Reeling is dance theater at it’s finest. Inventive, sensual, hilarious, and interactive, you just plain haven’t seen this before. Missed it at the Moss Theater in Santa Monica? Then head to San Diego this weekend October 17-18 to see it at White Box in San Diego, or the weekend of Nov. 7-8 in Santa Barbara.
Choreographed and directed by artistic director Laura Karlin, the intense 70-minute Invertigo Dance Theatre production is entirely unique.
According to Karlin: “The show is set in a dive bar, and is inspired by the double meaning of the word reeling: first, to be off-kilter from drinking, getting punched, falling in love at first sight, and second, to try to pull someone into you, which is why a lot of people go to bars. I like multiple meanings, different angles to a story and whimsical imagery,” she says. “Underneath all of my work, the deepest inspiration is human connection. The dive bar is a great context in which to see characters interact with the underlying, driving desire to connect.”
Featuring eight stellar dancers, the piece shows them literally fishing for partners with rod and reel, flirting, texting, fighting, falling in love, diving off the bar. As Karlin says “These are recognizable stories, but always with a twist. The dancers never leave the stage once they enter, because the whole show takes place over the course of one evening in the bar. This show is the equivalent of a television “bottle episode.” Which of course plays into my love of word play, because. . . bar! bottle!”
The dancers are onstage, in character the entire performance, which, Karlin notes, requires a huge amount of stamina.
According to Karlin, Invertigo’s philosophy is that dance should be compelling, thought-provoking, fun and accessible. “I believe in beautiful, highly kinetic movement, bold theatricality, and striking imagery. I want to tell stories that matter, to crack open different subjects and examine them from many different angles. I want people who have never watched a dance show before to be able to connect with what we’re doing, even as people who are ‘dance aficionados’ find many layers as well.”
Invertigo does more than provide stunning performances. “We bring the same philosophy to our engagement programs: Invert/ED youth education and Dancing Through Parkinson’s. We believe in empowering people through the creative process and the idea that dance is for everybody and every body,” Karlin stresses.
A piece this demanding might seem difficult to cast, but Karlin demurs. “I have worked with 7 of the 8 dancers before, and our the newest member Jonathan Bryant, integrated seamlessly into the company. It feels like he’s worked with us for years already. Invertigo holds auditions when we need new company members, and we have a fairly low turn-over rate. I look for dancers with gorgeous technique, intriguing originality, creativity, and a kindness and generosity to their manner. As a choreographer, I work so collaboratively, and we need people in the room who are excited to be a part of that and who will support one another in the creative process.”
Paintings by Kristine Schomaker – contemporary mixed media- Photo: Jack Burke
MLA Gallery at Brewery Art Walk – a focus on fine art from Latin America – Photo by Jack Burke
Just east of downtown Los Angeles is the Brewery Art Complex, created in 1982 in what was once the Pabst Blue Ribbon Brewery. Hoist a glass in honor of the artist-in-residence code which allowed artists to rent both living and working space in buildings formerly zoned industrial. Renting only to artists, the Brewery is among the world’s largest complexes. The public gets to explore the sprawling spot and enjoy the opened studios of many artist residences twice a year – in spring and fall.
There’s a real steam punk feel to the cavernous space, where the Brewery smoke stack still towers over loading docks and gardens. The complex has evolved into eighteen acres of working artists perched in the northeast corner of the city. Not only is the area huge, so is it’s creative scope – painters, sculptors, photographers, performance artists, multi-media creators, and fashion designers all reside here.
Why should you visit? To experience the diversity and excitement of the art. Over a hundred residents participate, speaking with browsers and buyers about their work. Like no other art walk, the Brewery gives strollers a glimpse into what it means to be an artist, and the space the artists create in, eat, sleep, and dream in. And as an extra bonus, many beautiful, unique pieces are available for purchase, some well under $100. From plastic purses showcasing colorful neon strands to enormous paper mache drumsticks, perfectly crafted landscapes, textured portraits, and brilliant contemporary photography, there’s a wide range of talent.
This fall’s art walk took place Oct. 3rd and 4th. Each year, we have the pleasure of meeting new and unique artists, and visiting with those whose work we’ve come to admire. Here’s a mix of some of the works on view this fall – artists you should definitely check out when the spring open house commences, or visit their websites, follow their Twitter feeds, see their shows now.
Kati V. Milano‘s archival pigment prints capture natural elements both animal and mineral from a recent trek to Iceland. Her photography has a visceral, tangible quality that makes you feel the rough wool on the sheep, the delicate trajectory of a feather, the sharp edges of ice and stone.
In shared studio space with Milano, artist Ryan McIntosh exhibited his photos from the same recent Icelandic trip. Voluptuous ocean waves with the texture of lace, velvet, and satin are alive with motion in pieces such as “Ocean Variants 2014.” McIntosh is also the founder and master-printer of Miscellaneous Press.
Jane Szabo‘s photographs of dresses are beautifully evocative. The dresses themselves are crafted by Szabo from everyday objects like road maps and coffee filters. “They suggest a persona and become a stand-in for myself, who I am, am not, and who I wish to be.” Her conceptual photography is alive with light, filled with metaphor, playful in its mix of fashion, photography, and the human form as sculpture. Szabo’s photographic work is both vividly representational and otherworldly.
Victoria Sebanz is an artist who creates exciting mixed media including evocative, poetic photography – images that evoke another of her art forms: dance. The motion of dance, the subtle and curved shapes that are human forms, flowers, neon curves, the limbs of trees, the torsos of women – all captured in her work. Sebanz says “Movement, texture, shape and shadow are the bones for my work…”
Kristine Schomaker‘s rainbow colors draw the eye, while the provocative social commentary of her collections engage the mind and illuminate the heart. Below, “A Young Girl’s Vanity.”
Schomaker not only creates her own art, she supports other artists in the Los Angeles community through her company, Shoebox PR.
“The painted mannequins are inspired by my Avatar in Second Life. In that virtual world, I used one of my paintings as a skin on my Avatar and it became a brand for me and my work. It was a natural progression to bring her into the real world. Painting a mannequin was the best way at the time to make it happen,” Schomaker says.
Some of Schomaker’s paintings evoke calligraphy. Below: geometric shapes, feathered patterns, and a richness that evokes flight and music notes – a peacock in a painting.
Below, artist Yvonne Beatty with a beautiful fall-colors piece, that is both realistic and as imaginative and detailed as a fairy-tale. “In my drawings and paintings I apply traditional and contemporary media using unconventional techniques. The challenge is to create works that, while static, gain movement in the viewer’s mind.”
Below, Cynthia Friedlob once incarnated art aurally as a jazz singer. You can feel the jazzy rhythm in her pieces here. Her works are both brilliantly hued and meditative, and she says she would like to live in an Edward Hopper painting “with Bill Evans music playing softly in the background.”
Below, Chuka Susan Chesney exhibits at FRESH, a contemporary art exhibition at Lamperouge Gallery, jurored by Jane Szabo, and assembled by the Pasadena Society of Artists. Chesney’s piece “Sister Cancer” proclaims that the disease will not defeat when smothered with love.
Hahn’s images are created with no digital manipulation. The electric feel of her photography unfolds like a spin-art take on the world. She captures her subjects with one exposure, stretching out depth and colors into a complex visual pattern that illuminates and intrigues. Below, she shows off a beautiful creation of an entirely different nature.
Below, artist Chenhung Chen, with pieces in a variety of different media.
Chen focuses her art on the formation of line in drawings, sculptures, and 3D installations. Regardless of medium, her pieces are vibrating with motion, whether wire and metal sculptures, pristine line drawings, or hand-crocheted copper wire. Her work evokes the sea, the ceaseless rhythm of water, air, and life itself.
Chen’s work exudes motion and life. Can inanimate objects be this animate?
Want to walk for yourself? The Brewery art walk will be back in full bloom, come spring.
Sunday night at the new UCB Sunset theater in Los Angeles, the comedy wasn’t on stage, as it usually is – it was on screen. And in the red carpet line and at the after-party. The occasion: the premiere of “A Better You,” directed by UCB co-founder Matt Walsh, co-written by Walsh and star Brian Huskey. A full review is also up on this blog: bottom line, yes, it was hilarious. How could it not be, with a cast that included Andy Daly (Review), Joe Lo Truglio (Brooklyn Nine Nine), Erin Hayes (Children’s Hospital), Morgan Walsh (Hotwives of Orlando) — plus the improv-sketch-comedy scripting UCB has long championed. Co-producer Anthony D’Alessandro kept the press line and interviews moving, aptly describing the film as “A comedy about alternative therapy, Matt Walsh’s second directorial effort. He’s like Altman, he puts a cast together fast, no waiting around, says everyone let’s show up, and shoots it in a week.” The film may well have viewers laughing longer than it took to film the project.
The stars weigh in on the film, film-making and life in LA.
Director, co-writer, and co-star – and UCB co-founder, Matt Walsh
Matt Walsh
“I hope people laugh and enjoy it,” Walsh said simply of the film, which opens Friday on VOD and in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Music Hall.
Inspiration? “I live in Los Angeles, but I grew up in Chicago, where if there’s something troubling you, you see the psychiatrist or the doctor. Here you might see your trainer or your acupuncturist. There’s a whole list of choices,” he notes. “I was a psych major in college which was also a factor. Brian and I created the character of Dr. Ron – a hypnotherapist with a self-published book and a mom and pop business. We spent a lot of time researching alternative therapy in Los Angeles.”
Casting? “Pretty much everyone from Brian to Horatio Sanz, we’ve all been friends for years. Seth Morris, Mo Gaffney – she’s the godmother to two of my children. I was kind of like The Godfather. I told people to do this movie or else, and they complied. So that’s how we got our cast together. Brian and I wrote the project with him in most of the scenes, so he could make a lot of the improv choices, and really keep the film together. Once we got on set, we’d rehearse the instructions and improvised story, and then we’d film.”
Sum up the story? “It’s a simple story of a man whose life has collapsed, trying to save himself.”
A new project in the works? “Maybe my third movie will be about that guy in Colorado whose cattle were grazing on federal land.” Walsh is also working on Veep, and the new Ghostbusters film, but is planning to get to work on another script next year.
Andy Daly – Dr. Ron’s nemesis neighbor
Andy Daly
Daly plays the role of hilariously obnoxious neighbor Joel in the film, and is the star and creator of Comedy Central’s Review.
How was making A Better You? “Matt Walsh honestly creates an incredible environment to improvise. I think the movie reflects that comfort level and spirit.”
What’s new for Review? “All of Season Two has aired on Comedy Central now, and we’re waiting to hear if we get to make a third season. I couldn’t be more proud of it, whatever happens.”
Brian Huskey, star and co-writer
Brian Huskey
The co-writer/star of A Better You carries the film, it’s tough to take your eyes off of him as he pushes the limits of comedy to the edge of tragedy and back, giving us loneliness, heartbreak, and inept, self-involved wannabe-guru all at once.
How did the project get started? “Well, Matt had an idea about a guru, who thinks he can heal others but can’t heal himself. The film grew out of that idea, with my character, Dr. Ron completely in denial.”
Shoot length? “12 days. Which was long enough in the wig.” Huskey’s character wears an obvious toupee through most of the film. “Wearing the wig was hot and it was sweaty. It more or less gave me a different dimension for the character though; costuming is really about changing yourself.”
Personal epiphany? “I was going through a divorce myself when we shot the film, so it was a pretty meta experience. As I was doing it, seeing this guy not dealing with himself, it was intense. But it was good for me to have that personal access to the character, even if it wasn’t entirely easy. During the time we were shooting, my daughter would stay with my ex while I was working. I really got into a frame of mind where it was all about the work. You focus on that. ”
Working with Matt Walsh? “Matt did an amazing job, editor Jay Daniels did, too. He did a great job of restructuring and balancing the film, giving it the right rhythm.”
What do you think happened to Dr. Ron after the movie ended? “After the film ended, he went out with his (former patient) Lindsey for awhile, then she got more confident, and the relationship changed, and Dr. Ron had to change himself again. His changing on screen – that’s not the last time he has to go through that kind of alteration.”
Morgan Walsh, Dr. Ron’s wife, Margo
Morgan Walsh
Walsh plays Dr. Ron’s restless and ready-to-move-on wife, Margo. She’s essentially the straight-man here, leading Dr. Ron, their marriage counselor, and their children, onto more serious and stable territory.
How was it working with your husband as director? “We’re all friends, we’re all team players. It was a small budget film, with a big, fun, creative environment. I’ve been acting a long time, and I don’t always feel super comfortable in a role. Matt has such a gift, he’s a great director and great at improv. I knew Matt and the cast would take care of me in the more difficult scenes.”
What happened to Margo after the film ended? “I think she was very happy moving on with her life and her career. I think she was very happy as a single mom, sharing co-parenting with Dr. Ron but living her own life. Maybe she writes her own self-help book and goes on a book tour.”
Also at the premiere:
Kirk Roos, Producer (High Road, The Brass Teapot)
Tony Hale (Veep)
Gary Cole (Veep) “I had to come see this venture. I haven’t been to a crazy therapist. I can only imagine.”
David Wain (Wanderlust)
Mo Gaffney – the verbose patient, and Walsh family friend
Mo Gaffney (Dr. Ron’s unstoppable-talker patient, Veep) goofing around with Morgan Walsh
Kevin Weisman (Scorpion)
Nate Corddry (Ghostbusters)
Owen Burke (Handyman Hugo’s friend)
Riki Lindhome (Obnoxious neighbor Joel’s wife, Another Period)
Therapist to the therapist
Joe Lo Truglio (Dr. Ron and wife’s marriage counselor/psych, Brooklyn Nine Nine)
Seth Morris (Children’s Hospital, Kroll Show)
Nick Kroll (Stuttering patient, Kroll Show, The League)
Paul Scheer (The League)
Jason Mantzoukas (The League)
After Party – Photos: Jack Burke
You won’t get to try the delicious macaroni and cheese on hand at the after-party, but you should see the film anyway. And laugh.
The Walking Dead Wolves Not Far maze begins at Terminus – Photo: Jack Burke
Remember the magic you used to feel on Halloween? The sense of excitement to go out trick or treating? The spooky but fun dread that maybe there really was something lurking behind the tree in the neighbor’s yard – that wasn’t the neighbor’s cat? Dark rooms, zombie flicks on TV, things that go bump in the night?
Well you can experience it again, albeit with a fairly substantial price tag, at Universal Studios Hollywood Halloween Horror Nights. Not just any old haunted attraction, this one features movie-quality recreations of set pieces from frighteningly famous franchises like Halloween and The Walking Dead.
Great sets, fantastic animatronic figures, eerie lighting, and of course, what really makes the event take off, the “scareactors,” some 500 talented performers stalking, scaring, and jumping out at guests, gruesomely attacking each other, and each creating an astonishingly well-choreographed live performance on average once every six seconds.
So is it worth it to “haunt” Universal Studios after dark? Absolutely. From the kitschy 3D horror humor based on the film This is the End to the longest and arguably scariest maze this year, The Walking Dead Wolves Not Far, to the supernatural Insidious Return to the Further, these live performance scares are worth every penny. Also not to be missed: this year’s Terror Tram offering based on The Purge films takes over the back lot, and in a break from all the horror, a live stage show starring the hip hop energy and special effects of Jabbawockeez. Of course there’s scare zones scattered throughout the park – from the evil elves of Dark Christmas to the giant bugs of Exterminatorz you’ll get your screams on. Strolling through the recreation of Homer Simpson’s Springfield or jumping on the Jurassic Park ride are also somehow a lot more fun after dark, when you know just outside the rides’ perimeters lurks – a shadowy menacing monster or two.
This was our third year experiencing Halloween Horror Nights, and it’s an absolutely horrific delight. Go early – early admission allows guests into the park an hour before HHN officially opens and access to several lower lot mazes before the lines get too deep. And stay late – don’t rush the scares. Savor the midnight magic.
Genie Davis; all photos Jack Burke (copyright Jack Burke)
