Spotlight Awards 2009

2009 Spotlight Award: Ray Tagavilla

2009 Spotlight Award: Ray Tagavilla

Actor Ray Tagavilla steals the show on small stages.

NAME: Ray TagavillaART FORM: TheaterWEB SITE: Look him up on Facebook.comNEXT UP: Tagavilla may perform at Capitol Hill’s Balagan Theatre in October; check balagantheatre.org Anyone who saw Washington Ensemble Theatre’s exquisite production of The Mistakes Madeline Made last February knows Ray Tagavilla—even if they don’t remember his name. The 31-year-old actor played Wilbur, the weird,…

2009 Spotlight Award: Karen Finneyfrock

2009 Spotlight Award: Karen Finneyfrock

Poet Karen Finneyfrock is queen of the spoken word.

NAME: Karen FinneyfrockART FORM: PoetryWEB SITE: finneyfrock.wordpress.comNEXT UP: Regular appearances with the Seattle Poetry Slam (seattlepoetryslam.org) at Spitfire downtown, 2219 Fourth Ave. Wednesdays, 8 p.m. $5 Anyone still unsure of exactly what spoken word poetry is should ask Karen Finneyfrock, the Seattle poet who, in 2006, was honored as a slam “Legend” at the National…

2009 Spotlight Award: Ellie Sandstrom

2009 Spotlight Award: Ellie Sandstrom

Dancer Ellie Sandstrom takes moving and shaking to the max.

NAME: Ellie SandstromART FORM: DanceWEB SITE: sandstrommovement.comNEXT UP: Performing with Locust and AMYO/Tiny Rage at Portland’s TBA Festival 9/3–9/13; see her Web site for additional appearances Watching Ellie Sandstrom dance is like watching a spider wrap a fresh kill in its web—it’s fascinating and a little frightening to witness something so precise, innate and powerful….

2009 Spotlight Award: Bao Tran

2009 Spotlight Award: Bao Tran

Filmmaker Bao Tran busts stereotypes on screen.

NAME: Bao tranART FORM: FilmWEB SITE: bookiethemovie.comNEXT UP: See Black Coffee on the big screen at Bumbershoot’s One Reel film festival 9/5–9/7; Also this month, watch Bookie online at bookiethemovie.com “I’m an old person in a young person’s body,” asserts local filmmaker Bao Tran. It’s a little hard to believe at first glance, given Tran’s…

2009 Spotlight Award: Kristen T. Ramirez

2009 Spotlight Award: Kristen T. Ramirez

Artist Kristen T. Ramirez prioritizes place.

NAME: Kristen T. RamirezART FORM: Visual ArtsWEB SITE: kristenramirez.comNEXT UP: The grand finale of the bridge project on or near 9/12 (visit thebridgereport.blogspot.com for details). Also see Ramirez’s visual work at Capitol Hill’s Grey Gallery in October/November (greygalleryandlounge.com) “As an artist, I’m really not used to all this attention,” says Kristen T. Ramirez, climbing the…

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