Whidbey Island Center for the Arts Presents DJANGOFEST NW and October Events

Whidbey Island Center for the Arts presents DjangoFestNW 2021, The Revolutionists, Art Talks: Krasner and Mitchell, and The Atomic Bombshells: Put a Spell on You.

DJANGOFEST NW - SEPT 22 - 26
DjangoFest NW is the premier showcase of gypsy jazz music in North America. Musicians and music lovers from around the world gather on Whidbey Island to take part in concerts, workshops, and "djam" sessions. This year's lineup includes headliner John Jorgenson and a host of festival favorites. All concerts on the WICA Mainstage.

Tickets can be purchased HERE.
For information on passes, call the box office at (360) 221-8268.

PERFORMANCES

Wednesday, SEPT 22 @ 7:30 p.m.
The Hot Club of Troy

Thursday, SEPT 23 @ 7:30 p.m.
Pearl Django

Friday, SEPT 24 @ 2:00 p.m.
Trio Dinicu featuring Tommy Davy, Frank Anastasio, and Luanne Homzy

Friday, SEPT 24 @ 7:30 p.m.
Tim Kliphuis with Jimmy Grant, Brad Brose and Simon Planting

Saturday, SEPT 25 @ 2:00 p.m.
The Samuel Farthing Sextet featuring:
Keith Bush, Troy Chapman, Ron Fitzgerald, Frank Petrilli, and Eric Vanderbilt-Mathews

Saturday, SEPT 25 @ 7:30 p.m.
The Hot Club of San Francisco featuring Paul "Pazzo" Mehling, Evan "Zeppo" Price, Hunter Matthews, Jordan Samuels, and Sam Rocha

Sunday, SEPT 26 @ 2:00 p.m.
The John Jorgenson Quintet featuring:
Casey Driscoll, Rory Hoffman, Simon Planting, and Rick Reed

Followed by:
The Nick Lehr Festival Djam

WORKSHOPS

The company is offering a full slate of workshops from this year's DFNW artists. Here is a preview of the workshop lineup with artists and their workshop names. Further detail available on our website.

Tim Kliphuis: How to Learn a New Tune
Tim Kliphuis: Stompin' at Decca
Michael Horowitz: Gypsy Picking Workshop - Right Hand Technique
Tim Kliphuis: Accompanying on the Violin
Brad Brose: Django Ornaments
Tim Kliphuis: Grappelli Licks
Brad Brose: Solid Rhythm Playing
Michael Horowitz: Advanced Gypsy Rhythm
Brad Brose: Learning the Repertoire
Tommy Davy: Gypsy Guitar Setup 101
Evan Price: Improvised Voice
Paul Mehling: Closer to Your Goals

Full slate of festival workshops can be found HERE.

THE REVOLUTIONISTS - OCT 8-23

Four beautiful, badass women lose their heads in this irreverent, girl-powered comedy set during the French Revolution. Playwright Olympe de Gouges, assassin Charlotte Corday, former queen (and fan of ribbons) Marie Antoinette, and Haitian rebel Marianne Angelle hang out, murder Marat, and try to beat back the extremist insanity in 1793 Paris. This grand, dream-tweaked comedy is about art and activism, feminism and terrorism, and compatriots and chosen sisters. Written by Lauren Gunderson. Directed by Rose Woods.

From WICA Artistic Director and cast member, Deana Duncan:

"This is the 102nd play produced by Whidbey Island Center for the Arts and only the 2nd full production since the pandemic began. Our "lens" has changed, and we must now pick plays that are vitally important to be produced. Our playwright, Lauren Gunderson, tells us in The Revolutionists that "story is the heartbeat of humanity and humanity gets really dark with the wrong stories are leading the people." This play is an homage to the performing arts being a vital part of our existence while also reminding us that we must create space for voices other than our own. Rose Woods is an extraordinary director and we are thrilled to welcome her back to our stage with her team of fierce theatre professionals."

From Director, Rose Woods, "I spend every rehearsal grateful. For the extraordinary Lauren Gunderson and these words, this story, these characters. It sings to me. To WICA for this opportunity and to the remarkable, fierce actors taking it on with everything they have. I remind myself nightly that this play is based on the lives of real women. Olympe de Gouges wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Women and of the Female Citizen in 1791. (You'd think more might have changed since then, right?) I need story in my life. I believe live theatre is fundamental. In the script, Olympe says, "And she knows that a story is more alive than a fact. A story is what lives." It is a story for our fraught times. And after nearly two years of shuttered lives, I realized I truly needed sisterhood, sororité. I think we all need community, connection, to laugh, to cry, and to hold space for one another."

ART TALKS: KRASNER AND MITCHELL - OCT 13

Art historian Rebecca Albiani explores the lives and works of trailblazing Abstract Expressionist painters Lee Krasner and Joan Mitchell.

THE ATOMIC BOMBSHELLS: PUT A SPELL ON YOU - OCT 30

The Atomic Bombshells, polished and perfectly choreographed, celebrate the worlds of burlesque, drag, dance, and theater with humor and classic style. For lovers of feathery, busty, and glitzy fun, there's no better spectacle to attend!

Learn more at www.WICAonline.org or call (360) 221-8268.

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