A New Play about Race and Immigration Written and Performed by Ariel Luckey
Directed by Susannah Martin, Music by Lila Sklar, Dramaturgy by Corey Fischer
Featuring Dan Cantrell (accordion), eO (trumpet/production), Jessica Ivry (cello), Lila Sklar (violin) and Valentino (percussion)
Layering theater, dance, spoken word and a live score of hip hop, Klezmer and Mexican folk music, Amnesia tells the story of a young man who retraces his family’s migration from a small village in Eastern Europe through New York’s Lower East Side to Phoenix, Arizona, only to find that the violence his family fled cannot be so easily forgotten.
The performance on Saturday the 17th will be followed by a post-show dialogue with Rabbi David Cooper from Kehilla Community Synagogue, Patricia Contreras Flores from East Bay Alliance for A Sustainable Economy and Sophia Lanza-Weil from Bend the Arc.
$18-$25
12 midnight to 10pm, 3105 Shattuck Avenue
On May 17 & 18 DANCE MONKS collaborate with renowned interdisciplinary artists on a site-specific, interdisciplinary performance to honor water following the (now mostly underground) path of Strawberry Creek in Berkeley. The guided walk begins at the base of UC Berkeley campus (Center/Oxford Street entrance), passes through Center Street and ends at Strawberry Creek Park with live performances on sites along the way. In response to the California drought and current water crisis around the world, NOMAD: The Blue Road invites the audience to walk in remembrance of (our often forgotten), vital relationship to water. The ritual performance brings together some of the Bay Area's acclaimed Environmental Artists and guests, including: Rodrigo Esteva, Mirah Moriarty, Dohee Lee, Adria Otte, Jose Navarrete, Debby Kajiyama, Kevin O'Connor, Pauchi Sasaki, Jennifer Curtis and Lauren Elder through dance, live music and puppetry. The work is inspired by sites along Strawberry Creek as well as ancestral memories in relationship to place, ancient legends and water deities. The event is held in continued support of the current international movement to "daylight" (bring back) creeks in urban places and re-imagines the use of public spaces.
11am to 1pm, Center Street at Oxford
$22 advance / $24 door. 644-2020. www.thefreight.org
8pm, Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse, 2020 Addison Street
Triangle & Green Alembic
Triangle is Jim Ryan sax & flute, Jason Hoopes bass, & Mark Pino drums.
Green Alembic is a six to eight piece improvisational chamber group consisting of accomplished musicians who perform to projected images and spoken word. The instrumentalists are: Cristina Stanley violin, Doug Carroll cello, Jason Hoopes contra bass, Joe Lasqo piano, Michael Cooke bassoon & sheng (Chinese free reed instrument), Jim Ryan flute, amplified kalimba, spoken word, & original graphic art, Jeff Hobbs violin, alto clarinet & cornet, Ron Heglin trombone & voice. The art and spoken word pieces are original works. The music is inspired by the images which are projected throughout the performance and by the spontaneous interactions amongst the musicians. The group's aesthetic is focused on the immediate creation of musical ideas, clear articulation, and sensitivity to the unfolding sonic and visual environment.
8pm to 10pm, 2133 University
8 pm Cajun/Zydeco dance lesson with Cheryl McBride. $13 general; $10 student. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com
9pm, Ashkenaz Music & Dance Community Center, 1317 San Pablo Avenue