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The Pioneer • www.pioneerpublishers.com
August 18, 2023
T H E AR TS Be a princess, or a ghost, in upcoming Onstage/Plotline shows becomes part of the inquiry into the suicide of a young girl; “Nomen” (March 1-17), a new play by Bay Area playwright Melynda Kiring full of princesses and lords; “Mass Appeal” (May 3-19), with its stellar roles for two actors (the role of Father Tim Farley has been precast); and “Blithe Spirit” (Sept. 6-22), where a SALLY HOGARTY man newly married is haunted by the mischievous ghost of STAGE STRUCK his first wife. There will also be a oneHere’s your chance to be a act play festival, a tradition star: Onstage Repertory The- with Onstage, taking place ater and Plotline Theater July 12-28. The plays have yet Company are holding audito be decided. tions for their 2024 season in Auditions for all the plays Martinez. take place at noon Aug. 19 at Shows include “An Inspec- the Campbell Theater, 636 tor Calls” (Jan. 5-21), where a Ward Str., Martinez. Particirespectable British family pants should bring three
Order tickets today
SoloOpera.org
Sept. 8 & 10, 2023 Lesher Center for the Arts
LesherArtsCenter.Org (925) 943-7469
Liz Curtis
Laurie Roldan brings her Carpenter-inspired cabaret, “Laurie Sings a Song for You,” to Lafayette Sept. 9-16.
copies of their resume and headshot and prepare a oneminute comic and one-minute dramatic monologue. Actors should be able to adjust audition pieces if asked. A $100 travel stipend is available per show cast in. For more information, email celticelvis@yahoo.com. Walnut Creek’s Center Repertory announces its upcoming season, with a plethora of exciting shows planned. It all begins with “Crowns,” a celebration of song, dance, cultural history and fabulous headwear (Sept. 9-Oct. 6), followed by the music-filled comedy “The Legend of Georgia McBride (Nov. 4-26). And it wouldn’t be the holidays without Center Rep’s “A Christmas Carol” (Dec. 7-21). Welcoming the new year is “Every Brilliant Thing” (Jan. 6-28), a poignant journey through grief and healing; “Mystic Pizza” (Feb. 15-25), with its feel-good pop hits from the ’80s and ’90s; “The Great Leap” (March 16-April 7), a sharp-witted new drama; and “Cabaret” (May 25-June 23) featuring all the decadence
of 1929-’30s Berlin. For more information and season tickets, call 925-9437469 or go to www.lesherartscenter.org. The fabulous Laurie Roldan brings her cabaret show to Lafayette’s Town Hall Theatre Sept. 9-16. “Laurie Sings a Song for You” is a concert inspired by the music of Karen Carpenter. Roldan shares personal stories and memories in an uplifting evening woven through well-known Carpenters’ songs sure to bring a smile to your face and, occasionally, a tear to your eye. I saw this show when she debuted it at the Lesher Center in 2021 and thoroughly enjoyed the walk down mem-
ory lane and the beautiful vocals of Roldan and her guest vocalists. “After an extensive foray into musical theater and cabaret, I wanted to do something new and unique – something that would inspire people to pursue their own dreams and life purpose,” said Roldan. “I realized my strongest inspiration growing up was Karen Carpenter and that the lyrics to her songs each told a unique story, one I identified with in my own life.” Roldan went on to create this evening of song and reflection with musical direc-
tor Brett Strader. Guest vocalists for the Town Hall appearance include Anita Colotto and Michelle Ianiro, with musicians Scott Welsh and Devon Minser. The Town Hall Education students will also make an appearance. For more information and tickets, call 925-283-1557 or go to www.townhalltheatre.com. Sally Hogarty is well known around the Bay Area as a newspaper columnist, theatre critic and working actress. She is the editor of the Orinda News. Send comments to sallyhogarty@gmail.com
Photo courtesy of Center Repertory Company
Center Rep brightens the holiday season with its annual production of “A Christmas Carol,” shown here with Michael Ray Wisely as Scrooge.
Artist enjoys creating beautiful ecosystems JOHN NAKANISHI
ARTS IN MOTION The subtle hues of color in a gentle, floral-like pattern encourage your eyes to wander over Yumiko Nishizawa’s canvases. Her watercolors reflect her captivation of botany, with visually pleasing designs reminiscent of flowering woods and seasonal colors. Some of her other works draw on her fascination with pollen, fungi and slime molds and appear as though viewed under a microscope. Her art is unique, eyecatching and enjoyable. Nishizawa was born and raised in Saitama Prefecture in Japan. She left Tokyo in 2008, moving first to Carson City, Nev., then to Moraga in 2013 and finally to Concord in 2016. Nishizawa’s lifelong love of art began with her childhood hobby of drawing. As a teenager, she wanted to be a manga artist because of her love for manga, anime and movies relating to the occult, fantasy and science fiction. “I was writing comics in some notebooks,” says Nishizawa. But she only gave her best friends access to read them. It was in middle school that Nishizawa first began to think about attending art school. She attained her goal and graduated from Musashino Art University in Tokyo with a master’s degree in oil painting. Three famous artists have influenced Nishizawa’s art: Ogata Korin, a Japanese landscape illustrator; Gustav Klimt, an Austrian symbolist painter who was influenced by Korin; and Japanese artist Hasegawa Tohaku, a 16th-century painter and founder of the Hasegawa school (“school” here being a group of artists who follow the same style, share the same teachers or have the same aims, typically linked to a single location or
John Nakanishi
Yumiko Nishizawa began exploring botanical themes while in college but has since switched from oils to watercolors.
master). “All three artists create forms with flowing lines, depicting a gorgeous and cold world with a heavily decorated background,” Nishizawa notes. You can clearly see their influence in her artwork. The botanical theme has been present in Nishizawa’s artwork since her time at the university. When Nishizawa moved to the United States, she switched to watercolors – finding it easier to work in watercolors rather than oil paints. She took what she knew from oil painting and taught herself watercolor. Now she enjoys working with transparent watercolor paint on cotton paper. Nishizawa is inspired by nature. She loves observing how the seasons alter the ecosystem. “The changing of the seasons is a big inspiration for my work, so I look forward to that very much,” says Nishizawa. Her favorite East Bay park is Mount Diablo because of the large variety of wildflowers she can find there. However, she has yet to discover any vast wildflower blooms on the mountain in the spring, though she has been searching. Her go-to spot for spring wildflower blooms is Yokohl Valley in Tulare County. “Some of my favorite sub-
jects are plants, slime molds, mycelia, spores, seeds and the beauty of life as the core of a large forest,” says Nishizawa. She tries to capture the sense of life cycles or nature’s regeneration and reproduction over time. She hopes viewers of her art obtain an emotional interpretation when following the colors and shapes with their eyes and feeling the movement of the shapes. As she says in an artist statement from a recent show, “Watercolor can be untamed and controlled simultaneously, and manipulating these elements of the medium helps create the chaotic harmony of my fictional ecosystems.” Some of Nishizawa’s artwork is on display at the aRt Cottage in Concord. You can also explore her works online and on social media: Website: nishiyumi4.wixsite.com/ yumikonishizawa. Facebook: /nishiyumishafer. Instagram: @nishiyumi_art. Email: nishiyumi@hotmail.com. John Nakanishi is an acrylic painter and a ceramic artist. Email comments and suggestions for future columns to phjona@gmail.com.
