Author: Omar Willey

Omar Willey was born at St. Frances Cabrini Hospital in Seattle and grew up near Lucky Market on Beacon Avenue. He believes Seattle is the greatest city on Earth and came to this conclusion by travelling much of the Earth. He is a junior member of Lesser Seattle and, as an oboist, does not blow his own trumpet. Contact him at omar [at] seattlestar [dot] net
Culture Drama Theater

Bardolatry and Its Discontents

Shakespeare is treated with a true idolatry–Bardolatry. Producing groups do not help when they treat audience members like sheep and imply that they need not understand Shakespeare. Theaters are there to pass down the Law. They expect that the barbarians simply arrive at the Church of Theater, convert to the cause of Bardolatry and receive William’s Holy Word like a communion wafer. Whether or not the barbarians understand transubstantiation is immaterial to the purposes of the Church.

Culture Music News

Musopen Sets Music Free

The Musopen project is complete. The orchestra have finally completed their recording process and have released a full DVD of classical delights into the public domain, free of charge. The list of recordings is phenomenal for any music lover, even one who only casually likes classical music or one who is simply eager to learn.

Culture Dance

The Working Artist: Paige Barnes – In The Studio

Ms. Barnes has been popping up everywhere lately: From Vanessa deWolf’s Score for an Unrehearsed Ensemble to impromptu events at Kaleidoscope Vision and Danse Perdue, she has shown a penchant for keeping busy. Still, she always returns to Open Flight Studio, which she co-founded in 2002-2003. I caught up with Ms. Barnes at Open Flight Studio in rehearsal for her new dance work, Lead Bunny.

Culture Dance

The Working Artist: Paige Barnes — Teacher, Student, Artist

There are scoffers in the community who believe that artists do not do any real work. Paige Barnes’ life and career offer a perfect rejoinder to this sort of nonsense. She is as devoted to her community as she is to her craft and her creativity, in ways that those who do “real work” only wish they could understand. In spite of all her hard work and her innate genius, Paige Barnes remains a virtually unappreciated artist in a town that is known for failing to appreciate its working artists.