8 Days a Week

March 3-10, 2004

IF YOU THINK ballet is dead, take a look at San Francisco Ballet's current mixed-repertory production, Program Three. Julia Adam's Imaginal Disc is smart and delicately funny, giving lyrical music to the male dancers and reserving the scratchy tunes for the women. Helgi Tomasson's Valses poeticos puts mystery, ardor, and cold heat back into the whole male-female thing. The program also features two local premieres. Hans van Manen, wildly popular in Europe but almost unknown here, sets Grosse fugue to an orchestral rendition of Beethoven's String Quartet No. 13. The work is a hoot. With the topless men first in black skirts, then in belted underwear to which the delicate-looking women desperately cling as they are being dragged around the floor, the piece gives new meaning to the moniker Eurotrash. On a more serious note, Christopher Wheeldon – possibly the most gifted choreographer working in ballet today – rounds out the program with Rush, which creatively uses a classical dance language as if had been invented last weekend. Thurs/4 and Sat/6, 8 p.m. (also Sat/6, 2 p.m.), War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness, S.F. $8-$132. (415) 865-2000, www.sfballet.org. (Rita Felciano)

March 3

Wednesday

Ladies first March is National Women's History Month. You could observe the occasion by watching E!'s Love Chain: Julia Roberts. Or you could turn your attention to a more, um, dynamic look at womanhood by checking out veteran theater luminary Naomi Newman's Fall down Get Up. Newman, a founding member of Traveling Jewish Theatre, embodies a variety of female characters in her first solo show since 1997's Old, Jewish and Queer: a German poet, an African slave, a Yiddish actress, and other XX-chromosome types from different cultures, classes, and walks of life. A performer for more than 60 years, the multitalented Newman – writer, director, singer, stage and screen actor (she appeared on the original Star Trek!) – will no doubt offer up an inspiring evening of theater, perfectly timed to celebrate women and blissfully free of any tales that involve leaving Kiefer Sutherland at the altar. Through March 21. Previews Wed/3-Sat/6, 8 p.m. Opens Sun/7, 7 p.m. Runs Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 and 7 p.m., Traveling Jewish Theatre, 470 Florida, S.F. $18-$30. (415) 285-8080, www.atjt.com. (Also March 25-27, 8 p.m.; March 28, 2 and 7 p.m., Julia Morgan Theatre, 2640 College, Berk.) (Cheryl Eddy)

March 4

Thursday

Play on, player Ideally art and technology would be more symbiotic, intersecting and combining to proliferate things greater than the latest version of Windows could imagine. The Futurefarmers new media collective has steered its mothership into the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and opened the all-access Playshop laboratory for just this sort of experimentation. Since Feb. 20, San Francisco Art Institute student group Artech has occupied the Playshop, hosting workshops led by Richard Mortimer Humphrey and Scott Snibbe in circuit bending, hardware hacking, and digital media tinkering and rearranging (to name a few subjects). On Artech's final night, as part of the exhibit, its projects will be on hand: sun-tanning Christmas lights, a joystick-operated audio mechanism, rearranged TVs, and more – plus live music and snacks galore. Playshop continues through April 4. 6-8 p.m., Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission, S.F. Free with museum admission ($3-$6). (415) 978-ARTS, www.yerbabuenaarts.org or www.futurefarmers.com/playshop. (Ethan Goldwater)

March 5

Friday

Against whom? You might expect a punk band from Gainesville, Fla., would play standard three-chord thrash, sport some Hot Topic-bought CBGB shirts, and sing about the beach, babes, and brews. Well, prepare for these expectations to be shattered when Against Me! comes thundering into the Bay Area for two shows. Combining the sounds of punk and alt-country with folk-fueled lyrics somewhat reminiscent of early Billy Bragg, Against Me! breaks away from the pack with manic rhythms, jangly guitar chords, and at times personal, politically charged, and poetic lines. The band also shines in a couple of acoustic tunes, proving you don't have to be loud to be intense. "Sink, Florida, Sink" features singer-guitarist Tom Gabel's gentle strumming and heartfelt singing backed by sparse piano carrying a melody line that would move even a hardened East Bay crusty punk. Lucero, Grabass Charleston, and Mike Park round out both shows; Love Songs play tonight only. 8:30 p.m., 924 Gilman, Berk. $5. (510) 525-9926. (Also Sat/6, 9 p.m., Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., S.F. $7. 415-621-4455.) (Sean McCourt)

Express yourself It's fitting that the 12th-anniversary retrospective of one of San Francisco's most unique venues is dubbed '848 Community Space: The Little Space That Could.' Like the plucky, optimistic little engine, 848 Community Space has kept the creative energy going for more than a decade, hosting artists (emerging, low-income, risk-taking, radical, queer, racy, improvisational, daring, athletic, etc.) working in just about every imaginable field (dance, poetry, visual arts, music, theater, etc.) This month the nonprofit pulls out all the stops to honor its very deserving self. A gallery exhibit – featuring more than 20 artists and highlighting programs, flyers, original artwork, and other image-based relics from 848's past – kicks off tonight with an opening party that includes installations by performance artists Keith Hennessy and Guillermo Gómez-Peña. Don't miss the "Performance Festival Extravaganza," March 12 to 14, with a rather enormous array of participants (including dance notables Krissy Keefer, Kim Epifano, Scott Wells and Dancers, Remy Charlip, and too many others to list here). The fest ends March 27 with a dinner and discussion about the state of arts in San Francisco – appropriately enough, as landlord issues are spurring 848's ongoing search for a new digs. Opening tonight, 7-10 p.m. ("Performance Festival Extravaganza," March 12-14, 8 p.m. $12-$20, no one turned away for lack of funds; closing-night dinner and discussion March 27, 7 p.m. $10-$15), 848 Community Space, 848 Divisadero, S.F. Free (donations accepted). (415) 922-2385 or 848@848.com. (Eddy)

Places to go In Springfield, Mass., in March 1904, Theodor Seuss Geisel was born, according to lore. Dr. Seuss is how we know him best. He's famous from north to south, east to west. But do you know what he did in earlier times, before writing The Cat in the Hat and other rhymes? In 'The Art of Dr. Seuss' the Cartoon Art Museum delves into his history. This exhibit unveils his past, which is more of a mystery. He once was a cartoonist for the Saturday Evening Post; he drew magazine covers, made ads and movies – of much he could boast. And did you know he made taxidermy sculptures when time was spare? Probably not, for those art pieces are very rare. Go to the Cartoon Art Museum! Learn all this and more! So take the whole family; they'll thank you for sure. Through April 10. Reception tonight, 7-9 p.m. (museum hours Tues.-Sun., 11 a.m.-5 p.m.), Cartoon Art Museum, 655 Mission, S.F. $5-$10. (415) CAR-TOON, www.cartoonart.org. (Sarah Han)

March 6

Saturday

For folk's sake In the days of yore, the Mission Creek flowed through (what is now) Channel Street and wound between Treat Street and Harrison Avenue into the marshes of Potrero Hill. Paying homage to its demise, mean exes, and other San Franciscan catastrophes, Mission Creek Productions has put together an eclectic mix of local singer-songwriters for the S.F. Folk Explosion Tour, headed across Europe next month. Hear the death-metal folk of Nate Denver's Neck, the bittersweet ruptures and whispers of Lazarus (ex-Tarentel), and the "folktronica" of Radius (ex-Zmrzlina). The Durgas (ex-Subtle Plague) join them with their down-home brand of intercontinental folk rock. The fuzzy blues-tinged (and traffic cone-obsessed) Kelley Stoltz and spooky songwriter Sonny Smith top off a night of rich local flavor. 9 p.m., El Rio, 3158 Mission, S.F. $8. (415) 282-3325, tour.mcmf.org. (Goldwater)

March 7

Sunday

Grand delusion San Francisco Cinematheque showcased one of Harry Smith's mammoth undertakings (Film 18: Mahagonny) last fall, and this season brings a grand revival of that other fantastic Harry – Harry Partch. Madeline Tourtelot's filmed version of Partch's dual fable, Delusion of the Fury: A Ritual of Dream and Delusion, was shot during the January 1969 premiere run of performances at UCLA. Tourtelot alternates between stills and motion to heighten dramatic atmosphere; the murkiness of the visuals suits the darkly resonant percussive qualities of Partch music-making creations such as the Diamond Marimba and the Eroica. A synthesis of Noh drama and West African folk tale, this work is as unique as the instruments that provide both its set decoration and its vast, powerful musical spirit. 7:30 p.m., California College of the Arts, 1111 Eighth St., S.F. $4-$7. (415) 552-1990, www.sfcinematheque.org. (Johnny Ray Huston)

March 8

Monday

Three's company Thirty years doesn't seem that long in the jazz world, but it's hugely impressive and inspiring when a big band remains vital for three decades while relocating several times, reinventing its sound a dozen more, and integrating koto into bebop. That's the well-deserved compliment fans, colleagues, and writers have been laying at Toshiko Akiyoshi's feet since last year, when the Japanese American pianist's all-stars turned 30 and celebrated the milestone with scorching Lincoln Center performances. But, with equal drama, the pianist threw listeners for a loop by unplugging the orchestra to concentrate on her own trio. Tonight that very trio performs, led by Akiyoshi, the key shaper of East-West jazz, whose playing in the trimmed-down format fuels a culturally rich blend of purring bass lines, complex bebop, hypnotic rhythms, and steely confidence. 8 and 10 p.m., Yoshi's, 510 Embarcadero West, Jack London Square, Oakl. $18. (510) 238-9200. (Daniel King)

March 9

Tuesday

Work it The beginning of the end of an era (got that?) starts tonight. As you may have heard, South of Market performance mecca Venue 9 is set to close June 1 (the building that houses it is slated to be torn down and rebuilt as office space). As producing body FootLoose searches for a new space (possibly nearby, on Mission Street), the stage lights up with the last remaining programs in the popular 'Women's Work' series (the last at this address, anyway). Come out not only to say good-bye to the venerable venue but also to see some mighty fine dance works in action: this week's bill includes Alma Esperanza Cunningham Movement, Aura Fischbeck, and Sue Li Jue of Facing East Dance and Music. Tuesdays through March 23. 8 p.m., Venue 9, 252 Ninth St., S.F. $8-$10. (415) 289-2000, www.venue9.com. (Eddy)

March 10

Wednesday

Take attendance Go back to film school – for an afternoon, at least – with the PFA Theater's "Film 50" series. Actually a UC Berkeley undergrad class for non-film majors, the open-to-the-public screenings feature lectures by professor Marilyn Fabe. Take advantage of this local cinematic resource by checking out today's screening of Charulata. Set in late-19th-century India, Satyajit Ray's 1964 film is a beautifully shot, haunting tale of a lonely wife who draws emotional comfort from her husband's younger cousin. Why rent the video (if you can even find it) when you can see it on the big screen? "Film 50" programs are extremely popular, so advance tickets are recommended. 3 p.m., PFA Theater, 2575 Bancroft, Berk. $4-$8. (510) 642-5249, www.bampfa.berkeley.edu. (Eddy)