Backing up for a moment. Snoqualmie is a small town up in the foothills north and east of here. If you were a Twin Peaks fan, you recognized parts of it, especially the nearby lodge (now called the Salish Lodge) on top of the waterfall. The Black Dog Cafe is in the historic downtown of Snoqualmie, which is about a block long and faces the Railway Museum across the street (which has a lot of rolling stock from various eras). The downtown has a number of restaurants, cafes, a couple bars (wine and beer varieties), art galleries, and an antique shop or two.
The Black Dog Arts Coalition put together the show/ We had seven plays presented, many of the playwrights part of the Iron Horse, a local Writer's group. A colleague with the Quills (my local writer's group) mentioned they were doing a Playwrights Festival up here and they were looking for submissions. So I sent them one of my done-in-one scenes, about 7 minutes long, and they accepted it. We did three nights of rehearsals, and I trekked up Rt 18 over Tiger Mountain to reach the Black Dog (and had dinner at a number of good restaurants up there in the process, and some really good ice cream from Snoqualmie Ice Cream.
And the performances were great. The actors for my reading were Ryan Hartwell and Kacie Lillejord (another playwright who was drafted into reading), and they had the pacing down perfect. I tracked from the side of the hall, and the laugh lines landed where they were supposed to. Our director, Bruce Stewart, did a wonderful job rounding up the cats and getting it all in a presentable order. The others plays, involving lesbian ballplayers, demonic fossils, and teenagers leaving home, were excellent as well. Great job by the actors and the playwrights.
I was definitely out of my comfort zone, playing the new kid at school, keeping my ears open and learning a few things. Would I do it again? Absolutely. It was a good time and a good venue and I endorse the Black Dog and its efforts to spread a bit of art and talent through the foothills.
More later,
