#13 - "Grace Notes from a Bohemian in Wanderlust." Welcome to Seattle!

About a week prior to my May trip back home to Wisconsin I attended The Little Red Studio's Erotic Shorts Festival in Seattle where my 'dirty little play', "Pass the Salt, Please." was performing.

We saw a lot of midgets while there. 4 to be exact - which I think is a lot in one city. And we saw a lot of people walking with limps. I thought perhaps the two were related. Hmmm. Oh - lots of women with shaved heads. Some were gay, some were straight, some I wasn't sure and some were damn nice looking. Anyway, I thought I'd share a few sights from the city. Click on READ MORE! to see more of Seattle.

Is that a salmon in your hand or are you just happy to see me? Don't I hold the fish well? I am, after all, a fisherman.

My friend Lisa and I ate dinner at Luna Park Cafe Saturday night before the show. I just liked the stickers.

There's Lisa and her children. Lis and her ex would take in foster children until they found a home. After a while, they got sick of just "taking them in" and decided to adopt.

Puget Sound - about a block from Lisa's home.

The Public Market on Fisherman's Wharf.

The Little Red Studio where my play performed.

Michael, me and Heather, the stars of "Pass the Salt, Please." at LRS.

Catch of the day!

Flowers at Fisherman's Wharf.

Large shoe collection - again at Fisherman's Wharf. You know there's so much more to see there than just fish!

Space Needle. It was cool to see but we didn't go up in it.

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#29 - "Grace Notes from a Bohemian in Wanderlust." Seattle Erotic Art Festival.

Above: Johnathan Heath Lambe's installation art - plaster penises. One of my favorite's.

("Grace Notes from a Bohemian in Wanderlust" is a series of posts about my 3.5 week May vacation in Seattle, Chicago, Milwaukee, Lake Tomawk, WI and Miami. They are in no particular order.)

I never did post about the other event that was happening in Seattle the last weekend in April while I was there for The Little Red Studio's Erotic Short Festival & my play, "Pass the Salt, Please." . The Seattle Erotic Art Festival (SEAF) was going on in the exhibition hall right next to the Space Needle.

Lisa and I attended all three days. Lisa is an ex of mine I met in 1994 in Cedar Rapids while performing in the theater. I crashed at her house during my visit. Hadn't seen her in 11 years. Good times. Just like yesterday. :)

Most of the photos in this post I did not take - got them from a Seattle paper. Had I known you couldn't take pictures once SEAF opened on Friday, I would've taken more shots on Thursday. Also, there's a ton of stuff I just can't show you (I don't have to draw you a dirty picture, do I?). There's two shots there are questionable enough, so be forewarned if you click on READ MORE!

I would click on READ MORE! if I were you...


So my short play performed for the artists-only gala on Thursday evening before SEAF was open to the public on Friday. Good crowd. The performance was excellent, though this sort of venue is not ideal for any theatrical play.

Revelers. Every walk of life was there. Imagine your mom and dad dressed in black leather. Those people were there, too. This festival is organized by the Foundation for Sex Positive Culture to help celebrate art in its erotic form.

"Sit-Crawl-Lie - A Study in Black and White", Living art by Coralee Lynn Rose. This is the crawl section of her program.

Kerry Christianson, artistic director of The Little Red Studio, who also performed an erotic mime art piece for SEAF and performed in the Erotic Shorts Festival at LRS.

More revelers.

Pantera - the world's most accomplished pole dancer. She was amazing...

...and she sent me this picture for my blog.

My favorite piece of art from SEAF - Rick Lehl's "Gardening with Joe". I almost dropped my $9 glass of wine when I noticed what else "Joe" was holding. Not suitable for children. Sort of too late for that warning now, isn't it?

A self-portrait from SubMissAnn, a fetish and kink specialist who's into role play, use of restraints and bindings, discipline, submission, masochism, training in pain acceptance, humiliation, degradation, feet worship, pony play, puppy play, piggy play, corset and foot training, percussion play, flogging, spanking, paddling, rigging, medical play, nipple torture, water sports - hmm...I think that's all of it. Can't really show you any more pictures than this one - which wasn't one of the two she had on display at SEAF. But they were my favorite photographs.

Me watching Coralee Lynn Rose - in the "sit" position. My shirt says "EDIE" (not "DIE") - that's Edie Sedgwick, an Andy Warhol actress.

Resting on Midori's "Loveseat" - a sofa made up of blow-up dolls. And you know what...they NEVER talk back.

Bindings by Twisted Monk. Oddly, there are men and women who "get off" on this. It's known as "submissive" - among other things.

Levity (Graeme and Sara), an excellent and amazing tumbling and balancing act. Like watching Cirque du Soleil.

Visions of Food and Form by La Figa. Pretty models. I watched them (the guys putting the food on the naked girls) and thinking, "I could do that". But I wasn't. The theme of SEAF was "Indulge Your Senses". Unfortunately, this food was not for tasting (though there are services that will do exactly this for your PTA party if the price is right).

Another intriguing photograph, "In The Rough", by Allan Teger. "Fourplay!" I mean, "Four!" Not suitable for children.

La Figa's artwork graced the back of the SEAF program. Bon Appetite!

Here's that plaster penile installation again - though a wide shot. Would you believe that two women had the audacity to actually sit on this piece of artwork - and in the process, destroyed 28 penises? Idiots.

Courtnee Fallon Papastathis' self-portrait. What would my father say if I brought her home for Christmas dinner, I wonder?

Performance artist Eva Luna being a bad girl. Or cat. Whatever.

Even security got in all the fun. There was pretty much something for everyone over the three days. DJ's rocked the event until 4 a.m. Pretty decent music and I'm not a techno fan. Lots of artwork I'd never put up in my house. Oh - I did buy a small piece - now where did I put it? Sort of a reminder of my 11 years in California. I'll find it and post it sometime soon.

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Seattle's (and Miami) a-buzzin over "Pass the Salt, Please."!

Me and the cast at The Little Red Studio in Seattle - Michael Blum and Heather Ward.

* "Saw the show at Little Red Studio last night. The whole evening was wonderful, but "Pass the Salt, Please." was utterly brilliant. There was so much going on in it, and just when I thought I had the couple figured out the ground shifted underneath me and I started seeing it from a different angle. Donn's right that there's a reason it closed the show - t would be a very tough act to follow." - Patti Beadle, patron, performance artist

* "It went beautifully! Your play was a total hit!" – Kerry Christainsen, artistic director, The Little Red Studio, Seattle

* "I GOT it" - Michael Blum, actor in "PTSP.", The Little Red Studio, Seattle

* "...there's a reason it was placed at the close of the show." – Donn Christiansen, director/actor, The Little Red Studio, Seattle

* "It was GREAT! I love your script. Michael and Heather had the audience in hysterics... It seems that the three of us make a great team in making your words come to life the way you intended (i hope)...It was from what I heard from audience the *hit* of the night!" – Cherilynn Brooks, director of "PTSP." at The Little Red Studio's Erotic Shorts Festival, Seattle

* "We're all pretty excited about the play." – Clayton Hibbert, director, Seattle Erotic Art Festival

* "I love the play." – Stuart Meltzer, Artistic Director, City Theatre, Miami, where "Pass the Salt, Please." will have a 5-week Equity run as part of the Summer Shorts Festival (specifically, the "Undershorts" program) May 28 - June 28.

* And let's not forget about the couple who sat across the way from us Friday night and didn't bat an eye or smile the whole night. Actually thought they may have come to the wrong festival. Once "PTSP." got underway, they were grinning from ear-to-ear.

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TGIF! presents...Brian Wilson LIVE at Glastonbury (2005)!

Since 1970, the Glastonbury Festival in the UK is the largest greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world. Since 1970, the festival has hosted a who's who in music - this year's festival will include Bruce Springsteen, Franz Ferdinand, Blur and Neil Young. I thought this 2005 video of Brian singing "Surfin' USA" and "Fun, Fun, Fun" illustrates how popular he and The Beach Boys' music is overseas. I also wanted you to see the excellent band Brian has backing him - The Wondermints, Taylor Mills, Jeff Foskett among the musicians. Paul McCartney referred to the band as "the best touring band in the world".

I initially "met" Taylor through Facebook but then actually met her not too long ago in Manhattan Beach where her husband, Todd Sucherman (drummer for Styx) was performing. She's been working with Brian for - ohhhh...7, 8 years maybe. I just listened to her new album, Lullagoodbye, and it's good. I've met Jeff Foskett several times through the Carl Wilson Cancer Foundation.

Anyway, I'm in Seattle right now checking out the Seattle Erotic Art Festival and my play, "Pass the Salt, Please." which is performing in The Little Red Studio's Erotic Short Festival. Ta-Ta & enjoy the tuneage!

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Today. Virgin America. 12:05 p.m. Los Angeles to Seattle. Moi.

My virgin trip to the "Emerald City". Seattle. The 1962 World's Fair. The Space Needle. The NFL's Seahawks. The MLB's Mariners. Birthplace of grunge music, Starbucks and Seattle's Best Coffee. Hometown of Paul Allen, Judy Collins, Jimi Hendrix, Bill Gates, Ann Reinking, Rainn Wilson, Frances Farmer, and Gypsy Rose Lee. And finally - my theater friend from Cedar Rapids, Lisa Bohn.

Ahhhhh....Seattle. Going to see my 'dirty little play', "Pass the Salt, Please", perform at The Little Red Studio's Erotic Shorts Festival and at the Seattle Erotic Art Festival. It was a huge success last weekend. Here's hoping the luck continues.

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"The Stranger" suggests...SEAF in Seattle.

The Stranger is Seattle's free weekly alternative arts and culture newspaper. "Pass the Salt, Please" - which is closing it's two-week run at The Little Red Studio this weekend - is performing at the artists-only gala the night before the Seattle Erotic Art Festival opens.

Is that a briefcase you're holding or is she just happy to see me?

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"PTSP." reviewed in Seattle Weekly!

My 'dirty little play', "Pass the Salt, Please.", opened at The Little Red Studio in Seattle this past Friday as part of their Erotic Shorts Festival. Word from the theater powers-to-be and my director, Cherilynn, is it was a BIG HIT, though I have an inkling the reviewer was expecting more from the night as a whole. I'm extremely happy and I can't wait to see it this weekend - it'll be my first visit to Seattle and I get to see my friend from Cedar Rapids, Lisa. whom I haven't seen in 11 years. 11 years??? Read the review below or check out the link.

Regarding the critic's viewpoint that "erotica" seemed to be a missing element from the evening, guess it depends on your definition of "erotica". When "Pass the Salt, Please." won BEST OF SHOW at UNcover - a two night art exhibition with an erotic vibe in Cedar Rapids (March 2007, I believe), my buddy went home and got laid. It was his wife...ha...but they were both turned out - by my play and by the rest of the evening. I look at it this way: whatever I'm looking at or listening to - if my penis begins to swell with blood, that's erotic enough for me.

So - oh, the other thing. The reviewer referred to the characters in my play as a "depressed middle-aged couple". My father could be having the time of his life - as happy as a clam - and still look like he's lying on a morgue table. These characters are NOT depressed. Not at all - unless the actors were specifically told to act depressed by the director (which she didn't) or the characters were interpreted to be depressed by the reviewer. But they most certainly are not "depressed".

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BREAKING NEWS! "Pass the Salt, Please." big hit in Seattle!

Kerry via Twitter to me
show details 9:10 AM (13 minutes ago) Reply

"it went beautifully! your play was a total hit!"
Kerry / Chamaileon - actor, director and one of the bigwigs at The Little Red Studio in Seattle

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I told you there are people out there that like me. "Pass the Salt, Please." opens tonite in Seattle!

Kerry 9:28 AM (6 minutes ago) Reply

:-) I really can't wait to meet you Jeff. It's been fun e-mailing with you over these past months.

This from Kerry, director/actress and one of the "suits" at The Little Red Studio in Seattle where my 'dirty little play', "Pass the Salt, Please." opens this evening for a two-week run in their Erotic Shorts Festival.

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I've been Twittered about.

Clayton Hibbert's the performance director of the Seattle Erotic Art Festival (SEAF) where my play is performing during the opening night artists gala.

He Twittered about it.

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In Seattle the end of April? Order tickets for "Pass the Salt, Please."!

If you're planning to be in the Seattle area at the end of April, check out my short, "Pass the Salt, Please.", performing in The Little Red Studio's Erotic Short Festival. The show runs two weekends - April 24, 9:00 p.m through May 3, 8:00 p.m. Order tickets here.

"We're proud to present our fourth production of Erotic Shorts. Due to increased popularity, we're offering this show for two weekends (six performances) this time around. Watch as a husband and wife have a typical dinner at home, or do they (that's my play!)? A first date unfolds, a sexy film shoot gets a little off track, a glimpse backstage at two actors during a Shakespeare production, and two co-workers struggle to find a connection with one another...These stories and more will delight and fascinate you, creating a wonderful evening of theater at Little Red Studio!"

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Cherilynn Brooks. Director of "Pass the Salt, Please." for Erotic Shorts Festival in Seattle.

Cherilynn Brooks is directing my short play, "Pass the Salt, Please." at The Little Red Studio's Erotic Shorts Festival in Seattle, April 24-26, May 1-3. Coincidentally, the play will be performed at the opening night gala for the Seattle Erotic Art Festival on April 30. It's a private shin-dig for all the artists the night before that festival opens.

And now, a little bit about Director Cherilynn Brooks: Actor, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter, trained at the Cornish College of the Arts. She has worked with the world renowned Larry Pisoni and appeared in his production of CIRCUS OF FOOLS in 1998. She also appeared in VIA SATELLITE, and KATYDIDS in 1997 and starred as Emily in the premiere production of FRIED RICE AND KETCHUP which has since been published in THE BOOK OF ESTROGENIUS, 2000. Cherilynn made her film debut on BLOCK PARTY as the rocker Beth. She also writes her own music. One of her songs, SLIVER, was chosen to be the end credit song for BLOCK PARTY. Cherilynn co-wrote LEAVE IT, and also plays the lead Character, Trish. Her vocals were put to use once again in the theme song for LEAVE IT, Come Over Here. Her current project is co-writer on the feature length script, PRINCESS AND BUDDHA, in which she is attached to play Billy, the charming, but destructive grunge girl. PRINCESS AND BUDDHA was well received at the Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival where she read the part for Billy.

I'm excited. Kerry Christiansen, Managing Director at The Little Red Studio, says Cherilynn and the actors cast in my play are excellent. We shall see - as I'll be in attendance to see the show.

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"PTSP." to perform at opening night of Seattle Erotic Art Festival!

"What is that a picture of? Is that a - it looks like....nooooo. It's a briefcase! Hahaha. Ha."

I've attended one erotic art exhibition and believe me, it's not a field trip for members of the Moral Majority, trust me.

So I just found out that my 'dirty little play', "Pass the Salt, Please." - which is already part of The Little Red Studio's (LRS) 2009 Erotic Shorts Festival, April 24-26 and May 1-3 - has been chosen from those 9 plays to perform on opening night of this year's Seattle Erotic Art Festival (SEAF). Is that awesome or what?

The day before SEAF officially opens to the public, "PTSP." will be performed by the actors from Little Red Studio festival for all the SEAF artists in attendance. More information coming on the run at The Little Red Studio AND if you just so happen to be in the Seattle area the first weekend in May, check out SEAF's website.

"That dirty little play"...as Justyna refers to it. The "dirty little play" that could...

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UPDATE on 'Pass the Salt, Please." in Seattle.

A few weeks ago I blogged about my dirty play, "Pass the Salt, Please." and that it's an official entrant in the The Little Red Studio's Erotic Short Festival in April 2009.

Quick update - my short play will have a two weekend run - April 24th through May 3rd. Not exaclty sure how many shows that will be. Could be a Friday-Sunday run (3 shows per week?) or just a Saturday/Sunday run.

So plan your trip to Seattle now. I believe I'll be attending. I have family in Spokane that I must see.

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