Riddled
Marya Sea Kaminski doesn’t like guns all that much, even though her new solo play revolves around them. Riddled, Kaminksi’s latest discourse, is a rock musical following “one woman’s escape attempt through an arsenal of memories and a desperate drive for love.”
The Seattle/Brooklyn stage performer, honored with a Stranger Genius Award and named Artist of the Year by Seattle Magazine as well as Best Performing Stage Actress by readers of the Seattle Weekly, has honed her performing sights on love, guns, and Bonnie and Clyde (she hangs a poster of the two crooks over her desk). In the promotional photo for the play is Kaminski, cigar clenched between her teeth with a wily grin. It’s a smug look, but one expected by a performance artist with a laundry list of honors to her name.
If You Go: Riddled, Hugo House, 1635 11th Ave, June 1 - 23, 8 p.m., $20.
10,000,000 Views on YouTube and I Still Can’t Get a F*&!g Cab
Chris Gardner, whose rags to riches story was portrayed by Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness, got the ball rolling for Len Davis' offbeat YouTube career. In 2000, years before the movie’s release, Davis was working on a visual art project in Chicago documenting the city's economic depression when Gardner got into Davis' cab.
The resulting YouTube clip of the ride is filled with Gardner spouting NSFW expletives and was the impetus for Davis' now-viral YouTube channel. “He’s probably not very psyched about that video,” Davis said over the phone. “I think the most significant element [of that video] is that it was the spark that made me make my channel.”
At the Northwest Film Forum, Davis will screen and discuss his videos, the places he’s been, the rise of YouTube, and his commitment to documenting the world — whatever it may bring. "My videos come from my global travels," he writes on YouTube. "They are about love and laughter, community, joy, and life, focused on connecting with everyday stories and celebrating our shared human experience."
Davis’ channel now features 400 videos and gathers some pretty hefty traffic, outdoing both NBC and CBS. One of his clips — ironically featuring two ladybugs canoodling on his hand — had the distinction of being the most watched video of the day. Davis aims to engage with people, both personally and professionally, to create meaningful content, “and the number one video is this goofy video about lady bugs,” he admits sarcastically. What else is YouTube good for?
If You Go: 10,000,000, Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave, June 3, 7 p.m., $6-$10.
Ride the Herbert Bayer Earthwork
Art by way of exercise is one objective of the newly implemented Green River Valley bike trail, which connects a series of earthworks — parks created through landscaped and terraforming of the land. The trail, developed by the Kent Arts Commission, will, for the first time, link the Herbert Bayer Earthwork, the Robert Morris Earthwork, the Green River Natural Resources Area, and Lorna Jordan’s Waterworks Garden. To kick-start the trail’s future, the Arts Commission along with Cascade Bicycle Club will christen the trails this Saturday.
The Arts Commission will kickstart the trails' future with 9 a.m. festivities that include a short ceremony and music and other art activities throughout the day. Riders can choose from three trails of varying difficulty: The Easy Ride is a 12-mile flat ride to the Green River Natural Resources Area (GRNRA) and back. The Intermediate Loop is also mostly flat but long; a 20 mile trek through the GRNRA and up an incline to Waterworks Garden. The advanced route is reserved for fitness junkies and only the most dedicated outdoor art hounds, taking you on a 20-mile route that includes a steep ascent to the Robert Morris Earthwork. Enjoy the scenery from a stretcher once you arrive at the top.
If You Go: Herbert Bayer Earthwork, Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks Park; 742 East Titus St, Kent, WA, June, 2, 9 a.m., free
Conservation Remix
Think green at this event hosted by UW Biology professors Estella Leopold and Gordon Orians. Conservation Remix wants to broaden what is means to be sustainable. “We want people to come away from this event with a sense that conservation isn’t just about stopping bad things from happening, but also about starting good things,” says Leopold on the event's website. Topics range from designing self-sufficient buildings to eating invasive species. Eleven speakers, two from UW, will discuss food, agriculture, built environments, energy, technology, and business to help us to live long and prosper.
If You Go: Conservation Remix, Town Hall, June 2, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m., $25 - $50 (includes lunch and subscription to Conservation Magazine)
Ice Cream CruiseThis Sunday is supposed to be a mild 62 degrees, which means you'll have plenty of time to eat your ice cream before it melts. Good thing too, because ice cream is a major selling point in the Seattle Ferry Service (they’ll even serve it to you if it’s snowing). The ferry, which looks like something Mickey Mouse should skipper, will take you on a 45 - 50 minute tour of Lake Union floating homes, Dale Chihuly’s studio, Gas Works, and most importantly, the houseboat in Sleepless in Seattle. Funny anecdotes about old-timey Seattle and some clanky background music accompany the tour, and pets are always welcome. For a nominal fee you can purchase coffee, hot chocolate, tomato soup, and soft drinks.
If You Go: SLU Ferry Service, South Lake Union Park, departs SLU 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. on the hour. Adults $11, Seniors $10, Kids 5-13 $7, Under 5 $2.
