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Casey Carney reads her poem ‘Juicy’ at the Art House Gallery in Berkeley, Calif., in 2016. Photo credit: Victor Owens.


MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Middletown Art Center’s Restore project features a written/spoken word performance workshop with Lake County Poet Laureate Emerita Casey Carney this Saturday, Nov. 10, from 1 to 5 p.m.

Adults and children age 12 and up are invited to write in the company of others in a safe, supportive environment.

Workshop participants will be creating from writing prompts, refining pieces in progress, and exploring the elements and artistic choices of spoken word performance including projection, intonation, rhythm, timing and body language.

As part of the workshop, local poet Lorna Sue Sides will perform her poem, “Dance to Happenstance.”

New writers are especially encouraged to attend, and anyone who wants to hone their performance skills in order to more fully express the intent of their creative writing.

Participants will have the opportunity to work with partners, and are encouraged to bring a short piece which they may choose to present at the informal reading, concluding the workshop.

A writer, performance artist and photographer, Carney served as the Lake County Poet Laureate from 2014 to 2016. In this role, Carney curated, co-produced and hosted more than 15 readings featuring local poets and highlighting the lineage and of poetry in Lake County.

During her 2014 Poet Laureate Reading Series, Carney featured each of the seven Lake County poets laureate that preceded her.

At the 2016 transition event of Carney’s term, over 200 community members gathered at the Soper-Reese Theatre in Lakeport to celebrate the vibrancy of poetry in Lake County.

Originally from Southern California, Carney holds a Master of Arts in dance education and has choreographed, performed in, and produced numerous dance concerts.

Carney recently initiated the forming of a local team which collaborated in bringing American dance pioneer Anna Halprin’s Planetary Dance to Lake County on Earth Day, 2018 with the theme ‘Acknowledge and Heal.’ She is currently collaborating with Tension and Trauma Release Exercises, or TRE, practitioner Jessica Windrem to develop a workshop utilizing TRE and expressive arts to support people in their healing journeys.

Restore writing workshop participants will have opportunity to contribute to MAC’s second chapbook of writings and images, and to participate in quarterly readings or exhibition. The first chapbook, “Resilience – a community reframes disaster through art,” is available for purchase at MAC or on the MAC Web site.

The Restore project provides Lake County residents with low-cost art classes and the opportunity to learn or refine skills in a variety of materials techniques. Classes take place most Saturdays through May 2019.

Fall and winter classes include clay, woodworking, metalworking, felting, concrete, dry point, block printing, writing, and more. Late winter and spring classes will focus on personal and collaborative projects, studio time, mentoring and guidance to create personal and group work.

Please register in advance for this and all Restore classes at www.middletownartcenter.org/Restore, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 707-809-8118. Space is limited and reservations are required.

Middletown Art Center is located at 21456 State Highway 175 at the junction of Highway 29.
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“Clean Sweep.” Courtesy photo.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Friday, Nov. 16, the Soper Reese Theatre Third Friday Live series spotlights a recently formed Lake County band, Clean Sweep.

This group plays what they call “Let’s Have Fun” dance music, from swampy slow to get down rock, R&B, blues, funk and jazz.

The show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 for all seats. Dance floor and no-host bar will be open.

These seven professional musicians, who boast top talents and long experience, came together through the efforts of band leader Patrick Gleeson, formerly of “62 Blues” and “Beluga Whale.”

Patrick plays a mean harmonica with soulful feeling and delivers a great vocal with that bluezey growl.

Vocalist Joanie Lane, born of a musical family, has played with the likes of Taj Mahal, Merle Saunders, Jackson Browne and Juice Newton.

Guitarist Michael Gymnaites has played with Chuck Berry, Bo Diddly, the Coasters and the Drifters, and opened for Sly and the Family Stone.

Keith Crossan took up the saxophone at 11 years of age and went on to play with a constellation of music greats including Natalie Cole, Pattie Labelle, Bonnie Raitt, Albert Collins and Teddy Pendergrass.

David Neft plays piano and keyboard and is seen regularly at Lake County dances, concerts, plays and special events.

Dave Falco, on bass guitar and vocals, has shared the stage with Elvin Bishop, Southern Pacific, David Lindley, Jefferson Starship, Tower of Power, the Steve Miller Band, the Temptations and B.B. King. On drums is John Sheridan.

Major sponsor is the Strong Financial Network. Also sponsored by KXBX 98.3 and KNTI 99.5. 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.
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MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Cobb Mountain Artists presents the best artisan arts and crafts fair in Lake County, Holiday in the Pines, featuring high quality original art and craft from artists around the region.

This popular holiday show, the 15th annual, will take place Saturday, Nov. 10, and Sunday, Nov. 11, at the Twin Pine Casino and Hotel Event Center from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In addition to great art, there will be door prizes, a raffle to benefit local school art programs, and music by the famous My Divas on Saturday.

Enjoy original art by painters, potters, jewelers, glass artists, ironworkers, wooden creations, and much, much more. New this year, you will find ornate candles, iron work, beautiful knit creations, a local author and more.

Cobb Mountain Artists' mission is to provide artists and craftspeople with outlets for their work, and act as a professional liaison to the public.

They hope you can join them at the most popular arts and crafts fair in Lake County this holiday season. There will be great art and crafts at affordable prices.
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Gary Deas, left, as “Jud” and Tim Barnes as “Curly” in the “Oklahoma!” Courtesy photo.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – This is the final weekend for Oklahoma!, but for many cast and crew members there will be no break as they go into production meetings for their next shows.

To keep up with the five shows a year and various fundraisers the company puts on, the preparation is constant.

The company requires that directors assistant direct prior to going solo. Director John Tomlinson provided the requisite mentoring for Assistant Director Cynthia Forbes on this show.

Forbes, who will be directing next year’s musical, “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” said of Tomlinson, “I hit the jackpot in getting to work with John. He has been acting, directing and teaching theater arts for many years. We have seen the magic he creates with Shakespeare at the Lake making these well-worn plays accessible to contemporary audiences. But, I have been most impressed at how small changes in the presentation or timing of a single line can set the mood of a scene with this show.”

As luck would have it, Tomlinson and Forbes were not the only directors working on Oklahoma!
When the show was first cast, Tim Barnes, a regular director and actor with the company, was very busy with work, school and many other obligations.

Barnes originally was only going to design the set until there was a shortage of male actors. He auditioned for and accepted the role of Jud more out of a sense of obligation. When the actor who was originally cast as Curly left the cast Tomlinson turned, again, to Barnes.

“I have worked with Tim before and know he is capable of almost any character type. He also sang in a play called The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!) by Joanne Bogart and Eric Rockwell,” Tomlinson said. “It had a part, based upon this play, where he sang about corn with such joy that you could see Curly in there just waiting for us to stage Oklahoma! the real thing!”

With the role of Curly filled and the role of Jud now open there was a bit of a scurry to find an actor who could take on the role of Jud. Four of the company’s male actors had either moved out of the area recently or were otherwise unavailable.

Originally, Gary Deas had not auditioned for the show. He is the type of person that jumps in and gives his all when he commits to something and he had decided it was time for a break. That break was short lived. He was asked to come in for an audition.

Tomlinson explained his reasoning for casting him, “Gary showed potential in both singing and acting at his audition, and has a raw edge that suits Jud. His dedication to everything else he has worked on made me confident he would work hard on the role. Turns out it was true.”

Once Deas joined the cast, Forbes was not the only one watching Tomlinson direct. Deas assistant directed this year’s Animal Farm under Barnes in preparation to direct Boeing Boeing this spring.

“I watched all the actors and how they interacted with each other and John And listened to what they had to say after he was not around. I also asked him why he did things the way he did for Oklahoma! and what he thought about some of my ideas.”

Barnes, who has participated in several directors workshops with Tomlinson, had this to say about him, “John comes with an extensive background and is also a very talented performer. He has a firm grasp on the story we are trying to tell, but at the same time allows for individual character development and is open to the actors’ interpretation of their character. He shows a trust in the performers, that we are all united under the same goal which is to be the modern storytellers, transporting the audience and helping them leave with a sense of a real experience.”

Tomlinson pointed out, “The beauty of this play is what is says about community, friendship and making the most of your circumstances. Claremore, Oklahoma is not entirely unlike many rural Northern California towns. We rise to the occasion in hard times, and we come together in order to thrive.”

Audience reaction to this show has been very positive. The cast has received multiple standing ovations over the last two weeks. And, ticket sales reflect just how well the story the actors and the director are trying to tell has been received.

If you would like to see this joint production between the Lake County Theatre Co. and the Mendocino College Lake Center consider getting your tickets in advance.

The show runs Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. through Nov. 11 at the Soper-Reese Theatre in Lakeport.

Tickets are $22 and $17 in advance or $27 and $22 at the door and can be purchased at http://www.soperreesetheatre.com/ or via box office phone at 707 263-0577.

For more information please visit www.lctc.us.

At center, “Oklahoma!” Director John Tomlinson. Courtesy photo.
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Annette Higday of the Konocti Art Society presenting a donation to Barbara Funke. Courtesy photo.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Konocti Art Society has made a generous donation to support the Lake County Arts Council’s Summer Youth Art Program.

KAS raffles artwork during the Kelseyville Pear Festival which earns funds that are donated to a deserving charity or group.

The Summer Youth Art Program offers enriching classes for local students to learn various art forms.

Teachers donate their time for these classes, and the donated money helps with needed art materials.
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Ted Kooser. Photo credit: UNL Publications and Photography.


Jim Daniels lives and teaches in Pittsburgh.

I love this poem from “Street Calligraphy,” from Steel Toe Books, of Western Kentucky University, Daniels' 17th book.

A young father and his two small children, tucked into a comfortable old chair at the end of a day. What could feel better than that?

Talking About the Day

Each night after reading three books to my two children—
we each picked one—to unwind them into dreamland,
I'd turn off the light and sit between their beds
in the wide junk-shop rocker I'd reupholstered blue,
still feeling the close-reading warmth of their bodies beside me,
and ask them to talk about the day—we did this,
we did that, sometimes leading somewhere, sometimes
not, but always ending up at the happy ending of now.
Now, in still darkness, listening to their breath slow and ease
into sleep's regular rhythm.
Grown now, you might've guessed.
The past tense solid, unyielding, against the acidic drip
of recent years. But how it calmed us then, rewinding
the gentle loop, and in the trusting darkness, pressing play.


American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2017 by Jim Daniels, "Talking About the Day," from Street Calligraphy, (Steel Toe Books, 2017). Poem reprinted by permission of Jim Daniels and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2018 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.

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