Across the county this weekend: Theater, art and zines

Speaker 1: (00:00)

This weekend, there is a new playwright from San Diego repertory theater. The old globe will be wrapping up it's Shakespeare call and response tour. Plus a wide range of visual art, including bike helmet, art KPBS arts editor, and producer. Julia Dixon Evans is off today and has asked Angie Chandler to join us with details on the events. She is the cultural arts strategist behind culture mapping San Diego, and also the audience and engagement specialist with Balboa art conservation center. Angie welcome.

Speaker 2: (00:31)

Thank you, Jade. Excited to be here with the KPPs folks again. So glad

Speaker 1: (00:36)

I have you first up is the San Diego repertory theaters here, us now, new play festival. What can you tell us about this festival and what people can expect from it? So for that

Speaker 2: (00:46)

The past year or so, San Diego rep has been having conversations online called Lee are listening, and this was an effort to respond to the calls for equity in the theater world. And so now J D play festival is actually a response to that conversation. Um, the goal is to bring a variety of playwrights from different backgrounds. Um, they've commissioned these new plays and the goal is to provoke conversations around identity I'm most looking forward to indigenous playwright, Jason Grosse piece, um, the normal floors. It seems like it's got intrigued science characters that we rarely see on the mainstream stage. So I'm really looking forward to that.

Speaker 1: (01:25)

Hear us now, new play festival runs online tonight through Sunday, and tickets are pay what you can, the old globe we'll wrap up their Shakespeare call and response tour for their glow for all program. And I hear you've seen this performance. How was the experience?

Speaker 2: (01:42)

Have I got a sneak peek of it? And what's exciting is they actually develop this show in New York and then through the pandemic through virtual and in-person conversations adapted it for San Diego. So when people see the show, which has been traveling around the county, it looks like a little bit of Chicano park. Like there are some little parts that are very specifically San Diego. This is an updated Shakespeare, um, interactive experience, vibrant soundtrack by San Diego's own Mickey Vale, who is both DJ and cast member. Um, and it's really exciting. So I love that they're ending it back at by ballparks so you can catch it a few different places. It was quick, it was fast, it was fun. It really brought Shakespeare alive for me. And

Speaker 1: (02:24)

Can you tell me why Shakespeare is still important?

Speaker 2: (02:27)

These stories are so relevant and what I loved with the updates, they did the languages all the same. It's, it's very Shakespearian, but the conversation of love, right? Of loss of comedy that we find in these tricky situations, these things are timeless so many, many years later, after still loved doing the work and the audience that I sat with couldn't get enough.

Speaker 1: (02:49)

And the final performance of the Shakespeare call and response to her will take place at 1:00 PM at the Balboa park fountain, the city of Carlsbad's art gallery, the William D. Cannon gallery opens their 2021 invitational exhibition this weekend with a reception. Can you tell us about some of the artists in this show?

Speaker 2: (03:09)

So as the art prize winner from 2020, Melissa Walter, um, is one of the featured artists. This is the ninth time that they're having the invitational. And Melissa has reworked some pieces that we may have seen before, but the snippets that I've seen online have me really excited to see how she's re-imagined this work. And like, I don't need an excuse to get up to Carlsbad, to enjoy the water and the views. And so going up to also see the art sounds like a really fun day trip. The show will be up for a while, but I'm really looking forward to Melissa's work. And some other artists that I haven't seen too much, but they're from all around the county

Speaker 1: (03:44)

And the 2021 Canon invitational exhibition opens with a reception Saturday from five to 7:00 PM and is on view through February 5th at mixed grounds and new coffee shop in Logan Heights. There's a special all day festival called the nutcase art show on Saturday. Uh, correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like artists are using bike helmets as a canvas.

Speaker 2: (04:09)

They are. So I love mixed Browns in general is a coffee shop, art gallery. It's a space for conversation and music. And what we're seeing in the San Diego art scene right now are these kinds of hybrid experiences. So it really is bike helmets. The goal is to kind of increase safety awareness, but make it cool. So in the morning or in the afternoon, folks can come and kids can decorate bells, which are great for safety as they're riding on the roads. And then later on, there'll be over 20 different artists displaying art that they've created on nutcase helmets. Um, so it sounds like it's going to be food trucks. It's going to be music, um, bike safety, which we know is super important. Getting the kids and the family involved right there, um, at mixed grounds, which is such a fun and vibrant space.

Speaker 1: (04:56)

Sounds very interesting. The nutcase art show is Saturday, beginning at noon at mixed grounds and Logan Heights on Saturday, it live a Lula books and company they're celebrating the release of a photography scene called around the way girls, what do you know about this book and this pretty new bookstore in Barrio Logan?

Speaker 2: (05:16)

So Liberty Lula and bio Logan is this moment where we're finding independent bookstores pop up. [inaudible] in a few other parts of the city. And with this one specifically, one of my favorite photographers, um, Delana Delgado is doing film photography and the scene. So, you know, we see a lot of digital photography around, um, but she is using film. She's exploring these textures. And so in the bookshop, they'll have some for sale. They're also going to do a talk about this word. And so the Xen features girls just like, it sounds around the way from neighborhoods. We've got tattoos, we've got heart, we've got texture. It is like really gorgeous from what I've seen online. And then they're going to be talking in this really intimate space. Um, you can get the book side, you can hear about the process of film photography and why that's important

Speaker 1: (06:05)

Event for around the way girls is that Libby Lula books on Saturday at 2:00 PM. And you can find more details on these events and more at kpbs.org/arts. I've been speaking with Angie Chandler, the culture arts strategists behind culture mapping, San Diego, and also the audience and engagement specialist with Balboa art conservation center. Angie, thank you so much for joining us.

Speaker 2: (06:30)

It's been a pleasure excited for all these things going on in our beautiful city.