The Great Beyond
A sea-themed variety show on Herman Melville's birthday
It’s back!!!
The FrizzLit variety show (formerly called the Gertrude Stein Salon) is BACK and better than ever — with a new name, a new theme, and a new venue.
Its new name is The Great Beyond.
The idea is…
Give a dozen artists a deadline and see what they create.
Category is: the sea. Or: whales. Or: the color blue. Or: Herman Melville.
The date is Melville’s birthday. Thursday, August 1, 2024 is the Moby-Dick author’s 205th birthday.
The venue is the Erickson Theatre on Capitol Hill — 1524 Harvard Avenue.
The poster
FrizzLit’s logo and website designer — and all-around visual genius — Corianton Hale created the new look!
The name is Made with Bacon.
The line-up includes actors, writers, musicians, and storytellers.
Scroll down for more detail on each artist.
The lineup
Tomo Nakayama is a singer, songwriter, composer, producer, actor, and curator. He was born in Japan and raised in Seattle.
Sarah Rudinoff is an actress, singer, and writer whose new album Together is a love letter to artistic collaboration. She was born in Hawaii and trained in London.
Quinn Franzen is a poet. He is also an actor in film, theater, and television. He was born in Hawaii, did a lot of stage work in Seattle, and now lives in Brooklyn.
Adam Haws is the Orpheus of book club — listen to his Dracula and Metamorphoses music. He wrote the FrizzLit Podcast theme and lives near Lake Sammamish.
Heather McHugh is a poet who lives on the Salish Sea. Book clubbers know that poem about Echo & Narcissus, and that essay on Vesalius. She is also a photographer.
Rebecca Brown is a novelist, essayist, short story writer, podcast guest, opera critic, and friend of squirrels. She is currently leading the Melville book club.
Julia Sweeney is an actress, comedian, and writer best known for her film and TV work. She grew up in Spokane, went to UW, lives in Los Angeles, and has a Substack.
George Meyer is a playwright and humorist who was educated in biochemistry at Harvard. He lives near the Space Needle.
John Roderick is a singer, songwriter, essayist, podcaster, and bon vivant who was born in Seattle but raised in Anchorage. He lives on the island of Patreon.
Paul Matthew Moore is the piano player for the Silent Reading Party. He’s also a composer of film scores and the music director of UW’s dance program.
Debbie Miller is a songwriter from New York who lives in Seattle. Recent music includes the EP Heron and the song “You Should Sign Up to Kill a Whale.”
Audrey Van Buskirk is an editor, writer, and food critic who lives in Portland, Oregon. She is descended from body-snatchers.
Plus — posters by Kathryn Rathke!!
In keeping with the name The Great Beyond, a selection of Kathryn Rathke portraits of dead authors — full color, printed 13”x16” — are available at this variety show.
James Baldwin’s birthday is the night before the show, on July 31.
Posters are $20 each if purchased on site at the event, but only $10 each if included with your ticket price.
These posters — plus Charles Dickens — will be available:
I can't make the trip, but I do want to support you, Christopher, so I'm purchasing a ticket :)
POSTERS! I want them all!