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13 episodes with tuesday sunday
Dear FPC Logan friends,It’s Christ the King Sunday!! I hope you’ll join us for worship this weekend. We’re reading from the prophet Jeremiah, and have some wonderful choral pieces and hymns.https://youtu.be/wG6OK58VWP4 Here are two zoom links for activities on Sunday and Tuesday:Sunday afternoon Adult Education class with Pastor Meghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/81387905694?pwd=RlYwTU5JMFowQ20vYVpJRUNnK0FtQT09Tuesday morning Bible Study with Pastor Derekhttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/84861234310There […]
UTR Radio is bringing you a mix from the President of UTRDJZ himself " Casey Spinz " . This mix is an hour hour your favorite new / some throwback hip hop and rnb . Non stop energy that only UTR Radio knows how to deliver . Don't forget to download UTR Radio via the free app in Google Play or in the App Store . You can catch the UTRDJZ in the mix Tuesday - Sunday in the mix from 7 PM onward . #UTRDJZ @CASEYSPINZ www.utrdjz.com
Hi! I'm Kate Garfield, a modern Pilates instructor based in New York City. I'm excited to share my practice with you. This is a 20 Minute basic mat class for all levels. Thanks so much for checking me out! Follow me on Instagram at @garfieldlikethekat and click on my bio for links to live virtual classes Tuesday - Sunday.
The Greater Des Moines Botanical Gardens recently celebrated their 40th birthday! Kelly Reilly, Director of Marketing, and Laurie Haeder, Events and Venue Coordinator, discuss the wide range of services the gardens has to offer that benefit your business, staff, family, and overall well-being. It's not a plant museum, it's a destination wedding, a lively boardroom, and a dynamic ever-changing adventure. From City Management to Non-profit, learn the history of the gardens and a summary of services designed for everyone. So many spaces, venue spaces are available from small office meetings, to large conferences, and weddings. Educational classes: Vegetable Gardens 101, Ecologically Minded Advanced Classes, Youth and Family Classes, and the Botanical Break. A meeting or retreat interactive workshop to energize your group! Concert Series: Summer and Winter Series. Botanical Blues, January - March, Sundays 2-4 PM blues music. Free with admission. Trellis Cafe: Open for lunch Tuesday - Sunday 11 AM - 2 PM. Menu changes every month.
Below are the articles that were mentioned in this episode of the Alternative Blacks podcast for your reference:https://www.heritage.org/the-constitution/commentary/what-the-constitution-really-says-about-race-and-slaveryhttps://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/how-the-constitution-was-indeed-pro-slavery/406288/https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomlindsay/2017/09/29/the-constitution-is-as-racist-as-the-flag-and-anthem-that-celebrate-it/#31eec96c2d88https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/constitutionalism/https://www.newsweek.com/constitution-white-racist-first-amendment-second-amendment-absolute-1396759Special thank you to Oakbrook Brewing Company for sponsoring the episode. Make sure to check out Oakbrook Brewing Company open Tuesday-Sunday, located at 628 Park Ave, Reading, PA 19611.On this episode we drank:White Russian Stouthttps://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/44633/320981/
I had the good fortune to talk with Dr. Stephen Hughes from the Department of Anthropology and Sociology, SOAS, University of London. He and Emily Stevenson curated an exhibit of postcards in an exhibit titled, From Madras to Bangalore: Picture Postcards as Urban History of Colonial India. Here's what the exhibit is: This exhibition covers a selection of picture postcards from the Indian cities of Chennai and Bengaluru between 1900 and the 1930s; then known as Madras and Bangalore. They were the two most important colonial cities in British south India. By pairing these together, this exhibition tells a tale of how these two cities, although separated by 215 miles, were linked through a set of common representational and material practices. The exhibit explores how postcard practices imagined, figured and performed a colonial encounter by depicting cities’ monuments, street, people and places. In the early decades of the 20th century, postcards were at the height of their popularity. They were an innovative and affordable form of communicating. It has been estimated that in Britain alone approximately six billion postcards passed through the postal system between 1902 and 1910. You can follow the exhibit on Instagram: soaspostcard The exhibit is open until September 23, 2018, Tuesday-Sunday 10:30am to 5:00 PM, Thursdays late opening till 8pm. *** Music in the episode is Japanese Prog by Rushus and is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License. Get The Postcardist Podcast for free: Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | TuneIn
Hansen's Sno-Bliz and the Story of the New Orleans Snowball In today’s episode, we head over to Hansen's Sno-Bliz on Tchoupitoulas Street, in uptown New Orleans. We visit with Ashley Hansen, granddaughter of Ernest and Mary Hansen, and the current owner of Hansen's Sno-Bliz. Hansen's is the oldest snowball stand in the United States, and is currently open for its 79th season in 2018. In the 1930s, Ernest Hansen created the first machine to shave ice into the snowy powder essential for a terrific New Orleans snowball. That machine is still put to daily use in the shop today! Mary Hansen ran the business, while Ernest was working as a machinist on the ships docked along the Mississippi. In their later years, the Hansen's ran the snowball stand together. As they got older, their granddaughter Ashley was their to assist, and ultimately to continue the tradition. "There are no shortcuts to quality” - Mary Hansen Mary Hansen uttered these words frequently, and ran her business by this code. Today, Ashley continues setting the standard, making the syrups from scratch each day, and using the best possible ingredients. Mary's words are all over the shop - on signs and on every plastic cup sold at Hansen's today. Listen in and learn all about Mary and Earnest Hansen, and the ubiquitous treat New Orleans claim as their birthright today. You'll hear great family stories, and tales of New Orleans traditions. By the end, you'll be ready to make your plans to visit New Orleans this summer and stop in at Hansen's for a delicious snowball! Sponsor: The Old 77 Hotel and Chandlery When you are ready to make your plans to visit New Orleans, you'll need a place to stay! The Old 77 is ideally situated in the Warehouse District, just three blocks from the French Quarter. It features a variety of pet-friendly rooms, the award-winning Compere Lapin restaurant, and more. You'll love the location, the rooms, and the food, but the details and the service are what you'll fall in love with! To book your room, click here or use code BBOLD77 to save 25% off their regular rates. You'll also get a bit of lagniappe, a little something extra. In this case, you'll receive a $10 credit to be used at Tout La in the hotel lobby - your stop for coffee and a quick bite to eat as you head out to explore New Orleans. Lagniappe, part II - email a copy of your reservation to mark@beyondbourbonst.com and I'll send you my pdf guide of what to eat, see and do in the Warehouse District, including how to get to Hansen's Sno-Bliz! Visit and Follow Hansen's Sno-Bliz If you want to drive yourself crazy with snowball envy, be sure to follow Hansen's Sno-Bliz on Instagram. Go ahead, you know you want to! Check out their website (snobliz.com) for more history about Hansen's and to be sure they are open for the season. You can also get updates on their Facebook page. Better still, visit Ashley and the team over at Hansen's in person. Hansen's Sno-Bliz is located at 4801 Tchoupitoulas Street, New Orleans, LA. Tchoupitoulas is pronounced CHOP-i-TOO-LAS, but you would already know that since you listened to episode #11 - the Language of New Orleans. You did listen to that episode, right? :) Hansen's is open from 1-7PM, Tuesday-Sunday, when they are in season. Be sure to check before you go, and don't go on Mondays - they will be closed. Mondays in New Orleans are for red beans and rice anyway. Thank You Thanks to Ashley Hansen for talking with us on a busy afternoon in the middle of snowball season. I went to meet Ashley and learn about the snowball business. What I got instead was a love story, and a new friend! Thanks also to Paul Broussard who works with Ashley and helped set up our interview! Thanks to our newest sponsor, the Old 77 Hotel. Nearly a year ago, I thought the Old 77 would be a good fit with the show because I kept recommending it to listeners like you over and over again. I am thrilled they saw the fit, too! Finally, thanks to Patti Dunn over at Tchoup Industries for sponsoring the Jazz Fest ticket giveaway. They make wonderful handmade bags, including the bag I use to carry all my podcast gear! Want to Make Your Trip to New Orleans the Best Ever? Of course you do! If you’re planning a trip to New Orleans and want to cut through all the research we’re here to help. We offer a personalized travel consult. Here’s how it works: You complete a brief questionnaire to help us get to know you and the experience you want to have in New Orleans. Next, we set up a 20-30 minute phone or video call. During the call, we get to know you a little better. We can clarify any questions and bounce a few ideas off of you to make sure we ‘re on the right track. Finally, we prepare and deliver a pdf document with our recommendations for your trip. Depending on your needs the report will contain specific places to stay, eat and drink. It will also offer suggestions on things to do and see, all based on your budget and interests. Sound good? Just go to beyondbourbonst.com/travel for all the details and a link to order the service. Subscribe to the Podcast If you enjoy the show, please subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Google Play Music or wherever you get your podcasts. If you do enjoy listening, please share Beyond Bourbon Street with someone who shares our love of New Orleans. Join Us on Facebook We have a free Facebook group where you can ask questions, share your New Orleans experiences and engage with others who love all things New Orleans! Join us by going to beyondbourbonst.com/facebook Contact Us Got an idea for an episode, have some feedback or just want to say hi? Leave us a message at 504-475-7632 or send an email to mark@beyondbourbonst.com Thanks for listening! Mark
The Vaughn chows down on some chicken nuggets after his 3v3 loss, and the guys make sure your plate is piled full of fantasy wisdom so that you can cash more lineups on Fanball this week. As always we've got you covered Tuesday - Sunday, so tune in and find out which NBA players will lead you to victory, and which you need to fade at all costs.
Tanking is all the rage right now in the NBA, and Whitlock and the Vaughn are here to break down which teams and players you should be targeting and avoiding with just over a month left in the regular season. The guys have player recommendations for every night of the week Tuesday - Sunday to help you cash more lineups on Fanball, and bring back their internal 3v3 fantasy competition for the first time in three weeks.
Hello, as your favorite film analysis podcast keeps streaming through Netflix November, we take a look at the dystopian sci-fi picture, What Happened to Monday. What Happened to Monday? As Netflix November rolls forward, we decide to get into some more action with the dystopian sci-fi action thriller What Happened to Monday? It's something of a whoddunit, but not quite. In a world where procreation has been limited to one child per family, a group of septuplets are born. The grandfather (Defoe) of the septuplets opts to hide them away to keep them safe. The seven sisters are named for the days of the week, and as they grow up they share a common alias that allows them outside on the day corresponding with their name. Then, Monday goes missing. The other sisters rally together to figure out What Happened to Monday. This film is something else, to say the least. We give quick reviews and a lot of quips as we start the show, and then we move into our game. This week, we discuss our favorite Actors Who Played Multiple Parts in the Same Film. The title is clunky, but we have a lot of fun discussing some of our faves. Then, as always, we get down to business. We try to make some sense of this convoluted film. We discuss the regressive nature of the ideology. The social idea of all being punished for the actions of one. Identity is also a point of discussion as well. Now, help us uncover what happened to Tuesday–Sunday. GET IN TOUCH Thanks for joining us for another wonderful Shocktober. If you haven’t yet, you can connect with us through our various means of social media. Hit us up and let us know what you like and what you don’t like. Also, it would mean a lot if you left a review on iTunes after you finish subscribing. Like our page on Facebook.Follow Us on Twitter.Subscribe and Review us on iTunes.
Matt and Erisa talk about a movie best enjoyed with lasagna Tuesday-Sunday (because it stars Andrew Garfield).
Episode 9 of our Cereal & such Podcast. Live from ComplexCon we chatted with our friends: Anwar Carrots Ryan O'Connor (of RIP N DIP) DeRay Mckesson Kaytranada Verdy (of Girls Don't Cry) Kosta (of FELT) Diane "King" Shabazz Chris Gibbs (of UNION) Paulo Wallo (of Rare Panther) Ciesay of (Places + Faces) Hosted by Theo Martins & Free. We're Cereal & such. enjoy this one, we had a ball putting it together. Cereal & such is a Cereal bar located in the Virgil Village area of Los Angeles. Our Hours are 11am-5pm Tuesday-Sunday. http://cerealandsuch.com Leave us a review. Were at 6 right now so I'll know if you reviewed or not. Make us proud.
Enderby Island rabbit Hello Listener! Thank you for listening. If you would like to support the podcast, and keep the lights on, you can support us whenever you use Amazon through the link below: It will not cost you anything extra, and I can not see who purchased what. Or you can become a Fluffle Supporter by donating through Patreon.com at the link below: Patreon/Hare of the Rabbit What's this Patreon? Patreon is an established online platform that allows fans to provide regular financial support to creators. Patreon was created by a musician who needed a easy way for fans to support his band. Please support Hare of the Rabbit Podcast financially by becoming a Patron. Patrons agree to a regular contribution, starting at $1 per month. Patreon.com takes a token amount as a small processing fee, but most of your money will go directly towards supporting the Hare of the Rabbit Podcast. You can change or stop your payments at any time. Thank you for your support, Jeff Hittinger. Word of the Week: Lucrative Folktale: How the Rattlesnake learned to bite News: Hanford’s Storybook Set to Open Joe Chianakas Pre-Releases The Final Book In His Famous Rabbit In Red Series Rare footage reveals Alice in Wonderland was released as a 52-minute silent movie 100 years ago Girl sews 'Bunnies of Hope' to provide comfort for patients Drones used to target Lincolnshire hare coursers Venezuelan president's plan to beat hunger Vice president's pet rabbit hops into book deal Bill would require pet stores to sell rescue animals Stone Bridge Preserve: Conservation Project Creates New England Cottontail Habitat Amazon Purchases: Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/HareoftheRabbit/ Enderby Island Rabbit Breed The Enderby Island Rabbit, which is also referred to as the Enderby Rabbit, is a breed that descended from the rabbits that were taken from Australia to be released on Enderby Island in October of 1865. The animals survived in isolation on the island for almost 130 years, during which they became a distinct breed. We are going to look at the history of the Enderby Rabbit, so be prepared to take a remarkable journey of hope, survival, fortitude, lifesaving, rescue, destruction and preservation. This story is like no other in the world of domestic rabbits. Whales were plentiful in the waters that surrounded the Auckland's and the shores would prove to be rich with sea lions, but at the same time shipwrecks were abundant in the rough and dangerous waters around these six volcanic islands. Castaways would attempt to survive for weeks and months, in hopes of a rescue ship finding them. Back in Australia, the Acclimatization Society of Victoria was formed in 1861, with the aim of introducing exotic plants and animals to suitable parts of the colony and to procure animals from Great Britain and other countries. Shortly after the organization was founded, a gift of 4 silver-grey rabbits was presented to the Society in 1864. In a letter dated 3 October, 1865 Jas. G. Francis, Commissioner of Trade and Customs advised Commander William Henry Norman, of the H.M.C.S. VICTORIA I to search the Auckland Islands for possible persons in distress and 'With the view of making provisions, to a certain extent, for any persons who may hereafter be wrecked or in distress upon these islands, the Acclimatization Society have put on board a number of animals, which will be good enough to let loose on the island." There would be 12 rabbits on board ship that set sail Wednesday, October 4, 1865. So Enderby Island rabbits are descendants of English Silver Greys, (not the Champagne de Argente as previously reported in various papers and scientific journals). In some of the research, I found that Bob Whitmann in his research of the breed had locate Mrs. Margaret Levin, of Queensland, Australia who is the great-great-granddaughter of Com. Norman.- She became fascinated with his research project and has provided pictures of the ship, the commander, her crew and best of all, copies of the journal and logbooks of this historic voyage. It should be noted that Margaret was also a rabbit breeder while living in Victoria. From Com. Norman's Journals. "Saturday, 14th. - No traces of pigs or other animals being observed near here; landed four goats, sent by the Acclimatization Society. Some small patches of English grass growing about the old settlement. Later in the day, one of the men reported having seen a dog. This deterred me from landing some rabbits and fowls as I had intended." There is an error in his journal as he write Monday. 18th and this would have actually been Wednesday. 18th "At 4:30 a.m. started for Enderby Island, and anchored in the sandy bay referred to yesterday, at 5 a.m. Sent on shore ten goats and twelve rabbit; these at once took to the English grass, on which I have no doubt they will thrive well. Weighed again at 7:30a.m., and steamed slowly round the island." The H.M.S.C. VICTORIA I returned to its home port, Hobson's Bay, at 1:30 p.m. Monday, November 27, 1865, having found no castaways. Now it should be noted that this was not the first time that rabbits were let released on Enderby Island. The British "EREBUS" and "TERROR" expedition, of Sir James Clark Ross. These rabbits were killed off by the Maoris who did not leave the island until March 1856. Enderby Island is 1,700 acres in size, cold, windy and with high humidity. Except for the coastal cliffs and rocks, along with a few acres of sand hills, the island is pretty much covered with a dense blanket of peat. The 12 rabbits would thrive and multiply, burrowing into the sandy hillsides and dry peat. In 1867, the survivors of the GENERAL GRANT caught many rabbits, as did the survivors of the DERRY CASTLE in March of 1887. During the next 100 years, the rabbits of Enderby would be up and down in population. In 1874, H.M.S. BLANCHE found the island "over-run with black rabbits". 1886 in a report to the Royal Society of Victoria it was reported that the rabbits were fast dying out or rather starved out, having eaten most all the grass and reverting to thickly set mossy plants. By 1894 the HINEMOA reported "rabbits swarm, and greatly reduce the value of the pasturage ... one of the party shot over twenty in the course of short excursion. 25 head of cattle and many rabbits were reported by Oliver in 1927. In 1932 the pastoral lease of the island ended and in 1934 the New Zealand (NZ) government made the island a reserve for the preservation of native flora and fauna. The NZ National Parks and Reserves Authority approved the Auckland Island Management Plan on January 12, 1987 to eliminate all man introduced animals from the islands. A study by B.W. Glentworth in 1991, showed a rabbit population of between 5,000 to 6,000 rabbits. Rabbits were destroying that native vegetation at an alarming rate and playing havoc with the sea lion pup population. The numerous rabbit burrows along Sandy Bay is an important breeding ground for this threatened sea lion species, as pups would become trapped in the burrows and die. It is estimated that over 10% of the pups would die trapped in the burrows. The Canterbury Chapter of the Rare Breeds Conservation Society of NZ (RBCSNZ), having heard of the rabbit's eradication plan, began setting up a project to rescue a breeding population of the Enderby Island Rabbit through the dedicated efforts of Mrs. Catreona Kelly as Project Manager. Michael Willis and Dr. Dave Matheson, D.V.M. of the Rare Breeds Society along with Wayne Costello and Trevor Tidy from the NZ Department of Conservation (DOC) would travel on board the naval diving ship MANAWANUI, arriving on Enderby on Tuesday 15, September, 1992 at 11 :30 p. m .. A permit was secured to trap 50 rabbits in just a very few days. Various modes of trapping were used, baffle traps and funnel nets at the warren entrances, soft-jaw leg hold traps, proved to be of little use, but 200 meters of wing netting would be the most successful. Rabbits would be trapped from four locations, which were given warren names; Enderby, Stella, Rata and Base. By September 19th, 50 rabbits had been captured, 15 does (females) and 35 bucks (males). Dive teams ferried the rabbits on inflatable Zodiacs back to the main ship in rather difficult swell conditions. Of special note, it was during this recovery, that the last two surviving members of the Enderby Island cattle breed were discovered. The cow, named lady and her calf, which soon died would make world history, as Lady is the largest mammal ever cloned, first cow cloned to have calve, and the first attempt at cloning to save a rare breed, well it's a story all to its own. The 49 rabbits (one died of a back injury) would arrive at Somes Island in Wellington Harbor on September 25th at 6 p.m. to begin a one-month quarantine period, which ended on October 28, 1992. There would be 3 kits (young) born during this period. Each rabbit was carefully inspected, handled, identified with an ear tag and given a permanent tattoo. Rabbits were split into three different destination groups, one for Wairarapa, and another for New Plymouth and the rest for Christchurch. All rabbits born were carefully recorded in the stud book by Mrs. Kelly. All rabbits were the property of the D.O.C. however ten dedicated caregivers would be entrusted with the rabbits, under contract, with the RBCSNZ. In 1998 private ownership of the Enderby Island rabbits would begin as the numbers of rabbits increased. The eradication program took place from February 9 through May 8, 1993 with a team of four people and a specially trained rabbit-tracking dog named Boss. The rabbits would be killed with a green dyed cereal pellet containing Brodifacoum, which was sowed using a helicopter. The last Enderby Island rabbit would be caught and destroyed on April 12, 1993 ending a 127 year period of natural selection. Enderby Island rabbits are the world's rarest breed of rabbit, with less than 300 animals in existence. Most are black, but there are few known cream colored ones and even fewer blues. The breed evolved from the English Silver Greys, and not the Champagne de Argente as previously reported in various papers and scientific journals. A brief background on the silvers from Bob Whitman who had been a collector of old rabbit books for 30 years. In his research some of the earliest works state that the Silver came from Siam and brought to England by traders, other works say that Silver Greys existed thousands of years ago in India and were brought to Europe by Portuguese sailors early in the 17th century. Gervase Markham in 1631 wrote that rabbits with silver tips to their hairs were being kept in warrens in England. It is well documented that Silvers appeared in the warrens of Lincolnshire, England amongst wild rabbit and were known as Sprigs, Millers, Lincolnshire Silver Greys, Chinchilla Silver Grey, Riche and more simply put Silver Grey. The breed was first shown in England in 1860. A buff colored Silver Grey doe took first honors at the Crystal Palace Poultry Show in the "Foreign Class" in 1863. Mature weight at the time was 6 to 9 pounds. Thousands of them were being raised in the warrens of 1850s for table purposes in the larger cities, and the skins were bought up for exportation to Russia and China. The first English breed standard was set up in 1880. The Champagne de Argente was not introduced into the Britain until 1920 and weighed a hefty 9 to 11 pounds. English breeders have perfected the silver breed to have an even silvering over the entire body, including the head, feet and tail. The fur is sleek, with a fly back coat. In one of Bob Wittman's early books, Manuals for the Many the Rabbit Book, circa 1855, there is a wood engraving that screams Enderby Island Rabbit. I quote, "The head and ears are nearly all black with a few white hairs. These white hairs are more numerous on the neck, shoulders, and back; but on all the lower parts, such as the chest or belly, the number of white hairs is greater than those of a blue or black color." So there you have it, a very condensed version of a remarkable story. Some 250 plus generations, of natural selection during a course of 127 years of near total isolation on a sub Antarctic island called Enderby, where a nucleus of 12 rabbits would evolve to become their own breed called Enderby Island. Overall Description The Enderby Island Rabbit is a rare and endangered breed.The Enderby Island Rabbit has a medium length body that features a slight taper from the front to the hindquarters, and the back will also be slightly arched. The head, which is well set upon the shoulders, should be medium in size and it should be in proportion with the rest of the body. There is not a visible neck, and the ears are carried in the shape of a “V”. The eyes are bold. The legs and the feet are fine to medium boned, and the nails will match the body color. In general, when looking at an Enderby Island Rabbit, you will notice that the body is fine-boned and slim. The head will be small, and the ears will be delicate and upright. Body to be medium in length, with a slight taper from the hindquarters to front, with a slightly arched back. Leaning towards a racy look. The head is to be medium in size and in proportion to the body. It is to be well set in the shoulders and show no visible neck. The ears are to be in proportion and firmly set on head. They are to be carried in a "v", not necessarily together. The feet and legs are to be medium to fine in bone and good length. The Nails are to match the body colour. Litters are rather small with 2, 3 and 4 kits, with a record being 8 Weight: Although descended from the Silver Greys which weighed between 8 and 9 lbs the Enderby island rabbit has evolved to be a little smaller with the average weight ranging from 3 to 4 lbs. Coat The coat of the Enderby Island Rabbit is soft and short. The body is rather heavily silvered in most animals, with about 80% silvering. The extremities, i.e., the head ears, feet and tail are much darker and only lightly silvered, with a pronounced butterfly marking on the nose. The coat is unlike the Silver breed, being more open, longer and soft in texture. The youngsters can be rather slow to silver and may require 6 to 8 months to complete the cycle. Adults become more silvered over the years. Faults: Coat too harsh, woolly, thin or short Serious Fault: White hairs in armpits Disqualifications: White patches on colored fur or colored patches on white fur. Colors Enderby Rabbits can come in a few different colors, but the majority of them will be a distinct silver-grey with a dark slate blue undercoat. The ears, tail, and head will be darker and are often black. Slate–Undercolor showing a dark slate blue. silvering on body, medium preferred. Champagne– Under showing a lighter shade of slate blue. Silvering on body seen a medium to heavy. The whole evenly and moderately interspersed with longer, jet black hairs and silver tipped hairs. Head, ears, feet & tail can range from almost black with light silvering. To less of the base color showing through the points, due to an increased amount of silvering in the body Crème - Undercolor orange to go down as far as possible, body color creamy white, the whole evenly and moderately interspersed with longer orange hairs and silver tipped hairs. Darker markings on head, ears, feet & tail permissible with less silvering than the main body. White underbelly is permissible. Evenness and Brightness of Silvering - The evenness of silvering is more important than the degree of silvering. Silvering is to be evenly distributed over the body with exception of head, feet and tail showing more of the base color. A diamond shape of un-silvered fur on the forehead permissible until fully mature.(mask to have silvering) Under 5 months - Slate/Champagne kits are born black. Creme kits are born a fawn color. Silvering starts to show from about 6-8 weeks and can take up to 6 months to come into their full coat. Solid patches of the base color will be seen on the juvenile coat. Under 5's should be judged for their general type and evenness of silvering that is coming through at the time of showing. A diamond shape of un-silvered fur on the forehead permissible until fully mature.(mask to have silvering). Acceptable colors for this rabbit breed include slate, champagne, and crème. Champagne and slate rabbits are actually born black, and crème rabbits are born featuring a fawn color. The body will become heavily silvered (roughly 80% silvering) in most Enderby Rabbits, but the feet, tail, ears, and head will be lightly silvered. I suppose you could say there are two varieties of Enderby Island. They come mainly in the silver-grey but a very small percentage are born cream or beige-colored – a shade produced by a recessive gene You will notice the Enderby Island Rabbit’s distinct silvering begin to appear on the coat at around 6 to 8 weeks. It could take up to 6 months or more for it to come into the full coat. Also, the juvenile coat of the Enderby Rabbit will feature solid patches in the base color. And as the rabbits age, they will become even more silvered. Care Requirements The coat of an Enderby Island Rabbit will become heavily silvered.If you are planning on bringing an Enderby Island Rabbit into your family, you should have enough room for a large enclosure that will keep your pet safe and comfortable. Your rabbit should be able to stand up, turn around, and stretch while in his cage, and he should be able to come out of the cage regularly in order to play and interact with you. You can keep your Enderby Island Rabbit indoors or outside, as this breed is hardy and accustomed to cold weather, but be sure to protect him from predators. Indoors, make room for your pet to run around and exercise outside of the cage, and give him an area where he can get access to fresh air and sunshine. If you want to let your rabbit spend some time outside, you can place your rabbit in an exercise pen, lawn enclosure, or extension hut for safety. Feed your Enderby Rabbit a diet that consists of pellets, hay, and vegetables. You can include grass hays like orchard, oat, and timothy hays, and you can purchase pellets designed for rabbits. Fresh foods, such as dark, leafy greens, should also be provided. Limit the amount of starchy veggies and fruits that your rabbit eats, and always provide fresh, clean water. It was noted that the breed had adapted to eating seaweed. Health Keep your pet’s environment as stress-free as possible because stress alone could lower your rabbit’s ability to resist disease. Like other rabbits, the Enderby Island Rabbit might be susceptible to ear mites, conjunctivitis, bloat, hairball obstructions, and intestinal problems, such as coccidiosis. Rabbit Care & Handling These rabbits can be very affectionate, especially when a treat or food is on offer. They are very neat and tidy rabbits too and you will usually find, especially does have a tendency to keep their nest area in ship-shape condition. They do love being outside and have not really been adapted for indoor environments, the breed being evolved from a very cold, sub-antartic island. Their diet is the same for any other rabbit but just be careful not to overfeed as they can be a little greedy and do not carry excess weight well as they will be unable to groom themselves properly. Temperament/Behavior Enderby Rabbits are prone to being skittish, but you can reduce the amount of nervousness that your pet feels by simply providing him with plenty of attention and gentle handling. When an Enderby Island Rabbit is properly socialized, he will be affectionate towards the people that he has grown to trust. Bond with your pet by grooming him and giving him treats. Eventually, your rabbit might show you how much he loves you by licking and kissing you. They can be quite skittish and nervous and on the look out for predators all the time. This makes them want to naturally burrow and hide. Also keep in mind that, like all rabbits, the Enderby Rabbit is a social creature that is happiest when it is with other rabbits, so if you have the space for two or three rabbits, or you don’t have the time to dedicate to interacting with your rabbit, consider getting more than one. For several years all animals remained the property of the Rare Breeds Conservation Society of New Zealand with breeding programmes being undertaken by individual caregivers. Some animals are now available for purchase by private enthusiasts, and some have even been exported to North America. Clubs Today the Enderby Island rabbit as a breed is not only rare but also endangered. The breed is endangered due to the large number of hybrids formed with individuals crossing the Enderby with other domestic rabbit breeds. The Enderby is not recognised by the BRC (British Rabbit Council) or the ARBA, (American Rabbit Breeders Association). Through the determined and dedicated efforts to keep the breed alive Sitereh and Chris Schouten of Nature's Pace near Christchurch, the Enderby Island rabbit was given breed status by the Rabbit Council of New Zealand in April, 2002 when it was accepted into their book of Standards. It should also be noted that Sitereh, is now the official recorded keeper of all Enderbys. The Enderby Island Rabbit Club of NZ has been created to protect, further and coordiante the interests of all Enderby Island Rabbit Breeders and to assist and extend the exhibition of Enderby rabbits. For a full run down on points for judging, you can purchase a copy of the standards from RCNZ THANK YOU RBCSNZ for saving this breed. Breeders, Clubs & Organizations Enderby Island Rabbit Breeders The following names and contact details are in New Zealand and are all Enderby Island specialized breeders: Elaine & Chris Gilberd, Warwickzfarm, Main South Road, Dunsandel, R D 2., LEESTON 8151. (Canterbury) Phone: (03) 325 4116. Fax: (03) 325 4539. E-mail: warwickzfarm (at) warwickzfarm.com Ava Hunt, 182 Drummond Oreti Road, R D 3, WINTON 9783. Phone: (027) 275 4713. E-mail: ava.hunt (at) xtra.co.nz Lorne and Pamela Kuehn, Waitangi Estate, Kaituna, R. D. 2, CHRISTCHURCH 8021 Phone/ Fax (03) 329 0822 E-mail lpkuehn (at) cyberxpress.co.nz Suzanne Shillito, Perrymans Road, R D 2, CHRISTCHURCH. Phone/Fax: (03) 325 3380, E-mail shillito (at) xtra.co.nz Chris & Sitereh Schouten. Phone: (03) 327 4211 E-mail cands.schouten (at) clear.net.nz For details see Natures Pace. Wee Dram Farm, 492 Oxford Road, Fernside, R D 1, RANGIORA. Phone: (03) 310 6443 E-mail: weedram (at) iconz.co.nz http://www.petguide.com/breeds/rabbit/enderby-island-rabbit/ https://www.rarebreeds.co.nz/enderbyrabbit.html http://www.justrabbits.com/enderby-island.html http://www.roysfarm.com/enderby-island-rabbit/ http://eircnz.tripod.com/ http://www.rabbitcouncil.co.nz/rabbit-breeds/enderby-island https://www.teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/38518/enderby-island-rabbits-grazing-1973 http://vetbook.org/wiki/rabbit/index.php?title=Enderby_Island http://www.nationalrabbitassociation.co.nz/enderby-island https://books.google.com/books?id=CI8531CO-dsC&pg=PA321&lpg=PA321&dq=Enderby+Island+Rabbits&source=bl&ots=B9wqB9DgAf&sig=Hg0QyniJ-w3mDSd8ttlboqdXzao&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwir1Zj_tpTWAhWi5lQKHYtRBmU4ChDoAQg-MAc#v=onepage&q=Enderby%20Island%20Rabbits&f=false http://www.nationalsilverrabbitclub.co.uk/?q=book/export/html/45 How the Rattlesnake learned to bite http://www.firstpeople.us/FP-Html-Legends/HowtheRattlesnakeLearnedtoBite-Pima.html After the people and the animals were created, they all lived together. Rattlesnake was there, and was called Soft Child because he was so soft in his motions. The people like to hear him rattle, and little rest did he get because they continually poked and scratched him so that he would shake the rattles in his tail. At last Rattlesnake went to Elder Brother to ask help. Elder Brother pulled a hair from his own lip, cut it into short pieces , and made it into teeth for Soft Child. "If any one bothers you", he said "bite him". That evening Ta-api, Rabbit, came to Soft Child as he had done before and scratched him. Soft Child raised his head and bit rabbit. Rabbit was very angry and scratched him again. Soft Child bit him again. Then Rabbit ran about saying that Soft Child was angry and had bitten him. Then he went to rattlesnake again, and twice more he was bitten. The bites made rabbit very sick. He asked for a bed of cool sea sand. Coyote was sent to the sea for the cool, damp sand. Then Rabbit asked for the shade of bushes that he might feel the cool breeze. But at last Rabbit died. He was the first creature which had died in this new world. Then the people were troubled because they did not know what to do with the body of rabbit. One said, "If we bury him, Coyote will surely dig him up". Another said, "if we hide him, Coyote will surely find him." And another said, "If we put him in a tree, Coyote will surely climb up." So they decided to burn the body of rabbit, and yet there was no fire on Earth. Blue Fly said, "Go to the sun and get some of the fire which he keeps in his house," So Coyote scampered away, but he was sure the people were trying to get rid of him so he kept looking back. Then Blue Fly made the first drill. Taking a stick like an arrow, he twirled it in his hands, letting the lower end rest on a flat stick that lay on the ground. Soon smoke began to rise, and then fire came. The people gathered fuel and began their duty. But Coyote, looking back, saw fire ascending. He turned and ran back as fast as he could go. When the people saw him coming, they formed a ring, but he raced around the circle until he saw two short men standing together. He jumped over them, and seized the heart of the rabbit. But he burned his mouth doing it, and it is black to this day. NEWS: Hanford’s Storybook Set to Open Phase 1 http://www.ourvalleyvoice.com/2017/09/10/hanfords-storybook-set-open-phase-1/ Posted on September 10, 2017 by Nancy Vigran Volunteers have been working with fervor to compete as much as possible of the Children’s Storybook Garden and Farm History Museum Phase 1, prior to its soft opening on September 23. Located at the corner of Harris and Tenth in downtown Hanford, Storybook was the brainstorm of Judy Wait, a retired Hanford teacher. She combined her teaching skills with her love for gardening, and in 2011 with her husband, Larry, took off on a trip to visit children’s gardens around the country. Children’s Storybook Garden and Farm History Museum motivator and director, Judy Wait, shows off Peter Rabbit’s Burrow and Mr. McGregor’s House, just two of the many houses, tunnels, barns and more for children to play in when they visit. Nancy Vigran/Valley Voice Six years later, with some 70-80 regular volunteers and so many in the local community, her fairytale has become a reality, not that she ever doubted it would. “I’m a believer,” she said. “I knew it would happen – it shows how much this was wanted.” The garden and museum have been, and continue to be, developed through a non-profit organization of the same name. The original one-acre property purchase was made possible through a loan – now paid-off through a $200,000 donation through a private donor who wishes to remain nameless. Prior to that a donor-loaner, another private individual, helped ease payments by making them for the organization, allowing funds for progress on the museum and gardens. That donor-loaner has also been repaid in full. The Victorian Burr Home, to become the museum, gift shop and kitchen, was donated by Bill Clark. And, through the donations of so many others including in part, Allen Laird Plumbing, Mike Crain Heating and Air, Randy Mc Nary Construction, Dan Veyna – Sierra Landscape & Design, Zumwalt & Hansen Engineering, Home Depot, Bettencourt Farms, Joe Robinson Concrete and Willie Williams Masonry, Storybook remains debt free. “It’s very grass roots,” said Kate Catalina, a long-term volunteer. “Everything is through volunteers and local support, given with love.” Sponsorships of individual gardens and or building areas have played an important part, as well. Peter Rabbit’s Burrow is covered with sweet potato vine. Entrance to the burrow is obvious, but the exit comes out through the vine. Nancy Vigran/Valley Voice With Phase 1 comes Peter Rabbit’s Burrow, Mr. McGregor’s House, Charlotte’s Dairy Barn, the Woodland Log Cabin and Garden, a Salsa Garden, the Teaching or Kitchen Garden, Nolan’s Critter Creek and Pond, the Topiary Garden, a Pizza Garden, the Three Little Pigs homes and Monet’s House. Each garden will have its own unique features to explore, and a book box holding books representing the inspiration for each, will be placed there for reading. The Teaching Garden will be planted with fall and winter crops by the children in the first field trips. Following groups will help tend to the garden and later harvest, clean and prepare the crops. The Victorian Burr Home is furnished with antiques donated by the community. “We’re trying to set up as in its heyday,” Catalina said. The Tank House, which came along with the Burr House, is also refreshed and will be utilized in teaching water conservation. Storybook is managed and run through its volunteers. However, an educational director and teaching assistant have been hired, each with her own set of experiences. “We were lucky to get these two really special people,” Wait said. “What sold us on them, was that you could just tell they love kids and love gardening, and would love this children’s garden.” Student volunteers are also welcome and encouraged through the Green Teens Club, ages 13-18. They will learn to be docents and readers in the gardens, and will receive community service hours. There is already a 4-H club tending to some of the gardens, as well as members of World Link Volunteer, a foreign-exchange group. Upon completion of Phase 1, Phase 2 will start to come together early next year, with completion of a new bathroom facility. Also in Phase 2 will be the building of the Stone Cottage, the Secret Garden and Celebration Garden. Completion of Phase 2 will allow for Storybook to be available for weddings and other small outdoor gatherings. “I just feel like it is all coming together,” Wait said. “And, it’s beautiful as it is happening.” The Victorian Burr Home, which has become the Storybook Museum, was donated to the project by Bill Clark. Freshly painted and with updated plumbing and electricity, as well as heating and air conditioning, the museum houses various antiques donated by members of the community, and will eventually also house a gift shop. Nancy Vigran/Valley Voice Field trips for many Hanford schools have already been arranged. Any school within the county and beyond, as well as clubs and other groups are welcome to schedule a trip. Storybook will also be open to the public starting with the soft opening. The hours, to start, are Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 4pm. Storybook will be closed on Mondays. Storybook will also feature a variety of special occasions including its first Happily Haunted Halloween Light Show in October. Some type of children’s event and adult event will eventually be held each month including multi-cultural events, Wait said. Sponsorship for areas of the gardens and buildings are still needed. Monetary donations of $50 can be applied to a foot of fencing, or a brick becoming a border on a walkway. Kings County Board of Supervisors Chair Craig Pedersen, who grew up in Kings County, said the board is excited about the project. “A place where children have the opportunity to explore and grow is a good thing,” he said. “Anything we can do to try and help, we’ll do.” For more information and to volunteer or donate, view, www.childrensstorybookgarden.org/ or call, 559-341-4845. Joe Chianakas Pre-Releases The Final Book In His Famous Rabbit In Red Series http://www.centralillinoisproud.com/news/living-well/joe-chianakas-pre-releases-the-final-book-in-his-famous-rabbit-in-red-series/809144841 WASHINGTON, IL - The Rabbit in Red series continues! Joe Chianakas will soon release the final entry in the internationally acclaimed trilogy. So, prepare to read "Bury The Rabbit." The release date is actually October 28th, but Joe is set to take part in a pre-release celebration in honor of Zeek's Comics & Games 2nd anniversary this weekend. He and Zak Kalina, owner of Zeek's Comics & Games, join us now to tell us all the details. If you can't make it to this pre-release event, don't worry. You can meet Joe at Barnes & Noble on Saturday, October 28th at 1:00 pm. Rare footage reveals Alice in Wonderland was released as a 52-minute silent movie 100 years ago where she encounters the rabbit, caterpillar and the Queen of Hearts Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4872458/Alice-Wonderland-silent-film-footage-released-1915.html#ixzz4sVHcSBZ1 Rare footage has emerged of a 102-year-old silent film adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The charming clip from the 52-minute retelling of the classic story, released in 1915, shows Alice going down the rabbit hole and meeting familiar characters such as the White Rabbit and the pipe-smoking caterpillar. Alice, played by Viola Savoy, is also seen swinging a flamingo as a mallet in the peculiar croquet scene, and standing as a witness at the trial to investigate who stole the Queen of Hearts' tarts. The scenes make up a silent film released in 1915 by writer and director, WW Young. It is notable for depicting much of the 'Father William' poem that appears in Lewis Carroll's classic 1865 novel. His motion picture was a precursor of a world famous cartoon. These scenes (including Alice and the pipe-smoking caterpillar, pictured) make up a silent film by writer and director, WW Young. It is notable for depicting much of the 'Father William' poem that appears in Lewis Carroll's classic 1865 novel, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Girl sews 'Bunnies of Hope' to provide comfort for patients http://www.nbc12.com/story/36307411/girl-sews-bunnies-of-hope-to-provide-comfort-for-patients MECHANICSVILLE, VA (WWBT) - A Mechanicsville woman says her daughter spent the summer hand sewing "Bunnies of Hope." Karen Wharam Schricker says her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in May. Her daughter sewed and donated over 100 bunnies that have encouraging names and scriptures on them. The bunnies were placed in waiting rooms of radiation and oncology units. "She wanted them to have something to hold on to, feel a small bit of comfort, and to know someone cared," said Schricker. Drones used to target Lincolnshire hare coursers http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-41171890 Lincolnshire Police's Operation Galileo is also using off-road vehicles to tackle coursers. More than 2,000 calls were made to the county's police during the 2015-16 hare coursing season. Chief Constable Bill Skelly said the introduction of drones would prove useful in gathering evidence to put before the courts. More on this and other local stories from across Lincolnshire Last season, farmers said some areas of the county resembled the "Wild West" after an escalation in the level of violence used by coursers. Mr Skelly said evidence gathered by drones would help "bring about a better result for our rural communities... and the right convictions for the worst offenders". However, Alister Green, from the National Farmers Union, said "the proof will be in the pudding". He said he hoped the use of drones, along with other measures, would help act as a deterrent. Traditionally offenses start to rise in the autumn after crops have been harvested, and continue until the end of the season in spring. Last year, coursers from as far afield as Sussex and North Yorkshire were dealt with by the force. Three arrests Hare coursing has been illegal throughout the UK since 2005. The Hunting Act 2004 makes it an offense to hunt wild mammals with dogs. Lincolnshire Police has previously described the coursers as the "scourge of rural England", and said it was doing everything within its power to deal with those involved. On Tuesday, a vehicle and four dogs were seized, as police made three arrests at Braceby, near Sleaford. The force said the season had started earlier this year due to the early harvest. Hare coursing Since 2005, hare coursing has been illegal throughout the UK. The Hunting Act 2004 makes it an offence to hunt wild mammals with dogs The dogs - usually greyhounds, lurchers or salukis - are on a slip lead, threaded so it can be easily released The coursers will walk along the field to frighten the hare into the open The dog catches the hare and kills it by "ragging" it - shaking the animal in its teeth The dead hare is usually left in the field or thrown in a ditch Venezuelan president's plan to beat hunger: breed rabbits – and eat them https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/14/venezuela-president-maduro-rabbit-plan Venezuela’s government has urged citizens to see rabbits as more than “cute pets” as it defended a plan to breed and eat them – even as the opposition says this would do nothing to end chronic food shortages. The “rabbit plan” is an effort by the government of Nicolás Maduro to boost food availability. Authorities have also taught citizens to plant food on the roofs and balconies of their homes. Maduro’s adversaries dismiss such ideas as nonsensical, insisting the real problem is a failed model of oil-financed socialism that was unable to survive after crude markets collapsed. Hunger eats away at Venezuela’s soul as its people struggle to survive Read more “There is a cultural problem because we have been taught that rabbits are cute pets,” the urban agriculture minister, Freddy Bernal, said during a televised broadcast with Maduro this week. “A rabbit is not a pet; it’s two and a half kilos of meat that is high in protein, with no cholesterol.“ Maduro’s critics lampooned the idea. “Are you serious?” asked Henrique Capriles, a state governor and two-time opposition presidential candidate in a video to response to Bernal. “You want people to start raising rabbits to solve the problem of hunger in our country?” Rabbit consumption is common in Europe and to lesser extent in the United States. The animals are more efficient than pigs and cattle in converting protein into edible meat, according to the United Nations food and agriculture organization. But raising rabbits in significant quantities in contemporary Venezuela would be difficult. The country’s constant shortages, resulting from stringent price and currency controls, would probably leave the would-be rabbit industry struggling to find materials ranging from feed to metal and wire for breeding cages. Maduro says the country is a victim of an “economic war” led by adversaries and fueled by recent sanctions imposed by the administration of Donald Trump. Vice president's pet rabbit hops into book deal http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/15/politics/marlon-bundo-book-mike-pence-rabbit/index.html The precocious pet rabbit of the vice president of the United States is hopping into a book deal. Marlon Bundo, the Pence family rabbit with his own Instagram account, announced Friday that he is the star of a new book. "Marlon Bundo's 'A Day in the Life of the Vice President,' " due out March 19, will chronicle the BOTUS' (Bunny of the United States) day alongside "Grampa" Mike Pence. In the book, I follow Grampa around all day, as a BOTUS should, while he goes about his duties as Vice President!" an Instagram post from the first rabbit read. The book was written by the vice president's daughter, Charlotte Pence, with watercolor illustrations by second lady Karen Pence, an award-winning artist. Charlotte Pence adopted Marlon Bundo, named for actor Marlon Brando, for a college filmmaking project. Bundo has since gone viral, appearing at official White House events and frequently posting updates in first person on social media. "Marlon has become a national celebrity!" a press release for the book reads. A portion of the proceeds will benefit A21, an organization focused on combating human trafficking, and two art therapy programs, a key aspect of the second lady's platform. Marlon Bundo lives alongside the vice president and second lady and a veritable menagerie at the Naval Observatory. When the Pences traveled from Indiana to Washington days before the inauguration, they disembarked with cats Pickle and Oreo, plus rabbit Marlon Bundo. In the absence of a pet in the first family, Bundo has become an icon in the rabbit world. Days before the election, the family lost their beloved 13-year-old beloved beagle, Maverick. Less than a year later, cat Oreo joined Maverick in pet heaven. "Rest in peace Oreo. You touched a lot of hearts in your little life," Karen Pence tweeted alongside photos of the black and white cat. "Our family will miss you very much." But Marlon Bundo and Pickle weren't the only pets for long; one week later, the vice president, second lady, and daughter, Charlotte, traveled to their home state of Indiana, where kitten Hazel and Australian shepherd puppy Harley joined the brood. No word yet on whether the bunny will go on a book tour. Bill would require pet stores to sell rescue animals http://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/state/article173332256.html By KATHLEEN RONAYNE Associated Press California could become the first state to ban the sale of animals from so-called puppy mills or mass breeding operations under legislation sent Thursday to Gov. Jerry Brown by lawmakers. Animal rights groups are cheering the bill by Democratic Assemblyman Patrick O'Donnell to require pet stores to work with animal shelters or rescue operations if they want to sell dogs, cats or rabbit. Thirty-six cities in California, including Sacramento, Los Angeles and San Francisco already have similar bans in place, but no statewide bans exist. ADVERTISING "We've actually seen a thriving pet industry based on the model of getting these from shelters," said Democratic Assemblyman Matt Dababneh of Encino. Brown spokesman Brian Ferguson declined to comment on whether the governor plans to sign it. Private breeders would still be allowed to sell dogs, cats and rabbits directly to individuals. Supporters of the bill say it's aimed at encouraging families and individual buyers to work directly with breeders or to adopt pets in shelters. It also would ensure animals are bred and sold healthily and humanely, supporters said. Few pet stores in California are still selling animals and many already team up with rescue organizations to facilitate adoptions, according to O'Donnell's office. "Californians spend more than $250 million a year to house and euthanize animals in our shelters," O'Donnell said in a statement. "Protecting the pets that make our house a home is an effort that makes us all proud." The bill would also require pet stores to maintain records showing where each dog, cat or rabbit it sells came from and to publicly display that information. A violation of the law would carry a $500 civil fine. Stone Bridge Preserve: Conservation Project Creates New England Cottontail Habitat https://newtownbee.com/stone-bridge-preserve-conservation-project-creates-new-england-cottontail-habitat/ In light of its goal to provide diversity in natural habitats, the Conservation Commission on September 8 provided the public with a view of the markedly changed landscape at sections of the town’s Stone Bridge Preserve, where extensive recent tree cutting has created habitat suitable for the New England cottontail rabbit to thrive. According to the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP), the New England cottontail is Connecticut’s only native rabbit, and differs from the Eastern cottontail, which is “now the predominant species.” Also, “New England cottontails require large patches of shrubland or young forest, often called thickets, with dense, tangled vegetation.” The New England cottontail has been designated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service as “a candidate for threatened or endangered status,” since 2006. The open space land where the tree cutting occurred lies along Stone Bridge Trail, a narrow dirt road that extends northward from Berkshire Road (Route 34), just south of Nighthawk Lane. The area is adjacent to the Iroquois Gas Transmission System’s cross-country pipeline. The tree cutting in the heavily canopied forest created a young forest and shrublands known as “early successional habitat.” As people toured the rolling terrain where hundreds of mature trees have been cut, they remarked that the tree trunks that lay chockablock across the ground reminded them of the damage that is done by hurricanes. Actually, after loggers cut the trees last winter, they left the tree trunks in piles scattered across the site to deter deer from walking there. The presence of deer damages the new shrubland habitat for the New England cottontail. The habitat that was created also is expected to benefit more than 50 other species. Forester Jeremy Clark, who served as the project manager for the Conservation Commission, provided a tour of the area. Iroquois provided grant funds for a forest management plan that preceded the habitat project. Mr Clark said that some “seed trees” were left standing after the cutting to provide seed for new trees to grow in the area. Lisa Wahle, a biologist who worked on the habitat project, said that the area will be scientifically monitored to gauge the extent to which New England cottontail rabbits have populated the area. Of the habitat project, the Conservation Commission states on its website, “Newtown is committed to providing diverse habitat on appropriate open space properties that will provide, shelter, food, and protection for threatened wildlife that, without intervention, may become extinct.” © Copyrighted
I’m not sure what it is, but there’s just something appealing—if that’s the word—about watching a puppet – especially a cute puppet – talking dirty … dropping F-bombs, describing sex acts, saying things that puppets don’t normally get to say. Maybe that’s because, over the last seventy-five years or so — beginning with Kukla Fran and Ollie and Howdy Doody, all the way to Sesame Street and Mister Rogers — television has enforced the idea that puppets are for kids. That’s not true. Consider Punch and Judy, who in medieval times were anything but kid-friendly. That’s just the tip of a dark and dirty iceberg of puppet-powered adult-oriented entertainment. Well, in recent years, puppets have been regaining their adult voice through such inappropriate inanimate objects as Greg the bunny, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, those murderous marionettes from “Team America: World Police,” and good old Trekkie Monster - and all the other foul-mouthed porn-surfing residents of “Avenue Q,” the hit Broadway show that gave the world the songs, ‘The Internet is for Porn’ and ‘Everyone’s a little bit racist.’ To that list of celebrated, envelope-pushing puppets, we may now add Tyrone, the hilariously devilish sock puppet who rules over playwright Robert Askin’s remarkable new stage play, ‘Hand to God’ (now running at Berkeley Repertory Theater). Blending clever one-liners, expert slapstick and shocking (but funny) acts of violence, with outrageously pointed observations about faith, guilt, parenthood, and the notions of good and evil, “Hand to God” is extraordinary. It’s obviously not the first show to feature puppets saying and doing bad things. But as written by Robert Askins – who was nominated for a 2015 Tony award for this play— “Hand to God’ is always feels fresh and inventive, even a bit transgressive in its willingness to go places very few puppet-shows have ever dared to go. Directed with spot-on precision by David Ivers, “Hand to God” is set in a small-town Texas church, where a troubled, sweet-spirited teenager named Jason—brilliantly played by Michael Doherty—has just created Tyrone. Innocent-looking enough, at first, Tyrone was made of socks and yarn – and eventually, teeth - part of the youth puppet ministry run by his recently-widowed mother Margery. Also in the club is the gentle-but-resourceful Jessica, and Timothy, a confrontational teen punk with a serious case of the hots for Jason’s recently widowed mother. Hoping that a church project might help snap Margery out of her grief, the church’s painfully lonely pastor Greg has basically forced the puppet club on her. It’s not a great fit. All hell breaks loose, literally, when Tyrone begins exhibiting strong anti-social behavior, dropping those aforementioned F-bombs alongside some brutally escalating observations about Jason, his mother, and the other basement-dwelling “Christ-keteers.” These puppety outbursts begin gradually, with Tyrone tagging inappropriately sexual comments onto a performance of the famous “Who’s on first?” routine, occasionally reciting vaguely threatening facts: “The smallest of cuts to the Achilles tendon will cripple a man for life!” Before long, though, Jason has to accept the fact that his Id-driven puppet just might be … Lucifer himself. It’s very funny, but also genuinely scary, a testament to Askins’ skill as a writer, and the actors skills as a tight, energetic ensemble. As Jason/Tyrone, Doherty is a marvel, pivoting between characters with breathtaking speed and precision. The play does go to some very dark places, but the show never loses its inherent sense of humor and heart, or the story’s staunch commitment to the idea that those things out there that we loathe and fear the most, might be closer to home than we prefer to imagine. ‘Hand to God’ runs Tuesday–Sunday through March 19 at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, www.berkeleyrep.org
Beauty, one could argue, isn’t always very pretty. Especially in the case of great literature. Richard Wright’s 1940 masterpiece Native Son—considered one of the most important and powerful American novels ever published— is one great example. A bestseller upon publication, the novel has been alternately praised and condemned over the years since, often drawing kudos and criticism for the very same things—mainly, the brutal honesty, stark realism, and shocking violence of Wright’s supremely crafted work, a stark depiction of life as a poor, under-educated black man in America in the early 1940s. And yet, as written from within the conflicted mind of one such man, it’s also a beautiful piece of writing, insightful and raw and full of gorgeously well-written passages. Which brings us to ‘Native Son,’ the play. Powered by a poetic, elegant script by Nambi E. Kelley, Marin Theatre Company, in Mill Valley, has finally brought Wright’s explosive novel to the stage. Under the steady guidance of director Seret Scott, an extraordinary cast gives perfectly tuned performances, resulting in a remarkable theatrical experience that is at once astonishing, beautiful, visceral, vibrant and, because of the reality it describes, often inescapably ugly. Kelley, succeeding where countless adapters have fallen short, strips Wright’s epic-length novel to its bones, dressing it back up again with brilliant theatrical ideas, enhancing, rather than diminishing the power of Wright’s ingeniously built, emotionally rich ethical puzzle box of a story. The conflicted protagonist is Bigger Thomas — played superbly by Jerod Haynes. Bigger is barely scraping by, living in a rat-infested Chicago slum with his mother (C. Kelley Wright), sister Vera (Ryan Nicole Austin) and borderline criminal brother Buddy (Dane Troy). Bigger, for understandable reasons, is a combustible blend of anger, hopelessness and fear. He dreams of flying airplanes, but knows the system will never give him the opportunity. Bigger’s violent internal struggles are brilliantly illustrated through his conversations with The Black Rat (played by William Hartfield), the playwright’s nattily dressed depiction of Bigger’s conflicted inner battles. The Rat represents Bigger’s claim that the way society sees him is often in opposition to how he sees himself. Which one is which is never made clear, adding extra meat to chew on in already chewy storyline. For Bigger, even the possibility of a decent job, chauffeuring for a wealthy, liberal white woman (Courtney Walsh), is rife with danger. Her daughter Mary (Rosie Hallett) and Mary’s communist boyfriend Jan (Adam Magill) attempt to show Bigger how open-minded they are, but are cluelessly indifferent as to how their public shows of “equality” and familiarity with Bigger actually put him in danger. When disaster strikes early on, Bigger ends up on the run, his clumsy act of accidental violence leading quickly to another, less defensible one. As the story plummets ahead with ferocious speed—told in a single, 90-minute act—Bigger literally steps back and forth from his present to his past, vivid flashbacks underscoring his rising fear and fury with heartbreaking power. The story may be set in the 1940s, but that so little has changed since then is abundantly clear. That — along with the graceful energy of his storytelling — is why Wright’s brutal masterpiece continues to have such resonance after more than 75 years, and why Marin Theatre Company’s gorgeously ugly adaptation is the first must see of 2017. ‘Native Son’ runs Tuesday–Sunday through February 12 at Marin Theatre Company. www.marintheatre.org
It all began on a road-trip to Ashland, Oregon. The acclaimed playwright Lauren Gunderson was taking a theater-going excursion with Margot Melcon, then the Director of New Play Development for Marin Theatre Company, in Mill Valley. On the drive, the two began discussing the need for alternative Christmas-themed plays. And having confirmed a mutual appreciation for the works of Jane Austen, soon began imagining a holiday play featuring characters from Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.” They started sketching out scenes on a series of napkins borrowed from Starbucks, and the result, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, is now gaining rave reviews and playing to sold out houses at Marin Theatre Company, where it continues through December 23. Deliciously funny, and boldly old-fashioned, “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley” is a sequel, of sorts. Pride and Prejudice, of course concluded with the marriage of Elizabeth Bennet (here played by Cindy Im) to the wealthy and charming Mr. Darcy (Joseph Patrick O’Malley). Elizabeth, of course, is one of five sisters. As Austen’s story now continues - under the skillfully knowing direction of Meredith McDonough – the happily married Darcy’s have invited three of Elizabeth’s sisters — Jane, Lydia, and Mary — to spend Christmas at Pemberley, their vast country estate, which Elizabeth has boldly adorned with a Christmas tree, a custom not yet common in England. That tree is almost a character unto itself. Sister Jane (played by Lauren Spencer), is now married to the affable Mr. Bingley (Thomas Gorrebeeck), and is, as they say, with child. Lydia (in a powerhouse performance by Erika Rankin) desperately tries to convince her sisters that her absent husband, Mr. Wickham, is not the scoundrel everyone knows him to be, and her duplicitous and hyperkinetic activities over course of the holiday cause at least one of the play’s many comic misunderstandings. The primary focus of the play, it turns out, is Mary Bennet, played with agreeably dry wit and plenty of simmering charm by Martha Brigham. Mary is the sister portrayed in the original novel as talentless and pointedly bookish, though not necessarily very bright. Well, thanks to Gunderson and Melcon, much has changed over the last two years. Mary, clearly, has evolved into a smart, observant and accomplished young woman, though no one seems to have noticed. The absence of the fifth sister, Kitty, by the way, is acknowledged in a funny, slightly “meta” reference toward the end of the play. The tale’s expected love story comes in the form of the painfully awkward bookworm Arthur de Bourgh, a magnificent Adam Magill, whose recently inherited the estate of Darcy’s aunt, the daughter of which, Anne, played by a hilarious Laura Odeh, suddenly appears to interrupt the growing love-at-nerd-sight romance between Arthur and Mary. The dialogue is sparkling and infectious, and the set by Erik Flatmo is a marvel, with snow constantly-falling behind the drawing room window, and even falling from the rafters onto the set itself. Fluffy and sweet as a Georgian Ice, Miss Bennet: Christmas in Pemberley is as captivating and delightful a holiday diversion as one is likely to find – with or without a Christmas tree. ‘Miss Benet: Christmas at Pemberley’ runs Tuesday–Sunday through December 23 at Marin Theatre Company. www.marintheatre.org
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
Fictionalized history, like ‘free trade’ and ‘forgotten memories,’ is something of an oxymoron. The minute you introduce fiction to a story, its claim to being history loses strength. But unless a playwright has a transcript of the backroom conversations held by historical figures, she has no choice, in telling the story of great historical moments, but to guess at and improvise those conversations. The result is a hybrid of history and fiction, that when done well, illuminates and expose the truth of what happened—or what very likely happened—while employing just enough imagination and guesswork as necessary to allow the story to be told at all. Such was the task lying before British playwright Lolita Chakrabarti as she tackled the story of a significant, but little known, figure in theatrical world history—Ira Aldridge, the first black actor of perform on the legitimate stage in London. That was in 1833, when slavery was still legal in England. Chakrabarti’s award-winning play ‘Red Velvet,’ now brings the story to the Bay Area, where San Francisco Playhouse has put together one of the best shows of the year. Following the death of famed classical actor Edmund Kean, Aldridge—in an openly provocative and controversial move—was called upon to replace him in playing the lead in William Shakespeare’s Othello. In taking on the role, Aldridge would be acting alongside the all white actors of the distinguished company, performing at Keane’s famed Theater Royal. Abolition was three months from becoming law in England, and the city was in a state of conflict and turmoil, with open riots in the streets. This was hardly the best time to challenge centuries of tradition and deep-seated prejudice. What is known are the basic details of what happened, what the critics said about Aldridge’s performance, how the company responded, and what Alrdridge did next. What is not known, and what Chakrabarti makes a highly entertaining and impressive effort at surmising, is what that first multiracial meeting of artists might have been like. How did the company respond? What was the first rehearsal like? Who said what to whom before and after opening night? Did it happen this way? Who knows? But, as deftly and powerfully devised by Chakrabarti, directed by Margo Hall with marvelous command of the script’s complex blend of social comedy and raw drama, Red Velvet transcends the oxymorns of fictionalized history. This is a good play and a strong production, with a towering performance by Carl Lumbly as Aldridge. The superb supporting cast includes Sonoma County actor Tim Kniffin, excellent in a tricky role as the dying Keane’s affronted actor son Charles, whose rising indignation at watching a black actor play Othello—a role he’d expected to assail himself—is simultaneously hilarious and chilling. Also strong are Richard Louis James in dual parts as Aldridge’s long-suffering dresser and a stodgy Shakespearean actor, Susi Damilano as Charles’ tentative but artistically intrigued actress fiancée Ellen Tree, and the effortlessly accent-shifting Elena Wright in a trio of key roles, including that of Aldridge’s white, English-born wife. Chakrabarti’s robust script does somewhat stretch believability in an effort to have fun with Aldridge’s first backstage appearance at Theater Royal. That quibble aside, Red Velvet stands as a thing of graceful beauty, earning its way, line by line, to its heartbreaking climax. Supremely satisfying on numerous levels, this is a must-see historical drama. In eschewing simple conclusions or one-dimensional characterizations, Red Velvet delivers a 180-year-old story that, sadly enough, feels vividly and unnervingly contemporary. ‘Red Velvet’ runs Tuesday–Sunday through June 25 at San Francisco Playhouse, sfplayhouse.org
One recently-opened Bay Area stage show takes place under the Sea, where fish creatures dwell, another takes place on the Sea, where dangerous men scheme and battle for buried gold. One show features fish on roller skates; the other presents pirates and parrots. Both have singing and dancing—though only one is a musical. One is in Berkeley. One’s in Rohnert Park. One is Disney’s ‘The little Mermaid.’ The other is a brand new adaptation of ‘Treasure Island.’ Both are well worth a voyage to the theater. First, let’s talk about ‘Treasure Island.’ Writer-director Mary Zimmerman’s richly reimagined action adventure—adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson’s beloved novel—is visually inventive and surprisingly emotional. And it rocks. Literally. As presented at the Berkeley Repertory Theater, in Berkeley, the show employs a stunningly well-engineered stage that—during scenes where the characters take to the open sea—actually rocks, swinging back-and-forth from side to side like a pirate ship rolling on the ocean. That is just one of many eye-popping delights that await, as director Zimmerman launches a wildly unexpected, subversively psychological adaptation that might skimp a bit on the sword-fighting and swashbuckling, but makes up for it with beauty, pathos and rich human comedy. Now, there’s no doubt that Treasure Island is a good book, but it would be hard to make the case that it is a very deep book—despite the fathomless depths of fondness many, including me, still feel for it. It’s a great story, but not exactly packed with psychological insight. That’s why it’s such a surprise that Zimmerman has so deftly managed to turn the tale into something so humanely perceptive and emotionally rewarding. Packed with poetic touches—including a an odd but effective bit of dreamy piratical ballet—this rollicking interpretation is stirring and fun, achingly lovely, frequently sweet, occasionally a bit weird, and a tad upsetting. Which is to say that, for a story about ships and pirates, with a set that swings into the action, it’s practically perfect. Meanwhile, in Spreckels Theater Company’s splashy new production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid, colorful costumed fish on wheels appear to swim across the stage. Seagulls fly and mermaids frolic, huge waves splash and crash, octopus women grow to six times their normal size, while six-foot strands of seaweed bob and wiggle in time to the music, thanks to dancers dressed up in seaweed suits. It is, in a word, dazzling. But of all the special effects unfurled in Spreckels elaborate production, directed with charm and energy by Gene Abravaya, the most impressive is the strong-voiced, agile and energetic cast. Led by Julianne Thompson Bretan as the adventurous title character, Ariel, with memorable turns by Mary Gannon Graham as the villainous sea-witch Ursula and Fernando Sui as Flounder, Ariel’s BFF (that’s “best fish friend”), the show is made colorful and clever by the costumes and set pieces, but succeeds on an emotional level primarily due to the delightfully cartoonish, occasionally quite moving performances. Despite some glaring script flaws, an over-stuffed score and a confusing, undercooked climax, this Mermaid still delivers a level of onstage dazzle-dazzle that is pretty much unmatched in ambition and spectacle by any other local stage musical in recent memory. ‘Treasure Island’ runs Tuesday–Sunday through June 17 at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, www.berkeleyrep.org. ‘Disney’s The Little Mermaid’ runs through May 22 at Spreckels Performing Arts Center, www.spreckelsonline.com.
Hosts Ben and Jonathan are joined in the studio with BENG OH, director of the encore season of The Yellow Wave, and co-founder of 15 Minutes from Anywhere artist collaboration with writer Jane Miller. The Yellow Wave is being performed at The Butterfly Club, Tuesday – Sunday 26th April – 8th May, 2016
Anne Boleyn lost her head. Everyone knows that. Little else is known about the infamously short-lived second wife of King Henry VIII. Largely because her husband all but erased her memory from the history books, scraping her name from all monuments, burning her pictures, making it a crime to speak her name aloud—all of which, of course, came after he had her head chopped off. In Howard Brenton’s perceptive and audacious comedy-drama ‘Anne Boleyn’—running through May 7th at Marin Theatre Company in Mill Valley—the award-winning author indulges his own meticulously researched speculations about ‘Anne Boleyn’s’ life, resulting in an intelligent, funny, and probably not all that historically accurate collision of sex, politics and religion. Directed with confidence and creativity by Jasson Minadakis, Brenton’s play fills in the missing bits of history with gutsy glee and a perceptive understanding of how politics and religion work. It’s fun, too.In the opening scene, Anne Boleyn’s ghost appears, bloody but unbowed, clutching a bag we assume contains her severed head. “You want to see it?” she asks the audience. You bet we do. What happens next, though, is a bit of a surprise, a good one, and it’s just the first of many in Brenton’s clever, intelligent tale of blood, sex, and faith, as Anne Boleyn returns from the dead to tell her side of the story. Bouncing between the16th century court of King Henry VIII and that of the 17th Century King James I (both played brilliantly by Craig Marker), the play eventually suggests that the world might not have ended up with the King James Bible, had not a deeply religious Boleyn strategically employed her sexual charms to force a break between her king and the Catholic Pope. Thus did one of history’s most notorious home-wreckers purposefully pave the way for the Protestant reformation—of which she was a kind to freelance secret agent—which was subsequently allowed to gain a foothold in a staunchly Catholic England. Unable to provide a male heir to the King, Boleyn’s machinations eventually make enough enemies that, well, her head’s removed. Oops. But not before giving birth to Elizabeth, who will eventually succeed her father on the throne, and will eventually be succeeded herself by James of Scotland. Did I mention there’s a lot of historical detail? In the King James parts of the story, having discovered Boleyn’s secretly hidden and thoroughly forbidden Protestant Bible, King James hits on a way to unify his fractured kingdom, by commissioning a new translation of the word of God, a Bible that will ultimately bear his own name. It’s a bit thick with information, yes, and there are a number of lengthy conversation about the meaning of variation scriptures, but Minadakis is masterful at keeping the story clipping along and not forgetting that, we the audience, want to see lots of sex and slinky stuff along with the bits about the Bible. As Anne, Liz Sklar is magnificent, playing so many spot-on emotional notes you’d think she was auditioning for the symphony instead of giving the performance of her career. Aided by a jaw dropping set by Nina Ball and era-blurring fashions by Ashley Holvick, the large cast, able and energetic, swaps costumes and characters almost as frequently as Henry swapped wives. ‘Anne Boleyn’ runs Tuesday–Sunday through May 8 at Marin Theatre Company. Marintheater.org. I’m David Templeton, Second Row Center, for KRCB.
The late August Wilson wrote ten plays as part of his celebrated Century Cycle, completing one play for each decade of the twentieth century, all but one of them set in the same neighborhood in Pittsburg, each tackling that decade’s most significant challenges for the African-American families who lived, loved, struggled and eventually died there. Just attempting such a thing was an undertaking unparalleled in the history of American playwriting, and that the resulting works were uniformly excellent—six of them nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, two of them winning it—is extraordinary. Which brings us to ‘Gem of the Ocean’—running through February 14 at Marin Theatre Company. Wilson’s penultimate play, ‘Gem of the Ocean’ arrived in 2003, two years before he died of cancer. ‘Gem’ marks the chronological beginning of the ten-play cycle, set as it was in 1904. Throughout Wilson’s previous plays, there was the occasional reference to a woman named Aunt Ester, a kind of spiritual guide and protector whose doors were always open to anyone in need. ‘Gem of the Ocean’ was the play that finally gave us Aunt Ester in all her glory. She was worth the wait. Though set in the early 1900’s, there is a specific timelessness to this play, sewn into the script like the old quilts and collages that Wilson often said were the inspiration for his work. Like all of his works, Gem of the Ocean blends lush historical detail and remarkably well-drawn characters into a plot that unfolds like an old roll of fabric. In Daniel Alexander Jones’ sometimes baffling, but still emotionally rich staging, Wilson’s engaging script is embellished with a kind of hand-clapping, finger-snapping, sign-language-style choreography that resembles dance, but stops short of having his characters actually burst into ballet or the soft shoe. It’s a technique Jones calls “theatrical jazz,” a style the young New York-based director has become known and celebrated for. Whether the play calls for such initially distracting ornamentations, whether or not the story is actually strengthened by this distinctively, almost ritualistically musical style of performance, is ultimately beside the point. ‘Gem,’ after all, is the most mystical and “ritualistic” of Wilson’s works, and Jones’ aesthetic eventually starts to make a kind of otherworldly sense. There is a lightness and playfulness to the entire production, which makes it stand out from other productions of ‘Gem’ that I’ve seen, and the sense of determined hopefulness and ragged joy that rises from the story’s accumulating tragedies at times feels almost revolutionary. The story, enacted by a tremendously strong cast, follows a group of lost, wounded souls who’ve found a refuge in the home of Aunt Ester, played with brilliant, buoyant groundedness by Margo Hall. Ester, who claims to be 285 years old—born the year slaves first arrived in the New World—serves as the personification of her people’s collective memory of slavery. Throughout the 2-1/2 hour play, Ester welcomes a guilt-ridden newcomer named Citizen Barlow (played with roiling emotions by Namir Smallwood), and ushers him through a series of initiations that include a trance-like guided visualization to a city of bones at the bottom of the sea. Though there are challenges along the way, in this bold, impeccably acted reinterpretation of an American masterpiece, the audience travels right along with Citizen Barlow, all of us taking a similar journey, one that is as mysterious and strange as it is illuminating, devastating and beautiful. ‘Gem of the Ocean’ runs Tuesday–Sunday through February 14 at Marin Theatre Company. www.marintheatre.org
Invisibility. It’s not just something that happens in fantasy books and science fiction movies. In the real world, there are invisible people, folks who, because of their social status or lifestyle, or just because they keep their secret pains and problems to themselves, remain essentially unseen, unnoticed, unappreciated, unprotected—invisible. In two highly recommended North Bay plays, we are invited inside the lives of people who—in theater, as in real life—are rarely ever given a voice. In a near-balletic new production at Marin Theater Company, in Mill Valley, ‘My Mañana Comes’ follows four hard-working “busboys” at an upscale restaurant in New York City. The play is set entirely on the prep side of the bustling kitchen. We never see a single wait-person, and only the occasional hand and arm sliding dishes into view from the chef’s side. It’s a brilliantly detailed, realistic and lived-in set, by Sean Fanning, is like a character unto itself. Irwin’s brilliant script pulls us in immediately, and director Kirsten Brandt keeps things hopping as a quartet of actors bus dishes, prep plates of food, slice fruit and vegetables—using real knives—and rush in and out of swinging doors, with a grace and energy that would be impressive even if the actors weren’t also giving deep, fleshed out, fully engaging performances. Peter—played by Shaun Patrick Tubbs—and Jorge—Eric Avilés—have worked in the restaurant the longest, and each one tries in their own way to school the two newer bussers: Whalid—Caleb Carera— and Pepe—Carlos Jose Gonzales Morales. A bit of competition is natural, but when the restaurant’s management cuts the busser’s pay, everything changes. It’s here that the play kicks into high gear, showing us the way that privilege bring power, even amongst those who are living paycheck to paycheck, and in a hidden world where undocumented workers make up a huge part of the work force, it’s possible to lose everything—job, money, and the American dream—in an instant. In Sharr White’s The Other Place, now playing at Main Stage West, following an earlier run with much of the same cast at 6th Street Playhouse, Jacquelyn Wells steps into the lead, and gives a heartbreaking, emotionally scorching performance as Julianna, a brilliant scientist and expert on a rare form of dementia, who refuses to accept she’s showing signs of the same devastating illness. Deftly directed by David Lear—who keeps clear the playwright’s various flashbacks and narrative asides—the play unfolds as a bit of mystery, as Julianna recounts an event involving a girl in a yellow string bikini who appears in the audience during a lecture on brain function. There are other mysteries to be revealed in the lives of Julianna and her baffled husband Ian as well, all adding up to a show that is part family drama and part mediation on the meaning of memory. There is nice work by actor Clark Miller as Ian, with skillful performances from Angella Martin and John Browning in multiple roles. Sam Coughlin takes over for Browning in the show’s final week, and the show deserves an audience as it wraps up its run. Ultimately, Though heartbreaking and challenging, The Other Place finds a surprisingly sweet and lovely resolution, a reminder that the ones we have loved and lost are more than mere memories—they are what we have when nothing else is left. 'The Other Place’ runs Thursday–Sunday through November 15 at Main Stage West. www.mainstagewest.com ‘My Mañana Comes’ runs Tuesday–Sunday through November 22 at Marin Theatre Company. www.marintheatre.org
A story is an illusion, a series of events that are not really taking place, presented in a way that fools its audience into believing, for a moment, that it is all really happening. Telling that story in a book or movie is a certain kind of trick, with its own rules and traditions, and telling the same story on the stage is quite another. But transferring a story from one medium to another—say, from the screen to the stage—that may be the hardest trick of all. Which brings us to ‘Treasure Island’ and ‘Amélie.’ Two beloved stories, one a classic book and the other a beloved modern masterpiece of cinema, have both landed on stage in the Bay Area, and each carries its own unique kind of cross-media magic. At Spreckels Performing Arts Center, in Rohnert Park, Robert Louis Stevenson’s iconic pirate adventure ‘Treasure Island’ hits the stage in a compact, robust adaptation by Ken Ludwig. Someone give me an Arrrrrrr? Directed with humor and charm by David Yen, staged in the intimate studio theater with exhilarating in-your-face inventiveness and plenty of robust, swashbuckling energy, the crafty condensation of Stevenson’s classic works surprisingly well. The story, though stripped down a bit, is quite faithful to the book, with the exception of a few lady pirates thrown in here and there—something that might have shocked Robert Louis Stevenson and possibly some of the pirates. The strong, versatile cast is led by a grounded, impressively non-cartoonish John Rathjen as Long John Silver, often played a bit too over the top, but not here. In this production, the whole cast slips gracefully in and out of dozens of characters. Animated projections combine with cleverly adaptable set pieces to turn the stage into a ship’s decking with rolling waves over the stern, to an island jungle filled with waving foliage. The effects works well, and if some of the book’s detail and depth of character are swept overboard in the process of translation, the loss is more than made up for in sense of rollicking, high-spirited, double-crossing, sword-clashing fun the able-bodied cast and crew bring to the stage. Translating the beloved 2001 French comedy Amélie to the stage is a different kind of trick altogether, and turning it into a musical only makes the challenge harder. But with a book by Craig Lucas—he wrote the play Prelude to a Kiss—and with lovely, ethereal tunes by Daniel Messé and Nathan Tysen, this supremely satisfying adaptation—directed with immense creativity by Tony-winner Pam MacKinnon—is a sweet, sneaky surprise of a show. As Amélie, the café worker who sets out to make the world a happier place, Samantha Barks is everything an Amélie should be—beautiful, sweet, a little wacky, and thoroughly beguiling. There is a marvelously whimsical sense of innocence in the play, even when incorporating such things as sex shops and orgasms, and the story’s transformation into a musical—rather than proving distracting or cluttered—is so deftly done you might think that the story of Amelie and her bumpy road to finding her own true happiness, was always meant to become a musical. If anything, it’s become better this way. And that’s not an easy trick to pull off. ‘Treasure Island’ runs Thursday–Sunday through October 4 at Spreckels Performing Arts Center, www.spreckelsonline.com 'Amelie’ runs Tuesday–Sunday through October 11 at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, www.berkeleyrep.org
There’s no denying it. Music is a powerful force. Music can express the deepest of human emotions. And there are, obviously, many different styles and forms of music. One could easily make the argument that no two forms of musical expression better convey the depth of human feeling than do OPERA and the mighty SPRITUALS that grew out of slavery and the African-American experience. Right now, two different opportunities await you in the Bay Area to experience the power of both musical forms. Let’s start with opera. In Giuseppe Verdi’s "Falstaff," the last of 30 operas the Italian composer wrote in the late 1800s, the emotional and financial stakes are high for everyone, but the comedy is as broad as the girth of its title character. Now running in an intimate English-language adaptation at Cinnabar Theater in Petaluma, the story of Falstaff is borrowed from William Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor. The debt-ridden Sir John Falstaff - played with delightful expressiveness by Jo Vincent Parks - is a plus-sized inebriate with an exaggerated appreciation for his own attractiveness and charm. When he runs out of money with which to pay his bills, including the tab for all the beer and food he ingests, Falstaff attempts to solve his money problems by seducing two different local married women, Mrs. Ford - played by Eileen Morris, who practically glows with charm and mischief - and Mrs. Page - Kim Anderman, quite good as the less flashy of the two wives. Both merry wives are beautiful and, most importantly, rich. When they discover Falstaff is courting both of them, they launch a scheme to expose and embarrass Falstaff. Their plan is complicated by certain subplots - one involving Mrs. Ford’s jealous husband (William Neely, who’s hilarious), the other involving the sweet, secret love affair between the Ford’s daughter Nannetta and a poor local boy. As directed by Elly Lichenstein, who brings plenty of wicked silliness and disarming funny business to the story - aided by strong musical direction from Mary Chun - "Falstaff" is classic fluff, but it’s fluff with tremendous heart and some spectacular operatic melodies. Melody and heart are traits shared by the brilliant, beautifully written, flawlessly acted "Choir Boy," by Tarell Alvin McCraney. Directed with stunning intensity by Kent Gash at Marin Theatre Company, the play is set at the fictional Charles Drew Prep School for Boys, a prestigious all-black boarding school. As a new year begins, tensions boil when the all-but-openly gay student Pharus - a stunningly good Jetani Alladin - is made the leader of the school’s all-important a cappella choir. The choir presents classic black spirituals in contemporary arrangements, and the uplift they give Pharus, a true believer in the power of music, helps guide him through what turns out to be a very rocky year. The music, by the way, is awesome, with the cast all able of blending into some jaw-dropping harmonies. A coming-of-age story with tremendous insight and lovingly observed characters, this lyrical thought-poem of a play is not just about bullying and prejudice and homophobia. Yes. It touches on those things, but at its heart "Choir Boy" is about friendship and self-acceptance. Wonderfully crafted and beautifully staged, "Choir Boy" is about what happens when a person is finally accepted for who they are. It’s about the transcendent power of a simple song, and the power of a single voice when they are finally allowed to sing from the heart. "Choir Boy" runs Tuesday–Sunday through June 28 at Marin Theatre Company. www.marintheatre.org. "Falstaff" runs through June 28 at Cinnabar Theater, www.cinnabartheater.org I’m David Templeton, Second Row Center, for KRCB.
Music has a way of reaching out like no other art form. In times of stress it calms our nerves. It gives us strength when we are struggling. Then again, it also has a way of reaching into our souls and tearing us into sad little pieces. Two new Marin County shows, neither a traditional musical, each use music in unexpected ways to tell stories about tough, resilient people battling impossible odds. One is just so-so. The other is a must see. “The Way West,” now playing at Marin Theatre Company, is Mona Mansour’s intriguing but mostly unsatisfying examination of how self-delusion and optimism can make us feel like the heroes of our own stories, even when we’re not. Mom, played with forceful enthusiasm by Anne Darragh, just won’t let anything get her down. Her Central California home is being foreclosed upon. She has a mysterious illness. She keeps driving her car into things. But as long as she can pick up a ukulele and sing songs about the early pioneers - those plucky survivors who made it through on sheer grit and optimism - then she’ll get by. Her daughters aren’t so sure. Manda, a high-earning grant writer, is appalled at her mother’s ambivalence in the face of looming disaster, and Meesh is just looking for the next E-bay scam to earn a few dollars of her own. Mom’s friend Tress has taken what little is left of her friend’s money to invest in a cutting-edge weight loss business, something to do with magic water selling for 500 bucks a bottle. From this rather promising theatrical set-up, directed with a wobbly sense of pace by Hayley Finn, a rather rocky and rambling story unfolds, one that frustrates as much as it entertains. The songs are a nice diversion, and the performances are likable across the board. But like the less fortunate pioneers Mom loves to sing and talk about, the ones abandoned along the way or eaten by the others, this amiable failure of a play just doesn’t have what it takes to make it through to the end. That brings us to James Baldwin’s marvelous “The Amen Corner” presented by AlterTheater of Marin. In “The Amen Corner,” Gospel music underscores the roiling emotions lurking under the surface of a small storefront church in Harlem, 1953. Directed with fierce attention to emotional detail by Jeanette Harrison, this production unfolds, with minimal props and set pieces, in a cramped corner the Body Kinetics health club in San Rafael, a setting that lends an appropriate sense of urban place to the story. Sister Margaret, played sensationally by Cathleen Riddley, is the impassioned shepherd of a small flock of believers. She leads by example as much as by the fire of her sermons. When her long-estranged jazz musician husband Luke suddenly appears, Margaret fears he might pull their son David from God’s path. She never suspects that its her congregation, gradually incited by what they’ve learned about their leader’s past, who she should be wary of. Insightful and lyrical, with beautiful writing and strong supporting performances anchoring the rising drama, “The Amen Corner” is sensitively insightful and powerfully moving. It’s long, with two intermissions, but like a good old-fashioned gospel tune, it’s worth the time, and impossible to get out of your head. “The Way West” runs Tuesday–Sunday through May 10 at Marin Theatre Company. “The Amen Corner” runs Tuesday–Sunday through May 17 at Body Kinetics, and Saturdays at the Smith Rafael Film Center. I’m David Templeton, Second Row Center, for KRCB.
Change is part of life. Some changes are easy, others much less so. And when cultures collide, change is often dangerous, violent, and destructive. From the opening scenes of Danai Gurira’s astonishing period drama "The Convert" - set in Colonial Africa in the late 1800s - we are plunged into the middle of such a change, as the brutal dominance of the British Empire and the aggressive forward thrust of Christianity brings civilization to the people of Africa - whether they want it or not. The absorbing and emotionally powerful play - presented with sensitivity and passion by Marin Theatre Company in Mill Valley - follows a young Shona woman, whose conversion to Catholicism puts her at the precarious center of her country’s increasingly violent cultural divide. As the occupying English government imposes its rule, one of its tools of dominance is, of course, the church, its leaders waging war on local “pagan” practices, forcing codes of dress and behavior that seem bizarre to the locals, at the very least, and in some cases, represent a betrayal of centuries of local custom and religious tradition. In a transcendent performance by Katherine Renee Turner, young Jekesai - speaking no English, having never set foot inside a house with an actual floor of cement or wood - has sought shelter at the home of Mr. Chilford, a pro-English Shona convert who lives in the rapidly colonializing country of Rhodesia. Bare-breasted and terrified, Jekesai hopes to escape a forced marriage to an elderly villager who has purchased her to join his other wives, by trading a goat to her cruel uncle, played by L. Peter Callender with comically menacing perfection. Mr. Chilford has willingly traded in his native name and style of dress for proper Victorian substitutes. As a result, he’s incurred the suspicions of the locals, who call him bafu, or “traitor.” His chief allies are the well-tailored Chancellor - played with relish by Jefferson A. Russell - and Chancellor’s educated fiancée Prudence, an amazing character brought to life by the sensational Omoze Idehenre. Fond of the benefits of British culture they’ve adopted, they are only gradually realizing that they will never be treated as equal to the wealthy whites who are coming to their country in droves, and are rapidly losing the connection to their own people. And then there’s Jekesai. Her resourceful aunt Mai Tamba, a wonderful Elizabeth Carter, works as a servant to the deeply Catholic Mr. Chilford. It’s a job Mai Tamba keeps by feigning conversion to Christianity, half-reciting her prayers - “Hail Mary, full of ghosts!” - while secretly maintaining her old customs, hiding charms in the house, reciting prayers to her ancestors. She encourages Jekesai, whose quickly been dressed in “proper” attire and renamed Ester, to follow her example, never guessing the young woman will quickly take to Christianity with a passionate fervor surpassing even Chillford’s. As local anger against the British grows, Ester’s faith is put to increasingly impossible tests, her love of Jesus competing against her commitment to her family, her country and her most basic sense of identity. "The Convert," three hours long, told in three riveting acts, is gorgeously written by Gurira, best-known as an actress. She plays Michonne in the TV series The Walking Dead. This stunningly well-done production is directed with exceptional skill by director Jasson Minadakis. The story only stumbles in its final moments, with a perplexing twist that seems less the result of previous actions, and more a calculated attempt at giving the play some shock value. It’s a tiny issue in a play of monumental power and insight. The power of "The Convert," a must-see if ever there was one, is how it illustrates, with impeccable beauty, how the changes we experience can affect more than just ourselves. When who we are shifts, we also change our families, our communities, and sometimes, violently or peaceably, for good or for bad, we end up changing the whole world. "The Convert" runs Tuesday–Sunday through March 15 at Marin Theatre Company, marintheatre.org
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