Podcast appearances and mentions of luther burbank center

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Best podcasts about luther burbank center

Latest podcast episodes about luther burbank center

There’s No Business Like...
Ep. 120 Melanie Weir: They Don't All Become Artists

There’s No Business Like...

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 29, 2025 56:34


Ep. 120 Melanie Weir: They Don't All Become Artists This week our hosts talk about obscure reports they gave in school, most of which involved dressing up as historical figures. Katie shares her conversation with Melanie Weir from the Western Arts Alliance Conference. Melanie shares the incredible work happening at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, how she got started in the arts, the impact of arts programming on youth, and so much more. Melanie Wier is the Associate Director of Education and Community Engagement at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts (https://lutherburbankcenter.org/) and is the Board President of California Presenters (https://www.calpresenters.org/). Follow us on social media and let us know your thoughts and questions – https://linktr.ee/nobusinesslikepod Our theme song is composed by Vic Davi.

SoCo Chat
En conversación con Lideres Latinos del Condado de Sonoma sobre la herencia hispana, Parte II:

SoCo Chat

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 13, 2024 28:31


Nuestro invitado de hoy es Rafael Rivero, especialista en desarrollo económico del departamento de Desarrollo Económico de la Ciudad de Santa Rosa, quien también representa el consejo asesor latino del Luther Burbank Center de Santa Rosa y nos trae una invitación especial.

Brew Ha Ha Podcast
Beer Fest: The Good One with Gary Saperstein

Brew Ha Ha Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 6, 2024


Gary Saperstein, organizer of BEER FEST - The Good One, joins Steve Jaxon and Herlinda Heras today on Brew Ha Ha. Gary holds the title of Development Director for Face to Face, the organizers of Beer Fest - The Good One. It takes place Saturday, June 8, 2024 at the Luther Burbank Center. Visit Eventbrite for tickets. Face to Face has for 40 years been working to end HIV in Sonoma County, 1983-2023. This year is the 31st annual edition of Beer Fest, which makes it the oldest beer festival in Sonoma County. The event is held outdoors and there will be tents and shade as well lots of beer, food and music. Russian River Brewing Co. is open in Santa Rosa on 4th St. and at their big Windsor location. Visit their website for up-to-date hours, menus, beers and more. Face to Face In 1983 Face to Face started, right at the beginning of the Aids crisis. A group of angels saw a need for help and set up the organization to help terminal patients. Over the years, the agency has evolved and does much more work than before, but their mission is rooted in the history of HIV. Visit Homerun Pizza, home of the Knuckleball! Fresh pizza dough made from scratch daily, la pizza è deliziosa! There will be many local breweries attending and pouring beer at Beer Fest, including Lagunitas, Hen House, Lost Coast, Farmers, Moonlight, Russian River and many smaller labels you don't see every day. Herlinda had her first taste of Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat Ale at the Beer Fest. "My favorite beer is the one in front of me." -Mark Carpenter, founding father of Brew Ha Ha Today, Herlinda has brought two beers fresh from the Hen House, brewery which is about to hold its annual Freshtival on June 15, 2024. One is a refreshing IPA called Frozen Envelope. The other is Virtuoso, a West Coast IPA. See our sponsor Victory House at Poppy Bank Epicenter online, for their latest viewing and menu options. Herlinda's Next Competition: Aro Rojo in Mexico Herlinda is leaving soon for Mexico City where she will be a judge at Aro Rojo, the big Mexican beer competition. She will also give a talk there about the history of beer in California. That's a hot topic for them to hear about there, because of the international importance of our local craft brewing industry. They saw that Herlinda had a lot to do with setting up On Tap, the exhibit at the Museum of Sonoma County about the history of hops and brewing in Sonoma County. Oliver's Market is the biggest sponsor of all of Beer Fest: The Good One. They will be serving Korean street tacos for the event. Trader Joe's is a sponsor. Visit Santa Rosa is a sponsor, always interested in promoting Santa Rosa and its title Beer City. Gary describes how Face to Face has evolved, and managed to keep its services free. They also provide mental health services. They do needle exchange and supply Narcan. This has saved over 3500 lives, according to Gary.

107.7 The Bone
Lamont & Tonelli Talk To Comedian Nimesh Patel

107.7 The Bone

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 13, 2023 4:46


Lamont & Tonelli interviewed Nimesh Patel. Nimesh Patel is bringing his Fast and Loose Tour to the Bay Area and performing at The Sydney Goldstein Theatre in San Francisco on Friday, December 15th and The Luther Burbank Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa on Saturday, December 16th. For tickets and more info go to: livenation.com Listen to Lamont & Tonelli Monday through Friday, 6-10am, on 107.7 The Bone. Get your Rock N Roll Fix at: 1077thebone.com Follow 107.7 The Bone on Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube and TikTok. Follow 107.7 The Bone on Apple, Spotify or Amazon Music.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lamont & Tonelli
Lamont & Tonelli Talk To Comedian Nimesh Patel

Lamont & Tonelli

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 13, 2023 4:46


Lamont & Tonelli interviewed Nimesh Patel. Nimesh Patel is bringing his Fast and Loose Tour to the Bay Area and performing at The Sydney Goldstein Theatre in San Francisco on Friday, December 15th and The Luther Burbank Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa on Saturday, December 16th. For tickets and more info go to: livenation.com Listen to Lamont & Tonelli Monday through Friday, 6-10am, on 107.7 The Bone. Get your Rock N Roll Fix at: 1077thebone.com Follow 107.7 The Bone on Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube and TikTok. Follow 107.7 The Bone on Apple, Spotify or Amazon Music.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Líderes del Futuro
Nuevo Mural de Maria de los Angeles

Líderes del Futuro

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2023 20:04


La Artista Maria de los Angeles invita a la comunidad al evento de apertura de dos murales en el Luther Burbank Center for The Arts. Maria tendrá dos eventos es te lunes. Un evento será a las 10am y la otra a as 7pm. Maria quiere que mas padres y madres apoyen a sus estudiantes que quieren practicar el arte. #lbc #sonomacounty #sonomacountycalifornia #arte #familia #mariadelosangeles --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rafael-vazquez7/support

Garden The Knowledge
In Conversation with David Duskin

Garden The Knowledge

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 27, 2023 89:41


Topher Delaney in conversation with David Duskin, Public Artists, and co-founder of Petaluma River Park http://www.davidduskin.com/ https://www.petalumariverpark.org/ Publicly accessible collaborative works: Teaching Stones, Almaden Library and Community Center, San Jose, CA Norman Lear Monument, Emerson College, Boston, MA Castro Valley Creek Daylighting Project, Castro Valley Library, Castro Valley, CA Thousand Ways, Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, Santa Rosa, CA Books that have inspired David: The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell Tao Te Ching, Lao-tzu, translation by Stephen Mitchell  Women Who Run with the Wolves, Clarissa Pinkola Estes Finnegans Wake, James Joyce Body Watching, Desmond Morris Moby Dick, Herman Melville Paintings that have inspired David: Annunciation, Cortona, Fra Angelico  Annunciation, San Marco, Fra Angelico 

Brew Ha Ha Podcast
Wine Country Distillery Festival

Brew Ha Ha Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2022 24:30


The Robert Ferguson Observatory, this year's non-profit beneficiary. The Wine Country Distillery Festival takes center stage on Brew Ha Ha with Harry Duke and Herlinda Heras today, with Lindsay Musco and Doralice Handal. Lindsay Musco is the founder of the Wine Country Distillery Festival and Doralice Handal is representing Les Dames d'Escoffier today. Together they are hosting the VIP section at the Wine Country Distillery Festival. Chris Matthise, from Sonoma Brothers Distilling is also in, with beverages. The Wine Country Distillery Festival is August 13 at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, on the East Lawn. This time it is an outdoor summertime event and this is a new location for them. They will have more vendors, a stage with live music, a cocktail competition and a silent auction to benefit the Robert Ferguson Observatory. Tickets for the VIP Oasis section are $123 and regular admission is $88. They also offer a designated driver ticket, for non-alcoholic consumption, at $12. Les Dames d'Escoffier Les Dames d'Escoffier is one of the only non-profit professional organizations that is focussed on women in hospitality industries. There are 43 chapters around the world with 2300 members and growing. The local chapter has 51 members and has just celebrated its second anniversary. Doralice describes how many members are donating their time and effort to the VIP tent. Julia Child was one of the founders of Les Dames d'Escoffier. In her time, there was a men's professional organization that excluded women, so she and her partners founded their organization and named it after Gustave d'Escoffier who was known for honoring women in the profession. The Wine Country Distillery Festival started in 2019. Lindsay Musco describes how she thought of the idea. With all the focus on wine and beer in Sonoma County, she thought the local distillers deserved their own event. All of the net proceeds go to a non-profit, and this year that beneficiary is the Robert Ferguson Observatory. The event takes place August 13, from 12-4 pm. Tickets are available at the LBC website or at their own site. Sonoma Brothers Distilling Chris Matthise runs Sonoma Brothers Distilling with his twin brother. They started in 2012, in Windsor. They only do about 1000 cases per year and they also work with some custom clients. He's a fireman and his brother is a police officer. They have a prominent role in the Wine Country Distillery Festival. As they start mixing some cocktails, we get to hear how the shaker sounds on a radio microphone. Herlinda has compliments for Sonoma Brothers Distilling who along with Sipsong Spirits are her local favorites. Tara Jasper, founder of Sipsong Spirits, will also be at the event. Tara Jasper and Sipsong Spirits were featured on Brew Ha Ha two years ago on this July 30, 2020 episode, which was soon after she won a double gold medal for Indira Gin. We got to hear the cocktail shaker in that episode too.

KGO 810 Podcast
Nikki Medoro - Pope's apology tour, and LGBTQ appalled by Dave Chappelle coming to Santa Rosa

KGO 810 Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 26, 2022 31:23


Canada hosts the Pope as he apologizes for the Catholic Church's role in abuse of indigenous children decades ago, and then the Morning Show with Nikki Medoro pivots to talk about the LGBTQ controversy surrounding Dave Chappelle's sold-out Santa Rosa shows this week at the Luther Burbank Center. Is trying to get the show moved or cancelled the most effective way to protest? What responsibility does business have with controversial figures?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Morning Show with Nikki Medoro Podcast
Nikki Medoro - Pope's apology tour, and LGBTQ appalled by Dave Chappelle coming to Santa Rosa

The Morning Show with Nikki Medoro Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 26, 2022 31:23


Canada hosts the Pope as he apologizes for the Catholic Church's role in abuse of indigenous children decades ago, and then the Morning Show with Nikki Medoro pivots to talk about the LGBTQ controversy surrounding Dave Chappelle's sold-out Santa Rosa shows this week at the Luther Burbank Center. Is trying to get the show moved or cancelled the most effective way to protest? What responsibility does business have with controversial figures?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Centered on the Arts
17. Melanie Weir (Theatre Presenter, California Presenters President)

Centered on the Arts

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 9, 2021 38:54


Rebecca Carson chats with Melanie Weir, her longtime friend and colleague who works as the Education and Community Engagement Manager for the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa while also serving as the President of the Board for California Presenters. Melanie relates her passion for exposing youth to the arts as a mode of social betterment, emphasizing throughout her conversation with Rebecca the value of the arts for all of society. In trying times such as these, Melanie uses her role to bring hope and joy to communities, and her wit is sure to bring a smile to your face as you listen.  More info about the Center for the Arts can be found: https://arts.pepperdine.edu/visit/digital-resources.html  Music Composer: Jeremy Zerbe

Inside Froggy 92.9
3 - Amber's Volcano Shower and Jenn's WORST Movie

Inside Froggy 92.9

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 13, 2019 30:13


Hear 4 new stories from your favorite Froggy 92.9 on air personalities!  Get to know Amber's brush with death in a double-twist shower, Tanner's might have to choose between his cats and his girlfriend who just moved to Sonoma County, Jenn calls someone out for loving a TERRIBLE movie and Dano shares a fairly unbelievable Lee Brice story before he comes to town for a show at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts on 8/15/19.

THED Talks
1.8 A Conversation with Cyndi Bringer and Ashleigh Worley

THED Talks

Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2019 58:48 Transcription Available


This week Jimmy speaks to Cyndi Bringer, a middle school theatre teacher in Illinois AND Ashleigh Worley, Director of Education at Luther Burbank Center of the Arts in California. These teachers bring us stories and experiences about special needs, exploratory rotations, and working in non-traditional theatre education careers and working with teaching artists.

California Wine Country
Rex Pickett, author of Sideways, and Trevor Durling of Beaulieu

California Wine Country

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 10, 2019 56:17


(This week CWC is off due to a live Golden State Warriors basketball game on our home station KSRO in Santa Rosa. For the podcast, here is a reprise of our  Aug. 9, 2017 show featuring Rex Pickett, author of Sideways, and Trevor Durling, winemaker at Beaulieu Vineyard.) Today’s pre-show guest is Rex Pickett, author of Sideways. The main show guest is Trevor Durling, Winemaker at Beaulieu Vineyard. In the live segment before CWC begins at the top of the hour, Steve and Dan visit with Rex Pickett, author of Sideways, the book, movie and now stage play. Then after the main show, we will hear more of Steve’s interview with Rex Pickett. First, Dan tells that somebody called him on the telephone way back in the ‘90s when he was writing at the LA Times, to ask him about Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez, the area where the book is set. Dan never got his name, and after the movie came out, Dan always assumed the call had come from Rex, but Rex says he wasn’t the caller. (The stage adaptation played at the Left Edge Theater in Santa Rosa at the Luther Burbank Center in Aug. 2017.) The movie Sideways was not really about Merlot, it was more about Pinot Noir, or people, really. The situation of the market for Merlot changed as a consequence of the movie. The book was about Pinot Noir, not about Merlot. Dan says that Rex put his finger on the pulse of the industry at the time, what people were talking about in the industry then, which was that Pinot Noir was starting to take off in the US and particularly in cooler regions, Santa Barbara and Sonoma Counties in particular. But it was a book about personalities and people, and only incidentally about wine. In Dan’s opinion, it was a great book and movie but it really tapped into something that was more wine-related than what Rex was hoping for. Rex tells that he was starting to go to wine tastings and loved the lyricism and poetry about describing wine, (apart from some pretentiousness). Rex didn’t know that the wine tasting scene would become so important in the movie. Merlot had been “overcropped” at the time and the movie thinned out the herd, as a lot of poor Merlot producers no longer make it. They agree that the movie did a lot for Pinot Noir and at that time we were starting to get away from the routine Cabernet-Chardonnay and into other wines and Pinot Noir was the one that first broke through, and that the movie picked up on that momentary market trend. Dan points out that in 1992 California had 8,000 acres of Merlot. In 1995, there were 58,000 acres of Merlot. Rex says they were mechanized-farming it and Steve says it just wasn’t that good. Dan says there is good Merlot all over the place now but you have to be very careful what you buy because we’re down to about 29,000 arcres now, which is way too much, and planted in the wrong places. Steve tells that his friend Jim from BV is there and he talks about when they were in DC, in April. Jim was there, he started singing and Steve was playing piano. Later we will hear a musical excerpt. At the intro to the main show, Steve re-introduces Rex Pickett, author of the book, screenplay and the new stage adaptation of Sideways). Dan introduces Trevor Durling, winemaker at BV, which has been around since 1900. It was the home of the great André Tchelistcheff, starting in the 1930s up to around 1973. The BV style of the wines had been formed and it’s not easy to shift. It’s like turning an ocean liner. The problem always had been to use French oak versus American oak. BV started using American oak, for Cabernet. The fact is that BV didn’t make certain grapes that had become popular, such as Zinfandel. Dan talked to André about that and André said he would not know how to make Zinfandel, as he didn’t know it. BV is a historic property and makes more varieties now. The flagship is still the BV Private Reserve. Trevor tells that was born and raised in Santa Rosa and had wine at the dinner table from...

KRCB-FM: Second Row Center
Sonoma/Napa Holiday Theater Preview - December 12, 2018

KRCB-FM: Second Row Center

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 12, 2018 4:00


For folks looking for some respite from Christmas shopping or from becoming participants in the demolition derby that is mall parking, North Bay theatre companies are providing several seasonal entertainments to help keep you in the holiday spirit. Family-friendly musicals are the usual fare and there are several on tap. While not all would be classified as holiday-specific shows, they’ll still get the kids out of the house for a few hours and give adults some welcome relief. Santa Rosa Junior College Theatre Arts (theatrearts.santarosa.edu) is presenting Shrek, the Musical. Burbank Auditorium renovations continue to require them to do their shows “on the road”, so you’ll have to travel to Maria Carrillo High School to see this one. Spreckels Theatre Company (spreckelsonline.com) is doing The Tailor of Gloucester. This original holiday musical, based on the Beatrix Potter story, was originally commissioned and produced by Petaluma’s Cinnabar Theater back in 2004 and had several Youth Theatre productions there. Michael Ross directs (mostly) adults in this studio theater production. Sonoma Arts Live (sonomaartslive.org) brings Anne of Green Gables to their Rotary stage. This musical version of the L.M. Montgomery classic is about a spunky redheaded orphan winning over her new family and an entire Canadian island. Speaking of spunky redheaded orphans, 6th Street Playhouse (6thstreetplayhouse.com) assures us the sun’ll come out tomorrow with Annie. It’s Daddy Warbucks versus the evil Miss Hannigan with Annie - and her little dog, too – as the objects of their attention. The 12 Dates of Christmas will run in the 6th Street Studio Theater. It’s a single woman’s ‘holiday survival guide’. For nostalgia fans, Redwood Theatre Company (redwoodtheatrecompany.com) will be presenting It’s a Wonderful Life in the live radio play format. A plucky little girl – this time named Eve – takes center stage at the Cloverdale Performing Arts Center (cloverdaleperformingarts.com) in Yo Ho Ho: A Pirate’s Christmas. Can she rescue Santa and Christmas from the clutches of a gang of directionally-challenged pirates? If she doesn’t, the audience may mutiny. Over in Napa, Lucky Penny Productions (luckypennynapa.com) is presenting Scrooge in Love. This will be only the third fully staged production of this original musical after having been done twice by San Francisco’s 42 Street Moon. It musically answers all the questions you may have about what happened after the end of Dickens’s classic A Christmas Carol. Dyan McBride, the show’s original director, heads this production as well. Finally, for those in the mood for a big, splashy music and dance extravaganza, there’s always Transcendence Theatre Company (transcendencetheatre.org) and their Broadway Holiday Spectacular. They’ll be doing three performances at Santa Rosa’s Luther Burbank Center and two performances in Napa at the Lincoln Theatre in Yountville. Lots of entertainment options, and I’m sure the producing companies would like to remind you that theatre tickets make GREAT stocking stuffers. You can find links to all these shows and more on the calendar page of the North Bay Stage and Screen web site at northbaystageandscreen.com.

KRCB-FM: Second Row Center
Polar Bears - December 5, 2018

KRCB-FM: Second Row Center

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 5, 2018 4:00


When after sixteen years David Templeton hung up his theater critic’s hat, his stated purpose was to turn his full attention to other pursuits: artistic, journalistic, theatrical and otherwise. Since then, he continues to write, has a full-time gig as the Community Editor at the Petaluma Argus-Courier, and took a featured role in Left Edge Theatre’s pole dancing extravaganza The Naked Truth. An “otherwise” pursuit for Templeton would be directing, and he’s about to do just that with his holiday-themed one-man show Polar Bears, opening November 30 at San Rafael’s Belrose Theater. Templeton describes Polar Bears as “a heartwarming holiday tragedy.” Say Again? “I wrote it,” said Templeton, “because I've read scads of stories about Christmas and families and Santa Claus, but never have I read any story about that unique passage of childhood, and parenthood, that is the moment that kids stop believing, and the ways their parents help or hinder that rite of passage.” It’s an autobiographical tale of an average father who finds himself a bit in-over-his-head one holiday season and goes to increasingly outlandish lengths to keep his kids' belief in Santa alive. It seems his own faith in Santa was disrupted when he was four-years-old and he's hellbent on making sure that doesn't happen to his kids. Polar Bears had two successful productions in Sonoma County with Templeton under the direction of Sheri Lee Miller. For the this production, Templeton takes over the directing reins and has cast actor Chris Schloemp in the role of David Templeton. Sound strange? “I’m actually not thinking of it as Chris playing ME,” said Templeton, “he’s playing a character named David, who did some things I did, but I told him from the beginning to think of David as a fictional character. He’s constantly surprising me with new things, and I love it.” What’s it like for an actor to be directed by his ‘character’? “Being directed by the guy you’re performing and who’s also the writer is a little intimidating”, said Schloemp, “but also very rewarding in that, in any play, there are always those nagging questions you want to ask. Here I get to ask them at every rehearsal. David’s been very insistent that I am not playing him, so I have free rein.” So, in a season full of Nutcrackers and Christmas Carols, where does Polar Bears fit in? “I think anyone who loves Christmas stories but has grown tired of the same old cloying, overly sentimental holiday stories will appreciate it”, said Templeton. “That was the intention, and based on audience reactions in the past, I think we’ve succeeded.” ‘Polar Bears’ opens November 30 and runs through December 15 at the Belrose Theater in San Rafael. There are Friday and Saturday evening performances at 7:30pm. For more information, go to thebelrose.com There will be one performance in Santa Rosa at 7:00pm on December 23 at Left Edge Theatre at the Luther Burbank Center. For more information, go to leftedgetheate.com

KRCB-FM: Second Row Center
Marin Theater Holiday Preview - November 28, 2018

KRCB-FM: Second Row Center

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 28, 2018 4:00


If you’re trying to avoid attending the umpteenth production of The Nutcracker in your lifetime, Marin theatre companies are providing several other entertainment options for this holiday season. Last year, the Marin Theatre Company (marintheatre.org) was one of the participants in the rolling world premiere of Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon’s Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley. The continuation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice was a smashing success, so it’s no surprise that Gunderson and Melcon have returned to the material and created a companion piece entitled The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley. While Miss Bennet dealt with the folks celebrating Christmas ‘upstairs’ at the manor, The Wickhams is more of a ‘downstairs’ piece focusing on the estate’s staff as they deal with an unwelcome visitor and a potential holiday disaster. Megan Sandberg-Zakian directs the show which will no doubt be colorfully costumed and impressively designed. The College of Marin Performing Arts Department (pa.marin.edu) will be presenting the musical comedy Nuncrackers in their Kentfield campus’s studio theater. Yes, it’s a Nunsense Christmas musical. Creator Dan Goggins’s Little Sisters of Hoboken return to stage a Christmas special in their new basement cable access TV studio to raise funds for the Mount Saint Helens School. The nuns will be singing songs like “The Twelve Days Prior to Christmas” and “Santa Ain’t Comin’ to Our House”, dancing in their habits, and handing out fruit cake. I think Sister Amnesia makes a return appearance, but I can’t remember. Actors Basement is staging PacSun contributor David Templeton’s one-man holiday show Polar Bears at The Belrose (thebelrose.com) in San Rafael. It’s the autobiographical tale of a father’s attempt to keep his children’s belief in Santa Claus alive way past the point most others do. Templeton has performed the piece in Sonoma County several times in the past few years. For this Marin production of his “heartwarming holiday tragedy”, Templeton moves into the director’s chair and turns over the performance duties to actor Chris Schloemp. The Ross Valley Players (rossvalleyplayers.com) are giving audiences the chance to completely forget about the holiday season with their production of The Odd Couple. The Neil Simon classic comedy about a mismatched pair of middle-aged roommates that’s been a proven laugh-getter since it’s 1965 Broadway premiere. For those willing to travel and in the mood for a big holiday musical extravaganza, the Transcendence Theatre Company (transcendencetheatre.org) will be presenting their Broadway Holiday Spectacular with three performances up at Santa Rosa’s Luther Burbank Center and two performances out at the Lincoln Theatre in Yountville. There’s nary a Sugar Plum Fairy in sight on these North Bay stages. You can find links to all these shows and more on the calendar page of the North Bay Stage and Screen web site at northbaystageandscreen.com

KRCB-FM: Second Row Center
Honky - June 13, 2018

KRCB-FM: Second Row Center

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2018 4:00


“Everyone’s a little bit racist” sing the puppets in the musical Avenue Q. Playwright Greg Kalleres takes that thought and runs with it in Honky, running now at Left Edge Theatre. It opens up with a commercial for Skymax 16’s, the latest craze in athletic footwear. It ends with the tag line “S’up now?” which we soon learn is the last thing said to a black teen before he’s killed for the shoes. Lights up on the office of Davis Tallison (Mike Pavone), the white president of a company that makes footwear “by black people for black people.” Thomas Hodge (Trey G. Riley) is there to unveil his latest design and is aghast to learn that sales of the 16’s have exploded in the white youth community since the shooting. Tallison announces the new 17’s will now be marketed to them. Hodge is furious that something he created for “his people” has become bastardized and seeks some sort of retribution on the creator of the commercial he thinks is responsible. Enter Peter Trammel (Mark Bradbury), whose issues about the commercial’s impact have led him to a therapist (Liz Rogers-Beckley) with her own issues. In a coincidence that only occurs to writers, she happens to be Hodge’s sister. Credulity is further strained when Hodge runs into Peter’s fiancé (Lydia Revelos) and sees a way for some payback, but credulity really shouldn’t be an issue in a play with a sublot involving a new pharmaceutical cure for racism whose side effects lead to visions of a lusty Abraham Lincoln (Nick Christenson) and a foul-mouthed Frederick Douglass (Julius Rea). Part absurdist farce and part blistering social commentary, Honky will make you laugh and uncomfortable. More about racial identity than racism, the feelings of being “too white” or “not black enough” are deftly combined with swipes at our consumerist society where discrimination is masked as “marketing” and stereotypes are just “demographics.” Director Argo Thompson has a terrific cast with California-newcomer Riley outstanding as the conflicted Hodge. The opening scene with veteran Pavone crackles and sets the tone for the duration. Excellent work is done by all with an extra shout out to Julius Rea and Jim Kaskey for their work as a variety of ‘urban’ youth the other characters encounter. Funny, infuriating, profane and profound, shows like Honky don’t play on wine country stages that often. Catch it while you can. ‘Honky’ runs through July 1 at Left Edge Theatre located in the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa. Friday and Saturday evening performances are at 8pm. There’s a Sunday matinee at 2pm. For more information, go to leftedgetheatre.com

KRCB-FM: Second Row Center
The Realistic Joneses - March 7, 2018

KRCB-FM: Second Row Center

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 7, 2018 4:00


One of the oddest plays I’ve seen in a while, Will Eno’s The Realistic Joneses isn’t particularly real in its examination of two suburban couples who share the same surname. It does, however, often ring true. Set in an unnamed town, Bob and Jennifer Jones (Chris Schloemp and Melissa Claire) are spending a quiet evening in their backyard talking about nothing (and talking about talking about nothing) when some new neighbors come over to introduce themselves. John and Pony Jones (Chris Ginesi and Paige Picard) have rented a house down the street and bring a bottle of wine over to break the ice. The awkward conversation that comes with meeting new people is really awkward as it veers into the personal. It seems that Bob and Jennifer are there because it’s the best place for Bob to receive treatment for a degenerative neurological disease characterized by pain, bouts of blindness, and loss of memory. Bob deals with it by not dealing with it. Jennifer deals with it daily and is beginning to crack under the strain. John and Pony have just picked up and moved there on a whim, but it soon becomes clear the two couples have something in common. The subject matter doesn’t seem ripe for humor, but it is. Its marvelously quirky dialogue is often absurd, and yet it feels genuine. In one of the plays best scenes, the two male Joneses have a late-night conversation: John: “Arrrgh!’ Bob: “What?” John: “Nothing. Ice cream headache.” Bob: “Did you just have ice cream?” John: “I wish.” Delivery of dialogue like this can be a challenge and in the hands of lesser talents can come off cheaply, but director Argo Thompson has a cast that can handle it. Schloemp is excellent as the “everyman” struggling to deal with a failing body. Claire’s role as the put-upon wife borders on the stock, but she gives it just enough variance – particularly in her moments with John – to keep it interesting. Ginesi and Picard garner most of the laughs as neither’s character seems to possess much of an internal filter with Picard’s Pony having the verbal metabolism of a hummingbird. The Realistic Joneses is difficult to categorize. It’s tough to find meaning in a play about the meaningless of meaning and for a play as funny as it is, an overwhelming sense of melancholy hangs over it. Highly original, it makes for a wonderfully weird evening of theater. ‘The Realistic Joneses’ runs through Mar. 25 at Santa Rosa’s Left Edge Theatre at the Luther Burbank Center for the Performing Arts; Thursday through Saturday evenings at 8pm; Sunday matinees at 2pm. For more information, go to leftedgetheatre.com

KRCB-FM: Second Row Center
Disgraced - January 31, 2018

KRCB-FM: Second Row Center

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 31, 2018 4:00


Blistering drama takes the stage at Santa Rosa’s Left Edge Theatre with the North Bay premiere of Ayad Akhtar’s 2013 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Disgraced. Akhtar has taken the “friends drink to excess and soon truths are revealed” theatrical trope (along the lines of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) and dragged it into the 21st century. Amir Kapoor (an intense Jared N. Wright) is a mergers and acquisitions attorney who’s changed his name and family history and abandoned his Muslim faith in his attempt to climb the corporate ladder. His wife Emily (Ilana Niernberger in the play’s most difficult role) is an artist whose work is heavily influenced by Islamic culture. She’s anxious to have her work displayed by her friend Isaac, played by Mike Schaeffer in an alternately amusing and disturbing performance. He’s a museum curator and the husband of Jory (played by an effective Jazmine Pierce), who’s a fellow ladder-climbing attorney at Amir’s firm. All seems to be on track until Amir appears at a court hearing for an imam accused of raising money for a terrorist organization. He did so after repeated entreaties from his nephew (played solidly by Sonoma State University student Adrian Causor) and under pressure from his wife Emily. A short blurb in the New York Times about Amir is the catalyst for the action that ensues at a dinner party where Isaac plans to share some happy news. Akhtar manages to address issues of assimilation, cultural appropriation, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, bigotry, racism, workplace inequity, misogyny, and religious and political fundamentalism in 90 compact minutes with no intermission. The action all takes place in Amir and Emily’s apartment with two short expositional scenes prefacing the play’s main event - the dinner party. It’s a party that begins well enough but, after a plethora of alcohol is ingested and ugly truths are revealed, ends in a shocking act of brutality. While the dinner party setting may be stock, these characters are not. Director Phoebe Meyer and the cast take a no-holds-barred approach to the material and it pays off. Each character’s complexity is refreshing and provides a worthy challenge for the experienced cast. The company is excellent in their portrayals of individuals who struggle with their core beliefs and the realization that they may not be who they think they are or - more frighteningly - that they are. That struggle was mirrored by the audience in post-show conversations. The best theatre starts a dialogue, not just about the show, but of the issues raised. This production should lead to a lot of discussions and maybe some heated - but hopefully civil - arguments. There’s no disgrace in that. ‘Disgraced’ runs through February 18 at Santa Rosa’s Left Edge Theatre in the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts, Thursday through Saturday evenings at 8pm; Sunday matinees at 2pm. For more information, go to leftedgetheatre.com.

KQED ArtsThe Do List Podcast – KQED Arts
On the Air: Cy and Gabe’s Do List Picks for Nov. 24, 2017

KQED ArtsThe Do List Podcast – KQED Arts

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 22, 2017 8:21


It's a Do List special on the North Bay arts scene after it was devastated by wildfires, recorded at the Luther Burbank Center in Santa Rosa.

santa rosa north bay do list luther burbank center
KRCB-FM: Second Row Center
Bakersfield Mist - November 22, 2017

KRCB-FM: Second Row Center

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 22, 2017 4:00


In 1992, a retired truck driver named Teri Horton paid five dollars for a painting from a southern California thrift store to give as a gag gift to a friend. An incomprehensible series of dots, blotches and streaks, her friend refused her gift and Horton ending up trying to unload the gangly canvas at a yard sale. It caught the eye of a local high school art teacher who let her know she just might be in possession of a genuine Jackson Pollock painting worth millions. Horton’s response is unprintable, but it was the beginning of a decades-long quest to determine the authenticity of the painting and its true value. That’s the backstory to Bakersfield Mist, playwright Stephen Sachs’s fictionalized take on Horton’s quest running now at Santa Rosa’s Left Edge Theatre. Set in a Bakersfield trailer park, it’s a two-character comedy of desperation that imagines the meeting between ex-bartender Maude Gutman (played by Sandra Ish at her blowsy best) and art connoisseur Lionel Percy (a prickly Mike Pavone.) Gutman has scraped enough money together to hire Percy to render his professional opinion on the work in question. As dismissive of Gutman as he is of the painting, what follows is an 80-minute, bourbon-soaked battle of wits between the two that raises issues of class, culture, personal validation and authenticity that go beyond the determination of the status of a single work of art. Sachs packs a lot into 80 minutes and falters a bit when he veers into maudlinism. At its core, the script is a neo-Neil Simon Odd Couple with Gutman’s ‘Oscar’ clashing with Percy’s ‘Felix’, albeit with a bit more depth and a lot more adult humor and language. Ish and Pavone are equally matched talents and equally matched adversaries, each seeking their own validation. For reasons greater than simply the money at stake, Gutman needs the painting to be genuine. Percy has his own issues in needing his decision to be right. Co-directors Argo Thompson and Kimberly Kalember set Ish and Pavone loose on a nicely detailed set (also by Thompson) that perfectly captures the stock ambiance of a mobile home. From its fake wood paneling to its omnipresent collection of shot glasses to a well-worn recliner, the set almost becomes a third character in the play, and maybe even a fourth if you include the painting itself. Bakersfield Mist uses the inhabitants of an art museum and a trailer park as a clever means of examining the classic blue collar/white collar (or, if you prefer, red state/blue state) divide and, more interestingly, the current hot-button topic of authenticity. Should a leader in a field calling something ‘fake’ overrule scientific evidence to the contrary? Sound familiar? “Bakersfield Mist” plays at Santa Rosa’s Left Edge Studio Theatre in the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts through December 2nd with evening performances at 8pm with some additional weekend performances at 2 or 5pm. For specific show dates and times, go to leftedgetheatre.com

KRCB-FM: Second Row Center
Sideways - September 13, 2017

KRCB-FM: Second Row Center

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 13, 2017 4:00


Two shows hit North Bay stages whose titles audiences may recognize from their somewhat better-known film adaptations. First up is Santa Rosa’s Left Edge Theatre’s presentation of Sideways, author Rex Pickett’s re-working of his 2004 novel which was adapted by filmmaker Alexander Payne into the multi award-winning film. Adapting Pickett’s tale of a weeklong road trip/bachelor party through Central California wine country to a small, intimate stage would seem to be a bit of a challenge, but director/set designer Argo Thompson and his Left Edge team – in collaboration with Pickett – make it work. It’s well cast with Ron Severdia as Miles, a frustrated, unpublished author who’s sunk so low as to steal money from his mother to pay the rent and Chris Ginesi as Jack, Miles’ best friend and groom-to-be who’s a whirling dervish of positivity and testosterone. Jack sees the trip as his last chance to score before settling down. Miles just wants to get out of LA and escape into his own viticulturally-devised world. Their plans go a bit awry after meeting a couple of tasting room managers. Maya (Maureen O’Neill) seems to have an interest in Miles while Terra (Jazmine Pierce) has Jack thinking his upcoming nuptials may be a mistake. If you know the film or novel, then you know the play. If you’re wondering how a story set in so many places can be fit onto a small stage, Thompson has designed a multi-functional set that easily transforms from a dingy apartment bathroom to a classy tasting room to a cheap motel room to a restaurant dining room, and all with minimal transition time. Which is good, because the show feels a bit long. The pace should pick up a bit as the run gets rolling but the show could be streamlined a bit. Pickett has retained all the best scenes and lines of dialogue and there are plenty of laughs, but some scenes ran on and others seemed extraneous or repetitive. Payne changed the ending a bit in his Oscar-winning film script, but the play retains Pickett’s original conclusion. I think Payne was right. The ending as written seems a bit too pat with everything tidily wrapped up with a tone that is very different from the rest of the story. Ah, but the rest of the story is so well done with the cast doing wonders with Pickett’s characters. Severdia and Ginesi are excellent in capturing the essence of male friendship and fraternal love when you can go from hugging your best friend one minute to punching him in the mouth in the next. O’Neill is quite effective as a weary divorcee whose scabs from marital wounds are picked fresh by Miles’ and Jack’s behaviors. Pierce does well as a free spirit who does not respond well to Jack’s machinations. Even the ensemble (Kimberly Kalember, Angela Squire and Mark Bradbury) get their moments as they take on all the other characters whose paths Jack and Miles cross from Miles’s mom to an effete tasting room manager. One needn’t be a student of oenology to enjoy the Left Edge Theatre production of Sideways, but a glass or two of the stuff in the lobby beforehand (and at intermission) wouldn’t hurt – just don’t try to match the amount of drinking that seems to be going on on-stage. In the vernacular of the Sommelier, it’s a full-bodied show that induces sufficient laughter to allow for proper aeration of its complex properties. This critic found Sideways well-balanced with just the right blend of humor and heart but with a finish that’s just slightly off. Sideways plays through October 1st at Santa Rosa’s Left Edge Theatre in the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts. Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 8 pm, Sunday at 2pm. For more information, go to leftedgetheatre.com

KRCB-FM: Second Row Center
The Money Shot - May 31, 2017

KRCB-FM: Second Row Center

Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2017 4:00


“Vapid” and “vacuous” are two terms that come to mind when discussing the characters in The Money Shot, Neil LaBute’s theatrical thumb-in-the-eye to Hollywood that closes out the 2016/2017 season at Santa Rosa’s Left Edge Theatre. LaBute, who’s written such harsh but interesting plays as In the Company of Men and The Shape of Things, has also spent time as a writer and director in Hollywood. If this play is any indication, he has not enjoyed his time there. It’s set at the Hollywood Hills house of Karen (Laurie Gaugin), an actress past her prime, and Bev (Sandra Ish), her partner. They’re being joined for dinner by Steve (Dodds Delzell) an over-the-hill action star and his trophy wife Missy (Heather Gordon). It seems that the European director of Karen and Steve’s latest film has some ideas on how to really “spice up” the film. Because they both need a hit, they’re willing to do anything – anything – as long as it’s ok with their respective partners. What follows is two hours of funny, if empty, conversation and argumentation which culminates in the play’s own ‘money shot’ – a wrestling match. LaBute, who’s been accused of being a misanthrope and misogynist, doesn’t allay those concerns with this script. I’d say he leans more heavily to the misanthropic side with this one as no one come off very well. To be fair, I’d say he’s taking his shots at very specific Hollywood “types” but still, there isn’t a likeable person to be found on stage. It’s the type of show designed with characters for you to laugh “at” rather than to laugh “with”. And you will laugh. Dodds Delzell, who hasn’t been seen on a Sonoma County Stage for a while, is very funny as the vain and doltish action star – think Bruce Willis or Nicolas Cage (with whom LaBute made a terrible film). Just when you think he can’t saying anything stupider, he outdoes himself. Heather Gordon earns the show’s biggest laughs (to me) with a simple warning about a specific “situation” and a cheerleader’s take on The Crucible. Sandra Ish, who is also the show’s co-director with Kimberly Kalember, does solid work as Karen’s put-upon partner whose blood pressure must spike fifty points with each of Steve’s incredible utterances. Her character seems the most grounded till you start to wonder how she ever ended up with Karen. As Karen, Laurie Gaugin seems to be the least “seasoned” of the cast as I felt there was a lot more to be mined from the Gwyneth Paltrow-like character who’s willing to endorse anything and everything to keep her image out there. The show is funny, but it is also caustic and crude and mean-spirited with some pretty graphic dialogue which really should be no surprise if you understand the meaning of the title - Google it if you don’t. There’s no great meaning to be found in The Money Shot. Some have labeled it satire. I see it more as farce. It’s two hours of unbelievable, exaggerated characters saying and doing ridiculous things. I say exaggerated because nobody could be as boorish, thoughtless, self-centered, egotistical, narcissistic, and stupid as the characters in this play. Right? The Money Shot runs at Santa Rosa’s Left Edge Theatre at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts through June 4. For more information, go to leftedgetheatre.com

Wine Road: The Wine, When, and Where of Northern Sonoma County.
Wine, food & performing art…who could ask for anything more

Wine Road: The Wine, When, and Where of Northern Sonoma County.

Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2017 20:06


Wine Road Episode 27- Wine, food and preforming art…who could ask for anything more. In this episode our special guest Stephan Stubbins, co-Executive Producer of  Transcendence Theater Company discuss performing arts in Sonoma County with Millie and Dj Bethy Beth. They taste the Wine of the Day from Zialena while Bethy Beth introduces us to this new winery from our recent “field trip”. Millie brags about her recent experience at the Sonoma County Barrel Auction. Wrap up the show with a reminder about the upcoming Magical Mystery Tours along the Wine Road.  Then hold on to your potatoes!!! The last 1:30 of the podcast will give you goosebumps!!   Wine Road provides the Wine, When and Where of Northern Sonoma County with news on events, wineries, wines, dining options, activities, and places to stay.   Wine Road — https://www.wineroad.com   Jack London State Park - Transcendence Theater Company   Show Notes: 0:30   Stephan Stubbins, Transcendence Theater Company 1:04   Theaters Along the Wine Road 2:05   Best Night Ever - Transcendence Theater Preformances 9:30   Wine of the Day - Zialena Winery 12:45 Sonoma County Barrel Auction 16:25 Wine Road Magical Mystery Tour 18:00 Sonoma Song Live!   Links: •  Transcendence Theater Company •  Sonoma County Barrel Auction •  Magical Mystery Tours •  Zialena Winery •  Cloverdale Arts Alliance  •  Raven Theater Healdsburg  •  Cinnabar Theater Petaluma •  Sebastopol Center for the Arts  •  Spreckels Performing Arts Center Rohnert Park •  Luther Burbank Center for the Arts •  Santa Rosa Junior College Theater Arts  •  Sonoma County Top Theaters List •  Vintners Inn   Credits: The Wine Road podcast is recorded, mixed, and mastered at: Threshold Studios Sebastopol, CA. 

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KRCB-FM: Second Row Center
"Race" - March 15, 2017

KRCB-FM: Second Row Center

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 16, 2017 4:00


It has been argued, effectively, that the person most qualified to talk about race and racism is the victim of that racism – not those who, consciously or unconsciously, are benefiting from that racism, or any system of inequality in which they have it better, more or less, than everyone else. Clearly aware of the arguments, pro and con, playwright David Mamet – a white guy – and never one to shy away from taboos or controversy - has stepped into the conversation with his 2009 drama ‘Race,’ currently running at Left Edge Theater, at Luther Burbank Center for the Arts. Sensitively and entertainingly directed by Carl Jordan, ‘Race’ aggressively tackles subjects of bigotry, black rage, white guilt, white privilege, cultural suspicion, and workplace sexism. Mamet’s script is a surgical, often humorous exploration of the lies so many Americans tell each other, and themselves, about matters of race. The play first appeared eight years ago, when many were claiming that Barack Obama’s presidency had ushered in a post-racial America. Bringing things up to the moment, director Jordan opens the play with a video montage showing current race-themed political confrontations in the streets and on the airwaves, all cut to the recognizable strains of Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Goin’ On?’ Then the play begins. In Mamet’s Ze-Koan-like story, Henry is a brilliant African-American lawyer, played superbly by Dorian Lockett, who is alternately funny and furious. From the opening moments, Henry is facing off against a potential new client, the cocky millionaire Charles, played by a nicely layered Chris Ginesi. Charles has been accused of raping a black woman. He insists he’s innocent, but one law-firm has already sent him packing, so he comes to Henry, and Henry’s law partner Jack, who aren’t immediately sure they want to take the case. Mike Pavone plays Jack as a blunt-and-befuddled, ever-moving force of nature, verbally bulldozing his way through everyone in this path - including Susan, the law firm’s cautiously watchful new hire. Played with intense focus by Jazmine Pierce. She does what she can with the role, though it frequently requires her to stand around silently and observe the men plotting their defense of Charles. Thankfully, her character does become increasingly pivotal as the plot-twists stack up. It’s hard to say anything more without spoiling the intricately composed story. Race is certainly an ambitious undertaking, though the script bears one or two irritating David Mamet-sized flaws, a typically under-written female part, being one. That said, Mamet’s best trick is to ask a lot of very hard questions - and then barely attempt to answer them. That’s smart. He knows that to offer any actual answers about such subjects could be cloying at best and deeply offensive at worst. Instead, Mamet simply presents a number of juicy, interesting, uncomfortable things to think about, then tosses in a few last-minute surprises and sends us away wondering what-the-hell it was that just happened. It’s no shock that Mamet, ever the master of profane conversation, peppers his play with four-letter-words, racial epithets, and effectively hammer-hard dialogue. Ultimately, Race is as much about sexism as it is about racism. Intelligent and raw, probing and disturbing, Left Edge Theater’s bold production might offer no real answers, but the questions it asks couldn’t come at a better time, or be more important. 'Race’ runs Friday–Sunday, through March 26 at Left Edge Theater. www.leftedgetheater.org

KRCB-FM: Second Row Center
"The Big Meal," "August Osage County" - September 21, 2016

KRCB-FM: Second Row Center

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 21, 2016 4:00


Two appetizingly notable stage plays, both currently running in the North Bay, feature the unpredictable combustible power of people related to one another, or about to be, sitting down to eat dinner together. Yes, the family dinner. What has been lauded and celebrated as the linchpin of the American family, appears on two local stages, not necessarily as the glue that holds people together, but as the launching pad that, at many moment, could blow everything apart. Marin Theatre Company’s August Osage County, directed by Jasson Minadakis, is a solid, well-performed, but oddly distant, and strangely unsatisfying staging of the 2008 Pulitzer winner from Tracy Letts. At the center of the play is a family dinner that starts off friendly and ends in chaos. Usually presented with detailed realism, this is a deliberately surreal production that emphasizes the family-meal elements of the script by building a massive tabletop structure into the stark, skeletal bleacher-like set. Though worth checking out for the ugly beauty of Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer-winning script, there’s something off-the-mark about the production, which seems to have missed the point of the play, but at least misses it in an interesting way. With a magnificent lead performance by Sherman Fracher as Violet Westin, the ferocious pill-popping matriarch of an Oklahoma clan gathering together after the disappearance of their paterfamilias dad, the play is solidly acted by a strong cast of thirteen. Minadakis’ choice to have the actors pantomime some props is interesting, placing metaphorical emphasis on those props (pills, pot, cigarettes, alcohol) that are real. But in attempting to turn Letts’ meticulously realistic play into a tone poem about the addictiveness of casual family cruelty, this admirable but unsuccessful production blunts the razor-sharp edges of the playwright’s brilliantly brutal storytelling. Inaugurating Left Edge Theater’s brand-new 60-seat performance space at Luther Burbank Center. Director Argo Thompson serves up Dan LeFranc’s high-concept play The Big Meal covering four generations in the life of a typical American family, as told through a series of short (sometimes very short) vignettes, all presented by a character-shifting cast of eight actors, each and every scene set … in a restaurant. The ensemble show features a superb 9-performer cast that includes Sonoma County veteran actors Kimberly Kalember and Joe Winkler (Man #1), along with Sandra Ish, Graham Narwhal, Liz Frederick, and Jacob de Heer. All are excellent, playing sweeping arcs of love and loss in a show that is as ambitious in its scope and as it is, unfortunately, a bit lacking in any real payoff or point. Not that life has a payoff or point, of course, which apparently, is part of the point of ‘The Big Meal.’ That said, the combined pleasure of seeing so much good acting one stage, in a story about learning to savor life as long as we can, makes this uniquely-told story well worth pulling up a chair for. 'The Big Meal runs Friday–Sunday through September 25 at Left Edge Theater. Leftedgetheater.com ‘August Osage County’ runs Tuesday–Sunday through October 2 at Marin Theatre Company. Marintheater.org

KRCB-FM: Second Row Center
"God of Carnage" - March 23, 2016

KRCB-FM: Second Row Center

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 24, 2016 4:00


As theatergoers, we occasionally attend plays we never previously liked, and end up changing our minds by the end. Maybe the acting and directing somehow assist the script in transcending its limitations, altering the show to make some powerful social statement, finding some new way to show us something we’d not noticed in previous productions. For me, Yazmina Reza’s acclaimed dark comedy God of Carnage has always been such a play. I don’t like it. I’ve never liked it, and its 2009 Tony award for Best Play continues to perplex me. Still, I am quite willing, eager even, to be proved wrong. As a theater writer, and a theater fan, nothing is more exciting than being proved wrong. Which brings us to Left Edge Theater’s rambunctious new staging at Luther Burbank Center. Unfortunately—though I did enjoy a number of things about the production—its intermittent pleasures were not enough to change my view that Reza’s satirical stab at modern social relationships is poorly constructed, lacking in true insight, and ugly to a fault. And no, graphic onstage vomiting—though entertaining in a way, and very well done here—does not qualify as a social statement. Though it is pretty funny. The idea of the play certainly has merit. Two pairs of suburban parents meet to discuss a playground scuffle between their two eleven-year-old sons. After initial attempts at civility, the convivial conversation quickly devolves into caustic verbal attacks, vitriolic blame slinging, blatant displays of marital discord, some abusive treatment of inanimate objects, and general drunken mayhem. The point, such as it is, is that civilization is a fairly weak and flimsy construct. Though we have become domesticated by the artificial constraints of society, we are all just one step away from the kind of brutal behavior that defined our warring, primitive ancestors. That’s hardly a fresh message. From ‘Lord of the Flies’ to ‘The Hunger Games,’ the subject has been pretty fully excavated. Heck, anyone who watches a Donald Trump speech might come to the same conclusion. That’s all right, in and of itself. Theater and literature repackage old messages all the time. The goal, though—one would hope—is to do it in a way that is fresh and clever, or at the very least, fun to watch. As the parents of the young victim, Ron Severdia and Melissa Claire exude varying levels of passive-aggressive hostility from the get-go. Heather Gordon and Nick Sholley, the parents of the attacker, convey palpably miserable frustration. Overall, despite their efforts, the script does not allow these characters any of the likability necessary for audiences to identity with these people, a vital factor in effective satire. Under Argo Thompson’s lean, unfussy direction, the four-actor cast clearly works hard to keep things light, playing their characters’ essential repugnance slightly over the top, straining hard to make the most of the jokes Reza has buried in her script’s quicksand of verbal meanness. But there are few real opportunities for levity here, and despite a few inspired moments of physical comedy—including the aforementioned vomiting scene and its messy aftermath—all that’s left for the actors is to illuminate the moments of dark humor in the dialogue. Thompson’s direction does bring a bit of a fresh perspective to the material, depicting the characters’ abrupt slide into bad behavior, not as a shocking surrender to primal savagery—as portrayed in other productions—but as a goofy, tantrum-tossing, sulking-and-pouting eruption of childishness. That’s a smart directorial choice, but it’s just not enough to balance out the bland cynicism of Reza’s viewpoint, or to change my mind that God of Carnage, even when reasonably well done, has worse problems than not being very funny. Sadly, it’s just not that good of a play. ‘God of Carnage” runs Fridays and Saturdays through April 2, at Luther Burbank Center. Details at www.leftedgetheater.com I’m David Templeton, Second Row Center, for KRCB

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RTDS / Listen UP Talk
MOTM Vol 51 CARMA SPENCE Life Coach Feb 11 2015

RTDS / Listen UP Talk

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 12, 2015 50:30


Carma Spence, The Own Your Awesome in Business and Life Coach, is fiercely committed to guiding women entrepreneurs to achieve confidence, clarity and self-awareness so they can have the creative, authentic and profitable business they dream of and live the life they deserve. She joins Dr. Peter Sacco and Todd Miller tonight on “Matters Of The Mind” to talk about the Law of Attraction, having a successful ‘money mind’, and having the rewarding life you deserve! With 20+ years experience in marketing communications and public relations, natural intuitive skills and certification in using some of the most effective transformational coaching tools available, my mission and commitment is to unleash the inner power every woman entrepreneur possesses so they can boldly go out into the world, transforming the fabric of people’s lives in meaningful and positive ways. An award-winning editor with more than 20 years experience in marketing, public relations and science communication, Carma is a multi-dimensional entrepreneur, science fiction writer and poet. Carma performed pro bono work for KRCB Public Television, the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts and the North Bay Career Resource Center. With the increasing importance of the Internet in marketing communications, Carma has developed an expertise in online presence and strategy. Her book, Home Sweet Home Page has received positive reviews and she now helps clients hone in on their core message and brand, develop their product lines and market themselves throughout the Web. She has worked with best-selling author Cynthia Kersey, fitness expert Wendy Ida and speaker/entertainer Cindy Ashton. To catch up with Carma: http://www.carmaspence.com/ http://twitter.com/carmap Hear Carma on “Matters Of The Mind” with Dr. Peter Sacco, at 8p EST on Wednesday, but if you miss it, it will be on demand Thursday, right here! Or find us on iTunes Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/rtds-listen-up-talk/id910538503?mt=2 #life, #coach, #lawofattraction, #attraction, #JackCanfield, #Jack, #Canfield, #TheSecret, #motivation, @coaching, @carmap, #carmaspence, #money, #planning, #success, #paradigmshift, #women, #entrepreneur,