Here are our top picks from the CCW calendar for this weekend (January 28-31) in Juneau. Check out our full calendar for more.

1. Attend a free presentation (or three) by visiting poet, writer and storyteller Susan Power. She’ll give a lecture with Ernestine Hayes at noon on Thursday at the State Museum and a reading at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the UAS Egan Lecture Hall. She’ll also give a presentation 7 p.m. Friday at the downtown library. Power was an artist in residence at Sitka’s Island Institute this month.

2. See a variety of local short films at the JUMP Society Winter Film Festival at the Goldtown Nickelodeon. Free tickets are available at Lucid Reverie. Showtimes are 7 p.m. Thursday, and 7 and 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The 9 p.m. shows are 21 and over only, as alcohol will be available.

3. Hear one of the top clarinet players in the country perform a concerto commissioned just for him at the Juneau Symphony’s Winter Concerts, 8 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at the JDHS Auditorium. Featuring Dvorak Symphony No. 8 and Jon Manasse playing Lowell Leibermann’s Clarinet Concerto. Get the most out of the concert by attend the pre-concert talk an hour before each show. Tickets are available at Hearthside Books, the Symphony office or at http://www.juneausymphony.org/.

4. This weekend is your last chance to see “Eurydice” at Perseverance Theatre. Shows Thursday through Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Read the CCW review here.

5. KXLL is hosting a Reggae Sunsplash to benefit Haiti 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday night at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center. $5 admission, all ages. Come in beachwear and dreads and dance to music of the Carribean from DJ Gift and DJ Lukewarm. There will be a full bar for those over 21.

There are two types of people who will attend Perseverance Theatre’s production of “This Wonderful Life” this weekend–those who have seen the film that the play is based on and those who haven’t.

Though it has been a while, I have watched the 1946 classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” several times. While sitting in the theater watching Ed Christian perform the one-man show, I couldn’t help but imagine scenes from the movie and compare them to his portrayal. I thought to myself, I wish I could simply enjoy this stage experience without scattered memories from the film taking my attention away from what Ed is doing up there.

However, after talking to others after the show who had never seen the film, they said just the opposite. They wished that they had the film under their belt so they could have better understood some of the references in the stage adaptation. But everyone I talked to enjoyed themselves and took something away from the performance.

Ed essentially acted out the film, almost in its entirety, switching from character to character and also acting as narrator. He alone was the show, with no help from other cast members or extras. I have a tremendous amount of respect for anyone who can pull that off, especially someone who can do it very well.

What impressed me about Ed’s performance (besides the perfect execution of the 60-page script and keeping an audience’s attention all by himself for over an hour) was how he was able to jump from character to character. I tried to imagine what that would be like, and it seems that the actor must be conscious of every element of their being. When switching between a male and female character there are obvious differences that are considered, such as the tone of their voices and their posture as they sit or stand. But there are more subtle changes that must happen as well. One second Ed could be playing someone who is even-tempered, the next second he might switch to a slobbery drunk and then on to an innocent little child, all the while staying true to the film.

A few days before the performance, Ed told me that everyone has their own impression of Jimmy Stewart (who starred in the film as George Bailey, the primary character that Ed spent most of his time on). He’s right. His is good, and in the lobby after the performance, I noticed a number of audience members giving pretty good shots at it as well.

The play starts off strong, but it isn’t until the final quarter that it really gets gripping. As George Bailey struggles to determine the value of his own existence, I found myself on the same journey with him. What would the world be like if I’d never been born? I don’t have an angel to show me, and I don’t have three ghosts of Christmas to show me my past, present and future as Mr. Scrooge did in “A Christmas Carol,” but we can learn some lessons from these Christmas tales. These are stories that suggest Christmas is a time of evaluating what is really important in life. For Scrooge, he determined that in giving and sharing with others what was most important to him, there was life. For George Bailey, family and friends took first priority, but he needed to experience a life-changing event in order to come to that conclusion. Lucky for us in Juneau, we only have to take a trip to the theater to learn from George’s experience.

Whether you subscribe to Christmas or not, “This Wonderful Life” is a grand experience to warm the spirits this season and, if nothing else, to witness Ed lighting up the stage in his first solo performance. It’s not to be missed.

Ray Troll installs his mural "Deep Forest" in the UAS Egan Building. Photo by Ryan Cortes.

The University of Alaska Southeast’s “Evening at Egan” public lecture series starts tomorrow with a presentation from Ketchikan fish artist Ray Troll. He’s calling his talk “Further Adventures in Scientific Surrealism” and will show slides of new work from the last few years.
Some of his latest work can be seen right on the UAS campus. Just this week Troll was in town to install a commissioned mural entitled “Deep Forest.” The 7×11 foot oil-on-canvas mural shows all five species of Pacific salmon in spawning colors swimming through a Southeast Alaskan forest. After Troll’s talk, attendees are invited to see the mural with special 3-D glasses. According to Troll, there are “lots of cool things hidden through the painting.”
Troll’s lecture starts at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18 in the Egan Library. Check out the rest of the lecture series here.

Former Perserverance Theatre Artistic Director PJ Paparelli is now running the American Theatre Company in Chicago, and the theater’s season is opening with a show quite familiar to Juneau: “Yeast Nation.” I tried to catch a preview of the show while I was visiting family in Chicago last week, but it was sold out a week in advance – a pretty good sign for the play, considering the relative ease with which I got last-minute tickets to a couple other big shows in town.

Here’s what Chicago Tribune theatre critic has to say about the show.

From left: David Meyers, Salissa Cooper and Enrique Bravo in “Yeast Nation” at Perseverance Theatre in 2007. Photo by Cam Byrnes.

Photographs by David Depew will be shown at The Glory Hole during the First Friday gallery walk on Sept. 4. Refreshments will be served and gallery walkers are invited to stay for dinner.

Depew’s “Rocks, Water, Sky” exhibition is a celebration of the interaction of environmental elements spanning almost twenty years. The work in this series continues as the series continues to shape the artist.

Images from the exhibit may be viewed at feedjuneau.org.

There were many great things in Juneau this weekend that I should have taken advantage of; rather, I got sick and sat in bed watching movies. But, so that these days weren’t a total waste, allow me to share my findings.

Now, I’m not much of a movie-watcher. It’s hard for me to sit down and commit 1-2 hours on something without knowing what it is. But when you’re sick, they’re perfect. And it’s been a bit dangerous ever since I found out that iTunes rents movies, so I can have the movie world at my fingertips without even having to get off my duff.

Coraline

Absolutely brilliant, just as I thought it would be. This is one I’ll probably watch over and over, for it’ll take me years to study and understand how it’s humanly possible to move 40 circus mice over and over for a several-minute-long scene. And though this film employed some digital effects, its commitment to the handmade is absolutely excellent, and really adds a special touch that makes watching it so much more enjoyable.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

The first time I ever heard of this book series was when I was studying in Athens. My roommate at the time was engrossed in what I believe was the first installment of the series. Perhaps she was so engrossed because she exhibited traits of a shopaholic herself. Personally, while I enjoy shopping from time to time, I usually would much rather be doing something else. Back-to-school shopping with my mother usually ended in tears (for both of us) at the frustration of just trying to find practical clothes that would fit and weren’t dry clean only. Plus, spending hours in any sort of mall environment usually results in headache, no matter how many all-natural smoothies I consume. In retrospect, the smoothie place was always the highlight of Anchorage’s 5th Avenue Mall.
Anyhow, before clicking ‘rent,’ I was very skeptical, but I decided I’d just prepare myself for disappointment and watch. The goal was to get my mind off of feeling lousy, and if a stupid movie could do it, then more power to it. It actually wasn’t that bad. There wasn’t as much giggly girly stuff as I expected, and though there were things that could have been done differently, the story itself was a bit inspiring and feel-good, just what I needed at the time.

The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill

An older documentary, shot with real film, this was absolutely nuts. So, this guy, Mark, who has lived in San Francisco for a while (rent free and jobless, somehow) became the pseudo-caretaker for a flock of South American parrots who just, one day, showed up in the city. There were several rumors as to how they arrived: maybe they were escaped pets, maybe they hitched a ride north on a freighter. Either way, a flock of 40 or so became Mark’s best friends. Though they pretty much survived on their own, they would come to Mark to say hello, get a free snack, obtain medical care or just hang out. He became closer to some birds than others, and some even decided they wanted to live inside with him.

Anyone who loves animals will be sharply jealous of Mark’s relationship with the birds. I mean how often have you seen a bird and just wanted to hold it in your arms and cuddle?

The Tale of Despereaux

After all the birds and shopping, I was craving some sort of fantasy film, so I opted for this movie instead of one of the Harry Potters that I hadn’t yet seen. Going into it, I had a similar feeling as I did with “Shopaholic,” not expecting too much but hoping it wouldn’t be completely horrible.

The movie’s intro is centered around soup, so I was afraid that it would just be a silly spoof of “Ratatouille.” Such is the case with so many animated films, it seems. But things quickly turned and the plot thickened. Actually, the plot of this movie was as thick as stew. There were so many different things going on, and I was impressed by their ability to keep simple what could have easily become far too complicated for a children’s movie. And art wise, the scenery was beautiful. So, while this wasn’t the most amazing movie ever, it was good, and it rounded out my evening quite well. (Though I did have quite adventurous dreams that may have been a result…)

“Phoebe in Wonderland” is showing this week at the Silverbow, and it’s got my vote for the place to be at 8 p.m. on a Tuesday or Wednesday night, especially if this rain persists.
The film, director Daniel Barnz’s first, follows Phoebe Lichten (Elle Fanning), a creative nine-year-old who doesn’t fit in at school – neither with her classmates nor with the rules of the classroom. A new drama teacher named Miss Dodger (Patricia Clarkson) draws her out and casts her as Alice is the school production of “Alice in Wonderland.” It’s a story Phoebe knows well, as her mother (Felicity Huffman) has also been working on a book about “Wonderland.”
Things aren’t perfect at home, as Phoebe’s mother tries to balance her devotion to her precocious daughters with her own career aspirations. But Phoebe has her own psychological difficulties to face as well. She washes her hands compulsively and can’t help spitting at classmates when they provoke her. Her solace is Wonderland, both on stage and in her own fantasies.
The film is beautifully acted, above all by Fanning at the center. And Patricia Clarkson is at the best I’ve seen her as Miss Dodger.
Like “Alice in Wonderland,” “Phoebe in Wonderland” is both fun and deeply serious, engaging and intricate. It’s easy to get drawn into Phoebe’s imaginary world and then feel jolted when we’re reminded that it’s not the creation of a happy child. It’s a bit reminiscent of “Pan’s Labyrinth,” in which the escape world isn’t as sunny as we’d hope. But in the end, “Phoebe in Wonderland” has a much more upbeat feel. And there’s plenty to think about – parenting, education, imagination, madness, intelligence, fitting in.
I’d say the film’s well worth a trip down the rabbit hole.

Technically, Thursday was day two of the festival after a kickoff performance by various artists at the Larkspur Cafe on Wednesday. But last night was my first taste of what the festival has to offer, and let me just start by saying that after the performance was over and I had a few conversations with the musicians, I just had to go back to my room and go to sleep, in a good way. It was the same feeling I get after reading a really great book; it forces me to just soak up what I’ve just seen and press the reset button. And let me also say that I woke up this morning feeling awesome.

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So yesterday, after my morning ferry ride, I arrived with excitement in my step. I had my first taste of the Larkspur Cafe at lunch with Teri Tibbett and Sonny Smith over salmon chowder.

Read the rest of this entry »

I was supposed to already be in Sitka months ago. If you look in the Logbook archives, you’ll see that I had planned to attend the ArtiGras festival this March. However, a sickness kicked my butt and I ended up spending a week bird watching from bed. But I have overcome all obstacles, and here I sit, finally laying eyes on the wide open spaces that Sitka has to offer. (Thanks to Home Skillet Festival for giving me an excuse to travel.)

I’ll spend a good chunk of time adventuring while I’m here, but I’ll also be staring at my laptop as often as possible to keep all you faithful readers posted on my exploits.

My camera’s battery charger has been acting bratty this week, so it’ll be a constant battle of switching between my six partially charged storage cells to keep the shots coming. I’ll do my best. I’d hate to think I’ve already wasted precious energy just on shots of my feet.

“Alaska’s Fiddling Poet” visited Juneau last Monday for a book signing at Rainy Retreat and a book/cd release show at The Canvas.

I had a chance to interview Ken before he came to town and he shared some insight behind his art.

As a fiddler, I’m naturally attracted to any event that involves one. But Ken Waldman adds a twist to fiddling like I’ve never seen done before, reciting poetry along with his tunes. He had tunes about instruments on fire, how to play the banjo and various other personal experiences and observations.

After a long day slaving over the computer, Ken’s performance was the perfect refreshment, and I’d highly recommend checking him out.