Step dancing, very short plays, and musicians and teachers who double as comics are weekend highlights
Classical and classroom comedy
On Saturday, April 12, fans of comedy have two creative choices — one involving classical musicians who double as comedians, and the other an evening of comedy performed by classroom teachers making light of their day jobs.
The classical concert/sketch comedy show/film screening, part of Emerald City Music’s chamber series, features pianist-composer Michael Stephen Brown and cellist-filmmaker Nicholas Canellakis. The guys will ham it up, screen short films and play pieces by such luminaries as Chopin and Rachmaninoff along with original folk tunes. The concert is at 7:30 p.m. at the Minnaert Center for the Arts at South Puget Sound Community College, 2011 Mottman Road SW, Olympia. Tickets are $10-$49.
Meanwhile, “The Teacher Show: Comedy From the Classroom,” hosted by Portland high-school teacher Don Gavitte, will spotlight teachers seeking an audience outside the classroom. (Sample joke from Gavitte, courtesy of National Public Radio: “If you haven’t seen a freshman boy in a while, they’re about 3-foot-11. They got that backpack-to-body ratio that’s just not working out for them. They’re always falling over. They’re like little turtles.”) The show (which is not suitable for young audiences) is at 8 p.m. at the Capitol Theater, 206 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia. Tickets are $28.
Overnight theater at OFT
Olympia Family Theater’s Tales Told in Ten is back. The short play festival features six 10-minute plays — each written, rehearsed and staged in only 24 hours. The family-friendly plays, with inter-generational casts, will be on stage for one performance only at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 12, at the theater, 612 Fourth Ave. E, Olympia. Tickets are $10-$15, with 10 pay-what-you-can tickets available at the door.
Step-dancing stars
Step Afrika, a Washington, D.C.-based step-dancing troupe that has toured all over the world, is bringing its acclaimed take on percussive dance to Olympia on Sunday, April 13. The 30-year-old company’s work celebrates the art of stepping, in which the performers use their bodies as musical instruments through stomping, clapping and vocalizing. With roots going back to Africa, the dance style was popularized in the United States in the early 20th century by members of African-American fraternities and sororities. The performance is at 7:30 p.m. at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, 512 Washington St. SE, Olympia. Tickets are $34-$69.
Freelance writer Molly Gilmore talks with DJ Kevin the Brit about what’s happening around town on KGY-FM’s “Oly in a Can,” airing at 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Fridays.