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BY SRIANTHI PERERA

GetOut Contributor

Southern California creative Ashli St. Armant had a plan to write a musical about the Underground Railroad.

She had not found the setting for it until she visited Oak Alley Plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana, where some of her ancestors worked as slaves in the 1700s. Two rows of magnificent oak trees create a grandiose front pathway and the tour guide remarked, “Can you imagine what these trees have seen and witnessed?”

“That was it for me,” St. Armant said. “My ancestors walked in, and they were like ‘we got this!’”

Her ancestors will possibly be appeased when the Chandler Center for the Arts premiers “North, The Musical” in early November.

Chandler joined three other cities nationwide to commission St. Armant’s theatrical debut, which she created and directed and sis produced by actor Isaiah Johnson of “Hamilton” and “The Color Purple”

But St. Armant has set her sights on Broadway.

A composer, musician, jazz vocalist, musical theater playwright, author and youth educator among other skills and talents, St. Armant began her career as a pre-school music teacher and soon started writing content for young audiences.

A rambunctious only child, she grew up with many children around because her mother ran a home daycare center. Musical instruments, make-believe and children’s entertainment were part of the culture of her home. She could not escape the influences of her childhood.

As a teen, she wanted to be a star on Broadway. She still feels it is within her reach, although the path has been circuitous, with a lot of distractions.

“I feel like Dorothy: she has these discoveries and makes new friends along the way, she has distractions, and feels it a waste of time, but at the end she realizes that was really the point of the journey,” she said.

“That’s how I feel about my journey towards Broadway, too. I believe it’s going to happen. I’ve had these extremely fruitful and fulfilling experiences along the way,” she added.

St. Armant is buoyed by the response to “North” so far. She drew on her multifaceted aptitudes and her creative community to assemble it and rates it as her biggest accomplishment yet.

“It’s been the biggest feat even to get it to this point,” she said. “It’s the biggest team I’ve had to build, the most money I’ve had to raise, the biggest reach in terms of the audience we’re trying to reach across the country, and also trying to get into Broadway and making those connections.” Justifiably, she is also proud of it.

“I’m proud of everything I do, but this, for sure, is the most personal thing I’ve ever created,” she said. “To see so many

Ashli St. Armant has used her multitalents, creative community and personal drive to present “North, The Musical,” which comes to the Chandler Center for the Arts in November. (Steve Lorentzen.)

seeNORTH page 41

BY COTY DOLORES MIRANDA

Contributor

Two weeks may not sound like a long time, but when Gilbert’s Hole 9 Yards owners had plans in place for a festive grand opening on Sept. 16, supply-chain issues delayed the permitting process.

That scuttled a weekend when American Cornhole League pros from around the country planned to join local aficionados of the game for a celebration. More delays ensued, but the big day finally arrived Sept. 30, when Dr. Todd Kisicki of Mesa and Queen Creek resident Nic Feinsten opened the 20,000-squarefoot venue at 868 N. Gilbert Road, where players have 26 lanes to play or watch others while sipping a beer and grabbing a burger from Hole 9 Yards’ full kitchen and bar. “We are excited that we are finally open after all the planning and preparations that have gone into the project,” Kisicki said.

Kisicki has been an enthusiastic fan of the sport, which began as an elevated form of the old bean bag tossing game and has elevated into a sport that could one day be an Olympics event.

As the owner of KB Kornhole Games, a cornhole-centric business that hosted hundreds of events throughout the Valley since its inception in 2015, Kisicki well known throughout the state as he’s hosted the Arizona State Cornhole Championships since 2016. Feinstein is an ACL-sanctioned pro who is a leader in the sport.

Last year’s state championships at Me-Todd Kisicki of Mesa, left, and Nic Feinstein of Queen Creek have put Gilbert on the map with lovers of the hugely popular outdoor game called cornhole by opening Hole 9 Yards, apparently the nation’s first indoor venue for the game. (David Minton/ Staff Photographer)

see CORNHOLE page 41

people get something out of it, to appreciate it already, and it hasn’t even really even gotten into the stage.”

How did Chandler, which is not on the path of the Underground Railroad, get involved in premiering the musical?

Michelle Mac Lennan, general manager of Chandler Center for the Arts, said that she became acquainted with St. Armant after she performed a virtual concert through the Dandelion Artists agency during the pandemic. For the concert, St. Armant was wearing the hats of childhood education specialist and artist, working as Jazzy Ash & the Leaping Lizards.

“We fell in love with her voice, immense talent, joy and energy,” Mac Lennon said.

Post-pandemic, the center met with the Dandelion Artists producer Sarah McCarthy.

“She shared Ashli’s new project and the rest, as they say, is history,” Mac Lennan said.

The Chandler Center for the Arts commissioned the musical along with the Lied Center of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California, and Playhouse “North, The Musical” marks Ashli St. Armant’s theatrical debut. (Courtesy of Audience Magnets)

Square in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Chandler Center’s agreement included aninitialinvestment of $40,000, Mac Lellan said. In turn, the CCA will host the Arizonapremiereon Nov. 4 and have rights to return the production in the 2023-24 season as part of the national tour.

“North’s” original score features jazz and Black roots music and an uplifting story set against the backdrop of the Underground Railroad, a historical network that helped slaves flee to Canada in the years before the Civil War.

The musical’s characters, Lawrence and his mother, Minnie, escape the Deep South and travel North to find freedom. They travel through Louisiana’s bayous, bustling New Orleans, and the young town of Lawrence, Kansas. The story

CORNHOLE from page 40

sa’s Bell Bank Park was organized by Kisicki and became the largest state championship cornhole event in the nation with an estimated 410 players, ages 8 to 80, competed in 15 different divisions. Now national director for the American Cornhole League, Kisicki didn’t start out aiming to be one of cornhole’s most enthusiastic advocates.

He earned his doctorate at Arizona State University in education technology and taught there until he left to focus solely on his burgeoning KB Kornhole Games business with his wife of 16 years, Erin.

This summer, he often was jetting around the country and around the world, hosting cornhole tournaments in Europe, Canada as well as South Carolina and California and overseeing more than 300 ACL directors nationwide.

He and Feinstein hatched their idea for Hole 9 Yards (H9Y) in 2019 and their concept picked up momentum during the early days of the pandemic.

By the time they opened, they not only had added a bar and full-service restaurant to their plan but also a retail section where people can buy cornhole gear and equipment.

They’re convinced they’re tapping into an activity that seems to have unlimited potential and will be making Hole 9 Yards available for league play at all skill levels, private gatherings and open-lane rentals.

When he and his wife sponsored their first commercial cornhole event on April 11, 2015, they figured their business would be strictly a part-time, weekend gig. “I had no idea KB Kornhole Games would ever evolve to where it is today,” Kisicki said.

“While it was initially meant to be something we could do as a family, I quickly realized that starting and running a business required a lot of effort and sacrifice and not everyone was in a place in their lives to dedicate the time that was needed to make it successful,” he said.

“So I ran with it, slowly growing it to a point to where it was consuming a lot of my extra time and eventually taking some of my concentration away from my full-time job.”

In December 2016, he recalled, “I decided to gamble on myself and jump all into the business, leaving the industry that I had spent the first 15 years of my adult life behind.”

Erin Kisicki left her full-time career as a director of training in behavioral health services, on Sept. 2 so both husband and wife can focus efforts on growing Hole 9 Yards, the national and international business of cornhole, and their daughter, Kora.

“Erin started the KB Kornhole business with me in 2015 but with her fulltime job, she wasn’t active in the day-today operations though she helped me run the events for the first two years,” explained Kisicki.

“After a while, her job, plus having a toddler, and then me dragging her to events every weekend, took its toll and she stepped back from KB so that we didn’t have to ship our daughter off to family every weekend.”

“Our daughter, Kora, is now 8 and wants me to give her a job at Hole 9 Yards,” he chuckled.

Kisicki partnered with Nic Feinstein of Queen Creek to lead the design, oversee the renovations and handle the business’s social media and marketing. Feinstein will

Players heave bags at Hole 9 Yards, a new indoor cornhole venue opened by a pair of the sport’s devotees, Dr. Todd Kisicki of Mesa and Nic Feinstein of Queen Creek.

(David Minton/ Staff Photographer) reflects the optimism, bravery, wonder and suspense of freedom seekers.

“North” absorbs St. Armant’s personal family stories.

She learned about the community of Maroons, people who escaped slavery but instead of traveling north, hid in the bayous of the forests. An acquaintance sent her a book, “Slavery’s Exiles,” that contained a passage about a man named Tam, a community leader who was called “the brave one.” He would work for nonslave owning plantation owners and be brave enough to collect money.

“The passage said he was enslaved on the same plantation that my family members were enslaved in, in an account from 1780. He’d run away from the St. Armand Plantation,” she said. “It was pretty shocking to read that.”

Tam became a primary character in the show.

There’s also the coincidence of her name. She had changed her name to reflect the maternal line of her family, Armand. The change was done before she read the book. The slaves took the names of their masters, but were denied the “Saint” on their name.

“I learned my last name was Armand. I see NORTH page 42

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changed it to St. Armant, the original last name from France,” she said, reflecting the French Saint Armand, the patron saint of beer, wine making and hospitality.

Because of these and various other chance occurrences, St. Armant feels a spiritual connection to the show she is creating.

“I don’t think it’s by accident that this information came to me, that he (Tam) was also enslaved in a plantation that my family members were also enslaved on,” she said. “And because of the nature of our history here in the States, we really don’t know our family lineage past four or five generations max because our history was erased for us, our last names were taken, and all that.”

“I can’t know for sure, but I think I know,” she continued. “At the very least, he shares an experience that my ancestors have also experienced on the same land.”

help spread the word of cornhole, H9Y and industry news affecting Arizona.

“I never really needed to market with KB Kornhole Games with most of my events coming from referrals, but now with a large venue and most time slots to fill, Nic fills a void with his strong skill set that gives us a dedicated social media and marketing plan to attract new people to the sport,” said Kisicki.

As national director for the American Cornhole League, international expansion is Kisicki’s focal point. A goal of that expansion is prepping the way as a future sport in the Olympics.

If that seems a reach, consider skateboarding, surfing, sport climbing and now breakdancing – all Olympic competitive events. It takes some doing to be included, said Kisicki.

“To be considered for involvement in the Olympics, a sport must be widely practiced by men in at least 75 countries and on four continents, and by women in no fewer than 40 countries and on three continents.

To see that cornhole is established in other countries is a major task for Kisicki.

“One of my roles with the American Cornhole League is international development, and working with cornhole leaders in other countries to develop competitive cornhole in their countries.,” he said.

“My role with the ACL is to help develop the competitive side of the sport in these countries. There’s also the WCO – the World Cornhole Organization – and they’re the ones who are responsible for getting the sport to the Olympics,” said Kisicki, currently a board member with the nonprofit WCO.

“Cornhole is a universal sport that anyone can play,” said Kisicki. “The wonderful part of the sport is that you can have young children, women, men and seniors all playing in the same event with no competitive advantage.”

Televising cornhole has already proved a successful draw. ESPN and their related channels began broadcasting cornhole tournaments in 2017, and in early September, CBS covered an ACL Pro Shootout Tournament during prime time.

Even with the success of competitive tournaments, Kisicki cleaves to the tagline he originated in 2015 for KB Kornhole: “Bringing people together, one kornhole at a time.”

He said he’s seen newcomers come to give the sport a try-out, then continue coming to events as they make new friends and become a part of a community of enthusiasts.

The H9Y owners hope the 26 lanes at their H9Y Gilbert venue will expand that community with people of all ages and skill levels.

Information: Hole9Yards.com.

What: “North: The Musical” When: 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4 and 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Nov. 5. Where: Chandler Center for the Arts, 250 N. Arizona Ave., Chandler. Tickets: $32 and $42, $15 for youth. Information/sales: chandlercenter. org/north or 480-782-2680.

10 a.m. Oct. 22 at Chandler Public Library: “The Underground and Overground Railroad” presented by Dr. Tamika Sanders. Nov. 4 I the Gallery of the Chandler Center for the Arts, opening night cast reception after show for ticketholders. Nov. 5 at CCA: “North: The Musical Talk Backs,” following both the Saturday performances.

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NOTICE OF COURT HEARING Case No. 21CH010281 1. Petitioner (Employer) a. Name: CITY OF SAN JOSE Lawyer for Petitioner Name: YUE-HAN CHOW State Bar No.: 268266 Firm Name: OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY, CITY OF SAN JOSE b. Address: 200 EAST SANTA CLARA STREET, 16TH FLOOR City: SAN JOSE State: CA Zip: 95113 Telephone: (408) 535-1900 Fax: (408) 998-3131 E-Mail Address: cao.main@san joseca.gov 2. Employee in Need of Protection Full Name: AMBER ZENK 3. Respondent (Person From Whom Protection Is Sought) Full Name: WILLIAM GARBETT 4. Notice of Hearing A court hearing is scheduled on the request for restraining orders against the respondent Hearing Date 11/30/2021 Time: 9:00AM Dept.: 4 5. Temporary Restraining Orders a. Temporary Restraining Orders for personal conduct and stay away orders as requested in Form WV-100, Request for Workplace Violence Restraining Orders, are: (1) All GRANTED until the court hearing. 6. Service of Documents by the Petitioner At least five days before the hearing, someone age 18 or older–not you or anyone to be protected–must personally give (serve) a court file-stamped copy of this Form WV109, Notice of Court Hearing, to the respondent along with a copy of all the forms indicated below: a. WV-100, Petition for Workplace Violence Restraining Orders (filestamped) b. WV-110, Temporary Restraining Order (file-stamped) IF GRANTED c. WV-120, Response to Petition for Workplace Violence Restraining Orders (blank form) d. WV-120-INFO, How Can I Respond to a Petition for Workplace Violence Restraining Orders? e. WV-250, Proof of Service of Response by Mail (blank form) Date: 09/20/2021 /S ERIK S. JOHNSON To the Petitioner - The court cannot make the restraining orders after the court hearing unless the respondent has been personally given (served) a copy of your request and any temporary orders. To show that the respondent has been served, the person who served the forms must fill out a proof of service form. Form WV-200, Proof of Personal Service, may be used. - For information about service, read Form WV-200- NFO, What Is "Proof of Personal Service"? - If you are unable to serve the respondent in time, you may ask for more time to serve the documents. Use Form WV-115, Request to Continue Court Hearing and to Reissue Temporary Restraining Order. To the Respondent - If you want to respond to the request for orders in writing, file Form WV-120, Response to Request for Workplace Violence Restraining Orders, and have someone age 18 or older–not you or anyone to be protect–mail it to the petitioner. - The person who mailed the form must fill out a proof of service form. FormWV-250, Proof of Service of Response by Mail, may be used. File the completed form with the court before the hearing and bring a copy with you to the court hearing. - Whether or not you respond in writing, go to the hearing if you want the judge to hear from you before making an order. You may tell the judge why you agree or disagree with the orders requested. - You may bring witnesses or other evidence. - At the hearing, the judge may make restraining orders against you that could last up to three years and may order you to sell or turn in any firearms that you own or possess. Request for Accommodations Assistive listening systems, computer assisted real-time captioning, or sign language interpreter services are available if you ask at least five days before the hearing. Contact the clerk's office or go to www.courts.ca.gov/formsfor Request for Accommodations by Persons with Disabilities and Response (Form MC- 410). (Civ. Code, § 54 8) ORDER ON REQUEST TO CONTINUE HEARING Case Number: 21CH010281 Superior Court of California, County of SANTA CLARA 191 N. FIRST STREET, SAN JOSE, CA 95113, DOWNTOWN SUPERIOR COURT 1. Petitioner (Employer) CITY OF SAN JOSE 2. Respondent WILLIAM GARBETT 3. Next Court Date b. The request to reschedule the court date is granted. Your court date is rescheduled for the day and time listed below. See 4-8 for more information. New Court Date 12/06/2022 Time: 9AM 4. Temporary Restraining Order b. A Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) is still in full force and effect. (1) The court extends the TRO previously granted on 09/20/2021. It now expires on (at the end of the court date listed in 3b). Warning and Notice to the Respondent If 4b is checked, a temporary restraining order has been issued against you. You must follow the orders until they expire. 5. Reason Court Date is Rescheduled c. The court reschedules the court date on its own motion. 6. Serving (Giving) Order to the Other Party The request to reschedule was made by the: a. Petitioner (Employer) (3) You must serve the respondent with a copy of this order. This can be done by mail. You must serve by: 10/01/2022. 7. No Fee to Serve (Notify) Respondent NOT ORDERED Date: 09/06/2022 /S/ Sunil R. Kulkarni, Judicial Officer Clerk's Certificate I certify that this Order on Request to Continue Hearing (Temporary Restraining Order) (CLETSTWH)(form WV-116) is a true and correct copy of the original on file in the court. Date: 09/06/2022 M. SORUM, Clerk of the Court ORDER FOR SERVICE BY PUBLICATION SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA Case No. 21CH010281. CITY OF SAN JOSE, a charter city, Petitioner v. WILLIAM GARBETT, an individual, Respondent. Date: September 6, 2022 Time: 9 00 a.m. Dep't: 4 Exempt from Filing Fees (Govt. Code § 6103) After reviewing the Application for Order for Service by Publication of Petitioner City of San José, and it satisfactorily appearing therefrom that Petitioner has made reasonably diligent efforts to personally serve Respondent, WILLIAM GARBETT, and that Respondent is a necessary party to this action and is both aware of this action and the contents of the Petition; and IT FURTHER APPEARING that a Notice of Court Hearing (WV-109) (the "Notice") has been filed in the above-entitled Court action, said Respondent cannot, with reasonable diligence, be served in any other manner specified by sections 415.10 through 415.40 of the Code of Civil Procedure. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that service of the Notice be made on Respondent WILLIAM GARBETT by publication thereof in the Mesa Tribune a newspaper of general circulation published in the County of Maricopa, Arizona, as well as in the San Jose Post-Record, a newspaper of general circulation published in the County of Santa Clara, California, hereby designated as the newspapers most likely to give said Respondent actual notice in this action, and that publication in both newspapers be made at least once a week for four (4) successive weeks. Date: 09/06/2022 /S SUNIL R. KULKARNI, JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT 9/30, 10/7, 10/14, 10/21/22 Published: East Valley Tribune, Oct. 16, 23, 30, Nov 6, 2022 / 49817