Save + Misbehave

Randy and Jason Sklar, better known as the Sklar Brothers, even better known as the hosts of the only ESPN Classic show I’ve ever watched on a regular basis—Cheap Seats—and possibly best known as the Cain and Abel of Hollywood agents in HBO’s Entourage, got their comedic starts amidst the burgeoning “alternative” comedy scene of mid-90’s New York. Back then and over there, such now-defunct clubs as the famous Luna Lounge used to hold regular open-mic nights, where names like Marc Maron, Greg Fitzsimmons, Louis CK, Dave Attell, Sarah Silverman, and many, many more once tuned their respective crafts. The Sklars didn’t immediately fit in. In fact, they stood out, and in a bad way. They’re identical twins, which, in the eyes of the comedy club weary, was synonymous with hacky—not far off from ventriloquism, as both shticks tended to traditionally rely on the straight-man/wacky-man dynamic. In interviews, Randy and Jason have talked about their initial struggle against this assumption, not so much with their audiences as within their act. They had to work hard to eventually to find their patented rhythm of completing one another’s sentences, riffing on topics the other brings up, never disowning their uncanny likeness, yet never relying on it either. Basically, they had to find their true collective self, a feat which simply would not have been possible without the open-mic.

These days, the Sklars still perform almost everywhere in Los Angeles, but have also transitioned into the world of film and television, an industry with lots of microphones (as well as projectors, the mic’s visual equivalent), few of which are “open,” almost none of which are free.  Hence, “Open Projector Night,” hosted by Randy and Jason Sklar, this Tuesday, August 17, 8:00 PM at the Hammer Museum. Free popcorn, cash bar, and a first-come-first-serve policy for any under-ten-minute film or video out there, these semi-regular nights have developed a reputation for rowdiness, rudeness, and yes, even the occasional cinematic gem. Come screen-test your private masterpiece (submissions begin at 7 PM), or just support your local filmmakers by getting drunk and voting them off the docket completely.

The Sklar Brothers, more than most, know what its like to struggle for an identity, and they’ve kind of made an on-screen career out of it (not to mention, paved the way for stellar teams like the Walsh Brothers). So if you’re tired of being constantly confused for someone you’re not, of having to dress different to stick out, of explaining the subtle yet imperative dissimilarities between you and that other idiot, just leave it in the hands of Sklars. They may not love your work, they may make some clever jokes at your expense, but they’ll at least give you a mic.

For  more information about “Open Projector Night” and Hammer Public Programs (all of which are free), please visit www.hammer.ucla.edu, or call 310.443.7000.

After unknowingly attempting to attend a film during the release of the new Twilight Saga movie, Eclipse at the Arclight in Hollywood last night I was shocked to find the parking garage closed with a sign saying “full”. Aggravated in disbelief, I turned around to head home, and noticed a metered spot had just become available outside the theatre. I swerved into the space, scooped my sweater out the back seat and went to read the meter only to find that it is now $3.00 an hour to park in Hollywood (or 5 minutes a quarter). I took off to try to make the film only to discover the prices at the Arclight had gone up again.

In a town where change is omnipresent and the increase of day-to-day expenses make us feel we are in New York, there are less and less opportunities to experience the arts on a budget (did I mention the yellow plastic sunglasses in a 3-D film that will cost you your Popcorn and Diet Coke?) However, there is a beacon of hope nestled in the heart of Century City beneath the towering buildings that won’t cost you a penny and is sure to blow your socks off without wearing any yellow sunglasses.

The Annenberg Space for Photography, which has been open for a little over a year now, is as much an experience wandering through the curvy, camera-shaped building as it is seeing the photographs inside. Much more than just a traditional display area for prints, the digital projection gallery has two 7’x14’ seamless glass screens with real-projection imaging systems that exceed the level of image quality offered by Blu-Ray players. Watching photographs appear and fade with this caliber of stunning clarity and saturation paired with surround sound music will make your eyes and ears meld into one – taking the photographic image to the next level.

For the second year running the Annenberg Space for Photography is proud to host ‘Pictures of the Year’, a collection of the most outstanding documentary photography from 2009, recognized by Pictures of the Year International (POYi). With over 45,000 entries submitted from all over the world, the show is a pure visual story that explores humanity far beyond the greatest headline stories of 2009. Held for 65 years in Missouri, Los Angeles is fortunate to have the 67th annual exhibit return after it’s west coast debut last year.

With so many photographic stories being covered, the show is broken into four Categories: The United States War and Economy, The Human Experience, Ecologies and Economies, and The Globe. What makes the Annenberg Space for Photography unique is the digital features that play in the projection gallery. No longer is photography just a printed subject in a frame, but a visual story being told in a cinematic way, giving the viewer a greater insight to what is occurring inside the frame.

Be sure not to miss Stephanie Sinclair’s “Polygamy in America” about the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) community in Eldorado, Texas. Also, Kitra Cahana’s portraits of teenage runaways who gather once a year in a different American national park are sure to drop your jaw.

Every now and then we come across photographs online or in magazines and newspapers that we cannot escape – they stick with us and often become permanent representations of a time or place. The images from ‘Pictures of the Year” may only exist for one moment but can last a lifetime. And that’s totally worth a free admission.

- By Gray Malin

The exhibit runs through October 10th and more information can be found on the Annenberg website, http://www.annenbergspaceforphotography.org/. Hours are Wednesday – Sunday 11:00-6:00pm.

There are some people who can’t see a film without unleashing their inner critic.  So long as they’re not doing it in your ear during the film, there’s nothing wrong with a little constructive criticism. Studying up on film and all that goes into it can help those critics sound less like Randy Jackson on “American Idol” and more like Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers.  Neil Landau’s book, 101 Things I Learned in Film School is just the kind of thing you need to get up to speed so that your judging the mise-en-scene and the juxtaposition as opposed to the Cameron Diaz’ comedic timing.

Landau will be signing and reading from his book at Book Soup in West Hollywood on Thursday night, giving you a crash course in everything from camera angles to getting financing.  Landau is a screenwriter whose credits include Doogie Howser MD and Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead. We know what you’re thinking, but this book is chock full of actual advice and lessons learned.  In Los Angeles, its smart to know these things even if you work in an entirely different business – it’ll help your client base as a dentist, for example, if you can ask a producer how his or her premiere went or what the latest box office numbers were.  It’s all about the universal language of film.

Neil Landau will be signing and reading from 101 Things I Learned in Film School on Thursday, May 27 at 7pm for FREE.  For more information, please click here.

Stand-up comedy and Los Angeles have had a notoriously dysfunctional relationship history. The city—a sunny desert town run by movie studios—is not inherently nurturing toward live, solo spouts of jokes and complaints. Any comedian will tell you the laughter comes from dark places, and the colder, more crowded and desperate the environment, the funnier the jokes.

But LA does have the proverbial carrot on a string, the reason a lot of comedians even get into the game—stardom. The sheer proximity of such clubs as The Comedy Store and The Laugh Factory to the lots of Universal and Warner Brothers is reason enough for most young funnymen to pack up some flip-flops and go. After all, the Walk of Fame is littered with such once-upon-a-time transports—Bob Newhart, Jay Leno, David Letterman, Sam Kinison, Richard Pryor, Richard Lewis, Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Carrey, etc.

And there in lies the rub. A city full of comedians, many in fact talented, with no set audience—supply before demand. This contradiction is what led to the infamous comedian strike of the late 1970’s against Mitzi Shore and The Comedy Store (culminating in the suicide of comedian Steve Lubetkin), and more indirectly, to the way the big name clubs are run today: two-drink minimums, secret waitlists for open mics, overpriced admission, and the requirement of newer comedians to bring their own audience.

So what, oh what is a comedian (and a die-hard fan, like me) supposed to do? Just put up with the nonsense? No, not in the age of MySpace and Facebook. These days, it’s all about the self-produced showcase, and there’s not a better one in town than Maria Bamford and Melinda Hill’s What’s Up Tiger Lily? It’s free, every Monday night, 8:00 PM at the Hollywood Studio Bar and Grill on Sunset, and features some of the best known and new comedians in the business. It’s been going on for the past three years, and used to take place on Wednesday nights in Silver Lake, but has since moved venues—correlating with the broader shift in the public’s comedic sensibility from more “mainstream,” observational humor to the excessively personal, sometimes abstract “alternative” comedy built up in the early ‘90’s.

The show this past Monday was hosted by up-and-comer Jake Weisman, who fretted out a string of fast-paced confessions about his cats, his veganism, and his unintentionally gay appearance, before introducing a night-full of simliar and often hilarious self-depricators and storytellers.

The highlights for me were of course Maria Bamford (who’s patented “voices” of friends and family surpass gimmickry and enter the world of depth-psychology once you realize they might just be coming from inside her head); David Koechner, of Anchorman fame, who riffed in the guise of two made-up characters for so long and with so much ease, you forgot who was telling the jokes; and finally Kyle Kinane, quickly becoming my favorite new comedian, if only because he seems to be truly genuine in even his most absurd humor.

I also enjoyed Chris Hardwick (a for-sure crowd pleaser), Melinda Hill, Jonah Ray, and Chelsea Peretti, but do wonder if the somewhat overbearing amount of comedians on bill took away from their solid acts. After all, this is the one leftover staple—the huge line-up—from the more mainstream clubs that still haunts otherwise superb shows like What’s Up Tiger Lily! I fully realize that even 5 minutes is a hard time-slot to fill, and fresh faces deserve their stage time, but wouldn’t it be nice to see, for once, just three or four excellent comedians doing a half-hour each in a cheap, intimate setting? You know, sort of like bands at music venues?

Just a thought, and maybe a wasted one in a city such as Los Angeles. For now, I suggest the next best thing, which is most certainly What’s Up Tiger Lily! This upcoming Monday’s line-up: Marc Maron (who’s WTF podcast is a must), Greg Proops, TJ Miller, and many more.

What’s Up Tiger Lily! is every Monday night, 8:00 PM at the Hollywood Studio Bar and Grill inside the Denny’s parking lot on Sunset. For more information, please visit http://www.myspace.com/whatsuptigerlily.

When you have a new addition to any family, its only right that the newcomer is introduced with an appropriate amount of fanfare.  Everyone else should know who (or what) they’re looking at or interacting with and the newbie should feel nothing but welcomed.  So now that the Norton Simon Museum has newly acquired two important paintings into its collection, it’s time for the all-important (and all interesting) welcoming lecture.  This Saturday, April 10 at 4pm, Debra Burchett-Lere, the Director of the Sam Francis Foundation, will administer a lecture entitled “Sam Francis: The 1950s and the Basel Mural Paintings in Context.”

Sam Francis, a native Californian painter, is best known for his contemporary works that have been long likened to those of Mark Rothko.  He worked in California, Paris, and was, later in his life, inspired by the teachings of Zen Buddhism.  His Basel Mural III and Fragments 1 and 2 have made their way to their new home in Pasadena at the Norton Simon and will assuredly fit well within their new gang of paintings.  During the lecture, Burchett-Lere will discuss the man, his life and work in France, and the 1950s while leaving time, we’re sure for your questions.

Whether you’re already a fan of Sam Francis’ or just looking to add a new painter into your favorites, this lecture is the one to attend (especially for those who don’t love lectures).  Talk about a welcome wagon.

The “Sam Francis: The 1950s and the Basel Mural Paintings in Context” will be held at the Norton Simon Museum on Saturday, April 10 at 4pm.  For more information, please click here.

http://www.vimeo.com/6036606When John Millington Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World first opened at Dublin’s famous Abbey Theatre in 1907, riots erupted amongst the crowd mid-performance, forcing the actors to pantomime a good portion of the third act. Now while it may be less than surprising to hear about Irish rioting, Playboy was met with similar reactions in both New York and Philadelphia, the latter of which saw the entire company get arrested for putting on an immoral performance.

The play—a brashly violent, romantic, and yet comic tale about patricide, adultery, and general immorality among peasants—is now considered to be Synge’s masterpiece, having spurned two film adaptations, numerous revivals, and even one musical. As for the kind of explosive anarchy the show incited upon its early performances…that hasn’t happened for a long time.

Come Sunday, April 11^th, however, at A Noise Within, the only Southern California repertory company specializing in classical theatre, the riots may reemerge. It’s ‘Pay What You Can’ night, allowing anybody and everybody to simply pay what they can afford to see the company’s newest production of Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World. Directed by company co-founder Geoff Elliott (who also plays the protagonist’s father in the play), and starring Michael A. Newcomer, Lindsay Gould, Apollo Dukakis, Brian Hostenske, and Jill Hill, the 7 PM show promises to be a riot (if, indeed, not a riot-provoking one). But make sure to arrive early, because the ‘Pay What You Can’ tickets are sold on a first-come, first-serve basis (with a $10 cash minimum as the suggested donation). Box office opens at 2 PM on the day of the performance. Bring a little bit of cash, and maybe a good ol’ pair of riot goggles… just in case.

John Millington Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World opens Saturday, April 10^th and runs until May 22^nd at A Noise Within, located at 234 South Brand Boulevard in Glendale. ‘Pay What You Can’ night starts at 7 PM on Sunday, April 11^th. For more information, please call (818) 240-0910, or visit www.anoisewithin.org.

Along with the mild spike in sunshine this past few weeks, some of you may have noticed another influx in your area: college students, running free, wild, and naked in the streets. Spring break! Five days of release from the shackles of schooldom. Freedom. Monday, though, brought the party to an end, and students across the city are settling back in and setting their eyes on the home stretch. For Art and Photography/Media Graduate students at CalArts, though, the “home stretch” means one thing: running free, wild, naked in the streets. That’s right, folks—it’s time for the CalArts MFA Open Studios.
On Sunday, April 11th, from 2:00 to 7:00pm, more than 60 artists studying at the California Institute for the Arts will open their studios to the public. Each artist will be present and light refreshments will be provided—a great opportunity to hobnob with some of the city’s most promising creative minds. Or to just get some free food and look at cool stuff. It’s free of charge, free of pretense, clothing optional. Freedom!

By Helen Kearns

Please visit the website for directions and artist information. Reservations not required.

Yoko Ono’s bio on her Twitter accounts reads: “I love dancing. I think it’s better to dance than to march through life.”

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, though not directly affiliated with Ono, abides by the same theory, and since their inception in 1977 as a small, jazz-influenced repertory outfit with a penchant for entertaining the elderly at Chicago-based neighborhood centers, the now world-renowned, genre-blending company has never forgotten its roots. At a performance in New York in 2001, dancers ended the show by randomly bringing up audience members on stage. And to this day, any one of the seventeen dancers in the main ensemble can be found teaching kids in local school districts the healing art of movement.

That is when not on tour to places like the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles from April 9^th – 11^th; a short run to be sure, but Hubbard, in its ever-humble and inviting fashion, has been gracious enough to provide Fine Arts LA with two tickets to see the dazzling, opening-night performance. We thought about hiding this fact, but that wouldn’t be very Hubbard of us, now would it?

So, beginning at 7:30 PM on April 9th, be the lucky winner of two free tickets to see the eclectic mix of some of the world’s most talked-about, modern-dance choreographers—including Jirí Kylián, Nacho Duato, Ohad Naharin, William Forsythe and Daniel Ezralow—instill their visions into the bodies of the most audience-connected dancers you’re apt to see anywhere. Simply enter your first name, last name, and e-mail address into the form below, and not only will you be eligible to receive tickets to see Hubbard Street Dance Chicago on April 9th, but the next three shows in which we give away tickets as well. Who knows? You might be sitting next to Yoko Ono.

I took a walk during my lunch break today and thirty minutes down the road was straight-up sweating. I got back to the office with that oh so pungent little-boy-that’s-been-in-the-sun-all-day smell that I remember clinging to my little brother when we were kids.  Now I know we’re in LA, and season-change is practically non-existent, but I’ll happily take that salty odor that kept me from standing fewer than five feet from anyone for the rest of the day as a sure sign that yes, spring is upon us! Late sunsets! Heat! Insects! Prom! A great swell of life that will balloon under the fury of the rising sun and send us all spinning into summer.

The REDCAT’s CEAIT Festival could not have come at a better moment. The CalArts Center for Experiments in Art, Information and Technology Festival—a two-day-long, musical celebration of all things noisy and experimental—will open its doors this weekend with a parade of musicians who share in the spirit of the spring’s joyous cacophony. On Thursday night, John Wiese, of recent SunO))) doom metal fame and founder of grindcore outfit Sissy Spacek, will open the festival with his patented punch-in-the-ear soundscaping (and I mean that in a good way, I promise). Following Wiese is Maria Chavez, a Peruvian-born turntablist who experiments with “pencils of sound,” aka broken record needles, to compose crackling layers of dissonance.  Marcus Schmickler, based in Cologne and member of the electroacoustic free improv group M.I.M.E.O., will conclude the night with his laptop-led examination of astrophysical data.

Friday night is just as exciting. Casey Anderson, Scott Cazan, and Elisabeth McMullin of Better Than Future open with an ensemble of laptop warblings, followed by a set from Steve Roden. Roden is a mixed media artist whose set will combine field recordings, live improv, graphic notation, acoustic objects, electronics, and video as a meditation on desert lanscapes. Finally, Carla Bozulich (aka Bloody Claws), who’s very name has become synonymous with entropy—in both her solo work, as well as her frequent collaborations in bands like Evangelista and The Geraldine Fibbers—will conclude the fest. (And note to any Gerladine Fibbers reunion hopefuls out there: Bozulich does promise a special, secret guest).

Be warned: this is definitely not spring as Mendelssohn imagined it. It may not be for those who are weak-at-heart. Certainly not for those who are weak-at-spirit. But, if the spring has touched you as it certainly has touched me—or, if you’re just sick of yet another night of lounge-jazz at the Roosevelt—the REDCAT this weekend promises spring—in all it’s dirty, loud, tuneless glory.

by Helen Kearns

The festival takes place this Thursday and Friday, March 16^th and 17^th at the REDCAT. General admission is $20. Students $16. CalArts Students, Faculty, and Staff $10.

It’s easy to get jealous in Los Angeles.  Most everyone came here from somewhere, even if it was here, to try and create art of some sort, to go behind the curtain of media-making in an attempt to toss in a pinch of their own individual ingredients.  The result is an endless stream of Facebook invitations, familiar postcards on coffee shop pin-boards, and a daunting sense that others’ ingredients—some friends, some enemies, some people who just got to town—are taking over the stew.

But if there’s anything I learned in college—a smaller, but similar stew—it’s that the work of my peers, in analysis or collaboration, is often the best teacher out there.  And it’s precisely because you are jealous, because you can view their creative process as a mirror of your own.  You can say, “Huh, this person is no genius, they’re practically an idiot, but they made this choice.  I never thought about doing that.  Maybe I too can make that choice, only better.”  It’s creative capitalism, but the only way it works is when you’re actively supporting one another.

This seems to be motto of the Los Angeles-based art collective, This Is What We Imagine (TIWWI, or Teewee), a group of young video, film, photography, and design makers—many of whom I went to school with—that are exhibiting their latest projects tonight, Saturday night, at the Echo Park Rec Center.  Beginning at 9:00 PM, the program, called “Show and Tell,” boasts the premiere of two recent collaborative efforts: “Weekend of Wonderment 6” and “Remember When.”  If you haven’t heard of the first five installments of the “Weekend of Wonderment” campaign, it’s comprised of about four or five projects, all made within the time-span of two days and with the help of anybody and everybody available.  “Remember When,” also the product of many (as opposed to few), is a new comic web-series about a group of friends who try to recreate the lost memories of their amnesia-begotten buddy.

TIWWI’s “Show and Tell” begins tonight, Saturday, 9:00 PM, at the Echo Park Rec Center, located at 1161 Logan Street in Echo Park. For more information, please visit www.tiwwi.com.