Calamity Jayne
Photo credit: Steven Wyble / Nisqually Valley News

Jayne from The Triad Theater in Yelm has more than a colorful past that brought her to the Nisqually Valley. The Triad Theater is hosting an open house on Tuesday, July 8, to show off some of its offerings.

Calamity Jayne has been the owner/operator of Yelm’s TRIAD Theater for 3 years, having restored community theater and events in the Wolf Building after the closure of the Drew Harvey Theater. She was interviewed about her life’s journey and RSE’s role in leading her to Yelm.

– “Triad Hosts Open House”
“From Prison To Las Vegas: It’s Been a Long Road To Yelm for Triad’s Calamity Jayne”

From the July 3, 2014 edition of the Nisqually Valley News
By Steven Wyble

“The Wolf building is the home of Yelm’s Triad Theater, an epicenter of all things arts. Whether it’s theater, cinema, music or more, it’s been at the Triad at some point.

The theater is getting the word out with a Yelm Area Chamber of Commerce open house event 5-7 p.m. July 8. The theater is located at 102 Yelm Ave. E. and entry is through the side door.

‘The open house at the Triad Theater is an opportunity for the community to come and visit during daylight hours,’ said the Triad’s Jayne.”

“Jayne started the Triad Theater about three years ago. She brings a lifetime of experience in the arts to her role as a theater director. From her early days as a musician, to running a groundbreaking club in Las Vegas, to a stint in prison, Jayne’s spectrum of experiences have informed the richness and diversity inherent in the theater.

Jayne, whose birth name is Claudia Rae, was a performer in the 1970s. She gained the moniker ‘Calamity Jayne’ after she performed on stage under the influence of magic mushrooms someone had slipped her.”

“It was ‘What the Bleep Do We Know,’ a documentary film about quantum physics’ effects on people’s lives and produced by students of the Ramtha School of Enlightenment, that instigated Jayne’s journey to Yelm.

‘I was going, ‘Hmm, that’s very interesting hearing about all these quantum physicists and things like that.’ And that intrigued me about how … you can create your own reality.”

‘I don’t belong to any group, any affiliation with anybody,’ she added. ‘But I get influenced by a lot of things in life and I was influenced by that movie.'”

“Jayne already had ties to Washington state; her sister was a teacher at a private school in Tacoma. When she learned the makers of “What the Bleep” were based out of Yelm, she arranged a visit.

She fell in love with the community, she said. She bought a small ranch with her sisters.”

“I think the future for community theater in Yelm is very bright, but it does take community support'”
Read more
and see the video interview on the same link.