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Arts
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Fired-up snowboard movies herald winter
If you're counting the days until the snow is falling and you hit the slopes, Northwest Snowboards can help. The local store presents its Winter Video Premiere at 7 tonight at Capitol Theater.
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Events for kids
Pick a local activity for your child:
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Call for student poets
As part of Olympia's 150th birthday celebration, the Olympia Arts Commission and Olympia School District are sponsoring a call for poetry from Olympia K-12 students. Historic information and application forms can be found at http://osd.wednet.edu/news. The deadline to apply is Dec. 15. Selected poets will read their poems at the celebration Jan. 17. For more details, go to www.olympiawa.gov/cityservices/par.
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Linda Eder perfects standards
Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived in a black-and-white world - or at least, a world with a black-and-white TV. One day, she saw "The Wizard of Oz" and was transported.
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OHS grad Drea Hoffman lands leading role in indie thriller
Olympia High School graduate Drea Hoffman is starring in her first feature-length film, "Ocatilla Flat," but her story is not your typical actress-finds-fame tale.
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'Stardust' musical sprinkles mystery: Annual Christmas sensation is rich in style and talent
Harlequin Productions' annual holiday "Stardust" shows are a celebration of tradition.
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Cool cats can swing to big band music
"Big Band Broadcast" doesn't just have a big band swingin' and a glamorous leading lady singin'. It also has faux-vintage commercials, an unpredictable announcer and surprises.
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Singers and musicians can
Singers and musicians can help raise money for Thurston County Food Bank. Sing from the Heart will be conducted Dec. 12-14 at all TOP Food the stores will make a donation of $50 to the food bank for each hour a group presents holiday music. Partici pants can be organiza tions, bands, choirs, families or friends. Register in advance at the guest services counter of the specific TOP Food store.
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It's all about Beethoven for Olympia Symphony OrchestraAfter the Olympia Symphony Orchestra's concert Sunday, you might want to give the players an even bigger hand than usual. Maybe even buy them a drink.
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Battlefield brings fired-up Scottish tunesThis time of year, Western Washington weather doesn't seem like good news. But if you're playing the bagpipes, this weather is great.
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Burlesque steals show at Olympia Film Festival
"Documentaries for the past few years have been so serious and so deep," said Deirdre Timmons of Seattle, who'll be attending a screening of her first film Friday at the Olympia Film Festival.
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Students dig into musical
Producing a big musical is no easy feat these days, even for professional theaters.
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Anti-Sweatshop Film Fest begins
Traditions Cafe the series is sponsored by the South Sound Clean Clothes Campaign.
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Dash of imagination turns found items into art
Bullet shells. Shreds of blown-out tires. Discarded toys. Even mangled doll parts.
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Audrey Hepburn inspires OLT's star
“Wait Until Dark” is a thriller about a blind woman being stalked by thugs — but the fact that the heroine is blind is not really relevant to the story, said Amy Hill, who stars in Olympia Little Theatre’s production that opens tonight. “It’s really not about her being blind,” Hill said. “It’s about her outsmarting these criminals who think that she’s going to be an easy mark. “It’s such a classic thriller,” she added. “It holds strong to this day among chilling stories, and it is scary. I remember watching the movie with my mom and dad, and it was terrifying.” The movie Hill remembers is the 1967 classic with Audrey Hepburn. “The tension is terrific and the melodramatic action is wild as the blind woman uses all her courage and ingenuity to foil her assailants and save her life,” Bosley Crowther wrote in the New York Times review of that film. Hill said, “The play is not any less scary than the movie.” Hill is described in the play’s program as “quite possibly the biggest Audrey Hepburn fan around.” She’s a seasoned actress who has appeared on such TV shows as “ER” and “The Office” and appeared in many professional productions with Harlequin Productions and other companies. But she couldn’t resist the part of Susy Hendrix, who still is learning how to function with blindness when her home is invaded. “How could you pass up an opportunity to play a role that Audrey Hepburn played?” she said. “She’s amazing.” Hepburn received an Oscar nomination for the role. “That’s the challenge, too,” Hill added. “Because how could you not be inspired by her? But I didn’t want to duplicate her performance. I’m trying to make her my own as well as paying homage to the work she did.” If playing a blind woman seems like a big challenge, Hill is taking a subtle approach, keeping the focus on the story. “I’m really concentrating on the movements,” she said. “I’m dissecting normal things that we take for granted with sight and trying to find a pattern. It’s almost a mathematical way of doing things. I’m counting and having a pattern for everything and practicing repetitions. It’s almost a dance.”
