Girls Going Wild at McMorran

Girls Going Wild at McMorran


Blue Water Derby Girls play first match on Sunday

Donald Lierman
Contributing Writer

Let’s have some good old-fashioned girl-on-girl action. Speed, style and sensuality are smashing to Port Huron this weekend.

The Blue Water Derby Girls will skate in their inaugural match on Sunday at the McMorran Pavilion. The doors open at 5:30 p.m.

“Expect controlled anarchy,” said coach Jeff “Darryl B. Payne” Good. “The match will remind you of a Mount St. Helena’s type of chaos. The eruption may be overwhelming but it sure will look pretty as it explodes.”

Unlike its 1970 predecessor, roller derby is governed by stringent rules. The days of a reliance on cheap theatricals with a predetermined outcome are long gone. It now has its own governing body: the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association.

“Today’s version of roller derby has more rules than hockey,” said referee Scot “Zoso Naughty” Kavanaugh. “The skaters no longer exchange punches, clothesline each other or toss their opponents over the rails. These girls are true athletes.”

The rules remain reminiscent of the days of the “Blonde Bomber” Joanie Weston from the famous ‘70s San Francisco Bay Bombers. Jammers (designated scoring skaters) still must lap the opponents to score points. The strategies remain similar.

“Imagine football, except both teams have the ball at the same time,” Good said. “The goal is to get your jammer through first. Then your team has unlimited time outs which can be used to stop the other team from being able to score.

“Each team must play offense and defense at the same time. Even at an amateur level, you will not be able to believe the skills set of these ladies.”

Roller derby is being called the fastest growing sport in America. The grassroots explosion of do-it-yourself startup franchises is phenomenal, Good added.

“Of the 120 U.S. teams, only 30 are older than three years old,” he said. “Twenty alone have started this year. The sport has evolved from 40 teams nationally in 2007 to nearly 500 worldwide today. Roller derby has exploded in Canada, Australia and Europe.”

The players find an intrinsic worth in the game that lives up to its violent reputation.

“The sisterhood is amazing,” said skater Brenda “Anna Phylaxis” Good. “We’ll knock each other down one minute and hug the next. This game empowers women. We can open up and be ourselves, while playing a hardcore contact sport.

“This is not just for jocks, cheerleaders or princesses. It is also for those of us who once stuck out in ways that we wish we didn’t. Roller derby is for all walks of life.”

Rocket Ray will perform music before the match and at halftime, and a DJ will play background music throughout the bout. A cash bar will also be available.

“If you like to watch well trained girls in cute outfits getting hot and sweaty while knocking each other down to score — you will love this,” Brenda Good said.

Up to two children aged 10 and under will be admitted free when accompanied by a ticket-holding adult. Tickets are $10.

“We’re the team the established leagues are worried about,” Jeff Good said. “The overall event will border on spectacle, but I assure you the action on the track will be amazing.”

HUE BLANC'S JOYLESS ONES "LIVE" at the Roche Bar in Port Huron Tuesday Oct 26th

Twisted and gnarled sound blasts of two guitars and two drummers from Algoma, Wisconsin (population 3,357).

Check this interview with them
http://smashintransistors.homestead.com/midwest_gentlemen.html

Read a review of their album from a couple years back on Victim Of Time
http://www.victimoftime.com/articles/breaking-sounds-hue-blancs-joyless-ones-arriere-ga/

Listen to some of their music here
http://www.myspace.com/hueblancsjoylessones

(((SUNDAY SONANCE)))
FIRST Sunday of every month
6P-9P (sometimes longer)

NEXT NIGHT SUNDAY OCTOBER 3

Dale & Franck on the turntables spinning soul, funk, reggae, dub, downtempo, minimal, ambient, indie, psych, noise, fuzz and other groovy treats, obscure sounds and twanged-up rarities.......

@ the Raven Cafe
932 Military Street
Downtown Port Huron
810-984-4330
www.ravencafeph.com

Barn Resounds with Laughter
Michigan native's play to be featured in Port Sanilac

Donald Lierman
Contributing Writer

If you believe that laughter is the best medicine, perhaps a few chuckles will help you forget the heat. Cool off with a few smiles and a lake breeze at Port Sanilac’s Barn Theatre this weekend.

A production of Paul Wade Smith’s nationally renowned “Unnecessary Farce” concludes its run, August 19-21, show times at 8.p.m.

“’Unnecessary Farce’ is a clever and funny script,” said Barn Theatre actor Kelly Kennedy. “The play is filled with outrageous physical comedy. The fact that the playwright, Paul Wade Smith, is from Michigan is fantastic. I commend the Barn Theatre for helping to promote homegrown playwrights.”

The synopsis of “Unnecessary Farce” is described by its web site, www.unnecessaryfarce.com, as:

The setting is two adjoining rooms in an economy motel. It is early morning. Two inexperienced police officers, Eric Sheridan and Billie Dwyer, have been sent to videotape a meeting between the local mayor and the town’s accountant, with the aim of uncovering an embezzlement scheme. But the day is not starting off well.

Billie has been spotted by the mayor in the motel lobby. And Eric and the accountant, Karen Brown, have just spent the night together, a fact they’re trying to keep secret. But when they start going at it again in Karen’s room, just as Billie – in the other room – accidentally begins videotaping them, things begin to unravel.

Billie attempts to erase the tape, but, flummoxed by the remote control, she only manages to start it playing again just as the mayor walks in – thereby establishing his honor’s uncanny knack for entering the room the moment anything sexually suggestive is happening.

The mayor is accompanied by Agent Frank – the head of Town Hall security – an impressively nervous man who warns the officers that anyone who dares to try to find the missing money will incur the wrath of a local mafia called the Scottish Clan. Agent Frank speaks with particular fear of a man named Todd – “The Highland Hitman” – a formidable villain, who always dons a kilt and plays the bagpipes before making a kill.

When Billie, momentarily alone, discovers a plaid duffel bag in the room – with a kilt inside – this straightforward investigation suddenly turns dangerous. Too frightened to answer Todd’s questions, Billie makes the Scotsman angry. And as he gets angrier, his accent gets thicker, until it’s impossible to understand a word he’s saying.

Meanwhile, the mayor’s wife has arrived. Is she merely concerned for her husband, or could she somehow be involved in the criminal plot?

Will the embezzled money be recovered? Can Billie be saved before Todd plays the bagpipes? Will Eric and Karen get to have sex? And can the cops manage to capture the crooks without resorting to… Unnecessary Farce?

The play is not recommended for young children. Ticket prices are $9 for side section seats and $10 for center section seats. The Barn Theatre is located at 242 S. Ridge Street in Port Sanilac. Box-office hours are from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Tuesday through Saturday. For further information, call 810-622-9114.

“I’m thrilled to have been given the opportunity to make people laugh,” said Kennedy. “So come on out to The Barn … There may be bats, but there are even more laughs!”

Shakespeare Rocks Port Huron




By Donald Lierman
Contributing Writer

Billy Shakespeare was the gangsta rapper of his day.

Sex, blood and off-color humor prevail in his work. So, too, does love and tenderness.

Yet, these days, many feel his work is boring and out of time.

Not so.

Enter Stage Right (ESR) wants to bring the passion and timeliness of the bard to you. On Aug. 14, the inaugural Will on the Water festival will be held on the north lawn of Port Huron’s Municipal Office Center. The free event will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the downtown corners of McMorran and Merchant.

Don’t let the antiquated prose scare you.

“We are presenting scenes, rather than entire plays, that are fun and physical so people can get past the language part of it,” said Regina Spain, Managing Director of ESR. “Our goal is to emphasize the joy within the Bard’s work that sometimes gets obscured by his style.”

Will on the Water will showcase highlights from “Romeo and Juliet,” “Macbeth” and “The Taming of the Shrew.” An original performance will also be presented that illuminates the wealth of everyday phrases derived from Shakespeare’s writings.

“What makes this event special is that we do not type cast Shakespeare’s characters,” Spain said. “We look at the personalities of the actors and their skills rather than ‘play by the book’. For instance, the players portraying Mercutio and Tybalt from ‘Romeo and Juliet’ will be female.”

As well as performances on Port Huron’s very own Globe stage, a variety of interactive “Pageant Wagons” will allow the patrons to experience life in the days of Shakespeare. These include sword fighting and dancing. Also, “Stalls” will offer delicacies of the period and “Town Criers” will extol the virtues of the festival’s sponsors.

“We call it ‘User Friendly Shakespeare,’ because we want to emphasize the fun and vibrancy of his world,” said Elaine Schatzline-Behr, Artistic Director of ESR. “Remember, he wrote his plays to be performed aloud rather than read in the classroom. His theater was very popular because it was very entertaining

“We want to give participants a sense of what a summer day would have been like in London in 1599. One of the reasons that Shakespeare was so popular was that not only his theater was fun but downtown London of the time was a hopping place. We decided to recreate the world people would have traveled through to get to the Globe Theatre.”

Some of the other interactive experiences for the attendees will be May Day style dance celebrations, drumming and games, including the original version of horseshoes.

People are urged to attend in period costume, much like patrons of the Michigan Renaissance Festival.

Globe stage performances will occur every half hour. All other activities will run throughout the day.

“The festival should be a fabulous addition to the area,” Spain said. “Our goal is that this year we are starting a little small with scenes rather than full plays. Each year we hope to grow a little more.”

For further information, log on to www.enterstageright.org or contact Regina Spain at 810-334-6415.