art notes, winter 2008

The long-awaited opening of the

Soper-Reese Community Theatre is now very close. It is scheduled to open with two performances of the Lake County Arts Council’s Winter Music Fest, 7:30 p.m. \Saturday, Jan. 26 and 2 p.m. Sun-day, Jan. 27.

PG& E was sched-uled to provide the new electrical power by Dec. 21 and then a few days are needed by our electrical contractor, James Day Construction from Lower Lake, to shift over the building’s circuits and test equip-ment such as the new heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. That will complete Phase I construction and we are watching closely as the remaining invoices are received to see if we will have bragging rights for bringing this project in on or under budget. It

will be very close. Most of the work accom-plished has been on the infrastructure to make the facility safe and com-fortable to occupy and the theatre committee hopes that anyone who looks closely at what has been accomplished with the communities’ sup-

port will find the funds well spent.

We are thrilled to have some Phase II construc-tion funds available to us now, which are allowing us to do some of the finish work before the opening in January. This will add greatly to the theatre experience. Look

for new seating on the main floor, a portion of the permanent stage, beautiful, professional portable staging, a won-derful state of the art sound system and repair and painting of the walls and ceiling.

See you in January!John Ross

ArtNotesQuarterly members’ magazine for the Lake County Arts Council

Winter 2008www.lakecountyartscouncil.com

Soper-Reese to open its doors Jan. 26

Vaudeville 2008 Raising curtain at Soper-Reese

Cynthia Parkhill

The Soper-Reese Community Theatre recently hosted a reception to acquaint the public with Phase I construction that was done to date. First to raise the curtain at this refurbished local venue will be the Winter Music Fest.

First show to be held in the reopened Soper-Reese Community Theatre will be the Winter Music Fest (Vaudville 2008).

Local musician David Neft is

again providing live accompani-ment for the various performers.

Coming to the stage in February is a preliminary competition for the national Poetry Out Loud youth

recitation program.Lakeport Community Players

also takes to the Soper-Reese with its production this March of “The Solid Gold Cadillac.”

• ArtNotes, Winter 2008

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Payment is arranged through the Lake County Arts Council; contact Executive Director Shelby Posada (263-1871, [email protected]), for more information. Ads must be submitted in .pdf or .jpg format to [email protected].

PLACE YOUR AD IN ARTNOTES!

Open mic shut downBy Dante DeAmicis

The second Friday Open Mic at the

Java Express has been shut down effective this month. It wasn’t wiped out for running a meth lab. It wasn’t given the heave ho for plotting ter-rorism. No, it was snuffed out for something far worse. They didn’t have an ASCAP license to play music.

ASCAP is the Ameri-can organization that has the monopoly for collecting royalties on copyrighted music. Ev-eryone from struggling unknown musicians to gigantic record compa-nies has signed exclusive agreements with this all powerful cabal to charge whatever to whoever and payout whatever to whoever. They decide. The unknowns who don’t show up on their radar will never see a cent from this outfit.

Apparently ASCAP has a huge hit team go-ing around the country putting a big hurt on open mics they haven’t already shaken down, even if they are set up for musicians to play their original songs with an occasional ASCAP listed song slipping through. They threaten to rain down massive lawsuits for each lapse. The mini-mum cost for protection,

I mean a license, is $388 per year. No deals. Our open mic is supposed to collect this amount from a once a month free event where alcohol is not served and where coffee drinks are only of-fered during a 20 minute break. Do they care? Nope.

Most people would have dismissed one letter making such puffed up demands as computer generated spam not to be taken seriously. But there was a follow up letter, then a phone call, and indications that they had already dropped by and cased the joint. They were serious.

The whole heavy handed action seemed so absurd to regulars of this nine year Clearlake institution that talk focused on theories that this had to be the result of a plot by the numer-ous political enemies of the proprietor. Conspira-cies are not necessary though in a world where teenagers are regularly hauled off by ruthless music conglomerates for downloading songs.

Will the open mic at the Java Express rise from the ashes? Only if the community can find an alternate way to raise money to satisfy this legal extortion.

LCAC’s ‘Artie’ award winner

Cynthia Parkhill

The Lake County Arts Council’s Board of Directors has awarded its ‘Artie’ award to Web master Xian Yea-gan. At its annual members’ meeting, which was held Sunday, Nov. 18, Executive Director Shelby Posada presented Yeagan with the statuette. Yeagan updates the Web site, www.lakecounty-artscouncil.com, and he regularly advocates the use of this online medium for promoting local arts.Yeagan can be seen taking pictures at many LCAC events and has also previously served as LCAC’s ex-ecutive director. Well done, Xian!

ArtNotes, Winter 2008 •

From the Executive Director ...Instead of winding down 2007, we began gearing up for 2008, planning

the Winter Music Fest as the opening “Interlude” at the Soper-Reese Community Theatre with a 7:30 p.m. performance on Saturday 26 January 2008 and a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday the 27th. Look for and exciting and entertaining start to the “Interlude” series at the theater.

2008 will be an ambitious year for LCAC with us implementing three new programs in partnership with the California Arts Council (CAC). Sandra Wade is spearheading “Poetry Out Loud,” which is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. “Artists in Schools”emphasized long-term, in-depth interaction between an arts organization and a school with residencies granted for 3 to 9 months with application deadline of Jan. 30, 2008. “Creating Public Value through the Arts Program” builds relationships, relevance to the community and return on investment. Deadline of submitting a proposal is Jan. 23, 2008. For more information, please contact the Main Street Gallery at 263-6658.

Patsy Mitchell’s persistence and organization will have Lake County wines featured at each of the First Friday Flings in 2008. Thank you to the wineries who participated in 2007, to the musicians who added to our en-joyment and to all of you who joined us for a fun evening of art and friend-ship. Please come and see our new look at February’s First Friday, thanks to Ross Kauper and the Kiwanis, Lyle Madison, Sandi’s Interiors, Plaza Paints, Ray Farrow, to all the volunteers who helped pack and move and to the patience of our exhibiting artists.

My thanks to all of you who volunteer your time and ideas in so many venues and made 2007 a fun and productive year. Thank you, Cynthia, for editing Art Notes and your support of the art community. In pooling our talents and pulling together, LCAC will continue to grow and become even better know in Lake County and throughout the State.

— Shelby PosadaExecutive Director

‘Dancing Poetry’ sets words to interpretive performanceBy Cynthia Parkhill

Ever since she was ap-pointed Poet Laure-

ate in April 2006, Sandra Wade has taken part in various activities that showcase the local poetic scene. By virtue of her at-tendance at various poetic readings, she serves as a steady reminder that Lake County has a Poet Laureate and a viable artistic community.

I can’t stress enough how important is this aspect of

Sandra’s job. Lake County has had a lot of outside attention of late, and it presents a very skewed and un-flattering picture of the community that we really know and love.

I always enjoy hear-ing about Sandra’s

activities when I put together arts and entertainment sections for the Lake County Record-Bee and the Clear

See POETRY, Page 4

In early December, KPFZ General Manager Andy Weiss reported, “KPFZ has spent the last week installing its antenna system on Mt. Konocti, and we are almost done. This is an historic moment for communi-ciations in our beloved county — as no radio station has ever broadcast from up there before.” Estimated completion date was Thursday, Dec. 6.

KPFZ update

Visit www.clear-lakeperformingarts.org to watch for the

coming year’s concert series.


Let in a breath of fresh airLake Observer´American. But on one occasion I got to participate in a performance of Sandra’s poetry.

Sandra also teaches yoga each week at the United Methodist Church in Clearlake. My husband Jonathan Donihue, our friend JoAnn Saccato and I have all taken yoga classes with Sandra at one time or another, and she invited us to perform with her in a “Dancing Poetry” routine.

The performance took place Saturday, Sept. 29, in the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco.

Sandra combined a couple of her poems, which were dubbed as an audio track with music by Shawkie Roth. In a collaborative effort we worked out a routine, deciding upon yoga poses that we thought were suitable accompaniment to the narration of the poem. It took two or three weeks’ practice as we refined the routine, substituting one pose for another, working out “the kinks” and figuring out our timing. The poem and music were recorded on CD so that Sandra was able to do the poses with us.

Finally, we decided upon our final routine and with practice, practice, practice, were happy with our abil-ity to perform it on the stage.

The “Dancing Poetry” event was hosted by Embassy Arts Interna-tional. It featured recitations by various poets laureate as well as poetry contest winners, whose prize was to have their composition set to interpretive dance.

Performing Sandra’s contribu-tion was a lot of fun and I think we pulled it off beautifully. There were a lot of very nice, creative approaches exhibited during the performances.

POETRY, from Page 3

By Xian Yeagan

Soper-Reese resuscitates with a breath of Winter Music Fest Saturday, Jan. 26, at 7:30, and Sunday, Jan. 27, at 2.

It seems like it has been forever.It has felt at times as though nothing at all was being done, or that the

wheels slowly turning in distant bureaucratic machines would never arrive at our number.

So now is the time to let a breath of fresh air into the Soper-Reese Com-munity Theatre, and we have that in the Winter Music Fest /Vaudeville 2008. It will be the lead program when the S-R opens its doors after completion of Stage One of the reconstruction plan.

The Music Fest is returning to its home at Main and Martin streets. During the short period that the theater was kept open after the Arts Council pur-chased it, the Music Fest was presented there. Since then it has been held in the Little Theater in the Fairgrounds and last year at the Marge Alakszay Center. The Arts Council is delighted to get its Winter Music Fest back to its source.

Last year’s presentation was a good show, one of the best in some time.This arose from a more varied fund of talent, skillful production staff, and the excel-lent facilities of the Alakszay Center. Some of last year’s talent is with us again, and there will be some new faces. At the time of writing this, the slate is not fully written, but you will be entertained.

Just a hint or two for you, though. Bill, for instance, will take a journey to-gether with Connie, and Hope will fall in love, forever. Mrs. Flores will be the source of Adelaide’s lament, Holland will just barely contain the October rain, and a Zimmerman will become a sultan. Stranger things than these can hap-pen. Rod may even be a rich man.

Nick Biondo was master of sound last year, his last at the high school, and has agreed to come with us to the Soper-Reese. He has been setting up a sound system for the Community Theatre, and he will be manning it for the Music Fest performances.

Once again, this show will be done without pre-recorded musical backup.For singers who don’t have any accompanying musician, David Neft, (who can do anything on the piano) will be on hand to accompany them.

Of course, some of the audience will be there just to see the reopened Soper-Reese Community Theatre. There are those who can’t believe even yet that any progress can be made on that Lakeport landmark, and some of them will come just to see for themselves. I’m sure that they too will have a good time.

Cynthia M. Parkhill

“Kivrim” warp-faced fabric created with the technique of “card weav-ing.”


‘Poetry Out Loud’ in Lake CountyThousands of

students in 22 California coun-ties are gearing up to participate in “Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest,” a competi-tion that engages high-school students in the presentation of poetry through memorization and performance. Competitions are held in classrooms, with winners then competing on the county or regional level, then to the California state championships, and finally the national contest held in Washington, DC. Interested teachers, administrators, parents and students are encouraged to contact the California Arts Council to find out how their school can participate.

“It is our third year for the successful Poetry Out Loud program in California,” said Muriel Johnson, director of the Cali-fornia Arts Council, the lead agency for the program in California. “Young people interested in rap and slam contests can be surprisingly interested in classical poetry when it’s presented through the Poetry Out Loud competition. The program encour-ages high school students to study and recite some of the richest language every written. We’ve seen students from all backgrounds and academic levels embrace this program wholeheartedly. It can change their lives.”

Lake County Poet Laureate Sandra Wade, Lorna Sue Sides of Upper Lake and Carol Dobusch of Kelseyville are promoting involvement by Lake County schools. A competition takes place in February at the Soper-Reese Community Theatre. For information about partici-pating locally, contact Wade at [email protected], Sides at [email protected] or Dobusch at [email protected]. General information can be found at www.cac.ca.gov and www.poetryoutloud.org.

The Poetry Out Loud program provides for profes-sional poets to work with teachers in the classroom

through the arts nonprofit California Poets in the Schools. Nationally approved educational materials and teachers guides are free. Students may review hundreds of poems and related information through the program Web site at www.poetry-outloud.org. Win-

ners are eligible to receive scholarships, and schools get financial assistance for books and related materials. The California state championships will be held on March

14, 2008, and the national contest in April.Experts see significant benefits from

Poetry Out Loud. “The process of memo-rizing and sounding a poem is identical to learning to play a piece of music by heart,” said Al Young, California State Poet Laure-ate. “A student or anyone else who takes the time to commit a particular poem to memory learns much about that particular voice and the nuances of poetry in general.”

Teachers find the competition to be excit-ing for kids and helpful in the classroom. “I have been teaching English for 16 years and it is so hard to even get kids inter-

ested in poetry,” said Kathy Harding from Galt High School. “So when I saw Poetry Out Loud come along, I thought of how much it would help my work.”

The initiative from the National Endowment for the Arts brings literary arts to students, a critical need in U.S. schools. Poetry out Loud seeks to foster the next generation of literary readers by capitalizing on the latest trends in poetry: recitation and performance. Counties already slated to participate include Contra Costa, Fresno, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Los Ange-les, Madera, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Siskiyou, Sonoma, Tu-olumne, and Ventura.

— California Arts Council

“The program encourages high school students to study and recite some of the richest language ever written.”

Muriel Johnson

Would you like to become a member or do you need to renew? Use this handy form!


Executive Director: Shelby Posada, 263-1871; [email protected]

Board of Directors:President — Sandi Ciardelli, 263-0663 (home), 263-8132 (work); [email protected] President — John Ross, 263-6120; [email protected] — Betty Lou Surber, 263-4721; [email protected] — Susan Krones, 263-2251; [email protected]

Annie Barnes, 263-3010 (work), 274-9251 (home)Carol Dobusch, 279-1169; [email protected] Holman, 263-1345Glenneth Lambert, [email protected] Peake, 279-1130 (home), 349-4316 (cell); [email protected] Quitiquit, 263-5553Norman “Wink” Winckler, 279-2965 (home), 349-0934 (work); [email protected] Surber, 263-4721; [email protected] Brumfield (Board Member Emeritus), 987-3461

Staff and Office Volunteers:Betty Lou Surber, The Great OzPatsy Mitchell, Gift ShopJohn Ross, Membership

LCAC Media:Webmaster — Xian Yeagan, [email protected] Editor — Cynthia Parkhill, 277-0296 (home), 295-7554 (cell); [email protected]

Gallery Committee Members:Pat Courtney, Carol Dobusch, John Eells, Bonnie Ew-ing, Ray Farrow, Ginger Ingersoll, Mary Lawson, Diana Liebe, Gaylene McComb, Patsy Mitchell, Floyd Surber, Richard Seisser

Soper-Reese Committee:Mike Adams, Amy Casey, Sandi Ciardelli, Carol Do-busch, Linda Drew, Wally Fuller, Nina Marino, Donna Peterson, John Ross, Taira St. John, Steven Stetzer, Floyd Surber

License plate sales benefit California arts

Did you know that by purchas-ing a specialty license plate, you can support the arts in California?

The Arts license plate (“Coast-line”) was designed by prominent California artist Wayne Thiebaud and is the nation’s first plate specifi-cally designed to benefit the arts. With more than 125,000 plates sold since 1994, the Arts license plate is the most popular specialty

plate in California. The plate is dis-tinguished by a four-color graphic depicting palm trees, a sunset on the Pacific coast.

The Arts license plate can be ordered online directly from the DMV at https://vrir.dmv.ca.gov/ipp/ippMain.jsp. An application form can also be downloaded in .pdf format from the California Arts Council’s Web site, www.cac.ca.gov. Fill it out, and mail it with your check to the Department of Motor Vehicles, P. O. Box 932345, Sacramento, CA 94232-3450.

The cost of a standard specialty plate is $50. For $90, motorists may purchase a personalized license

plate using up to six characters. You should check to see if the personal-ized plate is available by going to this site, https://vrir.dmv.ca.gov/ipp/ippMain.jsp , and working through the order process. If the configuration of letters and num-bers is available, it will allow you to purchase the plate.

Fees for annual renewal are $40 for the standard plate and $70 for a personalized plate. Additional infor-mation is available through DMV offices throughout the state or by calling the Special Processing Unit of the DMV at (916) 657-7654.

— From the California Arts Council Web site, www.cac.ca.gov

“Arts & Economic Prosperity III: The Eco-nomic Impact of Nonprofit Arts and Culture Organizations and Their Audiences” docu-ments the key role played by the non-profit arts and culture industry in strengthening the nation’s economy.

The report states that nationally, the non-profit arts and culture industry generates

$166.2 billion in economic activity every year. The $166.2 billion in total economic activity

has a significant national impact, generating the following:

• 5.7 million full-time equivalent jobs• $104.2 billion in household income• $7.9 billion in local government tax

revenues

• $9.1 billion in state government tax revenues

• $12.6 billion in federal income tax rev-enues.

To download the report, as well as promo-tional literature, visit www.artsusa.org.

— Americans for the Arts

Report documents ways that art is good for business

Would you like to become a member or do you need to renew? Use this handy form!


Lake County Arts Council MembershipsPlease welcome our new members (September through November 2007)

New Student MembersChelsea River Black

New Individual Members Leah AdamsJudy CarrollLinda FarrisTerri KiplingerKeith NelsonMichelle Price

New Family MembersToni, Alan and Grant HydenLyle and Deanna MadesonBill and Sam Webb

New Patron MembersDuffy Sheridan

New Small Business MembersStephanie Bero

Thank you!

New

Yea

r

Ro

ses

I. Arc of stem fallsto palest pink porcelainebudding demure, fragranton straggly fence-linenear the compost bin.

They perseverenorth-facing night-frostbask under full moon at perigeein icy sunrisewarmed at eventide by kinder

airsflowing from the piney ridge. Dec. 30, 1999

II. Just nowbah humbug attitude drew backthe curtain couldn’t helpseeing a tiny rosebud whorlright at windowpane

Millennia come go

always something persistssubtlest consciousnessNaturemind, Soul or simply movementlight air sound swell shrink swirl

13:13 on Dec. 31, 1999Sandra Wade


Main Street GalleryHours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday

Non-ProfitUS Postage PaidLakeport, CA

95453Permit #75

Lake County Arts Council325 N. Main StreetLakeport, CA 95453(707) 263-6658

ArtNotes

ArtNotes is produced four times a year, in January, April, July and October. Editorial and advertising deadlines are on the 15th day of the previous month. Please send articles to Cynthia Parkhill, [email protected].

LCAC is pouring Lake County winesThe Main Street Gallery’s First Friday

Flings will proudly be pouring Lake County Wines.

• Jan. 4 — Six Sigma Winery• Feb. 1 — Langtry Estate and Vineyards• March 7 — Cougar’s Leap Winery• April 4 — Moore Family Winery• May 2 — Tulip Hill Winery• June 6 — Shannon Ridge Winery• July 4 — Rosa d’ Oro Vineyards

• Aug. 1 — Guenoc Winery• Sept. 5 — Gregory Graham Wines• Oct. 3 — Terrill Cellars• Nov. 7 — Wildhurst Vineyards• Dec. 5 — Steele WinesFirst Friday Fling happens from 5:30 to 7

p.m. on the first Friday of the Month at 325 N. Main Street, Lakeport; (707) 263-6658. It also features local musicians.

Shelby Posada

art notes, winter 2008

Entertainment & Humor