‘Ragtime’ Looking For Local Talent

Here’s the casting call of the year, at least for the very young actors among us.

The national touring production of “Ragtime” is seeking two children to play “Little Coalhouse” for the Spokane dates of the show, Tuesday through next Sunday.

Two African-American boys, age 4-6, will be chosen to share the part of the young son of the show’s main character. Instead of casting young actors to travel with the company, producers have chosen instead to find new “Little Coalhouses” in each city.

Here’s how to audition: Children accompanied by a parent or guardian should show up at the Spokane Opera House at 5:30 p.m. on Monday to register. Auditions begin at 6.

Prospective Coalhouses should be no taller than 3 feet, 4 inches, and they must possess “considerable concentration.”

Little Coalhouse has no lines, and only a small amount of stage time. However, this is a paying role in accordance with Equity (the actor’s union).

No formal preparation is necessary for the audition, but parents should bring a current photo along with a note containing information on age, height, experience (if any) and contact numbers.

If chosen, the actors will begin rehearsals right away and must be available for three to five hours per day for the rest of the week. Chaperones will be assigned to be with them during rehearsals and performances and assist with homework.

So if you have a child who fits the bill, be there Monday at 5:30 p.m. You might have a young star on your hands.

The David Lynch connection

For years I have heard people say that director David Lynch (“Blue Velvet,” “Twin Peaks”) “grew up in Spokane.”

In fact, this has been offered up as an explanation for why he likes to make movies and TV shows about the weirdness that lurks beneath the surface of wholesome Americana. What better place than Spokane to develop that theme?

But we’ve never really nailed down the facts about Lynch’s Spokane connection. So I decided to delve into the records to find out the truth.

Turns out, Lynch was actually born in Missoula. His father worked for the U.S. Forest Service, and the family lived in a number of different places, including Sandpoint, Boise, Durham, N.C., and, yes, Spokane.

To be precise, the family lived in Spokane between 1949 and 1953, in the 500 block of East 23rd Avenue on the South Hill.

Little David was 3 when the family arrived, and 7 when they left. So maybe that was a little too young for Spokane to have put much of a stamp on the future director’s artistic sensibilities.

He spent his teen years mostly in Alexandria, Va., so maybe Virginia should get more credit for molding the mind of the man who made “Eraserhead.”

Marianne’s world

Marianne Mishima, former KXLY-4 news anchor who stepped away from the business almost exactly a year ago, doesn’t seem to miss TV a bit.

We caught up with her last week and discovered that she is immensely enjoying life out of the camera’s eye. She said she is keeping her vow of “doing only what I want to do.”

She is the chairman of media and public relations committee of the city’s Task Force on Race Relations. She is also involved in an organization called The Women’s Leadership Development Intensive.

And she finally got a chance to do one thing she has always wanted to do: She went to Europe for six weeks.

“Most people go backpacking in Europe when they’re in college,” she said. “I did it when I was 43.”

`La Vida Spokane’

Look for a new 13-cut CD compilation at area stores called “La Vida Spokane.”

It features songs from many area bands, including Upper Class Racket, The Jupiter Effect, Civilized Animal, The Bone Daddies, The 4th Kind, Ball of Destruction, Five Foot Thick, 10 Minutes Down, Sweet Fancy Moses, Too Slim and the Taildraggers, 50fifty, Seawolf and The Trailer Park Girls.

This disc is sponsored by The Inlander, and proceeds go to a good cause, the Save the Fox fund. It’s a mere $12.