Cheap Eats
By Dan Leone

Our Masthead

Editorial Staff

Business Staff

Jobs & Internships

DON'T BELIEVE THE mattress ads. It takes more than springs and padding to give you a good night's rest. If we believe the scientists, sleep deprivation is a national epidemic, and you don't have to suffer from narcolepsy, sleep apnea, or restless legs syndrome to be kept awake at night. Last year Deborah Slater, who has yet to make a superficial piece on the weighty subjects she likes to take on, premiered Sleepwatchers, a theatrical evocation of the mysterious underground that opens up when we close our eyes. The finely tuned amalgam of dance, music, and language moved through its conflicts and reconciliations, separations and unions with humor, passion, and quietness. Slater is Sleepwatchers's brain and heart, but her collaborators – Jim Cave, who brings a theater director's eye to her choreography; Elaine Buckholtz, who works magic with lighting and design; and musician David Allen Jr., who previously worked with her in Forgiveness – flesh out her vision. And of course, there are the dancers, who are about as different from one another as they can be, and all contribute sparks that keep the piece far from somnolent. Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m., 3153 17th St., S.F. $16-$18. (415) 863-9834. (Rita Felciano)