What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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MONICA HOOPER NWA Democrat-Gazette S teve Mackey didn't look far for the actress who would play his mother in the musical theater production, "Memoir," based on his mother's life. Turns out the nanny for his children was the best choice. Mackey brings his mother's story to the Walton Arts Center stage for its world premiere at 7 p.m. May 18 during the Artosphere Festival. Natalie Christa, who will narrate Mackey's mother Elaine, hails from Western Pennsylvania, and her personality reminded Mackey of his mother. A former actress and singer, she went from working for his family as a nanny to "chief of staff" to Mackey and his wife, Sarah Kirkland Snider, who is also an acclaimed composer. "[Christa] is doing an amazing job. Turns out that the piece is a real tour de force for the narrator, and she's killing it," he enthuses. "She is born to be on stage. She is just such a natural, and the fact that she cares about our family so much, I think, gives it a little bit even more depth." For the "extraordinary story of an ordinary life," Mackey says that he could find musicality in the first lines of the narration: "My name after two marriages and one divorce is Elaine Ethel Austland Carter Austland Mackey." As Christa delivers the line in the trailer, her words are punctuated by the percussion from Arx Duo while the narration flows with string arrangements from Dover Quartet. While composing the piece, the Grammy Award- winning composer says, "I would have her read bits of the text so I can get the timing, and I found that I was really composing around her rhythm and not only the timing, but just the more detailed aspects of her rhythm and the pitch of her voice." He adds that the "wonderful direction from Mark Dechiazza," "brings out a lot of humor. And in the way Natalie, as my mom, interacts with the video projections of my actual mom is really MAY 8-14, 2022 WHAT'S UP! 5 FAQ 'Memoir' WHEN — 7 p.m. May 18 WHERE — Starr Theater at Walton Arts Center INFO — Tickets are $15-$25 at waltonartscenter.org/arto- sphere/steve-mackeys-memoir BONUS — Watch an excerpt from Steve Mackey's "Memoir" here: nwaonline. com/58memoir/ SEE THE FULL TRAILER HERE — nwaonline.com/58trailer/ FYI Artosphere Week 2 May 11 Artosphere Film Series pres- ents "Little Shop of Horrors," 8:30 p.m. at Prairie Street Live, 509 W. Prairie St., Fayetteville. Free, but reservations required. May 13 Artosphere Film Series pres- ents "Children of the Sea," 7 p.m., at Mount Sequoyah's Bailey Center, 150 N. Skyline Drive, Fayetteville. Free, but reservations required. May 15 Crystal Bridges Garden Party with Artosphere Festival Orchestra, noon, at Crystal Bridges Museum of Ameri- can Art. Free; no reservations required. May 18 World Premiere of Steve Mack- ey's "Memoir" performed by Dover Quartet, Arx Duo and Natalie Christa, Starr Theater at Walton Arts Center. Tickets $15-$25. See Artosphere Page 6 Ordinary Life, Extraordinary Story Mackey's 'Memoir' sets his mother's story to music Grammy Award-winning composer Steve Mackey will present, "Memoir," based on his mother's life, during the Artosphere Festival at 7 p.m. May 18 at the Starr Theater at Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville. He says that the memoir is both his mother's story and his. (Courtesy Photo) ARTOSPHERE