In Theater News: Genius Recognized, and a Quick Roundup

Every year for the last eight years, the staff at the Stranger take some time off from the usual catcalling, antagonizing debauchery and games of grabass, in order to give out their Genius Award -- a yearly recognition of people who have excelled in their field and dominated the area's conversation with their work. Indeed, reading through the list of past winners introduces you to a good number of the movers, shakers, impressarios and worthy organizations that reside in Seattle, who are still making an impact upon their respective areas of expertise; whether in Visual Arts, Theater, Politics, Music, or Literature.

This year's recipient of the Genius Award in Theater is none other than John Osebold, a genuinely virtuosic presence in our city. Though it's been his work in the past 12 months (specifically Spidermann, Mountain; both with Jose Bold, one of Osebold's projects) Stranger Theater Editor Brendan Kiley also makes mention of Osebold's prior achievements with "Awesome", The Habit and as a solo performer -- what's remarkable is that even this inclusive list leaves out more of Osebold's earlier projects. Ballyhoo being the most prominent example.

The recognition is the thing, however, and this one is well deserved. You could next catch Osebold performing at the Smoke Farm Lo-Fi Arts Festival, and with The Habit, his old sketch group which will be reuniting for an evening of all new material in September.

In other news, the felt fetishists over at Puppet This have been enjoying a pretty remarkable run of late, most recently with their hilarious performance during the recent Whedonesque Burlesque (in which they posited a scenario where cult-favorite entertainment magnate Joss Whedon had a duet with one of his most cherished characters before killing him off to the tune of Kansas' "Dust in the Wind.") Next they will be recreating their hit production of Manos: The Hands of Felt at Bumbershoot. Manos enjoyed a sell out run earlier in the year at Odd Duck Studios, and it whether they'll revisit the work again is an unknown thing; this might be your only chance to catch it in the immediate future.

Over in West Seattle, the ArtsWest organization continues the regional trend of arts administrators leaving their positions, largely due, in some way or another, to the crushing environment created by the recession. In this instance, Alan Harrison, ArtsWest's executive director, is stepping down because the group would like to find a leader who will make fundraising more of a priority in the organization's planning; a decision that was reached amicably, according to the Times' report. We wish Mr. Harrison the best of luck in his future endeavors.

Finally, lost amid the hectic shuffle of comings and goings around these parts, we neglected to inform you of the Endangered Species Project's next endeavor this coming Monday in Fremont's West of Lenin performance space. This month, ESP brings you a double bill of short plays by such cultural lightweights as George Bernard Shaw and Anton Chekhov. Shaw's Village Wooing and Chekhov's A Marriage Proposals are, in essence, romantic comedies that bear the thematic imprints of their authors (ruminations on life, class, and love among the bourgeoise). The evening starts at 7:00p.m., and, given the pool of talent the ESP regularly dips into, is guaranteed to at least be a thought provoking entertainment, one filled with literate quips, bon mots and laughter. Oh, and it's free.