Catie Flynn Does What She Loves
Catie Flynn makes her living “the Cape Cod way” — that is, she says, doing “whatever works.” Originally from Harwich, she now lives in what she calls “Charwich,” on the Chatham-Harwich line, where she gives 20 to 30 weekly lessons on guitar, vocals, piano, and ukulele. She also gigs as a solo singer-songwriter and with Pat Croke as the duo Salted Folk.
Flynn will perform as part of the Winter Music Series at the Truro Public Library on Saturday, Dec. 14, at 2 p.m. At most of her gigs at bars and restaurants, Flynn says, she sings the blues or more upbeat, danceable songs. But at the library, she’ll perform “more intimate singer-songwriter stuff.”
“Lyrics are my number one favorite thing,” says Flynn, adding that while her style has evolved over the years from folk to jazz to Americana and back again, her passion for songwriting hasn’t changed.
Her career has also evolved. After studying vocal performance and the music business at Berklee College of Music, Flynn moved to Nashville in 2008 and toured with her Americana band, The Fireman’s Daughter. A few years later, Flynn says, she moved back to Cape Cod to be close to “friends, family, and the ocean.” This past summer, she worked as a house manager at Payomet Performing Arts Center in North Truro.
“On Cape Cod, we all have a million jobs,” she says. “Somehow, I always find a way to do what I love.”
Currently, teaching takes up a good amount of her time. She has students of all ages. “I think it’s great to take lessons as an adult,” Flynn says. “Some people were told, when they were younger, that they didn’t have a voice. And they carry that with them.” She helps build back their confidence. No matter their ages, Flynn says she likes seeing her students “letting go of their expectation of being amazing and just setting the time aside to play music.”
The performance on Saturday is free. See trurolibrary.org for information. —Eve Samaha
One Venue, Two Solo Plays
After Miranda Jonté and Neil McGarry worked together on theatrical productions last summer, they talked about scheduling their upcoming one-actor shows at the same venue. This month, Jonté will perform her autobiographical Good & Kissed at Wellfleet Preservation Hall one week before McGarry reprises his solo version of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol there.
Jonté’s 2017 Good & Kissed is based on a Facebook rant she wrote about a betrayal that caused a long-term relationship to fail and the subsequent struggle to regain her self-worth. The funny, poignant, and explicit play — which she previously performed in Orleans and Cotuit — has evolved, though, as Jonté’s perspective has changed. The finale is now a talk with the audience about how feeling physically attractive again after a breakup shouldn’t be an end goal.
“Now that I’m on the other side, I can see that doesn’t matter,” Jonté says. “What matters is ‘Do you know who you are? Do you like who you are? What have you discovered?’ ”
That change, she says, “put me far more in line with who I am now versus who I was.” New sections of the play also discuss her recent life in Texas, including dog rescue work, being “a bleeding-heart liberal in a deep red state,” and thoughts on the future. Jonté plans a new play about the effect the dogs and people who save them have had on her. “I’m ready to talk about other things,” she says.
Meanwhile, this is the 11th year that McGarry, a Hyannis native, has presented A Christmas Carol, which he will also perform Dec. 21 in Cotuit.
Both Good & Kissed and Christmas Carol are part of Wellfleet Preservation Hall’s new program director Tamara Harper’s push to produce more theater alongside its music, art, wellness, and cultural offerings. Good & Kissed is on Friday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. and A Christmas Carol is on Friday, Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. Tickets for each production are $20 at wellfleetpreservationhall.org. —Kathi Scrizzi Driscoll
A Night of the Unexpected
Stephen Russell, an actor as well as a playwright, director, and producer, first hosted Yule for Fuel in 2007. At the time, he was artistic director of WHAT for Kids at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater. There was an opening in the schedule at the theater that December. “Somebody turned to me and said, ‘You got any ideas?’” he says.
Russell has lived in Wellfleet since 1981 when his wife, Elaine McIlroy, began work as director of the Wellfleet Public Library. “It’s become apparent over the years that as beautiful as the off-season is here on the Cape, it’s a struggle for many people,” he says.
Yule for Fuel, a night of merriment and music to benefit the Lower Cape Outreach Council’s Fuel Assistance Program, aims to provide some seasonal relief. Co-hosted this year by Russell and storyteller Dick Morrill, the program includes poetry, spoken word, music, and comedy. “It’s kind of like an old-fashioned variety show,” says Russell. “Past performances have included some theater pieces and juggling.” The lineup changes year to year. “We’re never quite sure what it’s going to be,” he says.
Among other highlights, Russell says, singer-songwriter Chandler Travis will perform something called “Chandler wrapping Santa in cling film.”
“It has to be experienced,” says Russell about the act. For many years, says Russell, Travis has run an “equally memorable” holiday benefit called the Cape Cod Cavalcade, although it won’t happen this year. “I think of Chandler as Mr. Christmas on Cape Cod.”
The evening will end in a grand finale. “I have no idea what that’s going to be, either,” says Russell. “It often comes together organically on the night of the show.” Usually, the audience is invited to participate.
This year’s Yule for Fuel takes place at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater on Friday, Dec.13, at 7 p.m. The theater at WHAT seats 200, says Russell, and “I hope we fill every seat.” Tickets are $27 at what.org. —Dorothea Samaha
