When Your Hometown Theater Turns You Into a Villain

Clallam County Watchdog · Jul 22, 2026 · 45m

In a front-row seat at Olympic Theatre Arts’ 2026 Lavender Melodrama, I watched a thinly veiled caricature of myself — dressed as a floppy-eared dog — devour a bag of human excrement, sob about his lineage, and conspire with “Pioneer Pete,” a stand-in for old Sequim families who dare resist change. What began as local satire revealed itself as a deliberate character assassination, complete with direct references to my reporting on a proposed cultural access tax. The experience stung, but it also prompted deeper reflection on heritage, accountability, and what truly matters as life’s clock…