Mike's adventures in art: PAX, Bumbershoot, Midsummer Night's Dream

If you're looking for tips on how to experience art in the Seattle area, you're in the right place. In this weekly post, KUOW reporter Mike Davis has suggestions for what to do around Seattle over the weekend so you can have your own adventures in arts and culture.

Arts Events

PAX, aka, the Penny Arcade Expo, is downtown in the Convention Center this weekend. This marks the 19th year of the event that has grown from 3,000 gamers in Bellevue to over 120,000 descending on downtown. For those unfamiliar, this is kind of like comic con for video games. What makes this event so special, besides the homegrown roots and the robust community, is that PAX has always been about the people who play video games, not the retailers. So for anyone who plays games on their cell phone, or enjoys gathering around board games with friends and family, or more modern gamers on PC, Playstation, or Nintendo — this event will have something for you! As an added bonus, for the first time outside of Japan, Nintendo will be hosting their big event, Nintendo Live, right here in Seattle at PAX.

For more info on PAX, check out this segment from Soundside.

PAX West, at the Convention Center Labor Day Weekend.

Bumbershoot, is back at the Seattle Center for Labor Day weekend. This year's revamped festival will feature the live music folks remember from recent years, but will now have a ton of arts experiences infused into the festivities. This includes not only visual art and sculptures, but tattoo art, fashion, culinary art, semi-pro wrestling, and more. I’m excited to check out the new festival and find out more about the Cat Circus that I keep hearing about!

Bumbershoot, at the Seattle Center September 1-2

Theater

"A Midsummer Night’s Dream," is playing at Tacoma Arts Live. This production led me to contemplate on why this column exists. The purpose I hope to serve is more focused on tips for enjoyable experiences in the arts than theatrical or artistic critique. I tend to do both at times, but I believe enjoying art is more important than discussing whether or not the art is “good.” I say this here, because if I were to approach this discussion of Tacoma Arts Live’s production of "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" from a critical standpoint, it would be harsh. The reason why I am not focusing on a critical review that may deter readers from seeing this production for themselves, is because despite the deficiencies of this production, I had a really good time! And it is my hope that people come to this column not for theatrical critiques that nail down the technical components we see on stage, but instead to hear about places people can go for fun and enjoyable experiences in the arts. So, before any of you — and you know who you are — fire off that email or post on social media about everything that this production is not, allow me to tell people what this production is…

Fun! It’s a Shakespeare play, set in Hawaii, in the space that houses Utopian Garden. About 80% of the space is covered in a floor-wall LCD screen that acts as a backdrop with flowering gardens, hidden cottages, and castles that at times blend into the story unfolding on stage, but also has moments of distraction. For example, in solemn moments when characters are professing their love through flowery Shakespearean dialogue, the bright fauna filled screen is alive with fireflies wheezing around that for some reason are audible and pulling my attention away from the actors. I want the illusion of being in the forest, not the audio experience of being there.

But even with the technical hiccups, the production was successful. And the crowd played a role in that. I seemed to be the only one that didn’t get the memo that we were all supposed to show up in Hawiian shirts and flower lays. The seating also leaned into the aesthetic. There were two rows of folding chairs on either side of the stage, but the center was a big soft “carpet” that functioned as sand on a beach. Some folks brought beach chairs, some laid out on towels, and some just cozied on the rug. It was like watching a play while sitting at the beach.

The actors seemed to be having fun in their roles, and that helped push the show forward. There were times when the pacing felt a little off when actors pushed through dialogue instead of slowing down and delivering lines deliberately. But Travis Tingvall, who played Bottom, put forth an excellent performance. He embodied the role and was a delight to watch. Jessica Robins, who played Philostrate and Puck, was also a force on stage. They threw their whole body into their role and had so many comedic moments. Their final monologue was a highlight of the whole production.

This is one of my favorite plays, so I’m always critical when I see it. In fact, I played Lysander in a production, once upon a time. But this show was a lot of fun, and the audience around me seemed to have a great time too. If you have a chance to head to Tacoma over the weekend, I recommend you check this play out before it's too late.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, showing at Tacoma Armory until September 3