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By Southern Oregon Artists Resource, 2003 contributed posts
View all Southern Oregon Artists Resource's posts. About the author: SOAR: The Southern Oregon Artist's Resource is a directory of Southern Oregon artists, artisans and those who serve them and calendar of their art events, and Art Matters!, our blog posting Southern Oregon art events and matters of interest to artists, enthusiasts and patrons of the arts near and far. SOAR was created and is maintained by art advocate and web designer Hannah West in Jacksonville, Oregon to promote our diverse and talented arts community to our visitors and the rest of the world.
Ashland, Oregon – Now celebrating our 30th anniversary season, Ashland New Plays Festival launches a new conversation series Inside ANPF, featuring an engaging talk with Artistic Director Jackie Apodaca on Tuesday, September 27, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm at the nationally recognized and celebrated Oregon Cabaret Theatre. Doors open at 6:15 pm and tickets are $10, available online and at the door.
Artistic Director Jackie Apodaca
Jackie took over the artistic helm of ANPF in the midst of the unprecedented global pandemic and kept the focus on creating new work, nourishing both the creative process and the writers to create it. She was able to pivot productions to be online, thereby keeping our regular audience engaged and reaching new fans who hadn’t had access to the Fall Festival before.
Interviewed by John Rose, Jackie will share her thoughts about ANPF: the history, the luminaries who have had work produced here, and what her vision is for the future.
There will be an overview of the upcoming Fall Festival, running October 18 through 23, including information about the winning playwrights and ANPF’s unique community-based process for selection. The Fall Festival is ANPF’s annual flagship event featuring readings of the winning new plays followed by talkbacks to engage audiences in the development process. A writers’ workshop during the week gets festival-goers up close and personal with the playwrights for inspiration and in-class writing time.
During the one-hour Inside ANPF conversation, Jackie will also be open to taking questions from those gathered. There will be an opportunity for attendees to ask about the curation of a season, what it takes to build a play, and where works can go from here.
Inside ANPF is a community engagement opportunity for fans, friends, members, readers and donors to connect more deeply with the art we collectively create. It is a forum for hearing about big ideas from inspiring artists. We look forward to welcoming you into the ever-evolving dialogue.
What: Inside ANPF: A Conversation with Artistic Director Jackie Apodaca
When: Tuesday, September 27, at 6:30 pm, doors open at 6:15 for seating
By Southern Oregon Artists Resource, 2003 contributed posts
View all Southern Oregon Artists Resource's posts. About the author: SOAR: The Southern Oregon Artist's Resource is a directory of Southern Oregon artists, artisans and those who serve them and calendar of their art events, and Art Matters!, our blog posting Southern Oregon art events and matters of interest to artists, enthusiasts and patrons of the arts near and far. SOAR was created and is maintained by art advocate and web designer Hannah West in Jacksonville, Oregon to promote our diverse and talented arts community to our visitors and the rest of the world.
Ashland New Plays Festival Announces Winning Playwrights for ANPF 2019
Four new plays chosen for annual Fall Festival supporting new works for the stage
More info: https://www.ashlandnewplays.org/
Ashland, Oregon – In its 28thseason, Ashland New Plays Festival will present four playwrights’ new works at its flagship annual event ANPF 2019 from October 16–20 in Ashland at the Unitarian Center, 87 Fourth Street.
“I’m excited about our four winning plays and can’t wait to share them with audiences in October,” ANPF’s Artistic Director Kyle Haden said, “This was the deepest pool of finalists we’ve had in my tenure at ANPF, but these four plays stood out. The stories are all very different, but are all well-crafted and will stick with you.”
The ANPF 2019 winners are:
Starter Pistol by Michael Gotch
Michael Gotch for Starter Pistol
Synopsis: Deer season. Somewhere in a dying small town of Brave New America, an unsung mother, wife and breadwinner is making sure she and her family have enough venison chili to survive the approaching winter. But when a stranger comes to dinner, can they survive the secrets buried in their past and the reckoning to come?
Michael Gotch is a playwright, actor, director and teacher who lives in Delaware. He is a founding member of The REP, the professional resident company at the Roselle Center for the Arts at the University of Delaware, where he also teaches and has directed, written and performed in over 50 productions since its inaugural season. In addition to Starter Pistol’s selection at ANPF 2019, it was a semifinalist for both the 2019 Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference and the 2019 Blue Ink Playwriting Award. It will have a workshop and reading this fall at Westport Country Playhouse’s 2019 New Works Circle and will receive its world premiere in February of 2020.
Pelicans by David Johnston
David Johnston for Pelicans
Synopsis: Four men are gathered at the beach: a father, two adult sons and one grandson. They drink beer, crush cans, birdwatch and argue about global warming. They are awaiting the arrival of their cousin Margaret. She comes, carrying a beer in her purse and dragging an oxygen tank across the sand, setting in motion an absurd, dark comedy about death, family and home.
David Johnston is an award-winning playwright, librettist and screenwriter based in New York City. His plays and operas have been performed and read at the New Group, Moving Arts, Washington National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and more. He is a member of Actors Equity, Dramatists Guild, BMI Librettists Workshop, ASCAP, the Actors Studio’s Playwright/Director’s Workshop, Charles Maryan’s Playwrights/Directors Workshop, and is an alumni artist of American Lyric Theatre. Since 2012, David has been the executive director of Exploring the Metropolis, Inc., a NYC-based nonprofit focused exclusively on workspace issues for performing artists, organizations and facilities.
The Way North by Tira Palmquist
Tira Palmquist for The Way North
Synopsis: When a lost, cold and very pregnant young woman stumbles on to her rural homestead in the Minnesota wilderness, Freddy Hansondoesn’t hesitate to take her in. It’s the right thing to do, and as the county’s former Sheriff, Freddy has dedicated her life to protecting and serving others. But when her new guest turns out to be a Sudanese refugee making a run for the Canadian border, what it means to protect and to serve becomes a more complicated, and far more dangerous, question.
Tira Palmquist is known for plays that merge the personal, the political and the poetic. Based in Irvine, California, she teaches creative writing at the Orange County School of the Arts. She is a member of the Playwrights Union, the Anteaus Theater’s Playwrights Lab and the Dramatists Guild. She also works as a director and dramaturg, including at Seven Devils Playwright Conference, where she first developed The Way North. The Way North was also a finalist for the 2019 Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, the 2019 Blue Ink Playwriting Award, an honorable mention on the 2019 Kilroys List, and was part of the Pioneer Theatre Company’s 2019 Play-by-Play New Play Reading Series.
The Night Climber by Joshua Rebell
Joshua Rebell for The Night Climber
Synopsis: When a #MeToo op-ed piece about his affairs with female students goes viral, a beloved Ivy League college professor faces an impossible dilemma: save his job by coming clean, or save his relationship with his daughter, whose future is at risk over his admission of one particular long-ago affair—her mentor.
Joshua Rebell is a New York City based playwright and screenwriter. He is thrilled to be returning to ANPF – where his play Omission was a winner in 2012. Some of his other plays include Embraceable You (The Tamarind Theatre, Los Angeles), Gatsby in Hollywood (The Met Theatre, Los Angeles), Black Tie Affairs (The Met Theatre), and Preying On Puritans (Sacred Fools, Los Angeles). Additionally, his plays have received readings and workshops with Capital Repertory Theatre, the Ensemble Studio Theatre-L.A., and the Dorset Theatre Festival. Rebell is a graduate of Dartmouth College, a Stowe Story Labs alum, and a member of the Writers Guild and the Dramatists Guild.
The winning playwrights will travel to Ashland for the festival week with receptions, rehearsals, a playwriting workshop, and other festivities that culminate with dramatic readings of their plays.
ANPF offers the unique opportunity for playwrights to develop their previously unproduced works by providing skilled directors and world-class actors, many from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Southern Oregon University’s Theatre Department, under guidance from ANPF’s artistic team and ANPF Host Playwright Beth Kander. Talkbacks with audiences follow each performance.
“The week I spent in Ashland [at the Fall Festival] was one of the best weeks in my life as a playwright,” said two-time ANPF-winning playwright Stephanie Alison Walker, “From the moment my play was selected for the festival, I felt like I was in good hands. Our team beautifully brought my play to life. The audiences were such careful listeners and so committed to sharing feedback. I left with more confidence in my play and many more friends than when I arrived.”
Ticket sales for ANPF 2019 will open to the public in September. ANPF members receive advance access and discounts on tickets. Visit www.ashlandnewplays.org to learn more about the Fall Festival and ANPF membership benefits. A special note to playwrights: script submissions for consideration at next year’s ANPF 2020 will open on July 15, 2019.
ANPF also sincerely congratulates the twelve finalists, listed below:
Harbor by Liz Appel
White Party by Brent Askari
This Holy and Unruly Cause by David Beardsley
The Captives by Barbara Blumenthal-Ehrlich
Signature Photo by Michael Bucklin
Even Flowers Bloom In Hell, Sometimes by Franky Gonzalez
Up The Ladder, Down The Slide by David Valdes Greenwood
By Southern Oregon Artists Resource, 2003 contributed posts
View all Southern Oregon Artists Resource's posts. About the author: SOAR: The Southern Oregon Artist's Resource is a directory of Southern Oregon artists, artisans and those who serve them and calendar of their art events, and Art Matters!, our blog posting Southern Oregon art events and matters of interest to artists, enthusiasts and patrons of the arts near and far. SOAR was created and is maintained by art advocate and web designer Hannah West in Jacksonville, Oregon to promote our diverse and talented arts community to our visitors and the rest of the world.
Taking Aim at the Gun Debate: Can we have a conversation about this?
A defaced road sign from rural Minnesota.
Ashland New Plays Festival will present a special two-night full production of The Gun Show by award-winning playwright E.M. Lewis at 7:30 pm on June 14 and 15 at the Bellview Grange in Ashland, featuring Andrew William Smith and directed by Lisa Velten Smith. Tickets are $25, available online or at the door, subject to availability. A conversation with the audience about personal experiences with guns will follow the performance.
“I am here to tell a public story and a private story. A story about guns in America and a story about my own experiences with guns in America.”
And so begins the riveting one-hour play. Lewis tells her story with raw honesty and gives audiences important insight into the nuances of America’s gun debate. Since the play’s 2014 Jefferson Award-nominee world premiere in Chicago, it has gone on to receive critical acclaim and sold-out performances across the country and an international premiere in 2017 at Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
In The Gun Show, Lewis takes aim at her own relationship with firearms, from her experiences in a farming community in rural Oregon to the big cities of Los Angeles and New York. Lewis’s stories are brought to life by Smith, who recently completed a month-long production of The Gun Show at Pittsburgh’s Quantum Theatre.
E.M. Lewis is a former ANPF winning playwright and served as host playwright for eight ANPF Fall Festival seasons. Among her many accolades as a playwright and librettist, she was awarded the 2016 Oregon Literary Fellowship in Drama, a Hodder Fellowship from Princeton University, and a playwriting fellowship from the New Jersey State Arts Commission.
She is currently featured in an episode of Play4Keeps Podcast, an ANPF production, where she discusses her play in conversation with ANPF’s Associate Artistic Director and SOU Theatre professor Jackie Apodaca. The Play4Keeps Podcast is available free on podcast apps.
What: Ashland New Plays Festival presents THE GUN SHOW by E.M. Lewis
When: Friday and Saturday, June 14 and 15, 2019, at 7:30 pm
Where: Bellview Grange, 1050 Tolman Creek Road, Ashland
Tickets: $25, available onlineor at the door, subject to availability
By Southern Oregon Artists Resource, 2003 contributed posts
View all Southern Oregon Artists Resource's posts. About the author: SOAR: The Southern Oregon Artist's Resource is a directory of Southern Oregon artists, artisans and those who serve them and calendar of their art events, and Art Matters!, our blog posting Southern Oregon art events and matters of interest to artists, enthusiasts and patrons of the arts near and far. SOAR was created and is maintained by art advocate and web designer Hannah West in Jacksonville, Oregon to promote our diverse and talented arts community to our visitors and the rest of the world.
CALLING ALL POETS, WRITERS & VISUAL ARTISTS
Britt Music & Arts Festival wants to put your creativity on display in our 2019 Britt Festival Orchestra Souvenir Program. Our 2019 season is built around the theme ‘The Sound of Nature’. We are looking for original poetry, short stories, or visual art that relates to music & nature for our publication. How does music reflect nature? Where do we find music? How does nature inspire the creative process with regards to music? How did smoke from various fires last summer impact the making of music? Explore these topics through your written or visual artistic expressions.
2019 Britt Festival Orchestra Program Call for Entries
Calling All Poets, Writers & Visual Artists
Britt Music & Arts Festival wants to put your creativity on display in our 2019 Britt Festival Orchestra Souvenir Program. Submit your original work via email by April 1st, 2019 to be considered.
Our 2019 season is built around the theme ‘The Sound of Nature’. We are looking for original poetry, short stories, or visual art that relates to music & nature for our publication, which will go to press in June 2019. How does music reflect nature? Where do we find music? How does nature inspire the creative process with regards to music? How did smoke from various fires this summer impact the making of music? Explore these topics through your written or visual artistic expressions.
What to consider:
For visual artists: The physical page size will be 6.625”w x 10.125”t and will be printed using CMYK. Please submit a high-res JPG or PDF file for us to consider. All mediums accepted. (Paintings, Illustrations, Comic Art, Photography, Decoupage, etc.) For artists from the Rogue Valley: We will make a high-res scan of the chosen work and return the original to you or you can donate it to be auctioned off to support the BFO.For artists from out of the area(outside the Rogue Valley, Oregon) please be able to supply a high-res print-ready scan or photo of your piece for publication. Any donated work will be auctioned off to support the Britt Festival Orchestra.
Graphic Novel Pages: Using the format of a comic book or graphic novel, express your artistic impressions to be shared with our audience. The focus can be on anything related to orchestral/classical music & nature. From the fire season and how that impacted the making of music to how nature inspires music, to a fictionalized account of our superhero maestro, Teddy Abrams or one of our featured composers. The sky’s the limit!
Poetry: Poems should be a maximum of 250 words (to appear on a half-page of the program)
Prose: Articles or stories should be a maximum of 500 words (to take up a single page of the program)
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If your work is selected: you grant Britt the approval to reproduce the artwork in physical and digital format in perpetuity. We will include a byline of your choice and a link to your bio on our website. We will also include featured bios and/or interviews with the winning artists to share on social media. Your work may be published in any the following formats: Physical Program Book, Physically (via ads or souvenir items produced for Britt), Digitally (on our website, our social media channels and through video which will be shared on our social media/Youtube channels & possibly television). Written pieces may be recorded by a narrator and shared via the above digital channels.
Check our website on January 24th for the complete program lineup to pick a composer or work to further your inspiration!
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Where to submit your entry AND DEADLINE:
Submit all work to [email protected] in PDF (for written work) or JPG (for visual art) format by April 1st, 2019 to be considered. Selected artists will be notified by email.
By Southern Oregon Artists Resource, 2003 contributed posts
View all Southern Oregon Artists Resource's posts. About the author: SOAR: The Southern Oregon Artist's Resource is a directory of Southern Oregon artists, artisans and those who serve them and calendar of their art events, and Art Matters!, our blog posting Southern Oregon art events and matters of interest to artists, enthusiasts and patrons of the arts near and far. SOAR was created and is maintained by art advocate and web designer Hannah West in Jacksonville, Oregon to promote our diverse and talented arts community to our visitors and the rest of the world.
This November, Seattle’s Center on Contemporary Art (CoCA) and La Sala announce new events for the exhibition, (Where) Do We Belong?
The public is invited to join CoCA and La Sala at the First Thursday Art Walk for a performance by Milvia Berenice Pacheco Salvatierra. Pacheco is an Afro Latina artist, born in Caracas, Venezuela, where she trained in dance and theater. Her art is inspired by early traumatic experiences and she has devoted her life to reaching liberation through art and movement as a contemporary dancer, choreographer, performer,bodyworker,mother and community organizer.Marías, is a work-in-progress dance and poetry performance inspired and created by Pacheco during the recent staged reading of the book, Killing Marías, written by Washington State’s Poet Laureate Claudia Castro Luna.Recorded music by Trio Guadalevin will accompany the piece. Drawing on Mexican Son Jarocho and Huasteco, melodies sung in Zapotec, Spanish xácaras, Italian ciaccona, Andalusian song, Sephardic balladry and Moroccan shabia – Abel Rocha, August Denhard and Antonio Gómez are Trio Guadalevin.
On November 10, La Sala has coordinated another very special event of readings from 3-4:30pm. Poets, Maiah Merino and J.A. Dela Cruz-Smith, will begin this event with literary readings followed by Q&A of their artistic process, moderated by Catalina Cantú from La Sala. Additionally, hear about the work being done at Northwest Immigrant Rights Project to surmount challenges and provide resources for immigrants to the US.
Indigenous bilingual, Poet, Playwright and Creative Non-fiction writer Maiah A Merino, shares stories of her mixed culture family, and the pulse of what’s alive in her life currently.
J.A. Dela Cruz-Smith is a bread baker and poet in Seattle pursuing an MFA in the Rainier Writing Workshop.
La Sala, a Seattle nonprofit organization works to coalesce and mobilize the Latino/Latina arts community of the Seattle, Bellevue and surrounding districts, and is partner and co-curator with CoCA for the exhibition,(Where) Do We Belong?, as well as the above programming. Find more at www.lasalaseattle.org.
Mark your calendars:
(Where) Do We Belong?
Exhibition dates October 4 – November 17, 2018.
Reception Thursday, November 1 from 5pm – 9pm as part of Pioneer Square Art Walk.
A Performance by Milvia Pacheco, “Marías,” Thursday, November 1 from 7pm – 7:15pm Literary Readings + Discussion: Saturday, November 10 from 3pm – 4:30pm
Exhibition and all events at CoCA in Pioneer Square: 114 Third Avenue South, Seattle, 98104. Public Gallery hours are Thursday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm.
(Where) Do We Belong?10/4-11/17/2018
Group exhibit shares the realities and challenges surrounding immigration and includes works that are a response to Trump’s “Zero-Tolerance Immigration Policies”—amplifying diverse artistic voices with direct experience.
By Southern Oregon Artists Resource, 2003 contributed posts
View all Southern Oregon Artists Resource's posts. About the author: SOAR: The Southern Oregon Artist's Resource is a directory of Southern Oregon artists, artisans and those who serve them and calendar of their art events, and Art Matters!, our blog posting Southern Oregon art events and matters of interest to artists, enthusiasts and patrons of the arts near and far. SOAR was created and is maintained by art advocate and web designer Hannah West in Jacksonville, Oregon to promote our diverse and talented arts community to our visitors and the rest of the world.
Ashland Gallery Association November 2018 Art Exhibits
First Friday Art Walk, November 2nd from 5 to 8 pm
Stroll the galleries and take in the visual delights in downtown Ashland and the Historic Railroad District. Enjoy this free year-round community event, filled with a diverse array of artwork, live music, artist demonstrations, refreshments and lively conversation!
AGA November Spotlight Exhibits
Masterpiece Christian Fine Arts
Paintings by Mera Oliveria
Ashland Pony Espresso
Mera Oliveria grew up in Southern Oregon and began oil painting in the past 6 years, learning from local artists, which revealed her inherent natural abilities. Mera has always loved art but it wasn’t until she encountered the living God that she feels her art and skill level blossomed in new ways. Like in the story of Exodus, where God gave skill to craftsmen and artists to build the sacred place where He would meet again with His people, she believes artists are gifted with abilities to create art that allows one to encounter the living God, a meeting place, so to speak.
Along with working in painting, Mera engages in chalk festivals where artists spend days on the asphalt creating large chalk murals in the streets. Ashland residents may remember Mera transforming the sidewalk in the summer of 2017 in front of the Black Swan Theater with a 12 x 12 chalk art rendition of Henry IV, the Prodigal Son along with artist Cathy Gallatin. She feels that involving the public in the process of creating art is special for many reasons, emphasizing the importance of the arts within community and how beauty is a form of unity, a universal language that speaks of the human experience we all live, and the spiritual and emotional journey that no one can escape.
Animal Crackers: Gallery Artists Pay Tribute to Our Furry and Feathered Friends
If you spend any time in the gallery you will have noticed that many of our artists have a thing for animals in their work. Why? Well, we don’t want to overthink it….but, we can celebrate it! From the fun to the reverent, small pieces and large, 2D and 3D, we will be including all the ways our artists honor animals in their work. Artists include Wayne Armstrong, Don Ajello, Laurel Bustamante, Steven Dewey, Penelope Dews, Baba Wagué Diakité, Claire Duncan, Marly Eidsness, John & Robin Gumaelius, Carol Ingram, Pamela Kroll, Betty LaDuke, Jhenna Quinn Lewis, Gabriel Mark Lipper, Robert Schlegel, Karen Staal, Wataru Sugiyama, Millie Whipplesmith Plank, and Aggie Zed. For this occasion, we’ve invited Portland sculptor, Stan Peterson whose carved wooden figures have all the charm of early folk art.
This is our final show of the year and will all be up throughout the holidays.
Join us for a reception for the artists during the Ashland First Friday Art Walk, November 2nd, 5-8 pm. The show runs November 2nd through the end of the year.
Stan Peterson, “Going Home”, carved wood
Photographers’ Gallery
Tiger Lily: Featuring Heinz Danzberger
Heinz Danzberger’s new show “Tiger Lily” opens Friday, November 2nd at The Photographers’ Gallery at the Ashland Art Center. The show is part of an ongoing project covering the landscapes of the “State of Jefferson” and, in particular, the greater Mount Shasta region. It is a photographic journey and discovery of sweeping vistas and landscape details, capturing the unique land at the heart of the West Coast and one of the larger natural areas remaining in the US. It is very diverse with active volcanic roots from which spring wetlands, high deserts and forested mountains, creating a land unlike any other on the West Coast.
Heinz uses modern techniques and classic lenses to capture high-resolution photographs intended for large size pigment print. The massive scale of the landscape around Mount Shasta invites large prints to capture the grandeur of the scene.
Heinz began working in medium format and then migrated to digital once high-resolution cameras became available. The decisive factor in his work style is not as much the camera but the applied lens qualities – in this image he used the classic Pentax 77mm FA lens resulting in beautiful and very classic image.
The Tiger Lily aka Ditch Lily is a welcome sight around Mount Shasta. This particular flower grew like a bridge over Cold Creek under the forest foliage. The arch of the stalk and the fruits of the bulbs float effortlessly over the small creek. Perhaps a deer displaced it in the spring or the weight of the flowers bent the stalk down towards the water. The horizontal arrangement shows the power of this plant to survive in difficult places.
Heinz’s photography invites us into a visual poetry of the world around us. It is a medium to see the unseen; the fleeting moments of light; the rush of time hiding magnificent moments. One does not have to go too far to find these moments. This Tiger Lily was a short bike trip to the outskirts of town, where it hides in plain sight.
Heinz Danzberger, “Tiger Lily” 2017, photograph
Ashland Art Center
Dia de los Muertos Celebration on First Friday
Music by Frankie Hernandez, Pumpkin painting in the classroom. Meet our Artists!
Show: Through Our Eyes: Reflections on Nature
Featuring Janette Brown & Katherine Dron
Watermedia artists sharing their interpretations of nature.
Featured Main Gallery Artist
Bridget Reynolds
Trained in a very left brained world of business, I came to the creative process quite late in life. I feel like a whole other world opened upfront me. I said a resounding “YES” and have not looked back. It is like playing in huge sandbox exploring images and color. I LOVE it!!!
Guitar Series:
On my fort canvas, all I know was that I wanted a guitar represented. From that, this series emerged.
What fun I have had in creating them.
Intuitive Pieces:
I love to stand before a blank canvas/paper and just make some strokes and then follow my instincts with a piece.
It is always a surprise to see what emerges.
First Friday Musical Guest: Frankie Hernandez
Frankie Hernandez has played every venue conceivable between Seattle and Los Angeles. Half jokester, half home-brewed Tito and Tarantula, and always love-struck, Hernandez has carved quite a name for himself. The only thing bigger than Hernandez’s voice, which could fill a closet or Yankee Stadium with equal aplomb, is his exuberant personality.
For more information about all of our exhibits and to download the November Gallery Tour map, please visit: www.ashlandgalleries.com
By Southern Oregon Artists Resource, 2003 contributed posts
View all Southern Oregon Artists Resource's posts. About the author: SOAR: The Southern Oregon Artist's Resource is a directory of Southern Oregon artists, artisans and those who serve them and calendar of their art events, and Art Matters!, our blog posting Southern Oregon art events and matters of interest to artists, enthusiasts and patrons of the arts near and far. SOAR was created and is maintained by art advocate and web designer Hannah West in Jacksonville, Oregon to promote our diverse and talented arts community to our visitors and the rest of the world.
Now in its 27th year presenting new works for the stage, new play incubator Ashland New Plays Festival will present its flagship Fall Festival, in a weeklong run of dramatic readings of works from award-winning playwrights October 17 through 21. ANPF is proud that many past winning plays and playwrights have received world premieres and won top honors, including 2016 ANPF Women’s Invitational winner Martyna Majok for her play Cost of Living, which won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
This year ANPF features four new plays – chosen from 400 worldwide submissions – that take audiences on unique journeys. The first is through 19th century England and a woman’s struggle to make her scientific work known in The Excavation of Mary Anning by Ian August, directed by Penny Metropulos. Another sees a suburban American community rocked by a sexual assault allegation in Cold Spring by Victor Lesniewski, directed by Terri McMahon. In Primary User by Nate Eppler, directed by Kyle Haden, a technological advancement made in the not too distant future shows the universality of grief. Finally, a contemporary woman’s world is dramatically altered by the long-reaching ramifications of Argentina’s Dirty War from the 1970s and ‘80s in Stephanie Alison Walker’s The Abuelas, directed by Ricardo Gutierrez.
“We like to think of ANPF as an oasis for playwrights,” says ANPF Artistic Director Kyle Haden, “ANPF offers the winning playwrights invaluable time and tools to gain insights and make significant progress on their plays while working alongside world-class actors and directors as well as engaging with audiences at talkbacks following dramatic reading performances of their plays.”
All readings are held in Ashland at the Unitarian Center located at 87 Fourth Street. Tickets are $20 each and can be purchased online and at the door as available. The box office opens one hour before showtime.
A playwriting panel and workshop led by host playwright and award-winning writer Beth Kander will be held on Saturday, October 20, beginning at 9:00 am at the Unitarian Center for $10, cash or check, at the door. Reserve a space by emailing [email protected]. Kander will also be giving a book talk at Medford’s Barnes and Noble on Tuesday, October 16, at 6:00 pm to discuss the first book in her trilogy “Original Syn.”
Continue reading for more Festival details.
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The Festival’s opening night is Wednesday, October 17 at 7:30 pm, and will take audiences on a comic, surreal, and tragic journey based on real-life 19th century paleontologist and fossil collector Mary Anning in The Excavation of Mary Anning by Ian August. The story unfolds as Anning makes great scientific discoveries while being shunned by the male-only Geological Society of London. Leading an all-female cast is Alejandra Escalante as the title character alongside Jennie Greenberry, Michele Mais, Shannon R. Davis, Livia Genise, Meghan Nealon, and Marie-Claire Erdynast. Coming to Ashland from New Jersey, playwright August said, “[This is] a play about strong women pushing beyond the expectations of society, which is perhaps more necessary to explore in 2018 than it has been elsewhere in recent history.” This play also has a matinee performance on Saturday, October 20, at 1:30 pm.
The next play to see is Cold Spring by Victor Lesniewski a simply told story about a complex issue: how members of a tight-knit community respond to allegations of sexual assault against a local sports coach. Christine Williams, U. Jonathan Toppo, Jackie Apodaca, and Tiffany Cooper are parents who both confront and avoid the pain and confusion wrought by the event.
“I grew up in a middle class, suburban community much like the one depicted in Cold Spring [that] experienced similar circumstances… While this is in no way that story,” Lesniewski said, “I felt it necessary to explore what my younger self perceived during that time. I hope the play spurs further discussion about how we (as individuals, as families, as communities) deal with the effects of these types of events, and that such a discussion might lead to further understanding of how we can better empathize with each other and better support each other in the most difficult of times.”
Cold Spring performances are Thursday, October 18, at 1:30 pm and Friday, October 19 at 7:30 pm.
On Thursday night at 7:30 pm, playwright Nate Eppler of Nashville, TN, explores the process of grief in a computerized world with his play Primary User. Daniel José Molina is Oz and Esther Chen is Mia, two computer engineers who create a breakthrough piece of technology: a digital assistant named Ozee with near artificial intelligence – which retains the memories, conversations, and voice of one of the creators. After Oz dies and the technology remains, those who are left behind work through reconciling the past and moving forward.
“The play isn’t really about the technology,” said Eppler, “It is far more about how grief unravels us, how it makes us rewrite our histories, how it puts us in competition or cooperation with unexpected rivals or allies, how memories of the dead are tangible things that must be grappled with.”
Also starring Catherine Lynn Davis, Elizabeth Gudenrath, and Scott Ford, Primary User has a second performance on the final day of the Festival, Sunday, October 21, at 3:00 pm.
The fourth play is The Abuelas by second-time ANPF winner Stephanie Alison Walker, whose companion play The Madres won at ANPF 2016. Set in contemporary Chicago, the play illuminates the devastating and far-reaching repercussions of Argentina’s Dirty War in the 1970s and ‘80s. The story centers on an Argentinian concert cellist living in the US who is adjusting to life as a first-time mother when two strangers visit and expose a 37-year-old secret, dramatically altering the woman’s understanding of herself and her life. The play features Nancy Rodriguez, Vilma Silva, and Angela Hernandez with Alina Ceñal, Willem Long, Scott Patrick Ragle, and Nolan Sanchez. Rodriguez, Silva, and Sanchez were also in The Madres at ANPF 2016. ANPF is excited to work with director Ricardo Gutierrez on this play, as he directed the world premiere of The Madres in 2018 and will direct the world premiere of The Abuelas in 2019 at Teatro Vista in Chicago.
“Exactly one year after writing the first draft of The Madres,” Walker said, “I sat down to write its sequel with the intention of exploring the consequences of Argentina’s last dictatorship that reverberate today. In August 2018, after 42 years of searching, the 128th grandchild was identified. This means that over 300 have yet to be found. They’ve lived their entire lives not knowing the truth about their identities. It’s still unfolding, this history. Identities, long ago stolen, are being restored. And it’s not easy. None of it, as the characters in this play discover, is easy.”
The Abuelas is performed on Friday, October 19, at 1:30 pm and Saturday, October 20, at 7:30 pm.
Tickets are $20 available online or at the door. Visit ANPF’s website to learn more: www.ashlandnewplays.org.
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For Community Calendars:
Who: Ashland New Plays Festival
What: ANPF 2018 Fall Festival – Four winning playwrights’ new plays presented as dramatic readings with professional actors and directors
When: Wednesday, October 17, through Sunday, October 21, with evening performances Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 pm; matinees at 1:30 pm Thursday through Saturday; and final matinee on Sunday at 3:00 pm
Where: Unitarian Center, 87 Fourth Street, Ashland
Tickets: $20, available online and at the door as available. Box office opens one hour prior to showtime.
Also: Playwriting panel and workshop Saturday, October 20, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm ($10, cash or check at the door; email [email protected] to reserve a space)
By Southern Oregon Artists Resource, 2003 contributed posts
View all Southern Oregon Artists Resource's posts. About the author: SOAR: The Southern Oregon Artist's Resource is a directory of Southern Oregon artists, artisans and those who serve them and calendar of their art events, and Art Matters!, our blog posting Southern Oregon art events and matters of interest to artists, enthusiasts and patrons of the arts near and far. SOAR was created and is maintained by art advocate and web designer Hannah West in Jacksonville, Oregon to promote our diverse and talented arts community to our visitors and the rest of the world.
ART REVEALING THE GUNFIRE EPIDEMIC.
MAKE A BOX. SEND IT IN. IT COUNTS.
Back to School with The Soul Box Project
Nobody likes to hear school and gun in the same sentence. Schools spent a lot of time and energy preparing for the worst. Like teaching new words to Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star:
“Lockdown. Lockdown. Lock the door. Shut the lights off, say no more. Go behind the desk and hide. Wait until it’s safe inside. Lockdown. Lockdown. It’s all done. Now it’s time to have some fun…”
Or what this teacher says in a note accompanying a delivery of Soul Boxes:
Of course, the stories that haunt us most are about the heartbreaking
shootings that actually happen. But there are also stories about action. For instance, over the past eight months we’ve watched the Parkland, FL students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School build a movement out of their tragedy. Educators, students and parents are also taking action with Soul Boxes. Each is a page in our Soul Box story. Here are some of the ways Soul Boxes are going back to school.
A Day of Courage and Compassion
Last April, Da Vinci Middle School in Portland, OR spent the day making Soul Boxes. The activities were part of the arts magnet school’s full-day exploration of courage and compassion. Soul Box Project founder Leslie Lee visited as the school’s HeArt Learning guest artist.
She started the day speaking to an auditorium of middle schoolers about art, activism, courage and Soul Boxes. Guided by peer leaders, the students then spent their morning classes learning to fold Soul Boxes. Leslie visited classrooms to meet students and answer questions in the afternoon. In their last class of the day, students wrote about their experiences. The feedback from the students and faculty was overwhelmingly positive! If you would like Leslie to visit your school, pleasecontact her here.
Students Explore Their Power for Good
Woodrow Wilson High School students in Portland, OR carried Soul Boxes as part of their activism against gun violence, recorded here on their yearbook page.
Using the Soul Box Project in a service role provides an opportunity for students to engage, act and reflect while fulfilling their state’s high school graduation requirements or credit allowed toward graduation for service-learning/community service. Folding Soul Boxes can be tailored to a one-day project or an ongoing endeavor engaging other students over a set period of time. The individual act of folding a Soul Box, honoring a life lost or affected by gunfire, is meditative and healing. Group folding provides a nonthreatening opportunity for dialogue about gun sense and activism. Working towards a goal tied to a statistic – such as representing the 733 children, 11 and under, shot in 2017 – illustrates the gunfire epidemic, as well as the power of art activism.
Schools wishing to further extend student comprehension on the issue of gun violence can also order a curriculum toolkit from Vision Quilt .
Hannah Taylor and Graham Yotsuya lead a Soul Box workshop on Unity Day at West Linn High School in Oregon. Full story here.
Cheerleaders at Parkrose High School in Portland, OR folded 69 Soul Boxes at the first session of their community service.
School-based activism doesn’t stop when the class bell rings.
A retired teacher sent a set of Soul Boxes. Her note touched on the comfort that can be found, just by folding. “Thank you for letting me express my hurt, anger and frustration with what is happening in our country in a way that’s visual and creative.”
Betty Reynolds, Mark Mandel and other members of Woodrow Wilson High School’s class of ’66 in Portland, OR not only folded 87 Soul Boxes, but raised over $900 for the Project, as well. You can make a donation here.
Even pre-schoolers can contribute to Soul Box making. Here’s an idea to help the littlest hands contribute: Use a cardstocktemplate to outline the area that will show once the Soul Box is folded. Let them decorate the flat paper, then you do the folding. Cynthia Towle DeVore, on our Facebook Soul Box Community group, shared this insight: “For the very youngest we chose to simply call them boxes and not to go into the background. We felt that at 4 years of age it was developmentally too young to go into gun violence..,”
That said, any child who has experienced a lockdown at school deserves a positive, empowering way to respond. This second-grader not only comprehends the issue but shows an innocent compassion for the shooter that few adults would extend.
After the Las Vegas shooting in Oct. 2017 a seven year old boy talks about the SOUL BOX he made.
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And, finally, parents. Soul Box volunteer Stephanie Bugge Wilson – the person who keeps our social media interesting – penned this blog about her experience as a parent with children in lockdown, and how it led her to the Project.
If you’d like to join the Soul Box team, we could use your help! Specifically, we need to hire an Outreach Coordinator in the Portland, OR area. More information here.
On to Salem!
Even with the help of teachers, parents and students we still need thousands of Soul Boxes for our first major installation.
On February 15, 2019 — coincidentally the day after the first anniversary of the Parkland shooting — we’ll fill the Gallery West in the Oregon State Capitol lobby with 36,000 Soul Boxes!
That’s one Soul Box to represent every person shot in the US during a typical year. Legislators and staff will be in session. We will invite them to stop by and add their own Soul Box. This exhibit is also a chance to attract media attention with a parade of 72 volunteers each carrying a clear bag of 500 Soul Boxes in and out of the Capitol. If you want to participate let us know.
With an incredible 22,000 Soul Boxes already contributed, we are over halfway to this first goal — with more exhibitions to come! Gather your friends and family to fold, personalize and send in your Boxes (instructions here). If you’re part of a community, from a book club to a congregation, we have tools to get you organized here. Watch our Facebook page to find weekly Box-folding gatherings around the Portland, OR area. Better yet, start your own, especially if you are in a different state. However you do it:
Make a Box. Send it in. It counts.
Now, more than ever.
Help us spread the word!
Use #soulboxproject and @soulboxproject
when you post to your own media feeds.
By Southern Oregon Artists Resource, 2003 contributed posts
View all Southern Oregon Artists Resource's posts. About the author: SOAR: The Southern Oregon Artist's Resource is a directory of Southern Oregon artists, artisans and those who serve them and calendar of their art events, and Art Matters!, our blog posting Southern Oregon art events and matters of interest to artists, enthusiasts and patrons of the arts near and far. SOAR was created and is maintained by art advocate and web designer Hannah West in Jacksonville, Oregon to promote our diverse and talented arts community to our visitors and the rest of the world.
Ashland Gallery Association Art Exhibit Openings & Artist Receptions
First Friday Art Walk, October 5th from 5 to 8 pm
Stroll the galleries and take in the visual delights in downtown Ashland and the Historic Railroad District. Enjoy this free year-round community event, filled with a diverse array of artwork, live music, artist demonstrations, refreshments and lively conversation!
For more information about all of our exhibits and to download the October Gallery Tour map, please visit: www.ashlandgalleries. com
Art & Soul Gallery
Mountains and More, Paintings by Carla Griffin
“It is my desire to awaken in the viewer the delight that arises from careful observation.”Carla J Griffin, PSO
Carla presents her exquisite, realistic Oil and Pastel paintings. Her expressive landscapes depict the world through her observations and vision. Carla’s works will be exhibited through the month of October. Please join us for a festive opening on First Friday, October 5, from 5-8 PM.
Carla has won numerous local awards for her art including Painting of the Year from Southern Oregon Society of Artists and Best of Show from the Josephine County Artists Association. Griffin has also been accepted into four Pastel Society of Oregon’s judged shows with awards in two of them and is now a Signature member. The Pastel Society of the West Coast also accepted an entry from Griffin.
Carla Griffin, “Smith Rock”, painting
Art & Soul 20th Birthday Celebration
We will celebrate bringing Fine Art to Ashland and the surrounding communities on Friday, October 26, from 5-8 PM. Join us for birthday cake, wine, music and of course fine art!
Schneider Museum of Art
Fall Exhibitions
September 28th, 2018 – January 5th, 2019
Opening Thursday, September 27th, Museum Members and Volunteers VIP reception 4-5pm, General Public, 5-7pm
Entry Gallery:
Terrain: The Space Betweenfrom the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation. Featuring work by Vija Celmins, Judy Pfaff and Ed Ruscha
Main Gallery:
Field Burns, a solo exhibition by Patrick Collier
Heiter and Treehaven Galleries:
Outland About, a two-person exhibition featuring Carl Diehl and Susan Murrell. Curated by Patrick Collier
The exhibitions will be complemented with First Fridays, FREE Family Days and Tuesday Tours – drop in docent-led tours of the exhibition held every Tuesday at 12:30 PM.
Patrick Collier, “Gate Burn”, digital print
Ashland Art Works
Rogue Valley Views: Woodworking, Furniture, and Paintings
Visit us this month to see new offerings by painter Michael Gibson, who took inspiration from Oregon’s Bear Creek Wine Trail, and furniture maker John Weston, who uses woods found and sourced in the Rogue Valley. Come by and meet the artists at First Friday on October 5.
Michael’s style is unique and at the same time inspired by works of post-impressionist artists. For this show, he traveled Oregon’s Southernmost Bear Creek Wine Trail and painted views from the wineries. The oil paintings are on particleboard, which provides an interesting texture. Michael received his BFA from Houston Museum of Fine Arts. He has worked as a designer, art director and taught life drawing, illustration, painting, graphic design and photography at Art Institute of Houston and the Art Institute of Seattle.
Becoming a part of a cooperative of artists has inspired John Weston to stretch his woodworking and to combine form with function. His work is intended to provide generations of use and enjoyment. Mortise and tenon joinery, mitred splines, dowels, dovetails. and floating tenons are a few of his favorite construction techniques. John’s work consistently attempts to highlight the natural beauty found in selected pieces of lumber. He collects unique pieces of lumber and finds enjoyment in sharing their beauty with others. When using exotic woods, he tries to purchase certified lumber that is harvested from tree farms. John’s greatest satisfaction comes from using woods native to Oregon.
Michael Gibson, oil painting
Gallerie Karon
Faces, Hidden and Revealed
Masks, Puppets and Portraits
There are a couple of twists to the annual mask and puppet show this year at Gallerie Karon. We’ve added portraits to the mix that will include work by Robert Paulmenn, Pam Danielle, Brooks Garden Hauschild and Richard LeVitt among others.
The most unusual offering is from a private collection of vintage ventriloquist dummies. It’s rare to see a grouping like this and all for sale! Hand puppets are also in the evidence and many, many animals are represented.We even have stringed marionettes! Our extensive mask collection comes from all over the world. It includes helmet, face and shoulder masks. (We have a few fun ones for Halloween wearing too!)
Healing HeArts – Breast Cancer Awareness and Fundraiser
Riding Beyond is a non-profit organization that opens doors to the future for breast cancer survivors through in-depth experiences in the horse/human connection.In support of October Breast Cancer Awareness Month, local businesses will participate in this fundraiser by providing gifts for a raffle on First Friday and cash donation jars throughout October.
Ashland Art Center Collage Making Event
Ashland Art Center will host a collage making event: Horses and the HumanHeart, conducted by Riding Beyond participants and volunteers during October First Friday Art Walk.Find out how horses provide life-changing benefits for the many after-effects of breast cancer treatment, often lingering for years. Hear stories from participants of their enthusiasm for the “miracles” that unfold for them. See videos of interactions with the horses. Create your own collage to take home the power of the horse to benefit your own life. Find more information at ridingbeyond.org. This event is part of Riding Beyond’s city-wide public awareness campaign on October First Friday: Healing HeArts.
Participating Galleries and Businesses:
American Trails: Gifting a$50 gift certificate
Ashland Art Center: Artists Gifts Basket; plus they are hosting the Collage Event
Ashland Art Works:$50 gift certificate
*Be Cherished Salon: Gift Basket
*Imani Institute of Cosmetology: Gift Basket
*KIXX : $50 gift certificate
Manzanita: Barnwood framed Giclee by Texas artist Mary Gregory
Melanie Macinnes: 20% of all her art sold that evening
Platt-Anderson Cellars: 20% of sales October 5th; Gift Bag of Wine for raffle
Pony Expresso:Coffee Gift Basket (needs a sign); plus donating 10% of their sales on Oct. 5th
POSH Organics: Skincare Boutique Spa: Gift Basket
*Sew Creative: $50 gift card, includinga private shopping experience after store hours for up to 5
*Strands Salon: Gift Basket
The Crown Jewel: a $35 gift certificate
Three Penny Mercantile: $50gift certificate
*Umpqua Bank: wine and treats gift basket
Walton Art House: silver and gold ring with a moonstone (valued at $100) handcrafted by Denver artist, featured for the month of October
*These galleries/businesses are supporting the Healing HeArts event with a donation to be raffled off the evening of October 5th, although they will not be open for business during the hours of the First Friday Art Walk.
5th Annual Ashland Open Studio Tour
Come Into Our Studios…
October 13th &14th, 11 AM-5 PM
Free to the public
During the second weekend in October a group of local artists will open their studio doors to the public for the Fifth Annual Ashland Open Studio Tour.
The Ashland Open Studio Tour is an inspiring self-guided arts tour brought to you by the Ashland Gallery Association. This free community event will guide visitors to a diverse array of artist studios in Ashland and the surrounding communities of Talent and Phoenix, while journeying through the beauty of the fall season.
We invite you to come see the creative processes behind our talented arts community. There will be a variety of mediums from painting and drawing to ceramics, metal and fiber arts, as well as demonstrations, presentations, and screenings to reveal each individual’s unique methods.
The Ashland Open Studio Tour is part of the Ashland Gallery Association’s efforts to promote the visual arts in our communities and is made possible in part by grants from the City of Ashland and the Oregon Community Foundation
Tour Maps are available at AGA member galleries or visit www.ashlandost.com to download a brochure and read more information about participating artists.
Visit: www.ashlandost.com for more information and a map of the participating studios.
By Southern Oregon Artists Resource, 2003 contributed posts
View all Southern Oregon Artists Resource's posts. About the author: SOAR: The Southern Oregon Artist's Resource is a directory of Southern Oregon artists, artisans and those who serve them and calendar of their art events, and Art Matters!, our blog posting Southern Oregon art events and matters of interest to artists, enthusiasts and patrons of the arts near and far. SOAR was created and is maintained by art advocate and web designer Hannah West in Jacksonville, Oregon to promote our diverse and talented arts community to our visitors and the rest of the world.
Ashland New Plays Festival today announced the schedule for its 27th annual Fall Festival.
October 17-21, 2018, at the Unitarian Center, 87 4th Street in Ashland.
ANPF 2018 playwrights, clockwise from top left: Nate Eppler, Ian August, Stephanie Alison Walker, and Victor Lesniewski.
The four winning playwrights, whose plays were selected in blind readings of 400 submissions from around the world, will have their plays produced as dramatic readings by world-class actors and directors in matinee and evening performances.
Each year, more than 50 hard-working volunteers read, debate and score every play submitted to the festival. Artistic Director Kyle Hadenselects the four winners from the readers’ highest-scoring plays. This year’s festival will feature new work by Ian August, Nate Eppler, Victor Lesniewski, and Stephanie Alison Walker, who is a returning winner. Full details on the winning playwrights and their plays are below.
“It was a thrill to be able to do a staged reading in front of a huge audience for two different performances,” wrote ANPF 2017 winning playwright Don Zolidis of his experience last year. “[ANPF] was everything you want from a developmental opportunity: a chance to work on the work, while reaping the benefits of an informed, passionate audience. In some ways, it’s a bit overwhelming. People were coming up to me on the street or in restaurants and telling me how much they enjoyed my play.”
The festival opens with a members-only reception where guests meet the playwrights, directors, and actors, and follows with a week of rehearsals, performances, and a playwriting workshop.
The opening night performance is Wednesday, October 17, at 7:30 p.m., followed by matinee and evening performances at 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and closing with a 3:00 p.m. matinee on Sunday, October 21. A detailed schedule of the festival is attached.
Each performance is followed by a talkback with Host Playwright Beth Kander, the playwrights, and cast. Kander, an award-winning playwright and novelist, was a winning playwright at ANPF 2015 and 2016.
Performances are $20 each, with tickets available online at www.ashlandnewplays.org and also sold at the door, subject to availability.
A reminder also that the final ANPF Theatre Talk will take place on Monday, Sept 24, at 7:30 pm with host John Rose interviewing Daniel José Molina. Daniel will be joining the cast of Primary User, one of the four Fall Festival plays in October. He can be seen this season at Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Henry V and Love’s Labor’s Lost. He was also recently featured in an episode of PBS News Hour’s American Creators series. Tickets to this dynamic and illuminating conversation are only $10 at the door at the Bellview Grange in Ashland.
Don Zolidis at ANPF 2017 during talkback session with audience following a reading of A DARK SKY FULL OF STARS. Photograph by Kara Q Lewis.
The Excavation of Mary Anning by Ian August takes audiences on a whimsical journey of the struggles of 19th-century English fossil hunter Mary Anning as she combs the earth for glimpses of the ancient past while also fighting to claim her legacy in a society that refuses to acknowledge her worth.
Ian August is a New Jersey-based playwright and librettist. His works have been performed across the U.S., as well as in Canada, Australia, the UK, South Korea and Bermuda. He is a founding member of the Princeton-based Witherspoon Circle and a graduate of the Philadelphia playwriting workshop The Foundry.
Primary User by Nate Eppler is a story set in the future, based around a cutting-edge chatbot that unintentionally becomes a digital monument when one of its creators dies unexpectedly, and tells a universal story of grief while his loved ones argue over ownership of the digital remains.
Nate Eppler is a playwright and new play advocate currently serving as Playwright-in-Residence for Nashville Repertory Theatre. In addition to his work as a playwright, Eppler serves as Director of the Ingram New Works Project, a nationally recognized and locally valued program designed to connect artists and audiences across extraordinary new plays. He is represented by The Gersh Agency.
Cold Spring by Victor Lesniewski focuses on four parents as they attempt to deal with their responses when a teenager accuses his baseball coach of sexual assault and the ramifications resound through their own relationships.
Victor Lesniewski’s plays have received world premieres at TBG Theatre and The Wild Project in NYC. He was the only American to be shortlisted for the inaugural Theatre503 Playwriting Award and was a 2015-16 Uncharted Artist in Residence at Ars Nova. He is currently an Artistic Patriot at Merrimack Rep and a member of The Playwrights Union.
The Abuelas by Stephanie Alison Walker explores the ongoing and devastating repercussions of the military dictatorship in Argentina in the 1970s and ‘80s through the personal story of one family when a visit from two strangers exposes a 37-year-old secret, testing the heart’s capacity for resilience and forgiveness even in the face of the most incomprehensible betrayal.
Stephanie Alison Walker is a returning ANPF Fall Festival winner, previously winning in 2016 for The Madres, which is receiving four consecutive productions in Los Angeles, Chicago, San Diego, and Austin, as part of a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere this year. The Abuelas is a companion piece. Walker is a NNPN Affiliate Artist and a member of the Playwrights Union and Antaeus Playwrights Lab. She lives in Los Angeles.
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For community calendars:
Who: Ashland New Plays Festival
What: Annual Fall Festival ANPF 2018
When: October 17-21, 2018
Where: Unitarian Center, 87th Fourth Street, Ashland
Tickets: $20, online at www.ashlandnewplays.org and at the door, subject to availability
