The Blacklist Era

Noted film critic and writer Robert Horton will give a free talk on “The Blacklist Era and Hollywood,” at 4 p.m. Saturday, March 8, at Vashon Library. The talk is sponsored by Humanities Washington.

Horton’s talk, illustrated with film clips, tells stories from this heartbreaking and scandalous era, and how notables such as Humphrey Bogart, Elia Kazan, and Charlie Chaplin were swept up in the frenzy. He’ll also ask a question: With today’s politics at a boiling point, are we living in such a period again? Registration not required for this event.

Visit tinyurl.com/37yv2y39 to learn more.

Incubator Series

Vashon Repertory Theatre (VRT) will celebrate Northwest women playwrights with a series of five play readings, set for March 6-9, in its fifth annual Incubator Series of new plays.

The event, staged at Vashon Center for the Arts (VCA), will open with an original play by islander Deb McCabe, “A Place Like This,” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 6.

At 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 7, the series will present “Angel of Belgrade,” by Kendra Phillips.

On Saturday, March 8, the series will stage two plays.

The first, at 2 p.m., is “Becoming Awesome,” a young woman’s coming-of-age story by playwright Y York. At 7:30 p.m., “Mercy,” a musical by Elizabeth Heffron and Hope Wechkin, will bring Seattle theater scene star Sarah Rudinoff to Vashon to lead a cast of island singers and actors as they tell a tale of trying to save lives in a broken healthcare system.

The Incubator Series finale, at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 9, is a family-friendly adventure tale by Maggie Lee, “Sheathed,” telling the story of a fictional fantastical universe 10 years after a long, devastating civil war between the followers of Lord Tsuka and the Empress Kaji.

Visit vashonrepertorytheatre.org and vashoncenterforthearts.org for more details and to purchase tickets. Enter the code VRT to get 10% discount on a package of all five plays.

International Women’s Day

“Women: A Creative Force,” a full day of art, community and theatre presented by VCA, Women Hold the Key and Vashon Repertory Theatre (VRT) will be presented from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, March 8, at VCA.

The day will start at 7.30 a.m. with coffee, pastries and conversation, and also boast a 4:30 p.m. happy hour of mocktails and cocktails presented by Nashi Orchards. All day, visitors can visit the gallery exhibitions: a new major show featuring 15 pioneering women glass artists from the Pacific Northwest; large scale sculptural tapestries by Tininha Silva; and jewelry by Stephanie Benson.

Women Hold the Key will sponsor free creativity activities from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., hosted by local artists Stephanie Bwenson, weaver Suzanee Hubbard; and theater maker and installation artist Suzanne Hubbard.

For information about performances in VRT’s Incubator Series featuring the work of Northwest women playwrights, see previous “Arts Brief.”

All events at VCA on International Women’s Day are free, except for Incubator Series readings. For more information, visit vashoncenterforthearts.org.

Early Music

Salish Sea Early Music Festival’s next Vashon concert will take place at 12 p.m. Monday, March 10, at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit, at 15420 Vashon Hwy SW.

The program will feature harpsichordist Bernward Lohr and baroque violinist Anne Röhrig, the leaders of the German baroque orchestra Musica Alta Ripa, along with Susie Napper, viola da gambist from Montreal, and baroque flutist Jeffrey Cohan.

They will perform French trio sonatas and quartets spanning more than 60 years, through the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis V.

There is a suggested donation of $20 to $30, with youth 18 and younger admitted free. To find out more, visit salishseafestival.org/vashon.

Countercurrent

Countercurrent, a high-octane contra dance and folk music duo based in Olympia, Washington, will perform at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 12, at the Vashon Havurah, located at 15401 Westside Hwy. Islander and musician Kat Eggleston is presenting the show.

The duo, made up of Alex Sturbaum and Brian Lindsay, brings masterful guitar, lyrical fiddle, harmony vocals and foot percussion to their shows.

Countercurrent’s vast repertoire of songs includes potent contemporary anthems, traditional ballads, old-time hollers, and biting content that leaves no room to wonder where the duo might stand on political topics.

There is a suggested donation of $20 at the door for the show. Email kat@kateggleston.com for additional information.

Ride the Cyclone

Students of Vashon High School’s theater program will present a musical, “Ride the Cyclone” in six performances taking place Friday-Sunday, March 14-16, and Thursday-Saturday, March 20-22.

The New York Times has called the musical “delightfully weird and just plain delightful.”

The musical has a high-flying plot: Six teenagers from Uranium City, Saskatchewan, have gone off the rails — literally — on a roller coaster called the Cyclone. One of them will get the chance to come back, thanks to the all-powerful fortune-telling machine Karnak. With their lives hanging in the balance, they dish, debate, and sing out their deepest fantasies.

This show is occasionally raunchy, said director Andy James, but there will be a family-friendly performance on Sunday, March 16 at 2 p.m.

Find out showtimes and get tickets at tinyurl.com/zzsbxux5.

Acrobatic Conundrum

Acrobatic Conundrum, a virtuoso ensemble of circus artists, will present “The Circus of Second Chances,” at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 15, at Open Space for Arts & Community.

Ensemble members Emma Curtiss, Melissa Knowles and Terry Crane will perform astounding circus stunts throughout the evening. The 85-minute show, appropriate for all ages, features rope acrobatics, Cyr wheel, hand-balancing, live baking, and clowning.

Max Sarkowsky, a theater artist from Vashon and Seattle, is the sound, audio and scenic designer of the show.

Visit acroconundrum.planningpod.com for tickets to the show.

Island Irish Fest

Vashon’s own celebration of St. Patrick’s Day will bring song, dance, and traditional Irish music to the Snapdragon’s Black Cat Cabaret from 4-9 p.m Sunday, March 16.

Festivities start at 4 p.m. with a ceili dance (all are welcome to join in) taught by caller Doug Dolstad and backed by the Vashon Celtic Ceili Band. Live music from Geordie’s Byre will start at 6 p.m., followed by a performance by renowned local singer and guitarist Kat Eggleston and her husband, piper John Dally.

The celebration will close with the trio Triskelion, featuring Mark Wells, Karen Dale, and Lawson Cannon.

Competitors for “Best St. Patrick’s Day Costume” need to be there by 8 p.m. to win the “Pot o’ Gold” prize. Admission is $15 by cash or Venmo at the door.

Lance Morgan celebrates

Long time Chautauqua Elementary School educator and island musician Lance Morgan is celebrating his 65th birthday with a pair of free musical celebrations.

At 4 p.m. Sunday, March 16, Morgan will present an acoustic concert at the Vashon Havurah, 15401 Westside Hwy.

He’ll be joined onstage by Aristy Gill, Sam and Sara Van Fleet, Sunder Michelle and Alex Craighead. This concert will feature Morgan’s original music spanning 45 years of songwriting.

At 7 p.m. Saturday, March 22, Morgan will recreate his 1980s bar band days, fronting the band Monsters Under the Bed for an evening of great 80s dance music at the Vashon Eagles Club, at 18134 Vashon Hwy SW. He’ll be joined by Scotty Hayes, Emory Miedema-Boyajian, Michael Marcus and Rhiannon Walther.

Both celebrations are free and open to the public.

Authors visit library

Vashon Library will feature two local author events on Saturday, March 22, with no advance registration required to attend.

At 11 a.m., meet local author and illustrator Bill Jarcho, also known as William J. Zambini, who will read from his new kids’ book, “Come on Down and Pet the Fish!” All ages are welcome with an adult, and Jarcho will sign and sell copies of his book.

At 4 p.m., Patrick Hutchinson, author of “Cabin: Off the Grid Adventures with a Clueless Craftsman” — a book that has been hard to come by since December, when it received a rare review in The New York Times — will give a humorous and insightful talk about his book as well as sell and sign copies.

The book is a memoir, based on his Outside Magazine article, of Hutchinson’s journey from an office job to restoring a cabin in the Pacific Northwest. His work has also appeared in Wired, Vice, Seattle Magazine and Seattle Weekly. Books will be available for sale the evening of the event. You can also order copies directly from Vashon Bookshop.

Meghan Goodman rehearse for “The Angel of Belgrade,” a new play by Kendra Phillips based on the true story of an unsung WWII heroine. The play, bowing at VCA on March 7, is part of Vashon Repertory Theatre’s Incubator Series. (Courtesy photo)