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Arts & Life
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- Written by: Soper Reese
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Rothstein Ensemble opens the Christmas season on stage at the Soper Reese Theatre on Saturday, Dec. 1, with a unique concert encompassing the silly, sentimental, sacred and serious.
The concert will begin at 7 p.m. All ages are welcome.
Don your ugliest Christmas sweater and join the Rothstein Ensemble for an intimate evening of stories and songs, many personal and original. The group will play original compositions and jazzy pop songs.
Leaders of the group, Matt and Jill Rothstein, are accomplished musicians, arrangers, and composers. Both were raised in Lake County and the pair have been leading musical ensembles for nearly a decade.
Matt Rothstein was recognized by DownBeat Magazine and the Grammy Foundation as a prodigious talent while in high school.
Jill Rothstein began composing music at the tender age of eight and was the 2007 award winner for music theory and composition at Azusa Pacific University.
Joining the Rothsteins on stage are Lake County’s own master musician, Tom Aiken on piano, keyboards and Melodica, as well as Dan Meyer, vocals; Raj Sodhi, upright bass; Jacob Turner, guitar; and Alan U’Ren, percussion.
Tickets are on sale now; the cost is $15 for adults and $10 for children 18 and under. All seats reserved.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are available online at www.SoperReeseTheatre.com, or at The Travel Center, 1265 S. Main, Lakeport, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information call 707-263-0577.
The Soper Reese Theatre is located at 275 S. Main St., Lakeport.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Janie and Judy Hendricks, originally from Lakeport, Calif., and descendants of the early pioneering Hendricks family, were recently awarded a fifth place finish in the 2018 Will Rogers Medallion Award contest for their memoir, “Makin’ Tracks With My Horses and Mules.”
The Will Rogers Medallion Award honors those books that represent an outstanding achievement in the publishing of Western media.
The Will Rogers awards help to expand the heritage of literature which honors the traditions and values of the American Cowboy.
“Makin’ Tracks With My Horses and Mules” was entered in the Biographies & Memoirs category.
The book is set in Scotts Valley from 1944 through 1981, and tells of the life of two girls who grew up horseback, in a place not much different from when their ancestors homesteaded in 1850.
“Makin’ Tracks With My Horses and Mules” is written to honor their horses, and the adventures they provided, and makes for lively reading, because ranch kids live life at a full gallop.
The sisters co-authored the first half of the book. The second half chronicles older sister, Janie as she moves to Western Montana in 1981, and follows her horse/mule adventures into hunting camps, wilderness areas and the show ring, and covers from then, until the present.
Now known as Jane Lambert, Janie and her husband, Eric, were in Fort Worth, Texas, on Oct. 27, for the Will Rogers Medallion Awards banquet.
In 2014, Jane Lambert’s earlier book, “Charlie Russell, The Cowboy Years” received a Bronze Medallion.
Will Rogers was a respected writer as well as being an entertainer, and to receive an award with his name on it, carries great honor.
Many illustrative photographs spotlight the fifty horses and mules featured. The adventures will make you laugh, perhaps cry, and offer some life lessons along the way.
“Makin’ Tracks With My Horses and Mules” retails for $20 and is available on Amazon.
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- Written by: Mendocino College
“Once Upon a Mattress” is an exuberant family-friendly musical romp based on the classic story of "The Princess and The Pea." Carried on a wave of wonderful songs, by turns hilarious and raucous, romantic and melodic, this rollicking spin on the familiar classic provides for some side-splitting shenanigans.
Director Reid Edelman seeks a large cast of 25 to 35 singers, dancers and actors, ages 14 and up. All actors must be high school age or older. No prior experience is needed, just a desire to perform and a love of musical theater.
This is an exciting opportunity to participate in a professionally staged musical on a college stage. Performers will sing to the accompaniment of a live orchestra, and experience the magic of performing musical theater in a fully equipped state of the art space with the support and guidance of the college's faculty and artistic team.
The rehearsals will begin in mid-January and continue until the show opens on March 22, 2019. Performances will run through March 31. In addition to director and college theater professor Reid Edelman, the show’s directorial team includes musical director Phillip Lenberg, vocal directors Janice Timm and Marilyn Simpson, and choreographers Eryn Schon-Brunner and Maria Monti.
Auditions will be held on Saturday, Dec. 8, starting at 10 a.m. According to Edelman, “Don't worry if you are not a trained dancer. Not all roles require extensive dancing, and our choreographic duo of Eryn Schon-Brunner and Maria Monti love to teach all actors to dance.”
Everybody who auditions will need to sing, dance and act. However, no previous training or experience in these areas is needed. For the dancing auditions, performers are asked to wear comfortable clothes and to be prepared to learn a short dance routine that will be performed with a group during the audition.
Actors at auditions will also be asked to sing a song of their choosing. Selecting a song from a Broadway musical that has both dramatic / character content as well as showing off your singing voice is recommended. The song should be 60 seconds or less, so actors are encouraged to start at the best part of their piece. If possible, actors should bring sheet music, as an accompanist will be provided.
Edelman, however, emphasizes that nobody should be intimidated. “Don't worry if you can't find a song or if the idea of a prepared song terrifies you. You can always just sing ‘Happy Birthday’ or ‘Mary had a Little Lamb.’ We just want to hear your voice!”
The song will be the initial acting audition as well as the singing audition, so choosing a character song with dramatic content will be helpful.
Initial singing and dancing auditions will take place on Saturday, Dec. 8, starting at 10 a.m. in the dance studios (rooms 800 and 820 in the Athletic Building) on the Mendocino College Ukiah campus. Performers should also save Sunday, Dec. 9, for call-backs from 1 to 5 p.m.
All roles are being cast by open auditions; no roles are precast. Roles being cast include:
THE MINSTREL: the character is older, but can be played by an actor of any age & gender... sings & dances, the storyteller of our revisionist fairy tale
PRINCE DAUNTLESS: the lovable yet naive young prince. Dominated by his mother who wishes to keep him her baby forever. By the queen's decree, nobody can marry until he does, and if the queen has her way, he never will.
QUEEN AGGRAVAIN: the aforementioned villainous queen. Dominates her husband and her son, and does NOT play fair!
LADY LARKEN: romantic lead, in love with Sir Henry, and recently pregnant. She and Sir Harry would like to marry, but they can't, due to the queen's anti-marriage rule. If she starts to show, things are going to get dicey!
KING SEXTIMUS THE SILENT: he communicates only in charades. Under a spell that will not allow him to speak until "the mouse devours the hawk."
JESTER: any age, any gender...side-kick to the minstrel and the king...a delightful role.
THE WIZARD: a magician serving the queen...any age & gender
SIR HARRY: the romantic lead-type. Melodic voice and very in love with Lady Larken, though a bit too full of himself.
PRINCESS WINIFRED: her friends just call her FRED... She says she is terribly shy, but she has the energy and shine of a million-watt bulb! She can drink, lift weights and swim moats with the best knights, but under her brash exterior, she is a true romantic at heart.
Plus a large chorus of singing and dancing knights and ladies.
In addition to the performance opportunities, numerous backstage production positions are also available. Crews are needed to build scenery, props and costumes as well as to work as assistant stage managers, light and sound operators and run-crew.
For those with a particular interest in learning to build costumes, there will be a costume construction course taught by Kathy Dingman-Katz in association with this production. This fun class will meet Tuesday evenings from 6 to 9:50 p.m. during Mendocino College’s Spring semester.
People interested in joining the “Once Upon a Mattress” production team should contact Technical Director Steve Decker at
For information call Reid Edelman at 707-468-3172 or e-mail
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- Written by: Lake County Rural Arts Initiative
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A new mural in Kelseyville honors the work of first responders to protect the community.
The mural, titled “Only the Brave,” shows firefighters battling the firedragon which, according to artist Ben vanSteenburgh, depicts “the real courage it takes to stand up to the fires like those that have raged in Lake County, California, and many places across the world.”
The mural was funded through a private donation to Lake County Rural Arts Initiative, or LCRAI.
LCRAI is also using the image to raise money for Lake County fire stations, whose resources have been taxed by the challenges of several years of intense fire seasons.
“We need to make sure they are well equipped to continue protecting our vibrant, beautiful community as we face future fire seasons,” said Conni Lemen-Kosla, chairwoman of LCRAI.
LCRAI has started a GoFundMe account and is using prints of the original painting as a gift for a tax-deductible donation online at www.lcrai.org.
Many people who donate and receive the print of “Only the Brave” are giving them to their local fire stations.
“We believe it is a tangible way to show our gratitude and honor their bravery,” said Shelley Mincer from Pennsylvania.
Go to www.lcrai.org to support local first responders by donating to LCRAI’s GoFundMe campaign or donate directly on the Web site and receive an “Only the Brave” print.