LAURIE MCINTOSH, GATHERINGS: MY WORLD IN LINOCUT at Stormwater Studios

Visual artist Laurie McIntosh will open a new showing of work called Gatherings: My World in Linocut at Stormwater Studios, 413 Pendleton Street, Columbia, SC, March 8 through March 18, 2023 from 11am -5pm each day. An artist reception will be held on Friday, March 10 from 5:00 – 8:00 pm. The exhibition is a collection of more than 30 images created using linocut reduction and multi-block processes.

Laurie McIntosh is an accomplished South Carolina artist and painter known for large bodies of thematic work inspired by her specific interests and life experiences. She is the owner of Laurie McIntosh Art in Camden, SC, a working studio she founded in 2016. She was previously a member of Vista Studios/Gallery 80808 in Columbia, SC.

Linocut reduction is a relief printing process in which the artist carves a reverse image in a block of linoleum. The image is inked in a single color and printed on paper. The artist then carves an additional layer, applies a different color, and prints again. The process is repeated until all color layers are applied. Because the process does not allow an artist to adjust a prior layer, the process is sometimes referred to as “suicide printing.”

“Gatherings is a result of navigating the isolation of the past three years and celebrating our coming out of it,” said McIntosh. “My family enjoyed being together during that time, spending time gathering crabs and fish, growing tomatoes, and doing the things outdoors that we love. It kept us busy.”

McIntosh notes her family’s most treasured times are sharing that bounty with dear friends, which is reflected in the collection. “Being able to gather with people again and enjoy homegrown and home-caught food, tell some tall tales, drink a cold beer, and have a laugh is what my family is all about. I hope that love of people and the land comes across in this body of work.”

Laurie McIntosh is a South Carolina native who earned a BA in Fine Art from the University of South Carolina. She went on to train at the Center for Creative Imaging, the Penland School of Crafts, and other prestigious studios. Previous noteworthy exhibitions include All the In-Between: My Story of Agnes, which served as the inspiration for an annotated art book authored by McIntosh in 2012; the South Carolina State Museum 30th Anniversary Juried Exhibition in 2019; and numerous juried and invitational, solo and group exhibitions throughout the state. In 2019, McIntosh was commissioned to create public art for the “Art Bus” for Comet Public Transportation in Columbia, SC. She exhibited a solo show, Beautiful Swimmers, in 2020 at Stormwater Studios in Columbia, SC.

For more information on artist Laurie McIntosh please visit lauriemcintoshart.com. To learn more about Stormwater Studios, see stormwaterstudios.org

From https://www.stormwaterstudios.org/event/laurie-mcintosh-3

Spring 2023 Cottontown Art Crawl is back!

Saturday March 11 10 am - 4 pm

FREE!

It’s one of the most exciting and—for artists—lucrative events of the season, and one of the best places to visit your favorite artists, as well as to find new favorites!

Cottontown Art Crawl (CAC) brings artists and entertainment to front porches and lawns in a historic downtown neighborhood. The fifth annual Crawl will welcome 140 artists to show and sell their original work.

Check out who you’ll find this year and where to find them below!

On 1200 Block of Anthony Avenue

  • David Dohan, Drawing; Mixed Media; Painting

  • Lori Ritter, Glass; Mixed Media

  • Cait Maloney, Drawing; Mix of traditional and digital media

  • Renee Frisbie, Photography

  • Bonnie Geiger, Handwoven Baskets

  • Debora Life, Ceramics; Mixed Media

  • Tammy Brown

On 1200 Block of Confederate Avenue

On 1300 Block of Confederate Avenue

On 1400 Block of Confederate Avenue

On 1200 Block of Franklin Street

On 1400 Block of Franklin Street

On 1200 Block of Geiger Avenue

On 1300 Block of Geiger Avenue

On 1400 Block of Geiger Avenue

On 2100 Block of Marion Street

On 2200 Block of Marion Street

On 2300 Block of Marion Street

On 2400 Block of Marion Street


On 2200 Block of Sumter Street

On 2300 Block of Sumter Street

On 2400 Block of Sumter Street

On 1200 Block of Summerville Avenue

On 1300 Block of Summerville Avenue

On 1400 Block of Summerville Avenue

On 1400 Block of Victoria Street

  • Brandon Manaa, Ceramics; Mixed Media; Painting; Sculpture

  • Lucas Sams, Ceramics; Drawing; Mixed Media; Painting; Sculpture

On 2100 Block of Wallace Street

  • Jordan Harsey, Drawing; Jewelry; Mixed Media; Painting; Sculpture; Wearables

  • Lissa Evans

  • Alex Ruskell, Painting

  • Melissa Smith, Mixed Media

On 2200 Block of Wallace Street

  • Candace Catoe, Jewelry

  • JP Lester, Woodworking

  • Sabine Compeyn, Fiber

  • Jeff Tempest, Mystical, magical and mundane

  • Susanne Sievers, Ceramics

  • Tiffany Walker, Jewelry; Mixed Media; Painting

  • Apryl Campbell

  • Noah Van Sciver

  • Lily Todd, Ceramics; Drawing; Jewelry; Painting; Flower Arrangements, Candle Holders

  • Clay Burnette, Jewelry; Wearables; Basketry - Pine Needle Baskets

  • Hearts, Arts, & Paws, Ceramics; Glass; Woodworking

  • Paul Moore

REVIEW: The Mad Ones at Trustus Theatre

“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes 'Awww!'"

Jack Kerouac from his autobiographical novel On The Road

Not enough has been written about platonic girl love, especially for adults. But the reality is that platonic girl love—its power and gravity and the way it can encompass a person like a cocoon—has saved many a young woman’s life, both figuratively and literally. The musical The Mad Ones by Bree Loudermilk and Kait Kerrigan (2017), on the Trustus stage through March 18, gives this beautiful and complicated phenomenon the reverence it is due.

With a tiny cast of four Trustus stage virgins, including two current USC students, Lily Smith and Charlie Grant, The Mad Ones is the story of Samantha and Kelly, played by Smith and Elise Heffner, BFFs who are separated by an accidental death. Samantha must rely on her memories of the all-important platonic girl love relationship she had with Kelly to get her through her grief and on the road to adulthood and making the next life decisions.

The working metaphor throughout the musical is that Samantha is obsessed with Jack Kerouac’s autobiographical novel, On the Road, but despite her intelligence (Sam is valedictorian of their senior class), she repeatedly fails her driving test keeping her, in essence, off the road. The brilliance of this simple metaphor plays out beautifully in the construction of the play.

Lead characters Smith and Heffner are just so much, too.

Adorable, approachable, relatable, insightful, lovable young women, Smith is a cross between Mayim Bialik and Tina Fey and Heffner is that combination of cute and fun that leaves no wonder Smith’s character Samantha adores her so. Smith plays Sam as vulnerable, but capable of getting through this period of grief with the help of the three people who she knows has her back no matter what: her boyfriend Adam, played by Grant, her mom Beverly, played by Jessica Roth, and the memories of her dead friend, Kelly. And in no way is the character of Beverly to be overlooked. Her character is refreshingly written as a bright, caring, and self-fulfilled mother who wants nothing less for her own daughter. While many writers would have fallen into the old tarpit of depicting her as a pushy parent, Loudermilk and Kerrigan seem to recognize what is at stake here and present Beverly as assertive, yes, but justifiably so. Beverly behaves in ways that every mother should aspire to.  

To say the cast has vocal chops is an understatement. From Grant’s smooth dulcet crooning to Roth’s rich and powerful voice, the four vocalists take on the score bravely leaving nothing on the stage. The slight pitchiness and rare missed note were so real and genuinely offered that they almost felt scripted, as in, everyone misses a note now and then so of course these authentically imperfect characters will, as well. These young actors, as well as Roth, DO NOT HOLD BACK.

Clearly this kind of bravery in such young actors had to originate in the experienced pedigrees of their directors, Robin Gottlieb and Katie Leitner. In her playbill note, Heffner gives special thanks to Leitner as “the best teacher she ever had.” No doubt. Leitner is also the powerhouse musician and vocalist in the popular local band, Say Femme and between the two women, they have performed enough lead roles to intimidate these four initiates into paralysis. But it is evident how the directors empowered their cast with courage and the message of the script.

There were no weak links in this production. Kudos to Ginny Ives (stage manager), Ezra Pound (sound), Lorna Young (lighting), Liza Hunter (assistant stage manager), and Jim Hunter (scenic designer) for pulling off all the pieces of the behind-the-scenes puzzle that allow for a successful production. Also outstanding was music director Chris Cockrell and his band, and special thanks to the strings player whose melancholy tones were enough to elicit tears alone.

Yes, expect to respond to The Mad Ones with anything from misty eyes to ugly sobbing. But the tears you’ll shed are of the redeeming variety—the kind that wash away the pain and remind us that we grow from every obstacle we overcome.

Go see this beautiful musical and celebrate the talents of these young actors and the futures they have in store.

 

Colleen Critcher and the T.Rex as Consumer and Consumed

Colleen Critcher is a Florence, South Carolina based artist who finds inspiration in consumerism, Tyrannosaurus Rex, and all things kitschy and gauche. She describes herself as a “painter at heart,” her favorite being oil painting, though she’s worked with a variety of mediums. She also finds herself turning to printmaking often, a process that matches much of her work thematically in the way that it, according to Critcher, “mimics the industrial production model in a completely inefficient way.” 

Critcher has known she wanted to be an artist since she “learned that it could be a profession” in Kindergarten. She’s always felt called toward it, and always found herself admirably aware of its capabilities. “I’m also addicted to the basic alchemy aspect of art making,” she says. “Making something from nothing feels like magic to me.” 

And make something from nothing she does, over and over again. Critcher’s recent series, entitled Consumed, is a scathing commentary on the American consumerist obsession with excess and features a series of pieces in which the subjects literally consume multicolored plastic dinosaurs.

“I love the fact that decades after I collected them, the T.Rex remains a pop culture icon,” Critcher says. “People are still obsessed with this dinosaur who was once the “ultimate consumer. It’s a bizarre cultural phenomenon.”  

“Beyond the connection from childhood toys and popular culture, I’m also interested in the fact that Rex was once the apex predator. It’s a reminder that humans pretend their dominance is somehow guaranteed to be permanent. There is also a sad irony to the fact that the remnants of dinosaurs (as petroleum) are what we make plastic with, and plastic is slowly killing everything. Yikes.” 

There is something to be said for the deadly consumerist infatuation with plastic, especially considering Critcher’s idea that our induction into consumerism starts with childhood– “I think for most of us it starts with toys.” 

Relatedly, Consumed also includes several pieces with children as the subjects. What A Good Little Consumer and Pretty Please both feature the full body images of children, a girl and a boy respectively, with T.Rex masks on their heads, dressed in what appears to be play costumes. Something about the way the children stand, the way the little girl in What A Good Little Consumer cradles the T.Rex toy in her arms, feels eerie, more sinister perhaps. Is there something to be said here about consumerism eating us back? 

Critcher answers this question with more questions: “I’ve been making work about American consumer culture for a decade now and I’m constantly asking questions about our participation. Are we passively implicated in the process? Are we fully engaged with both feet in this complex system? Are we consuming the things or are they consuming us? What are the benefits and what are the negative effects of a culture built on the necessity to constantly buy more things? When I had children it made me recognize that they, we, become consumers almost immediately.” 

Another unique facet of Critcher’s work is its ability to be self-referential–she puts the literal image of herself into her paintings. Within Consumed, she can be seen chowing down on a purple dinosaur in Devouring Her T. Rex and a neon green one in Keeping Up With The Joneses (Suburban Mom). Perhaps this is a nod to her own participation in consumer culture, a reminder of its inescapable impact on all of our lives. It certainly adds to the uncanny aesthetic of the series.  

Critcher received her MFA in painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Since then, her work has been shown at numerous galleries, including The Southern, Redux Contemporary Art Center, Kai Lin Art, Gutstein Gallery, and 701 Center for Contemporary Art, and she has taught several arts foundations courses at Coker University, Coastal Carolina University, and Francis Marion University.  

Critcher is the featured artist in the Jasper Project’s First Thursday Series at Sound Bites Eatery at 1425 Sumter Street. Join us on Thursday, March 2nd as we celebrate the opening reception for her work which will hang throughout the month of March.

 

For more information about Critcher and her projects, and to check out her delightfully bizarre series Consumed, visit her website, colleencritcher.com.

CALL FOR ARTS at Richland Library

Richland Library is seeking submissions for our Spring Pop Up Art Shows. The exhibition series will be held March through May 2023.

Pop-up Art Shows are intended to highlight the work of local BIPOC, LBGTQ+ or otherwise underserved artists and their unique personal ties to the specific communities where the libraries are located. They are looking for work that speaks to the community's roots, culture and citizenry.

Up to 2 artists will be selected to exhibit on each of the following dates: 

  • Saturday, March 11 from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. at Richland Library Wheatley

  • Thursday, April 6 from 6 - 9 p.m. at Boyd Plaza *This will be a Special Exhibition in partnership with the First Thursday on Main event.

  • Saturday, May 20 from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. at Richland Library Blythewood

The application deadlines are Wednesday, March 1 to exhibit at Richland Library Wheatley, First Thursday on Main and Saturday, April 15 to exhibit at Richland Library Blythewood.

If you're interested in sharing your work samples, please review the submission guidelines and complete the application by clicking here.

Conceived and co-organized by local visual artist Jeff Rivers, this project seeks to expand the social and economic participation of underserved artists and communities.

Learn more about Jeff by clicking here.

For questions, please contact Kimberlei Davis at 803-351-5616 or kdavis@richlandlibrary.com.

 

Jasper Welcomes Lori Starns Isom to the Gallery at Harbison Theatre Friday Night

Lori Isom - who also is an exceptional baker!

In the Jasper Project’s ongoing efforts to locate and make use of blank walls in the Midlands area as gallery spaces to exhibit local artists’ work, we are pleased to open another exhibit in the gallery space at Midlands Technical College’s Harbison Theatre. Lori Isom is an artist well known to the Jasper Project, having contributed a place-setting to the Supper Table in 2019 and having been featured in the 10th anniversary issue of Jasper Magazine. We are delighted to facilitate showing her work this month at Harbison Theatre.

We will celebrate Isom’s exhibit with a reception on Friday, February 24th with a reception at 6:30 prior to the concert by Patrick Davis and his Midnight Choir, and Isom will speak briefly at 7 pm. The artist’s work will be available for purchase and will remain on exhibit throughout the month of March.

It is fair to say that Lori Isom’s life as an artist, and all around creative, has been quite varied. Throughout her young life, while receiving a formal education, she also studied dance and acting in New York. She was fortunate to enjoy some success as a professional dancer, singer and actress in New York and Los Angeles. Over the last several years, she's had many interesting and fun entrepreneurial pursuits, including owning and operating her own baking business! While she is predominantly a self-taught artist, Lori majored in fashion illustration in high school, and later fine art and fashion design at Parsons School of Design.

Lori's love of portraiture and figurative art began early. She was captivated by the work of artists like Mary Cassatt, Norman Rockwell, Andrew Wyeth, and John Singer Sargent because of their ability to capture emotion. Later in life, she found inspiration in artists like Mary Whyte, Dean Mitchell, Daniel Greene, Amy Sherald, and so many others. 

Through the years, Lori has done hundreds of individual and family portraits, as well as portraits of military personnel and heads of companies. She has also shared her passion and knowledge of by art coaxing the inner artist out of young children to senior citizens, through teaching. 

Lori's work has been featured in the pages of American Art Collector, newspaper articles and a variety of other publications. Her career has included solo and group exhibitions, and a one year residency for the City of North Charleston, during which she had the privilege to work on several community-focused projects. These included outdoor murals and special art projects, as well as workshops and demonstrations in the city's schools and community centers. 

At this point in her career, Lori is focused on reaching her most authentic artistic expression through deep personal exploration. She is driven to find her highest level of creativity by being open to trying new techniques and, most of all, trusting herself. 

"Since I have theater experience in my background, I relate to my subject(s) like actors on a stage. Telling a story and capturing emotion are what I aspire to do every time I go to the canvas. While working on a piece, I am thinking about how I can best reveal the person's story to my “audience” in this brief moment in their life. 

My deep desire as an artist is to present my subject in the most honest and sincere way.

Like any artist, I want the viewer to be moved in some way by the painting, and just see a pretty picture. I am stimulated by interesting composition, structure and use of color, however the emotion is really what drives me. "

Jasper is indebted to Kristin Cobb and the gracious folks at MTC’s Harbison Theatre for their hospitality and their willingness to work with us on our mission of making the work of Midlands’ area visual artists more accessible to the public and a more vital part of the culture they help create.

If you have an idea for a space that the Jasper Project might be able to capture as a potential gallery, contact JasperProjectColumbia@gmail.com.

You're Invited to the Launch of The Limelight Volume III by Cindi Boiter at the Art Bar, Thursday February 23rd

Please join the Jasper Crew Thursday night, February 23 from 6 to 8 at the Art Bar as we help executive director Cindi Boiter celebrate the launch of her newest collection of essays written by some of Columbia’s most interesting local artists about some of Columbia’s most interesting local artists.

The Limelight volume III: A Compendium of Contemporary Columbia Artists is the third collection in this series Boiter has published from Muddy Ford Press. This volume features essays from Jon Tuttle and his son Josh, Cassie Premo Steele, Clair DeLune, Dale Bailes, Kristine Hartvigsen, David Axe, Claudia Smith Brinson, Jason Stokes, Ed Madden, Tim Conroy, Len Lawson, Chad Henderson, and Boiter herself. The subjects of the essays include Tom Beard, Al Black, Nappy Brown, Anastasia Chernoff, Thorne Compton, Clark Ellefson, William Price Fox, Phillip Gardner, Tyrone Geter, Terrance Henderson, Rob Kennedy, Jillian Owens, Leslie Pierce, Kathleen Robbins, Sharon Strange, and Kay Thigpen.

We’ll be gathering at 6 pm for a cocktail hour during which attendees can order drinks from the bar and visit with friends, purchase and sign books. Following that we will enjoy brief readings from the collection.

Admission is free and we’ll be gathering in the back of the bar. Books, including The Limelight Volume I and The Limelight Volume II will also be available for purchase at reduced rates.

The Art Bar is located at 1211 Park Street in Columbia, SC. Thanks to the Art Bar for hosting this event.

Where Photographer and Subject Become Artist Together: A Preview of Gerry Melendez’s Whole

“There’s power in photography.” - Gerry Melendez

In the coming weeks, Stormwater Studios will host Whole, a photography exhibition by award winning photographer Gerry Melendez. There will be an Opening Reception this coming Saturday, February 25th from 6–9 p.m., and a closing reception on Sunday, March 5th from 12–3 p.m. 

Melendez is a Salvadorian photographer and filmmaker with over thirty years of photojournalist experience under his belt. He has won numerous awards and accolades over the span of his career, including the honor of Photographer84 of the Year twice by the South Carolina Press Association and six times by the South Carolina New Photographers Association. Recently, he was awarded a Southeastern Emmy for his short documentary entitled Donna’s Story (2022). 

This exhibit is a stunning collection of black and white photography—stripped down portraits with a focus on the individual subject. With regard to his artistic vision, Melendez says, “The premise of the exhibition is really to bring everyone down to the same level in a technical way.”  

He establishes this base level through not just the choice to shoot in black and white, but through the simplicity of the background of the photographs, the lighting, and the literal “stripping down” of his subjects. In essence, Melendez wants to limit our ability as viewers to make assumptions about the subjects as much as possible, saying, “Here, all you get is this one black and white moment in time. That and bare skin.”

Interestingly, Melendez believes his subjects to be very much a part of the artistic process, almost as if they are artists themselves. “The magic or uniqueness is what each subject brings to the table during their shoot,” he says. “Their personality and pose. The energy they show. What they're feeling at that moment. How they want to be perceived. I try not to direct too much and just allow this to happen organically.”  

He gives his subjects freedom of expression, facial or otherwise. He believes in the power of their stories, and the ability of his camera, in collaboration with his subjects, to capture it effectively and provocatively. 

One of these stories is that of Mary, a woman who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at 28 years old and had to have a tumor surgically removed from her chest. 

“It took a few years to be a proud member of the ‘zipper club,’” Mary says, “but the scar from the removal of that tumor is part of my story, my fight to be here, and it reminds me each day how strong I am and that it’s just one part of who I am.” 

As for Melendez’s general artistic attitude, he describes his driving force as such: “I want to create art that makes you feel something. Hopefully, it leaves you feeling good. Maybe it inspires you. Maybe it moves you to tears. Maybe it forces you to act. Whatever it does, I have this gift and I want to use it in the best way possible and hopefully leave this world in a better place. You know, Nick Ut's photo of the napalm girl helped end the Vietnam war. There's power in photography.” 

More information about Whole can be found on the Stormwater website.

Annual Winter Exhibition Featuring Chesley, Yaghjian, Williams and Friends - February 15-March 23

One of the most exciting visual art shows of the year opened on Thursday February 16th at the new Mike Williams art studio in Columbia’s historic Vista and will continue until March 23 with a reception on Saturday, February 25th from 2-5.

Anyone who follows local art closely has come to anticipate the yearly group show that always features Stephen Chesley, David Yaghjian, Mike Williams, usually includes Edward Wimberly, and as of late, has often included Ellen Emerson Yaghjian and Guy Allison. This year, the gang is all present at 1221 Lincoln Street for an extended period.

With the loss of the late Wim Roefs, Mike Williams and Michaela Pilar Brown, former ED of 701 CCA, divided Wim’s renown If Art gallery into two distinctive studio/galleries. For the past few months, with spaces have been quietly building their presence with Michaela Pilar Brown’s Mike Brown Contemporary Art opening the upstairs  of her multi-level space to a number of community-oriented events and gatherings of artists.

The Mike Williams Gallery operates similarly. While the Williams/Chesley/Yaghjian gang typically offers their annual group exhibition at Stormwater Studios, after having staged the exhibit for years at the former gallery collection know as 80808 on Lady Street, this year Williams is moving the group show to his new home on Lincoln Street.

About the Artists:

Columbia, S.C., native and resident David Yaghjian has exhibited across the Carolinas, including Blue Spiral I Gallery in Asheville, N.C., the Florence (S.C.) Museum of Art, Gallery 80808 and Morris Gallery in Columbia and Hampton III Gallery in Greenville, S.C. In Atlanta, where he used to live, Yaghjian has shown in the Spruill Center Gallery, the Right Brain Gallery, and other venues. He also painted two murals in the Georgia capital. Yaghjian holds a BA from Massachusetts’ Amherst College and studied in New York City at the Art Students League and the School of Visual Art. Among his instructors were Fairfield Porter, Leonard Baskin, Will Barnett and Chaim Koppelman.

David Yaghjian

Stephen Chesley was born in Schenectady New York in 1952. He exhibited a natural proclivity for drawing and art almost as soon as he could hold pastel and pencil which were often Christmas gifts from his family. Growing up in Virginia Beach in the late 1950’s he was exposed to the ‘Beat Generation’ of musicians, artist, and writers when Virginia Beach was still a seasonal seaside resort. Self-motivated, he continued with his drawing and small paintings along with exposure to local artist. Throughout elementary and high school the art spirit continued. Collegiate exposure led to a meld of art and science with degrees in Urban Studies and a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning in 1980 from the school of Architecture at Clemson University. Graduating in a deep national economic recession Chesley turned back to his art. Spending 5 years on rivers and sea islands to explore his aesthetic, subject matter, influential painters, and styles, Chesley’s paintings and art work began to move to the fore.

Recognized in 1981 by the Columbia Museum of Art as an emerging talent he went on to win top 100 in the first National Parks competition of 1987,exhibiting at the Smithsonian, and in 1996 a National Endowment for the Arts, Southeast Regional Fellowship, Southeast Center for Contemporary Art. Chesley has continued his work, characterized as poetic realism, along with welded and carved sculptural pieces in addition to joint works illustrating Archibald Rutledge short stories and WS Merwin’s poem, “Palm” for the Thomas Cooper Society’s Thomas Cooper Medal for WS Merwin in 2012. Stephen Chesley continues his creative journey with an art spirit in Columbia, South Carolina.

Stephen Chesley

Mike Williams, born 1963 in Sumter, South Carolina, received his BFA from the University of South Carolina in 1990.  In 1988 he began his professional career as a fine artist and sign painter while finishing his degree.  He has been prolific throughout the past three decades creating more than 4000 works.  

He’s maintained a steady presence in galleries and has had his work exhibited in the South Carolina State Museum, the Columbia Museum of Art, the Lake County Museum, Chicago, Ill., the Carillon Building in Charlotte, NC, the Sun Trust Plaza in Atlanta, GA, and the Volksbank in Kaiserslautern, Germany.

Jasper's Nightstand features Carla Damron's newest novel, The Orchid Tattoo, in an author-led discussion at Richland Library

The Jasper Project is excited to welcome Columbia-based author Carla Damron to discuss her newest novel, The Orchid Tattoo, at Richland Library on Sunday February 26th at 3 pm.

From The Southern Literary Review, September 2022 --

The pages of Carla Damron’s The Orchid Tattoo (Koehler Books, 2022) whiz by so fast, so easily, I have to say it is one of the best nail-biters I’ve read in a while. Not only that, this well-crafted thriller features a smart, likeable hospital social worker—Georgia Thayer—as protagonist. She is pitted against a human trafficking ring. In short, The Orchid Tattoo is a great read with a social message.

The opening shows Georgia, better known as George, in action interviewing a crazed patient in a Columbia, South Carolina, hospital. When the patient claims she hears the voice of a demon, George understands better than most. She, too, hears voices that years of therapy and medication have helped her to control.

If that’s not enough action and high stakes for the opening chapter, George’s brother-in-law David calls with bad news. Her sister Peyton is missing. Her absence is incomprehensible. She would not just abandon her beloved daughter Lindsay. She would not stop going to her grad school classes. And she would not leave without her cell phone. The race is on to find Peyton.

Some chapters are told from the viewpoint of a fifteen-year-old Kitten, who is trying to escape from Roman. He is a thug who runs prostitutes out of a run-down trailer. Some chapters are narrated by other women under the traffickers’ control. Damron does an excellent job of portraying those trapped by the trafficking ring without ever stooping to condescension or losing sight of their humanity. The girls and women are fragile yet strong, vulnerable yet tough, afraid yet brave. The American at the head of the operation calls himself Jefe—pronounced hef-fay. He has become extremely wealthy from human trafficking. While some of his prostitutes work in tawdry bars, others entertain an entirely different class of clients at Jefe’s exotic Orchid Estate. CEOs. Senators. Governors. But no matter where these women and young girls work, the threat of violence hangs over them constantly. Any mistake or attempt to escape leads to a vicious beating. Or death.

Since the police don’t approach Peyton’s disappearance with enough urgency and intensity to suit George, she launches her own investigation. She learns her sister had a secret project for one of her classes. Why would she keep it secret from her husband, her sister, even her classmates? What was she up to? Did her research for this project lead to her disappearance? The more George investigates, the more she feels she can’t trust anyone except Elias, a Black gay bar owner who is her closest friend. They bonded while in group therapy.

As the novel progresses, the stakes raise for all the characters, propelling us forward relentlessly. Some surprising twists add to the novel’s breathless climactic moments.

Like her protagonist Georgia, Carla Damron is a mental health professional. She holds a Masters in Social Work (USC) and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Queens University. In 2000, she was given the “Outstanding Mental Health Professional of the Year” award by the state chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. She is a South Carolina native and lives outside of Columbia. Her novels include The Stone Necklace (winner of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association Star Award), Death in Zooville, Keeping Silent, and Spider Blue. Her books explore social issues like addiction, homelessness, and mental illness. Her short stories have appeared in Fall Lines, Six Minute Magazine, Melusine, In Posse Review, and other journals.

Jasper Welcomes Lindsay Radford to the Hallway Gallery at Koger Center for the Arts for First Thursday this Week

The Jasper Project is excited to welcome our second Third Thursday artist to our Hallway Gallery at the Koger Center for the Arts. Lindsay Radford was born and raised in Alabama where she attended the Booker T. Washington Magnet Art School, Wiggins says that the experience helped shape her as a young artist. Now living in Columbia, SC, where she completed her BA in Studio Art at Columbia College, Radford says, “Art, for me, is a therapeutic way of moving what is inside me into a physical form. My hope is that my work uplifts, inspires, and empowers others to seek their own voice.”

Radford’s art will be available to view anytime the Koger Center is open and will remain on display through March 15th. The reception for this opening will run from 4 - 6 pm on the second floor of the Center just outside of the Donor Gallery.

Join us on the third Thursday of March for a new show by artist Quincy Pugh.

Philharmonic Collaborates with Local Nonprofits to Present a Weekend of Music and Sensation

By Liz Stalker

Ayano Kataoka

This coming weekend, the South Carolina Philharmonic will present two noteworthy concerts at the Koger Center: Firebirds of a Feather on Saturday, February 18th at 7:30 p.m., and Sensory Friendly Family Concert on Sunday, February 19th at 3:00 p.m. Both concerts are a part of the Philharmonic’s Music for a Cause program, a program that involves partnering with other non-profit organizations in order to raise awareness and funds for important causes through the Philharmonic’s various Masterworks concerts.

 

Firebirds of a Feather is a concert centered around the fantastical nature of our aviary friends. The concert is bookended by Igor Stravinsky, starting with Song of the Nightingale, and concluding with The Firebird Suite—one of his most renowned works—with Takashi Yoshimatsu’s composition, Bird Rhythmics, at its center. The SC Philharmonic’s Marketing Director, Chad Henderson, describes the selection of pieces as “a great opportunity for audiences to ignite their creativity and let the story form in their mind based on how they interpret the music.”

 

The Philharmonic will play alongside featured soloist Ayano Kataoka, a percussionist whose marimba skills will be particularly highlighted through these pieces. Kataoka started performing as a marimbist as early as nine years old, leaving her home in Japan to tour around China. She went on to amass a number of impressive degrees in music and perform all over the world. Kataoka is currently the Professor of Percussion at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and continues to be a season artist of the Chamber Music Society of the Lincoln Center of Performing Arts in Manhattan.

 

Firebirds of a Feather is being put on in partnership with Feathered Friends Forever, an organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and sanctuary of abused and neglected birds as well as adoption services for responsible bird lovers. Patrons who get there early can check out the live birds that will be in the lobby prior to the show, thanks to handlers from the organization. The birds in attendance will be highly social, imbued with some of the playfulness of the music that will follow, and present a unique opportunity for the audience to, as Henderson puts it, “learn more about these fantastic animals and create a personal connection to aviary rescue.”

 

Sensory Friendly Family Concert is, at its core, a concert designed for all families, inclusive to children of all ages and abilities. This concert, which will be just under an hour in length and feature themes from well-known children’s movies, such as the Harry Potter franchise and Moana, invites audience members to participate in whatever way they feel moved, such as singing, dancing, vocalizing, and moving about. The concert will also prioritize the ability of audience members to exit the theater with ease as needed. In addition to this, there will be a variety of accommodations available to theatergoers, including a quiet room, spinners, and changing stations that accommodate children with disabilities, and the lobby and auditorium will both be open an hour before the concert begins.

 

The Philharmonic has partnered with a number of organizations for Sensory Friendly Family Concert. Their current partners include The Unumb Center for Neurodevelopment, The SC Commission for the Blind, Family Connections of SC, Key Changes Therapy Services, Carolina Autism and Neurodevelopment Research Center, and Palmetto Animal Assisted Life Services. This concert will be the first of many Philharmonic inclusive family concerts.

 

“The SC Philharmonic is definitely committed to making these accessible family concerts a more regular occurrence,” Henderson shares on the commitment to inclusion, “It’s important that we make it possible for everyone in our community to experience symphonic music. The Koger Center is dedicated to working with us on diminishing boundaries as we go forward.”

 

Tickets for both events are available on the Koger Center’s website

Announcing the Jasper Project Lineup for our First Thursday Sound Bites Gallery and our Third Thursday Koger Center Gallery

Lucas Sams ~ Colleen Crichter ~ Charles Hite ~ Cait Maloney ~ Steven White ~ David Dohan ~ Jean Lomasto ~ Amy Kuenzie ~ Lila McCullough ~ Barbie Mathis ~ Thomas Crouch ~ Lindsay Radford ~ Quincy Pugh ~ Cedric Umoja ~ Lauren Chapman

Artist - Colleen Crichter - March 2023

Jasper is excited to announce the lineup for 2023’s featured artists at our First Thursday Sound Bites Eatery Gallery as well as at our newly inaugurated Jasper Gallery Space at Koger Center for the Arts.

Check back in as their shows approach for more information about the featured artists but, for now, please mark your calendars for the First and Third Thursdays of each month to welcome the following artists and possibly to welcome some of their art to your home.

 Jasper’s First Thursday Gallery at Sound Bites Eatery

February – Lucas Sams

Join us Thursday February 2nd to welcome Lucas Sams as a first time First Thursday Artist

March – Colleen Crichter

Opening March 3rd

April – Charles Hite

Opening April 6th

May – Cait Maloney

Opening May 4th

June – Steven White

Opening June 1st

July – David Dohan

Opening July 6th

August – Jean Lomasto

Opening August 3rd

September – Amy Kuenzie

Opening September 7th

October – Lila McCullough

Opening October 5th

November – Barbie Mathis

Opening November 2nd

December -  Holiday Art Show TBA

 

 

Jasper’s Third Thursday Gallery Space at the Koger Center

January – Thomas Crouch

Crouch’s work will be on view through January

February – Lindsay Radford

Opening February 16th

March – Quincy Pugh

Opening March 16th

— April – Koger curated —

May – Cedric Umoja

Opening May 18th

June – Lauren Chapman

Opening June 15th

Lauren Chapman - Koger Center, June 2023

Cait Maloney - Sound Bites Eatery, May 2023

Lucas Sams is the Featured First Thursday Artist at Sound Bites for February 2023

Jasper welcomes Columbia-based artist Lucas Sams to our First Thursday Home Away from Home, Sound Bites Eatery, this Thursday, February 2nd starting at 6 pm.

Sams is a multi-media artist living and working in Columbia, SC; an alumnus of the SC Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, the University of South Carolina and Temple University, Tokyo, working in painting, sculpture, film, digital/multimedia, sound, and installation art, with works exhibited in major art festivals, galleries and alternative spaces. Sams has been featured in Jasper Magazine, the SC State Newspaper, Garnet and Black Magazine, and the Timber Journal of the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Sams says of the upcoming show, “Nothing has been more fun in recent memory than painting like I did before Art School. This organized mess is a collection of drips and splashes, recorded action, crystallized snapshots of steps in undefined processes. Imagery ranges from the completely non-objective to portraits from the Artist’s Unconscious, both the intimate and the unfamiliar. 

Tuning in to Admiral Radio – An Interview with Becca and Coty and Preview of their Upcoming Koger Center Concert

“As a kid, the Koger Center was like that crown jewel of the city where so many foundational memories live for me. It’s really an honor to be able to perform here, especially with Coty. It’s something I never dreamed would happen.” - Becca Smith

On Thursday, January 26, Admiral Radio will perform at the Koger Center for the Arts at 7:30 PM to kick off their new series, “Live in the Lobby: Southern Sounds.” If you’re unfamiliar with Admiral Radio, the husband-and-wife singer-songwriter duo of Becca Smith and Coty Hoover is known for their unique Americana style of musicianship. Their name stems from their beloved eponymous radio from 1941, which promptly inspired the duo’s passion for delivering comfort and storytelling through music. To newcomers who could hear them for the first time at the Koger Center, Admiral Radio describes their sound as something “not quite country or traditional bluegrass, but rather something in between of all those things,” taking inspiration from artists like Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel and Shovels & Rope. Always on the lookout for inspiration and new material, each artist they listen to and love end up being reflected in their own work.

The new series, “Southern Sounds,” adds to the lobby repertoire at the Koger Center as they continue to maximize the use of every space within the facility. When it comes to describing the sound of the South, Becca and Coty say it as “hard to pin down. No matter the genre, whether it’s jazz, country, R&B, rap, folk, rock, soul, indie, or something in between, it’s the stories we tell that seem to resonate most and cross over.”

“Live in the Lobby” paves the way for more intimate concert settings, reducing the physical and metaphorical barrier between the audience and the performer.

“I grew up going to the Koger Center. It was something that my late grandmother had a strong appreciation for, and she made an effort to share the arts with me,” Becca says. “If you’re from the Midlands or even the state at large, you know this venue.”

As the Koger Center continues to define itself as a performing arts venue for all forms of music, not just classical, the duo is excited for the continuous development of Columbia’s music scene. “There are so many things to love about Columbia’s music scene. Columbia’s scene reflects its people: it’s DIY, gritty, humble, and special. What we love most is the sense of community we’ve found,” the duo says. They’d love for more listening rooms and general spaces to share a bond over music with the rest of Columbia, and the Koger Center continues to push for those opportunities, too.

With an abundant level of love for their craft and for Columbia always visible to those around them, Admiral Radio is an absolute treat to watch live. They thrive on the communication shared between themselves and the audience when they perform. “Sharing feels like a moot point without an audience there to help make sense of the world with you. Hearing people’s stories and knowing their names is what gives us the biggest feeling of inspiration and purpose when we perform live,” Becca and Coty say. The attitude they share towards live performances sets the tone for a magnificent evening of music and camaraderie this Thursday, and it’s something you won’t want to miss.  

The Palmetto Opera Presents Madame Butterfly

by Meg Carroll

One of the most renowned operas of all time is opening Sunday, January 29th at 3:00 p.m. at the Koger Center for a one time matinee—Madame Butterfly. The elaborate, full-scale, vocally rich performance is made possible by Columbia’s very own Palmetto Opera in conjunction with Teatro Lirico D’Europa.

Giacomo Puccini’s Madame Butterfly follows the tale of Cio-Cio-San, a Japanese teenager, who finds herself in the throes of a love affair with an American naval officer, Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton. However, Cio-Cio-San’s love is unrequited, unbeknownst to her, leaving the operatic audience to despair over Cio-Cio-San’s devotion and Pinkerton’s debauchery. The famous aria for which Madame Butterfly is known, “Un bel di, vedremo” or “One fine day, we’ll see,” is sung by Cio-Cio-San in anticipation of the return of her wayward American lover.

For this performance of Madame Butterfly, Palmetto Opera has paired with Teatro Lirico D’Europa, an organization that sources opera singers from all over the world. The part of Cio-Cio-San will be sung by Melliangee Pérez, from Puerto Rico, who boasts many operatic distinctions as well as numerous lead soprano roles. The part of B.F. Pinkerton will be played by Alessio Borraggine, from Italy, who has a habit of receiving rave reviews on his beautiful tenor voice. 

Pairing with an organization like Teatro Lirico D’Europa allows some of the most prestigious voices to come to South Carolina, yes, but Teatro Lirico D’Europa also provides set designs, costumes, and professionally trained instrumental musicians as well. This makes for all the more ornate of an opera performance, which we get to enjoy in our very own home state of South Carolina.

When speaking with the Palmetto Opera Board Chairman (and Jasper Project board member), Paul Leo, about the reasons behind Palmetto Opera’s choosing Madame Butterfly, he cited the opera’s longevity and respectability. This opera has been performed since 1904 and is one of the most famous operas in the world, and it has inspired countless other artistic projects in its wake, including the Broadway musical Miss Saigon.

Paul Leo has been head of the Board of Directors at the Palmetto Opera for about three years now, although Palmetto Opera itself has existed for about twenty. Since its start in 2001, Palmetto Opera and its board of directors has been dedicated to bringing professional opera to the state. Leo notes that the board holds fast to the distinction that Palmetto Opera is the only organization producing “Grand Opera” in South Carolina.

The board of directors operates on a volunteer basis, and Leo stresses that the collaboration of the board is vital to the success of the shows that they put on. Currently, the board consists of the aforementioned Chairman Paul Leo, Program Director Mari Hazel, and Artistic Director Peter Barton, among others.

The Palmetto Opera has performed many of the most popular operas, including the best of Porgy and Bess, Carmen, and La Bohème. This performance of Madame Butterfly will actually be the third that the organization has sponsored, indicating perhaps a fierce loyalty to and admiration of this production.

When asked what Leo loves most about opera in general, he said, “It is built to last!  An art form perfected before the availability of electronic amplification and enhancement, it simply transcends fad and fashion.”  

The only local in the opera will be 5-year-old Asher Cobb, playing the part of Sorrow. When he is not rehearsing for his part in Madame Butterfly, he enjoys trains and jumping in muddy puddles.  

As for what’s to come, Palmetto Opera is going to keep on with its mission to bring professional opera to South Carolina. Their next performance in May will be Great Voices: From Broadway to Opera. But they always need help from local opera lovers. If you would like to make a donation, you can do so here.  

Tickets for this one time matinee of Madame Butterfly can be purchased on the Koger Center’s website here.

Jasper Presents a Two-Part Valentine's Day Event -- An Evening with Bernie Love A Tribute to Elvis AND Love Hurts/Love Heals - New Art from Wilma King and K. Wayne Thornley

Jasper Presents a Two-Part Valentine’s Day Celebration:

Love Hurts/Love Heals featuring the art of Wilma King and K. Wayne Thornley followed by An Evening with Bernie Love—A Tribute to Elvis, both at 701 Whaley

Worried about taking that special someone to yet another crowded and overpriced boring Valentine’s Day dinner? Put your fears aside as The Jasper Project has your Valentine’s Day festivities figured out!

Join us on Tuesday February 14th at 701 Whaley for a two-part arts party.

Part One – from 5 – 7 pm in the 701 Community Hall Gallery we welcome esteemed Columbia-based artists Wilma King and K. Wayne Thornley for their interpretations of the phenomenon of Love Hurts/ Love Heals. Both artists’ works will line the halls for your interpretive pleasure, and you and your date are invited to enjoy wine and light snacks as you view the work.

Part Two – from 7 – 10 pm and following the Love Hurts/Love Heals exhibit, wander just a few feet over to the 701 Whaley Market Space where a night of Vegas-style entertainment awaits you both at An Evening with Bernie Love – A Tribute to Elvis. Featuring Patrick Baxley in the title role accompanied by Marty Fort, Jay Matheson, and Kevin Brewer, this tribute will focus on some of the King’s most romantic musical numbers performed in a classic Vegas cocktail party type setting.

Food will be provided by Chef Joe Turkaly and champagne and beer will be available for purchase.

Did you wait too late to shop for a special little something special for your beloved? No worries! Columbia artists Cait Maloney, Lindsay Radford, and Gina Langston Brewer will be on hand with a selection of their original romantic art gifts, and portrait artist Jamie Peterson will be commissioning small portraits of you and your sweetie based on photos you have taken at the event.

Doors for Bernie Love open at 7 pm with the main event kicking off at 8:30 pm when the King arrives in true Vegas style. Tickets to An Evening with Bernie Love are $20 and are available in advance at www.Jasper.org or by clicking here. A limited number of tables are available for $500.

Love Hurts/Love Heals is a free drop-in event. .

REVIEW: Torch Song at Workshop Theatre

Torch Song began its evolution as three one-act plays, the first of which, International Stud,  opened off-off-Broadway way back in 1978. It was followed by Fugue in a Nursery the next year and finished with Widows and Children First. The three were combined into Torch Song Trilogy which made its Broadway debut in 1982. Harvey Fierstein’s groundbreaking piece took home the Tony for Best Play in 1983.  In his acceptance speech, Producer John Glines openly acknowledged his lover and the show’s co-producer, Lawrence Lane. This, kiddoes, had never been done before.  

Join me and Mr. Peabody in the Wayback Machine. (IYKYK)  It’s the late 70’s and early 80’s. AIDS has just started to ravage the gay community, aided and abetted by the nonchalance of the straight community. (Thanks, Ron & Nancy. I digress.) We’re just over a decade past Stonewall. In this environment Harvey Fierstein spins the (largely autobiographical) story of one Arnold Beckoff. He addresses issues such as gay marriage and adoption, which were unheard of 40 years ago.  Look how far we’ve come…(hold that thought) 

In Workshop Theatre’s production, Arnold is played lovingly and endearingly by Julian Deleon.  The show opens with Arnold in his dressing room at International Stud, transforming himself into Virginia Ham. (Pay attention to the list of drag names with which he peppers his opening monologue. You. Will. Love.)  Deleon’s delivery of this exercise in self-analysis is fast and furious and funny, and absolutely spot-on. It would be so easy to turn Arnold into a caricature. This piece was, after all, written by and originally starring Harvie Fierstein. DeLeon never steps over that line.  His Arnold is maddening, infuriatingly needy, manic, frustrating, and utterly and completely loveable and heartbreaking.  

Arnold meets one Ed Reiss up in da clurb. Ed is a charming fellow, a school teacher who must be circumspect in all things, as we are not yet a “woke” world. Arnold falls head over heels in love with Ed, because of course he would. Because a Torch Song by definition cannot have a happy ending.  

Ed is set up on a blind date with the lovely and hapless Laurel and falls head over heels into the easy out, which is to marry the straight girl of his parents’ dreams. Ed and Arnold remain “friends.” At Laurel’s invitation, Arnold visits the lovebirds at their farm in upstate New York and brings along his new love, Alan. Interesting conversations ensue.  

Enter Mother. Dear, strict, conventional, conservative Jewish Mother. Hurtful, passive-aggressive, put upon Mother. Debra Haines Kiser plays this role with such conviction and passion. When she makes one jab too many and Arnold can take no more…. I thought I’d accidentally wandered into George and Martha’s study. Kiser and Deleon work beautifully off each other. Their scenes snap, one line on top of another, until we are all exhausted.   

Crouch has assembled a good, solid cast. Brady Davis plays David, Arnold’s soon-to-be-adopted son. His David is such a 15-year-old gay boy – sassy, bitchy, rebellious, outspoken, and very loving. (Can we do something about poor David’s suit? He’s about to be adopted by a drag queen with mad sewing skills. Arnold would not have allowed him to leave the house in a suit two sizes too big.)   

I wish Marshall Spann’s Ed had been more… energetic? Ed is supposedly so charming that both gay men and straight women cannot resist him. I wanted to see more of that charm.  

Beth DeHart’s Laurel is enigmatic. She vows to have fallen in love with Ed and has come to terms with his bisexuality, but has she?  Arnold and Alan visit the farm on her invitation, not Ed’s. To what purpose? Is she proving herself to herself? Is she testing Ed’s dedication to being straight? Is she deliberately taunting Arnold? There is no incorrect answer.  

Taylor Diveley creates a perfectly adorable Alan with whom Arnold cannot help but fall in love.  He’s a smart, gorgeous cocker spaniel puppy. You want them to be together forever and ever and ever. (This is a Torch Song) 

Set, costumes, and music come together nicely.  (Please make a mix-tape of the show’s music and sell it in the lobby). I tried to figure out a way to sneak the kitchen table and chairs out of Arnold’s Act 3 apartment but wasn’t able to make it work.  

I shall now pick a nit. Please. Please. Please. When food and drink are mentioned in a script, have food and drink onstage.  It isn’t that difficult to whip up a pot of instant mashed potatoes to put on plates and have water/tea/coffee in a pitcher or kettle to pour into cups. After all  the tremendous care and effort put into a production, it’s annoying to see actors trying to block the fact that they are serving imaginary food.  

Fierstein has written, and Jerry Crouch has lovingly directed a show about what we all ultimately want - to be loved and respected for who we are.   

Torch Song runs through January 29.

 

           

REVIEW: Mr. Burns - A Post Electric Play

Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play, running at Trustus Theatre, is, to put it mildly, a challenging production. Ann Washburn’s three act 2012 dark comedy (with a score by Michael Friedman) follows a group of individuals who have just experienced an unspecified cataclysmic event (although all signs point to a meltdown of multiple nuclear power plants) which has destroyed life as they know it. Like humans throughout time, the near-strangers strive for some sense of normalcy by sharing stories. In this case, they frenetically try to reconstruct an episode of the long-running animated series, The Simpsons. The group has settled on “Cape Feare,” an episode where Bart Simpson (that spirited little scamp) is stalked by Sideshow Bob, an ex-convict who has a long-standing hatred of Bart. Based in part on the two versions of the “Cape Fear” movies, the episode follows the Simpsons as they try to escape Sideshow Bob by moving from their home to a houseboat, to no avail. Sideshow Bob appears with murderous intent, and Bart distracts him by asking for an entire production of “HMS Pinafore,” to which Sideshow Bob gladly assents.

But back to Mr. Burns: A stranger appears in the dark; guns are drawn. Suddenly, the camaraderie is broken. But the stranger proves he, too, has some sense of the Simpsons episode, and the process begins again and is enriched.

Act II finds the same group of individuals seven years later, bonded together as a theatre company, roaming the land with its version of the “Cape Feare” episode, complete with commercials. And it turns out other theatre troupes exist, and they compete for audiences of survivors by “buying” material to produce better shows. It seems cockroaches and capitalism both survive nuclear holocaust.

Act III occurs 75 years later and operates as a standalone production of what the original story has become. A Greek pageant complete with stylized masks and costumes, many details of the original “Cape Feare” episode have evolved and changed, and the production tells a story of the dichotomy between good and evil.

In the Trustus production, the ensemble cast works well together. Particular kudos go to Patrick Kelly, whose dizzily horrifying performance in Act III is breathtaking. Allison Allgood is equally strong in Act III, balancing Kelly’s necessarily oversized performance with seeming ease.

Both the simple and inventive set by Danny Harrington, and the light design by Marc Hurst enhance the dystopian script. While the staging is a bit static in Act I, it completely evolves by Act III.

As noted, this is not an easy production to take in. It is dark and dystopian in its comedy, and that may not be for you. But true to Trustus’ history and mission, it is a show that won’t leave you right away. You will likely mull it over on the way home. You will probably think about it the next day. And that’s a good thing.

Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play, runs at Trustus from January 20 through February 4, 2023.

In Memoriam - Drue Barker

“That’s what we call magical thinking, Cindi.” - Drue Barker

I first met Drue Barker way back in 2007 when she was interviewing for the director position of the Women’s and Gender Studies program at USC.

As an adjunct instructor in the department, I had already served under both Sue Rosser and Lynn Weber, the only two previous directors.

In meeting Drue I knew that, if she took the job, the culture of the department would change. And it did. Drue was a far more relaxed leader than her predecessors and she showed adjuncts the same respect that she showed full professors. This not only touched and validated me, as a non-PhD instructor, it allowed us to develop a friendship away from the department. This friendship and my knowledge of her love for the arts, particularly opera and contemporary dance, led me to ask Drue to join the board of directors for the Jasper Project in 2020, and I was honored when she accepted.

Drue loved her cottage home in Earlewood and often enjoyed winning Yar of the Month

In addition to being a brilliant academic, frequently enlightening her students and peers as a Marxist-feminist economist,  Drue was a fascinating friend. She wore her intelligence like an invitation to anyone she met to engage in discourse. Honest, straight-forward, no-games-played conversation. It didn’t matter whether those involved agreed or disagreed vehemently—the point and purpose was the exchange of ideas. She welcomed opposing viewpoints with the same generosity that she welcomed those more aligned with her own perspective.

Drue loved the arts, having been an avid patron of contemporary dance at Hollins University where she had taught before coming to USC. As a member of the Jasper Project board of directors Drue’s focus was on contemporary dance in Columbia and she was a heart-felt supporter of the new dance company Jasper helped incubate, Columbia Repertory Dance.

Drue enjoying a beer in Berlin

Drue was kind and generous. I don’t think she ever told me no, no matter what I asked of her. She loved my husband Bob maybe more than she loved me, always finding Bob at parties at our house or wherever we were, and talking endlessly about beer, which he brews and she found fascinating (and delicious), and science, something they both had in common.

I am so very sorry to have lost Drue far sooner than we should have, and I’m sure she’s sorry to be gone. She still had stuff to do.

Thank you for your gifts, Drue Barker. We will miss you and say your name forever.

- -Cindi Boiter

~~~

On January 1, 2023, the ever analytic Drue posted the following message on Facebook which included a list of her favorite films. May I invite you to join me in choosing several of Drue’s favorite pieces of film art to watch and enjoy as Drue would have herself. Art unites us all, in this life and the hereafter, whatever we find there.

From Drue:

“FB friends, here is an impromptu list of my some of my favorite movies. It reflects only my tastes and preferences. Not the critics. I realize it is really old and white: sigh, I need to expand my horizons. (I have become way too dependent on Amazon Prime and Netflix.)

But if you are looking for a movie to watch over and over again, these are some suggestions. There are many, many other movies that I love. But they did not pass the criteria of "watched at least 5 times and would watch again!"

These only include movies in the English language. I may make a new list for others that I love in other languages. Also, the list is not ranked!!! It is just in the order of my memory. I love them all.

One note, I love the romcoms from the 30s and 40s. Women were tough, beautiful, and totally cool. They knew what they wanted! Especially Barbara Stanwyck. (One of my favorite actresses.) Can't really relate to the contemporary ones.

Another observation is how versatile Billy Wilder was! Whatever he did, he did well.

So here you go! Happy New Year!!!”




Extravaganzas:

1981 Chariots of Fire Hugh Hudson

1954 On the Waterfront Elie Kazan

1965 Dr. Zhivago David Lean

1957 Bridge Over River Kwai David Lean

1962 Laurence of Arabia David Lean

1939 Gone With the Wind Victor Fleming

1942 Mrs. Miniver William Wyler

Murder:

1944 Double Indemnity Billy Wilder

1950 Sunset Boulevard Billy Wilder

1958 Vertigo Alfred Hitchcock

1954 Dial M For Murder Alfred Hitchcock

1954 Rear Window Alfred Hitchcock

1967 In the Heat of the Night Norman Jewison

1951 A Place in the Sun George Stevens

Comedy:

1960 The Apartment Billy Wilder

1959 Some Like It Hot Billy Wilder

1934 The Thin Man W.S. Van Dyke

1936 After The Thin Man W.S. Van Dyke

1958 Auntie Mame Morton DaCosta

1934 It Happened One Night Frank Capra

1941 Meet John Doe Frank Capra

1945 Christmas in Connecticut Peter Godfrey

1941 Ball of Fire Howard Hawks

Soul Searching:

1948. The Red Shoes Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger

194 Black Narcissus Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger

1986 Working Girls Lizzie Borden

1973. Badlands Terrence Malick