Friends of Rocky Green, a former Carlsbad surfer and musician who is dying of brain cancer in a Texas hospital, will gather at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, for a concert at North Coast Calvary Chapel in Carlsbad, with the goal of raising money to help pay his medical bills.

Green, 34, was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer in spring 2007 and has been battling the disease ever since, but the illness has entered its end stages. He and his wife, Jena, moved to Lubbock, Texas, last fall to be closer to family, and Green has been hospitalized over the past several weeks, with medical bills climbing over $250,000.

The concert -- which will feature performances by Trevor Green, Phil Danyew and Jimmy Robeson -- is free, but donations will be accepted toward his medical bills. Attendees will also be invited to help build a photo-and-note collage to be hung on the wall in Green's hospital room.

North Coast Calvary Chapel is at 1330 Poinsettia Lane, Carlsbad. Visit myspace.com/revoforrocky.

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Another North County musician in need of donations is Scott Russo, lead singer for the local ska-punk band Unwritten Law, whose Rancho Penasquitos home was destroyed by fire last week.

Russo and his family escaped from the late-night blaze on Rife Way, but several pets died in the fire, and the home was uninsured. Firefighters have estimated the loss at more than $500,000. In a statement, Russo said the fire's devastation has left him at a loss for words.

"My entire family is now homeless, all our pets are dead and all our earthly possessions are gone," he said. "In these tough times, my family had been out of work, and the financial burden was too heavy for me to afford home insurance. I'm left with nothing in this world except my family, friends and band, who I'm very thankful are OK. The support from my friends has been overwhelming."

On the band's Web page (myspace.com/unwrittenlaw), the band is accepting donations on Russo's behalf. Checks can also be mailed to Platinum Financial Management Inc./Scott Russo Benefit Fund/9200 W. Sunset Blvd., Suite 600, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

A benefit concert for Russo was held on Tuesday with performances by Oceanside-based Grammy nominee Jason Mraz, Switchfoot, Timmy Curran and Unwritten Law.

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After 16 months at the helm of the San Diego Playwrights Project, artistic director Maria Glanz announced that she is resigning from the position to return to her former home in Seattle with her husband. She cited the economy as the reason for her departure.

"I wish that I could continue this work but in these challenging times, my husband and I feel the need to be close to family and friends," Glanz said in a statement.

Glanz took over the organization after the retirement of the group's longtime director and founder Deborah Salzer, who returned in 2007. Cecilia Kouma, the organization's managing director, will now assume all leadership responsibilities.

"We will miss Maria and her amazing talents … however, I completely understand the difficulties of this challenging economy. I admire Maria's values in doing what's best for her family," Kouma said in a statement.

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Hands on Cedros, a functional art gallery that has operated for the past four years in Solana Beach's Cedros Design District, will relocate March 1 to a new location -- the space formerly occupied by the Darryl Millard Gallery at 342 S. Cedros Ave. (Millard and his wife relocated to Hawaii in December and the space became available.)

Hands on Cedros owner Patty Goldfarb said she's excited to move into the former Millard space, which is just a few doors down, because it has direct street access and is more visible to passers-by.

"It was like a little joke to me and my husband, David," Goldfarb said. "Our gallery is (named) Hands on Cedros and, truth be told, we weren't right on the street. Well, now we are. We're definitely living up to the 'On Cedros' part of the name."

To make the move a little easier, Goldfarb is holding a "Rather Not Move It" art sale this month. The gallery will officially relocate at the end of the month. Call (858) 847-9827.

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San Diego native Arianna Afsar, 17, has made it through to the top 36 finalists for Fox's eighth season of "American Idol."

Raised in Rancho Penasquitos, and a veteran of several North County youth and community theater productions, Afsar auditioned in Phoenix last year and made it through several rounds of cuts. Her local accomplishments include winning a $25,000 cash prize in the Junior Teen Miss American contest and winning the Del Mar TV Idol competition. For her "American Idol" audition, Afsar wowed the judges with her rendition of Corrine Bailey Rae's "Put Your Records On."

"American Idol" airs at 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays on Fox.

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San Diego's Ion Theatre has moved out of its home theater space at the Academy of Performing Arts in the Mission Gorge area, citing as the reason the former landlord's financial support of Prop. 8 (the anti-gay marriage initiative approved by voters in November).

Ion directors Claudio Raygoza and Glenn Paris said they made their decision "with heavy hearts" because theater space in San Diego is so limited.

"We know that this decision could mean that our already hard-working company will have to exist without production space for quite a while," Paris said. "Even though this is painful and costly to us personally, we cannot in good conscience use our funds to financially support those who forcefully pursue and perpetuate discrimination of any kind."

Directors at the Academy of Performing Arts did not respond to a request for comment on the issue earlier this week.

Raygoza and Paris will move ahead with their next production, Martin McDonagh's "The Cripple of Inishman," which will be produced in late April at the Lyceum Theatre in San Diego.

Pam Kragen is the entertainment editor of the North County Times.