Creating "Our Town"

Published courtesy of Jill Johnson at www.myglobalvillagestory.com

Creating Our Town, by Jill Johnson

It's such fun watching a really good director put a play together. When you are cast in a show, but blessed with a very small part, for a good deal of the time, you get to stand outside the action and watch the story emerge. 

Our Town has been in rehearsal since late April. But the whole business of creating the little New Hampshire town of Grover's Corners at the turn of the century began at the very first rehearsal.

During those first rehearsals, the actors for the major roles began to create their "back stories". These imagined parts of their character's lives are based solidly on the script but help the actors understand the parts of their character's lives that occurred either before or after the events of the play. But, very shortly, ALL the actors - even those of us with only one or two lines - were invited to create our own connection to the town – and to one another. These connections are great fun to imagine and create. But, more important , when all of this information is put together skillfully by the director, it creates a web, a series of threads that mesh the characters and their town together. And with each successive rehearsal, that web becomes more complex; the connections more nuanced. 
 
Of course, Grovers Corners and Our Town have been around a long time. Thorton Wilder's drama was first performed 76 years ago in 1938. Since then, it has been presented in thousands of productions - theatrical, musical - even operatic - on screens and stages all over the world.

Every good director has to have two things: 1. a solid vision of the play and 2. the ability to articulate that vision to his or her actors and crew and work with them to give it life. Our director has both. Watching him coach actors; navigate that exquisitely sensitive business of when to advise – and when to leave it alone – is a delight. Watching actors respond to his strong vision and his support – and then echo that support back to their fellow performers - is even better. 

There is precious little game-playing or grand-standing here. Yes, that is sometimes part of work in the theater – be it professional, academic, or community. And it's stressful, infuriating, and a crashing bore to deal with. But everyone involved with this production is committed to creating Our Town and they are working - hard - to bring it to life. 

If you're in the vicinity, get tickets for Our Town [...] You won't be sorry...

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Jill Johnson is a local storyteller and actress with a long background in teaching, training, and international consulting. She lives in Langley and is part of the cast of Our Town.

Your pot is (still) growing!

Here at WICA, we have a big big pot of money waiting to be won by a lucky community member... and it keeps on growing!

Here's how it works: 

We have 2500 raffle tickets for sale at $10 each. The more tickets we sell, the bigger the pot gets! When the time comes (June 21) the winning raffle ticket will split the pot with WICA! (That's where the "50/50" comes from.)

Now, if you're a math person, you've probably been doing a few calculations, but we'll go ahead and spell it out...

2500 x $10 = $25,000

And what's half of $25,000? ... $12,500!

That means, if we sell all these tickets, you could win $12,500 at the end of June (and WICA gets $12,500, helping us continue to bring you great programming throughout the year).

The more we sell, the more you win! And funny you should ask... yes, you CAN buy more than one ticket; you can buy as many as you like.

**Current Winnings: $2265
Current Total Pot: $4530
Current Odds: 1/453
(As of Friday, June 5)**

Tickets can be purchased in the WICA Administrative Office, Monday through Friday 9-5pm or in the lobby before performances and during intermission through June 21.
 
The raffle winner will be announced during the closing night of "Our Town" on June 21, 2014
Need not be present to win.
No limit on quantity of tickets purchased.

Any questions? Call us up at 360.221.8262 (that's the admin line) or email us at info@wicaonline.org

HAPPY SPRING!

Rural Characters go on the road…to Langley

By Betty Freeman

Look for some surprises and all new songs when the Rural Characters take the stage at 7:30 p.m. for two nights, Friday, May 16 and Saturday, May 17.

The Characters invite you to share in all the music, laughter, joie de vivre, and casual disregard for perfection that endears them to their audience and allows them to get away with this year after year.

“We’re reaching out to the Best Generation, the Beat Generation, Boomers, X-ers, Millenials and whatever we're going to call this next crop — there's something for everyone, like slices on a cheese platter,” said Rural Character Randy Hudson.

This is their 12th show at WICA, offering what they call a “Clintonian mix of originalia, parodilia and paraphernalia.”

The core group includes Hudson, Gordy Adams, Tom Fisher and Tom Walker. Russell Link will play percussion, and special guests “The Heggenes Valley Boys” Ed Fickbohm and Joe Jeszeck, will also join the fun.

The Rural Characters got their start in 1997 as singing cowboys at a theatrical performance at WICA. They’ve been together ever since, sharing their unique take on Island life with insight and wit. Their first concert was in 2003 as part of the then new Local Artist Series. The next year they were invited back, but this time as a benefit to help fund the Series. The year after that the show extended to two nights.

“Playing Langley qualifies as a road trip for us,” said Hudson. “We’ve come up with all new songs and stories for this concert, and already had a lot of fun in the process. Why not come and have fun too? It’s Island style.”

Tickets are $25, and can be purchased online here, at the box office at 565 Camano Ave. in Langley, open Wednesdays through Saturdays, 1-6 p.m. and two hours before show time, or by phone 800-638-7631 or 360-221-8268.

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Betty Freeman is an award-winning writer and editor who frequently writes about the arts for Whidbey Island publications. She lives in Clinton with her husband Dan, a sculptor.

The story of Bronkar and his Circus of Sound

by Betty Freeman

What do you do if you’re a hyperactive kid who can’t sit still?

When Bronkar Lee was in 8th grade in Athens, Georgia, his teacher Mrs. Kurtz described him to his mom as a typical ADHD kid.

“She said I could be inducted into the ADHD Hall of Fame; I had so much energy,” said Lee. “Luckily I also had supportive parents who were tolerant enough to let me find a way to channel it.”

All photos courtesy of Bronkar.com

Bronkar, who prefers to use just his first name professionally, channeled his excessive energy into a career as an internationally acclaimed beatboxing juggler who shares his inspirational journey from hyperactive kid to successful entertainer/entrepreneur with audiences of all ages. He’ll perform at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 25 as part of Whidbey Island Center for the Arts' ongoing Family Series.

Bronkar, now 34, believes that having ADHD is actually a gift.

“ADHD is not a negative thing unless you don’t understand what you have and how to find a passion where you can use your excess energy,” said Bronkar.

Bronkar is grateful for his supportive family and adult mentors who he said “gave me stories and guidance, and were really very tolerant when I was learning to play the drums.”

Playing drums did channel some of his energy. As a teen and young adult, he worked as a full-time musician and gradually developed a one-man show which he described a “bonus feature that opened for other performers.”

“But one night the headliner was a no-show and I had to improvise so I went onstage and riffed doing vocal percussion with the audience. They loved it, and my new career took off,” said Bronkar.

It was then he invented “Bronkar’s Self-Expression Workshop” for schools. He began to tour as “part entertainer and part motivational speaker.”

In his stage show, Bronkar uses his voice as an instrument. Beatboxing is actually vocal percussion or mouth drumming, he said. He combines vocal percussion with juggling, using his whole body as an instrument.

And in spite of having ADHD, he learned to create structure and discipline around his passion.

“When I started juggling in my early 20s, I learned from a high level juggler. Now I can keep nine balls going at once,” he said.

Bronkar also found structure for his craft with sessions at the San Francisco Clown Conservatory.

“I knew I wanted to perform, and to merge drumming, beatboxing and juggling into my performances, but clown school helped me integrate them all into one act,” said Bronkar.

“I want kids to know you don’t have to have money to make music,” said Bronkar. “Kids can learn to do what I do with patience, practice and persistence.”

That’s the message he imparts when he entertains school groups, such as the Langley Middle School kids he’ll perform for on April 25. He promises his evening show at WICA that night will continue that upbeat message for the whole family.

“My show is very interactive and every show is different because every audience is different. I love being in the group energy, facilitating and creating in the moment,” said Bronkar.

He said the fulfilling part is how his act affects the people he meets, and by extension, the world.

“It’s a gift to me to see people light up and go out and create for themselves,” said Bronkar.

“I’m doing what I love doing and making a living at it too,” said Bronkar. “Who would have thought that kid who couldn’t sit still could end up like me, being paid to be hyper?”

Tickets for Bronkar Lee’s Circus of Sound Family Series performance at 7:30 p.m. at WICA on April 25 can be purchased online here, by phone at 360-221-8268 or at the box office open Wednesday through Saturday from 1 to 6 p.m. and two hours before every show at 565 Camano Avenue in Langley, WA.

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Betty Freeman is an award-winning writer and editor who frequently writes about the arts for Whidbey Island publications. She lives in Clinton with her husband Dan, a sculptor.