132: Only Connect

In the season finale of the Bainbridge Pod Accomplice, we’ll hear from Sara Brickman, Artist in Residence at The Bloedel Reserve, in conversation with Holly Hughes. They’ll perform a reading of poems from their manuscript Little Houdini, and share poems from Field Guide – a series of poems that look at the body as a landscape, and discuss Sara’s relationship with The Bloedel Reserve. ABOUT SARA Sara Brickman is a writer, performer, and community organizer from Ann Arbor, MI. The winner of the 2015 Split This Rock Poetry Prize, and a five-time member of Seattle slam teams, Sara has received grants and scholarships from the Lambda Literary Foundation, the Yiddish Book Center, 4Culture, and more. A BOAAT Writers Fellow and a Ken Warfel Fellow for Poetry in Community, Sara’s poems and prose appear in Narrative, Adriot, BOAAT, The Indiana Review, Muzzle, and the anthologies Ghosts of Seattle Past, The Dead Animal Handbook and Courage: Daring Poems for Gutsy Girls. Sara holds an MFA from the University of Virginia and lives in Seattle, where she teaches writing to youth and adults, and parents a cat named Latke. “My first collection, Little Houdini, catalogs my own experiences of abuse to turn a lens on gendered violence and the lasting impacts of trauma. These poems use the archetype of escape artists to challenge the victim narrative I was expected to claim as a survivor of sexual violence, and explore escape and the body: whether that be a rebellion against binary gender or the numbness and self-distancing that PTSD forges. We often speak of nature as a form of escape: we talk of “unplugging,” “leaving the world behind” or conversely, of the natural world being the “real” world. But who and what gets to be “real,” and who is able to escape to another world, has deep political implications for those already othered by society. Even access to the outdoors is a fraught question if you do not fall cleanly on one side of the gender-binary: for us, entering nature carries as many fears for our own safety as life in the city. The plants and animals may be the only ones who do not question our validity as ourselves, yet even alone with them, we carry that weight. ABOUT HOLLY HUGHES Holly J. Hughes is the author of Hold Fast, Sailing by Ravens, coauthor of The Pen and The Bell: Mindful Writing in a Busy World, and editor of the award-winning anthology, Beyond Forgetting: Poetry and Prose about Alzheimer’s Disease. Her fine art chapbook Passings received an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation in 2017. She’s a graduate of Pacific Lutheran University’s low-residency MFA program, where she served on the staff for 13 years, in addition to teaching writing at community colleges for several decades. She currently leads writing and mindfulness workshops in Alaska and the northwest and consults as a writing coach. 

Tony Award winning actress Dinah Manoff reunites with author and playwright Warren Read to discuss her debut novel, The Real True Hollywood Story of Jackie Gold. Jackie's journey is a coming of age in Hollywood, both treacherous and hilarious. A story of secrets revealed and relationships shattered and mended. Manoff and Read previously collaborated on two of Read’s short plays, which were both directed and produced by Manoff. Listen here to Dinah and Warren’s April chat about Warren’s new book, One Simple Thing. THE REAL TRUE HOLLYWOOD STORY OF JACKIE GOLD Jackie Gold is a tabloid cover girl with a walk-in closet full of secrets and a pack of bloodthirsty paparazzi snapping at her high-heels. From the hospital bed where she lies fighting for her life, Jackie narrates in flashbacks, while press and public speculate on everything from whether "Jackie's Jump!" was a suicide attempt, to whether or not her breasts are real. The novel switches back and forth from the life-or-death drama unfolding in the hospital and Jackie's reflections on her improbable show business upbringing and the events that led her to this moment in time. When we meet Jackie she is at the peak of her career. She's been offered the role of a lifetime and her equally famous boyfriend is People's Sexiest Man of the Year. But her life takes an unexpected and terrible turn when the paparazzi storm her hotel room... “...And not until my robe billows up over my head like a broken parachute do I realize I have missed the mark. I wish I could tell you that my life then went before me in slow motion, or that I thought of Brett, or my family, or even about how Nicole had betrayed me, but my last thought before striking the rocks was, Thank God I’m wearing nice underwear.” — THE REAL TRUE HOLLYWOOD STORY OF JACKIE GOLD

Peter Mehlman went from writing sports to writing Seinfeld and gave us characters and catchphrases we’ll never forget. In this episode, comedian Dan Rosenberg interviews Peter about his journey from playing basketball in college to writing some of the funniest moments on one of the funniest shows ever written. After years on staff writing for Seinfeld in New York, he went moved to sunnier skies and palm trees, writing for another hit show, “It’s Like, You Know," and has even written a few books in recent years. Catch up with Dan & Peter and have a few laughs along the way in today’s episode: “The Catch Phrases” Born in Queens, New York. Attended the University of Maryland. Interned, then worked at The Washington Post. Wrote & produced the TV series “SportsBeat” with the great Howard Cosell. Freelance magazine writer in New York. He moved to Los Angeles in 1989, bumped into his friend Larry David. Showed him a humor piece he wrote for the New York Times. Jerry Seinfeld liked it too and yada yada yada, he gets on the show.  Peter wrote and produced Seinfeld for six year. He’s best known for his classic Seinfeld-isms: “Spongeworthy,” “shrinkage,” and “double-dipping.” He joined DreamWorks in 1997 and created the TV show “It’s Like, You Know…,” a scathing look at life in Los Angeles. He punched up the animated kid flick Madagascar and gets a hypochondriacal giraffe named after him. He’s still writing. Screenplays, novels, op-eds, lists. He dabbles in stand-up and doodles subconsciously. He shoots hoops and lives in LA with his dog Ike. Dan Rosenberg was born in a tiny suburb of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania called Beaver Falls (more like a suburb of that suburb called Chippewa Township) and lived in the third unit of a duplex. His father was a self employed auto parts peddler that loved baseball and apple pie with cheese on it. He would often work late in his parts store trying to invent things that already existed, like the telephone or thumb tacks. His mother was a florist, an artist and a part time immigration attorney focusing on citizens of Armenia and West Virginia. He graduated in the upper 10% of the lower third of his high school class and was an active member of the "Tall Guy's That Can't Play Hoops" club as well as the Jazz Band, where he was fourteenth chair tenor tuba. Several years ago, he walked into a comedy club and his life was forever changed. “The club was also a cult and they ‘recruited’ me to serve as their light bulb changer.” He’s done stand-up comedy and writing ever since. he’s written several spec scripts, like, "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "The Office," and a killer "Too Close for Comfort." ("Monroe Gets a Job") He’s also written for several radio shows as well as two books. The first "The Book on Hosting: How Not to Suck as an Emcee" and "The Book on Vacuums: The Joke Sometimes Writes Itself.” Check out Dan’s comedy special on Amazon Prime.

High school seniors Max VanNocken-Whitmer and Sarah Balding can always count on dance to let them express themselves, even as a global pandemic prevents them from performing for an audience. Listen to our latest episode as Max & Sarah talk about their passion for dance and their love of Bainbridge Dance Center’s role in their lives. They’ll talk about their past experiences and future dreams, including the upcoming BDC virtual production of Paquita, which tells the story of a young girl who is unaware that she is really of noble birth and was abducted when she was an infant after the assassination of her parents. She wins the love of the young French officer, Lucien d’Hervilly, when she saves his life. Details available at bainbridgedancecenter.com/paquita.   ABOUT SARAH: Sarah Balding is a 17-year-old high school senior who's been dancing for 13 years and plans to continue dance in college. She has studied a variety of dance styles in her life, including ballet, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, and more. She has been dancing with Bainbridge Dance Center for two years and says it is, by far, one of her best dance experiences. She feels she has grown so much as a dancer through BDC and all of the teachers are amazing. She plans on going to Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania this fall.   ABOUT MAX: Max VanNocken-Witmer is currently a senior at Bainbridge High School. In the fall, he plans to attend The University of Utah to study Modern Dance and Environmental Science. Max started dancing in his parents' bedroom to old CD's and was then enrolled in dance classes at Bainbridge Dance Center. Max has always had a strong passion for all forms of dance and wants to continue exploring new styles and sharing his passion with everyone willing to listen (or watch).     ABOUT BAINBRIDGE DANCE CENTER Founded in 1981, Bainbridge Dance Center is dedicated to providing high-quality dance education focused on cultivating curiosity, generosity, and professionalism. We provide students with a high level of professional technical training as well as the development of a healthy sense of self-esteem, a joy for learning, a respect for others, and a broad basis for a lifetime of art appreciation and participation. Visit: https://www.bainbridgedancecenter.com/      

In this episode, local musicians Korum Bischoff of the Grammy-nominated band Recess Monkey and Leah Julius of Thunderpussy catch up on old times and new. These longtime friends deep dive into their personal histories. From Korum getting his first music gig playing the drum roll for BPA's groundbreaking event in 1992, to the moment they met when Leah began taking drum lessons from Korum at age 10, they'll cover how their lives (and the music that fills them) have progressed over the years. With the COVID-19 pandemic giving them both plenty of time to reflect on their relationships with music, they'll discuss how it's just as easy to lose touch with your creative outlet as it is to find a new one when the world turns upside down. Between Korum's new love for recording music at home and Leah's desire to go back to school to get a degree in public policy, both know they have a voice and are not afraid to use it.   ABOUT KORUM Music has always been an important part of Korum's life. Some of his earliest memories were of hanging out in the studio, bashing on his dad’s drums and piano. He attended Edmonds Community College and became the drummer for their internationally recognized vocal jazz ensemble Soundsation. After a life-changing sailing adventure with his family, he returned to the Pacific Northwest and studied music at the UW and started teaching drums privately. After a break from gigging to raise two kids, he re-entered the music scene in a genre that worked perfectly for a parent of two small boys—as a drummer in the family music genre, first with The Johnny Bregar Band and then since 2012 with Recess Monkey.   ABOUT LEAH Over more than a decade of writing, recording, and performing music, Seattle based musician, Leah Julius, has become a mainstay of the Pacific Northwest music community. She is a founding member and drummer of the band Sundries and bass player for the Seattle rock band, Thunderpussy. In addition to the achievements of her respective bands, Leah is also a member of the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Recording Academy and has shared the stage and collaborated in the recording studio with some of the most accomplished musicians in the world including Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, KT Tunstall, and Brandi Carlile.

As a part of his Covid pivot, Bainbridge Island chef Brendan McGill started a CSA program to provide a conduit between his restaurants’ small farm food sources and his admiring clients’ dining tables. The ever-morphing result is a weekly box of high quality ingredients with a newsletter advising on the source of each item and how Brendan would prepare them in his own kitchen. In this podcast, Joseph Lacko, a business associate and friend of Brendan’s, has a conversation with him about the program’s origins and operations.

Island Theatre cofounders Kate Meyers and Steve Stolee discuss the origins and history of Island Theatre, the company's evolution from a more-or-less conventional community theater, to finding a niche with a small room, on-book performances, and the annual Ten Minute Play Festival. Friends for nearly forty years, Steve and Kate will also share stories of the local theatre scene in the eighties, including their first exposure to the community, the Susie Glass Burdick production of Grease, and how it led to an international musical theatre collaboration with a theatre company in Siberia. ABOUT ISLAND THEATRE Incorporated in 1994, Island Theatre is a 501(c)3 non-profit community theater company in Bainbridge Island, Washington. Specializing in theatrical presentations mainly by and for adults, it has three main performing components: Island Theatre At The Library, a bi-monthly series of on-book performances at the Bainbridge Library; Island Theatre At Your House (YoHo), a bi-monthly series of open play readings hosted in private homes; and Island Theatre Ten-Minute Play Festival, an annual juried short play invitational and presentation of selected plays held at Bainbridge Performing Arts. KATE MEYERS Kate received her B.A. in Theatre from Washington State University and first set foot on BPA’s stage almost 35 years ago. Kate cherishes the many roles she has played at BPA since then, from backstage crew to actor, board member (co-chairing the initial Capital Campaign to build BPA’s playhouse), and Director.  Onstage, Kate has played roles in Grease, Marvin’s Room, Blithe Spirit, The Butler Did It, and You Can’t Take it With You.  Her directing credits at BPA have ranged from the classical (Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing) to comedic (Art; Picasso at the Lapin Agile), dramatic (The Kentucky Cycle, Snow Falling on Cedars, The Grapes of Wrath, Amadeus, Arcadia), and – more recently – to contemporary “dramedies” (The Revolutionists, August: Osage County). Kate’s plays often take deep dives into the human condition, examining history, culture, and the importance of family. Several have contemplated art and the nature of artistic genius, as well as quantum physics, and even time travel.   STEVE STOLEE Steve Stolee is a freelance photographer, videographer, graphic designer, Bainbridge Islander since 1979, and a BFA from U.W. School of Art. He is a cofounder of Island Theatre and managing Director of the I.T. Ten-Minute Play Festival; a 2019 recipient of the Island Treasure Award for Arts and Humanities, cofounder of The Picture Project, and creator of the documentary film, “Another Man’s Treasure,” a story about the biggest rummage sale in the world. An honest man and a hell of a nice guy, he proudly claims to have danced with the great Cloris Leachman at the Port Townsend Film Festival.

What happens when the city that barely ever sleeps finds out one morning that it can’t wake up? All the joe has lost its jolt. This is a job for the woman detective who sees all, Harriet Eyeball, Private Eye in “The Coffee Caper,” an all-improvised Noir Radio Drama based on listener suggestions. Tune in as The EDGE troupe members Todd Erler, Cynthia Lair, Susan MacPherson, Chris Soldevilla, Ken Ballenger, John Ellis, and Andrew Shields tackle the case. TODD ERLER Todd is very lucky. He had the good fortune of being trained in the art of improv in the early nineties by some of the Chicagoans who were pioneers in that field. Since then Todd has led two and a half improv groups, taught improv classes, worked with Unexpected Productions in Seattle and now gets to perform with The EDGE. Todd teaches in the amazing Odyssey program for the Bainbridge Island School District. He is also a musician who writes and performs his own music and plays Irish pub tunes locally as one half of the duo Rye and Barley. Sometimes Todd is cast in shows at BPA or with Island Theater's library plays. He even gets to direct a show every now and then. At one time Todd was the artistic director of the Jewel Box Theater in Poulsbo and wrote an improv blog called “Improvmantra.”   CYNTHIA LAIR Cynthia has authored three cookbooks, Feeding the Whole Family (currently in its fourth edition), Feeding the Young Athlete, and the latest – Sourdough on the Rise (admit it, you love bread too), which hit the ground baking in 2019. She’s been a professor at Bastyr University since the movie Pulp Fiction gave us a start (look it up). Find out “How to Cut an Onion” via her Tedx Rainier talk on YouTube. Improv has become her new occupation as she is also a company member and teacher for Unexpected Productions at the Market Theater. She claims, “Doing improv balances real and imaginary life for me. With the real part being what happens on stage.”   SUSAN MACPHERSON Susan started taking Improv classes in the early 1980's as a way to bypass the “Seattle Freeze” (the phenomenon where it is very hard to make friends when new to the city). She improvized her way right past that and went on the be one of the first founding women in Seattle TheatreSports as well as performing with None of The Above, Seattle Improv, and Unexpected Productions for many years before joining The EDGE. For money, she has managed retail stores, had her own line of jewelry for 10 years at Pike Market, been a breakfast chef at an all-treehouse resort owned by the Treehouse Master (Pete Nelson), and finally settled on work she absolutely loves for the last 22 years helping new families as a Postpartum Doula and Certified Baby Sleep Consultant. (Yes, she can get babies to sleep.) Susan is the proud mother of Geo- scientist, Carson, who is going for her Ph.D. in Geo-Hazard Mitigation. In Susan’s non-existent spare time, she can be seen camping in “Primrose”, her 1970-vintage, British caravan.   CHRIS SOLDEVILLA Chris has done Improv in Boston, L.A. as well as here on Bainbridge and teaches improvisors young and old at his acting/improv workshop The Studio Bainbridge. He has appeared on screens big and small and locally in BPA’s productions of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Twelve Angry Men, True West, and The Tempest. He got acclaim for his roles in Swinging Hammer’s American Buffalo and Glengarry Glen Ross. Chris approaches life like he does improv: he makes it up on the spot…and asks complete strangers for suggestions. Online at www.thestudiobainbridge.com.   KEN BALLENGER Ken has been performing in the Seattle area for over 30 years. You may have seen him on stage, in commercials, and if you were alert at a few low budget movies, you may have spotted him. He is one of the founding members of The EDGE. In addition to performing he has taught workshops, practices karate, and, now retired, is enjoying life and carving things with a chain saw.   JOHN KENYON ELLIS John is happy to be back for season 24 of The EDGE. “Thanks Bainbridge for supporting The EDGE for all these years!!” Besides Improv, John has appeared on this stage in Noises Off, Annie, Born Yesterday, Guys and Dolls, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, ‘Art’ and Sylvia. He appeared as Falstaff in Merry Wives at Bloedel, and he most recently played a dream role as Andrey Botvinnick in InD’s production of Walk in the Woods. John was awarded the Island Treasure in 2018 for his years in The EDGE and on stage. “Miss you Frank! ONWARD!”   ANDREW SHIELDS Andrew has been called “a musical genius,” “phenomenal,” “immensely talented,” and “an unending source of irritation.” During his Wonder Bread years Andrew was fortunate to study piano under someone who studied under someone who studied under Liszt who studied under Beethoven who studied under Mozart. Andrew has a BA in Music from Stanford, where he won the Undergraduate Prize in Composition. More recently, he wrote the music, lyrics, and script for the original Reefer Madness: The Musical, as well as music, lyrics, and (with fellow EDGE member John Ellis) script for the musical Harry Tracy: A Bainbridge Bandit. He has music-directed shows at BPA, ACT, Village Theater, Tacoma Actors’ Guild, the Bathhouse Theater, and Second Story Repertory, among others, and played Harold Hill in The Music Man and Tito Merelli in Lend Me a Tenor at BPA. In his spare time Andrew practices medicine and spends time with his phenomenal wife and two immensely talented daughters.

When Amanda Gorman took the inaugural stage on January 20th, she inspired the nation with her dazzling vision of hope. She also made poetry cool again. In this episode, eight young poets share their own hopes, inspiration, and poetry in a series of conversations with Bainbridge High School 9th grader, Evelyn Cantwell. Four of them are from Kitsap County, and four attend New Mexico School for the Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. While the two groups are geographically distant, they are bound by their mutual love of truth-seeking and the interplay of rhythm and words.  “THE GREAT CONJUNCTION” BY MADISON GRANDT “WOULDN’T IT BE NICE TO BE LIKE RAIN” BY CLAIRE ATKINSON “650” BY AUDREY NELSON “PINK” BY ALLIE PAULSON-HOUSER “FOR THE LITTLE GIRL WHO WANTED TO BELIEVE IN GOD, OR FOR FATHERS RAISING CHRISTIAN DAUGHTERS” BY SKYE BOWDON “WORD TO EVERYTHING I LOVE” BY OZ LESHAM “CONFINED” BY NEVE NAKTIN “SPEECH #9/FOR USE ON GOVERNORS AND STATE REPRESENTATIVES” BY ARTEMISIO ROMERO Y CARVER CLAIRE ATKINSON- “WOULDN’T IT BE NICE TO BE LIKE RAIN” Claire, a 16 year-old junior at CKHS, hopes to inspire and connect with others through her poems. In her humble opinion, written language is one of the best tools to connect with others and spark change. She hopes to pursue a career in the sciences, enjoys music, and loves reading.    AUDREY NELSON - “650” Audrey is a 17-year-old writer and optimist. She’s currently a senior at Bainbridge High School, with tentative plans to pursue urban studies and radio journalism in college. When she's not writing, she enjoys gathering entries for her Good Things List, playing amateur guitar, and hanging out with friends.   ALLIE PAULSON-HOUSER - “PINK” Allie is a 7th grader at Hyla Middle School. She likes to write poetry, songs, and books. Allie also plays basketball, water polo, and takes horse riding lessons. She loves a wild game of kick-the-can. And pickles. Allie loves pickles.    SKYE BOWDON - “FOR THE LITTLE GIRL WHO WANTED TO BELIEVE IN GOD, OR FOR FATHERS RAISING CHRISTIAN DAUGHTERS” Skye is a sophomore poet at New Mexico School for the Arts. Her work has been published in Dreams of Montezuma, An Anthology of Poetry and Prose New Mexico School for the Arts, Cathartic Youth Literary Magazine, and Ice lolly Review. Skye was a silver key medalist in the 2020 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Her work is inspired by her home in Santa Fe, her family, and the nature she grew up around.   OZ LESHAM - “WORD TO EVERYTHING I LOVE” Oz is a fifteen year old poet from Taos, New Mexico. He is a Sophomore in the Creative Writing program at New Mexico School for the Arts. Oz was a finalist for the 2020 Santa Fe Youth Poet Laureate and is a national medalist in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. His work has been published in Cathartic Literary Magazine, Ice Lolly Review, Clear Skies Zine, and Dreams of Montezuma: An Anthology of Poetry and Prose, among others. Oz was selected as a 2020 Miller Scholar for excellence in Creative Writing and is the recipient of the New Mexico State New York Life Award.   NEVE NAKTIN - “CONFINED” Born in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Neve has lived in both California and Pennsylvania. She eventually ended up back in Santa Fe where she attended 7th and 8th grade at Santa Fe Preparatory School. She was drawn to the creative writing program at New Mexico School for the Arts where she could deepen and expand her writing skills. Neve is currently a freshman.     ARTEMISIO ROMERO Y CARVER - “SPEECH #9/FOR USE ON GOVERNORS AND STATE REPRESENTATIVES” Artemisio is an artist, poet, and grassroots organizer based out of Santa Fe, New Mexico. His writing has appeared in publications that include Rigorous Literary Journal, Inlandia Literary Journal, Tumbleweeds Magazine, and Magma Poetry. Artemisio is Santa Fe’s Youth Poet Laureate. He is a high school senior at the New Mexico School for the Arts. https://www.artemisioromeroycarver.com/   EVELYN CANTWELL Evelyn has grown up on Bainbridge Island, finding her favorite creative outlet at Bainbridge Performing Arts. She loves reading and listening to poetry and has enjoyed interviewing the incredibly talented poets featured on this episode. Evelyn is currently a freshman at Bainbridge High School.

THE LESSER-KNOWN PLAYERS PRESENTS ONLY CONNECT BY MARIA VIERA BEATTY | DIRECTED BY KAREN HAUSER Image credit: Donna Cohen In Maria Viera Beatty’s Only Connect, the lives of five lonely people randomly intersect for fleeting moments in a neighborhood bar. The play is about relationships that never develop and opportunities that are lost because of the changing values of contemporary society, which make it impossible for us to “only connect.” The play features Heather Burger, Evan Lenz, Wayne Purves, Alex Sanso, Tyler Weaver, and composer Jon Brenner. THE LESSER-KNOWN PLAYERS The Lesser-Known Players aims to provide our community with exposure to new, rare, unusual, and/or out-of-mainstream theatrical works. Through these lesser-known works we seek to foster community engagement, dialogue, and understanding of history, politics, and the different ways of living, thinking, believing, and behaving in society, and to provide more opportunities for inclusion in the performing arts to traditionally underrepresented groups.