DjangoFest Northwest Second Stage Open Call for Django Musicians

With the 24th annual DjangoFest Northwest just over a month away on September 18-22 at the Whidbey Island Center for the Arts (WICA), applications are now open for Django musicians interested in appearing at the festival’s Second Stage. An opportunity to perform prior to the matinee and evening performances on WICA’s Zech Hall patio, there are six Second Stage slots available, Thursday through Sunday during the festival.

Whether a solo artist or a group, interested musicians should contact Troy Chapman at Troy.chapman@djangofest.com and share any information they feel relevant for their application (demo reel, artist/group bio, etc.). For those selected to participate, this is a wonderful opportunity to connect with other fans of Django music and to engage with the toe-tapping and enthralling music genre that has become an iconic part of life on Whidbey Island. In prior years, Second Stage performers have also been invited back in subsequent years to perform on the WICA mainstage.

To learn more about this year’s festival, visit djangofest.com. For more information about Second Stage time slots, compensation, etc., please contact Troy Chapman at Troy.chapman@djangofest.com.

Youth Artist on Display at the Whidbey Island Center for the Arts

Directly under the spotlight, and in sharp contrast with the white Lasher Gallery walls, Alex Towne’s Windows offers viewers at the Whidbey Island Center for the Arts (WICA) an explosion of color, texture, and creativity that stuns and intrigues. From across the lobby, visitors see the dynamic tones of yellow, green, and red hues. Up close, the attention to detail with the three-dimensional components draws the eye across the art piece, with each glance offering a new perspective and appreciation for the work.

Windows, painted by Alex Towne

Towne’s painting is on display in partnership with Ryan’s House for Youth, a low-barrier homeless shelter in Coupeville for individuals ages 18-24. For Towne, showing his artwork at WICA is an “amazing” experience.

“I have never even had an art commission before, so for someone to say that my art is worth so much, both in money and in [an] emotional sense, it's a lot.”

On display through August 27, the painting is a nod to “light in the darkness,” with Towne inviting viewers to “interpret [it] in their own way. I want them to feel what I felt, but put their own emotions into it.”

With no plans to stop creating art any time soon, Towne has found a creative calling that inspires. To view Windows, please visit WICA’s Lasher Gallery during regular business hours or by appointment.

Frank Oz LIVE at WICA on August 2

The voice behind Yoda and many of the iconic Muppets characters will fill the Whidbey Island Center for the Arts (WICA) Mainstage on August 2 at 7:30 PM, when American director and puppeteer Frank Oz will be in conversation with WICA Board Member and longtime Hollywood Assistant Director Michele Venetis.

The event, a part of the WICA Unscripted Center Conversation Series, is a rare chance to hear from Oz about his years in the industry. Perhaps best known for his involvement with Jim Henson and George Lucas through the Muppets, Sesame Street, and Star Wars, Oz has many directing and acting credits to his name.

He directed In & Of Itself, Death at a Funeral, The Stepford Wives, The Score, Bowfinger, What About Bob?, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and many more. As an actor, his acting credits have included the Muppets, Star Wars, Knives Out, Inside Out, Inside Out 2, Monsters Inc, Labyrinth, Spies Like Us, to name just a few.

An all around amazing person, Oz will be joined by Venetis, for a colorful conversation about his life and experiences. Please note that the conversation will likely contain strong language, so viewer discretion is advised.

To learn more about the event and to purchase tickets, please visit the event website.

Oz is featured prominently in Ron Howard's new feature, Jim Henson Idea Man.

We also invite you to check out some of the other upcoming events in the Unscripted Center Conversation Series:

August 9 | Unscripted Center Conversation Series featuring Robert Merry and Mort Kondracke

Don’t miss out on a unique opportunity to delve into the pages of history with Robert Merry, the creator of the WICA conversation series. On August 9, Bob will be stepping into the spotlight to discuss his new book, “Decade of Disunion: How Massachusetts and South Carolina Led the Way to Civil War, 1849-1861.”

November 24 | Unscripted Center Conversation Series featuring Sue Frause and Peter Miller

We invite you to an enlightening evening with Sue Frause and Peter Miller, an author and bookstore owner. Miller will proudly be discussing his newest release, "SHOPKEEPING: Stories, Advice and Observations." Peter is the author of four insightful books, each beautifully illustrated by his wife, Colleen Miller. 

To learn more about these events and other programming, please click here to visit the WICA website.

Join the Whidbey Island Center for the Arts for Soulful Jazz at the Summer Jazz Weekend

A double header of soulful tunes will greet viewers July 12-13 for the Summer Jazz Weekend at the Whidbey Island Center for the Arts (WICA).

The two nights of jazz will open on July 12 with the 7:30 p.m. performance by the Thomas Marriott Quartet. Called “one of the best trumpet players in the world” by JazzTimes Magazine, trumpeter, composer, and producer Thomas Marriott is a force for jazz on the West Coast.

A chameleon of musical styles, Marriott’s horn has been in demand with bands like the Grammy-Award winning Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Captain Black Big Band, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstafunk, hip-hop pioneer Deltron 3030, and vocalists Kurt Elling, Ernestine Anderson, Michael Feinstein and Rosemary Clooney. Marriott has 14 albums to his credit and is the youngest inductee into the Seattle Jazz Hall of Fame. In 2024 he was named a “Jazz Hero” by the Jazz Journalists Association of America.

On July 13, the 7:30 p.m. performance, Come Away With Me…Cool Tunes for Hot Summer Nights, will offer patrons an evening of musical enchantment by Whidbey Island icons Ada Rose Faith-Feyma, Troy Chapman, and Sheila Weidendorf. All three performers are no strangers to the WICA mainstage and will bring to the performance their exceptional skill and creativity.

The talented Faith-Feyma, who has been performing at WICA since age seven, will be on vocals, with the masterful Chapman strumming the guitar, and the amazing Weidendorf on piano. This trio of exceptional artists will leave viewers wanting more.

To learn more about the artists and these events, please visit www.wicaonline.org/summerjazzweekend.

The Cake | Auditions

AUDITION FOR THIS PLAY

Roles

Della: Female presenting Caucasian woman, 40-50.

Tim: Male presenting man, 40-50.

Jen: Female presenting woman, early to mid twenties.

Macy: Female presenting woman, early to mid twenties. Preference will be for a BIPOC actress, although the playwright allows the role of Macy to be played by any ethnicity. 

From the Director: 

This play means so much to me! I feel my own life experience has prepared me to direct this show and I’m beyond thrilled to have the opportunity to bring it to life at WICA. Della and Tim are a middle-aged, conservative and religious couple who love each other but haven’t really connected for years. They are comfortable living each day pretty much the same, but their love for each other gives them the strength to try new things.  

Jen and Macy live and love in the present. Macy could care less about a wedding or a cake but she knows how much it means to Jen. Jen is torn between her conservative upbringing and the life she is now living.

This play is about love and growth and the willingness to step out of ones’ comfort zone to learn and understand. There is no villain in this play, just four people who have strong beliefs, biases and feelings. Della loves Jen. Tim loves Della. Macy loves Jen and Jen loves Della AND Jen and is split in two trying to be the little girl Della knew as well as the adult woman Macy fell in love with.

Here’s what the publisher says about the play:

Della makes cakes, not judgment calls – those she leaves to her husband, Tim. But when the girl she helped raise comes back home to North Carolina to get married, and the fiancé is actually a fiancée, Della’s life gets turned upside down. She can’t really make a cake for such a wedding, can she? For the first time in her life, Della has to think for herself.

Local Auditions 6:30-8pm on July 23/24

1 to 1.5 minute contemporary monolouge. Either serious or comic. Video submission accepted as well.

reach out to Deana Duncan to sign up for an audition or with any questions.

Callbacks on July 25th.

Play runs: OCTOBER 10 - 26 

Also accepting video auditions.

Script available upon request.

Reach out to deana.duncan@wicaonline.org for specific audition information.

Rehearsals begin the 2nd week of September and the show opens October 10th.