Leading up to the premier of THESE STREETS at ACT Theatre in February 2013, TPR is releasing weekly online interview segments from the oral history portion of this project. The full length versions of these interviews will be archived at the University of Washington. This first interview, filmed at TPR, features Vanessa Veselka of the former band, BELL.
The Project Room's Jess Van Nostrand and THESE STREETS co-creator Gretta Harley interview musician and Pen/Bingham Award winning writer, Vanessa Veselka about her experience of Seattle's music scene in the 90's.. THESE STREETS is both an original theatre piece, and a historical addendum about the nearly forgotten women musicians in Seattle during the famed grunge years. Created by Stranger Genius Award winner, theatre maker and actress Sarah Rudinoff; and rock musician, Cornish College of the Arts' faculty member and composer Gretta Harley, These Streets has brought together women through rocker girl dinners, cocktail parties and filmed interviews. The University of Washington will house the oral histories in their library. THE PROJECT ROOM is a gathering place and online platform dedicated to asking questions about contemporary life. Through a dynamic collection of artistic public programs that focus on works-in-progress, The Project Room presents work, ideas, and people that demonstrate the relevance of creativity in everyday life. projectroomseattle.org video by wes hurley weshurley.com
About Vanessa: Besides being a guitar player, singer and songwriter, Vanessa has been at various times a teenage runaway, an expatriate, a union organizer, and a student of paleontology. Her debut novel, Zazen, won the 2012 PEN/Bingham prize for fiction. Vanessa’s music is featured in THESE STREETS along with songs from other women in forthcoming interviews. As a single mom to a nine year-old daughter, Vanessa talks here about the social stigma that exists for young girls who retreat into solitude to learn how to play an instrument, and how necessary that isolation is for a budding artist. It’s a fascinating interview!
Filming by Wes Hurley
Interview conducted at The Project Room by TPR Founder Jess Van Nostrand- October 19, 2012