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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 2016)
Two artists selected for AVA a-i-r program ‘Rumors’ abound on stage in Tillamook Blaine Verley, Annie Eskelin granted three-month residency TAPA presents Neil Simon comedy play Jan. 22 to Feb. 6 ASTORIA — Astoria Visual Arts’ Artist-in-Residence Pro- gram has selected Blaine Verley of Astoria and Annie Eskelin of :arrenton for the upcoming three-month residencies, which run Jan. 1 through March 30. The two artists will work un- encumbered in studios provided rent-free by Astoria Visual Arts, with support from Astoria Cof- fee House & Bistro, Albatross & Co., Astoria Co-op Grocery, City Lumber, Dots ‘N Doodles Art Supplies and Fort George Brewery. In his 40-plus years of pur- suing painting, Verley has nev- er worked out of a studio of his own, set aside and furnished just for creating art. He looks forward to working with larger canvases that he hasn’t been able to exe- cute in his current work/living space. Verley aims to continue to chronicle “Astoria Nocturne,” a visual idea he has pursued since 1983. “I truly feel as though I am reaching my stride when it comes to painting cityscapes, landscapes, ¿gures, faces, still life and purely inventive scenes from dreamscapes and my imag- ination,” he says. In moving to Astoria, Eskelin resigned as the executive director for the arts center in La Grande, a position that fed her artistic spirit but also kept her busy from cre- ating her own work. “I am now a stay-at-home mom and feel incredibly inspired TILLAMOOK — The Tillamook Association for the Performing Arts presents the Neil Simon comedy “Rumors,” directed by Kelli McMellon. The play opens Friday, Jan. 22 with an opening gala cele- bration that includes compli- mentary hors d’oeuvres and a beverage of choice with the purchase of each ticket. The show runs through Feb. 6. Fri- day and Saturday performanc- es begin at 7 p.m., and Sun- day matinees begin at 2 p.m. Doors open 30 minutes prior to curtain. “Rumors” is set in a New York townhouse, where the Deputy Mayor of New York City has just shot himself. Though only a Àesh wound, four couples are about to ex- perience a severe attack of farce. Gathering for their 10th wedding anniversary, the host lies bleeding in the other room, and his wife is nowhere in sight. His lawyer and law- yer’s wife must get “the story” straight before the other guests arrive. As confusion and mis- communications mount, the evening spins off into classic farcical hilarity. The cast for this comedy include both theater veterans as well as several actors mak- ing their stage debut. Playing Ken Gorman and his wife, Chris, the well-to-do lawyers who are ¿rst on the scene, are Submitted photo A painting by Blaine Verley. Submitted photo “Flounder and the Soul” by Annie Eskelin. by this area,” she says. “I am ea- ger for the opportunity to have my own studio, experiment with different mixed-media elements and see what happens.” Although she likes the inti- macy of working small, Eskelin will use her residency to work on a larger scale and hopes to de- velop a body of work to exhibit locally. The AVA a-i-r program is designed to encourage the cre- ative, intellectual and profession- al growth of emerging artists. :hile no exhibition, publication or performance is required, com- munity responsibility includes a weekend open studio event before the end of each AVA a-i-r session. Finalists (currently limited to locally based artists) are chosen in a blind selection process on the basis of artistic merit by an independent panel of established working artists and arts patrons. AVA was founded in 1989 as a nonpro¿t membership orga- nization to enhance, strengthen and promote the arts in the As- toria area. For more information, visit www.astoriavisualarts.org Best of 2 01 5 Submitted photo TAPA will present the Neil Simon play “Rumors” Jan. 22 through Feb. 6 in Tillamook. ‘Rumors’ 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 22, 23, 29, 30, Feb. 5 and 6 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 24 and 31 Barn Community Playhouse 1204 Ivy St., Tillamook $15 adults, $10 children Christian Chiola and Anita O’Hagan. Lenny and Claire Ganz, who arrive after a car accident, are played by new- comer Joey Hake and TAPA veteran Margaret Page. Dave Mattison is in the role of Ernie Cusack, a psychiatrist, and is partnered by newcomer San- dra Neumiller playing Ernie’s wife, Cookie. Real-life couple Micah and Briar Smith play stage couple Glenn (a state senator) and Cassie Cooper, who is convinced Glenn is cheating on her. Rounding out the cast is Gerry Cortimilia playing Of¿cer :elch and Su- zannah Floyd playing Of¿ce Pudney. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children are 12 and under. Reserved seating is available through Diamond Art Jewelers located at 307 Main St.; call 503-842-7940. For more information, email info@tillamooktheater.com Celebrating 35 years in Til- lamook, TAPA is a nonpro¿t community theater dedicat- ed to providing high quality performing arts experiences through entertainment, educa- tion and community participa- tion. TAPA’s Barn Community Playhouse is located at 1204 Ivy St. Rea d a bout the w in n ers VOTED BY YOU W a tch fo r it in Co a st W eeken d w w w .coa stw eek en d .com 16 | January 21, 2016 | coastweekend.com JAN UARY 28, 2016
