West Seattle, Washington
21 Friday
Maybe you could use a little comic relief after this week (or after any week, really). Toward that end, we welcome a new sponsor, Twelfth Night Productions‘ latest play, “The Underpants,” opening tonight at Youngstown Arts Center. Here’s the official news release announcing the show:
Never underestimate the power of a glimpse of lingerie. Twelfth Night Productions (TNP) is proud to announce its next offering, “The Underpants.”
Adapted by Steve Martin from Carl Sternheim‘s 1910 comedy 
Die Hose,” this hilarious comedy dives into issues of sex, feminism and politics. The story begins when young housewife Louise has a mishap with her underpants – they fall to her ankles, resting there for a few moments in public. The sight of her underpants unearths passion in those who witnessed it and concern from her boring, government-employed husband. “The Underpants” is a witty and hilarious look at marriage, gender roles, celebrity and class. This production is for mature audiences only.
TNP is a non-profit performing arts organization located at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. This production features several artists from the West Seattle community as well as the greater Seattle area.
“The Underpants” runs in a special limited engagement at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, the former historic Cooper School, in West Seattle. Show times are: March 27th and 28th, April 3rd and 4th at 7:30PM, with matinees at 3 PM on March 29th and April 5th. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students & seniors, and are available through Brown Paper Tickets (www.brownpapertickets.com), and at the Youngstown Theater on performance days. “The Underpants” is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.
Twelfth Night Productions (www.twelfthnightproductions.org) is a non-profit arts organization and anchor tenant at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (www.youngstownarts.org). Established by educators in West Seattle over twenty years ago, Twelfth Night has been active in charitable and neighborhood improvement projects such as The Compass Center and Delridge Neighborhood Development Association. The organization has raised tens of thousands of dollars for local charities, and offers theater training and mentorship to all members of the community, free of charge. Recent productions have included Once Upon a Mattress, True West, Fiddler on the Roof, The Dining Room, The Foreigner, Oklahoma!, DeathTrap, Crazy for You, and Bullshot Crummond.
Thanks to Twelfth Night Productions’ “The Underpants” for sponsoring local news, information, and discussion here on WSB; our current sponsor team is listed here.
The sidewalk stencils in front of Easy Street Records‘ front door in The Junction mark the spot where the party started at nine; the music — four new editions of Pearl Jam’s “Ten” — goes on sale at midnight. Inside, quite the crowd for a Monday night:
According to Easy Street’s party preview, free pizza and soda were part of the fare — and sale prices when the four new editions of “Ten” become officially available at midnight. If you are new to West Seattle, this location is particularly significant because (a) Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder is a West Seattleite and (b) one of the band’s other famous releases is from a 2005 show at the store.
ADDED 5 AM: At midnight, the counter was mobbed:
Here’s video from a few minutes before midnight – that’s Easy Street owner Matt Vaughan saying “God bless West Seattle”:
Of course, someone asked if Vedder was there; Vaughan said no.
Reminder – The Viaduct is closed till 6 pm for the first day of its semiannual inspection; the Battery Street Tunnel is closed around the clock till early Monday morning. But why leave West Seattle? Highlights from the latest West Seattle Weekend Lineup include:
SCOUTING FOR FOOD – You may have received a door hanger about this; we reported on it two weeks ago. Local Boy Scouts will go door to door to collect food donations to help fight hunger; if they’re not in your neighborhood, you can still take donations to the West Seattle Food Bank (map) 10 am-2 pm.
FRY BREAD FOR JUSTICE – 10 am-5 pm at the new Duwamish Longhouse (map) – $20 donation, food and entertainment to help the tribe raise money to keep fighting for federal recognition.
CASUAL INDUSTREES SALE – This sassy West Seattle clothing business doesn’t have a regular storefront but it’s opening the doors for a big sale this weekend – 6205 SW Admiral (map), 10 am-6 pm today.
FREE MOVIE – “Napoleon Dynamite” is the grand finale of the first-ever Winter Indoor Movies on the Wall series presented in The Junction by local businesses (including WSB!) – free (but bring money for concessions and nonprofit-benefiting raffle), 7 pm, the new West Seattle Christian Church activity center (map), bring your own chair(s), doors open at 5:30 pm.
“ECLECTIC” MUSIC – That’s how guitarist Andre Feriante described the show he and others will present in the Admiral Theater‘s Listening Room series at 9 tonight ($12).
Much, more more in the WSWL.
“Napoleon Dynamite” wraps up the first-ever Indoor Winter Movies on the Wall (free!) series Saturday night in The Junction 
with “Napoleon Dynamite” — including a tater-tot contest! Before or after, you can check out the White Center Open Studio Art Tour – Saturday night’s also when Andre Feriante and friends perform a “Listening Room” concert at the Admiral Theater – Scouting for Food, Sanislo Elementary‘s auction, the Hi-Yu Spring Tea, World Water Day at Alki, and more, all among more than 40 events in this edition of the West Seattle Weekend Lineup (sponsored by Skylark Cafe and Club):Read More
When the Duwamish Tribe dedicated its long-awaited longhouse on the eastern edge of West Seattle on January 3rd, lawyer Scott Wheat – seen in that WSB video clip from our coverage of the event – talked about the tribe’s legal fight for federal recognition. One thing they need: Money. So tomorrow – and two other dates in April and May – the tribe is holding all-day events under the title “Cecile’s Fry Bread for Justice” – Cecile is the tribe’s longtime elected chair Cecile Hansen, and we’ve heard that her fry bread is legendary. Other food, plus entertainment, and “surprises,” the tribe promises. (We also got a note this morning that they’re looking for volunteer help from people with food-handler permits.) 10 am-5 pm tomorrow at the longhouse, $20 donation at the door; more info here.
That’s guitarist Andre Feriante, who will be performing in West Seattle for the first time ever as part of the “Listening Room” show at the Admiral Theater this Saturday night. If you haven’t seen one of the shows yet, “Listening Room” is a new concept at The Admiral — concerts for true music lovers. We talked with Feriante this afternoon, and he’s excited about playing the historic theater, saying he’s always curious about the history of places like The Admiral.
He’s been a musician full-time for a quarter-century and has played around the world, mixing guitar with poems in multiple languages as well as songs. With him onstage will be, he explains, “two people I play with frequently — Swil Kanim, Native American violinist and storyteller — he’s an actor, with a Native American spirit tradition, and a haunting mystical quality to his sound., as well as a deep, moving presence. Also playing with us, Eric Fridrich, a blues and jazz singer with a great big warm voice, a phenomenal guitar and harmonica player – there’s going to be some contrasts since I’m a flamenco, classical, Brazilian, Latin-style solo guitarist.” And that barely describes the “eclectic” nature of what he does, Feriante adds, saying his songs “are in the Leonard Cohen, Jacques Brel style.”
Here’s the other eclectic aspect of the Listening Room show – local muralist Glenn Case will paint live onstage during the performances. One of his most recent works in West Seattle is the distinctive Cafe Revo mural:
(September 2008 photo, as the mural was being completed)
The Saturday night “Listening Room” show is at 9 pm; tickets are $12 and available online right now via Brown Paper Tickets.
Just in from ArtsWest – the waiting list for the first session of its Summer Musical Theater Camp got to be so long, they opened a second session, and it has some room – read on for the announcement:Read More
Back in January, West 5 in The Junction had its first-ever movie screening — “Rock ‘n’ Roll Gearhead – 4 Days with Billy Gibbons.” Its locally based filmmaker, Jamie Chamberlin, sent that photo and this accompanying announcement:
In response to the warm hospitality extended … by West 5 in screening the NW premiere of “Rock and Roll Gearhead,” Gibbons has flown up a most enviable wall piece. Taking time out of his hectic recording sessions with producer Rick Rubin down in Los Angeles, Gibbons custom pin-striped a mustard yellow guitar to be hung on display at The West 5. The legendary guitarist is celebrating a 40-year anniversary with his band ZZ Top and is slated to have a new album out this year as well as a worldwide tour. The guitar should be on display by week’s end.
Chamberlin says he’ll be visiting West 5 to personally present the guitar for display. There’s more about his movie, including its trailer, at this MySpace site.
Just got a note from Jessie, proprietor at Skylark Cafe and Club (WSB sponsor), West Seattle’s major live-music hotspot with bands six nights a week – she says, “I’m going to be on 107.7 The End’s Local Music show tonight with Megan Seling of The Stranger (8-10 pm) playing a few awesome bands that have played Skylark — as many as I have time for. Take a listen if you can!” She’s working to get mixdowns for Stevedore (which has two former Skylark employees) and Bend (which has two Shadow Land owners), who she says are both in the middle of recording right now. 6:31 PM UPDATE: Jessie reports in comments, “Got the mixdowns.” If you’re away from a radio, listen online, 8-10 pm: 1077theend.com.
The movie and the singing are in full swing as we write this, and the cake/cupcake partying will follow, but we can report that tonight’s real-life wedding onstage at the Admiral Theater happened in fine style. We took the wedding party’s photo above in the lobby afterward; we’ll be checking our video in a bit. Good crowd on hand to applaud now-newlyweds Melodie Anderson and John Babcock, longtime sweethearts whose story you can read here and here; we met the fine folks from Standing Ovation Films, a West Seattle-based video-production company who read about the wedding plan here on WSB and donated a wedding-video package worth $2,000 (they had three cameras in the theater!); other donated gifts included the Cafe Revo wedding dinner, the Sugar Rush Baking Company cake and cupcakes, an anonymously gifted stay at a Lake Chelan vacation home, and the volunteer services of nondenominational minister Teri Ensley, who you may also know as the ringleader of local pet-helping nonprofit Furry Faces Foundation. For the occasion, till we have wedding video to share, here’s our favorite ABBA song:
ADDED 9:52 PM: Here’s the entire five-minute wedding – minister Teri’s mike did come on after the first 10 seconds or so:
(video no longer available due to blip.tv shutdown)
Thanks to Joe Follansbee for these photos of the Denny Middle School marching band in this afternoon’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade downtown. Joe reports: “The rain eased off for us and the wind was light, so conditions were tolerable. And the kids were near the beginning of the parade, so they (and their parents) didn’t freeze halfway to death!”
While we were visiting Denny yesterday morning (longer story to come), music director Marcus Pimpleton told us the marching band’s next parade is the Junior Daffodil Parade, two weeks from today in Tacoma (more info here).
The original “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” is the second of three Winter Indoor Movies on the Wall in The Junction … at The Admiral, the singalong “Mamma Mia” will be preceded by a real-life wedding onstage … there’s a property auction and two rummage sales … a poker tournament tonight to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society … Gatewood Elementary and Pathfinder K-8‘s big fundraisers … the last weekend to buy Girl Scout cookies … and free yoga! That’s all among more than 40 events in this edition of the West Seattle Weekend Lineup (sponsored by Skylark Cafe and Club):Read More
Thanks to Dina Johnson for sharing photos from tonight’s Chief Sealth High School PTSA-presented Multi-Cultural Night. Raffles and a silent auction helped raise money toward the “wish list”:
But that was only part of it – student performances took centerstage:
Along with dancing and music – poetry too!
Besides cultural celebration and fundraising, tonight’s CSHS event included buffet dinner, too!
From Alki Bathhouse in the northwest, to Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor) north-central, to Skylark (WSB sponsor) and Youngstown Arts Center in the northeast, to multiple Junction-vicinity venues in the middle, and on to The Kenney in the south, the West Seattle Art Walk is under way right now all over WS. Here’s the map. See highlights – with art samples and venue details – on the official Art Walk blog. It lasts till 9 pm –great night to be out, have fun! (And if you take pix, we’d love to share ’em!)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Seattle could and should be “the independent fashion capital of the world.”
That’s the bold – yet not boastful – declaration of the three men who comprise Heart On My Sleeve, a fashion (and design, and music, and more) business based in a deceptively drab Pigeon Point duplex, a stitch away from the West Seattle Bridge.
Johnathan Oliver, 23, is a Navy veteran. Shelton Sampson, 25, is a former UW football player. Art B, 32, has a music focus.
Focused on fashion creations from recycled clothing, Heart On My Sleeve started 2 years ago when Johnathan and Shelton met in Hawaii, where John was working on a production of the “Lion King” musical with which Shelton’s sister happened to be involved. They became fast friends and business partners, hatching the HOMS idea and coming up with the logo in a Hawaii Starbucks – presaging their eventual headquarters in Starbucks’ hometown (how they got from there to here is a whole ‘nother tangent for another time’ — in short, Shelton was from here, and finally convinced Johnathan to move).
If you haven’t heard of Heart On My Sleeve before, that’s what they’re trying to hurdle now. They are working around the clock, getting by, but confident they’re on the brink of that one big breakthrough.
They’ve gotten attention already. When we saw a KING5 feature a while back (watch it here) — our ears perked at the mention of “West Seattle,” but we couldn’t find contact information online. Someone eventually sent it to us after an online discussion, but it fell through the proverbial cracks. Then Johnathan sent a note just yesterday – along with some files including portfolio-style photos of their work:
So let’s get to what their creations are all about. The heart of what they do is recycling: Here’s Shelton, for example, with a work in progress on one of the mannequins standing in the room where I chatted with him, John, and Art this morning:
That started with a jacket – something that might have come from a thrift shop, or a donation. Then it’s examined with a fresh eye – a vision – and becomes the foundation of something completely new. The knot you see around the waist is for sizing – it’s a device they use if they’re consulting with a client.
The clothing is major, but Heart On My Sleeve doesn’t just design.
Big event of the weekend, the first Winter Movies on the Wall series starts with “The Mummy,” 7 pm Saturday night – then hours later, spring forward – set your clock one hour ahead at 2 am Saturday night/Sunday morning. But you’ll never miss that hour of sleep, just too much to do: A solar job fair in The Junction, the annual Fairmount Ravine cleanup, a swap event on Saturday, a fashion show Sunday, and a jazz benefit Sunday night, all among more than 40 events listed ahead in this edition of the West Seattle Weekend Lineup (sponsored by Skylark Cafe and Club):Read More
That’s the trailer from “The Mummy,” which you can see free this Saturday night in the first presentation of the first-ever West Seattle Junction Winter Movies on the Wall, on the big screen inside West Seattle Christian Center‘s new activity center. And Lora Lewis of Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) sends a reminder this morning that it’s not just a movie – for one, they’re looking for teams for a pre-show contest:
Our pre-show activities will be the mummy ‘wrap- n-race’. The idea is we’ll have 3 teams of 2-3 people who will wrap a person from head to foot in two rolls of bathroom tissue and then race to a finish line.
And while there’s no charge for admission, just like the Summer outdoor Movies on the Wall, donations will be collected for the West Seattle Food Bank (and for the next two months, those donations count for more than face value, because of the Feinstein Challenge) – and there’ll be a raffle, with entry proceeds benefiting a local nonprofit. You’ll even find treats at the concession stand. Just bring your family, friends, chairs, and be ready for fun – doors will open at 5:30 – the center’s on 42nd SW just south of Genesee (map) – movie’s at 7. (And as for the following two Saturday nights, the “season slate” is in this WSB report and on the official Movies on the Wall site; WSB, we should note, is proud to be among the movie series’ co-sponsors. If you’re on Facebook — where we’re WS Blog — you can go here for a link to share about the movie series, or use the “Share This” feature under this item to share it via FB, Twitter, e-mail, or several other services.)
(“History Boys” photo by Matt Durham, mattdurhamphotography.com)
OPENING NIGHT: Three nights after we brought you first word of their 2009-2010 season, ArtsWest continues the current season with the first performance of “History Boys,” 7:30 tonight in The Junction.
CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT IN WEST SEATTLE: Council President Richard Conlin is scheduled for a guest appearance at the Southwest District Council‘s (WSB sponsor) monthly meeting, 7 pm, board room at South Seattle Community College.
NORTH DELRIDGE NEIGHBORS: If you live in the North Delridge area, meet your neighbors and see how you can help work on neighborhood issues as the North Delridge Neighborhood Council meets tonight, 6:30 pm, Delridge Library.
FAUNTLEROY SERIES: “Re-creating Community in Our Day” continues with leadership expert Bill Grace, 7 pm at Fauntleroy Church (after 6 pm “simple supper” by donation).
(video added Tuesday, Alan Harrison discussing AW’s mission)
Just back from ArtsWest in The Junction, where the 2009-2010 season was announced tonight with a first-of-its-kind onstage event. Four of the six productions are Seattle premieres (and one is a National New Play Network World Premiere). The six are: “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” by Sarah Ruhl, directed by Carol Roscoe, 9/9/09-10/3/09; “Measure for Pleasure” by David Grimm, directed by Christopher Zinovitch, 10/21/09-11/14/09; “Plaid Tidings” returns for the 2nd consecutive holiday season 12/2/09-12/27/09; “Love Song” by John Kolvenbach, directed by Kate Witt, 1/27/10-2/21/10; “Sunlight” by Sharr White, directed by Vanessa Miller, 3/10/10-4/3/10; “Tell Me on a Sunday” (Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s one-woman show, starring Jessica Skerritt with Zinovitch directing), 4/28/10-5/23/10. ArtsWest executive director Alan Harrison told the announcement audience that despite the economy’s troubles, ticket sales for 2008-2009 are up 30 percent from a year earlier, and even art sales are up. (Meantime, ArtsWest’s next production of the current season, “History Boys,” opens this Wednesday.)
Thanks to Sally for the tip that the Lagarto Glass studio in Pigeon Point (1904 SW Dawson; map) is having a sale today to clear out the garage studio and switch to work-at-home mode. Get there as soon as you can – they’re just going till it’s gone. Meantime, we’ve also stopped by the first-ever Rat City Rummage at the old White Center skating rink – good turnout of sellers and shoppers:
This one’s going till 6 tonight and you can see a few more pix as well as an artist/seller interview at our partner site White Center Now.
ADDED 9:52 PM: Thanks to Highland Park’s Dina Johnson for sharing this page full of photos of other artists and craftspeople who were on hand at Rat City Rummage.
It’s the size of a greeting card … full of writing and art, 36 pages worth: A new zine, born into the literary world, resolutely on paper instead of in pixels. Jonathan VeraKat, who presided tonight at the Twilight Artist Collective party in The Junction launching his zine, says each issue will focus on a single topic. The first one — “ghetto,” including answers to the question “Is there a ghetto in Seattle, and if so, where?” (seven answers – 4 no, 3 variations on yes). Jonathan explained to us how the topic was arrived at, as well as – why a zine?
If you want to get a copy, or have a question or idea for Jonathan (who’s based on Capitol Hill), the first edition of XVIII ends with his e-mail address: JVKXVIII@gmail.com
This time around, the West Seattle Weekend Lineup includes several notable events outside West Seattle boundaries that we thought you’d like to know about anyway — including “Remember This” tonight at Seattle Center, the first-ever Rat City Rummage and a beer/ice-cream tasting event in White Center and a wine festival in Des Moines – but we have lots of West Seattle happenings too, including a family “game show” night and the Highland Park Elementary all-ages school dance tonight, the Sanislo Elementary used-book sale tomorrow, your first chance to get directly involved in the city’s review of whether The Junction needs pay stations or other on-street parking changes. In all, more than 40 events are listed ahead in this edition of the West Seattle Weekend Lineup (sponsored by Skylark Cafe and Club):Read More
West Seattle’s arts scene just keeps growing. This Friday night at Twilight, add literature to the mix:
The MySpace site for XVIII describes it as “a brand-new literary journal based out of but not confined to Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood … to connect the general community of Seattle with the literary community of Seattle.” With an Easy Street After Hours show next door, Friday night will really jump in The Junction.
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