Archive » April 5, 2007
By Steven Libowitz
Sophomore staging – The Loose Affiliation of Artists, one of Santa Barbara’s promising new theater companies, presents “Tape,” by Stephen Belber. Described as “a biting examination of motive, memory, truth, and perception,” the play delves into the relationship between an up-and-coming filmmaker, and his best friend from high school who is a volunteer firefighter who makes his money selling pot, and what happened with a girl they both dated 10 years earlier. The show is directed by company founder Sara Martinovich, who put together Loose Affiliation’s incisive production of Neil Labute’s “The Shape of Things.” WHEN: 8 pm April 5-7, WHERE: Center Stage Theater, 751 Paseo Nuevo (Chapala upstairs @ De la Guerra), COST: $20 (students and people under 30, $10), INFO: 963-0408.
Tamayo at SBMOA – Santa Barbara Museum of Art is serving as lead organizer of a new international exhibition of the works of Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo. “Tamayo: A Modern Icon Reinterpreted” is the first major exhibit of Tamayo’s work in the United States in more than 27 years, and features more than 100 paintings and portable murals amassed from public and private collections around the world. Dubbed “The Fourth Great One” in his native Mexico, Tamayo’s works conjure familiar images of the country, including the colors, textures, culture – particularly in his numerous renditions of Mexico’s traditional marketplaces replete with flowers, tropical fruit and native folk art. The exhibit travels to museums in Florida and Mexico City after its inaugural run here. WHEN: 11 am to 5 pm Tuesdays-Sundays, through May 27, WHERE: 1130 State St., COST: $9 (discounts for seniors, students and children; free every Sunday), INFO: 963-4364.
Self-portraits – The Santa Barbara artists in question aren’t painting their own likenesses, but instead have captured the local scenery in Santa Barbara in this two-person exhibition opening today. “Two Santa Barbarians Paint Santa Barbara" features Camille Renga Dellar and Kris Buck, born and raised residents of Santa Barbara who also grew up together. Both artists primarily work plein air, on location, with Dellar painting in oils and Buck focusing on pastels. WHEN: Mondays-Thursdays 9 am to 2 pm through April 30 (artists reception 5 pm to 7:30 pm, Friday, April 13), WHERE: The Architectural Foundation, 229 East Victoria St., COST: free, INFO: 965-6307.
East meets West art show – Photographer Mark Edward Harris has traveled around the globe capturing on film iconic landscapes and cultural activities. His updated book, “Wanderlust,” will be premiered along with Chronicle Books’s color monograph “Inside North Korea” during a book signing and artist reception 6 pm to 9 pm on April 7. WHEN: 10 am to 6 pm Tuesdays-Saturdays, through May 15, WHERE: East West Gallery, 714 Bond Ave., COST: free, INFO: 963-4041 or www.eastwest-gallery.com.
Thursday, April 5
1st Thursday – The new monthly arts/cultural event is back for round three today with a focus on National Poetry Month. An introduction to new poet laureate Perie Longo, several readings and performances, and interactive exhibits where you can write your own verse are among the diverse options that also include live music, demonstrations, lectures, wine tasting and, of course, art exhibits and receptions. There are more than 30 stops in all on the 1st Thursday map. Get the details, including specific programming offered at each gallery and other location, plus a full schedule online at www.santabarbaradowntown.com/go.
Blue line special – Al Gore’s Academy Award-winning film, “An Inconvenient Truth,” is the impetus for a new volunteer group seeking to bring attention to climate change by proposing that a light blue line be drawn marking the new waterline if the sea level rose seven meters, as suggested in the film. This exhibit, “Drawing the Line Against Climate Change,” blends art and science to educate the public about the steps we can take today to help keep the oceanfront down at the beach, where it is today. Tonight’s reception, from 5 pm to 8 pm, features speakers from the CEC and UCSB, and is set to coincide with the 1st Thursday celebration. WHEN: Exhibit through June 29, WHERE: Santa Barbara City Hall, 735 Anacapa St., COST: free, INFO: www.lbl.org.
UCSB Film Series – The school’s spring series gets underway tonight with a film that premiered in town just two months ago at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival: “Manufactured Landscapes,” a portrait of Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky, who specializes in large-scale studies of industrial vistas. The film goes well beyond its ostensible subject to examine industrialization as a whole. WHEN: 7:30 pm, WHERE: UCSB’s Campbell Hall COST: $6, INFO: 893-3535.
Funny females – “Nipples to the Wind” is comprised of 14 humorous vignettes delivered by just two performers: actress Janye Anderson and stand-up comedian/playwright Paula Coco, who composed the piece. But take heed: nobody goes topless – the title is drawn from an old Southern expression that encourages “head up and chin out” through life’s challenges. The show features original music by singer-songwriter Kacey Jones, who opens the play with a live performance of her post-plastic surgery homage, “How Do You Like These Babies Now?” WHEN: 8 pm, WHERE: Lobero Theatre, 33 W. Canon Perdido St., COST: $37.50, INFO: 963-0761.
Jazz-Age journey – Ensemble Theatre presents the area debut of “The Violet Hour,” a smart, captivating comedy by Tony Award-winning playwright Richard Greenberg about choices between love and friendship, duty and inspiration. The play “balances heights of wit with depths of feeling,” said The New York Times in a review of an off-Broadway production. (See an interview with director Robert Grande Weiss in “On the Beat” on page 38) WHEN: 8 pm Tuesdays thru Saturdays and 2 pm & 7 pm Sunday through Dec. 17, WHERE: 914 State St., COST: $25-$37.50 (discounts for students, seniors and groups) INFO: 962-8606 or www.ensembletheatre.com.
University music – Soprano Katherine Arthur performs with UCSB faculty guitarist John Dearman – founding member of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, which was the resident ensemble at the Santa Barbara Symphony’s recent guitar festival – and piano graduate student Erin Bonski. Songs by Thomas Campion, Samuel Barber and Arnold Schoenberg comprise the program. WHEN: 8 pm, WHERE: UCSB’s Karl Keiringer Hall, COST: $12, students $7, INFO: 893-7001.
Friday, April 6
Up in the air – Scores of jugglers, clowns, magicians and unicyclists come from Santa Barbara and far beyond for the annual Isla Vista Jugglers Festival – now in its 31st year – that serves as a memorial to a female juggler who was murdered on campus back in the 1970s. The rather loosely organized event is open to jugglers of all levels, from beginners to performing professionals – or just come and watch as all sorts of objects are manipulated in the air all weekend long. A public show at Isla Vista Theater on Saturday night (7:30 pm to 10 pm, 960 Embarcadero del Norte) taps the best of the pros for a single night’s show. WHEN: 6 pm to 11 pm tonight, 10 am to 6 pm & 10 pm to midnight tomorrow, 10 am to 5 pm Sunday, WHERE: Robertson Gym on the UCSB Campus (except Goleta Valley Community Center, 5679 Hollister Ave., Goleta, tonight), COST: free (Saturday show $8 advance, $10 at the door; $5 students and children), INFO: 961-2019 or 968-5669.
‘Mr. Brightside’ of life – Although the Killers have been around for less than five years, the stylishly morose Las Vegas pop band with a British fixation – think the Smiths, New Order or the Cure, with a fresh slice of Oasis – has already scored several huge cult hits, including “Somebody Told Me,” “Smile Like You Mean It” and “Mr. Brightside.” The group’s fall 2006 sophomore album, “Sam’s Town,” was a critical fave. Catch them at UCSB tonight. WHEN: 8 pm, WHERE: UCSB’s Hub, COST: $39.50, INFO: Ticketmaster.com.
Mazque ascension – Santa Barbara native Justin Michael – son of Earthlink co-founder turn white-collar criminal mastermind Reed Slatkin – throws his third quarterly full moon masquerade ball tonight atop the Hotel Andalucia, this time as a benefit for the Red Cross. Each event is designed to help the son redeem his father via providing much needed funds to various charities around town (and the globe – Mazque is moving on to Las Vegas after April). The black-tie affair features entertainment by pianists Jason Serfling and Anna Abbey, lots of bubby Champagne and hors d’oeuvres and, of course, your friends and colleagues dressed in killer masks (no admission without one!) WHEN: 8 pm to midnight, WHERE: 31 W. Carrillo St., COST: $100 in advance, $200 at the door ($75 students), INFO: 705-7077.
Saturday, April 7
Egg Hunt extra – Kids from toddlers to age 8 will be separated into four age groups for a single mad-dash Extravaganza Easter Egg Hunt at Chase Palm Park. The Fire Fighters Association is bringing along a fire truck, so don’t forget the camera as the tykes can pose for photos with the Easter Bunny, firefighters and the fire truck. WHEN: 10 am, WHERE: Great Meadow at Chase Palm Park, COST: free, INFO: 564-5495. Also, Elings Park sponsors a classic egg hunt for children (grouped into under 3, 4-6 and 7-10), at 10 am at 1298 Las Positas Rd. (free, parking $3; call 964-0436).
Ansel Adams art – The Santa Barbara Museum of Art continues its series of exhibitions devoted to California artists with this show of prints from the famed photographer of the American West. The exhibit, drawn from the museum’s permanent collection including recent acquisitions, ranges from early, delicate prints from the 1920s, to elegant images of the Grand Tetons and the Sierra Nevadas originally made in the 1940s, and a heroic mural-sized photograph of ranchland in Petaluma from the early 1950s. Local trivia: The Museum of Art was an early champion of Adams, having presented a solo exhibition of his work way back in 1946, around the time he founded the department of psychology at what is now the San Francisco Art Institute. Adam’s picture of Refugio Beach, including in this exhibit, was shot the same year. WHEN: 11 am to 5 pm Tuesdays-Sundays, through June 23, WHERE: Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State St., COST: $9 (discounts for seniors, students and children; free every Sunday), INFO: 963-4364.
Presidio Bluegrass – Yeah, we know it’s an anachronism, what with bluegrass coming from the Appalachian mountain region of the East Coast, and the Presidio Chapel serving as one of the historic sites of Santa Barbara’s Spanish heritage. But the twain meet with Peter Feldmann & the Very Lonesome Boys, the Santa Barbara-based band headed by one of the genre’s local masters who sports a 40-year history of playing the stuff. In deference to the Presidio, the Very Lonesome Boys will play a program titled "Bluegrass, History, and the Old West," blending standard classic bluegrass with songs from the Wild West of the 19th century in a candle-lit show. WHEN: 8 pm, WHERE: 123 E. Canon Perdido St., COST: $12 advance, $15 at the door, INFO: 688-9894.
Monday, April 9
Dance fusion – After more than 50 years of performances, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal is finally making its Santa Barbara debut! The company remains one of Canada’s premiere dance companies, known for a unique choreographic style that blends classical ballet with innovations more readily found in modern dance. Tonight’s show features a single, evening-length piece titled “Minus One,” by acclaimed Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin. WHEN: 8 pm, WHERE: Arlington Theatre, 1317 State St., COST: $50, INFO: 963-4408 or 893-3535.
Wednesday, April 11
Morning music – Top off your morning with this classical music feast from the Santa Barbara Music Club featuring Chopin’s Etude in A-flat major played by pianist Linde Romillo; Dvorak’s Quartet No.1 in D major performed by Elaine Schott, Tom Turner, Andrew Saunders and John Sonquist; Kreisler’s “Caprice viennois, Tambourin chinois,” played by violinist Nicole McKenzie and pianist Betty Oberacker; the pianist will also close out the presentation with Mendelssohn’s Variations Serieuses. WHEN: 11 am, WHERE: Faulkner Gallery, Santa Barbara Public Library, 40 E. Anapamu St., COST: free, INFO: 683-0811 or www.sbmusicclub.org.
Rebecca is back – Just back from a musical excursion to Brazil, flutist Rebecca Kleinmann and her world jazz quintet return to SOhO for a single night of jazz influenced by the music of Spain, India, Argentina and, of course, Brazil. Pianist Josh Nelson, bassist Randy Tico, drummer Lorca Hart and percussionist Ami Molinelli comprise the remainder of the quintet, which will be joined by special guest Weber Iago, a Brazilian pianist who has played with some of the country’s best musicians. Former Kleinmann quintet bassist Miles Jay and saxist Colter Frazier open the show. WHEN: 7:30 pm, WHERE: 1221 State St., upstairs in Victoria Court, COST: $10, INFO: 962-7776.
South African songs – The Grammy Award-winning vocal ensemble Soweto Gospel Choir is a veritable world music force unto itself. The 26-member a capella group sings in six languages, fusing natural rhythms and strongly percussive beats with traditional South African harmonies to create a sound that transcends cultural barriers and has uplifted audiences across the globe. The group’s colorful costumes and energetic dance pieces only enhance the sensually sumptuous experience. WHEN: 8 pm, WHERE: UCSB’s Campbell Hall, COST: $42. INFO: 893-3535 or www.artsandlectures.ucsb.edu.
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