Name: Jeff Hoyt set to deliver a speech that put Vashon on the map | Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber
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Jeff Hoyt set to deliver a speech that put Vashon on the map | Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

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Skip to contentSign OutSign InSubscribeNewsletterContact UsSign OutSign In60°FA civic booster waxing eloquently about the charms of Vashon, an array of local talent, and the power of small-town residents to determine their own fate: all these elements are part of a new production, “It’s Vashon Isle,” set for four performances Oct. 13-15, at Vashon Center for the Arts.The show, conceived by and starring well-known islander Jeff Hoyt, will be filled out by a rotating cast of almost 40 local musicians and other special guests, building a bridge between Vashon one hundred years ago and now.“It’s a show about us, and how we roll when change is afoot,” Hoyt said in an interview last week.Onstage for much of the duration of “It’s Vashon Isle,” Hoyt will ricochet between a portrayal of P. Monroe Smock, the owner, editor and publisher of the Vashon Island News-Record from 1921 to 1928, and the real-life role Hoyt has played on the island for many years: insightful Voice of Vashon host and interviewer.In each of the four performances Hoyt, donning snappy 1920s menswear including a bowler hat, will bring to life a remarkable historical document — a script for a radio broadcast that was created and performed by Smock in 1926.The script, unearthed by Mike Sudduth, Smock’s grandson and board member of the Vashon Heritage Museum, has long fascinated Hoyt, who said he immediately envisioned a show centered around the speech when he first read it, almost two decades ago.The radio broadcast by Smock, promoting the wonders of Vashon, could well have been the first-ever radio infomercial, according to Hoyt.In the broadcast, Smock delivered a rosy and often hilariously over-the-top oratory aimed at attracting new residents to Vashon during a time when the island sorely needed to boost its economy.Smock invited island musicians to perform with him on the broadcast and offered prizes to listeners — including live chickens — if they wrote to the News-Record in response to the show.The pitch worked, Hoyt said.Hundreds of letters poured into the newspaper’s office, expressing curiosity about all things Vashon, and praising Smock’s flowery speech. It is likely, Hoyt added, that some current residents on the island are descendants of those who moved to Vashon after heeding Smock’s call.So what does all that have to do with Vashon now?According to Hoyt, plenty.“It’s Vashon Isle” is structured as a dialogue between now and then, with each performance including a sit-down interview with island historian Bruce Haulman by Hoyt.Other interviewees, appearing in different performances, will include Vashon HouseHold board member Gedney Barclay, Chamber of Commerce director Amy Drayer, and Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber editor Alex Bruell and reporter Elizabeth Shepherd — all talking about present-day challenges that the island faces, including crises in ferry service and affordable housing which severely impact residents and local businesses.These interviews will provide “the connective tissue between now and then, as a way of demonstrating that the more things change, the more they stay the same,” Hoyt said. “As an island community, we are constantly being pushed on, but we have always found ways to tackle every problem we face.”The show will also joyously celebrate another everlasting aspect of Vashon — its vibrant creative community.Each of the show’s four performances will feature different musical guests and performers.The all-star roster includes Kat Eggleston, the strummers and crooners of The Coop, Rusty Willoughby and Jennifer Potter, Chris Ballew, Vashon Island Chorale, Steffon Moody, Kevin Joyce, Mark Graham and Susan Lewis, the Famous Filson Sisters, and the bands, Alchemy and Tim Couldn’t Make It.Hoyt will also welcome some of his cast mates from the original “Church of Great Rain” production — a beloved variety show that ran on the island from 2009-2012.Corralling all these elements of “It’s Vashon Isle” into place is Charlotte Tiencken, the founder and director of Vashon Repertory Theatre, as well as a decades-long friend and collaborator of Hoyt.Along with his wife Cindy, Hoyt had a hand in Tiencken’s presence on Vashon, since they urged her to move to the Northwest years ago.Hoyt said he feels an eerie connection to Smock, calling him the original “Voice of Vashon.”Smock —a Pennsylvania-born go-getter who worked his way west to Vashon — not only purchased the island’s newspaper but also quickly established himself as a pillar of the community, serving on the school board, presiding over ribbon-cutting events, and leading other civic groups.Hoyt — a deejay turned voice artist who moved to the island in the late 1990s, after living in Seattle for several years, and Arkansas before that — found almost immediate celebrity and a sense of purpose on Vashon, helping to found Voice of Vashon and as well as supporting many other local causes.“P. Monroe was just like me,” Hoyt said. “He emceed the openings of Water District 19, and the North and Sound end ferry docks — he was there whenever the community needed someone to stand up and introduce something. I came to the island and within a year, I was hosting the groundbreaking for Vashon Community Care, and emceeing the Strawberry Festival Parade within three years. Then I did the spelling bee for years.”Hoyt said he had also summoned a bit of Smock’s boosterism to secure generous sponsorship of “It’s Vashon Isle” from a host of island businesses: Ace Hardware, Island Lumber, Vashon Pharmacy, Windermere Vashon, Vashon Thriftway, Puget Sound Energy, and Sawbones.This support, Hoyt said, will make it possible for all proceeds from the show to benefit Vashon Heritage Museum and Voice of Vashon.“Every single person said yes,” Hoyt said, adding that funding from these sponsors will also make it possible for islanders who want to come to multiple performances of the show to purchase discounted tickets after buying one regularly priced ticket. Each night of the show will be different, he points out.The show will not be videotaped, but it will be recorded for a future radio presentation on Voice of Vashon, Hoyt said — bringing the show full circle back from how Smock first conceived it all in 1926.Though Hoyt has long wanted to create a show based on Smock’s radio address, he said he feels that now is the right time for the mix of high humor, history, and hard questions included in “It’s Vashon Isle.”“There are people who are saying that [living here] won’t work for them anymore,” he said. “We’re at a reckoning point. I can only assume we’re going to figure it out — because we always do. We always try our best to fix whatever is coming our way.”Find out more and get tickets at vashoncenterforthearts.org.Sign UpNewsPlease ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Skip to contentSign OutSign InSubscribeNewsletterContact UsSign OutSign In60°FA civic booster waxing eloquently about the charms of Vashon, an array of local talent, and the power of small-town residents to determine their own fate: all these elements are part of a new production, “It’s Vashon Isle,” set for four performances Oct. 13-15, at Vashon Center for the Arts.The show, conceived by and starring well-known islander Jeff Hoyt, will be filled out by a rotating cast of almost 40 local musicians and other special guests, building a bridge between Vashon one hundred years ago and...

Jeff Hoyt set to deliver a speech that put Vashon on the map | Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

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