Mike's adventures in art: How I Learned, The Niceties, NFFTY

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 arts 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.

Theater

How I Learned What I Learned is showing at the Seattle Rep. This is my pick of the week. This play was written, and originally performed by, August Wilson. In fact, Wilson himself performed this play at the Seattle Rep about 20 years ago. For more details on Wilson, his legacy, and his connection to Seattle, you can refer to a Soundside segment I did last summer.

This production was special — and not only because of Wilson's connection to our city or his connection to the Rep. It was special because August Wilson was truly one of the most talented playwrights in the history of our country. The play, which is a one-man show performed by Steven Anthony Jones, blends poetry, comedy, music, and storytelling to present a semi-autobiographical tale about Wilson and the life lessons that led him to becoming an award-winning playwright.

We are introduced to Wilson in his formative years, his early 20s, as he is living as a struggling poet in the Hill District of Pittsburgh. Through anecdotes of love, loss, dead-end jobs, near-death experiences, and moments of enlightenment, Wilson explains what he learned and masterfully passes this knowledge onto us. The use of language, which Wilson is famous for, makes the whole play feel poetic in tone, but the comedic highs and dramatic lows keep audience members on the edge of their seats.

How I Learned What I Learned, showing at Seattle Rep April 21 - May 14

The Niceties is showing at the Erickson Theater. This production by Intiman Theater took me by surprise. The idea of a two-person show — set in a professor's office at an East Coast university and centered on a debate between a white baby-boomer professor and a Black millennial student — led me to believe I was in for a show that was more academic than artistic; the ideals of the playwright would be forced upon the audience in such a way that the production would become a lecture masquerading as a play.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

First of all, the playwright, Eleanor Burgess, wrote a masterful script. The arguments didn't feel balanced, but they felt organic. And I won't spoil it here, but I will say, there are no winners and losers in this production. Instead, we are presented with conversations covering the complexities of race, generation, gender, and class from two different perspectives. And both actors were up to the task. The clash became so intense, I don't remember whether or not I clapped at the conclusion of the show — I was stunned.

If you do want spoilers, I hosted a panel conversation on Soundside with Amy Thone, who plays Janine in the production, and Jerald Pierce, theater critic at the Seattle Times. We discussed the themes in the show, and all the ways it made us think. And to be clear, this play will absolutely leave you with more questions than answers.

The Niceties, showing at the Erickson Theatre, April 18 - 29

Film

The National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY) opens this weekend at SIFF Cinema Uptown. There are more film festivals than I can count in Seattle, but NFFTY is unique. This is the 16th annual festival, highlighting up-and-coming filmmakers around the world. The youth submitting these films are age 24 or younger; if you want to see what the next generation of talented filmmakers are working on, this is the place to be.

NFFTY, showing online and at SIFF Cinema Uptown, April 27 - 30