Feb. 23 African Extravaganza @ DU

This just in from the Denver Post:

The fourth annual African Extravaganza, timed to coincide with Black History Month, celebrates African culture with traditional dance, drumming, food and dress. But wait, there's more: 20 local and national organizations working in Africa will host booths and sell African handicrafts, and African documentaries will be screened. Most important, it's free!

6-9 p.m. today
University of Denver, Driscoll North Ballroom, 2005 E. Evans Ave., 303-871-4626 or du.edu

Feb. 26 Harold Lloyd's "The Freshman" @ BPL

From the Boulder Public Library website:

Monday, February 26
Time: 7 p.m.
LIBRARY FILM PROGRAM
Harold Lloyd in The Freshman
Directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, with Harold Lloyd (1925).

Excited about going to college, Harold Lamb arrives at Tate University and becomes the target of ridicule. With the help of his one friend, he resolves to become popular. (76 min.)
Location: Canyon Theater, main library

Phone: Library Film Program Coordinator Joel Haertling at 303-441-3197
Email: haertlingj@boulder.lib.co.us
Web site: www.boulder.lib.co.us/films

Cost: Free

Feb. 26 Jazz concert @ DU

Monday night events aren't all that common, but Feb. 26 brings us this jazz concert from University of Denver:

JAZZ Night. Lamont Ensemble Concert Series.
Monday, February 26, 2007
7:30 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Contact: Victoria Brandys

Featuring three large jazz ensembles: University Jazz Ensemble, Jeff Uban, director; Lamont Jazz Ensemble, Alan Hood, director; Lamont Jazz Orchestra, Malcolm Lynn Baker, director. Gates Concert Hall, Newman Center for the Performing Arts, 2344 E. Iliff Ave., Denver. Free admission. Lamont concert Line (303) 871 6412. Free parking at the Newman Center parking garage.

Sunday Studio Talks @ Yoga Workshop

from the Yoga Workshop website:

Richard Freeman will be giving a series of Sunday talks, following afternoon Mysore at the Yoga Workshop, from 5:45 to 6:45 PM.

Dates and topics are:
February 25 - Mulabandha: Whatever that is
March 18 - Yoga Asana as Yantra
March 25 - Pranayama
April 1 - Obstacle and the Six Enemies

These talks are open to all and free. As usual there will be a Dana* bowl. All money collected will go towards the 2007 Yoga Workshop Teachers Endowment.

*dana = generosity; no set fee, by donation only

Feb. 25 The Sweet Life/Brazilian Jazz @ BPL

From the Boulder Public Library website:

Sunday, February 25
Time: 3 p.m.
MEADOWS CONCERT
The Sweet Life/Brazilian Jazz Band

Jazz singer Molly Greacen, who currently lives in Boulder, brings her own bittersweet and sensual individuality to spicy, enticing Brazilian jazz when the Sweet Life/Brazilian Jazz Band performs.

For adults and older children.
Reservations required: call Meadows Branch Library at 303-441-4390 to sign up.

Location: Meadows Branch Library, 4800 Baseline Rd. (behind Safeway)
Phone: Meadows Branch Library at 303-441-4390
Meadows e-mail: klopfd@boulder.lib.co.us
Molly Greacen e-mail: m.greacen@worldnet.att.net
Molly Greacen Web site: http://www.mollygreacen.com/

Cost: Free

Feb. 25 Charles Eakin concert @ CU Boulder

CU Boulder Music Faculty Series

Sunday, February 25, 4:30 p.m.

The Music of Charles Eakin – 80th Birthday Celebration

Every 5 years friends gather to celebrate Professor Emeritus of Composition Charles Eakin’s legacy by performing his music. The first half of this year’s event features Eakin’s Unaccompanied Violin Sonata performed by Professor Oswald Lehnert and his String Quartet No. 4 performed by the Veronika Quartet. The second half of the program features selected jazz compositions by Professor Eakin. Please join Professor Eakin, faculty and other friends for this special musical celebration!

Faculty Series recitals showcase CU-Boulder College of Music faculty performances. Faculty Series recitals are held in Grusin Music Hall in the Imig Music Building. Recitals are free and open to the public.

Feb. 25 Chamber ensembles @ DU

From the DU website:

String and Wind Chamber Ensembles.
Lamont Ensemble Concert Series
Sunday, February 25, 2007
7:30 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Contact: Victoria Brandys


Lamont String and Wind Chamber Ensembles. Richard Slavich and Joseph Martin, directors. Lamont Ensemble Concert Series. Free admission. Hamilton Recital Hall, Newman Center for the Performing Arts, 2344 E. Iliff Ave., Denver. Lamont Concert Line (303) 871 6412

Feb. 25 String Quartet family concert @ BPL

From the Boulder Public Library website:

Sunday, February 25, 4 p.m.
The Boulder Philharmonic String Quartet Family Concert

Children, grandchildren (and grownups) can learn about music and the instruments of the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra’s string section in this free Boulder Philharmonic Family Concert.

The showcase, a part of the orchestra’s ongoing youth and education outreach, is designed to appeal especially to children.

Visit the Boulder Philharmonic Web site.

Feb. 24 New Generation of Race Plays @ DPL

From the Denver Public Library website:

Saturday, February 24, 1-2:30 p.m.
Central Library, Level B2 Conference Center

Discuss three new plays by three young writers exploring race relations in the United States. Written as companion pieces to Curious Theatre Company's mainstage production, A House With No Walls, each writer examines the themes of color and culture from the fresh perspective of the next generation. These three short plays speak directly to the issue of how history, gender and geography color our world. Readings and discussion hosted by the playwrights. For more info on Curious Theatre Company, go to curioustheatre.org

Feb. 24 soul food cooking demo @ DPL

The final Southern Life cooking demonstration will be presented on Saturday, Feb. 24, at the Denver Public Library at 10:30 a.m. The theme this week will be collard greens, and will include a representative from the Southern Foodways Alliance who will talk about soul food.

Feb. 24 "Strawberry Shortcake" @ Starz FilmCenter

I ask you, does it get any more sugary sweet than Strawberry Shortcake? The Denver Film Society's Kids First! series will screen "Strawberry Shortcake: The Sweet Dreams Movie" on Feb. 24 at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

Feb. 21 In the Works reading @ Curious

Curious Theatre will present its In the Works Reading Series #3 at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 21. The suggested donation at the door is $5, which includes food and drink.

recap of Feb. 10: New Play Summit

This recap of the New Play Summit and 365 Days/365 Plays at the DCPA on Feb. 10 is long overdue.

True to what the DCPA customer service rep had said when I called, I was able to snag a ticket to the 10:00 a.m. reading of A Visitor's Guide to Arivaca (Map Not to Scale) by showing up a few minutes beforehand. Because I then had to move my car into the pay lot (why pay $8 if there was no guarantee of a ticket?), I entered the packed theater a few minutes after the reading had begun. I recognized a few actors I'd seen in 1001 and King Lear, including Jeanine Serralles and Markus Potter, and wondered how many rehearsals for this they'd been able to squeeze in amid their busy performance schedule.

I left the reading with mixed feelings about the play, which has already been workshopped in Tucson (American Theatre magazine's Dec. 2006 cover article covers it here). Having just finished The Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle, the territory felt familiar yet more distant. Whereas Boyle's novel focuses sharply on the personal experiences of four people to illustrate the issues/problems of illegal immigration, Evangeline Ordaz's play seemed more didactic. She has placed at the center of her story one Mexican couple attempting to cross the border south of Tucson, with the supporting characters all receiving plenty of stage time as well. On the one hand, Ordaz gives voice to the many sides of the debate, and is generally even-handed about it, but on the other I came away from the reading feeling like I'd heard from archetypes more than from individual characters.

Regardless, it's always a pleasure to see and hear good actors at work. Despite what had to have been limited time to prepare, the performances were superb across the board. Special recognition should go to William Hahn, whose first entrance as Eddie the stoned ranch hand had his castmates laughing and enjoying his performance as much as the official audience did.

At noon, a group of DCTC actors performed one of the 365 Days/365 Plays in the Bonfils lobby. These plays are more like play-lets, or tiny versions of plays that may someday grow and develop. This noon offering seemed to be part of the recurring Father Comes Home from the War theme that Parks has described in some article I read somewhere. (By the way, I added a link to the More Sites I Like section of this blog that will take you to 'today's play' on the TCG website.) It was short, spare, and left me with more questions than I had before it started -- who was the man posing for the portrait with what seemed to be the Father's family? Why does the injured Father end the scene by dancing? Ah well, such is cutting edge work.

After my side trip to the library, I returned to the Bonfils lobby briefly, wondering if I wanted to stick around until 3:00 to see another of the 365 Plays. When I realized that the New Play Summit panel discussion already in progress was also free, my decision was made for me. I had thought the panel would feature playwrights whose plays were being read over the course of the weekend, but Evangeline Ordaz and Jason Grote were the only playwrights whose works were being performed. The rest of the panel was made up of Octavio Solis, Thomas Gibbons, and Julie Myatt. As moderated by Kent Thompson, the discussion was already well underway, and the prevailing theme seemed to be views on writing characters from a background different than one's own. Again, it's always interesting and edifying to hear more about process and motivation from those who've been doing it for a while.

The next two 365 Plays followed the end of the panel discussion in fairly quick succession, even catching a few patrons unaware as they tried to make their way down the steps and past the performers. The real excitement of the inclusion of 365 Plays into the New Play Summit, for me at least, was watching art being presented in a space not designed for that specific purpose. I like the idea that theater can happen any time, anywhere, with the audience standing around the sides and even behind the action. There is value in that, I think, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of the 365 performances through the year to see how they handle the challenges.

Feb. 20 & 23 365 Days/365 Plays @ DU

Again, props to John Moore, whose MySpace page was the only source of details for this week's offerings that I could find.

WEEK 15: UNIVERSITY OF DENVER
Suzan-Lori Parks' '365 Days/365
Plays' Colorado cycle now shifts to the University of Denver, where the Week 15 cycle will be performed at the following times:

*Tuesday, Feb. 20 at the Driscoll Student Center Bridge.
When? 12:50 p.m., 1:30 p.m., 1:45 p.m. and 2:50 p.m.

*Friday, Feb. 23 in the Ritchie Center just before the school's 7 p.m. hockey game, and again after the first period ends (estimated 7:45 p.m.).

This is what we're told: "Look for the Babe Catcher, tap dancing, a man walking on water and the waitress from Coney Island Joe’s. You’ll see a woman in mourning, hear a short sketch performed in Spanish, and marvel at a painting on the wall of the King President’s bedroom." The performers are not from the theater department but from DU's Living and Learning Communities students and staff. They are "an ensemble of risk-takers with a passion for community engagement, performance, the arts and creative endeavors."

All performances are FREE. For more info, email Fay Coulouris (fcoulour@du.edu) or Roscoe Hill (rehill@du.edu).

March 1 Pure Confidence Director's Notes @ DCPA

I'm posting this event earlier than I might normally because registration is required and there's already a waiting list. The director of the DCTC's upcoming production of Pure Confidence, Kent Gash, will lead a Director's Notes session at 6:00 on March 1, featuring a discussion of the play and a tour of the theater.

Feb. 23 "Jason and the Argonauts" @ BPL

From the Boulder Public Library:

Jason has been prophesied to take the throne of Thessaly. He assembles a sailing crew of the finest men in Greece, including Hercules. Their voyage is replete with battles against harpies, a giant bronze Talos, a hydra, and an animated skeleton army, all brought to life by the special effects of film wizard Ray Harryhausen. (104
min.)

Location: Canyon Theater, main library
Phone: Library Film Program Coordinator Joel Haertling at 303-441-3197
Email: haertlingj@boulder.lib.co.us
Web site: http://www.boulder.lib.co.us/films/

Cost: Free

Feb. 22 "The Red Shoes" @ BPL

From the Boulder Public Library website; turns out they've got quite the active film series over there:

Thursday, February 22
Time: 7 p.m.
LIBRARY FILM PROGRAM
The Red Shoes
Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, with Moira Shearer, Anton Walbrook (1948)

Under the rule of impressario Boris Lermontov, his protégées realize the full promise of their talents, but at a price -- utter devotion to their art. One ballerina falls in love with the composer of the ballet staged to showcase her talents. She leaves the company and marries the composer, torn between Lermontov's demands and those of her heart. Based on the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen. (133 min.)

Location: Canyon Theater, main library
Phone: Library Film Program Coordinator Joel Haertling at 303-441-3197
Email: haertlingj@boulder.lib.co.us
Web site: www.boulder.lib.co.us/films

Cost: Free

Feb. 21 "Race to Execution" @ Starz FilmCenter

From the Denver Film Society website:

Wednesday, February 21st - 7:00pm - FREE!

Race To Execution traces the fates of two Death Row inmates—Robert Tarver in Alabama and Madison Hobley in Chicago. Through these compelling personal narratives and the often unexpected results of research on race, justice and the media, the film exposes the factors that influence who lives and who dies at the hands of the state. Co-production of ITVS and co-presentation with NBPC. Directed by Rachel Lyon and Jim Lopes (USA, 2006, 60min)

Visit the INDEPENDANT LENS website

Feb. 21 "One False Move" @ DPL

The Black Images in Film series at the Denver Public Library will feature "One False Move" on Wednesday, Feb. 21, at 2:00 p.m.

Feb. 20 "Night of the Iguana" @ DPL

The Denver Public Library concludes its Tennessee Williams on Film series on Tuesday, Feb. 20, with a showing of "Night of the Iguana" at 6:30 p.m.