Here's Some Money! Who Are You?
The scene at the southeast corner of Denny and Westlake Avenue at about 1:00 p.m. last Saturday was one of organized chaos. Over 100 people gathered to "compete" for a grant of $500 to be given by Artists for a Work-Free America to a random person in the act of making, or pretending to make, a film at that locale.
In Arts News wandered among the creative types, asking, "What's your project?" Answers ranged from, "It's the story of a Rubik's Cube genius," to, "A study of mob mentality through spoken word and visual images." People filmed with digital cameras, Super-8 cameras, and cardboard boxes with holes cut out.
Greg Lundgren, organizer of the event, managed to give away $500 of his tax return just before 2:00 p.m., when his assistant, running around the lot in a silver miniskirt, stopped, as dictated by the egg timer she held in her hand, and gave a wad of cash to the person she ended up in front of. The winner? Nicole Grant, who said she would spend half the money on drugs and half on her film project, a dramatization of the life of Olga Benetti (an obscure radical killed by Hitler). TRACI VOGEL
Tavern on the Green
The Showbox has recently made a wealth of improvements, including a vastly upgraded sound system and a swanky expansion to the venue's back bar. Such improvements will be enhanced even further by the mid-June opening of a 150 capacity auxiliary lounge area directly adjoining the building. Christened the Green Room, the upscale lounge and full-service restaurant will occupy the space just south of the front doors, formerly leased by Rudy's Vintage Clothing. "We now have a space that's highly versatile and will constantly adapt to whatever is going on in the main showroom," explains owner Jeff Steichen. "It'll be open early so that folks can come in, have something to eat and drink prior to a show, and have immediate access to the Showbox upon showtime." Furthermore, the Green Room may allow patrons to view live broadcasts of bigger shows while basking in the comfort of more relaxed surroundings. "It will be a really nice dimension for those folks who want to be near a show, but not in the middle of a show," enthuses Steichen. The club also plans on utilizing the space for artist meet-and-greets, intimate post-show entertainment, DJ sets, and smaller singer-songwriter performances. HANNAH LEVIN
Lucky Ducky
In Arts News is thrilled to be the last on the block to announce that Consolidated Works has officially found a new home. The space lucky enough to be the future venue for the ultra-smart programming in theater, film, and visual arts that we've come to expect from ConWorks is the old Ducky's Office Furniture building on Boren and Republican, adding a degree of kitsch cool to the arts organization's increasingly good pedigree. (Who has not pondered Ducky's motto--"Duck! Low Prices!"--whilst stuck in traffic in the Mercer mess?) ConWorks will share the space with a handful of other nonprofit arts groups, creating the possibility of a new one-stop arts district in the neighborhood that calls itself Cascade. (Stay tuned for our exclusive tour of the new digs.) Congratulations ConWorks! We knew you wouldn't let us down! EMILY HALL
Provincialism Is Funny!
May 7 headline of Seattle Times review of Falstaff: "Seattle Opera's 'Falstaff' is charming and compelling."
Headline of the New York Times review (on its website May 15): "Seattle Opera's 'Falstaff': Verdi's Centennial as Celebrated by the Three Stooges." TRACI VOGEL
