Thingamajigs Bounce Into Oakland Museum
Thingamajigs is at it again: The unique performance group that uses made and found materials to make music is bringing together Pacific Rim artists for a month-long celebration of shared culture.
The Pacific Exchange incorporates four performances over three weekends, including one this Sunday, March 11, at the Oakland Museum. The interactive concert will use materials found in the museum's collection that best represent the relationship between California and the Pacific rim.
The distinctive performance style is a hallmark of Thingamajigs, and appropriate for all ages. Thingamajigs came on the scene in the late 1990s, inspired by such composers Harry Partch, Lou Harrison, and John Cage. The collaborative essence of the concerts reflect the broader efforts the group uses to mix artistic media and other disciplines not usually associated with music. Since 1997 they have presented world premiere works and performances by more than 100 local, national and international artists.
The Pacific Rim series began in 2005 with a question posed to a variety of artists: What does the Pacific Rim mean to you and how does it affect your music? Artists and groups involved in this year’s Pacific Exchange events include Paul Kikuchi (Seattle) and his group Tide Tables, Tatsuya Nakatani (Japan), Paul Stapleton (L.A.), and Gretchen Jude (Oakland).
Stapleton, who joins Thingamajigs this weekend, designs and performs with a variety of modular metallic sound sculptures, custom-made electronics, found objects, and electric guitars. Thingamajigs will perform from noon to 3 p.m. on March 11 at the Oakland Museum of California. Admission is free with museum membership.
The Pacific Exchange will continue with another performance at the museum on March 18, featuring artists Paul Kikuchi and Tide Tables, and Tatsuya Nakatani; and on March 25 with Gretchen Jude.
The group will perform with Kikuchi and Nakatani at 8 p.m. on March 16 at the Meridian Gallery in San Francisco. Tickets are $10-$15.
Sing-Along With the Pirates
It's a Leap Year, and as any true Gilbert & Sullivan fan knows, that means that it is the actual birth year of Fredric, the pirate's apprentice from the zany Pirates of Penzance — and also why the timeless operetta is suddenly enjoying some newfound fame.
Last week, we highlighted the Berkeley Playhouse's production of Pirates, and this week, we set sail with Lamplighter's as they present a favorite quadrennial event — the Pirates of Penzance sing-along. Strap on your eye-patch, grab a parrot, or just mosey on board, to one of the upcoming concerts:
- March 11, 2 p.m. San Francisco's Presentation Theater at USF. For tickets, call (415) 227-4797 or www.brownpapertickets.com.
- March 18, 2:30 p.m., Lesher Center for the Arts. For tickets call (925) 943-7469 or lesherartscenter.org.
- March 24, 8 p.m., Dance Palace in Point Reyes. For tickets call (415) 663-1075 or www.dancepalace.org.
Little Kids, Big Fun
Brian Rosen doesn't think directing young opera stars is like herding cats. At least not all the time.
But the San Francisco composer and writer — and director of Music vs. Theater performance company — does admit that working with children has its challenges. "But that's also what makes it fun," he says of his newest project, directing Little Opera's all-kid written production of Creatures of the Night.
Only in its first year, Little Opera is the brainchild of Erin Bregman, who is a teaching artist in the ARIA program at the San Francisco Opera. Through that program, she works with public school classrooms to help the students create and perform their own mini-operas.
"It's a fantastic set-up, and a lot of really interesting stories and music were coming out of it, but it never felt like there was enough time," Bregman says. "I wanted to start something that was built on a similar model of kid-created work, but something that was much more intensive so that we could build a strong company together that could become a really strong ensemble."
The children in Little Opera range in age from 7 to 10, but she says she hopes to expand that as the company grows.
Bregman, who is also a playwright, says she has been frustrated with some of the children's theater she's seen. "Some of it is truly excellent, and some of it really talks down to kids and is annoying to sit through as an adult," she says. " I've been interested in creating performances for children that are made and performed by children, with guidance and collaboration from adult artists."
Rosen is just one of those adult artists working on Creatures of the Night. Others include Marin Theater Company actor Anna Bullard, Crowded Fire’s artistic director Marissa Wolf, and Berkeley Rep art fellow Alexandra Friedman.
The show will feature the students’ original opera as well as a performance by Wendy Buzby, one of the more popular young mezzo-sopranos singing today.
The play, with a libretto and music written entirely by the kids, is the culmination of six months worth of writing, designing, composing, and rehearsing. Rosen says some of the "rehearsals" seem more like after-school play.
"Erin even has a baseball-type game, in which kids sing different parts of the score and we grade them as a 'base-hit' or 'home-run.' It really helps to teach the kids at their level," he says.
Still, the result will surprise many people, Bregman says. "I think there's a lot we can learn from each other, and most of the time the stories, characters, and melodies the kids create are far more complex than most people would anticipate," she says.
The performance will be held at 4:30 p.m. on March 20 at the Alcove Theater in San Francisco. Tickets are available at www.littleopera.org.