and reading.

The auditions were judged by Nancy Stevenson, and Annod Bickley, who generated, as a result, a "New Readers List" of 7 talented new and returning prospective readers. The list includes Michele Bruns, Terence Campbell, Sandy Diamond, Ellie Mathews, Zach NeSmith, Sharon Salisbury, and Deb Wiese. Qualifiers have been notified by email. The list is also posted on the bulletin board outside of Key City Theater, on January 12.

Three suitable NEW readers will be chosen predominantly from this list to read at the March PT Shorts. The new readers list has been distributed to the slate of reader/directors for 2005 for the monthly PT Shorts programs. The reader/directors are being encouraged to select new readers as well as more experienced PT Shorts performers.

A tip for those who might want to audition in the future: For a model of short story reading, tune into KUOW-FM, 94.9, Tuesday at 10 p.m. for "Selected Shorts". AND come to the PT Shorts each month!

Open Auditions for PT Shorts readings January 7th

Port Townsend Shorts, a program of dramatic short readings presented by the Port Townsend Arts Commission, is delighted to announce an open "Audition Night" for folks who want to read for PT Shorts and who have not yet had an opportunity to be known to those directing the readings. Those who are known may wish to come read as well to refresh the director/readers for 2005.

The result of the audition judged by Kevin Purcell, Nancy Stevenson, and Annod Bickley, will be the generation of a "New Readers List" of talented new prospective readers for the convenience of the reader/directors in charge of each month of 2005. Place for posting of list to be announced.

Three suitable NEW readers will be chosen to read at the March PT Shorts. We especially invite experienced actors, readers and speakers to try out, and welcome also those who have the passion, ability, and some experience in speaking, and/or reading expressively and well. PT Shorts is dedicated to providing professional quality readers and readings. (Note: your selection to be on the New Readers' List qualifies you and publicizes your qualification but does NOT ensure when or if you will be called upon to read.)

The judges:

Nancy Stevenson is a professional writer who has appeared in several Key City productions including "Under Milkwood" and "Beauty Queen of Lenane" and has performed with Olympic Shakespeare Productions, as well as in the Key City reading of "Crimes of the Heart" and PT Shorts readings. She directed the recent Key City reading of "Talley's Folly".

Kevin Purcell has directed many shows in Seattle (for Seattle Public Theater), in Illinois and directed the playreading of "Crimes of the Heart" at Key City Playhouse, where he performed recently in his solo rendition of Dylan Thomas' "A Child's Christmas in Wales," as well as reading in PT Shorts.

Annod Bickley is the coordinator of PT Shorts for the Arts Commission and has been involved with improvisational theater in Baltimore, MD and the Poetic Justice Theatre Ensemble in Port Townsend, with a role in the scripted piece, "Paradise or Prison?". She recently read in the Key City playreading of "Wit".

Auditions will be held at Pope Marine on Friday night, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. No need to prepare a reading, material will be provided at the time. Any questions, email Annod.

8th Year of PT Shorts Begins

Get ready for a fun year of readings in the PT Shorts schedule for Port Townsend Arts Commission in this, the 8th year of the program, 2005. Almost always following the Gallery Walk, on the FIRST SATURDAY OF EACH MONTH at 7:30 p.m., the program will have one exception this year, in July when it will be held on a Friday evening.

Mark your calendars for the chance to hear our exciting lineup of actor/readers who will present a lively evening of FREE entertainment each month!

PT Shorts features quality published writing delivered in an expressive and engaging manner by talented actor/readers from our area. Sometimes serious, often humorous, sometimes geared towards children, NEVER boring, in general the program is a series of bedtime stories for grownups - which WON'T put you to sleep!

Look for detailed program information each month on Bareboards email notices and in The Leader and other other local publications!

From New Year's Day, January 1, when Don White will usher in the New Year with a program about "New Beginnings" AND treat you to hot cider and donuts (In addition, PT Shorts auditions will be held on January 7 at 7 at Pope Marine. Watch for detailed announcement); to February 5, the Valentine month featuring Pattie and Erik van Beezukum as "Lovers"; to March 5, when "NEW READERS" will have a chance to entertain us, as a result of auditions being held on January 7 at 7 p.m. at Pope Marine; April 2 will find Olympic Shakespeare Productions (OSP) offering us something special on the theme, "Will's Birthday Month"; then as part of the Playwright's Festival, on May 7, Kevin Purcell and Nancy Stevenson will produce and direct the "Playwright Festival RunnersUp", 3 play readings in one evening; on June 4 David Schroeder will take us back to Oldtime Radio with "Vic & Sade", back by popular demand; FRIDAY, July 1, Annod Bickley will bring you "Childhood Revisited"; August 6 Chris Hawley will bring alive "Arabian Nights"; September 3 Deborah Hammond will share some special once "Banned Books"; October 1 Gale Wallis will surprise us with "A Twinkle in My Eye"; November 5 Raven will enthrall us with a "Native American Theme"; and on December 3 Chris Pierson and the Port Townsend High School Drama Class will entertain us with stories about "Winter Holidays".

P.T. Shorts New Year's Day:
GOOD STORIES, CIDER AND DONUTS

"New Beginnings" is the theme of the PT Shorts series of short stories read by a team of veteran actors this Saturday evening, January 1, 2005, New Years Day, at the Pope Marine Building at 7:30 p.m. "These stories of characters who begin new lives are a perfect way to begin the new year," said Don White, the coordinator for this month's presentation. To add to the celebration there will be free hot cider and doughnuts for the audience.

For fans of P.T. Shorts and fine short stories this PT Shorts presentation will be a welcome break from football and parties and a chance to start your own new beginnings and share refreshments with the readers.

The three frequently seen actors who will be reading are Don White, Kathi Taylor and Doug Taylor. Don White, a frequent reader at PT Shorts, is an actor and director at Key City Theater. He will read Ron Carlson's "Blood and Its Relationship to Water," a warm, touching story of the new lives and new relationships that begin when an adopted baby is brought into a family.

"The Time I Died" is author Ron Carlson's lighthearted story of a quirky woman's wild time at a male strip club with her friends, and then her "death" which is not at all like the white rooms and music that she had been led to expect from the supermarket tabloids. Then she..., well you will find out when you hear the story. The story will be read by Kathi Taylor who is known to Key City audiences for her roles in "Undermilkwood," "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," and "Cabin Fever". Before coming to Port Townsend she had a lead role in "Agnes of God" and other community theater drama and performed melodrama for years in California with her husband Doug.

The two stories,by Ron Carlson are from his collection The News of the World. He brings a lightly humorous touch to his down-to- earth characters and everyday situations. Carlson has been compared to John Cheever as a master short story writer.

Doug Taylor known for his leading roles in the Key City productions of "Laughter on the 23rd Floor", "Under Milkwood," "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" and "Cabin Fever," will be reading " What We Ought To Be," the tale of a recently widowed woman who returns to the nursing profession in a small town in North Carolina. She finds herself giving nursing and hospice care to the AIDS patients that no one else will treat in this backwater part of the country. Her work changes her patients' lives--and HER OWN. The story by Mary Potter Engel is from her book about small town North Carolina, Strangers and Sojourners, Stories From the Low Country.

2004