If you want to know something about William Shakespeare, there's no greater authority in San Diego than actor/teacher Jonathan McMurtry, the Vista actor who will share some of his thoughts on the Bard on Monday at a free program at Vista's Avo Playhouse.
"Jonathan McMurtry's Shakespeare" will offer some of McMurtry's favorite speeches from Shakespeare's plays, along with stories about his own experiences performing the English playwright's work.
After graduating from London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, McMurtry arrived at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego in 1961, and since then he has appeared in more than 200 productions (serving at the Globe as an associate artist since 1982). He has also taught Shakespeare classes to students in the Old Globe's MFA program at the University of San Diego for many years. McMurtry's 47-year association with the Globe and other local theaters was recognized recently when the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
McMurtry's program, produced as part of the Moonlight Cultural Foundation's WordsWork Free Play Reading Series, is at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Avo Playhouse, 303 Main St. in Vista. Doors will open at 7 p.m. The performance will be followed by a Q&A session. Call 760-630-7650.
Legendary science-fiction author Ray Bradbury will speak about his work and sign copies of his books in a free program next week at the Escondido Library.
The author of "The Martian Chronicles," "The Illustrated Man," "Fahrenheit 451" and many other novels enjoys speaking at libraries across the country because that is where he got his start as an author. Growing up during the Depression, the 89-year-old Bradbury said his parents could not afford to send him to college, so he educated himself with library books.
At the appearance next week, Bradbury will sign copies of his never-before-published collection of 22 short stories, "We'll Always Have Paris." The book will be available for purchase at the event and proceeds will benefit the library.
The program is at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 19 at the library's Turrentine Room, 239 S. Kalmia St., Escondido. Reservations are not required, but seating is limited so visitors are advised to arrive early for the best seating and parking. Call 760-839-4601.
A collection of more than $250,000 of artwork by the late Vista artist Cleda-Marie Simmons will be auctioned Friday at the Gallery 204 in Vista.
Simmons, whose work is in collections around the world, was a prominent member of the North County visual art community until her death, at the age of 77, in 2005.
Simmons moved to Vista in 1989 following the death of her husband, and continued to paint prolifically. She hosted painting classes and framing workshops, published a book on painting, she exhibited locally and she painted large-scale murals for the cities of Vista, San Marcos and San Diego.
Her son and heir, Barry Simmons of Montana, has decided to sell a collection of her paintings, priced from $760 to $6,800, and a portion of the auction proceeds will be donated to the Vista Art Foundation.
The auction will be held at 5:30 p.m. Friday at the Gallery 204 at 204 Main St. in Vista. To learn about the paintings that will be up for auction, call Susan Roncone at 760-271-8470.
A new dance and performance studio has opened in Carlsbad offering a broad mix of classes for toddlers to teens.
Carlsbad Performing Arts Academy, at 6106 Avenida Encinas, Suite F, is billed by owner/teacher/choreographer Mary White as Carlsbad's first all-inclusive studio, offering classes in dance (ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, lyrical), acting improvisation, vocal technique, yoga, Pilates and more. Classes are available for children as young as 3 years old.
Call 760-438-4947 or visit carlsbadperformingartsacademy.com.
In honor of Veterans Day this week, Legoland California theme park in Carlsbad has installed a miniature Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall section in the Washington, D.C., section of its Miniland USA attraction.
The permanent exhibit features a miniature reproduction of the gently sloping wall with nearly a dozen Lego human figures, some of them in wheelchairs, placing flowers and searching for the names of fallen service members engraved into the wall.
This weekend's big film opening will be the disaster movie "2012," but many local "American Idol" fans may go just to watch (and listen to) the end credits, when homegrown singer Adam Lambert (who grew up in Rancho Penasquitos, graduated from Mt. Carmel High, and performed in local youth and adult theater companies before moving to L.A. in 2001 and becoming a finalist on Fox's "Idol") can be heard singing the movie's theme song "Time for Miracles."
The Old Globe has announced two Grinch-themed public events to tie into its 12th annual production of "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas," which opens Nov. 21 in Balboa Park.
On Nov. 22, the Grinch will oversee the lighting of the Old Globe's Christmas Tree in the Globe's Copley Plaza, featuring by a live performance by members of the "Grinch" cast and a surprise storm of holiday "snow" on the plaza. Tickets to the tree-lighting ceremony, at 6 p.m. Nov. 22, are free to subscribers, and also to ticketholders for that afternoon's performance at 4:30 p.m.
Also, mark your calendar for Grinch Family Day, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 20. Designed for families with toddlers, this program includes an afternoon of crafts, games, treats and entertainment followed by a performance of the "Grinch" musical. Tickets cost $75 for children and $100 for adults.
For details on both events, call 619-234-5623.
A new North County theater group, A Peoples Theatre, will debut this weekend with a staged reading of Jacinto's "Play in the Park."
A Peoples Theatre is the brainchild of Jacinto Aganza, who recently returned to his hometown of Carlsbad with the goal of creating a collaborative theater ensemble dedicated to producing socially conscious contemporary works. His debut piece, the 90-minute "Play in the Park," is the comic story of eight people struggling to define themselves, their relationships and their places in the world.
Aganza said he grew up in Carlsbad, graduated from Carlsbad High School and studied theater under Marylou Gombar at MiraCosta College. He did some film work in San Diego and L.A., but he grew frustrated by the lack of work, so he went abroad, studying and working in Cuba, Europe and finally Mexico City, where he settled and did in-depth study in theatrical techniques (he calls Stanislavski and his Moscow Art Theatre in the '20s, and the Group Theatre of the '30s) his greatest influences.
Aganza said he hopes to find an ensemble of local actors, directors and technical designers who can work together to produce contemporary plays and classics that have a relevant message to modern audiences.
"Play in the Park" will be presented at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Carlsbad Performing Arts Academy, 6106 Avenida Encinas, Suite F, in Carlsbad. Admission is free. The play has adult content. Call 760-822-3297.
It's a big job serving as stage manager for Moonlight Stage Productions' "The Foreigner" (which opens Thursday in Vista), but recent UCLA grad Brooke Baldwin got an eye-opening experience last week when she shadowed the stage managers for "Disney's The Lion King" during the musical's recent tour stop in San Diego.
One of the most technical shows ever produced on Broadway, "Lion King" tours with dozens of actors, hundreds of set pieces, costumes, props, puppets, gargantuan sets and two very hard-working stage managers, who invited Baldwin to come backstage and help out at a performance. She described the experience as a special treat because "The Lion King" was one of her favorite movies as a child.
For such a big, technical show, the atmosphere backstage at "Lion King" was remarkably relaxed, Baldwin said, because the performers have been on the road for more than a year. The moving of set pieces on and offstage, helping actors in and out of their elaborate animal costumes, and ensuring the safety of everyone backstage was just as carefully timed and choreographed as the action onstage. A highlight of the three-hour experience for Baldwin was watching from the lobby as the huge human-driven animals (elephants, giraffes, antelope, lions, etc.) got ready to parade down the aisles (and up on to the stage) at the beginning of the show for the "Circle of Life" number.
"I stood in the back for the opening number and got to see the reactions of all the families to the visually stunning creatures ... and hear the 'oohs,' 'ahhs' and the 'wows' mixing with the harmonies of the performers," she said.
She also got to talk to some of the actors, learn about life on the road from these ultimate road warriors, listen to the stage director calling all the cues for the lights, sounds, drop curtains and set changes.
Baldwin said the experience convinced her that she'd chosen the right career path. And it proved to her that no challenge is too great, after seeing the miracles the "Lion King" crew work nightly.
"I thought I had encountered complicated shows in my time and had a pessimistic view to things that seemed too difficult to achieve ... now instead of dwelling on why something won't work, I can focus on how it can work," she said.
An unusual art exhibit opening this weekend in Encinitas is designed to get under its viewers' skin ---- literally.
On Saturday, the Andrews Gallery opens "The DNA of San Diego," an exhibit of large-scale artworks that represent the DNA of local athletes, musicians, filmmakers and scientists. Created by Yonder Biology, the artworks look like giant bar codes, the lines representing the various genetic markers found in each of the subjects' blood. There will also be a companion exhibit of works showcasing the DNA of local children. An opening reception is at 7 p.m. Saturday at 1002 N. Coast Highway 101. Visit www.theandrewsgallery.com.
Everybody has seen the 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz," but have you ever seen it on the big screen? On Tuesday, more than 300 movie theaters nationwide will simulcast a screening of the film to celebrate the movie's 70th anniversary. The movie will be preceded by a taped interview with Robert Osborne of Turner Classic Movies where he talks about the making of the classic film. Local theaters that will be showing "Oz" at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday are the Mission Valley 20 in San Diego, the La Jolla Village 12 in La Jolla, and the Otay Ranch 12 in Chula Vista. For advance tickets, visit www.fathomevents.com.
Pam Kragen is the entertainment editor of the North County Times.
