Teatro ZinZanni Lowers Final Curtain in Seattle
A spiegeltent crafted of wood, canvas, and velvet, adorned with stained glass, vast mirrors, and regal chandeliers overtook an empty lot on Mercer Street. An arching sign marked the threshold of the new world of Teatro ZinZanni, welcoming guests to their first show, Love Chaos and Dinner, which featured a unique cast of acrobats, clowns, and various other talents. What was meant to be an 11-week run sprouted roots and secured ZinZanni as Seattle’s staple circus destination for nearly three decades.
Haunted Burrow Books Cultivates Local Creative Literary Community
The inside of the shop is tranquil, and yes: there are a lot of horror books! And not just from big-name authors— Haunted Burrow Books makes an effort to lift up voices from smaller presses and places special emphasis on local authors and artists. But don’t worry: If horror isn’t your jam, there are other offerings as well, especially in mystery, sci-fi, and fantasy.
Solidarity Power: Strikes Gain Momentum as Leaders Fail Us
Over the past decade, the means of resistance and the analysis and knowledge behind it has visibly shifted. Instead of posting a black box on social media to project discontent, US-ians have learned to hit their targets where it hurts—in their wallets. We are riding the tailwinds of 2023’s Hot Labor Summer, advancing in the momentum of the BDS movement, and recalling the effectiveness of the Tesla Takedown. We are witnessing the rebirth of a generalized United States labor movement.
COVID-Cautious? Safely Enjoy Community with These Events
While it may often seem like the entire world has moved on from the threat of COVID-19, there are always pockets of community support and care to be found! Seattle is home to not only long-standing masked events like Queer Fight Night and Disabled List Comedy Festival, but also to brave one-offs; businesses are reaching out and asking, “Is there any interest in this?” Let’s let them know that the answer is a resounding yes! Even as the world grows more and more perilous, we must endeavor to continue to make safe spaces for all.
‘Lear Alone’ and ‘Walking on a Paper Moon’ Lead Baker Theater Workshop’s Winter Lineup
Last month, I was fortunate to attend the Pacific Northwest premiere of Anna Tatelman’s play Life on the Moon, produced by Baker Theater Workshop and performed at ReAct Theatre. The play examined the challenges a family experiences when trying to authentically communicate their feelings with each other over the holidays. Furthering on the theme of familial complexity, Baker Theater Workshop will present two plays together from January 10-19 which dig into family dynamics: Lear (alone), and Walking on a Paper Moon.
Sound Cinema: The Beacon
As the youngest theater to be featured in Sound Cinema, The Beacon emerged as a wonderful, ethereal being from beyond known space and onto our plane of existence in 2019. This space is a movie palace. Unlike the other spaces I’ve covered, The Beacon is not a movie palace in the sense of the grandiosity of its auditorium or the ornate fixtures that adorn the walls. This is a palace to the strangeness, brilliance, and beauty that the medium of cinema can offer. It is a cinephile's paradise in the heart of Seattle's Columbia City neighborhood.
An Ode to the Occidental Square Ice Rink
There was one person doing laps around the rink with speed and grace and not falling on her back every three steps like the rest of us. I jealously wondered if she had brought her own skates, and if the blades had been sharpened, unlike our dull footwear. Someone told me that this is what professional figure skaters train on, which confused me even more. Because HOW??
What Does Accountability Really Mean?
The word “accountability” seems impossible to avoid for anyone paying attention. Repeatedly, people with power abuse their position. Repeatedly, communities clamor for accountability, a just outcome for all affected persons, and satisfying solutions that will excise the rot from which harm festers and breeds. It is difficult not to feel disillusioned by the usual wishy-washy or dismissive responses, feigned ignorance, and lack of material progress in terms of repairing harm and promoting safety. How are we supposed to hold people accountable, so to speak, if they won’t take accountability?
Life on the Moon Powerfully Illuminates Familial, Autistic Expression
On December 14, I was lucky enough to attend the PNW premiere of Life on the Moon, a play written by Anna Tatelman, directed by Jeremy Radick, and produced by Baker Theater Workshop. Hosted at ReAct Theatre, Life on the Moon is a family drama that centers on the relationship between siblings Piper, an 18-year-old with autism, and her older brother Spencer, who has just returned home from the army for the holidays.
Communion Restaurant & Bar: Homecoming on a Plate
Communion Restaurant & Bar sits inside the historic Liberty Bank Building in the heart of Seattle’s Central District. For me, this wasn’t just dinner; it was a return to my roots. I grew up on 20th & Union, and this exact spot used to be Thompson’s Point of View, a restaurant I frequented all through elementary school. Eating here felt like stepping into a memory with a modern twist.
Sound Cinema: Central Cinema
Central Cinema looks incredibly industrial from the outside, but once inside, it's a single screen of terrific movie magic.
The building that houses Central Cinema in Seattle's Central District was erected in the late 1920s and has housed both a car dealership and a milk bottling plant. The idea to turn a piece of the space into a combination movie theater and pub came to Kevin Spitzer, a metal artist, when he was renting it as his studio. In summer 2005, Kevin and his wife Kate opened the theater and have been operating it in the 20 years since.
Nebula’s Portals to Immersive Experiences Rise from Cafe Nordo’s Remnants
In the winter of 2022, Cafe Nordo, a company who created beloved immersive theater and dining experiences within Pioneer Square’s Nord Alley, closed its doors and set its gaze to a dream of the future. After thirty original productions hosted in its two venues, the Culinarium and the Knife Room, the company decided to seek out a larger, more accessible home to produce and sustain boundless creativity. As they searched for real estate with sufficient accommodations, the dream world began to take shape. A rift, so to say, opened beneath Cafe Nordo, and out emerged Nebula.
SBWU Strike! Red Cup Rebellion Joined by Rep. Scott, Mayor Wilson
The strike comes in response to years of unsuccessful bargaining sessions in which Starbucks dismissed their workers’ concerns, chief among them proper staffing and increased wages. A key issue in this strike is Starbucks’ liberal use of union-busting tactics. SBWU has filed over one thousand ULPs (unfair labor practice suits), citing hundreds of unresolved labor law violations such as retaliatory firings, withholding tips, store closures, and unfair staffing cuts.
Protect Our Pitch 206 Encourages Neighborhoods to Discuss World Cup Impacts
As the FIFA World Cup looms on the horizon, Seattleites are proactively bracing their communities and neighborhoods for impact. Organizations such as the CID Coalition, Stop the Sweeps, the Seattle Solidarity Budget, and more launched the Protect Our Pitch 206 Campaign, a collective movement aiming to intercept the harm that accompanies mega sporting events.
Greening the Dark Season: P-Patches Provide Plant Power Near You
Now that we have finally left behind a dreadfully hot summer, gardeners all over the Puget Sound will be adding a layer of mulch to their soil and taking delicate plants indoors, while others, like me, will be keeping a careful eye on their indoor plants and making sure the heater is set low. Although we are about to move out of the ripening season for many of our beloved local Washington fruit (sweet Honeycrisp apple, how I will miss you!), that doesn’t mean that the Evergreen State’s farms and gardens will be empty or that there won’t be any gardening opportunities ahead for all of you green thumbs! If you’re hoping to keep your head in the gardening game, you need not look further than your own neighborhood.
Sound Cinema: The Egyptian In Memoriam
At its reopening in 2014, the Egyptian was a first run movie house for arthouse cinema and international films, much like it was under previous management. Toward the end of its lifespan, the Egyptian became the venue where SIFF would host more of its revival, restoration, and thematic programming. It is where Noir City and Scarecrowber found enthusiastic crowds. It is also where SIFF hosted Capitol Hill's pinkest party in July 2023 with joyously raucous showings of Barbie.
Craving Live Music? We Know a Spot
The bitter adage, “Seattle isn’t what it used to be,” recently increased in circulation after the shocking news of the Crocodile shuttering the doors of Here-After and Madame Lou’s. In their statement, the Crocodile asserted that they are committed to the longevity of their main stage—unfortunately, it comes at the cost of their smaller comedy and music venues.
Food Security is Food Justice (and a Climate Solution)
“People on food stamps are lazy!” A phrase I and many others have heard too often. In the summer of 2019, I was in my 2nd year at the Seattle Aquarium, managing a little over 400 community partnerships, serving on several boards and committees, and I had just become the newest member of the Washington State Environmental Justice Task Force.
I was also on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits. Food stamps.
Impossible Maps Questions Life and Grief Through Dance
Impossible Maps, a dance concert choreographed by C. Asa Call and performed at Yaw Theater, explored the ever-agonizing experience of grief and how, despite its wretched terrain, it can and must be navigated. Under a mythic lens, it interwove expressions of humanity’s despair with the mourning of Earth’s seasonal cyclical deaths and its inevitable final destruction.
One Night, Many Stars: Gregory Awards Fill Town Hall Seattle with Camaraderie, Joy
On the evening of Monday October 27, actors, theater crew, directors, and producers (along with their families and friends) gathered at Town Hall Seattle for The Gregorys. Twenty-five years of celebration and recognition from and for the theatre community, the theme apt and invited dazzling outfits: One Night, Many Stars.
