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Posts Tagged ‘Chelsea Randall’

Big talent, big reward!!

Posted in A freakin' American hero, tagged , , , , on August 10, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   Chelsea Randall, woman of 1,001 talents (and soon, some Emmy awards … or maybe a Tony. Yeah, probably a Tony). (Kelsey Simmons photo)

   Karla Crouch (center) and crew mates on the set of “The Adventures of Captain Callie.” (WhidbeyTV photo)

There are a lot of people in this world who can do one thing, and some of those have a fair amount of talent in their chosen field.

But it’s rare, truly rare, when one person can do five, six, maybe 20 different things — all at once — and excel at each and every one of them.

Chelsea Randall, who put up with me for three years back when we worked together in the restaurant biz, is flat out the most talented person I know on a personal basis.

She always deserved so much more than what she was getting, and that makes it even sweeter to see her being rewarded, finally, for her talent, her drive and her genius.

Chelsea’s new TV show, The Adventures of Captain Callie, a musical, nautical-themed children’s adventure which she created, wrote, choreographed and composed, hits the airwaves next Wednesday, Aug. 16.

Starring Karla Crouch as the titular character, the series follows Captain Callie and her young crew mates as they explore Whidbey Island, a song on their lips and adventure in their hearts.

The show will play at 8 AM and 4 PM on WhidbeyTV, channel 501, or if you’re not in their broadcast area, pop over and stream it at http://whidbeytv.com/

To get a feel of what the show will look and sound like, take a gander at the preview:

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Believe the Rumors!!

Posted in Culture? What the what?!?!, tagged , , , , on March 24, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Quality theater on Whidbey? Believe the rumors.

Elizabeth Herbert

Elizabeth Herbert is a busy bee.

Bouncing from production to production, the prodigiously-talented South Whidbey resident could be referred to as an actress/writer/director/acting coach, but that would miss out on about 23 other jobs she’s had in the worlds of theater and TV.

After directing City of Angels at the Whidbey Island Center for the Arts in 2014, Herbert spent a year working on a show in Las Vegas.

Between then and now, she penned a full-length comedy which became a finalist in a New York competition and worked with daughter Chelsea Randall on a children’s TV show.

Herbert worked as an acting coach on the pirate-themed musical The Adventures of Captain Callie, which Randall created and wrote for WhidbeyTV.

In the near future, Herbert plans to direct a pair of one-act plays, teach summer acting classes and mount a production of To Kill a Mockingbird at the Driftwood Playhouse in Edmonds.

Oh, and she’s also currently writing a sitcom.

Somehow, in the middle of the hurricane, Herbert has carved out time to direct the Neil Simon farce Rumors, which runs at WICA Mar. 31-Apr. 15.

The play, which ran 535 performances on Broadway in the late ’80s, winning a Tony for Christine Baranski, is set at an anniversary dinner party.

Things quickly fall apart as gunshots, a car accident and much verbal back-stabbing replace dinner as everyone’s focus.

Herbert has long wanted to bring the play to vibrant life.

“I proposed Rumors to WICA a few years ago, before we entered the surreal world in which we are currently living,” Herbert said. “It was a funny play written by a favorite playwright of mine, Neil Simon; it was also a farce, which I love to direct.”

Farce uses an emphasis on characters taking themselves over seriously, intensified body energy and big/wild characterizations, which makes it even more appropriate in the cracked world we currently inhabit.

“Timing is everything,” Herbert said. “Now you can see how RELEVANT this silly, funny play has become.”

The cast for the production includes:

Brian Burroughs
Jim Carroll
Gail Liston
David Mayer
Christina Parker
Megan Parker
Nicole Parnell
Brian Plebanek
Kathy Stanley
Ken Stephens

For ticket info, pop over to:

https://www.wicaonline.org/events-calendar-view/2017/3/31/rumors

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Shine on, Tiny Dancer!!

Posted in A freakin' American hero, Dance, tagged , , , , , on September 3, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Chelsea Randall, the early days. (Photo courtesy Savannah Randall)

Chelsea Randall, the early days. (Photo courtesy Savannah Randall)

Still wonderful.

Still wonderful. (Kelsey Simmons photo)

I knew the half-whispered legends, but had never seen real evidence.

At least not until I got up with a headache at 3 AM in the morning and, boom, there it was in the form of a surprise email from her younger sister.

Suddenly, the stories of the early days of Chelsea Randall actually took solid form.

The most talented person I know, captured during her early days as a dance prodigy. Her smile lighting up the world, her love of dance exploding out of a photo from the past.

Before Chelsea became a choreographer, writer, director, editor and a billion other things. Before she became the petite ball o’ fire who lights up the world every day, none more so than in the moments leading up to her 30th birthday Wednesday.

Many in Coupeville will know her as the manager at Christopher’s on Whidbey, a job she handles with great grace under pressure.

A select few will know all that she has accomplished in her life leading up to this day. Her resume, which she rarely discusses, is the stuff of legend.

Springing from a family deeply immersed in the entertainment industry, headed up by grandfather Pitt Herbert, who acted with everyone from Jimmy Stewart to Elvis, Chelsea is born to show biz.

Her mom, Elizabeth Herbert, her dad, Phil Randall, and her lil’ sis, Savannah Randall, all actively involved in theater.

Her parents have spent the summer in Vegas, working nightly on a highly-successful production of “Menopause: The Musical” that’s playing at the Luxor on the Strip.

I could go on and on, detailing Chelsea’s brilliance and talent, but, since she is not fond of self-promotion, let’s leave it at this — she is amazing.

In every way, every day, her light shines across the world and makes it a wonderful place.

I hope her birthday is as awesome as she is.

And the photo? Better than Excedrin.

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They put the zing in Amazing!!

Posted in stats, tagged , , , , on July 15, 2014| Leave a Comment »

The most clicked-on photo in Coupeville Sports history.

The most clicked-on photo in Coupeville Sports history.

Chelsea Randall, Mistress of Awesome

Chelsea Randall, Mistress of Awesome (Kelsey Simmons photo)

Savanna Dohner, Mistress of Awesome, Jr. (Jenn Dohner photo)

Savanna Dohner, Mistress of Awesome, Jr. (Jenn Dohner photo)

Someone keep an eye on this Chelsea Randall kid, cause she’s about to break all the records.

The most talented person I know, the dancer/choreographer/writer/director/editor/restaurant manager/ferocious cookie eater/owner of the awesomeness gene has the second most-viewed ad on Coupeville Sports, and she’s done it in less than two months.

And it’s not even really an ad.

One day, when I had too much time on my hands, I put up a fake ad for the Chelsea Randall Fan Club (cause, as I said, she’s awesome) and people started clickin’ on it on a regular basis.

What did they find when they did?

One of the best photos I’ve ever seen, a pic that captures Chelsea and her very talented younger sister Savannah when they were just gettin’ going on rulin’ the world.

So, take a moment. Go over to the right side of this page and click on the ad. It’s right there under Sherman’s Pioneer Farm.

OK, you’re back? See, don’t you feel better about life in general now that you basked in the patented Randall Awesome Glow ™?

Yes, yes you do. You’re welcome.

So, anyway, as I hit 23 months of doing this blog tomorrow, I decided to take a look at my stats. I do it from time to time. As I said, I have a LOT of time on my hands, now that I’m out of the dish pit.

And what did I find, other than confirmation that Chelsea is popular?

I found that the top photo above, a collage of female CHS athletes, is the number one most clicked-on photo in the history of Coupeville Sports.

The infamous Brian Norris-provided boys’ shower pic that I’m haunted by on a daily basis (“shower boys” brings folks my way EVERY DAY and I don’t think they’re finding what they’re looking for…) is #4 all-time.

So, there’s that…

Most viewed ad of all-time?

Kelsey Simmons Design, but Chelsea’s comin’ up fast on the outside. Gazing In (my sister’s blog), Island Jenn and the B & B at Crockett Farms round out the top five.

By coincidence, a story about Kelsey’s dog, Sitka, going on a walkabout (she was found after a bizarre 36-hour adventure) is my highest-rated story about an animal. #26 all-time (out of 2,234 stories).

What are people searching for when the web brings them my way?

“Cold water challenge” is by far the runaway winner, and, of course, “shower boys.” Yes, thank you Brian…

Most searched athlete? It’s Aaron Curtin, followed by Wiley Hesselgrave, Kwamane Bowens, Nick Streubel and the Luvera sisters, Ana and Ivy.

Iris Ryckaert (at #6) is the most-searched foreign athlete, and former CHS volleyball coach Kim Meche is the most-searched non-athlete, closely followed by Wolf mom Amy Briscoe, former coaches Henry Pope and Paul Mendes and (her again) Chelsea Randall.

When you break down the stories, four of my ten most-viewed articles were centered around polls, with the recent battle royal for the banner photo at the top of the blog my #1 story (by a HUGE margin).

CJ Smith for the win.

Also making the top ten, my exclusives on the woman behind the “I Support the OLF” movement and my most controversial story of all time, the tale of Hayley Newman walking out on the South Whidbey girls’ basketball team — still the only story where I eventually had to freeze the comment section.

Memories. Sweet, sweet, profanity-riddled memories…

If we’re talking about feature stories, the old guard holds up well, with five of the ten most-viewed being stories about former Wolf greats.

Brad Sherman, Sherry (Bonacci) Roberts, Mike Engle, Jerry Helm and Mitch Aparicio — gone, but never forgotten.

The single most-viewed feature of all time, though? Not an athlete and proof that, from time to time, it pays to branch outside of my main area of coverage.

Savanna Dohner, bass player of the Gods, holds off Wolf football/soccer star Brett Arnold and GU18 Whidbey Islanders soccer ace Jacalyn Hefflefinger to claim the #1 feature, and she sits at a very impressive #12 all-time.

And what does that prove? People respect talent.

What about me? I am thrilled to provide people a chance to catch a glimmer of greatness, to get a moment with supernovas like Savanna Dohner and Chelsea Randall.

But, at the end of the day, of the 2,234 articles, if I have to pick one, I go with this one starring Caleb Valko and Hunter Hammer:

https://coupevillesports.com/2013/01/30/caleb-valko-wants-your-sweet-sweet-cupcakes/

Cause it still makes me laugh every time.

But then, I’m easy and I have a lot of time on my hands.

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Buy a ticket, unleash the smile!!

Posted in A freakin' American hero, Drama, Not sports? Tough!, tagged , , , , , on February 21, 2014| Leave a Comment »

It's like sunshine flows from every pore in Chelsea Randall's face. (Kelsey Simmons photo)

It’s like sunshine flows from every pore in Chelsea Randall’s face. (Kelsey Simmons photo)

Savannah (left) and Chelsea Randall, early in their careers.

Savannah (left) and Chelsea Randall, early in their careers.

Chelsea Randall has a smile that lights up the world.

Not just the room she’s in, or the city outside that room, or the continental U.S., but the entire freakin’ globe. It’s a documented fact.

Seriously.

Scientists in Oslo have determined that one smile from Ms. Randall can cure entire villages of depression, malcontentedness and you-look-like-you-have-a-stick-up-your-rear syndrome and are debating flying her into war-torn countries as a one-woman USO tour shooting joy from her dimples.

It’s Nobel Prize-worthy research, really.

For the next two nights, you, the person reading this article as you try to open your eyes and stuff some cereal in your face, can help make the sunniness bloom in her cheeks. Can make her eyes twinkle like the stars set free from the heavens.

It’s simple.

Slap down a few bucks and see Whidbey Island Center for the Arts production of “City of Angels” as it plays its final two shows.

Fill the seats, from the floor to the back row and reward the show’s supremely-talented choreographer/assistant director (and everyone else involved in the creation of an intricate, wildly entertaining musical comedy) for the countless hours she has poured into giving Whidbey a slice of Broadway in its own backyard.

Chelsea, working with mom Elizabeth Herbert (director) and lil’ sis Savannah Randall (one of the show’s leading ladies with Karla Crouch and Deana Duncan) has taken a show that won multiple Tony Awards and injected her own brand of sassy dance into it, bringing new life to the already-strong music.

The show is fast-talkin’ and high-swingin’ for the fences, and the untold hours she and her cohorts have poured into the show need to be rewarded.

Of course, you could wait until Chelsea ends up on the Great White Way, as a writer or choreographer, and go buy a ticket to see her work then.

Or, you could make your wallet happy and spring for a ticket now and still have some bucks left over for dinner or drinks pre-or-post-show.

You’re smart. You’re reading this story, after all. So the decision is easy.

Unleash the smile.

BUY TICKETS at:

http://wicaonline.com/2013-2014/CITYOFANGELS.html

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