Review by Josue Meneses

West Side Story, the groundbreaking musical that combines on stage performances, live music and drama was one of the best performances I ever seen, at least for the past decade at the Irvine Barclay Theatre. A great experience indeed, including lavishing production numbers, great portable sets, dazzling costumes, excellent choreographies and superb performances. A must see for the on-going theatre lover of just the occasional aficionado.

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to witness the closing night of the Claire Trevor Show “West Side Story” with an incredible production that included a live orchestra, which one could see through a translucent curtain dividing a three-dimensional set. It’s quite common to see this kind of shows at Las Vegas or even in New York. I was so pleased to see that this Broadway style musicals taking place right here in Southern California inundated with astonishing performances and the magnificent voices on a shared effort of The Claire Trevor Show and A Special collaboration of the UCI Dance, Drama, & Music Department’s.

Every little detail was carefully taken in consideration for the production. From the 50’s style signs to the wardrobe, props, excellent lighthing and the indoor-outdoor swap of sets was one of the greatest local productions I’ve seen in a long time. Not to mention the outstanding performances. Overall the West Side Story is one of the best East Side shows I came across until now.

More than 400 UC Irvine students showed up during the first week of classes to audition for Leonard Bernstein’s masterpiece. By opening night, cast members representing the best of dance, drama and music talent in the Claire Trevor School of the Arts will have put in at least 165 rehearsal hours. Costumes, scenery and lighting are being tackled by graduate design students as part of their theses, and the 45-member orchestra outnumbers the original 1957 Broadway production.

“There’s no show with a pedigree to match West Side Story,” says director Eli Simon, drama department chair. “It has music by Leonard Bernstein, book by Arthur Laurents, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim in his Broadway debut, directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins, and produced by Hal Prince and Robert E. Griffith.

“The musical score is unlike any other ever written for the world of musical theatre. It presents incredible challenges for singers, dancers and actors,” Simon adds. “And the story soars. As I see it, the show is all about ownership, passion and turf. Who owns the streets? For young kids it’s not just a matter of pride, it’s a matter of insane passion. It has to lead to death. Where else could it go?”

The UCI production features choreography by Tracy Bonner, who received a master of fine arts from UCI; and musical direction by Daniel Gary Busby, drama assistant professor. The orchestra is conducted by Stephen Tucker, music assistant professor.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE
CLAIRE TREVOR SCHOOL OF THE ARTS

The Claire Trevor Show
West Side Story
Music by Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by Arthur Laurents
Directed by Eli Simon
Musical director: Daniel Gary Busby
Conductor: Stephen Tucker
Choreographed by: Tracey Bonner

Evenings: Nov. 14 - 22, 8 pm
Matinee: Nov. 16 & 22, 2 pm
For tickets go to: ticketmaster.com
Irvine Barclay Theatre
$28 general audiences/ $25 seniors & UCI staff & faculty/$12 UCI students & children

Join us for a 51st anniversary celebration of America’s greatest modern era musical!
This Claire Trevor School of the Arts production of “West Side Story” features Leonard Bernstein’s breathtaking score for full orchestra, with thrilling dance numbers and favorite songs including “Maria,” “Tonight,” “I Feel Pretty,” “One Hand, One Heart,” “Cool” nd “Somewhere.” “Something’s Coming” indeed, as a pair of star-crossed lovers face the gripping tension between the Jets and the Sharks. Bristling with the energy and passion of the streets of New York, UC Irvine’s vibrant production will stir your heart and bring a fresh appreciation for this unparalleled musical masterpiece.

UCI ARTS BOX OFFICE
(949) 824-2787

Amusings, Hauntings, Wantings
Multi media installation / Brain Mapping
by stephen anderson
Exhibit runs November 1st to 29th, 2008

The Plan For Your Body, 2008 stephen anderson

The Eclectic company and occca presents:

Sat, Nov 15, 8pm, FREE
EMC concert: no. 28, eclectic electric eccentric

Panic Movement
Guppies
sleepr wave
Steven H. Antonio
DWL (from Portland Oregon)
music all around the area, from sound downtown
but OURS IS FREE!

+

Sat, Nov 22: 8pm, FREE
EMC Concert no.29: alternative, techno, operatic

Dancing Lethargic
The Lynx Technique
Joy Shannon & the Beauty Marks

orange county center for contemporary art
117 N. Sycamore, Santa Ana, CA. 92701
714.667.1517 www.occca.org

SoundDowntown 2008 is a one-day music festival on Saturday, November 15, featuring a lineup of over 50 locally and nationally recognized bands, DJ’s and performing artists at various venues throughout the Artist’s Village of downtown Santa Ana.

Preferred advance tickets are $10 and general admission is $15 day-of. Event tickets will allow patrons to enter all local venues (some 21+) curated with entertainment. Venue capacity will range from 50 to 800, so suggested arrival times will vary. Advance tickets are now on sale.
Click to hear the psa

click here to purchase!!!
New Artists TBA!
Note: Some Performances are 21+
Please Check Schedule

Sponsored in part by the Downtown Santa Ana Business Council, OC Weekly, Karl Strauss Brewing Company, KUCI, Yelp and Splitends.

Participating Venues:

The Crosby, The Yost Theater, Bistro 400, Festival Hall, Gypsy Den, Jason’s Downtown, Memphis Santora, Proof, CSF Grand Central Art Center

Billing (More TBA):
Austin Hartley-Leonard - Bearded Baby - Blank Blue - Bobby Soul – Busdriver - Cheap Date - DJ Dan Oh - DJ Dan Sena – DJ J Hall - DJ Nobody - DJ Pubes - Faded Tequila Wormz - Flying Saucers - Free Moral Agents - Free the Robots - From Elsewhere – Inkblots - Living Suns - Look Daggers - Majic Bullet Theory - Mexican Institute of Sound – MODE - My Hollow Drum – Nalepa – Narodniks - No MSG - Nortec Collective Presents Bostich + Fussible - Nosaj Thing - One Way – Peanut - Protect Me – Satisfaction - Shepard Fairey - Sparrow Love Crew - Strange Fruit - Tea Long - Teton Songwriters - The Entrance Band - The Growlers - The Hattrix Project - The (International) Noise Conspiracy - Two Guns - Venus Infers - Zechs Marquise - Zutra

The historic—and historically progressive—Artists’ Village district in the city of Santa Ana gets into the groove this November 15, with the much-anticipated soundDowntown 2008. This day-into-night music and spoken word festival happens on Saturday, November 15, from 2pm-2am, featuring a lineup of 60+ locally and nationally recognized bands, DJs and performing artists hosted by more than a dozen of Santa Ana’s most famously intriguing landmark venues, all within a walkable radius of just a few square blocks in the downtown arts district. The streets of the area won’t be blocked off, instead audiences will be issued all-access passes that allow for a freeform, self-guided experience akin to a gallery walk, complete with printed programs containing maps and full schedules, and integrating the simultaneous performances to unfold within the vibrant nightlife of the neighborhood.

One of the Southland’s best kept cultural secrets, Santa Ana is a dynamic, evolving, and engaged arts community. The Bowers Museum, Orange County High School of the Arts, OC Weekly HQ, the revitalized Santora Building, the renovated Festival Hall and Yost Theater, dozens of independent galleries, and Rude Guerrilla Theater Company are just a few of the pillars of this naturally occurring culturati hub. The noted Grand Central Art Center with its small but salient regional museum vibe in the European kunsthalle tradition, and its edgy, ambitious programming, offers the quintessential example of the kind of cultural interplay soundDowntown 2008 is engendering, as it invites radio station KUCI to program a full night of local indie buzz bands inside its galleries, including some explosive special guests to be announced soon.

In fact, each of the dozen plus venues participating share not only the organizers’ love of progressive culture, but also their passion for the breathtaking architectural preservation and innovation that gives the community its compelling, eccentric, and almost literary flavor.

soundDowntown 2008 signals the return of Koos Art Center, whose presence laid the groundwork for Santa Ana’s cultural vibrancy, as founder and soundDowntown producer Dennis Lluy reopens Koos at the Yost, once a Mexican movie house and Vaudeville theatre, and who for soundDowntown host a bill featuring; the politically-charged, anthemic rock from Rick Rubin-produced buzz band International Noise Conspiracy; Nortec Collective Presents Bostich + Fussible, a collaborative effort in furhterance of dirty TJ techno; the Entrance Band’s psychedelic avant-freedom rock; and Free the Robots blend old-school/avant-garde hip-hop.

Meanwhile, down the block, Mexican Institute of Sound’s boundary and border-blurring indie electronica and rough-riding feel-good beach Goth from the Growlers take the stageFestival Hall; The Living Suns infiltrate the Gypsy Den with their psychedelic prog rock;Bistro 400 opens their patio to host DJ Bobby Soul and Secret Affair and Jason’s throw their antes in with eclectic indie fare. Shepard Fairey aka DJ Diabetic, and DJ Pubes hold it down at the Crosby, an archetype of the lively college town coffee house offering books, art, music, food, drinks, and the kind of genre-blurring cultural fusion that defines Santa Ana society.

Among the most lively mash-ups of old and new is are the all-star spoken word jam by Hattrix Project, dancers, and music from the Magik Bullet Theory taking place at the Grand Central Art Center; DJ Nobody and Free Moral Agents at Memphis in the instantly classicSantora Building, kicking out the louder beats amid impressive surroundings that include three floors of art galleries; and Sparrow Love Crew’s soulful hip-hop and self-described “Ghettotech” draw dance-hungry crowds at Proof.

A Response to US Policy at Home and Abroad
Curator : Joella March

October 4 to 26, 2008
117 N. Sycamore, Santa Ana, CA
714.667.1517 www.occca.org

Opening Reception:
Saturday October 4th, 6 pm to 12 am

First Friday Films:
October 3: 8pm, Free
Iraq For Sale: The War Profiteers (2006)
Director: Robert Greenwald

Performance art Event:
October 18th from 8 pm to 11 pm. Free
Featuring “Letters To The President” a multi-media spoken word performance by M.S.Garvey; original performance art by Toni Ivashkov and a spoken word poetry slam performed by local poets, including D’Lo, John Trudell and Douglas Kearney and Special Guest Vietnam Vet / anti-war activist Ron Kovic

The Exhibition:
“Just How Does A Patriot Act” seeks to create a forum for conversation and debate, extending beyond the current political climate of denial, distraction, and dismissal of the public voice and will.

The Artists in this Exhibition:
The artists in this exhibition work in a variety of media including traditional and new forms: Painting, Drawing, Screen printing, Assemblage, Animated Neon, Kinetic Sculpture, Installation, Fashion Sculpture, Text Art, Photography, Sound sculpture, Digital Media, Conceptual Art, Performance Art and Video. They represent various ages, political, cultural and ethnic backgrounds and are all answering the call to inquire, investigate, analyze and create.

Revealing questions, answers and solutions through their own unique process, as they contemplate and respond to U.S. policy at home and abroad, (including Abu Grahib, War profiteering, 9/11, Over deployment of U.S. troops, Public Apathy, Loss of Civil liberties, Accountability, Environment, Economy Immigration, Homeland Security)

Just how does a patriot act in a changing world?
I invite you all to ruminate upon this query. To begin a discussion that extends beyond gallery walls. To take an active role in the future of this nation and the world. To not loss faith in “the power of the people” or the ability for one voice to make a profound difference. Knowledge redefines power, use it or loose it!

“To dissent is Patriotic” - Thomas Jefferson, founding father

We The Artists:
Andrew Armstrong * Bryan de Roo * Cat Gwynn
Chris Revelle * Clayton Campbell * Dan Van Clapp
Danielle Adair * Dianna Cohen * Douglas McCulloh
Elana Mann * Francisco Letelier * Hillary Mushkin
Hayley Blatte * Jason Chakravarty * Joe Biel * Jody Zellen
John Carr * John Trudell * Karen Atkinson * Karen Fiorito
Lun*na Menoh * Matthew Bryant * Meekyung Shim
Nabby El-Soudani * Nancy Buchanan * Nicholas Grider
Noah Breuer * Rebecca Lowry * Richard Ankrom
Robbie Conal * Robin Clark* Roman Genn
Ryan Broughman * Sahar Alsawaf * Sheila Pinkel
Stephen Anderson * Suzanne Mejean * Tomas Moreno
Toni Ivashkov * Wayne Coe * William Stone
Zachary Biberstine * Zig Gron

Michael Garvey / Spoken Word Performance Artist
“LETTERS TO THE PRESIDENT”
M.S. Garvey has composed over 130 letters (and counting) to President George W. Bush. In the mysterious Courtyard’s inner sanctum and under the watchful gaze of his cat Mr. Pickles, he writes the letters on his human-powered typewriter and mails the originals to the White House. The letters express Garvey’s thoughts on topics from administration policies, the direction of our country and the current wars, to charity, peace and the power of taking baths. He held the first live readings in the summer of 2002 at O’Brien’s Pub in Venice, and then went on to perform selected letters in Los Angeles, Grand Rapids, Chicago and Berlin, as well as various cities in Romania. M.S. Garvey also participated in the 2004 Republican National Convention by staging readings outside of Madison Square Garden during convention events.

Over time, the show has evolved into a collaborative performance piece that defies description, with a rotating cast of accomplished musicians. Garvey, a charismatic presence and expansive performer, proclaims the letters against a sonic backdrop of improvised music that beckons the sounds of old New Orleans, the Kansas plains and the dark bars of Los Angeles. Full of humor, insight and passion, these rare performances are not to be missed. In an exclusive two-week engagement (November 29th to December 9th, 2007), M.S. Garvey’s “Letters to the President”, co-produced by Ice Hat Creative and the Robert Berman Gallery, was performed with The Hootenanny All- Stars at the Electric Lodge in Venice, Calif.

“Michael Garvey’s solo show is something different…in just under an hour
he poignantly raises a question familiar to many…creates a welcoming
place for the confused and downhearted citizen.” –The Chicago Reader

All Events & Gallery Admission Are Free

Film, Concerts and Other Events @ OCCCA During October 2008:
First Friday Films: October 3: 8pm
Iraq For Sale: The War Profiteers (2006)
Director: Robert Greenwald

EMC Concert no.27: October 11: 8pm
Slow
Audacity
Life on the Bang Bus

Jason’s Downtown Restaurant will be hosting their annual Summer Salsa Celebration on Friday, August 22, 2008 starting at 6:00PM.

If you think you’re “hot stuff” with a killer salsa concoction, then bring a batch of it to the celebration and your dish can be entered into the tasting.

A bottle of “El Don” Tequila will be presented to the creator of the favorite salsa of the evening!

Jason’s Downtown Entertainment Line Up

THURSDAY - 08/21 (6:30-9:30PM)
Tammy Vigiletti
Tammy Vigiletti has been entertaining audiences for more than 20 years. She manages her family owned dinner theatre Tibbies which is located in Long Beach aboard the historic Queen Mary. Tammy is currently working on recording a cd featuring her top 10 favorite songs. Please join us for a engaging night filled with first-rate service, sumptuous dining, relaxing intimate and enchanting atmosphere, and stellar entertainment!

FRIDAY - 08/22 (7:00-11:00PM)
Ritmo, Sabor Y Estilo
Changing it up a bit this weekend, local percussionist Jesse Moreira adds a twist of Salsa to his latin jazz stylings in support of the salsa celebration-staying true to the cha chas, boleros, and bossas through dinner, and then kicking up the spicy flavor with some energetic Salsa rhythms. Come out and join the party!!!

AVNT/GRDE is a skate concept/lifestyle shop located in the Art District of Downtown Santa Ana on 306 W. Third St. and they just recently had their grand opening on the 2nd of August. AVNT/GRDE offer something new and refreshing to the area, and have been meet with amazing response from the community. For pictures of the shop visit:

www.avntgrde.blogspot.com
www.myspace.com/avntgrde

An all media national juried exhibition

September 4 to 27, 2008
117 N. Sycamore, Santa Ana, CA
714.667.1517 www.occca.org
Opening Reception September 6th, 6 PM to 10 PM

Juror:
Mat Gleason, editor and publisher of
Coagula Art Magazine

Recently praised by the British critic Julian Stallabrass in his book, Art Incorporated, The Story of Contemporary Art, Mat Gleason has a keen eye for quality and authenticity, ferocious wit and an intimate knowledge of the jungle.

Animals, real and imaginary. We fear them, pamper them, tame them, trap them, eat them, lobby on their behalf, experiment on them, strut them as status symbols, and exterminate them. How do contemporary artists represent them?

From the caves of Lascaux, to the halls of the Louvre, there is no escaping them. With their long pedigree in the history of art, they prowl the great museums of the world. And today, animals leap from the work of contemporary artists, symbolically expressing their ideas and emotions. OCCCA’s terrific exhibition space will showcase a menagerie of superb examples of this trend, from the traditional to the avant-garde, from the realistic to the fantastic, in painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, video and new media

A catalog of accepted works will
accompany this exhibition.

Admission Free

Film, Concerts and Other Events @ OCCCA During September 2008:
First Friday Films: September 5: 8pm
Winged Migration (2001)
Director: Jacques Perrin

EMC Concert no.26: September 13: 8pm
Happy Dwarf
Deal by Dusk
B-side Effect

The truth

The Book, The Documentary, The paintings, The Play

Art Exhibit By Art Guevara

Santora for the Arts Building
First Saturday of the month

(Politically Incorrect)
Rueben Martinez Gallery
Presents

Tres Maestros

Art Guevara
Emigdio Vásquez
Abram Moya Jr.

Santa Ana California

DV (Domestic Violence)

The truth

The book, the documentary, the paintings, the play
By
Art Guevara
Phyllis J. Crow
Julianna Danson

Understanding and Preventing Domestic Violence
Educational Documentary for Intermediate to High School
Educational Documentary for College to University
Educational Documentary before Matrimony

The truth, what is our understanding about the truth in domestic violence?
“If I can reach the good part of every person and change the way they think, my work is done; but then I’ll insist until I see the change is complete.” Guevara

Many times we ask ourselves this question why we are not honest when it comes to domestic violence, what’s the reason for not doing it.

LOVE?
CO DEPENDANCY?
SHAME?
EMBARRASMENT?
IGNORANCE?

Doesn’t matter what’s the reality that drive people to lie about the truth in domestic violence. The only truth is that domestic violence can’t be tolerated in our society anymore; the need of help is and will be a priority until we eradicate this chronic social behavior from our own homes and families.

SAY NO TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Guevara

Mexican Artist
Luis Arturo Guevara Vazquez

Born in Mexico City 1950 the family moved to the State of Guanajuato at the small Village in Salvatierra. At the age of 8 Guevara suffered a car accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down, for over a year his parents carried him every day to the doctor for therapy and to get his two daily shots. They didn’t have enough money to buy a wheel chair for him, but they did have a lot of love for their son.

After spending all year long in bed the doctors told the family that he was never going to walk again. But Guevara was listening to his friends playing “Canicas” marbles outside his house but he was not wasting any time, he will get up and fall again and again until one day he was able to last more than a few seconds standing. And then the next day a little step and the next one step, that was without the doctor’s and parents knowledge they told Guevara not to try to get up under any circumstances in order not to hurt him self but some time the bruises will show and they knew I he was trying to get up.

Well he persisted until he was able to walk normally again, and in 1974 or 75 Guevara moved to California where he is pursuing his artistic career. Since then Guevara has donated many WHEEL chairs to poor children mainly to D.I.F. of Rosarito Beach Baja California Mexico .

Guevara’s Art has helped many organizations from Mexico to many States in the USA

Luís Arturo Guevara, Mexican Artist, Civil Rights Activist & Realtor. One of the most active leaders in our community. Orange County , LA County and San Diego County . For the last 25 years Guevara, has been the Artist that has helped many Non-Profit organizations from San Francisco to Los Angeles , Orange County , Mexico .

Guevara a San Juan Capistrano resident since 1995 has dedicated most of his spare time to help families in need and has donated his time and art to many organizations. He has also helped to open and organize some of the following organizations:

President of the Capistrano Art Club
Member of the Cross Creek Cowboys (Reenactment Group)
TV and Radio Commentator helping people to resolve problems
Member of the California Art Club (Impressionist) since 1996
Member of the Fiesta Association
Member of the board of directors of the Helping Hand of San Juan Capistrano
Member of the board of directors of OCCTAC Children with special needs in Santa Ana , CA .

Guevara has organized International art exhibits since 1995 in San Juan Capistrano at the Historic Los Rios Street to help create more business for the City of San Juan . He has been working with the City of Rosarito Beach for the last 13 years helping and racing money for the poor families, batter woman and elderly people. True the government organization. D.I.F. He helped to open the first Therapeutic Center for children with especial needs in the same city. In February his Art Exhibit was to raise funds for the same organization, it was held at the Festival plaza Hotel.

Jason’s Downtown Restaurant and Wine Cellar sits in the heart of historic downtown Santa Ana. Fourth Street is home to some of the oldest and most fascinating buildings the city has to offer. The wonderful sites are just another reason to enjoy your dinner outside under the stars on our spacious patio.

Jason’s Downtown Entertainment Line Up

THURSDAY - 08/14 (6:00-10:00PM)
Next Generation Jazz Jam
Come out and hear some great live jazz from the next generation of accomplished jazz artists. Led by trumpet artist Bijon Watson, don’t miss this opportunity to hear him and many of his former students perform. Several of Bijon’s students have gone on to some of the country’s top collegiate music programs: Berklee College of Music, University of Southern California, and Manhattan School of Music to name a few.

FRIDAY - 08/15 (6:30-9:30PM)
Anne Walsh
Slip into the cool summer sounds of Brazil with the lyrical Anne Walsh, complimented by tom Zink on keys and Allen Deremo on bass-from beautiful bossa novas of Jobim and Ivan Lins to new arrangements of contemporary jazz luminaries such as Keith Jarrett, Don Grolnick and Pat Metheney. Not a stranger to Santa Ana, Anne has performed numerous concerts at the Cribb Di Pietro Theatre, as well as inspired voice students at The Orange County High School of the Arts, Jason’s welcomes Anne Walsh.

SATURDAY - 08/16 (7:00-11:00PM)
Dustin White and the Jeff Jones Trio
Dustin White and the Jeff Jones Trio have been performing enticing music for several years. The ensemble recalls classic american jazz and has been influenced by such greats as Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, and songwriters such as George Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Jerome Kern. With Whites sultry voice and Jones lyrical song writing and musical direction, the group has definitely created a fresh and new original sound.