Arts reporter and critic Rosemary Ponnekanti keeps you in touch with the arts and culture scene with the help of other News Tribune writers, critics and editors.
Rosemary Ponnekanti is the arts reporter at The News Tribune, and has been a classical music nerd nearly all her life. Besides spending way too much time in galleries, museums and concert halls, she occasionally brings a whistle or double bass to Celtic jam sessions, and insists on singing "Happy Birthday" in four-part harmony.
Other contributors include:
> Arts & entertainment editor Craig Sailor
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Remember these Tater Tots?
I sure do. They held the stage at last year's "Play Buffet" at Theater on the Square with starch and sheer silliness. For those that weren't there (or even if you were), "Play Buffet" is an annual collaboration between the Northwest Playwrights' Alliance and Japan's Academy of International Education, a school for kids who drop out of the regimented Japanese school system and who, among other things, learn English through acting in new plays.
Here's what organizer Bryan Willis has to say:
The plays showcase the talents of 34 Japanese college students, most of whom
live in Lakewood and attend either Saint Martin's University or Pierce College.
These are kids who didn't make it in the traditional Japanese school system.
In fact, every one of them was kicked out of their respective Japanese high
schools for academic and/or disciplinary reasons--an astonishing concept
once you see the intelligence, passion and exuberance they display on stage.
It's a surreal, uplifting and curiously theatrical experience.
The Broadway Center for the Performing Arts contributes by offering space, and all the plays are by Northwest playwrights--another great reason to go. Playwrights include Dan Erickson, Cathy Sampson, Michael Wallace, James Venhaus, Aaron Shay and Willis himself, NPA's playwright in residence. Last year's was hilarious. It's certainly not professional theater, but these kids do a fantastic job and are worth encouraging.
This year's show begins 7 p.m. on Saturday Aug. 16 in Theater on the Square (915 Broadway) with pre-show music (also by the students) and reception to follow. It's free.
For more information, contact willis@olynet.com or 360-754-2818
And if you can't make it Saturday, try tonight: It's the monthly new play reading from NPA, and the very last one in Tacoma before they move to Seattle Repertory Theatre. (The reason? Broadway Center for Performing Arts charged them $80 for the rehearsal space, and the Rep is free, with PR thrown in, according to Willis.)
The reading starts tonight at 7 p.m. The rehearsal space is on street level between the Pantages and Theater on the Square. It's also free, though if you donate something the cash-starved NPA will love you forever.
