Unfinished Business

Playwright Rod Lathim’s uplifting and comedic

glimpse into life’s mystical transitions

photos courtesy Rod Lathim

“Even when you think you’re prepared for it, you’re not…Why don’t we talk about death?” says David, played by Brian Harwell, in the opening lines of Rod Lathim’s play Unfinished Business, which opens May 9 through May 12 at the Lobero Theatre. The play matured from a trial run last year to sold-out audiences where Lathim discovered people didn’t want to leave the theater; they wanted to stay and share similar stories of their own mystical experiences they had never before felt comfortable sharing. It was this kind of social reluctance and deep-seated cultural discomfort talking about death and dying that prompted Lathim to develop a play about his own mother’s death, which is based on a journal he kept the day before she died that forms the essence and substance of the play.  “All of the  things that happened during her last day were so overwhelming I literally started taking notes,” said Lathim. “I’ve added some conflict, but the characters are real people as are many of the conversations I had with them.” For Lathim, real people are the friends of his deceased mother, people “from the other side” he’s been able to see since childhood. Because of the profound gift his mother shared with him, and the enlightenment it gave him about the mystical journey we call death, he felt compelled to deliver his message to a larger audience. The play showcases an interesting mix of characters from the pious

sister to the  hilarious deceased friend, and their views will not only have the audience laughing and crying, but, more importantly, thinking, about how prepared they are for their inevitable death. It’s experienced in an intimate 140-seat setting onstage with the actors and the audience is also invited to participate in a post-performance moderated discussion about the play and the issues it raises. Directed by Lathim, the cast features Ann Dusenberry, Brian Harwell, Marion Freitag, Julie Ann Ruggieri, Solomon Ndung’u and Katie Thatcher. Proceeds from the production benefit the Alliance for Living and Dying Well. Performances are May 9 and 10 at 2 and 8 p.m., May 11 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. and May 12 at 2 and 7 p.m. For tickets, call the Lobero Theatre Box Office at 963-0761 or purchase online at www.lobero.com

 

 American Dance & Music present

Dance: Up Close and Cultural

A free interactive community dance concert for all ages

American Dance & Music (AD&M), formerly Ballet Santa Barbara, is presenting Dance: Up Close and Cultural, a free performance for all ages on Sunday, May 19 at 2 p.m. at the Carrillo Recreation Center, 100 E. Carrillo St. This is the third year AD&M has produced this informal afternoon of dance that includes performances, lecture demonstrations, audience participation, Q & A, a showcase of programs by choreogapher and AD&M’s executive artistic director Carrie Diamond, as well as performances by guest artists. Featured dancers include Rachel Hernandez, Jekyns Pelaez, Sally Schuiling and Megan Stanek, and Diamond will debut a new work, Jumble, – with original music performed by music director  Eric Valinsky – in which she performs a role, making it her first stage appearance in 20 years. The program also features the “Winter” section from Wisperfal, a Diamond/Valinsky 2010 collaboration, and pictured are Rachel Hernandez and Jekyns Pelaez dancing Diamond’s Haringduet, a percussive, modern piece that will be performed in its entirety. Los Angeles-based Spanish and flamenco guest dancer Mari Sandoval will perform Capricio Espanol, set to the music of Rimsky Korsakov AD&Ms’s adult, modern dance students will give a class demonstration, and capping off the  program is a performance by  kindergarten students from AD&M’s Moving to Learn dance residency program. A closing reception follows. Got questions? Call 450-7535 or check online at www.adam-bsb.org

Fighting the Invisible

Premiere work shines spotlight on disease

that affects 5 million Americans

 

Santa Barbara actor/director William Waxman (English Bride, New Jerusalem) has created a new theatrical musical work that will both entertain and inform about fibromyalgia, which is considered an “invisible disease” that affects one in 50 Americans, is often disabling and from 80 to 90 percent of those diagnosed are women. Presented by Good Works SB and The Inspired CEO, in association with DIJO Productions, Fighting the Invisible premieres on Saturday, May 18 at 8 p.m., Center Stage Theatre in Paseo Nuevo, for one performance only. Audience members will be treated to a catered pre-show reception at 7 p.m. followed by the performance. The cast includes William Waxman, Brian Kolb, Devyn Williams, Phil Levere, Maia Mook, Alison Waxman (pictured) and Sammy Perricone. All proceeds from the production will go to the National Fibromyalgia Research Association. For tickets at $20 general admission, $18 students and $50 Fibro-Angel, and more information, call Center Stage Box Office at 963-0408 or purchase online at www.centerstagetheater.org

 

Mozart and pianist Alessio Bax team up for

Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra

season finale

With the theme Sweet 1700s, and featuring the music of Rossini, Schubert and Mozart, the closing concert of the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra’s 2012-13 season on May  14 at 7:30 p.m. at the Lobero Theatre also marks the return of Italian pianist Alessio Bax (pictured). A favorite with SBCO  audiences, Bax will be soloist for Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor. K. 491. He is praised for creating a ravishing listening experience with his lyrical playing, insightful interpretations and dazzling facility. “His playing quivers with an almost hypnotic intensity,” says Gramophone magazine, leading to “an out-of-body experience” (Dallas Morning News).  Born in Bari, Italy, he studied at Southern Methodist University where he is currently on the faculty of the university’s School of the Arts. Under the musical direction of conductor Maestro Heiichiro Ohyama, this Classical-era themed program also features highlights from the overture to Rossini’s opera LItaliana in Algeri, Schubert’s Symphony No. 5 in B-flat Major, D. 485. For tickets and more information, call the Lobero Theatre Box Office at 963-0761, purchase online at www.lobero.org or through the SBCO website at www.sbco.org

 

Guest Conductor, Soloists and Chamber Singers

Highlight 31st Annual

Bach By Candlelight

 

West Coast Chamber Orchestra Music Director Christopher Story VI will share the podium with guest conductor Michael Shasberger, an Adams Chair of Music and Worship at Westmont College and conductor of  Westmont’s College Choir and Orchestra, for the 31st annual Bach By Candlelight on Friday, May 24. Presented by the Cielo Foundation for the  Performing Arts, the program includes Bach’s Air on a G String and the Intermezzo to Gluck’s Pelleas et Melissande. This year’s guest artists include violinists Elizabeth Blake and West Coast Chamber Orchestra’s concertmaster Tamsen Beseke as soloists in Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, and flutist Sheridon Stokes playing Bach’s Flute Concerto in E minor. The Santa Barbara Chamber Singers, a community-based vocal group under the direction of Michael Shasberger, joins the orchestra and brings the concert to a close with a performance of Antonio Vivaldi’s Gloria; 8 p.m., First Methodist Church, 305 E. Anapamu St. For tickets at $25 general, $20 students and seniors, and $10 children and handicapped, call the Arlington Ticket Agency at 963-4408 and, for more information, check www.cieloperformingarts.org

 

Santa Barbara Dance Institute presents

The Voice Inside

‘Santa Barbara’s feel good show of the year’

Santa Barbara Dance Institute’s (SBDI) dance performance and theatre piece, The Voice Inside, which plays for one performance only at the Marjorie Luke Theatre on May 19, is a 17th annual original production designed to give young people an opportunity to explore the vast possibilities of what can happen when imagination and creativity are made a priority. Co-written by Rosalina Macisco – founder and director of the SBDI – and writer/producer/director Rod Lathim, with sound design by Michael Mortilla, the production highlights a kaleidoscope of music from vintage through contemporary and explores the wonders of letting creativity run wild through the medium of dance. Featured are more than 300 young dancers from elementary schools in Santa Barbara, Solvang and Goleta as well as teachers, parents and community members. It’s a unique, fun and inspiring production that’s perfect for the whole family, and to again echo County Arts Commissioner Ginny Bush’s on-point perspective, “This is Santa Barbara’s feel good show of the year”; 3 p.m., Marjorie Luke Theatre, 721 E. Cota St. For tickets in advance at $15 adults (suggested donation), $5  children and $10 for groups of five or more, call the Lobero Theatre Box Office at 963-0761, order online at www.lobero.com or make a general admission donation at the door one hour pre-performance. Got questions? Call 245-0794.

 

Celebration Choir Showcase

Young Singers Club takes a celebratory

bow to its 15-year anniversary…

It’s all about celebrating music, dance, singing, shouting, rhythm and the Young Singers Club’s (YSC) 15-year anniversary, and it’s a fast-paced theater party beginning at 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 11 at La Cumbre Junior High Theatre, 2255 Modoc Road. Under the musical direction of YSC director/voice teacher Brett Lorraine Mutinelli, the program reflects a broad range of musical genres from Gershwin, Motown and the Beatles to contemporary pop music and Broadway. Featured YSC groups include the  Spring Chorus, the  Skylarks, the Dynamics and the Beach Girls who will perform a lineup of upbeat celebration-type songs that will have you up on your feet dancing, cheering, clapping, shouting and even singing along with familiar tunes. It’s a one-performance celebration party, so don’t miss it. Tickets from $10 to $15 will be available pre-performance at the door or can be purchased online at www.youngsingersclub.com and for more information call 681-7078.