Sylvia Center for the Arts in Bellingham, WA continues to host community events in two new downtown performances spaces. Community Poetry Readings & Concert: BELLINGHAM SEAFEAST 2018 Fri, Sep 21, 6 p.m. - 11 p.m., Studio Theater & Lucas Hicks Theater FisherPoets performances in both spaces, plus a concert by Ray Troll and the Ratfish Wranglers in the Lucas Hicks Theater from 9 p.m.–11 p.m. http://www.bellinghamseafeast.com/seafeast-friday-night Community Concert: CHORO DAS TRÊS (Brazil) Sat, Sep 22, 7:00 p.m., Lucas Hicks Theater We are proud to host the return of an acclaimed Brazilian instrumental folk music group on their latest U.S. tour. Sisters Corina (flute), Lia (7-string guitar) and Elisa (mandolin), along with their father Eduardo (tambourine), are the Choro das 3. First brought to Bellingham last year by our friend Lucas Hicks for a sold-out concert at the Y.W.C.A. https://sylviacenterforthearts.org/event/choro-das-3/ Community Concert: SONGS OF THE SALISH SEA — The Wilds Band (Vancouver, BC) Sat, Sep 22, 7:30 p.m., Studio Theater The sound of The Wilds is “Folk Pop to Rock Your World” — the folk/blues of Holly Arntzen’s slide dulcimer, mixed with Kevin Wright’s hard-hitting cajon and congas, and lit up by rich vocal harmonies. The Wilds are part of an environmental activist musical collective in Canada called the Artist Response Team. More info at http://www.ArtistResponseTeam.com Firefly Productions presents: RULES FOR DROWNING Thu/Fri/Sat, Sep 27–29 & Thu/Fri, Oct 4–5 $15 General Firefly Productions presents their Edinburgh Fringe Festival “Recommended Show” Rules for Drowning at the Sylvia Center for the Arts. A dark and quirky view into the global financial crisis, and those who pick its bones. Join Olivetti, Charlene, Stone, and Daniels as they sift through a sea of lives, litigation, and libations, looking for the biggest “fish”. Proudly sailing through the wreckage of the financial crisis, their captain having sailed for safer waters, this dedicated crew scours the waves for survivors with a few pennies in their pockets, which are surely owed to someone else. Community Concerts: BELLINGHAM IRISH MUSIC FESTIVAL Sat, Oct 6, 6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., Studio Theater & Lucas Hicks Theater $10 General Performances as part of the Bellingham Irish Festival: 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.: Biddy on the Bench, Sean Connors & Sam Vogt 6:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m.: Na Rósaí + Reed and Vogt + Alicia Guinn More info at http://www.bellinghamirishfestival.com/performances/ iDiOM presents: THE SKRIKER, by Caryl Churchill Thu/Fri/Sat, Oct 11–27, 7:30 p.m., Lucas Hicks Theater $20 General, $16 Members The first of four “Main Stage Productions” in iDiOM’s 2018–19 Season is this dark tale of an ancient fairy who transforms into a plethora of objects and people as it pursues Lily and Josie, two teenage mothers whom it befriends, manipulates, seduces and entraps. This supernatural fable mixes horror, naturalism, and ‘magical realism.’ Directed by Shu-Ling Hergenhahn-Zhao (Adoration of Dora; Mr. Burns, a post-electric play). More info at https://sylviacenterforthearts.org/event/the-skriker-by-caryl-churchill/2018-10-11/ Community Event (Palliative Care Institute WWU): REVITALIZING THE LOVE OF LIFE Thu, Oct 11, 7:00 p.m., Studio Theater Admission by donation at the door What does it mean to live with a Chronic Condition and love being alive? This question will be explored through photography, choreographed movement, music and spoken word, followed by dialogue. Skye Burn, a 69-year old woman, will demonstrate her recovery from rheumatoid arthritis through movement and song. She will share her healing strategy. Richard Scholtz, a musician, lives with an artificial heart valve which has required being on coumadin for 30 years. Richard will speak from long experience working as a community partner in local and national efforts to re-imagine healthcare. Helen Scholtz lives with chronic allergies and a sinus condition. Her photographs reveal intimate connection with the vitality and tenderness that is all around us. Choreographer Pam Kuntz collaborated in creating this performance. More info at https://www.facebook.com/events/221821668674140/ iDiOM presents: DEAD MAN’S CELL PHONE, by Sarah Ruhl (stage reading directed by WWU Professor Rich Brown) Fri/Sat, Oct 12 & 13, 7:30 p.m., Studio Theater The subject of this season’s Playwright Reading Series is Sara Ruhl (writer of The Clean House and In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)). WWU Professor Rich Brown will direct staged readings of two of her plays, before mounting a full production of Orlando, her adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s novel next spring. In Dead Man’s Cell Phone, a man has died at a café, but his cell phone will not stop ringing. The woman at the next table, Jean, picks up the cell phone and ends up stuck in the middle of all his troubles, meeting his widow, his mother, and his mistress. It explores the paradox of modern technology's ability to both unite and isolate people in the digital age. The play was awarded a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding New Play in 2014.
