"The Immigrant's Table" comes to Orcas

Cover illustration from MaryLou Sanelli's "The Immigrant's Table"

MaryLou Sanelli and Deborah Sparks will appear in The Immigrant’s Table at Orcas Center’s OffCenter Stage on Friday, April 10 at 7:30 pm.

Based on Sanelli’s book by the same name, the staged reading is an acclaimed, spoken duet that dramatically and poetically tells a timeless story of immigration, Italian food and wine, and the weaving of Old and New Worlds in a rich cultural tapestry.

Orcas Island actress Deborah Sparks plays Sanelli’s mother, an Italian immigrant, while Sanelli portrays what it’s like coming of age as a first generation American born to Italian parents. Cultures as well as generations clash then grow close in the most Italian of settings: around a table. With humor and tenderness, Sanelli draws the audience into her life and family, and in the process reveals their long-held family recipes for a great meal and a lively family.

Performed from San Francisco to New York, The Immigrant’s Table has earned praise coast to coast, including Seattle where Lori Dillon of ArtsWest Playhouse called it “a truly wonderful experience.” Sanelli’s talents range across the arts as a dancer, choreographer, and the author of seven collections of poetry, most recently Small Talk (High Plains Press, 2008). Sanelli has also published Falling Awake (Aequitas Press, 2007), a collection of essays, which Seattle reviewer Lesley Thomas selected as “one of the most fabulous Pacific NW books.”

Deborah Sparks currently works at Orcas Center as the Theatre Productions Director overseeing all productions and Orcas Conservatory. She has been a director, playwright, actress, costume and set designer for over 40 years. She has mounted four of her original full length plays, directed and/or designed over 60 productions and occasionally acted for Orcas Center over twenty-five years. Regarding her upcoming role, Sparks said she’s delighted “to brush up on an Italian accent, put on her savvy, and play Sanelli’s mother.”

Seating is extremely limited, so patrons are strongly encouraged to purchase tickets in advance. Tickets are $10, and can be purchased online at www.orcascenter.org, by calling or visiting the Orcas Center Box Office, 376-2281 ext. 3. Artsmith, a non-profit to support the arts, and Kangaroo House Bed and Breakfast assisted Orcas Center in bringing MaryLou Sanelli and The Immigrant’s Table to Orcas Island.