One week before the democratic gubernatorial primary, current state controller and governor hopeful Steve Westly pressed the flesh in Santa Barbara as part of a nine-day, 17-city tour. Traveling in a bright orange bus emblazoned with the motto, “Meeting real people where they live and work,” Westly, 49, dropped into Santa Barbara’s favorite affluent liberal hangout, Restaurant Nu, for a happy hour loosely styled as a town meeting.
I.V. Live, a student-run theater program that provides alternative entertainment, hosts UCSB’s renowned improvisational comedy troupe, Improvability, in a 24-hour comedy marathon, from 8 p.m. on Friday, June 2, through 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 3. Tickets are only $5 and audience members are invited to arrive at any point within the 24 hours. Food and drink will be served at the event and pillows and blankets are recommended.
At an Opera on the Go panel discussion last Wednesday at Victoria Hall, composer Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Godspell) announced his agreement with Opera Santa Barbara to write a new opera to be premiered here at the refurbished Granada in February 2009. Based on the book and film Seance on a Wet Afternoon, the project will be directed by Schwartz’s son, Scott, who was just awarded an Indy for his direction of the Jonathan Larson musical Tick : Tick : Boom! at the Rubicon Theatre in Ventura.
Stephen Schwartz was joined in Wednesday’s panel discussion by Peter Frisch, Daniel Cat¡n, and Jake Heggie.
Dancing Drum Rhythm & Art Center presents the first installment of African Nights, a drum workshop and dance party from 8-10:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 3. Aloko So, a West African drum and dance ensemble, will perform. The first hour will be dedicated to a drum workshop followed by a second hour of live music and dancing.
Budding writers get a wake-up call with HopeDance’s short-story contest, ending September 30. The editors of the progressive magazine are hosting the contest to find the best fictional short story (1,000 words or less) with the theme of how you envision the near future. First-place winner receives $100 and publication in HopeDance magazine. Send with $10 entry fee and story to: HopeDance Contest, P.O. Box 15609, San Luis Obispo, CA 93406.
Thu., June 1
Grant the Night Away: The Fund for Santa Barbara holds its spring grant awards party. 5-7pm. Restaurant Nu, 1129 State St. RSVP 962-9164.
Sat., June 3
Get Out the Vote: Volunteers needed for voter outreach. 8:30am-12:30pm. Farmers Market, corner of Santa Barbara and Cota sts. Email sjmiko@msn.com.
Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry, and Hugh Jackman star in a film written by Zak Penn and Simon Kinberg and directed by Brett Ratner.
It’s now clear that the best thing about the X-Men movies is their grand unifying theme and the exquisitely intricate ways the plot examines it. Now, don’t laugh. From the first film’s opening on young Magneto being dragged into a Nazi death camp to this film’s small-scale, nearly apocalyptic ending, the scripts looked unblinkingly at capital-p Power and its tolerance of offbeat others-or, as in the case of some of the more prickly mutants, the toleration of their own offbeat powers.
If the trials and tribulations of embracing your muse and refining your craft aren’t challenging enough for the emerging songwriter, then dealing with the hurdles constantly thrown at you by the music business surely is. Publishing deals, record contracts, promotion, publicity – for the uninitiated, the music biz often seems too much to bear, and thus many a talented artist falls by the wayside.
The county Planning Commission voted 5-0 that eastern Goleta Valley’s undeveloped and agricultural parcels will be safe from affordable-housing development at least until 2008. To comply with a state housing mandate requiring the county to accommodate at least 1,235 more low-income units, the county agreed to rezone 62 additional acres to residential, at a density of 20 units per acre.
What’s Left: Left at Albuquerque should be opening soon in its new, larger location, the old Ma Dolce Vita site (one of the most beautiful and underutilized pieces of State Street real estate, if you ask me). In the former Left at Al’s spot? Looks like a Juicy Couture shop. Left at Albuquerque, 700 State St., 564-5040.
