A spirit of exploration at BPA

Published 4:00 pm Saturday, November 4, 2006

The new ‘Word Series’ opens with a presentation on Lewis and Clark.

If the pioneer spirit is passed down from generation to generation, Michael Laine got his fair share of the family trait.

Laine is the founder and president of the LiftPort, a company that is working on an elevator designed to send people and cargo into space.

He also happens to be a descendent of famed American explorer Meriwether Lewis.

On Nov. 7, Laine will give a presentation on his cutting edge work as part of Bainbridge Performing Arts’ new Word Series. Entitled “The Spirit of Discovery,” the event marks the 201st anniversary of the Lewis and Clark’s expedition’s first view of the Pacific Ocean.

“This presentation is really timely because we are moving into a period where we have already done a major exploration of the space around us, and now we are talking about inhabiting that space,” said Christopher Shainin, managing director of BPA.

Laine will discuss his project, which has been featured in national news for it’s entry in NASA’s Centennial Challenge Space Elevator Games.

Laine’s presentation is the second of seven in the Word Series, one of several new exciting series scheduled for BPA’s 50th season.

The introductory series is designed to diversify BPA’s programming while celebrating its anniversary. Already, BPA members have noticed increased interaction with people who had previously been strangers to the theater.

BPA decided to produce the monthly series after learning that artists and writers needed a venue to present their spoken and written word.

“Our goal is to tap into the creative impulses of the community,” Shainin said.

Audience questions and feedback will be an integral element to every Word Series production. BPA has enlisted Former Director of Humanities Washington and artist Hidde Van Duym to moderate two presenter / audience discussions.

By helping the audience to focus on a particular set of topics and encouraging more questions, Van Duym’s participation will enhance the audience’s experience.

“The hope for this series is that we will provide an opportunity for artists and audiences to interact and to do it on an intimate scale,” Shainin said. To promote intimacy, all of the presentations will take place in the theater lobby or hallway, spaces that have long been used for chamber music performances.

On Nov. 7, the informal audience participation will follow Laine’s PowerPoint talk on the nanotechnology and robotics involved in his endeavor. Attendees will also have the opportunity to purchase a signed copy of Laine’s book, “LiftPort – Space Elevator: Opening Space to Everyone.”

“Whenever there is the reception of new work, the audience needs to have the context in order to receive the work,” Shainin said.

For this reason, the Word Series presentations will be intentionally paired with an upcoming event, art work, or literary work. While October’s presentation and discussion preceded Island Theatre’s performance of an Ibsen play, the approaching evening will provide the context for Laine’s book.

“It’s a great opportunity for people to learn more about this very exciting project and the technologies involved,” Shainin said. “We’re honoring a moment of discovery.”

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Words of wonder

Celebrate “The Spirit of Discovery” at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 7 at the Bainbridge Performing Arts Playhouse. Tickets are $5; call 842-8569 or see www.theplayhouse.org.