All Entries in the "Arts/Entertainment" Category

Charlotte’s Family Fun Time offers activities Sept. 11

By Jordan Condra

Remember those talking farm animals, that crazy pig named Wilbur, and Charlotte, the spider who wrote special messages in her web?

If so, prepare to get reacquainted with the characters from “Charlotte’s Web.”

Pima Community College’s theater department will host Charlotte’s Family Fun Time on Saturday, Sept. 11, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the West Campus Black Box Theatre. The free event is a preview to upcoming performances of “Charlotte’s Web.”

There will be plenty of child-friendly games, activities and treats to keep the entire family entertained. Participants can make masks of their favorite farm animals, and use pipe cleaners to create itty-bitty spiders that will actually be used during the performance.

Other activities will include cast introductions, glimpses of scenes from the performance, a Q&A session with the actors and a tour of the set.

“We’ll have a lot of fun activities for the kids and, of course, the cast will mingle with everybody,” Director Mickey Nugent said. “It’s going to be great.”

Instructor wins Bellwether Prize for socially responsible literature

Story and photo by Liza Porter

When Naomi Benaron writes, the scenes she’s trying to capture flow across her mind’s eye.

“I see it cinematically,” she says, sitting at the kitchen table of her home in northeast Tucson.

Benaron is a former Pima Community College student and now teaches writing at both PCC and at UCLA Extension. She earned her MFA in creative writing from Antioch College in Los Angeles.

“It’s what John Gardner calls the fictive dream,” Benaron says. “That phrase has always stuck with me.” The late Gardner wrote “On Becoming a Novelist,” one of the classic books about fiction writing.

Benaron’s manuscript “Running the Rift” won the 2010 Bellwether Prize for Fiction and will be published by Algonquin Books in the fall of 2011.

It is the 10^th anniversary of the Bellwether, which was established and funded by Barbara Kingsolver and is the largest prize in the country for a first novel.

Most of “Running the Rift” takes place during the Rwandan genocide of the mid-1990s when at least 800,000 people were murdered. It tells the story of Jean Patrick, a young Tutsi boy whose dream is to race in the Olympics.

Naomi Benaron relaxes in her backyard with her dog, Scout.

Benaron’s own experience in running and swimming competitions inform the book. She has participated in marathons and triathalons, even the Iron Man. She also traveled to Rwanda several times to do research for the book.

The Bellwether Prize is awarded to a work of “socially responsible literature,” which is defined on the Bellwether website as literature that, “for the purposes of this award, may describe categorical human transgressions in a way that compels readers to examine their own prejudices.”

The socially responsible novel cannot just describe those transgressions, however. Social responsibility is defined as “a moral obligation of individuals to engage with their communities in ways that promote a more respectful coexistence.”

“Running the Rift” does just that.

At the beginning of the novel, a famous marathon runner visits Jean Patrick’s school and observes him running a race. The man tells Patrick he has a great gift.

“Look at that lean! A natural!” Telesphore shouted. He shook Jean Patrick’s hand. “I watched you,” he said.

“You know how to run through pain.”

… “It’s hunger. Someday you’ll need to run as much as you need to breathe.” Jean Patrick felt this was the highest compliment the runner could have paid him.

This hunger is present in Jean Patrick throughout the book as the horror of genocide takes over his family and country, forcing him to flee for his life.

Benaron submitted her manuscript to the Bellwether because she is a political writer and that is the only thing she is interested in writing. The $25,000 prize is welcome, of course, but her purpose in writing is to reach people about issues in the world.

“I want to change people,” she says. “I want to put something in their hearts that makes them think.

“There’s people in Africa, and they’re not just little kids on the TV with big huge bellies and worms crawling on them. You know? They’re human beings. They’re characters, you watch them go through the day. They become real. I want people to see people they normally wouldn’t see as real, as real.”

An author can get in trouble writing with an agenda, Benaron says.

“You edit out the agenda. Clearly I have an agenda when I write it. Because I am a political writer, and I wish there were more of them in this world.”

Benaron is not sitting around waiting for “Running the Rift” to be published and her book tour to begin. She is writing another novel.

Her new novel-in-progress (“Fragile Beauty”) takes place in Terezin, a Czech concentration camp during World War II. The Nazis built a false front on an 18^th century fortress built by Emperor Franz Josef, and presented it to the world as a model Jewish settlement.

One of the main characters is a dancer.

“The arts is what gave the people the courage to survive in that place,” Benaron says. It was what they had to get through from day to day.”

Josef Mengele, known as the Nazi Angel of Death, sees the woman dance. That saves her life, while everyone else she knows dies.

The dancing was “what she did to know who she was,” Benaron says. In the same way, Benaron cannot separate her writing from herself.

“If I didn’t write, it would be like cutting off an arm.” She touches her elbow. “Not down here, there.” She touches the top of her arm at the shoulder.

Fashion lab makeover adds work space

Story and photos by D.J. Ochoa

Pima Community College remodeled its fashion lab over the summer as part of ongoing efforts to help students gain experience in the billion-dollar fashion industry.

The new West Campus lab offers a spacious work area, new equipment and new curriculum to students who are pursuing a career in fashion.

Instructor Nancy Spaulding checks student projects.

Nancy Spaulding, fashion design instructor, said the redesigned lab uses space wisely.

“The lab was essentially two classrooms, and the facility department at Pima decided to make it one classroom,” she said. “Making it one classroom gives students more room to work on different types of projects throughout the semester.”

Spaulding is no stranger to the fashion industry. Before becoming an instructor at PCC, she worked for fashion companies on the east and west coasts.

A Carl Perkins grant helped the fashion department purchase new equipment.

“We were able to get computerized pattern making, new software that will possibly add new courses, laptops and a lot of new equipment for our lab,” Spaulding said. “We were also able to purchase professional cutting tables that are used in the industry, which the students can use while working on projects.”

The fashion lab also added a new laundry room, a new dressing room and a creative display case.

Spaulding said fashion department enrollment continues to grow, with students eager to educate themselves.

“Enrollment for the fashion courses has increased since I started in the spring of 2007,” she said. “We had about 132 students who signed up for the fashion courses then, and last spring we had around 192 students.”

A fashion department display window looks like a storefront.

Music reviews

By Chris Coco

“Crazy For You”

Best Coast

Let 2010 proudly introduce you to California’s Best Coast with the release of their first full-length album, “Crazy For You.”

Best Coast is from Los Angeles with sounds of beach rock from the 1950s-‘70s, another one of those modern lo-fi / power-pop bands.

Vocalist and guitarist Bethany Cosentino was once in the psychedelic dub-sounding band, Pocahuated, which broke up recently after five years.

The opening track to “Crazy For You,” “Boyfriend,” was considered the “best new track” by Pitchfork.

“Crazy for You” sold more than 10,000 in its first two weeks, and also reached the Billboard 200 at No. 36. The album is 30 minutes long, with 13 songs.

I already consider Best Coast my favorite new band of 2010. I like to think of them as modern Beach Boys with a girl singing.

The lyrics to “Boyfriend” are sad but beautifully done and I like finally seeing a girl’s perspective, unlike the mediocre lyrics of No Doubt.

I am kind of in love with Cosentino too. Apparently Bill Murray is a fan, which is cool in my cookbook. Best Coast is a great band that’s worth checking out.

Favorite tracks: “Boyfriend,” “Happy,” “I Want To.”

“King of the Beach”

Wavves

Wavves has gone through a lot in the past year, mostly through member changes and more publicity.

Since the death of the great and late Jay Reatard, the other members of his band have joined Wavves—Billy Hayes and Stephen Pope.

“King of the Beach” has a little less of the lo-fi sound and somewhat more of a Motown sound.

“There was a conscious effort going into this that I didn’t want to make the same record again,” Wavves founder Nathan Williams said.

“It wasn’t overbearing, but I didn’t want to recreate something I’d done. I wanted to make something bigger, something stronger.”

Unlike the previous albums, “King of the Beach” was not recorded on Williams’ laptop but by Dennis Herring, who has recorded the last two Modest Mouse albums.

I’ve been a fan of Wavves for more than a year and have seen them once with huge disappointment. The first album was OK and the second album was good. This new album is solid.

If you disliked Wavves before or thought it was just OK, please check this out and consider changing your mind for the better.

Favorite tracks: “Linus Spacehead,” “Post Acid,” “Take On The World.”

IMAX experience comes to Tucson

By Conrad Pursley

It’s every Tucson movie-goer’s fantasy to visit an innovative, high-tech theater and remain within driving distance. On Sept. 3, those dreams will be realized when AMC opens its new IMAX theater at Foothills Mall.

As part of a joint-venture agreement between AMC and IMAX to install more than 100 IMAX digital projection systems throughout the United States, our cozy corner of the country was chosen by the powers-that-be.

Perks of the “IMAX experience” include a larger, slightly curved screen that is placed closer to the audience for optimized viewing and a digital projection system with custom lenses that create images with greater clarity, brightness and contrast.

And no movie is complete without concussive sound that makes you jump out of your seat and run for cover. IMAX’s sound system cuts down on distortion, while its acoustic paneling absorbs sound-eliminating echoes for a more immersive movie experience.

All IMAX needs to figure out now is what to do with the tweens who always sit behind you and scream their braces off at every scene.

Aztec Press will give away tickets for pre-screenings of “Star Trek” on Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. and “Monsters vs. Aliens” on Sept. 4 at 10 a.m. Visit the Aztec Press booth near the Northwest Campus bookstore beginning at 4 p.m. on Sept. 2 for first-come, first-served passes.

The IMAX will officially open Sept. 3 with “Inception,” and hold a grand opening celebration Sept. 10 with the new “Resident Evil: Afterlife” digitally re-mastered into IMAX 3-D format.

Other upcoming movies to be released in IMAX format include “Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” (Sept. 24), “MegaMind” (Nov. 5), “Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1” (Nov. 19) and “Tron: Legacy” (Dec. 17).

‘Coming in Hot’ play scheduled

By Liza Porter

“Coming in Hot,” a play by Kore Press, will be performed on Sept 10-11 at the Pima Community College Center for the Arts Recital Hall on West Campus. The play is based on the book “Powder,” a collection of writings by women war veterans.

The Sept. 10 performance will be at 2 p.m. Advance tickets are available for $5.

The Sept. 11 performance is at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $10 in advance, $15 at the door.

Writer Ford Burkhart has called “Coming in Hot” “thoughtful anti-war theater.” Author Dahr Jamail says the play is “a raw, honest, artful exploration of what it means to be a woman in the US military.”

For further information, call 327-2127 or www.korepress.org.

Center for the Arts celebrates 20 years

By Astrid Verdugo

Pima Community College Center for the Arts celebrates its 20^th anniversary season this year.

The 2010-11 season contains PCC programs in theater, music, dance, visual arts and digital arts.

For the 20^th anniversary season, PCC Theater will present “Charlotte’s Web” directed by Mickey Nugent and “Anything Goes,” brought to stage by the creative team of Todd Poelstra, Mickey Nugent, David Waggoner and Mark Nelson.

“The Time of Your Life” and Sophocles’ “Antigone,” both directed by Frank Pickard, will also to be presented.

The PCC Music Department presents Dean and Anna Schoff for a vocal recital, a Raymond and Friends recital, Judith Sandoval-Ferg for a piano recital, the Chorale and College Singers, and a percussion recital by Homero Ceron.

Also to be presented are opera/musical theater scenes, jazz improve combos, jazz ensemble, orchestra, “Kaleidoscope: virtuosic vignettes for cello,” a piano recital by Raymond T. Ryder, “From Classical to Jazz to Rock” featuring Hank Feldman on tuba and vocals, “Tenor Madness: Contemporary Music for Tenor Saxophone,” and a tuba recital by Mark Nelson.

PCC Dance presents “grATTITUDE” and “4 Elements,” directed by Aurora Goncalves-Shaner.

Other CFA events include a spring fashion show, a digital video and film screening, and the Pima Writers Workshop.

The Louis Carlos Bernal Gallery launches “Portraits: Louis Carlos Bernal, Ann Simmon-Myers and Hirotsune Tashima,” “Retrospective: George Welch, “Neon Sculptures” by James White, and the Annual Student Juried Art Exhibition.

For more information, call the CFA box office 206-6986 or visit online at www.pima.edu/cfa.

Sandscript unveiling Sept. 2

By Miki Jennings

Students, family and friends are invited to attend an unveiling ceremony for the 2010 edition of SandScript, Pima Community College’s award-winning literary arts magazine, to listen to short stories and poems and view artwork produced by contributors.

The event, to be held Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. in the Recital Hall on West Campus, celebrates the release of the newest edition of SandScript and commemorates 20 years of successful publication.

“With this 20th anniversary edition, the staff and I are presenting a stunning example of the creative arts talent that exists at Pima Community College today and for the past 20 years,” Editor Susan Collinet said.

The event will also mark a change in faculty advisers. Writing instructor Tom Speer will step down after 14 years as faculty adviser, and give the reins to fellow writing instructor Joshua Cochran for 2011.

“It’s going to be Dr. Speer’s last time heading the magazine. He’s been the adviser for a long time and he’s really helpful,” said student Debbie Hadley, who served as assistant editor of SandScript last spring and is the current news editor for Aztec Press.

Hadley said both Speer and Collinet “had a lot of good ideas and helped us to know what we were doing.”

Speer said he arranged to step down from his faculty adviser position before he retired from teaching altogether so that he could provide support and help Cochran settle in as the new SandScript adviser.

“I think he’ll be more experimental,” Speer said. “I expect it will take on a different look with Josh. I’ve always wanted each issue of SandScript to be different, so I encourage that, and I think Josh will go in the same direction. I look forward to seeing what he and the group come up with.”

Cochran said he has “big shoes to fill” as faculty adviser.

“Tom has been doing this so long and he really deserves some recognition for what he’s done,” Cochran said. “I’m terrified, frankly, taking it over because he’s done such a great job.”

The unveiling includes a slideshow of visual art and readings by contributors, which allows students to enjoy the gratification of being in the spotlight, Cochran said.

“It’s just a really warm atmosphere where students get some of their first tastes of success,” he said. “Publishing their poetry, seeing their artwork printed in a book and getting that kind of recognition is really amazing. Their families come. It’s beautiful.”

SandScript accepts submissions throughout the year, with one deadline per semester. Students who will only attend either the fall or spring semester must submit their work during the semester for which they are enrolled.

While the literary magazine class is located at West Campus, students who attend classes on any Pima campus are welcome to submit work. The deadline for fall submissions is Dec. 19.

For further information about SandScript, contact Speer at 206-6851.

Online Extra: Living the Dream: Pima Fashion Show

Video by Mike Hawkins

Click “Full Screen” button for full screen view
Click 720p for HD

‘Fuel’ drives home important message

By Marie Rodriguez

Many people have heard of the veggie van that ran on used vegetable oil in 1997 and ‘98. Josh Tickell, the creator of this van, has spent his career spreading knowledge of alternative fuels.

He travels the nation showing the many ways that people are implementing healthier biodiesel fuel in their lives, and how we can do the same.

His new movie “Fuel,” which will be released to DVD on June 22, is dedicated to informing audiences about the dangers of “America’s addiction to fuel.”

In the film, Tickell highlights the downfalls of oil, the impact it has on the earth and what we can do to make eco-friendly changes.

He emphasizes truck stops with only biodiesel fuel, cars created for use with alternative energy sources and shows how Germany and Sweden are changing laws and policies.

The film points out that the United States counts for about five percent of the world’s population but creates the most pollution.

“The diesel engine is by far the dominant engine of the world,” Tickell says in the film. “Every one of them can run on biodiesel today without any modification.”

The vast majority of American school buses use diesel fuel. While most people are aware that bus emissions are highly toxic, Tickell says few know that emission levels are actually four times higher inside the buses.

Tickell and many others ask in the film if this is the world we want to leave for our children. They speak of our dependence on a fuel source that is quickly running out and has been the cause of global turmoil such as the invasion of Iraq.

The film stresses that we can create our own fuel in a way that will clean up the earth while reducing dependence on foreign sources.

Tickell proposes growing algae from wastewater on land where no other crops can grow. Algae pulls carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and can be grown quickly in high quantities for use as clean-emission fuel.

“Fuel” is a movie every human being should see. It’s an entertaining yet hard-hitting look at how wastefully we treat the earth. The incredibly informative film promotes proactive voters and citizens.

Tickell is no preaching hippie. What he proposes would create a sustainable world. His ideas would create high-paying jobs, clean up the air, make use of wastewater and much more.

He’s telling us how to save the world. Maybe we should listen.

Meet Me at Maynards a fun Monday-night tradition

Story and photo by Debbie Hadley

On a Monday night with little else to do but catch up on TV programs, Meet Me at Maynards provides social play with plenty of fresh air and exercise.

Starting at Maynards, a restaurant located at 400 N. Toole Ave. in the historic train depot, you can run or walk a route that takes athletes on a quick tour of downtown Tucson. The event is sponsored by Southern Arizona Roadrunners.

With downtown Tucson bringing to mind jury duty and expired parking meters, founders Jannie Cox and Dave Syverson decided in 2009 that something needed to change.

“We imagined what a regular crowd of active people like this could do for downtown Tucson,” Cox said.

MMM quickly became a Monday night tradition, with hundreds of Tucsonans showing up weekly. More than 12,000 people have since participated.

Check-in time is 5:15 p.m., but come early to avoid long lines. Walkers depart at 5:45, followed by runners at 6 p.m.

For further details, visit www.meetmeatmaynards.com.

Runners enter the Fourth Avenue underpass during a Meet Me at Maynards outing.

MARIE’S MUNCHIES: Pat’s Drive-In

Review and photo by Marie Rodriguez

Customers at Pat’s Drive-In say it’s a Tucson west-side staple. While the burgers are good, the hot dogs are definitely something for everyone to try.

Located on Grande between St. Mary’s and Speedway, Pat’s Drive In boasts old-school ‘50s style.

The menu here challenges any fast food value meal. The family special at Pat’s is four hot dogs or burgers and a large box of fries for just $8.

The chili in these dogs is like none you would find in any other bun. The simplistic chili tastes like a perfectly proportioned mixture of beans and hot sauce.

One can order hot or mild. Both are tasty and not too spicy. Pat’s combination of spices makes it difficult to not order seconds and thirds.

Fries here aren’t for dieters. They are full of grease and delicious for it. These fries make the perfect companions for Pat’s hot dogs and burgers.

“My brother brings his family here at least once a week,” avid customer Joey Griffin said. “And he lives in Rita Ranch.”

Frequent visits to Pat’s are not a bad idea. With the exception of to-go gallons of chili, prices are near-empty-wallet friendly. It may be an even greater idea to bring along some Tums.

PCC screens student films

By Conrad Pursley

Students in Pima Community College’s beginning and advanced digital video and film classes suffer sleepless nights and occasional bloody onscreen deaths, all for one event: the day they can show off their masterpieces at a screening.

On May 14 and 15, they’ll get that chance. The classes will hold a free screening at 7 p.m. each night inside the West Campus Proscenium Theatre.

In addition to film and video shorts from the beginning and advanced classes, the screening will include the premiere of two movies that were directed, funded and produced by the advanced cinematography classes.

The two movies are “Arizona Chainsaw Massacre,” directed by Suavek Kupiec, and “Apprehension,” written by Shannon Mier and directed by Christopher Montgomery.

“Arizona Chainsaw Massacre” is a takeoff on the famous “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” with gore-galore for exploitation horror fans. “Apprehension” is more of a psychological thriller that follows a woman concerned about someone stalking her kids.

If you think the movies will look like pixilated junk on a 6-year-old’s YouTube channel, think again. Both movies were made using a Red One high-definition digital camera, the same camera used to make some of the movies you have seen in theaters.

And, don’t blow this off as just some event that won’t achieve any future recognition. Two films from last year’s screening, “Todas Almas” by Jesse Powell and “Estaban’s Ride” by Grant Hunker, were accepted into the recent Arizona International Film Festival.

For further information, contact David Wing, cinematography instructor, at 206-6976 or dwing@pima.edu.

Black Cherry Burlesque troupe calls Tucson home

Story and photo by Matthew Henry

Tucson is home to one of the country’s best and most active burlesque troupes.

Black Cherry Burlesque was founded in 2006 by Inga Kaboom and Stephka Von Snatch. Ever since, the group has been raising customers’ pulses with pin-up style glamour and one-of-a-kind original numbers.

The troupe performs locally at the Surly Wench Pub, 424 N. Fourth Ave., and throughout the country.

In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, Black Cherry will perform at the Surly Wench on Friday, May 7, with special guest La Cholita, “the queen of Latina burlesque.” The Muertones will provide live music.

The show starts at 10 p.m., with burlesque at midnight. Admission costs $10.

For additional information, visit www.tucsonburlesque.com.

Inga Kaboom performs during a Black Cherry Burlesque show.

Dancers to perform May 6-8

Pima Community College dancers will explore the origins of dance in “A Celebration of Nations” performances May 6-8 at the Center for the Arts Proscenium Theatre at West Campus.

The shows will pay tribute to the cultures of North, Central and South America, plus Africa and Western Europe. PCC student dancers will showcase dance techniques in ballet, modern and jazz.

For additional information, call the box office at 206-6986.

Dancers Justin Pereira and La Tosha Evans rehearse a number. Photo by Ed Flores.

FYI

When: May 6-8, Thurs-Sat, 7:30 p.m. and Sat at 2 p.m.

Where: Proscenium Theatre, CFA, West Campus

Tickets: $6, with discounts available