Spokane Symphony, Terrain unite for ‘Uncharted Territory’
Call it old school meets new school.
The Spokane Symphony, the seven-decades-old institution, and Terrain, the 8-year-old arts upstart, are collaborating on a new project this month, “Uncharted Territory.”
The one-night-only fundraiser will be held in Terrain’s future permanent space, the Washington Cracker Co. building, at 8 p.m. March 13.
The night will include musical collaborations between symphony musicians and the local bands Flying Spiders, Water Monster and Hanah Readers. There will be “theatrical dialogues” written by novelist Sharma Shields and staged by Charles Pepiton, of Gonzaga University, and dance choreographed by Suzanne Ostersmith.
Such a collaboration was perhaps inevitable once the symphony enlisted Terrain co-founder Luke Baumgarten for its board. But its invention came in the wake of last year’s successful collaboration with Spokane Civic Theatre on “Les Misérables.”
“Terrain and the symphony share a mission: to enrich our city’s arts and culture,” symphony executive director Brenda Nienhouse said in a news release. “The stars finally aligned for the symphony and Terrain to team up to create a groundbreaking performance experience for the entire community to enjoy.”
Terrain, which for seven years has served up a one-night-only celebration of local arts and music, has launched a campaign to turn the Washington Cracker Co. building at 304 W. Pacific Ave. into a permanent home.
“We think that sharing this event in partnership with the symphony will produce an electrifying performance that artists and audiences will never forget,” Baumgarten said in the release.
The symphony’s music director, Eckart Preu, said it’s been exciting to work with such a variety of musicians. “The level of enthusiasm and engagement between all the artists contributing to this project has been phenomenal,” he said in the release.
Tickets – $35 standing room and $75 for a limited number of seats – are on sale through the symphony box office, (509) 624-1200, online at spokanesymphony.org or any TicketsWest outlet. Proceeds will benefit Terrain and the Spokane Symphony.
Worthington honored
Mark Worthington, a 1977 graduate of Lewis & Clark High School, was honored by the Art Directors Guild on Jan. 31 for excellence in production design for his work on the television series “American Horror Story: Freak Show.”
Worthington has been the production designer for “American Horror Story” since its beginning and has earned three Emmy nominations for his work on the series. He previously served as the production designer for “Ugly Betty,” and he earned two Emmy nominations for his work there.
The Art Directors Guild honored Worthington for the episode titled “Massacres and Matinees,” and it marked his third win among nine nominations. Previous wins came in 2013 for the “American Horror Story: Asylum” episode titled “I Am Anne Frank, Part 2,” and in 2007 for the “Ugly Betty” episode “The Box and the Bunny.”
His other credits as production designer or art director include “Lost,” “Austin Powers in Goldmember,” “Legally Blonde 2,” “Wag the Dog” and “Tombstone.”
Ink on the move
Ink Art Space, which provides arts programming for young people, is on the move … out of downtown and into Kendall Yards.
Beginning in May, Ink will be located in a new literacy center being donated by Kendall Yards developer Greenstone Communities through its foundation.
In a news release, Ink board president Mischa Jakupcak said the move would ensure continued programming in the city core but be within easy reach of young people from West Central.
Ink opened a year ago in a storefront on West Sprague donated by developer Dan Spalding. Spalding and the novelist Jess Walter were among the forces behind Ink’s creation. Since then, the program has offered classes in everything from poetry to rock music to street art for children ages 6 to 18.
For more information about Ink, visit www.inkspokane.org.