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Twelve Women Come Out of Box in 'Talking With...'

The new Marietta theater, Out of Box Theatre, will kick off their inaugural season with "Talking With..." by Jane Martin, which opens March 9 at the Artisan Resource Center.

Out of Box Theatre comes out of the box and jumps right in to the Atlanta theater scene with their first production of Talking With... by Jane Martin. Talking With... is a compilation of 12 monologues by 12 women, each showing a different side of women in a unique way. But if you're thinking it's similar to The Vagina Monologues, you're in for a surprise, according to a press release. The challenges and crises appear larger than life, and the characters embody universal issues: unbearable loneliness, crises of confidence, bereavement, loss of hope and struggles with faith. Out of Box Theatre has brought Jessica Hunt, Leigh-Ann Campbell, Judith Beasley, Carolyn Choe, Candace Mabry, Barbara Rudy, Peg Thon, Linda Place, Karen Thornton, …

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New Theater Company Comes Out of Box in Marietta

Out of Box Theatre will kick off their inaugural season with Talking With... by Jane Martin, which opens March 9 at the Artisan Resource Center in Marietta.

One of the biggest problems facing many theaters is the cost of either owning or leasing a space on a regular basis, according to Carolyn Choe, founder and artistic director of Out of Box Theatre. Combine that with the decline of audiences during tough financial times and you find many theaters closing their doors. The concept for Out of Box Theatre began there. The theater seeks out alternative-use spaces and creates a production that fits that space. Beyond the “box,” the theater seeks to work cooperatively with other groups, organizations and people to expand the types and size of productions created. There is a tremendous pool of talent in the Atlanta area that includes theatre, film, photography, improv, dance and multi-media uses, …

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Artists Among Us

Master Quilter Puts Marietta on Map

Stacy Michell's quilting business is the feature of popular Japanese quilting books, thereby putting Marietta on the map and weaving her into the story of Dispatches: The Changing American Dream.

This Artists Among Us story also is part of Dispatches: The Changing American Dream, Marietta Patch's occasional series on the different ways people are adapting to life in the 21st century and pursuing success. Who knew quilting for a living could be so much fun—and lucrative? Stacy Michell, that’s who. She's a talented professional quilter in the Marietta community with the inside scoop. With a studio based in the Artisan Resource Center, Michell occupies 3600 square feet with her fabric dyeing business, Shades Textiles. Her success shows that a college degree today often is less important than a family tradition, a knack for foreign trade, talent and tenacity. Michell had a considerable jump-start on her competition growing up in a home…

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Deronte' Smith

1:03 pm on Saturday, August 27, 2011

Denise - thanks for the comment. Not sure when Stacy will be on the west coast but you might want to reach out to her via her website. Don't be a stranger!   more ›

Artists Among Us

No Short Cuts for Dana Ruth

Local goldsmith takes next steps to becoming a fine jewelry maker.

Canadian-born Dana Ruth is a fiery passionate goldsmith who strives for the freshest artistic expression in everything she does. Ruth’s career has been a long winding road of self exploration, finding her artistic identity and learning the craft of jewelry making. Ruth was raised in South Florida where she spent much of her time in and around the water.  She admits she probably wasn’t the "typical girl" in that she would go scuba diving, fishing and even lobster hunting.  She never worried about how she was perceived as she was doing what she loved, an attitude she carries to this day. A woman of her word, Ruth says she bypassed an opportunity to take an arts class as an elective in the sixth grade because she had made a prior commitment …

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Artists Among Us

Creative Play Inspires Fine Art Photographer’s Work

Marietta photographer takes photographic images to another level with his masterful techniques in creating fine art photography.

There is something to be said for tenacity and determination in achievingsuccess coupled with the financial rewards it brings. This holds true for Marietta-based artist John Clemmer, who knows a thing or two about determination as he has fought for his place among successful photographers in the metro Atlanta marketplace. However, Clemmer’s upbringing was a far cry from where life has taken him over the years. Clemmer, growing up in Kings Mountain, NC, realized his attraction to the arts through music during his middle school and high school years. He was encouraged by his band teacher, Joe Hedden, to pursue his gift for playing the clarinet beyond high school. So in 1967 Clemmer auditioned for the Navy School of Music in Norfolk, VA, …

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Deronte' Smith

2:06 am on Sunday, May 22, 2011

Lauren , I will do my best to get by your gallery in the very near future. Perhaps I can do a feature story on your artists as well. Thanks for the invite!   more ›

Archen Captures Time with Her Classic Creations

Marietta artist's moniker keeps pace with her growth as a sought after artist in the community.

Marietta artist Lisa S. Duncan is a capturer of time, as she says paintings ‘capture’ moments in time with the subjects of the work. Duncan understands the limitations of time very well as she has journeyed a 30-year trek to build the career she enjoys today. “I’ve painted all my life–ever since I can remember,” Duncan says of the many years doing what she loves. She calls herself a "scribbler" as a toddler and says in a sense she "never stopped scribbling." Like others gifted with creative talents, Duncan entered school and community contests while at Lovett Middle School gaining some attention for her masterful puppet designs and a painting of a horse head. As with her drawings, Duncan’s writing talents began to shine too. During her …

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Artists Among Us

Versatile F/X Artist Lands Hollywood Gigs

Special effects expert Andre Freitas is winning contracts with big budget productions as Atlanta becomes a hot bed for studio film production.

If there is one thing you can say about Andre Freitas, it’s that he is anything but conventional. Life for him has always had a twist or a turn leading him down the pathway to where he is now, working with big budget Hollywood productions as they come through Atlanta. Freitas was born in Hawaii, though he was there for only a short while. His father worked and trekked the globe with the Lockheed Corp. During his early youth, Freitas lived in Iran for four years and Singapore for three years before returning stateside. While abroad Freitas recalls fond memories of his mother, technically a stay-at-home mom, teaching art classes to the local children. He says that his mother would make creative Halloween costumes designed around her …

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Artists Among Us

Bad Boy Actor Takes His Work Straight to the Top

Marietta actor Travis Young gets top honors for his work as a 'bad guy.'

On the verge of one of the biggest anticipated production years for the Atlanta movie industry, one actor is working to stand out heads and shoulders above his counterparts; he is Travis Young, a Marietta professional who carries a chip on his shoulder for the reputation he has developed as a bad boy. “I think I’m the Johnny Cash of actors…I somehow have gotten this bad boy persona, but I think it works,” Young says of how he is perceived around the local community. But it didn’t start out that way by any means. Young grew up in rural Mississippi where he was a playful and curious kid making jokes around the dinner table. His mother enrolled him in afterschool creative arts programs putting his imagination, creativity and energy to use. “I…

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Artists Among Us

Avant Garde Filmmaker Makes First Movie With Kids

Marietta movie maker stays busy despite tightened purse strings of the recession.

Byron Conrad Erwin’s journey as a full-fledged filmmaker has been a long time coming down the pathway of successes and failures that shapes the profile of any true entrepreneur in the marketplace. Erwin’s journey, however, stands a bit unique compared to today’s landscape in that he started his career working with actual film stock versus the digital video format modern filmmakers enjoy. “It made me very organized and disciplined about how I work with projects,” Erwin says of his humble beginning with film. Born at Piedmont Hospital, Erwin moved to a rural area just outside of Richmond, Va., with his family when his was about 10 years old. Shortly thereafter, his parents purchased a Super 8mm camera for Erwin. He says their expectations …

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Deronte' Smith

8:29 pm on Friday, April 15, 2011

Thanks Brent...make that two of us. I pay for netflix, I'm checking to see if they happen to have Lynch Mob tonight.   more ›

Artists Among Us

From Improv to Blank Stage, Brooks Makes His Way

Brent Brooks takes Blank Stage Productions back to the future with his vision for collaborative projects.

If there is one thing that could most accurately describe Marietta-based improv actor-screenwriter-filmmaker-entrepreneur-and so on Brent Brooks is that he leads leading the charge in the marketplace in all of his myriad artistic fields and endeavors. “I guess I would want to be seen as an innovator, using my passion for improv to develop original screenplays and scripts using Blank Stage as a resource for people looking to get exposed to the industry,” Brooks says of the opportunities he provides through his for-profit production company Blank Stage located within the Artisan Resource Center. Growing up in Gwinnett County, Brooks recalled his first encounter with video in eighth grade when his father bought him a VHS camcorder for his …

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