Page 15 - the NOISE December 2013

Summer Heat by Sharon Richards is among the vibrant fiber works featured at this year’s “It’s Elemental” at Coconino Center for the Arts.
room composed of individual and collabora- tive work.
Ms. Borthwick is now part of the organiz- ing committee for the show and currently has two pieces in “It’s Elemental.” One piece is called Making Lemonade which took her a few months to make. An example of Ms. Borthwick’s collaboration skills is exempli- fied in another piece called Pine Canyon, in which she worked with Sharon Richards to create. Ms. Borthwick made the framework for the piece which framed up a hand-dyed silk picture of a warm forest. Ms. Borthwick’s hand-forged ironwork has sharp curves which gives it the seeming ruggedness of a mountain, cliff, or canyon. “There are not a lot of venues in Flagstaff where you can display 3D artwork so this show gives the fine craft artists a chance to get their work out into the community,” said Ms. Borthwick.
“It also gives the artists a chance to interact with one another and to see what new direc- tions are being taken.”
On Sunday December 7 and Saturday De- cember 8, from 10AM to 4PM, Flagstaff Cul- tural Partners will host the Fine Crafts Sale & Artists’ Marketplace in conjunction with
“It’s Elemental,” at Coconino Center for the Arts. CulturalPartners.org
IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE COMES ALIVE ON THE STAGE
by Natasha Reeves
“Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?” says the angel Clarence from the timeless classic movie It’s A Wonderful Life. This Christmas story is headed to the Doris Harper-White Community Playhouse in Flagstaff. The show will be produced by the Theatrikos Theatre Company from December 6 to December 22. Performances will be held at 7:30PM Fridays and Saturdays and 2PM Sundays. An adapt- ed version of 1946’s It’s a Wonderful Life by
Frank Capra, it tells a story of gratitude and redemption with the archetypical characters of the good-hearted businessman, George Bailey (played by Nick Rabe), his loyal and loving wife Mary (Adrienne Bischoff), the optimistic Clarence the Angel (Bryan Wood), and the greedy monopolizer, Mr. Potter (Dave Kelly).
There are an astounding 70 volunteers who are involved in It’s a Wonderful Life and the crew went past 1000 hours in mid- November just preparing for Opening Night.
“What it takes, is knowing the script inside and out, attracting talented people to your auditions, and convincing those people that it is a worthwhile project they should work very hard on,” said director Becky Daggett.
“There are 50 volunteers outside of the cast that do the lights, sounds, build the sets, et- cetera. This set is so intricate we need a huge backstage crew.” In the spirit of the story’s themes of giving and appreciation, the cast and crew is foregoing traditional thank-you gifts among themselves to donate to the Flagstaff Family Food Center. They also invite patrons to bring new hats, scarves, gloves and socks to each performance to be given to the women and children living at Hope Cottage.
While there are many good quality plays to be shared, the tale of It’s a Wonderful Life spreads an important message of being thankful, humble, and sharing in the Holi- day. “This story means a lot to me person- ally. I am someone who firmly believes we all have many, many things to be grateful for, but sometimes we can get so stressed out that we forget what it is we have to be thank- ful for,” said Ms. Daggett. “I’m interested in bringing this story to life to entertain the au- dience as well as help them reflect on what they have in their own lives to be grateful for. It’s been so rewarding to work with seventy
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thenoise.us • the NOISE arts & news • DECEMBER 2013 • 15