Arts

Young artist advances to state competition

A season-appropriate artwork by John Swett Elementary student Tanner Matthews was selected on Saturday to advance to a statewide competition at the 32nd District Showcase, hosted by the Martinez PTA Council and held at the Performing Arts Center at Alhambra High School. Matthews’ winning entry won out over submissions to the Reflections Art Program Contest from all the Northern California PTA Councils.more...

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Umphress to take stage at Grammys, Broadway

Martinez will be skillfully represented at tonight’s live telecast of the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards when homegrown stage star Alysha Umphress performs with the famed rock band Green Day in Los Angeles.

Umphress, 27, is currently Broadway-bound as a cast member of the successful musical American Idiot, a rock opera created by the multi-Grammy-winning, three-member band Green Day and Tony-award winning director Michael Mayer. more...

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Ovo, Cirque du Soleil’s latest production, is a visual treat

REVIEW: Magnificent blend of sound, color and talent make this show a hit!

Even if you suffer from what is clinically known as insectophobia — being afraid of insects — you do not have to worry in the least about viewing Cirque du Soleil’s latest production entitled Ovo. These insects are the most talented bunch of bugs you have ever seen, and they don’t sting! The two-plus hour show is an extravaganza of color, music and multi-talented performers. The sights and sounds will captivate your attention for the entire affair.more...

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Despite concerns over theater management, City renews Willows subsidy

WEDNESDAY — The comedian Bill Cosby is credited with the quote, “The very first law in advertising is to avoid the concrete promise and cultivate the delightfully vague.”

At last week’s City Council meeting, as members deliberated continuing the City’s history of subsidizing the Willows Theater Company, this time by agreeing to pay the $4000 monthly rent on the Campbell Theater for the next five years, Council member Lara DeLaney and a few residents expressed incredulity at the lack of solid financial documentation to support such a large grant. more...

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New art gallery opens downtown

Carol Glashoff made her mind up to open a new art gallery in Martinez just two weeks ago. In short order, she has transformed a previously long-vacant storefront at 627 Main Street into a light and airy display space filled with delicate jewelry, sculptures, watercolor paintings and unique objets d’art, all handcrafted by local and East Bay artists.more...

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Willows to close Concord theater

Martinez site to remain open, for now.

Citing “financial problems compounded by the recession,” Richard Elliott, the Willows Theatre’s artistic director, announced Tuesday the theater company had not raised the $350,000 necessary to keep both  locations in business, as he indicated was needed in early September.more...

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Curtains for Willows?

Theater company in financial straits, seeking donations.

Despite years of loans, grants and almost-free rent from the City of Martinez, the stewards of the Willows Theater Company announced this week that the company might soon be going belly up.

Rich Elliott, the Willows’ Artistic Director, told the Gazette that unless the company can raise $350,000 by Nov. 1, it would be forced to shutter the Campbell Theater in Martinez, as well as its main stage in Concord.more...

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Martinez native earns role in prestigious Green Day production

Alysha Umpress sings and dances at a rock opera in the Berkeley Rep., based on the popular punk band’s 2004 album, American Idiot.

For some, performing in the limelight is an all-consuming desire, provoking  singing, dancing or acting at an early age and a single-minded pursuit of marquee dreams into adulthood.

Martinez native Alysha Umpress, 26, was decidedly born with that drive, and on Friday night, when the curtain rises at the Berkeley Repertory Theater, she will tap 20 years of hard work and dedication as a cast member of “the most exciting project I’ve ever worked on,” said Umpress yesterday.more...

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Art in the Park turns 40

Sunday’s 40th Art in the Park, an annual event held each August since 1969 and hosted by the Martinez Arts Association, drew hundreds of art lovers and families looking for a fun-filled local celebration. Two hits of the days were the Dumpster Diversion project, for which M.A.A. membership chair R.C. Ferris led participating kids in creating Art Heads, Styrofoam heads that “the kids stuck all kinds of weird things into, all recycled and found goods.” M.A.A. artists also turned donated reusable grocery bags into one-of-a-kind pieces that sold out at $5 a piece.more...

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Turandot at Lesher Center a masterful production

OPERA REVIEW

Whether you are already an avid opera fan or you have yet to experience the genre, Festival Opera’s current production of Puccini’s “Turandot” at Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts is an excellent choice for an evening of music and culture. The story is timeless, the players are professional and passionate, the theater’s design and acoustics are exceptional, and the set, costumes and choreography are masterfully done.more...

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Muralist blurs line between art and reality

ARTIST PROFILE: Manuel Cruz specializes in trompe l‘oeil.

Trompe l’oeil, French for ‘trick the eye’, is a time-honored technique painters use to create the illusion of a three dimension image on a two-dimensional surface.

The technique dates back at least to ancient Greece, when in the fifth century B.C., the story goes, two painters who had mastered the technique, Zeuxis and Parrhasius, held a contest. more...

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'Almost a reason to live'

ARTIST PROFILE: Roberta Steele overcomes adversity.

In 2001, a driver talking on his cell phone crossed over a center divide and hit Roberta Steele’s car head-on. As a result of complications from the accident, Steele lost her right leg, then the left one, and spent more than a year in rehabilitation.

Although she had made herself a career as a graphic artist, it was after the accident that Steele, now the Director of the Martinez Arts Association’s mARTinez Gallery, “started dabbling in art.”more...

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'Trailer Park' at Campbell Theater is a timely diversion

Theater Review

Larry Tobias, director of the Willows Theatre’s current offering, “The Great American Trailer Park Musical,” promises “a humorous diversion that will take us out of ourselves for a little while and give us a good laugh.” Tobias delivers on his promise.more...

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Theatre review: ON GOLDEN POND

Performers keep passionless Willows production of family drama afloat.

Ernest Thompson’s much-acclaimed drama, “On Golden Pond,” is the latest offering from the popular Willows Theatre Company in Concord. The play has won numerous awards since its debut off Broadway in 1978, including several Tonys for the stage version, and Oscars and Golden Globes for Thompson’s own 1981 screen adaptation.more...

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Dumpster Diva

Local artist R.C. Ferris, a.k.a. the Dumpster Diva, organized a “Swaporama” at the mARTinez Gallery two weeks ago, bringing together members of the Martinez Arts Association (MAA) and local teachers to swap used art supplies.

“There is no place in Contra Costa County where an artist can get cheap and used art supplies,” said Ferris. “The nearest one is the East Bay Depot in Berkeley.”

Local teacher Carol Wiley of the Briones Independent Study School picked up binders and paper for her class.more...

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Forever Plaid is a must-see

Theater review.

The Willows Theatre Company’s cabaret venue, the Campbell Theatre in Martinez, is now hosting a fun-filled musical comedy, “Forever Plaid,” directed by veteran Ricardo Rust, that is sure to delight audiences now through its closing on March 15.

This is a don’t-miss for any fan of community theater.

The Campbell provides a gemutlich atmosphere and a quaint but artfully designed stage for this funny and talented cast of characters.more...

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Shine on, Harvest Moon Studios

Recording studio draws artists from all over the Bay Area

Over the past 14 years, Michael Peterson has helped many a musical dream come true.

In his slick, soundproof recording studio – outfitted with cutting-edge equipment – on the second floor of a brick building at the corner of Estudillo and Marina Vista Streets, Peterson lends his engineering talents on projects ranging from demos for East Bay rock stars-in-training to recording live theatrical plays for national distribution.more...

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Library welcomes Chinese New Year with lion dances

On this ninth day of the Chinese New Year, it is customary to offer prayers and sugarcane to the Jade Emperor, a paramount figure in the Taoist mythology.

Bringing the festivities to Martinez, a celebrated Lion Dancer will give a performance at 6:30 p.m. at the Martinez Library, and traditional snacks and arts and crafts will round out the party intended for all ages.more...

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Community chorus open to all

Program available as Adult School class.

Until the American Idol audition team comes to town, locals fond of singing in public canturn to the Martinez Community Chorus.

Founded in the mid-90s as a singing group at the Senior Center, the chorus eventually became a class at Martinez Adult School.

For $30 a term, anyone can register for the choral class, which meets from 7 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday evenings. Currently there are 26 members in the class, which has been directed by musician Dee Wood since 2002.more...

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