Gather ‘round The Immigrant’s Table

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by JILL JOHNSON

Special to the Islands’ Sounder

Theatre-goers will be treated to a story of immigration, Italian food and wine, and the weaving of Old and New Worlds during Orcas Center’s upcoming performance.

Mary Lou Sanelli and Deborah Sparks will appear in The Immigrant’s Table at the center’s OffCenter Stage on Friday, April 10 at 7:30 p.m. Based on Sanelli’s book of the same name, the staged reading is a spoken duet that dramatically and poetically tells a timeless story.

Orcas Island actress Sparks plays Sanelli’s mother, an Italian immigrant, while Sanelli portrays what it is like to come of age as a first generation American born to Italian parents. Cultures – and generations – clash then grow close in the most Italian of settings: around a table. Sanelli draws the audience into her life, and in the process reveals their long-held family recipes for a great meal and a lively family.

Performed from San Francisco to New York, The Immigrant’s Table has earned praise coast to coast, including Seattle, where Lori Dillon of ArtsWest Playhouse called it “a truly wonderful experience.” Sanelli’s talents range across the arts as a dancer, choreographer, and the author of seven collections of poetry, most recently Small Talk (High Plains Press, 2008).

Sparks currently works at Orcas Center as the Theatre Productions Director, overseeing all productions and Orcas Conservatory. She has been a director, playwright, actress, costume and set designer for more than 40 years. Sparks has mounted four of her original full-length plays, directed and/or designed more than 60 productions and occasionally acted for Orcas Center for more than 25 years. Regarding her upcoming role, Sparks said she’s delighted “to brush up on an Italian accent, put on her savvy, and play Sanelli’s mother.”

Seating is limited. Tickets are $10, and can be purchased online at www.orcascenter.org, by calling or visiting the Orcas Center Box Office, 376-2281 ext. 3.

Artsmith, a non-profit to support the arts, and Kangaroo House Bed and Breakfast assisted Orcas Center in bringing MaryLou Sanelli and The Immigrant’s Table to Orcas Island.