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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2017)
SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2017 Florence author publishes new book Cyan Orr’s new chapbook, “from inside Schrödinger’s box,” is a collection of vibrant lyrical poems that explore the longing, curiosity and wonder in which readers, as sub- jects of a thought exper- iment, attempt to under- stand the box that con- tains them and the unknown beyond. Orr holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Ashland University, as well as an M.A. in counseling, and a B.A. in psychology and math. COURTESY PHOTO She is the recipient of the Mason’s Road The cover of Florence author Literary Prize for her Cyan Orr’s new book. poem “The Scarecrow’s California, Idaho and New Response.” Cyan enjoyed 39 years Jersey. She now resides on the teaching mathematics and psy- chology to high school and Oregon coast with her hus- college students at schools in band, Bob. Jessie Leigh to perform at Blue Bills this weekend This weekend’s entertain- ment at Blue Bills Sports Bar & Tap Room, located inside Three Rivers Casino Resort at 5647 Highway 126, will be Jessie Leigh. Leigh infuses her rock and roll attitude into her country style, creating a fresh and unique sound. She takes “old school” music and makes it relevant. Although the main genre is country, the songs on Leigh’s debut album are influenced by a variety of music styles and appeal to a wide range music lovers. Leigh will perform Friday and Saturday, March 3 and 4, from 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. JON CURRIER PHOTOGRAPHY Jessie Leigh Deborah Grigsby LPC, NCC, MA-MHC, C4249,NPI#1205266046 Life, Health & Wellness Coach 185 Nopal Street PO Box 2566 ~ Florence, OR 541-999-1913 best or 997-1234 dgrigsby61@hotmail.com F AT T UESDAY Bria Skonberg Review B Y B URNEY G ARELICK “ L aissez les bon temps rouler” — let the good times roll. Fat Tuesday in French is Mardi Gras, the annual cele- bration including parades, cos- tumes, music, food and revelry that occurs in New Orleans, where jazz was born. This year Mardi Gras was Feb. 28, but in Florence the celebration began on Feb. 26 at the Florence Events Center with the earth-shaking jazz performance of Bria Skonberg and her tornadic trio. The event was part of the 2016-17 Seacoast Entertainment con- cert series. Attractive, young and blonde, Bria Skonberg can blow a horn to knock Gabriel for a loop. She excels on trumpet and, almost simultaneously, she sings like the Skylark Hoagy CAME ON Carmichael and Johnny Mercer wrote about, and she emcees the show with natural wit, warmth and charm. Skonberg translates the intricacy of jazz into a vernac- ular accessible to every ear. Currently living in New York City, Skonberg is the daughter of public school teachers, who attended the Florence concert. She was raised on a farm in Chilliwack, British Columbia. Talking about her roots among the chickens and crit- ters must have brought to mind “The Barnyard Shuffle,” the original version of a dark, creamy chocolate ballad we know as Hoagy Carmichael’s iconic “Stardust,” to which Skonberg dusted off new stars in the cosmos. The last tune of the concert paid homage to the first jazz recording one hundred years ago — “Livery Stable Blues” — by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. Skonberg celebrat- ed with a Dixieland perennial, “Tiger Rag,” on which her mild-mannered drummer, Darrian Douglas, who’d waved the brushes with the finesse of an Impressionist S UNDAY painter, got the chance to rock out and roar with a big cat’s meow. Skonberg’s program was jazzy and eclectic — “From This Moment On,” Cole Porter’s song which opened the show, to Sidney Bechet’s exotic “Egyptian Fantasy” to Louis Armstrong’s “Swing That Music” to Anita O’Day’s “Don’t Be That Way.” Skonberg’s breathy, com- panionable vocals evoked the style of jazz diva Diana Krall, especially on “Getting to be a Habit with You,” and Skonberg’s scatting on “St. Louis Blues” channeled the legendary Ella Fitzgerald. In addition to being an excellent performer, Skonberg is a terrific songwriter, whose work may well join the jazz repertoire. “How Can This Be” is a bright and bodacious intro- duction to a fortuitous stranger; “Down in the Deep” wallows in the blues with low- down wah-wahs from her alter ego, a small blue mute; and “Wear and Tear” spins like a Speed Queen on a tremulous cycle. “Wear and Tear” was co- authored with bass player Sean “A Holistic Approach to Counseling through Mindfulness and Meditation” Class Act Theater announces 2017 season shows Class Act Theatre (CAT) has officially announced its lineup of plays for the 2017 season. According to David Lauria, Artistic Director of CAT, “It has been a wonderful challenge to come up with a lineup of productions that will continue the success of our first season. We wanted a good mix of music, drama and comedy and we feel sure that these four plays fulfill that goal.” This year’s lineup will include: • “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change” Book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro with music by Jimmy Roberts, this musical celebra- tion of the mating game takes on the truths and myths of that contemporary conundrum known as “the relationship.” This hilarious revue pays tribute to those who have loved and lost; to those who have fallen on their face at the portal of romance; to those who have dared to ask, “Say, what are you doing Saturday night?” Show dates will be June 16, 17, 23 and 24 at 7 p.m., and June 18 and 25 at 2 p.m. • “Proof” A drama by David Auburn and winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for Best Play. On the eve of her birthday, Catherine, a troubled young woman, has spent years caring for her brilliant but unstable father, a famous mathemati- cian. Over the long weekend that follows, a burgeoning romance and the discovery of a mysterious notebook draw Catherine into the most diffi- cult problem of all: How much of her father’s madness — or genius — will she inherit? Show dates are July 21, 22, 28 and 29 at 7 p.m., and July 23and 30 at 2 p.m. • “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” Written by Christopher Durang and winner of the 2013 Tony Award for “Best Play.” In this riotous comedy, mid- dle-aged siblings Vanya and Sonia share a home in Bucks County, Pa., where they bicker and complain about the cir- cumstances of their lives. Suddenly, their movie-star sister, Masha, swoops in with her new boy toy, Spike. Old resentments flare up, eventual- ly leading to threats to sell the house. Also on the scene are sassy maid Cassandra, who can predict the future, and a lovely young aspiring actress named Nina, whose prettiness some- what worries the imperious Masha. Show dates are Sept. 8, 9, 15 and 16 at 7 p.m., and Sept. 10 and 17 at 2 p.m. • “Greater Tuna” Written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard. What do Arles Struvie, Thurston Wheelis, Aunt Pearl, Petey Fisk, Phineas Blye and Rev. Spikes have in common? In this hilarious send-up of small town morals and mores, they are all among the upstand- ing citizens of Tuna, Texas’ third-smallest town. “The audience all but exploded the theatre with laughter.” Florence Community PTA will host their annual Talent Show, “Siuslaw Superstars” on Wednesday, March 8, and Thursday, March 9, at the Florence Events Center. This year, thanks to increased student interest, each night will feature different stu- dent performers in Kindergarten through Fifth Grade with special middle THE 2017 ROTARY AUCTION FRAA ART CENTER 120 Maple Street Phone: 541-997-4435 Hours Open: Wed-Fri noon-5pm, Sat 10am-5pm, Sun. noon-5pm Classes and Workshops Mono-Print Flowers/Birds of Florence with Kat Cunningham Tuesdays, Feb 28 and March 7, 6-8 pm. Contact 541-999-1782 or 541-997-4435 for fees and to register. Palette Knife Painting with Patricia Williams Mondays, 11 am - 2 pm Contact Patti at 916-296-0485 or artjewelrybypatti@gmail.com for details, fees and to register. Watercolor Painting with Mary Bennett Intermediate Level class. Thursdays, 12 - 3 pm Contact 209-986-0366 or 541-997-4435 for details, fees and to register. Ceramics for Kids w/ Ben Cahoon/ Alissa Clark Thursdays, 4-5 pm Hand Building Ceramics w/ Alissa Wed, 3-5 pm and Thurs, 6-8 pm Open Lab on Saturdays Drop in, work at own pace. Sat 12-5 pm Ceramics classes held at Alissa’s Studio. 180 Laurel Street. Cronin, who drives the acoustic bass with dazzling plucking and majestic bowing. He also sings a swinging song and was featured on “Old Fashioned Love” by early jazz pianist James P. Johnson and “Honeysuckle Rose” by anoth- er noted ivory-tickler, Fats Waller. Speaking of ivory-ticklers, Skonberg’s pianist, Mathis Picard, was phenomenal. His accompaniment, his breaks, his riffs and runs and rolls complemented and highlighted every song. His fingers put the FEC grand through a triathlon of jazz, twisting the keys like licorice, stretching the black and white harlequin ribbons to wrap packages of harmony and rhythm topped with festive bows, and returning them to their upright positions, still rippling with good vibrations to enhance future performanc- es for years to come. No ebb tide for Seacoast Entertainment. The waves hit the shore in a horn of plenty with Bria Skonberg’s extraor- dinary performance. As they used to say in New Orleans, “Now you has jazz.” — The New York Post Show dates are Oct. 20, 21, 27 and 28 at 7 p.m., and Oct. 22 and 29 at 2 p.m. Season tickets are $60 and are now available to current season-ticket holders. Season tickets will be available to the general public beginning April 1. Season ticket order forms are available on request via email at fatcatflorence@gmail .com; on the CAT website at catproductions.org; by phone at 541-991-3773; or at Class Act Theatre, 590 Kingwood St. (corner of Kingwood St. and Rhododendron Dr.) Mondays and Wednesdays from noon to 5:30 p.m. Tickets for individual shows are $18 for regular admission, $16 for seniors age 60 and older or active military. Indivudul tickets go on sale beginning May 1 on the CAT website, at ShowTix4U.com or at the box office. PTA hosts annual ‘Superstars Talent Show’ next week by Appointment only NEW! Open Studio at FRAA No registration required. Drop-in, bring your materials, and create. All artistic mediums welcome. Every Friday, 1-4 pm 5 A NEW! Bead Embroidery with Pat Tellez, Learn to bead around a shell, cabochon or other object. Friday, March 24th, 12-4 pm Contact 360-718-1963 or 541-997-4435 for fees & to resister. Registration req’d. NEW! Porcelain Painting w/ Pat Tellez Paint a beautiful kingfisher. 3 sessions, Fridays, March 31, April 7 & 14 12- 4 pm. Pre-registration required at FRAA and stop-in to view the finished project. Creative Writing Workshops - Writers on the River w/ Catherine Rourke “Memoir Writing: From Real Life to Real Story” All writing levels Sat March 18th, 10 am to noon Next workshop, April 22nd, 10 am - noon To register, call 541-708-2120 or email CJReditor@gmail.com Painting with John Leasure Saturdays 9 am - 12 pm March 4, 11, 25 and April Contact: jnleasure@hotmail.com or 541-991-2754 for details and fees. Saturday, March 11, 5 p.m. Florence Events Center http://thefl orencerotary.org/ T ICK ET S $ 65 Contact Craig Sanders for tickets: 541.999.1713 Call email: craig@hoaglandproperties.com Sponsored in part by: The Archives, LLC • The Shippin’ Shack Siuslaw Signs & Graphics • TR Hunter • The J Group Sue Gilday State Farm Insurance Dan Gilday at TR Hunter • Mc Bradley/Smith Law Offi ce of Jane C. Hanawalt, PC • Paula Becker Dr. Brian Holmes & Dr. Justin Linton The River House Inn • Laurel Bay Gardens Oil Painting with Michael Wood Wednesdays 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm Contact: fmwood@msn.com for fees and more information. For more information about classes, visit fraaoregon.org. To register for these classes, please call or visit FRAA at our art center on Maple Street. Rotary celebrates a world fi lled with possibility, raising funds for scholarships for Florence area youth and other community projects. school appearances. The community is invited to join Siuslaw students and par- ents for this display of Siuslaw’s superstars perform- ing vocal and piano solos, gymnastics, dance, poetry and more with the event emceed by Siuslaw Elementary Principal, Michael Harklerode. “Students have been prepar- ing their acts since early February and we hope the com- munity takes advantage of this annual opportunity to see our brave and talented students up on stage at the FEC,” said Natalie Lyda, of the Florence Community PTA. Tickets are available for just $2 for PTA members and $3 for non-members in the Siuslaw Elementary office or by email- ing natalielyda1@gmail.com. Van Fans meeting today The monthly meeting and luncheon for the Van Fans will be held at The Shorewood on Spruce Street, March 1, beginning at 11:45 a.m. Everyone is invited to join our group of volunteers. There is no charge to join, so come on down and have lunch and become part of our mission to keep the cancer van in operation for our coastal friends and family. The luncheon is $8.50. For additional information call Lea Rudd at 541-999- 0779.
