The class will meet from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning Aug. 23.
The class title is “THEA 210 Beginning Acting sec 1201.”
To register visit www.mendocino.edu/.
Those of us who have gone back home to attend a reunion of classmates may have felt the strangeness of being a vaguely familiar person among others who, too, seem vaguely familiar.
Dana Gioia, who served the country for four years as the chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, is an accomplished poet and a noted advocate for poetry.
Reunion
This is my past where no one knows me.
These are my friends whom I can’t name—
Here in a field where no one chose me,
The faces older, the voices the same.
Why does this stranger rise to greet me?
What is the joke that makes him smile,
As he calls the children together to meet me,
Bringing them forward in single file?
I nod pretending to recognize them,
Not knowing exactly what I should say.
Why does my presence seem to surprise them?
Who is the woman who turns away?
Is this my home or an illusion?
The bread on the table smells achingly real.
Must I at last solve my confusion,
Or is confusion all I can feel?
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2010 by Dana Gioia, whose most recent book of poetry is Interrogations at Noon, Graywolf Press, 2001. Poem reprinted from Poetry, September, 2010, by permission of Dana Gioia and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2011 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. They do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.
McKenna Faith is a normal teenager, picking out her classes and getting ready to go back to school like the rest of the world, but this weekend she's sharing the stage with country music superstars.
On Sunday, Aug. 21, starting at 4 p.m. she will kick off the Sonoma Country Music BBQ at the Santa Rosa Fairgrounds, opening for “What Was I Thinking?” singer Dierks Bentley, “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not?” singers Thompson Square and “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” singer Luke Bryan (who currently has the No. 2 album on the Billboard charts). Another opener will be Santa Rosa singer Pete Stringfellow.
Faith's been singing since she was born (the doctor said she cried in perfect pitch). You could always find her chasing after her brother and sister, with a plastic microphone in hand.
Her dream to be a country star is not the typical teenager’s “life obsession” of the moment. Since she was 11, she's been pursuing her dream to make it big in country music. She's taken it very seriously from day one, taking voice and guitar lessons, and writing her own music. She has more then 25 original, copyrighted songs that she has written and co-written with Jenny Thompson and Daniel Morford.
But what could she possibly write about? She is only 16, after all. She says, “I write about things that happen in everyday life- God, boys, summer- I actually wrote a song called 'No Guts, No Glory' for the men and women that serve our country. I was inspired to say 'thank you' somehow, because we wouldn't have the freedom we have today without their sacrifices.”
Late last year she traveled to Nashville where she worked with famous producer Kim Copeland and recorded her debut album of original songs, Sugar & Spice. “I've got a lot of great feedback from the album" she says, "it's pretty crazy to have people from other countries write on your Facebook page that they got your CD on iTunes, and they love it.”
Faith’s album release party in January not only sold out, but over a hundred people had to be turned away at the door. Since then she has been touring and performing sold out shows promoting her album; recently opening for “19 & Crazy” singers Bomshel, American Idol's Casey James and the legendary Ramblin' Jack Elliot.
So put on your cowboy hat and boots and come out this Sunday to enjoy the sun and music at the Sonoma Country Music BBQ. It’s going to be a family fun-filled day starting at 2 p.m., with over 7,500 people expected to attend. Enjoy barbecue prepared by artisans who will be cooking up hundreds of pounds of ribs, chicken and tri-tip, and beer from some of the area’s finest micro-breweries.
There are still some tickets available for the Sonoma Country Music BBQ at www.sonomacountrymusicbbq.com and you can keep up with everything McKenna Faith by visiting her Web site www.mckenna-faith.com, and by “liking” her on Facebook, where you can win some brand new merchandise.
Her album Sugar & Spice is available locally at Dig! Music, on her Web site and on iTunes.
The showing will take place from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
This is a special showing in recognition of the talented award winning artists of Lake County. It also will serve as a thank you for supporting the Lake County Arts Council/Main Street Gallery in its efforts to bring the arts to the Lake County community.
For further information call Judy Cardinale, Main Street Gallery director, at 707-279-9780.
If your award winning artwork has been sold contact Cardinale; you may be able to submit similar artwork.
FRIGHT NIGHT (Rated R)
Not often do we see an R-rated movie from Disney, but a remake of “Fright Night” apparently requires vampires and their slayers to drop a few F-bombs.
Normally, I avoid horror films, namely because I just don’t feel like being terrified witless or having to watch more blood spilled than during an entire World War.
Based upon the 1985 film of the same title, “Fright Night” is thankfully not in the same league with the repulsive “Saw” franchise or the bloody “Friday the 13th” films.
To be sure, blood is spilled, but the scary parts don’t cause your hand to uncontrollably grip your seatmate or the hair on your neck to stand up.
Altogether different in tone and spirit, “Fright Night” intentionally seeks out amusement in its vampires, as opposed to the inadvertent humor one would find in the “Twilight” series.
Speaking of the teen vampire craze, “Fright Night” also delights in taking a few jabs at “Twilight” in some good-natured ribbing.
More importantly, this remake as well as the original takes great joy in mocking the popular culture’s weird fascination with vampires.
Where else would you encounter a vampire named Jerry? Shouldn’t a fearsome bloodsucker have a Gothic name, or even something like Drake, Vlad or Lucius?
It’s up to high school student Charley Brewster (Anton Yelchin) to convince his skeptical single mom (Toni Collette) and others that the handsome new neighbor Jerry (Colin Farrell) is from the dark side.
The problem for Charley is that he comes to this conclusion from the antics of his geeky old pal Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse).
Now hooked up with the hot Amy (Imogen Poots), Charley is desperately trying to fit in with the hip crowd, and talk of vampire-hunting doesn’t help his cause.
The setting for this story is awesome. Charley lives in a bland suburban Las Vegas housing tract, which looks like the developers abandoned before completion.
It’s the perfect hideaway for Jerry. Surely nobody will miss the slutty blonde across the street who works as an exotic dancer on the Vegas Strip.
Oddly enough, nobody except Charley seems to notice or care that Jerry is never seen in daylight and that all his windows are blocked out.
To Charley’s mom, Jerry is a working stiff on the graveyard shift in Vegas, just like many other unfortunate dwellers in this hopeless, forsaken suburban outpost.
As to be expected, Charley takes increasing risks to expose the vampire Jerry, breaking into his house and uncovering the torture rooms of his victims.
Realizing the need to find a vampire slayer, Charley seeks out Peter Vincent (David Tennant), a star magician pretending to be a vampire expert in a tacky Vegas act.
For his part, Tennant’s Vincent resembles Russell Brand, another self-indulgent Brit with the flair for a flamboyant gothic style and degenerate pretense. At least, Tennant is strangely funny when he revels in debauchery.
Farrell’s vampire Jerry has a charismatic personality and irresistible charm that only Charley alone can see through. However, no one will ever confuse Farrell with Bela Lugosi.
A remake may not be necessary, but “Fright Night” has lots of prickly, comic dialogue that is greatly amusing and vastly entertaining.
“Friday Night” moves at a nice pace, but oddly enough it hits a few spots where you expect the story to end. But that just leads to more fortunate surprises.
DVD RELEASE UPDATE
Just because the CBS Television network has decided that Charlie Sheen is supremely expendable now that he’s been cast aside from “Two and a Half Men” doesn’t mean that he is forever banished.
OK, maybe networks will be reluctant to take a chance on him, but you can still enjoy the irrepressible Charlie in another TV venue.
The DVD release of “Spin City: The Complete Fifth Season” might pass unnoticed save for the fact that this particular season introduced Sheen as the new Deputy Mayor and right-hand man to Barry Bostwick’s Mayor Winston.
Sheen came to the series to replace Michael J. Fox, whose character had to leave the Mayor’s office when taking the blame for his boss’ association with the Mafia.
Heather Locklear also stars as the mayor’s communications director, a position that puts her at odds with the sarcastic Sheen.
With Sheen and Locklear locking horns, the sparks will fly and so will the fun in “Spin City: The Complete Fifth Season.”
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
Nina Tassler, president of CBS Entertainment, strikes the right notes without really saying very much at all. She might be ready for prime time on the political stage.
When speaking to the biannual gathering of the nation’s TV critics, Tassler also found an audience that doesn’t always ask the tough follow-up questions.
The only time that Tassler was evenly remotely pressed on an issue was under questioning about whether Charlie Sheen’s character is leaving “Two and a Half Men” in a pine box.
On top of that, strong interest was expressed by the assembled scribes in wanting to know more about Aston Kutcher replacing Charlie Sheen, even though his character is unrelated to the “One and a Half Men” remaining.
Critics appeared to be more interested in having the opportunity to ask questions of Kutcher rather than delving into the details of new season shows.
Explaining Kutcher’s absence from the CBS press tour, Tassler said the new star of “Two and a Half Men” was unavailable because the show is “in production” and there’s a “tremendous amount of energy and focus and attention.”
The problem, of course, is that every new show is already in production; otherwise we wouldn’t have an upcoming fall TV season.
CBS, constantly reminding us that it is the most-watched network, will introduce five new shows this fall, three dramas and two sitcoms. In case you didn’t notice, “Mad Love” and “The Defenders” are among the goners.
Inspired by a serious-minded book of the same name, “How to Be a Gentleman” is a comedy about the unlikely friendship between a traditional, refined writer and an unrefined personal trainer.
David Hornsby plays an etiquette columnist whose devotion to ideals from a more civilized time has lead to a life detached from modern society.
His old friend from the past, Kevin Dillon’s reformed “bad boy” has inherited a fitness center, but can still be rude, loud and sloppy.
When Hornsby’s editor (Dave Foley) tells him to put a modern, sexy twist on his column or be fired, he hires Dillon as a life coach in hopes of learning to be less “gentle man” and more “real man.”
Though it may be a case of typecasting, Kevin Dillon’s character seems to have a lot in common with his role of Drama in the soon-to-be-ending HBO series “Entourage.”
The second sitcom is “2 Broke Girls,” about two young women waitressing at a greasy spoon diner who strike up an unlikely friendship in a quest to launch their own cupcake shop.
Kat Dennings is the sassy, streetwise Max Black who works two jobs just to get by. Beth Behrs is the sophisticated Caroline Channing, an uptown trust fund princess who’s run out of cash due to a fiscal calamity.
Saving their tips for startup money, the two girls must cope with an overly flirtatious Russian cook and the 75-year-old hipster cashier.
I swear that I could easily confuse “2 Broke Girls” with another network’s sitcom about two girls coping as roommates in “Apartment 23,” if not for the fact that the latter show is a mid-season replacement for ABC TV.
Of the trio of new dramas, the best one to watch is “Person of Interest,” a crime thriller about the use of surveillance techniques that taps into the modern zeitgeist.
Jim Caviezel stars as a presumed dead former CIA agent who teams up with a mysterious billionaire to prevent violent crimes by using their own brand of vigilante justice.
Caviezel’s special training in covert operations appeals to Michael Emerson’s software genius who invented a program that uses pattern recognition to identify people about to be involved in violent crimes.
Just think if we had this type of program in place at every airport. That could put an end to the horror stories about TSA agents groping old ladies and young children.
As usual, I digress. “Person of Interest” is interesting because Caviezel and Emerson work outside the law to unravel the mystery of the person of interest and stop the crime before it happens.
“Unforgettable” is a crime drama that taps into the exceptional talents of an enigmatic former police detective with a rare condition of a flawless memory for every single detail of every single day.
Poppy Montgomery’s Carrie Wells does not forget anything, except for the details that would help solve her sister’s long-ago murder. Naturally, she is haunted by this traumatic childhood tragedy.
Carrie is unexpectedly reunited with her ex-boyfriend and partner, NYPD Detective Al Burns (Dylan Walsh), when she consults on a homicide case.
Being back on the job after a break feels surprisingly right for Carrie, though not at first.
Despite her conflicted feelings for Al, she decides that joining the homicide unit may even lead to solving the crime against her sister. All she needs to do is remember.
Rounding out the slate of dramas is “Gifted Man,” the story of a brilliant, charismatic surgeon whose life changes forever when his deceased ex-wife begins teaching him the meaning of live from the “hereafter.”
By now you must be getting the sense that CBS has gone all in for new dramas with elements of the supernatural, paranormal, bizarre and mystical.
Patrick Wilson stars as the exceptional doctor Michael Holt who lives a materialistic life of luxury thanks to his work-obsessed career and powerful and wealthy patients.
The good doctor is, of course, on a collision course between his privileged lifestyle and the lingering ideals of providing service to the less fortunate.
Tugging at his conscience is the mysterious appearance of his ex-wife Anna (Jennifer Ehle), an idealistic free-clinic doctor and the true love of his life.
It probably comes as no surprise that “Gifted Man” finds Dr. Holt pulled into carrying on his wife’s mission of keeping the free-clinic up and running.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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