S1: It's time for KPBS Midday Edition. On today's show. The arts and culture shaping San Diego. I'm Jade Hindman with conversations that keep you informed , inspired , and make you think. Hear from a local author about her children's book on the significance of border ecology. Then Beth Accomando gives us a preview of two productions , plus your weekend preview. That's ahead on Midday edition. For.
S2: For.
S1: An architecture professor at the University of San Diego , and her students have found a creative way to teach children about ecology at the San Diego Tijuana border. They created a children's book called A Los Alberti Borderland Wings. It's a bilingual book , and the idea was born out of her or their ecology , research and community partnerships. Adriana Cuellar is the professor behind the newly published book. She joins me live in studio to share what she hopes children and families on both sides of the border will take from it. Adriana , welcome.
S3: Thank you. Thank you. Dane. Good afternoon. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. So , listen , without giving too much away , give us a synopsis of a Los Arbor Day. Border. Borderland. Wings. Yeah.
S3: Yeah. So Borderland Wings is a bilingual children's book that is a culmination of of a partnership in national partnership with promoter Latvijas Arts and our design platform of Boulder Design Lab at the University of San Diego. We've been working on developing academic research through the lens of design. I mean , designed by architecture , landscape architecture and urbanism , and with the community partnership through educational workshops across the border with promoter Las Vegas artists. And the book emerges as a project that that brings and intersects these these research and collective knowledge about our border landscape to children.
S1: How did working with community partners on this inform how you wrote the book?
S3: I didn't write the book. I worked together with the writer Javier Fernandez and in very close collaboration with Victoria Cepeda , Rosa Rodriguez , Marco Amador , um , that we we were all we've been working with as well with students at the University of San Diego architecture students on developing design strategies for conservation at Canyon longhouses , northeast Canyon right up against the border wall , and also a frontier to to to the ocean. And , uh , and through those , um , uh , workshops and , and design ideas. Um , we , we developed , uh , insight field observations and as well , uh , children's drawings that developed into these , these collaboration. I worked on the illustrations with Javier and some something that was very important for us was , uh , to maintain that , um , interdisciplinary , collaborative spirit. So through the process of is not about making a story and then illustrating or vice versa , but it was more of a conversation between the drawings that we've been producing at the lab , at the recent lab , and the narrative of of a native bird and a migrant bird that meet at the border and start a journey. And we go back and forth between the framing of the landscape and what it talks about through that.
S1: Very interesting. I'm going to ask you more about that , too , that the bird and and all that. But I'm curious. I mean , because , you know , this book , it it connects , you know , in a fun way , the study of plants and animals and the earth with a region that is so complex and bustling. Yes. What was the moment when you realized your ecology research of the border could really become a children's book?
S3: That's a that's an excellent question , because I think part of the responsibility , especially for us who live at this region , is that we can't think of , um , our academic research has these isolated enclaves that stay within the books of , you know , the discipline. Um , I think our responsibility is really in how to translate that and make knowledge accessible. If we truly want to have an impact , I think part of the effort is , is to to communicate and learn together about the region and allow that sort of , um , um , uh , nurturing and communication to open up the ideas that can guide projects. So even though it has a series of , um , maybe , um , not so much , uh , uh , topics that are accessible for children , but we translated those into a very simple story. But nonetheless , at the end of the book , there's an outline that that explains what was going on through each image and what is rendered behind the the the story as well. So you can look further between families or parents reading our teachers and the children as well. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Well , were there any interesting ecological findings from your research that made it into the book?
S3: Uh , yes. I mean , there's , uh , several elements of this , uh , of ecological observation. Part of a big inspiration has been the Taiwanese tree , which is a , um , in a way , a natural border condition. So it makes you reflect on the , on our territory that , uh , uh , that the border is much more beyond our political border , that , uh , migration in , in , in native species , even landscape plants , there's a lot of , uh , invasive and as well , plants that cohabitate within the native plants that have been , uh , contributing to the environment. So the idea of coexistence , reciprocity. There's you know , that's something that has been evolving that we wanted to project into the book. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. Well I want to know more about you as well because your career is actually in architecture. Yes. Um , how did you end up developing a children's book about ecology along the border? Yes.
S3: Yes. Um , well , I yes , I'm an architect and designer. I have a practice with my partner , Marcel Sanchez. Uh , cross studio. We've done projects of a library. Community library. Our. Our practice has been very much based in on border topics on housing and urban conditions. And , um , and it has been critical. The social dimension of , of of the project's architecture is very much linked to the environment. We can separate that. And sometimes we often think of architecture as this beautiful building or beautiful form , but something that I try to also teach in my classes is is to think beyond that , of course. What are the relationships? What are the thresholds between , you know , a setback or a front yard? And how do you speak to your neighbors? So these are values of InDesign that really speak about , you know , our collective territory and how we build our cities.
S1: Well , can you give me an example?
S3: Yes , so very much. We have a few projects. One is a housing project here in San Diego that we worked collaboratively with , uh , with some other friends where we share , even though , um , we have private property and we have a specific , uh , property lining between knowing our neighbors working together. We raised that line , and instead of a three foot setback , now we have a six foot setback with with landscapes and so on. And then we push buildings back in between , you know , a new Adu with a , with a with a house in the back. How do you create , uh , that open space that can lead into a community garden? So these ways of caring for the environment in the small domestic approach is important. So I don't see a separation at all. And the children's book can. Yeah. Being an architect. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Well , that brings me to my next question , because I want to talk more about that native bird and migrant duck that you mentioned earlier. Um , they're the main characters. Are there any deep significance? Is there like a deep significance? Um , you know , there , or is it just an artistic choice that you made? Tell me about that. No.
S3: No. So Javier Fernandez , uh , you know , working with him , he he writes about ecology. He'd never written a children's book. So he was very interesting because he had all of that knowledge as well , of which are the native species , which are the migrant species. And , and he proposed these two that are very emblematic of our of our region. Of course , there's more than 300 species all around. And and some , you know , there's roads going north. Roads going towards the south. And , uh , and so , yeah , it's it really evolves through , through that lens , both metaphorically but also on specific , um , facts or information of our region.
S1: And you , you also you published this this book is published in both English and Spanish. Yes. Um , and you say it was important to do that?
S3: No , absolutely. Because , uh , we we developed this , of course , in , in , in Tijuana , in the , in the field work. But as well the , the plan is to now that we just , just came out a few weeks ago. We have a list of , uh , donations to do to , uh , element , I mean , the schools , elementary schools in both Tijuana and San Diego Across the border , as well as community organizations by nationally and yeah , and other institutions. So it's really important if we really want to bridge how the children perceive. The landscape is very different in Tijuana than in San Diego. What children do here , uh , recreational is very different. And in Tijuana , why you have to go outside of the city or cross the border to access to parks and and even the ocean. So , um , building that , uh , understanding that it doesn't stop , you know , the wall , of course , uh , even , you know , for children in , in , in San Diego , especially in the northern part that , uh , perhaps , you know , the border is not so much in their minds. It is part of our condition.
S1: And you kind of have some of that experience firsthand because you were born in San Diego but raised in Tijuana.
S3: Yes , yes. I grew up in Tijuana up until high school. And and I didn't speak English well until I started my college here. Yeah.
S1: All right. How? Um. I mean , how do you hope bilingual families will experience the book together?
S3: Yeah , I think that's wonderful. And I can see on both sides because , uh , some families , you know , of course , in Tijuana , they want their children to learn English. And then in the US. So , uh , I mean , it's an opportunity , even for the learning new children that are learning Spanish to , to be able to compare the language and so on. And , and I think , you know , it would be even wonderful to have it in three languages and all the other languages that really speak about the region. So I mean , that's kind of another.
S1: Another angle there. Yeah. Well , listen , the border is often discussed in political terms. I mean , you've got the complex issues like the Tijuana River sewage crisis , which is a , you know , a humanitarian issue there. Um , you say ecology is something we can't overlook in these discussions? Yes.
S3: Yes. And then the ecology goes beyond the environment is the ecology of of of of of humans , of different species and , and really um , I think um , approaching the problems not from the conflict , but from a shared understanding of our territory , I think we can have a better outcome in , in the decision making in different layers.
S1: This is you know , it's a these are it's deep research and it's complex and it's , you know , it's academic. But yet this is accessible for children. Um , how early do you think children should start learning about environmental stewardship and cross-border ecosystems?
S3: And , I mean , I think children have a much more intuitive , better understanding of ecology than that. So you grow up with adults , so you really have to take advantage of that , uh , you know , as early as possible. And the , the , the challenge is how to continue that as an adult.
S1: Well , I mean , do you see this , the book as a classroom resource?
S3: Yeah , absolutely. You know , I'm thinking of sharing with teachers that they could become part of , I don't know , a second or third grade type of a classroom , but maybe why not even know even an art class or write other. Yeah. Topics. So that would be great.
S1: Teach them while they're young.
S3: Teach them as much as you can. Yes.
S1: Yes. Well , where can people find the book?
S3: So we have a website. It's a very brief description right now , but if we are donating it , we are in the process of donating and making , um , you know , the book accessible to schools , institutions and community organizations. But if anyone , even a family , are interested , I welcome them to look at Porter Design Lab. Org. And then there's just an icon there on on borderline wings where they can fill out a petition form and then we can receive it and get. Get that in the list and we can announce when we will be distributing free copies. Yeah. After the donation.
S1: So excellent. And the last few seconds we have. Are there any overlooked stories about the border that you hope to tell in the future?
S3: Um , I mean , we continue to work on these another part of this project we're working on an academic now type of book on border ecologies. So there's kind of this sort of pairing approach that doesn't stop. But but no , I mean , this is it's great to have the opportunity to , to speak about this to in here and to the children. It's been a wonderful. Yeah.
S1: All right. Well , this is great. I've been speaking with Adriana Cuéllar. She's an architecture professor at the University of San Diego. Adriana , thank you so very much.
S3: Thank you so much.
S1: Up next , Beth Accomando gives us a preview of two fringe plays you'll want to hear about. KPBS Midday Edition is back after the break. Welcome back. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. This weekend you have two different new plays to choose from a horror comedy or a feminist musical. Both are from San Diego. Playwrights. KPBS arts reporter Beth Accomando sat down with Michael Mizrahi and Sarah Alida LeClaire to talk about their new works. Here's that conversation. Okay.
S4: Okay. I know that a feminist musical and a horror comedy may not sound like they have a lot in common. However , we are going to find out that they do. Both of you have shows opening this weekend , and before we get into the specifics of the show , I just want to talk about something that you do have in common. Both of you have gone through fringe , done fringe shows. Yeah. Won awards. So Michael , coming through fringe. How did that impact you in terms of making you decide that you wanted to pursue more writing because you have a dance background?
S5: I do have a dance background , and I actually started in fringe in dance , and I felt like a lot of times I was told in dance , well , you can't do that. I'm like , why can't I do that? I can do that about themes. And I'm like , and so at fringe , I did that and sold out theatres. Well , people want to see it and there's an audience for it and they're saying , no , well , I'm going to say yes and do it. And I've been doing it for like 15 years.
S4: But then you moved more towards writing.
S5: Well , that's because my body gave out , basically you dancing like I'm going to retire. I was 48. I retired when I was 48 or or 49. I did a musical theatre for a long time , and then during Covid I was stuck at home. So I decided to take some writing. I could sit on my butt and write and not get hurt. I'm like , that's perfect. And that's what I did. And I just took course. After course , I took a course at the Old Globe as well and just learned the craft. And I'm learning still. I mean , it's it's a process.
S4: And Sarah , both of you have won awards at fringe. How did going through fringe and producing shows there and performing? How did that impact you as a theatre producer?
S6: I think just the speed of it , right? There's no time to belabor any worry that you have and like paring everything back to the simplest lighting design , just in case , depending on the venue that you're in and the simplest set design and really just focusing on like , what are the words being said? What are the themes that you're trying to get across? And and as you said , Michael , like people telling you this is unpalatable or nobody wants to see this kind of woman or these relationships are ABCd , you proved that wrong in the moment where you're like , well. But 400 people came to see it and loved it and and whatever. But yeah , I think like that. That's a real freedom when you don't have to think about like , is this commercial , which I think is a great thing about fringe , that there's a lot of people who maybe have never written before or are trying to just tell their stories and try to figure out how to read poetry , or what does a children's dance show look like in this kind of arena. What does a sword fighting Shakespeare look like? People kind of going , well , here's what I think is cool. And finding out that there are hundreds of people who agree and maybe you should do more of it. And so I think that's really what's helped me both as a producer and a writer is , as a writer , going , maybe I just please myself and see if anybody likes it , rather than trying to make it one thing or another. Yeah. As a producer , just realizing all that other stuff is just extra. A big , beautiful set is extra. Those all those things like add to the art , but at its bones , it's the story.
S5: It's the script. It's the story. Yeah. The themes.
S4: And Sarah , you are going to be having fairy tale monologues opening this weekend. This is a riot production at moxie. You actually had the world premiere of it at the most recent Fringe Festival. So what did you have an opportunity to kind of workshop by going through fringe?
S6: Yeah , I really like the process that we use at riot , which is not just when I write things , but when any of our authors write things. We develop with the actors that are going to be doing playing the parts , and so their voices become , you know , whatever the story was at the beginning is not what our story became because of the individual actors saying , well , this makes me feel emasculated , or this makes me feel like she's not changing enough , or the request that they had , and then being able to put it in front of an audience , especially such a supportive audience as we have at fringe , I think that's like no other place you'll ever perform is in front of a whole bunch of artists who who deeply want to see you succeed. We were able to see , like , there are lines that are funny that we thought were funny , but we didn't know that people would laugh out loud at those. And having such a reactive audience like fringe let us know , okay , this is maybe coming across as we intended. This is not. And then just , you know , because we're so collaborative with our artists , The actors asked for things. Having gone through three months of rehearsal and then saying , I would really love to have seen this moment between these two characters and can we make that scene happen? And so I tried a lot of the things that they asked , and it meant that we sort of filled in gaps that the audience responded to one moment and we thought , okay , well , let's expand that moment then , since they liked that. And then songs came kind of with all of that. So we have , I think , a fuller story with tighter themes , stronger relationships , I think some lightness , more lightness and more tragedy , if that's possible. And two new songs , three new songs.
S4: Now , this is a play that takes a lot of things that we're familiar with fairy tale tropes and stories that we've. Heard.
S6: Heard.
S4: Growing up. And then what do you do to them?
S6: So it always a feminist twist when I write , and I like to say my style is funny til it's not. So we're poking fun a little bit at the fact that every single story in fairy tales in in the Grimm's Fairy Tales. They usually begin with the mother was dead to begin with. And that's how you know that this child is kind or like , this is this is our hero because their mother was dead and they live alone in the forest or whatever. So asking like , why did the Grimms brothers and like , storytellers in general , have to eliminate mothers in order for someone to be worthy of a story? Like , why did we have to be written out as women? And then it's asking questions about is a princess story silly because it's considered feminine , or is it actually like the forgotten stories of all these girls in arranged marriages , all these girls who had to survive what was thrown at them that had no choice , that could have made an advantageous match into something that could benefit them if they were smart , if they were clever , if they were able to do things like that. And we kind of minimized those stories and think of them as silly Disney tropes when they're really the stories of survival. And then the last thing we look at is witches and how we always consider which is to be ugly and old and unlovable. Even Sondheim's Into the Woods , The Witch is rejected by everyone around her , and in reality , women that were naturalists and healers and midwives would have been incredibly empathetic since they passed their knowledge down. Matrilineal. That meant someone was having sex with them so that they could have daughters. So yeah , we're trying to reclaim that that evil witch and stepmother trope into something that's more about flawed and failing human women.
S4: And Michael , you play off of tropes as well , but in a very different way. You have a horror comedy called Die Already , and we actually produced a short radio play version of this during the pandemic. We did So what attracts you to kind of doing these horror comedies? This isn't exactly your first. You've played in horror before. Yeah.
S5: Yeah. Um , I think as a kid I loved it. I always felt like if I was , um , if I lived , I would live because I killed the killer. And obviously. But I also felt like I was in , um , outsider , um , like , I didn't fit in , um , that people underestimated me. And then that's where I found the final girl. I felt like I would be that person , and they don't know me , but I would live , and you would all die , I would live. And so I think that's always been , like in my psyche , a little bit in this show. I've sort of like took the tropes and spun them around like , there is no final girl , there's a final boy , and the person who's being chased knows all the tropes.
S4: Well , in terms of dealing with these horror tropes , you have a character who is a horror writer. Yes. And let's hear a little bit of the play.
S7: You know what I finally figured out after 12 rejections? You can't write authentic peril. You can't manufacture genuine dread. You have to find it. You have to build it in real life with real people in a real location. Practical filmmaking , you might call it. I've been working on this for a long time. Brannigan. The setup , the characters , the location. You were always going to be the lead. The audience needs to believe the peril. So does the cast. This is where you stop being a person and start being a scene.
S4: Now , one thing I find fascinating about you tackling horror films and tropes in the play is I've sat next to you at horror movies and you are a major fraidy cat.
S8: Covering your eyes , shaking your knees. Jumping. So.
S4: So.
S8: Like , how do you how do you how do you kind of like.
S4: How do you meld those two. Things?
S8: Things?
S5: It's the dumbest things. It's like the cat in a closet. I'm like , it's so stupid. I'm like , oh , and Beth just laughs at me.
S8: Oh , it's.
S4: So much fun sitting next.
S5: To me because I'm a jumper. I am a jumper , I am a jumper.
S6: But it's because you're invested.
S5: I am very invested in it. I am because I'm that person I want to live. And so I'm like , yeah , I'm gonna live. Oh , I'm scared , but I'm still going to live. What's your question?
S8: I'm just curious.
S4: How you kind. Of.
S8: Of.
S4: Have gone from this person who is very much the target audience for horror , because you react well and then have gotten to the point where you like playing with those tropes that actually scare you and kind of revisiting them.
S5: I think that fits into my sense of humor. It's very dark , and I like the tropes because I get to approach them in a way that's out of the box. I'm calling the show like scream bugger. But scream is pretty gay. But still , this is gayer still than that. All men all have ulterior motives except the hero. And act two becomes the trope of the chase and the bloodbath and everything it becomes that enact too.
S4: And this is going to be performed at diversionary black box. So this is a very tight , confined , claustrophobic space , sort of perfectly designed for horror. So how is working within that space kind of playing into the play itself?
S5: I love that space. It's super small , intimate. The audience is right there , and there's a body right there and they're struggling. You're like in the room , which is great. There's a blood in it , but it's not going to splatter a whole lot. It's very violent. So I think if you're in the room and you're that close and you experience it , lots of my shows have aspects of that of violence or of drama , and you're in the room for that , and it's really a visceral reaction. I'll sit in the back and watch them like , yes , they'll be like this. Watching because it's so close. There's no wall and there's a fourth wall , but there's not a fourth wall because you're so close. It's not immersive by choice , but I think it's immersive by default.
S4: And Sarah , you have not only written and are acting in this play , you've also composed the music. And how would you describe what kind of music this is? What can people expect from this? Sure.
S6: Sure. It's as if a crazy woman sat down at the piano , having listened to Hadestown and Evanescence and a bunch of Irish folk songs , and just cried over the piano keys for days. That's what the music is. That's the energy. You know , I went to school here at Sdsu. That's where I got my master's in classical music. It's something like my professors will probably roll over in their classrooms knowing that , you know , I'm not following the rules of counterpoint , and I have an operatic aria in there for one of my singers , BJ Robinson. But yeah , it's a disgrace. Bach and Beethoven would hate it , but it is very evanescence. Lana Del Rey. Sarah Burrell's kind of indie folk pop influenced. It's partly my love of Irish folk songs , which I grew up on , and just like loving that storytelling way of the poetry. Yeah , and a lot of it was influenced by my reading. I did like a year and a half of intense reading about witches , and then in that reading a lot of poetry about witches , and sometimes the poems would move me and I would just sit and kind of noodle on the piano. So very piano forward , romantic , pop esque. Hadestown is probably the closest. Yeah , I think it's something that's like , singable and we love it. Everything , like , sits in a beautiful key and it's all beautifully accompanied by Chris Miller , our music director , who also underscores everything. And so it has kind of like a cinematic feeling of just like music coming up underneath these , like romantic or tragic scenes.
S4: And can you select something for us to hear?
S6: Yeah , this is outside time , and it's the song that starts the show. It's the theme of the happy , functioning relationship. So anytime someone is in love or seeking love , there's four of us that sing this theme. Anytime you're in love or seeking love , this song will appear. Side.
S9: In magic I don't wanna sleep I just listened to your heartbeat. Don't speak.
S10: Truth is I want to be trapped here forever with you. All this madness in the blackness. If I ask you this. You in the silence , you just smile. And ten times in the shoe. I heard you sing I was lost. Nobody mention the ghost.
S4: All right , well , thank you for that excerpt. And one final question for both of you. Both of you have been working on these plays for a while. What is it like to have a play and come back to it? Do you feel like it's something that gives you a little distance and you're able to really fine tune it more , or is it hard to go back to them? How do you feel about like having an evolution? Yours was particularly long.
S5: Yeah , it was a long time ago. I like to , um , do a a reading and then leave it for a few months and then come back to it. And that's what I did with this play. Well , it's what I do with most of my plays of reading , and then I'll just leave it and come back to it and then just pass it out more and more and more. And usually it's editing things out and that don't work or things that go on too long or I think it's a clever line , but it doesn't serve the story. So I take it out. I need that time though. I need that time to actually go in , write it a reading , go away and come back to it and edit it.
S6: Yeah , that's I think that's the hardest part that like you wrote something that you're like , oh damn , that's clever man , I'm so cute. And then you have to look at that line and go , hmm.
S11: Okay , you have to go , but I love you. I'm sending you into the universe.
S6: Yeah , and I agree , like those readings out loud. You don't realize , especially because I blog a lot. I write for the written page and that is not good dialogue. And so trying to figure out , like this person has now been talking for several sentences and we just don't do that as humans. And so how do we , like , make this conversational again and not like high literature prose , but something that feels watchable and thinking about exactly being the audience lets you think about that audience perspective of like , has this scene gone on too long? Have we asked the audience to hold this like tragedy for too long? Is it exhausting to listen to one liner after one line or after one line? Like you start to be embarrassed as. The.
S11: The. Writer.
S6: Writer.
S5: There is a plot in there somewhere between the one liners , right? I can't find. It.
S11: It. Well , I really thought I was cute. This was like six pages of this. Yeah.
S4: Now both these plays are opening this weekend. I already will be at Diversionary Black Box and Fairy Tale monologues will be at moxie. No offense to die already , but I am going opening night to Sarah's play because she's cooking for us.
S5: I'm cooking on.
S11: Stage because it's a different kind of better. Even better.
S4: So what are you making?
S11: All my.
S6: Plays talk.
S11: About food.
S6: But this one in particular , because I really tried to think about witches in what they are , which is not just people who are medicinal , but they also grew stuff in their gardens. And so they were probably like me , loving food and loving flavours. And in the play , the witch is always breaking open some kind of food , or she's canning or she's grinding or whatever. So everything that's mentioned in the play will be in physical form for you to taste , so that we can be even more immersive. You can taste this like B.J. Robinson has this like sunflower seed in Walnut song that he sings , and so you'll be able to have a little bit of that bread as you're going in and have the flavor of cardamom and the candied walnuts in your mouth when he's singing about it , to see if that does anything to intensify everything. Yeah. So that bread. I'm making some sourdough with purple butterfly peas , which just makes it beautiful. And lavender strawberry tarts and glass slipper cookies and a lemon loaf. We like to keep it cute. And I taught in East County for years. And if if nothing else , that's cookout land. So we like to , like , feed with our art. Exactly.
S5: Exactly.
S4: All right. And then I'll be at die already later.
S5: You better be. I'll. I'll come find you.
S1: That was San Diego playwrights Michael Mizrachi and Sarah Alida LeClaire , speaking with KPBS arts reporter Beth Accomando. Both their plays opened this weekend. Die already opens tonight at diversionary. Black Box and Fairy Tale monologues opens at Moxie Theatre. We'll include links in more details at KPBS.
S12: And still to come , your weekend preview. KPBS Midday.
S1: Edition is back.
S12: After the break.
S1: Welcome back. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman for our weekend preview. We have some top picks for music and dance. Plus , how Shakespeare set the stage for those enemies to lovers rom coms centuries ago. Joining me with all the details is KPBS arts reporter and host of the finest podcast , Julia Dixon Evans. Julia , welcome.
S13: Hey , Jade. Thanks for having me.
S1: Always great to have you here. So first up , let's talk rom coms Much Ado About Nothing , open Sunday at the Old Globe. What do you know? Yeah.
S13: Yeah. So this is considered a comedic masterpiece. It's thought to have been written around 1598. 1599 , premiered on stage in the year 1600 , and it centers around the story of Beatrice and Benedict as they resist their friends matchmaking efforts. It's the original enemies to lovers story. There's trickery , there's gossip , and one of the things that's really beloved about this play is like the wit and the banter between these characters , who start out not at all interested in each other.
S1: Kind of love. A good messy rom com There. Um , you know , everyone loves and enemies to love her story. So tell me more about that.
S13: And , you know , fun fact anyone but you. That movie with Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell is an adaptation , a loose adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing. And not just like the loose plot. There's also the character names , there's like the staged eavesdropping , and also some direct lines straight from Shakespeare. Um , so yeah , Much Ado is the second play in the Old Globe's Summer Shakespeare series , and it's going to be performed in their outdoor festival stage Under the Stars , um , directed by the Globe's artistic director , Barry Edelstein , probably one of the foremost Shakespeare experts of our time. It stars Eden Espinosa as Beatrice , Tali Sessions as Benedict , and also , if anyone saw a measure for measure earlier this summer. Also in the cast as Margaret is an actor called Maddie Goff. who's this like , super versatile comedic actor. And they were a total scene stealer in that play as elbow and yeah. Much ado opens in previews on Sunday , and it's going to be on stage through August 30th.
S1: And there's a lot of dance options this weekend , so let's take a look at a few , starting with a free performance from City Ballet. Yeah.
S13: Yeah. So this is called Ballet Under the Stars. It's a showcase for their the company's emerging artists and their pre-professional students , uh , rooted in their summer intensive program. And these dancers are going to perform alongside the company's principal dancers. And they'll do a selection of shorter pieces. Medleys. They're ranging from classical ballet to Sousa to jazz and even contemporary ballet. This is the Epstein Family Amphitheater at UC San Diego. That's their outdoor stage , and open seating is free. Reservations are required , but if you do want reserved VIP seating , you can get tickets. You can buy them for $30. The performance starts at eight on Friday night , but the doors do open at 7 p.m. if you want to grab your spot , and they'll have snacks and drinks available for purchase. Great.
S1: Great. Okay , so we have contemporary ballet from the Rosin Box Project. What can you tell us about that show?
S13: Yeah , so every year the Rosin Box Project does a whole show of brand new premieres , new original choreography. It's called debuts , and the Rosenbach Project is a local contemporary dance company. And they so consistently just put out incredible , innovative stuff they have , like their shows have this high production value , super theatrical. It's incredible.
S1: And there is a difference between contemporary ballet and traditional classic ballet , as they call it.
S13: Right , right. It mainly comes down to the techniques and the rules and the structures. So in classical ballet , there's always these like basic positions , the five positions , the way that dancers move their feet and their legs. And in contemporary ballet , it's a lot looser. There's still those frameworks of the ballet technique , but there's more room for expression , there's more fluidity and experimentation. And the framework is also different for things like the music and the costumes and the plots to. But a lot of the rosin boxes pieces do have strong plots , so it's not like an exclusive thing. And another thing that is impressive about this company is that these dancers are so talented. They're expressive , they're athletic , they're incredibly precise , and they're also really funny. Um , and yeah , the company is doing three new works this weekend , and one by choreographer Jennifer Archibald , uh , Christian Denise. And that one has an original score. And then they're also doing a new piece by Carly Tapatio , who is the company co-founder. They're doing these shows at the Joan , which is the Cygnet Theatre building in Liberty Station. Uh , performances are 730 Friday and Saturday and then 6 p.m. on Sunday.
S1: And there's also a lot of music this weekend , including A.J. Monet tonight in a performance , but a special listening session the next night. So she's touring with her new album , The Color of Rain. Let's take a listen.
S14: Great working class. Working class.
S15: Though it be a labor.
S13: So this is Working Class Musicians by Aja monet. And this album is just gorgeous. It's like a blend of poetry , blues , soul , jazz and hip hop. And she's going to perform at the outdoor amphitheater at UC San Diego , support from Def Sound , and then San Diego's own Josh Lane of the Sacred Souls. And if you want even more Future as Color is doing one of their listening sessions with a Gemini and deaf sound in person talking about Monet's album , and then everyone can spend some time listening to it. That's Friday afternoon from 4 to 7 at the Museum of Contemporary Art , San Diego. The listening session is free , but you'll want to reserve a spot as soon as possible , and you're also running out of time to check out the Giants exhibit , which is not free. But if you're already in the building , may as well.
S1: Miss a J a as in Aja monet. Okay. All right , one more. Saint Vincent is performing with the San Diego Symphony on Saturday. Tell us about this interesting collaboration. Yeah.
S13: Yeah. So , Annie Clark , otherwise known as Saint Vincent , she is a six time Grammy winner. Just this really solid career making inventive pop and rock. Like , it feels weird to distill it down to one genre. Um , and she is partnered with arranger and conductor Jules Buckley to bring her catalog to life with an orchestra. This track is from when she performed with BBC Proms. This was last year. This is Digital Witness.
S16: I was born a wee bit and see if I can show it. You can sing. What's the point of doing the thing?
S13: And the San Diego Symphony will perform her music with her in all new arrangements. Stuff from Marry Me , Mass Seduction , a bunch more , including her newest album , All Born Screaming. The concert , 730 Saturday at the Shell and Don't Sleep on the opening act. It's a rouge off top. A Pakistani American composer and singer who has such a mesmerizing voice. I'll leave you with her track Mohabbat from her 2021 album Vulture Prince. Come.
S10: Come.
S1: And you can find details on these and more arts events on our website at KPBS. I've been speaking with KPBS arts reporter and host of the finest podcast , Julia Dixon Evans. Julia. Thank you.
S13: Thank you. Jade. This is fun.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
