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  Home Page » A&E » Paper Clay And The Bard

Paper, Clay and the Bard

Lively Pagosa Springs arts month capped with Shakespeare

by Ted Holteen
Arts & Entertainment Editor Staycations may be all the rage in the summer of 2009, but after too many weekends counting rental-car license plates, even Durango and its outdoor playground can feel a bit claustrophobic.

Pagosa Springs has the cure for both cabin fever and road rage, serving up weekend getaways at prices that even recession-plagued budgets can afford - and only an hour in the car.

Turns out there's more to Pagosa than just those namesake springs (although they're pretty nice, too). The town boasts a handful of quality galleries, highlighted this month by Shy Rabbit Contemporary Arts and its "Paper and Clay 2" exhibit. July also tempts theatergoers with a sampling of Shakespeare.

The exhibit delivers what it advertises. At 4,000 square feet, the Shy Rabbit is an impressive showplace, and any exhibit must be voluminous to do it justice. Thus, "Paper and Clay 2" includes the work of 14 Colorado and national ceramic artists and printmakers, the latter who were schooled by Shy Rabbit co-owner D. Michael Coffee in his signature "Reductive Ink" process.

The revolutionary, and accidental, process allows the artist to create the illusion of traditional printing press products, but each image can be altered to produce a unique image every time. A fascinating story really, and one worth asking Coffee about if you go.

The exhibit includes prints by Pagosa artists Christa Laos and Sandy Applegate as well as Bayfield's Juanita Ainsley.

The "Clay" side features the works of 11 former students from around the country of renowned ceramics instructor Brad Schwieger, professor of art and ceramics at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.

Included in the geographic hodgepodge is Durango artist Lorna Meaden, whose work is intermingled with pieces by artists from Pennsylvania, Maine, New Mexico, Montana, Arizona, Wisconsin, Ohio, Utah and Kansas. There's plenty to see (and buy, if that aforementioned recession isn't getting you too down), and an afternoon at the Shy Rabbit is a great way to pass those pre-Shakespearean hours.

Which brings us to the evening entertainment.

Since making its debut in 1987 in Scotland, "The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (abridged)" has been a hit everywhere it's played.

The Pagosa version doesn't vary much from the original script - three actors play all the roles in each of 37 of the Bard's plays in comic and nontraditional retellings. (For example, Othello is performed as a rap and Hamlet clocks in at 43 seconds in length.)
What's different about this show is that all female roles are played by Jason Earley, and the cast's lone woman, Candy Flaming, plays exclusively male roles. Confusing at times, perhaps, but nothing compared to the script itself. Durango's own juggling showman and bon vivant Freddy McDaniel rounds out the cast with his inimitable style and seemingly endless supply of energy, which for this show is nothing short of a necessity.

The Springs Theatre puts its plays on in an outdoor tent and serves up a full barbecue supper before the show, a la the Bar D Wranglers without the Western flair.

Also, and not by accident, the first weekend of "Compleat Wrks" coincides with the Pagosa Springs Renaissance and Pirate Festival, which promises its own unique brand of historically inaccurate fun on July 18 and 19. (Most historians agreeing that the Renaissance was notably pirate-free.)
And if the fast pace of a July weekend getaway in Pagosa becomes too much, just relax - remember, they've still got those springs, too.

ted@durangoherald.com