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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Pend Oreille Playhouse will offer variety of performances

Billie Martin

There are plenty of exciting theatric and artistic events coming up at the Pend Oreille Playhouse, 240 N. Union Ave., in Newport, Wash.

•On Saturday, internationally known composer and pianist Allen James Teague will perform in concert at 7 p.m. Performing to the music of Teague will be ballet dancers choreographed by Diana Law. Tickets are $10 and will be available at the door.

•Howard Wildin’s Yesteryear Productions will present Howard’s Follies in February. This year’s performance, “The Music Shop,” opens on Saturday and runs through Feb. 28. The Saturday performances are at 7 p.m., and the Sunday shows are at 3.

“The Music Shop” captures a time when the favorite hangout was the shop where you could buy the latest sheet music or record a song in the sound booth before big music and book stores, even before record stores. The Follies are definitely a local favorite. I have attended them the last four years and always look forward to them. I promise you lots of laughs and great musical entertainment.

Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 at the door. Advance tickets may be purchased at the Playhouse, (509) 671-3389; Seebers’s Drug on the corner of Fourth Street (Highway 2) and Washington Avenue; or online at www.pendoreilleplayers.org. The Pend Oreille Playhouse also offers season tickets.

•The Pend Oreille Players Association is seeking directors, as well as technical support for many of the productions slated for the 2010-’11 season. Directors/producers are encouraged to submit their résumés by mail. The group will be sponsoring a one-act-play festival this summer. Submission guidelines include: original works that have not been previously produced or published, and no more than 25 to 35 minutes in length. Entries should be accompanied by a cover letter and a $5 submission fee and should be mailed by May 1. Production dates are tentatively set for June 11, 12 and 13. The mailing address for resumes or one act plays is POPA, 240 N. Union Ave., Newport, WA 99156.

For performers or theater enthusiasts 21 and younger, the group has an active youth program called Pend Oreille Players in Training. The Playhouse also houses art exhibits. In April, the Global Art Exhibit will be on display.

•Our local Elk Music Association has registered an entry for the Global Art Project. The group sponsored “Art in the Park” for kids at Elk Community Park last July. Kids of all ages put their handprints on the large, plywood fish, decorated their prints with various embellishments and signed their names. The hands-on fish was entered into Newport’s Create Arts Center “Fish Frenzy” contest. A picture of the fish was taken to Ink to Media in Spokane Valley and they reproduced the fish image on a vinyl hanging to be entered into the Global Art Project. All of the regional Global Art Project entries will be displayed at the Playhouse in April, and then each entry will be exchanged with one somewhere else in the world. Applications for Global Art Projects for Peace need to be in by Feb. 28. Art may be any medium, including audio or video and may be entered by any age person or group of persons. For more information, call regional coordinator Loyce Akers at (509) 671-0295, visit the Web site at www.globalartproject.org or pick up an application at the Elk Sentinel Office in downtown Elk.

•Just a reminder, Riverside High School Jazz Band’s fundraiser, Puttin’ on the Ritz (509-464-8591) and Elk Community Park’s fundraiser, the 11th annual Chili-Chowder Cook-Off (509-292-0577) will be Saturday. There is one change with the cook-off – bring your prepared entries to the Veterans of Foreign Wars between 3:15 and 3:45 p.m. Tasting and voting will start at 4 p.m.

Contact correspondent Billie Martin by e-mail at elkites@peoplepc.com.