McMinnville High School is proud to present our spring musical, Little Shop of Horrors. The show is a horror/comedy musical, by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a unfortunate florist shop assistant who raises a plant which feeds on human blood and flesh. The meek flower shop assistant Seymour (played by Noah Miller) pines for co-worker Audrey (played by Anna Johnson). During a total eclipse of the sun, he discovers an unusual plant he names Audrey II (voiced by Bryce Abeln, Puppeteer Devon Fowler) . The growing plant generates a lot of new business for the struggling store which delights the shop owner, Mr. Mushnik (played by Colin Salewski). The show is full of quirky characters including four street urchins who act as a Greek Chorus through the show (Amanda Simmons, Zoe Schuck, Mayra Sandoval, and Adalie Nelson), a nitrious oxide loving dentist (Evan Ewing), and many more dwellers of Skid Row (Orion Anderson, Kindle Spivey, and Kylee Longaker).
Shows are Feb. 23 & 24, March 1 & 2 @ 7:00pm and Feb. 25 @ 2pm. Tickets are $8 general admission, $5 students/seniors, and $4 with ASB. Tickets can be purchased at the door. Please note that this show is recommended for ages 13 and older.

A modest home in a western Oregon town serves as the immersive studio of an accomplished iconographer. Magdalene Grace Deane steeps tea in the kitchen of her studio home on a Fall afternoon. The stainless steel island is set with little red napkins and cups and saucers of rose and white. Two small pots—one white and one black—emit wisps of steam from tea flavored of dark chocolate cake, cream, and cherries. The pots’ lids have been swapped, maybe for whimsy, or maybe to create a unifying connection. As long as they’re each capped with the other’s color, they cannot be separated in any practical way—mutual assured usefulness, by design. Indeed many of the kitchen’s appointments are either black or white, with kisses of red and rose throughout, and the tea set obliges. The kitchen is also a sort of gallery featuring three striking oil portraits, including one of a gentleman in a lovingly detailed tartan. Deane draws on broad experiences in portraiture as well as restoration, art therapy, and fashion design to guide and support her iconography.
 
The home’s living and dining spaces are furnished with easels, stools, carts and cases—utilitarian appointments particular to a work space that occasionally serves as a classroom. Icons in progress sit perched, as she waits on the best possible conditions to resume work. Even the unfinished faces command attention, and not just from persons of faith. Deane says she once asked a patron why he had bought one of her pieces, and he said that as he stood before it, “It’s so beautiful, and I instantly feel calm.” A perfectly good reason to invest in art that pleases, both visually and emotionally. The saints and kings wait to be completed at their different stages in the devotional process—a process that is complex and meditative, according to Deane.
 
The historical canon and guidelines for this art form date back over two thousand years, earlier than that if you count the ancient Egyptians’ treatments of their sarcophagi. Each portrait’s icon tells a story, and while the imagery is sometimes naïve, even cartoonish at first blush, the process ensures the finished piece will possess a radiance that outshines the two-dimensionality of the style. Deane can chat for a good ten minutes about the chemistry of the humble little chicken egg, the very illuminated heart and soul of these images. Egg yolks are the vehicle for the pigments, and give the images their glow. Egg tempera dries translucent and the paint is painstakingly layered atop marble-finished gessoed board imported from northern Italy, near Venice.
 
The pigments come from things like ground gemstones and shells, ores and vegetation, and, of course, precious metals. The gilding process adds another dimension to the majesty of these works, and also requires ideal working conditions—no breezes from the windows nor gusts from the vents—lest the studio become a glittering scene from a fairy tale of magical realism.
 
Whether you’re looking for a piece of Western art history in the form of a pretty picture, a little “bling for your walls,” or some spiritual serenity, the reality is that, “An icon,” Deane promises “will meet you halfway, whether or not you have any religious experience.” The Marilyn Affolter Fine Art Studio & Gallery at 325 NE Evans Street in McMinnville has a collection of Deane’s icons on display and for sale. Check gallery hours at marilynaffolter.com.
 
Deane offers classes at her studio in Newberg: orthodoxnorthwest.wordpress.com/tag/magdalene-grace-deane-iconographe/

Penguin Productions

As You Like It: Thursday, July 20th -Monday, July 24th
Macbeth:  Thursday, July 27th-Monday, July 29th    
Location:  5 G's Ranch.  17530 NE Terry's Lane, Newberg
Shows start at 7 pm.
penguinsonstage.com. 

          Newberg, Oregon welcomes a new theatre to its environs this month when Penguin Productions' inaugural season presents two plays by William Shakespeare.   Opening Thursday, July 20th, the Bard of Avon’s gender-bending pastoral romance of mistaken identity “As You Like It” will unfold under the evening sky of the “5 G’s” ranch located at 17530 NE Terry's Lane.  Performance dates for “as You Like It” are Thursday, July 20th through Saturday, July 22nd, closing Friday, August fourth.   The production features Quincey Van Steenberge as Rosiland, Stephanie Spencer as Orlando and is directed by Linfield alumna Stephanie Mulligan. continued on News

          On Saturday July 8th   the Gallery at Ten Oaks will host a reception from 3:00 to 7:00 PM to honor the Official Selections to the “art of Film” artist showcase.    The afternoon will feature work submitted by artists with themes relating to TV or film, and is a cross-promotional event to promote the 7th annual McMinnville Short Film Festival in October.
          This year, artists submitted their work from April 15th to June 15th to be considered for the showcase.  Official Selections from those submissions will be featured on display and for sale throughout the month of July.
          Located at 801 SW Baker Street in McMinnville, the venue currently features the work of several artists, including Terry Peasley, John Stromme and Rick Schanche.
          Event coordinators and hosts Dan and Nancy Morrow, proprietors of the Gallery at Ten Oaks, as well as the directors of the annual October McMinnville Short Film Festival (MSFF).   This year, the MSFF will be on Saturday and Sunday October 21-22 and will be held at the McMinnville Cinemas, 300 NE Norton Lane.
          On Saturday July 8th the Gallery at Ten Oaks will host a reception from 3:00 to 7:00 PM to honor the Official Selections to the “art of Film” artist showcase.    The afternoon will feature work submitted by artists with themes relating to TV or film, and is a cross-promotional event to promote the 7th annual McMinnville Short Film Festival in October.
          This year, artists submitted their work from April 15th to June 15th to be considered for the showcase.  Official Selections from those submissions will be featured on display and for sale throughout the month of July.
          Located at 801 SW Baker Street in McMinnville, the venue currently features the work of several artists, including Terry Peasley, John Stromme and Rick Schanche.
         Last year, the MSFF staged a ‘kick-off’ celebration for the festival  by offering a ‘Locals Night’ the Thursday before the event, which was filmed by the local cable access station, McMinnville Community Media.  Depending on local submissions this year, they hope to offer this again in 2017 to showcase local talent.
         This year’s MSFF keynote speaker is Janice Williams, President of Productions for Groundswell Productions. Williams will speak on Sunday, October 22 during the Awards Dinner to wrap up the festival. 
          Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Williams moved to London after college and spent her early adulthood ensconced in the music industry, during which time she worked with Rolling Stone’s Mick Jagger to establish “Jagged Films,” his independent production company.  She later went on to become an Emmy-nominated producer for HBO’s “Confirmation.”  She also helped produce “Love, the Coopers” (starring Dianne Keaton, John Goodman and Marisa Tomei) and 2015’s “Trumbo” featuring Academy Award Winner, Brayan Cranston in the title role of screenwriter Dalton Trumbo.
          “We are very excited about having her speaking at the event this year,” said Nancy Morrow of Williams.  
           Submissions to the MSFF began arriving in December last year and will continue to be accepted thought the first of August this year.  The festival plans to announce the Official Selections by mid-September. 
            Visit the festival site mcminnvillefilmfest.org for submission details and other general information or e-mail info@mcminnvillefilfest.org to contact the festival coordinators.

click check out what's Coming Soon!

 June Senior Reader's Troupe Performance
Gallery Theater program provides light humor on a summer afternoon.
                                            By: M. Bryan O'Carroll

           A ditzy girl friend from high school, dark comedy in a small southern town and a bellicose family gathering for the funeral of an eccentric relative are fodder for an afternoon of comedic distractions Sunday June 25th when Gallery Theater’s “Reader's Theater”  performs a selection comedic scenes.  A five dollar donation at the door covers a free dessert during intermission in the air conditioned theater.
                                                                           ...continued on News

by: Gina Fox
 
The Chehalem Cultural Center in Newberg has all the charm of a storybook schoolhouse with its unassuming landscaping and small playground at its East flank, but during the second weekend in July, the early- twentieth-century brick two-story as well as the central city block it occupies will fill with vendors and patrons for the 12th Annual Willamette Valley Lavender Festival and Plein Air Art Show. The summer event, colloquially known as ‘The Lavender Festival,’ is about much more than homespun bath products or a ribbon-tied nosegay. ...... continued

Just Published on our NEWS page. 

Paquita by Gallery Theater

Recital performances
Friday through Sunday June 2-4
Main stage at Gallery Theater 210 NE Ford Street
in downtown McMinnville. 
“However,” adds Castle, “advance tickets for ‘Paquita’ available now. 
Tickets are on sale through Oregon Stationers and the Copy Cabana located at 217 NE 3rd Street. 
Call (503) 472 – 5181 or go to http://galleryballet.com/  for more information

Paquita Event on Facebook

Dear Friends,

     Our Judges have presented us with the results and all of the authors have been notified.  We are now busily putting together the Paper Gardens 2017 book.  

     Thank you to all of the Yamhill County writers who submitted such wonderful work to Paper Gardens this year.  Here is a list of the pieces that have been selected by the judges for the Paper Gardens 2017 book.

Our Judges: 

• Dr. Anna Keesey, Linfield College Professor and author of the award-winning novel Little Century was our Prose Judge.  
• Oregon Poet Laureate and Confederated Warm Springs Tribal Member Elizabeth Woody was this year’s Poetry Judge. 

     There were 525 total entries for Paper Gardens 2017 so being selected for publication is truly an accomplishment.  There is no ranking this year within categories.

     We had participation from 29 schools, including public and private and elementary through high school, and from every town in the County.
  
The Paper Gardens Celebration and book release party.

• May 4th at the Chehalem Cultural Center in Newberg.  We will begin at 7:00 p.m. with doors opening at 6:30.  
• All authors will be recognized as they come on stage to be introduced, receive their own copy of the Paper Gardens 2017 book, and be asked to read their winning piece.
•  The Chehalem Cultural Center (https://www.chehalemculturalcenter.org) is located near the Newberg Library at 415 E. Sheridan Street.  There are entrances and parking in front and back of the building.  
• Take a look at the special exhibit, Blending Poetry and Cloth, in the Cultural Center Gallery when you come.  

     We are truly grateful for the support of the Arts Alliance Board, The Chehalem Cultural Center and our sponsors:  McMinnville Kiwanis, McMinnville Noon Rotary, Newberg Community Foundation, Yamhill Cultural Coalition (with support from the Oregon Community Foundation & the Oregon Cultural Trust).