Client Spotlight: Sonja Krenek, Soprano

Held in the Recital Hall at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music on 50 Oak St in San Francisco on Saturday, March 6 at 5:00pm.

Sonja Krenek, Soprano, Master of Music Recital with Mai-Linh Pham on Piano.

Free Admission.

Featuring music by Handel, Schubert, Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Britten and Barber.

Client Spotlight: Sonja Krenek, Soprano - Red Union Hair Salon and Art Gallery San Francisco, CA
About Sonja Krenek:
Growing up in Eureka, California, Sonja Krenek was very involved in music, even at a young age. She studied several instruments, including piano, flute, oboe, and the alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones. Ms. Krenek also performed in many classical and jazz bands, and orchestras, including the All-State Honor Band and Orchestra and those at Eureka Senior High School.

Ms. Krenek attended the University of California, Irvine, where she earned her Bachelor of Music Degree in 2008. During her time there she performed such roles as Musetta in a performance of the third act of La Bohème, La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi and Monica in The Medium. She also performed as Christine in an excerpted version of The Phantom of the Opera for the Orange County Philharmonic Society.

After graduating, Sonja moved to San Francisco to pursue her Master of Music Degree at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In 2009, during her first year of study, she won second place in the Vocal Concerto Competition. She then went on to win the competition in 2010 and was cast as Anne Trulove in the school’s 2010 production of The Rake’s Progress.

Sonja has spent several summers participating in performance programs. In 2005 she was involved with the Opera festival di Roma where she sang La Prima Conversa in Suor Angelica as well as in the chorus for Le Nozze di Figaro. Ms. Krenek also attended SongFest in 2006 and 2009, where she had the opportunity to be involved in scene performances, singing such characters as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte. She has performed in many Master Classes with such great artists as Stephanie Blythe, Luana De Vol, Martin Katz, Margo Garrett, Elizabeth Futral, Amy Burton, Mark Morash, Frans Boerlager, Victoria Litherland and Angela Brown. Sonja has also been a finalist in competitions such as Tomorrow’s Stars and the Holt Memorial Scholarship.

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Client Spotlight: Kirsten Long – Starring in Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage

Beowulf Alley Theatre Continues Its 2009-2010 Season with Jane Martin’s Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage directed by Steve Anderson and starring Red Union Hair Salon client Kirsten Long.

Beowulf Alley Theatre continues its season with the shoot ‘em up, knock ‘em up, cut ‘em up comic romp, Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage by Jane Martin. Performances are for three weekends only from February 26, 2010 through March 14, 2010. The theatre is located at 11 South 6th Avenue, 85701, in Downtown Tucson between Broadway and Congress. Tickets may be purchased online at www.beowulfalley.org (discount available) or by phone at (520) 882-0555.

Big 8, is facing foreclosure on the Wyoming ranch where she rehabilitates injured rodeo cowboys. The arrival of a shocking woman named Shedevil and a one eyed Ukrainian biker named Black Dog ushers in outrageous violence and horror in this comedy that roasts the cowboy mentality of western writers like Zane Grey. This bodacious and macabre play mixes horror and hilarity as it pits the code of the West against contemporary darkness. May be inappropriate for persons under 13 years old.

The funniest and the wildest…Adds still another dimension to this author’s body of work…The laughs are nonstop. – Center Stage

There is some question as to the identity of the mysterious playwright, Jane Martin. She has been referred to as “America’s best known, unknown playwright”. The name Jane Martin is widely believed to be a pseudonym. She has never made any public appearances or spoken about any of her works. Nor has she ever given an interview. No biographical details are known about her. No photographs of Ms. Martin have ever been published. Many people speculate that Ms. Martin is actually Jon Jory. Mr. Jory denies that he is the writer of Ms. Martin’s plays, and has in fact written several plays under his own name.

Steve Anderson tells us, “The reason I chose to direct this play is, first – it’s funny as hell. I don’t often laugh out loud while reading a script, but this was one of those times. Second, Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage offers a particular challenge to the director as it blends two genres: “Early Cowboy Western” and “B-Horror Flick.” What director doesn’t like a great challenge, right? It also offered me another venue in which to stage shootings, stabbings, and dismemberment. What fun!!”

Steve’s directing credits include West Side Story, Pack of Lies, Rain, Life on the Rez, and Hot L Baltimore. He earned his MFA in Acting at Brandeis University, As a guest artist at Clemson University and UW-River Falls, Steve taught Acting, Relaxation for the Performer, Movement and Combat where he choreographed Romeo & Juliet and Hamlet, respectively. He studied Stage Combat with, and was certified by, David Leong, Broadway’s premiere fight director at that time, as well as David Woolley (Chicago). Additional fight direction includes Tartuffe, Lion, Witch & the Wardrobe and Beowulf Alley’s Fool for Love. As an actor, he has worked off-Broadway and in regional theatre. In LA, Steve was a member of the Blue Line Theatre Company performing in several noteworthy productions, including the Dramalogue Award-winning play, The Walker Women of Willow Grove, and Telethon with Broadway and film veteran Chuck Stransky. He toured with Obie Award-winner Ralph Lee’s Mettawee River Theatre Company in New York and performed on the Summer Stage in Central Park and at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

Members of the cast for Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage are Susan Arnold, Holly-Marie Carlson, Jake Chapman, Benjamin Dygert, Lucas Gonzales, Kirsten Long, and Gabe Nagy. The production team includes Tim Bremser (Lighting Designer), Joel Charles (Set Designer), Matthew Copley (Special Visual Effects and Makeup), Bill Galbreath (Scenic Artist), Alex Greengaard (Original Music Composer/Sound Effects), and Angela Walker (Stage Manager/Costume Designer).

Produced by special arrangements with Samuel French, Inc.

Kirsten Long has been a client of Red Union Hair Salon for a decade now. We’re all very excited about her show, and are please to be sharing this information with all of you.

Do you have event or something special you’d like us to help promote and share with our other clients? Please let us know!

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Featured Artist: Greg Wilkie

Featured Artist Greg Wilkie at Red Union Hair Salon and Art Gallery San Francisco, CA About the Artist:
Greg Wilkie was born in Albany, NY in 1948. He spent a great deal of his youth in self-isolation, working on his drawings and water-color paintings or practicing magic. He studied mechanical drawing and art all through school and was frequently advanced to the next level. Looking back, he realized he missed out on some basic techniques since his works gave the appearance of a trained artist. Thus he worked harder outside of class to catch up. His mother recognized his talent early on and encouraged him to become a commercial artist. He could not envision such a career since there were many times he just didn’t feel like painting! And, he liked to create his own work, not what someone else told him to produce.
His mother entered many of his works in the County Fairs where he frequently received first place awards.
 
Unfortunately, his early works and awards were destroyed when his parents home burned to the ground. For years afterwards he shied away from painting and focused instead on the art of magic.
 
Reality of Life
Mr. Wilkie enlisted in the Navy at 17 and served two tours of duty in Vietnam where the idyllic life of youth suddenly evaporated. It was during that time that he became aware of the fleeting nature of life. When he returned to civilian life, nothing was the same. His older brother died suddenly in 1972 followed by his father in 1975. The compound trauma sent him into the throes of depression. He spent two decades searching for purpose in his life. While on his quest, he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Administration of Justice, a Masters in Public Administration, worked as a laborer, ambulance driver, police officer, window washer, long-haul truck driver, a BART train operator and magician. None of these activities fulfilled his soul.
 
Rebirth of the Painter
Mr. Wilkie regained his passion for painting while watching water-color artists in Thailand while he and his family were touring Southeast Asia performing magic. He was intrigued by the simplicity of the palm tree and ocean scenes and the artists’ ability to produce them quickly and with ease. Nothing ever came that easily to him.
 
He immediately got to work, sitting for hours on the floor, with brushes, paints and paper. So ended his magic interlude and the four year tour of Southeast Asia. He and his family returned to United States and made their home in California.
 
Finding Acrylics
Mr. Wilkie discovered acrylic paints and realized he had found his medium of choice. He could blend the techniques of both water-color and oil painting. He has painted on a variety of supports including glass, wood, canvas, paper and most recently mat board. He is on a quest to find durable supports that will last long into the future…
 
Mr. Wilkie is ever-concerned about preserving his works. His goal is to leave pieces of himself behind so that his descendants will be able to see the life he lived through his eyes. For him, there is only the reality of what was and what is in the moment. In his view, life is real—and that’s the way he paints it.

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