In constant character, the actors enter and exit the stage from passageways behind the seats, adding all the more to the feeling that you are in someone’s home. In effect the audience members become extras, watching the back and forth action of the play across from each other, like spectators at a tennis match, or as Hugh Dignon, who plays Uncle Vanya, suggests: like witnesses to ghosts playing out the most important day of their lives in perpetuity.

Such is the beauty of a well-interpreted and produced Chekhov play. “What’s important in Chekov is what’s not said…He was this great poet of subtext,” says Dignon, who first played the role of Vanya in the 1970s at Vassar College. What might read flatly on the page is brought lovingly and thoughtfully to life under the direction of Jonathan Haugen, who has spent ten seasons working with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. In what spare time he has, Haugen collaborates with friend and founder Hugh Dignon on productions for Rock the Ground Theater Company.

There is a timelessness to Uncle Vanya: The distinction between past and present, audience and cast, seems obsolete. The layout of the set leaves the audience no choice but to become engaged. It is not hard to imagine the audience as extended members of Uncle Vanya’s family, watching the tragicomic struggles of their ancestors, realizing that in the hundred years since the play’s inception, not much about the human condition has changed.

Uncle Vanya touches upon themes of duty and faith versus living for the moment, catching one’s pleasure where one can. Uncle Vanya is a man in crisis who, after a lifetime of devoting himself to ideals of loyalty, scholarship, hard work and family, finds himself let down by human fallibility. He fears that through his blind devotion to his ideals he has squandered away his life and any real chance at happiness. “Conviction alone,” Vanya’s mother tells him, “means nothing. It is what you do with your convictions that count.” Uncle Vanya’s unraveling occurs over four acts, and while he is the title character of the play, the struggles of conscience and identity of those around him are equally on display.

If this all sounds too heavy for a night of entertainment, keep in mind that Uncle Vanya is touted as a comedy. There is something darkly humorous about how seriously we take ourselves, how given to flights of fancy and self-delusion we are. There is something beautiful about it as well: that there are moments where we can extract joy and beauty from what otherwise might seem like an endless stream of hardship and disappointment. The line between hysteria and hilarity is well walked by the cast: their performances lead to moments neither too melodramatic nor too absurd to find resonance with the audience.

Rock the Ground Theater Company is relatively new–but it enlists the talents of a veritable A-team of actors, musicians and artisans who in one form or another have come to think of Mendocino as their true home. Their aesthetic is part literary canon, part rock’n’roll: in 2009, Rock the Ground produced Rocky Horror Picture Show on weeknights and Hamlet on weekends, using much of the same cast and crew for both. The name itself is a reference to A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream: “Sound Music! Come my Queen, take hands with me, and rock the ground whereon these sleepers be.” Indeed, Rock the Ground is waking up our local arts scene. They take the Do-It-Yourself attitude of punk and temper it with the sort of prowess that comes only from years of experience, study and craft.

“What I see as being part of Rock the Ground’s mission statement is contemporary innovation through traditional roots,” says contributing artist Lavender Grace Cinnamon.

Take, for example, the fact that Rock The Ground has no fixed venue or theater out of which they work. This mobility allows Rock the Ground to consider the actual physical setting of their productions, alongside the set itself. In the instance of Uncle Vanya the Botanical Gardens as venue seemed a perfect fit. “We were looking at different venues…we looked at doing it in a converted barn…we looked at doing it in a house. But there is an environmental message to this play, that Jonathan [Haugen, director] and I felt should be emphasized. The leitmotif of deforestation runs through this play so deep and this issue really was Chekov’s passion…it’s just so fitting to do it in a garden where everything is kept growing and healthy,” says Dignon. On the table for Rock the Ground Theater Company’s 2010 season is an outdoor summer production of A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream, and an aquatic production of Metamorphoses if they can swing the right venue.

It is inspiring to see a collective of artists who are pooling their years of experience, education and craft to create something which feels genuinely new and exciting for Mendocino. If at all possible, get out to see Uncle Vanya this final weekend.

Saturday at 8 pm, Sunday 2pm matinée. Tickets available at Twist in Mendocino, Tangents, Harvest Market and The Botanical Gardens in Fort Bragg.

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An Odd Party

Tucked away, up a narrow staircase above Tangents–on the corner of Main and Laurel in Fort Bragg–sits Odd Hours, an art gallery and studio space run by local artists Jason Cowan and Inga Petersen. “How refreshing, “ said one attendee at Studio Odd’s recent Friday night invitational showing. “I don’t see a single sunset or seagull in any of these pieces.” Throughout Odd Hours’ three Victorian rooms partygoers milled about carrying glasses of wine, and even the occasional well swaddled baby, studying work by the gallery’s featured local artists. Though varied in technique and subject matter, each artist’s work conveys a weltanschauung stretching well beyond the usual pastoral fare on which so many coastal artists have made their living.

From Jacob Hewko’s psychedelic surf scenes with 1960’s bikini clad girls to Nicholas Heller’s shellacked one-act absurdist coasters, the atmosphere at Odd Hours is decidedly playful, eccentric and do-it yourself. Jubal Stedman’s beautifully realist oil and acrylic renderings of otherworldly women contrast nicely on the walls with Inga Petersen’s abstract paintings. Petersen, like her partner Jason Cowan, is clearly adept in a range of mediums and styles: there is a playfulness and ease with which their work jumps from subject to subject. For a moment this writer felt as though she’d been transported to an Artwalk evening in Brooklyn or Oakland. It was refreshing to see so many young people out and about on a rainy Friday night in the name of art.

The vibe at Odd Hours is in many ways a direct reflection of Cowan and Petersen’s demeanors: quirky, entertaining and thoughtful. I had a chance to ask Cowan some questions about his vision for Odd Hours and what he hopes it will continue to contribute to the local art scene.

Sara Liner: How long has Odd Hours been happening?

Jason Cowan: I leased the space at the beginning of 2009. I was looking for a place to use both as a working studio, as well as location that might at some point in the future have some retail/gallery potential.

Using the existing First Friday Night Art Walk as a platform, we held our first Open Studio in August of 2009. We have held four open studios and two invitation only parties at Studio Odd Hours since then. The Open Studios are held still held during the First Friday Night events, and the “parties’” have been held on alternate Friday nights as a way to stay connected with, and show appreciation to the folks who have expressed interest in what it is that we are doing.

SL: What was the impetus behind starting up the gallery? Where do you see yourself going?

JC: I have always wanted to paint and create. I have finally reached a place in my life where I have come to understand that life is short, and that if you don’t want to “waste” it, then you had better get busy on those things that matter to you.

The business model for the studio is evolving. 2009 was a year for establishing a presence, and for building up a core group of participants whose work I appreciate and respect,

2009 was also a time for establishing a routine and discipline around creating new works (these things don’t paint themselves). 2010 is the year that we will be focusing on making the Studio into a viable operation.

SL: Do you have an operating philosophy or mission for Odd Hours?

JC: The intent of the studio / gallery is to produce and display varieties of work that are not represented anywhere else on the Coast (that I am aware of).

However, it is not just about showing something “different or weird”; what I want to do is present works that are moving, thought provoking, meaningful… real, honest, challenging… I want to see things that aren’t “nice and easy” … or worse, completely pointless.

I want to show works that are significant and worthwhile, both as something to create as well as to view and experience.

The mission is actually rather grand; it is to change the tone of the local “art” scene. When I look around this community, I don’t see much in the way of work that is appears to me to be particularly relevant to people with modern sensibilities or aesthetics… and am not talking about Modern Art per se either, I’m talking about not seeing any art around here that bears any relationship to the lives that people are living now, today…

This community is changing, it is trying very hard not to become a roadside relic. If this is truly an “Artist’s Community”, then the quality and caliber of the creative works produced around here should be at forefront of that transition.

Odd Hours will be participating in February’s upcoming First Friday Artwalk event. While they do not as of yet keep regular business hours (hence the name) if you happen to be in the Fort Bragg area and are interested in seeing what Odd Hours has to offer, you may make an viewing appointment by calling : 707-357-0338

One hell of a wisecrackin' duet

This coming Saturday, the 23rd, you can catch Angie Rose and Cas Sochacki, at Lauren’s Café in Boonville (9 P.M, $5.) The wisecracking, bantering couple regularly play and sing with a larger ensemble of musicians known as The Blushin’ Roulettes, whose act you may have caught anywhere from San Francisco’s the Make Out Room, to local roadhouse The Caspar Inn, or even this past summer’s Kate Wolf Festival. They are also a favorite amongst DJ’s on KZYX, KMFB, KOZT and KHUM and are kept in regular rotation. Of late, Angie and Cas have been working on a forthcoming EP of duets called “When Pigs Fly,” whose material will be largely showcased Saturday night. Their musical style is deeply rooted in the American traditions of folk and Bluegrass, which rings true to their geographic origins: Angela being from Ohio originally, Cas from Kentucky.

Like so many great couples in history, Cas and Angie appear to be each other’s foil. Where Angie stands barely five feet tall, Cas breaks six feet, easy. Angie’s clarion vibrato has earned her voice comparison to country greats Dolly Parton and Iris Dement. Cas’ molasses baritone puts him closer to Johnny Cash. With her Old World beauty: large hazel eyes and wavy brown hair, Angela Rose’s stage presence is both affable and day dreamy. Mr. Sochacki on the other hand, not just tall, but dark and handsome to boot, is a man of few words: he has a sardonic sense of humor, his delivery deadpan. On stage, as in life, the two play off of these differences beautifully, comically. As important as their differences is what they do share in a common: a life together living on Cas’ family farm and a rare knack for writing songs that are at once poignant and clever. Songs like “The Day Pigs Fly” and “If It Wasn’t For You” are written with an affectionate, tongue-in-cheek take on relationships.

Cas and Angie don’t just sing about country living: they embody it. In previous years Cas’ family run and owned Old Mill Farm has provided locally grown organic produce and meats to Mendocino Farmer’s markets and restaurants. Old Mill farm has also hosted many Sustainable Living workshops on everything from straw bale housing to homespun yarn. Angela Rose says that living and working in such close proximity to each other, as they have for the last few years, has provided them with a wealth of material for their songs. “Oh you bet. We’re miles from town, so there are plenty of days where we’re the only person the other sees. After the chores are done there’s really only so much talkin’ you can do! But we’ve set up a studio in the living room and that’s made it easy for us to just sit down and write… work out new songs,” says Angela Rose.

With Angela Rose on acoustic guitar, Cas Sochacki on Dobro slide guitar, and Mike “Lupe” Luparello on bass: Saturday night, January 23rd should prove to be an intimate and entertaining evening at Lauren’s Café.