2013

JANUARY

-20 EMMA  at Arizona Theatre Company. Music, Lyrics, Book by Paul Gordon. Co-Directed by Stephen Wrentmore & David Ira Goldstein. With three of our current MFA Performance students in the ensemble!

11-26 HAMLET Southwest Shakespeare. You might have heard of this play.

10-26 THE TEMPEST William Shakespeare. SW Shakespeare.

12-February 2 EQUUS by Peter Shaffer. Directed by Damon Dering.  Nearly Naked Theatre at Little Theatre, Phoenix Theatre 100 E. McDowell Rd. I believe our very own "B.C." Connor Verhoeven is in this. So I'm told.

16 Conceptual artist Dan Graham presented by Contemporary Forum Lecture Series at PAM/Phoenix Art Museum  7pm Free. Whiteman Hall at PAM. Dan Graham has exhibited and realized commissions all around the world, including participation at numerous prestigious international exhibitions such as the Venice Biennale (1976, 2003, 2004 and 2005) and documenta V, VI, VII, IX and X (1972, 1977, 1982, 1992 and 1997). Major retrospectives of his work have been staged in Europe (2001–02) and in America (2009), showing at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; and the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis.

18 THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE   Film Bar  9:50pm  $8  In 1989, five black and Latino teenagers were arrested and charged with brutally attacking and raping a white female jogger in Central Park. News media swarmed the case, calling them a "wolfpack." The five would spend years in prison for a crime they didn’t commit before the truth about what really happened became clear. With THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE, this story of injustice finally gets the attention it deserves. Based on Sarah Burns’ riveting book and co-directed by her husband David McMahon and father, the acclaimed doc filmmaker Ken Burns, this incendiary film tells the riveting tale of innocent young men scapegoated for a heinous crimes. (David McMahon is not a relative of mine, as far as I know).  I remember this case all too well, and how almost everyone, myself included, were all too willing to believe instantly that these kids were guilty.

19  REINVENTING RADIO WITH IRA GLASS. 8pm Scottsdale Centet for the Performing Arts. The affable host and producer of public radio’s This American Life, Ira Glass travels the country meeting everyday people from all walks of life to discover “unexpected stories that happen to be true.” Mixing taped excerpts and music live onstage, Glass offers a behind-the-scenes look at the quirky hit show and its unique approach to broadcast journalism, including some of his favorite tales, where he and the staff find them and what makes them so compelling. The show concludes with an audience Q&A. 

20-March 3 CLICK CLACK MOO: COWS THAT TYPE Childsplay. Tempe Center for the Arts. (ages 3 and up)
By James Grote, music by George Howe, adapted from the book by Doreen Cronin
Occupy the Barnyard! When the animals of Farmer Brown’s farm get fed up with their working conditions, they take to their typewriters and turn the barn upside down. This peaceful protest will QUACK you up as you join Duck, Cow, Hen, and the rest of the animals for an uproarious farm adventure, based on the delightful picture book by Doreen Cronin.

24 HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE  Film screening sponsored by Ubiquity and LGBTQA Services at ASU.  Pima Auditorium of the Memorial Union. 6pm. Free! Snacks and speakers following the film. Faced with their own mortality, an improbable group of gay men, lesbians and their straight allies broke the mold as radical warriors taking on a government and medical establishment unresponsive to the AIDS crisis. This film tells their story. This movement and its radical form of activism was the inspiration for later actions such as Occupy Wall Street.

24  7:30 (7pm pizza!) SOTF Hollywood Invades Tempe (HIT) presents JUNO (2007), Guest speaker TBA. ASU Tempe. Marston Exploration Theater at the School of Earth and Space Exploration; Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building IV (ISTB4); 850 S. McAllister Ave. Talented film artists teleconference with ASU audiences for a Q&A period following the screening of representative work. Free to the greater ASU community. Adam Collis, professor of practice in film directing in the Film and Media Production programs, hosts.

24-26 BREAKING GROUND 2013: CONTEMPORARY DANCE AND FILM FESTIVAL. ConderDance at Tempe Center for the Arts and other venues. info  Concert on the 24 is at ASU. 25-26 at TCA, and 25th features our very own Kristopher Pourzal, who always does amazing work.

25 LIT LOUNGE at SMOCA. Tania Katan's great literary reading event. 7pm. This one features me, Jeff McMahon, and some other folks such as Shawna Franks from Space 55, relationship award-winning author Hillary Carlip, Comedian/Actor Joe Smith, and musical guest Kaileena Martin. These tend to sell out Tickets

25-26 HUBBARD STREET DANCE CHICAGO Scottsdale Center for the Arts

25-February 3  NEXT TO NORMAL Mesa Encore Theatre. This show underwhelmed me when I saw it in LA a few years ago, but I seem to be in the minority. Here's what they say about it: Next to Normal is an unrelentingly intense, brutally honest – and often, darkly funny – story about a bipolar woman and the family that grapples with her illness, all set to a hard driving rock and roll score that explodes with raw, searing emotion. Winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Rolling Stone called it “the best new musical of the season – by a mile.” Next to Normal explores how one suburban household copes with crisis and mental illness.

25-Feb 3  SPARROW SONG  presented by Binary Theatre at Prism, ASU Tempe. 970 E. University Dr.   An interactive, installation-based theatrical experience, for young and adult audiences. Produced and created by ASU MFA students Megan Flod Johnson, Daniel Fine, and Julie Rada

FEBRUARY

1-9  FATBOY by John Clancy. Directed by Brian D. Foley. SOTF Mainstage. Lyceum Theatre. ASU Tempe. One of the more offensive shows you'll ever see, the explicit language, sex, and violence in FATBOY makes South Park look like Sesame Street. It's also ridiculously funny. Fatboy and Fudgie, a couple that exemplifies the stereotype of the “ugly American,” have an insatiable appetite for money, sex, power, and more money. Anything standing in their way is likely to end up destroyed, or more likely, eaten. Based on Alfred Jarry's Ubu Roi (which started riots in the theatre before being banned from the stage), this American theatrical force of nature has played to sold-out houses around the world, leaving a trail of riotous laughter and destruction in its wake. Not appropriate for young audiences (really, not appropriate for anybody).

5-10 WAR HORSE National  Theatre of Great Britain production. Beautifully staged epic of World War I, with South Africa's Handspring Puppet Company, that bring to life breathing, galloping, charging horses strong enough for men to ride. ASU Gammage.

 6  7:30PM  SOTF Hollywood Invades Tempe presents BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD (2012); Guest: Co-producer Matt Parker. Faced with both her hot-tempered father's fading health and melting ice-caps that flood her ramshackle bayou community and unleash ancient aurochs, six-year-old Hushpuppy must learn the ways of courage and love. Marston Exploration Theater at the School of Earth and Space Exploration; Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building IV (ISTB4); 850 S. McAllister Ave.

8 PACO PENA FLAMENCO VIVO Scottsdale Center for the Arts

8-17 THE WHIPPING MAN by Matthew Lopez. Black Theatre Troupe. Scheduled to open their new Performing Arts Center located at 1333 East Washington in Downtown Phoenix. It’s April, 1865. The Civil War is over and throughout the south, slaves are being freed, soldiers are returning and in Jewish homes, Passover is being celebrated. Caleb DeLeon, a wounded Jewish Confederate soldier, returns to find his family plantation in ruins and abandoned by everyone except Simon and John, two former slaves. While they were in slavery they adopted, as did all the DeLeon slaves, the faith of their former owners. As the sun sets on the last night of Passover, the three men prepare a humble Seder to observe the ancient celebration to recall the exodus of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt. They explore this milestone as it relates to their current situation. They find the strength to face a frightening yet wondrous new world as they embrace the pain and secrets from the past that refuse to be hidden.

9-24  ASU BLACK THEATRE FESTIVAL. Organized by  Alexis Green. Workshops, performances, forums. Includes:

     9-10 Black and 25 in America-created/performed by Jeremy Gillett 7:30pm at prism theatre. A very effective and beautifully performed solo. Go!

    16-17  The Face of Emmet Till    7:30 Prism

     22-24 For Colored Girls...  FAC Amphitheatre

12 BEYOND MISS REPRENTATION You can't be what you can't see 6:30 - 9 pm
Civic Space Park (AE England Building) FREE --All ages welcome
Performance in the Borderlands is proud to announce its latest groundbreaking event in downtown Phoenix: Beyond "Miss Representation," featuring a documentary screening, performances, live music and DJ, and public dialogue around the portrayal of women in the media and popular culture.
The documentary Miss Representation, by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. The film explores how the media’s misrepresentations of women have led to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence. Although a worthy film, there are some questionable blind spots in how it addresses the experiences of women of color, LGBTQ communities, and undocumented women living in the US. To expand the conversation beyond the perspective of white, heterosexual, and middle-class women, a panel of professors, artists, students, and activists will lead a discussion with audience members about the diversity of women’s experiences in our communities. Beyond "Miss Representation" is part of the Project Humanites Kick Off Week Feb 10 - 16! Project Humanities is a pioneer in bringing important culture leaders, lectures, and events to the Valley to cultivate a space for people to examine their humanity.
Talk, Listen, Connect: Project Humanities!

12  7-10pm SLEEP DEALER Alex Rivera's 2008 film, winner of Waldo Scott screenwriting award at Phoenix Art Museum. Co-written with David Riker. Both Rivera and Scott will be at the screening. Free.  Presented by ASU School of Transborder Studies. rsvp at 480-727-7583 or rsvp and information

13  6-9pm SLEEP DEALER (see above) Arizona Historical Society Museum, 1300 N. College Ave. Tempe.

13-24 COMEDY OF ERRORS. Somebody named Shakespeare. Presented by Class 6 Theatre at Mesa Arts Center.

13 San Francisco Opera Grand Opera Cinema Series: Giuseppe Verdi’s Otello at Scottsdale Center for the Arts  7pm

13  Maya Lin, the creator of one of the most significant and moving pieces of public sculpture of our time, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in D.C., presented by Contemporary Art Forum at PAM/Phoenix Art Museum. Free. Lin's work is amazing, and hearing her speak about it should be fascinating.

14-March 3  FREUD'S LAST SESSION. Arizona Theatre Company. Written by Mark St. Germain. Suggested by The Question of God by Armand M. Nicholi, Jr.. Directed by Stephen Wrentmore. A Co-Production with San Jose Repertory Theatre. “Things are simple only when you choose not to examine them.” Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud pioneered the Id, the Ego and the Superego. Writer C.S. Lewis created The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Two men, both brilliant, yet vastly different: Freud the atheist, Lewis the believer. They meet in 1939 as England goes to war against the Nazis. Their evening of electrifying conversation about God, love, sex, and the meaning of life will spark controversy long after the show is over. Freud’s Last Session has been drawing record-breaking crowds for over two years in New York.

15-March 2 SONS OF THE PROPHET by Stephen Karam. Directed by Ron May. Stray Cat Theatre. A 2012 Pulitzer Prize Finalist and hailed as one of the Top 10 Plays of 2011 from The New York Times, New York Magazine, and Newsday. Brothers Joseph and Charles Douaihy are young, gay, and having a hell of a year. Their father has died and their uncle is losing it — putting the brothers' once unbreakable sense of humor to the test. As if that's not enough, Joseph is battling a mysterious ailment, and his eccentric boss is pressuring him to write a memoir about his Maronite Catholic family's tenuous connection to Kahlil Gibran, author of The Prophet. Things get even more intense when an ambitious and sexy reporter descends on the family in search of a story. Stephen Karam is author of the Stray Cat hits Speech and Debate and columbinus

15-17 Transition Projects  PEBE 132, ASU Tempe. Graduating ASU School of Dance BFA candidates present diverse and powerful new works that encompass a combination of complex study in performance and creative practices

15-16 EPIK Dance Company presents "EPIK Effect," a dynamic new stage presentation that explores the relationship we have with the world in which we live. Through street fusion dance, spoken word, visually striking choreography and thought-provoking video, this full-length stage show features all new original works. Tempe Center for the Arts

16   7pm CITY COUNCIL MEETING a creation of writer Aaron Landsman, director Mallory Catlett and designer Jim Findlay. The team visited local city council meetings in San Antonio, Portland, New York and Tempe to create an engaging and participatory theatrical adventure. The competing agendas, alienating rules, tedium and temper create human theater at its best. For 18 months, ASU Gammage worked with Landsman and Catlett to involve Tempe City Council, community leaders, Arizona residents, students and local artists in the creative process. Audience will become actors, actors observe and elected officials do both as CITY COUNCIL MEETING takes you to the intersection of life and theater and just might change your perception of both. ASU Gammage Beyond Broadway.

19 BANNED PLAYS  Phoenix Hostel and Cultural Center. The "Banned Plays" series is an effort to open up a dialogue about the relationship between politics and playwrighting/theatre. Each third Tuesday of the month a new and important play will be read to the public with a dialogue to follow. Much more a soiree than a public lecture! Wine, snacks, music, warmth, conversation, and connecting around the power of plays, playwrighting, and history on a Tuesday night. Space is limited. Please RSVP.This month's readers:Tomas Stanton, Steffan Jones, Rashad Thomas, Asantewa Sunni-Ali, Erica Ocegueda, Yovani Flores read from Amiri Baraka's GREAT GOODNESS OF LIFE.  1026 N. 9th St. Phoenix. 7-9pm   $5  RSVP 415-632-8661

20  7:30pm  SOTF Hollywood Invades Tempe presents SINISTER (2012) Guest: Scott Derrickson. A true-crime writer finds a cache of 8mm "snuff" films that suggest the murder he is currently researching is the work of a serial killer whose career dates back to the 1960s. Starring Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, Fred Dalton Thompson. Marston Exploration Theater at the School of Earth and Space Exploration; Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building IV (ISTB4); 850 S. McAllister Ave.

22  7pm LIT LOUNGE at SMOCA. Featuring Emmy-nominated Ellen and Rosanne Producer Maxine Lapiduss, Odyssey Storytelling Artistic Director Penelope Starr and more! 

22 LIMON DANCE COMPANY Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

22-March 3 THE TENEMENT by Jonothon Lyons and Matthew Keuter. SOTF Mainstage. ASU Tempe. Lyceum Theatre. What separates humankind from the beasts? Is it the mind? The heart? The answer may not be so clear. After a rat devours the body and mind of a man, he stands on two feet, dons the man's attire, and discovers there's more to surviving in the world of people than simple instinct would expect. An extravaganza of masks, movement, media and magic, The Tenement is the inaugural installment of the School of Theatre and Film’s new Alumni Project Series, where outstanding graduates of the School are engaged as guest artists to create new work in collaboration with current students.

27 San Francisco Opera Grand Opera Cinema Series: Richard Strauss’ Salome 7 p.m.  Scottsdale Center for the Arts

28-March 3  DIE FLEDERMAUS by Johann Strauss. ASU Tempe Evelyn Smith Musical Theatre. A practical joke. A secret rendezvous. One man’s elaborate plan for revenge leads to a rousing evening of mistaken identities, flirtations, and light-hearted deceit in Johann Strauss’ most celebrated operetta, Die Fledermaus. Set in 19th-century Vienna, this delightful farce is filled with effervescent melodies, lilting waltzes and charming sentiment. From the sparkling overture to the rollicking tribute to champagne, the Waltz King’s madcap masterpiece is the jewel of the golden age of operetta. Music by Johann Strauss Jr.; libretto by C. Haffner & Richard Genée from Meilhac and Halévy; sung in German (with English supertitles); Dialog in English; stage direction by Dale Dreyfoos; musical direction by William Reber

28-March 3  PRIVATE LIVES Noel Coward. Southwest Shakespeare. Directed by Don Bluth.

MARCH

1 The Poet Sings: ASU Barrett Choir conducted by David Schildkret. 7:30pm  First United Methodist Church of Tempe, 212 E University Dr., Tempe. Free. The Barrett Choir sings music based on great poetry featuring Randall Thompson's Frostiana and seven poems by Robert Frost.

1 7:30pm  The Arizona Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME), directed by Glenn Hackbarth, presents a concert of works for small ensemble, soloists and electronics. Composed within the past few decades, the works on this program provide a view of the varied creative activity in the music of our time. ASU Tempe Katzin Concert Hall.

1-3 The Pornographer  a new play by MFA dramatic writing candidate Kirt Shineman. Prism/Binary Theatre, ASU Tempe. Based on a real event in the life of Egon Schiele. This play is neither whole fact nor fully fiction, but combines the two. Egon Schiele (1890-1918) was one of the most influential painters to emerge from Vienna at the turn of the century. He was controversial, but so were Robert Mapplethorpe, Georg Baselitz, and Madonna. Egon showed us things, then and now, we resist seeing. Through this play we see Egon struggle to find himself through encounters with Vienna's best known artist Klimt to his sexual escapades and imprisonment on a morals charge. This play offers insights into the artist's brief and troubled life, proving an artist institutionalized dies.

1-17 MAPLE & VINE by Jordan Harrison. Theatre Artists Studio. Can you escape the tension and problems of the present and find peace and happiness in the past? Join us on the corner of Maple & Vine, where The Twilight Zone meets Ozzie & Harriet.

2  NIICUGNI  Celebrated director, choreographer, curator Emily Johnson (Native Alaskan Yup'ik) presents NIICUGNI (Listen) a new dance performance, housed within a light and sound installation made of hanging fish-skin sculptures. Johnson’s almost ethereal ability to weave elements of theater, dance and art installation into a uniquely affecting experience is not to be missed. The fish-skin sculptures will be produced by local community members during her residency at ASU Gammage and will be an integral part of an unforgettable theatrical journey fusing music and dance with contemporary performance. The effect is one of taking us out of the theater and into nature, to NIICUGNI (Listen) to our connection with the Earth and our ancestors. ASU Gammage Beyond Broadway, presented at ASU Galvin Playhouse.  7pm

5 5:30pm  DONNA HARAWAY, Multispecies Cosmopolitics: Staying with the Trouble.  Carson Ballroom, Old Main, Tempe ASU. IHR Distinguished Lecturer series

8-9   WORD BECOMES FLESH Marc Bamuthi Joseph. Mesa Arts Center. Examines the experience of fatherhood in the black community. Directed by Marc Bamuthi Joseph, a brilliant and respected creative force who has appeared on the cover of Smithsonian Magazine Arts and Sciences. “A searing satisfying evening.” (The Washington Post). I saw the solo version of this, and it's fantastic. This is the group version, without MBJ.

8-9 AMERICAN VICTORY originally produced at ASU last year, and brought back for a two night run at Teatro Bravo! Written by Jose Zarate and directed by Guillermo Reyes, presented at the new Black Theatre Troupe Performing Arts Center at 1333 E. Washington in Phoenix.  8pm  The play tells the story of Olympic wrestler Henry Cejudo's journey that led him to the Beijing Olympics where he took the gold in wrestling. Adapted from the book American Victory by Henry Cejudo with Bill Plaschke.

8  NRITYAGRAM DANCE ENSEMBLE Scottsdale Center for the Arts

8  7pm-? ORANGE THEATRE SPRING MIXER. "A RAISER for FUN(d)S Basement Theatre, Phoenix Center for the Arts, 1202 N. 3rd St. Phoenix. $8 suggested Food, drink, music to support a very cool groovy experimental risky risque theatre company started by our very own (former) students!

13-17  Rachel Bowditch's company, VESSEL, performs Transfix, Spectrum, Unreal City, and Clowning Clowns for the Mesa SPARK Festival

13-17 Boyd Branch's NEURO, last seen as part of SOTF Lab, at Mesa Arts Center. I know this is during the tail end of Spring Break, but if you are here, I can't think of a better reason to get back to town early!

14-31 UNCLE VANYA Anton Chekhov's great play, adapted by Charlie Steak. Space 55 636 E. Pierce St. Phoenix   tickets

15    Arm Wrestling for Art, 7 p.m.  SMOCA Lounge. A fundraiser where community guests get a lesson in art and arm wrestling, then sweat it out to win an original work of art. Featuring artwork by Peter Bugg, technique lessons from fitness expert Richelle Melde and a curatorial presentation on Bugg’s work by Phoenix Art Museum Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art Sara Cochran.

20-24 TUCSON CINE MEXICO 2013. Presented by Univ. of Arizona and the Mexican Consulate. Free and open to the public. (not sure if all the presentations will be bilingual or subtitled)

20  DaDa TransIt: A Collage in 10 Moments With a Break and an Apotheotic Grande Finale   6-7:15 & 7:30-8:45. Presented at The Empty Space, 970 E. University Dr (back of parking lot). According to UK-based Romanian theatre director Aristita Albacan, "we live in a world that is DaDa." Her latest project, "DaDa TransIt," is an experiment meant to revive the famous Dada movement, made up of texts written in the 20s and 30s within the Dada movement – as a platform to reinventing a sort of 'dictionary' for loving life and for being able to cope with life in the 21st century. "We live in a world that is Dada," says Albacan "a mixture of absurdity, playfulness, intelligence, madness, stupidity. Our time is rather described by the Dada. There's some sort of radical humour that comes from detachment against a very interesting political and social context that is similar now to what it was a century ago.
artistic director Aristita Albacan is a lecturer in Theatre and Performance and Director of Studies Theatre and Performance at the School of Arts and New Media, University of Hull . She holds a PhD from the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. She teaches on various topics pertaining to Western contemporary and experimental theatre. She connects research with performance throughout artistic projects in UK, Romania, or Germany. The staging of Dada TransIt at ASU is her first performance in the US.
Actors: Ionut Caras and Cristian Grosu from the National Theatre of Cluj-Napoca Romania and the Babes-Bolyai University School of Theatre
Video Art: Toma Albacan, independent artist Sponsored by: Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, English School of Theatre and Film, Human Communication, Institute for Humanities Research, International Letters and Cultures, Jewish Studies, College of LIberal Arts and Sciences

20-April 5  WALKINGS A music/video installation.  Text and voice: AJ Sabatini , Video and design: R Kilman,  Music: William Duckworth. ArtSpace West (UCB 228) at ASU West  M-F 12-5, Thurs 1:30-5. Opening March 20 6pm.  602-543-ARTS. An exploration of time, cities, trees and a meditation on death music and voices from lost worlds to our own.

21-30 SOTF TheatreLAB a second stage designed to help playwrights and collaborative ensembles develop their projects. Each semester will feature six new works - two workshop productions and four staged readings. TheatreLAB is a great way for audiences to meaningfully participate in the creation of the theatre of the future. Each night will feature talkbacks and other opportunities for the audience to respond to the works in progress. Studio 133 at ASU Tempe Fine Arts Center (FAC): $8 except for Echo Project, which is free. 7:30pm

Los Santos by Paul Ryan Noble
March 21-22

The Halfway House by Cody Goulder
March 23-24

The Echo Project by Megan Weaver and Brunella Provvidente
March 26 . A theatrical suspension of memory and multiplicity, devised from Ovid, Proust, and the Surrealists. A narcissistic water play. With fountain. ASU  Art Museum

March 29 Ame, written and directed by Kirt Shineman. On a sweltering day, Ame, 10 years old, is stuffed in a footlocker by her two cousins, John and Samantha. They leave her there over night. When they open the footlocker the next morning they face the horror they created. The neighbors watch and their inaction increases the terror. Based on the true story of Ame Deal. Featuring Sydnee Peralta, Collin Gaveck, Kirsten Zollars, Maren Maclean, Victoria Bonanni, Stephen Hersack and Meg Sullivan

Mother and Daughter Live 2.0, written and directed by Lee Quarrie
March 27-28  A young woman struggles with relationships, weight, and reality in a heavily mediated world

March 30 Sea Monsters. Conceptualized and composed by Chelsea Pace. Sailors, sirens, mermaids, clown-fish, and other beasts far, far stranger - Sea Monsters reaches up from the murky depths, wraps the audience in its glistening tentacles, and drags them into an alien, aquatic realm of myth, whimsy, terror, and delight. Come take the plunge and discover what lies beneath!

 

22-April 6   A STEADY RAIN by Keith Huff. Actors Theatre of Phoenix. Herberger Center. Chicago police officers Joey and Denny are longtime partners and best friends. Joey is single and lonely, and Denny is married with children. Introverted Joey struggles with a drinking problem and secretly loves Denny's wife, Connie; angry tough-guy Denny can barely disguise his racism and cheats on Connie with a prostitute on his beat. Longtime partners and best friends, Joey and Denny always have each other’s backs—until an unfortunate decision tests their loyalty and pits one against the other. A harrowing story of guilt, fear and corruption, A Steady Rain puts friendship to the ultimate test in the face of unthinkable adversity. Written by a writer/producer of the AMC series Mad Men, the original Chicago production won the 2008 Jeff Award for Best New Work. It went on to receive a star-studded New York run featuring Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig, which TIME MAGAZINE named one of the “Top 10 plays of 2009.”  UNFORTUNATELY, IN FEBRUARY ATP ANNOUNCED THEY WERE SUSPENDING THEIR SEASON. MAKE SURE TO CHECK BACK TO SEE IF THIS SHOW IS RUNNNING.

22-23 ASPEN SANTA FE BALLET Scottsdale Center for the Arts

28-April 6  MERCY RULE. Binary Theatre at ASU Tempe. Directed by Bethanne Abramovich

30-31  BOATS  Childsplay (age 7 & up) By Finegan Kruckemeyer
Direct from Tasmania! (Get your maps!) Set sail with Jof and Nic, two life-long friends cast adrift on the open ocean. With their inventive puppetry, sound effects and acrobatics, these two outrageous sailors take us along on their crazy adventures, complete with a chicken, a deserted island and a sombrero! From the renowned Terrain Puppet Theater, the imaginative Boats has been hailed by audiences and critics alike, "A zephyr of pure originality and lyricism." (The Advertiser, Adelaide.)

APRIL

3 IGNITE ASU  6-9pm  ASU Tempe. A sister event to Ignite Phoenix. Ignite @ ASU is a public event for great thinkers and doers to gather, share ideas, connect with others and create change. It features rapid-fire 5 minute presentations that bring ASU students, faculty, staff, and community members together to build more connected and vibrant communities. Our theme this semester is "Dream it and Do it!”. We are open to a wide range of topics and welcome anyone to present. Applications take ten minutes to complete and can be found on our Present page. Deadline to apply is Friday, March 1st by 11:59 pm. igniteasu@gmail.edu.

4-5 Graduate Choreographic Presentations. ASU School of Dance. PEBE 132. ASU Tempe. This free event showcases research and choreographic works produced and presented by the School of Dance Graduate Students

5-6 Chitresh Das Dance Company: India Jazz Suites and Sita Haran. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. Two different programs on the two evenings.

5  7pm  thirtynothing Written and performed by Dan Fishback. Directed by Stephen Brackett. Nelson Fine Arts Center/FAC 133, ASU Tempe.  Growing up in the 1980s, Dan Fishback was sheltered from a world defined by death, disease, and trauma. In Fishback’s quirky solo performance, thirtynothing, he unearths tales from the terrifying dawn of the AIDS epidemic and juxtaposes them with stories from his own more innocent childhood. With insight, wit, and his characteristic dark, neurotic humor, Fishback uses these tales and the forgotten work of gay artists who died of AIDS to tear open issues of sexual intimacy, mass death and cultural memory. In dramatizing the gay generation gap, he creates an abstract theatrical landscape where the living and the dead can co-mingle and collaborate. Tickets $8 Call: 480.965.6447. Presented with support from School of Theatre and Film, Theatre and Performance of the Americas/Performance in the Borderlands, School of Letters and Science, Hugh Downs School of Communication, and GPSA

5-14  soot and spit by Charles Mee. Galvin Theatre, ASU Tempe. World premiere directed by Kim Weild, last here directing Mee's Big Love in 2010. An exploration of the richness that lies inside the forgotten and neglected, soot and spit tells the story of the artist James Castle. James knows nothing of “outsider” or “artist” or fame or fortune, just that he must draw. He must create. His need is so great that even when his instruments of creation are denied to him, he invents his own tools - scraping the soot off the stove and mixing it with his own spit to make a rough ink. Thought to be "deaf and dumb," born before “autistic” was an idea, James' story is one of misunderstanding, of loneliness, of wonder and the triumph of the creative spirit. Director Kim Weild returns to the MainStage to direct this world premiere by one of America's most important and influential playwrights, Charles L. Mee, Jr. Produced in association with Detour Company Theatre. visit the project website

6-14 RECIPE FOR DISASTER! By Barry Kornhauser. Childsplay. Tempe Arts Center (ages 5 and up)
Join us in the kitchen as two “master” chefs’ constant arguing makes a mess of an important exam for one struggling young apprentice. Culinary chaos ensues, as one chef struggles to top another and the apprentice tries desperately to convince them to put down their spatulas and work together. This hilarious new play mixes physical comedy and music tossed with a dash of improvisation teaching civility in a most delicious way!

7  12-1:45pm  Dramatists Guild sponsored discussion on NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT IN ARIZONA Representatives of local theaters gather to initiate a discussion with local dramatists regarding new play development in the Valley of the Sun. Confirmed thus far are representatives from Phoenix Theater, Theater Works, Childsplay, Space 55, Teatro Bravo, Black Theater Troupe, and Stray Cat Theater. Others may also be added ASU Tempe FAC 233. Info: Guillermo Reyes  greyes@dramatistsguild.com   And then from 2-4pm Bill Partlan directs THREESOME by Naomi Telushkin in FAC 233

7  12-4pm OrigiNation: A Festival of Native Cultures. Outdoors at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.  FREE Admission. Presented in conjunction with Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts’ Discovery Series, Sunday A'Fair and Native Trails, this weekend-long festival celebrates the indigenous cultures of Arizona and India through music, dance, art and more.

8  BOB'S RULES OF ORDER by MFA candidate Shelly Sarver. Directed by Pam Sterling.  7-8:15 FAC 233 Followed by a table reading of a new play by Guillermo Reyes at 8:30.

9 UNDERGRADUATE SHORT PLAYS  7:30-9pm FAC 233 ASU Tempe

11-12 Undergraduate Choregraphic Presentations. ASU School of Dance PEBE 132. This free event showcases the choreography and research of the School of Dance's Undergraduate Students.

11-27  SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER By Oliver Goldsmith   SW Shakespeare.

12  7pm   GOOD N' PLENTY Artists Grant event at SMOCA Lounge.

12 SPECFLIC 1.9 A Film Project by Adriene Jenik imagines the near-future of the public research university. Featuring an experimental narrative, an immersive interface, and performances by Allison Janney, Ricardo Dominguez, and Richard Jenik (among others), SPECFLIC 1.9 asks viewers to consider the implications of unchecked technological progress on our shared future. Screenings 6, 7:30. Reception 7-7:30
FREE and open to the public, but seating is limited so RSVP  SMoCALounge@sccarts.org

12-21  THE BUBBLY BLACK GIRLS SHEDS HER CHAMELEON SKIN. Black Theatre Troupe at their new Performing Arts Center located at 1333 East Washington in Downtown Phoenix. Book, Music and Lyrics by Kirsten Childs. What’s a black girl from sunny Southern California to do? White people are blowing up black girls in Birmingham churches. Black people are shouting “Black is beautiful” while straightening their hair and coveting light skin. Viveca Stanton’s answer: Slap on a bubbly smile and be as white as you can be! In a humorous and pointed coming-of- age story spanning the sixties through the nineties, Viveca blithely sails through the confusing worlds of racism, sexism and Broadway showbiz until she’s forced to face the devastating effect self-denial has had on her life.

12  8pm LILA DOWNS Mesa Arts Center. For over a decade, Lila Downs has traversed the planet, bringing her dramatic and highly unique reinvention of traditional Mexican music and original compositions fused with blues, jazz, soul, African root, and even klezmer music, all supporting her soaring voice. A musical journey with Lila Downs is always a fascinating one, simultaneously edgy and powerful, yet sumptuous and graceful. She won a Latin Grammy for her 2004 release “Una Sangre” and was nominated for another Grammy for 2008’s “Shake Away,” in addition

12-21 Little Women. ASU Lyric Opera Theatre. ASU Tempe Evelyn Smith Music Theatre. Based on Louisa May Alcott's own family experiences (and novel), “Little Women” follows the adventures of Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy March as they grow up in Civil War America. The beloved story of the March sisters is timeless and deals with issues as relevant today as when they were written. This wonderful narrative has been brought to life as an exhilarating musical filled with glorious music, dancing and heart. “Little Women” embodies the complete theatrical experience, guaranteeing a night filled with laughter, tears, and a lifting of the spirit. This powerful score soars with the sounds of personal discovery, heartache and hope -- the sounds of a young America finding its voice. Suitable for all ages. Music by Jason Howard; lyrics by Mindi Dickstein; book by Allan Knee; stage direction by Elaine “E.E.” Moe; musical direction by Walter Sterneman III.

12-14   Third Biannual Pave Symposium on Entrepreneurship and the Arts: Entrepreneurship, the Arts, and Creative Placemaking. ASU Tempe Lyceum Theatre. The Pave Program, in collaboration with the ASU Art Museum Desert One Initiative and the Roosevelt Row Community Development Corporation, presents two days of workshops, speakers, and networking opportunities on the ASU Tempe campus, culminating in a performative event on Roosevelt Row in Downtown Phoenix. The public is welcome to attend sessions from theatre professionals drawn from across the state. Registration

12-28  GREAT FALLS by Lee Blessing. A man and his stepdaughter drive across the west in a desperate attempt to salvage trust and understanding. Along the way dark secrets emerge as the two face questions of life and death. Theatre Artists Studio

12-14  National Theatre Live, film series of performances from London. Phoenix Art Museum. PEOPLE, a new play by one of my absolute favorite writers, Alan Bennett (THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE III, THE LADY IN THE VAN, TALKING HEADS) Apr 12 at 2pm, Apr 13 at 1pm
Apr 14 at 2pm

13  2-9pm FEAST ON THE STREET  Free! A half-mile long dining table in downtown Phoenix, transforming First Street into a pedestrian promenade in celebration of food and art in the desert. Initiated by the ASU Art Museum and the Desert Initiative, Roosevelt Row CDC and the artists Clare Patey (UK) and Matt Moore (AZ)

15 Drumatic Dialogues. Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts. Under the direction of J. B. Smith and Simone Mancuso, ASU’s Contemporary Percussion Ensemble presents a program of exotic rhythms and vibrant colors, tracing the history of percussion from the 1920s to the present. Founded by experimental composers of the 20th century, composition for multiple percussionists has grown to include a broad range of musical experiences, from dance-based rhythmic structures to symphonic style orchestrations, and from popular arrangements to freely improvised pieces using exotic instruments. On stage will be drums from a wide array of musical cultures, melodic percussion instruments derived from Asian, African and South American traditions and a large collection of found, constructed and recycled instruments. Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts. Tickets are $10 for general admission, free for students with valid ID. 480.499.TKTS (8587).

16  Banned Plays reading series: SHORT EYES by Miguel Pinero.  7-9pm  Phoenix Hostel and Cultural Center, 1026 N. 9th St. Phoenix.  415-632-8661  series created by Mary Stephens.   $5   wine and snacks sponsored by Arizona Humanities Council

19-21 THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE. Binary Theatre at ASU Tempe. Directed by Jamie Hendricks 7:30pm all shows

19  6-10pm UrbanSol on the Galvin Plaza behind the ASU Art Museum. Family friendly Turntable/DJ workshops, urban dance, break

19-May 11  CHICKS WITH DICKS  by Trista Baldwin  Directed by Ron May. Stray Cat Theatre.
Bad girls on bikes doing bad things. It’s time. The cult hit that was the first show head kitty Ron May was ever involved with out here (playing Joe aka DogBoy)…is coming back. With a vengeance! An homage to films like FASTER PUSSYCAT, KILL! KILL!, CHICKS WITH DICKS chronicles the misadventures of Vespa D'Amour, a prom queen runner-up that takes control of the all-girl biker gang Satan's Cherries after the accidental death of her sex-shy boyfriend. Don’t miss your chance to join hot mamas Dixie, Varla, Chantalle, Kitten, Dirty Di and Vespa DeAmore as they ride some sweet choppers and smack each other around! “Fightin'! Punchin'! Face-kickin'! Throat-stabbin'! Ass-whuppin'! Mud-wrasslin'! Trista Baldwin's girl-gang, great-American-highway biker epic is like an estrogen-packed, skull-splitting mosh-pit on steroids! CHICKS is exploitation at its funnest and exploitationest!” – Pittsburgh City Paper

20 BILL T. JONES/ARNIE ZANE DANCE COMPANY Play and Play: an evening of movement and music. Two-time Tony Award® winner and contemporary performance icon Bill T. Jones returns for the final year of his three-year GAMMAGE RESIDENCY, a national model for supporting the work of leading performing artists. This year’s performance features live musicians, as the company presents Play and Play: an evening of movement and music applying Bill T. Jones’s extraordinary choreography to some of the most important Western musical works of our time. Featuring compositions by Mendelssohn and Mozart, the program highlights the joy of musicians and dancers working together. Repertory includes D-Man in the Waters (1989), a modern dance classic, as well as Spent Days Out Yonder (2001), a sublime reflection on the second movement of Mozart’s String Quartet No. 23 in F Major. ASU Gammage Beyond Broadway. 7pm

21-May 26  A WRINKLE IN TIME at Childsplay. (ages 8 & up) By John Glore, adapted from the book by Madeleine L’Engle. On a dark and stormy night, a mysterious stranger appears at Meg Murray’s house. Suddenly Meg, her precocious younger brother Charles Wallace and their friend Calvin find themselves in the middle of a fantastic adventure, traveling through space and time to save her father and - quite possibly - the world. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the beloved book by Madeleine L’Engle, the play introduces a whole new generation to this unforgettable story.

23-24   FELA! The Tony Award® winner, directed and choreographed by Bill T. Jones explores the extravagant world of Afrobeat legend, Fela Kuti. FELA! comes to ASU Gammage following its sold-out run at London’s prestigious National Theatre where The Guardian’s Michael Billington exclaimed, “It breaks down conventional barriers between stage and auditorium and joins passion and politics. The dancing is ecstatic, the music lifts the spirits, and the stage is alive with movement.” After Ben Brantley of the New York Times raved, “There should be dancing in the streets!” Bill T. Jones earned a Tony Award® for Best Choreographer. He was also given the Astaire Award and received a 2010 Kennedy Center Honor along with Oprah Winfrey. Contains mature themes and adult language. ASU GAMMAGE 7:30pm

26  Ignite Phoenix. Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts  6:30-9:30. An information exchange, fostering and inspiring Phoenix and global communities to share, experience, and enjoy different topics from the creative and subjective, to cerebral, inspirational, technical, and philosophical. Presentations will educate, exhilarate, motivate, and move you, and you’ll look at your world in a whole new light. 20 slides and 5 minutes is all you get. Not a second more. The presenters need to get to the point quickly, and make it exciting and engaging. We welcome topics about anything that other people will find interesting. That’s a wide criteria and that’s just fine. If you’re not interested in the current topic, all you have to do is wait for 5 minutes and a new one starts. We’ve had presentations on very real, tangible things people do (Building Miniature Giant Robots), they know (Taiko Drumming), they’ve tried (Paragliding), they’re starting (Year of Music) or they’ve studied (Thinly Slicing Brains) just to name a few.

26-28 Dance Annual Concert. ASU Tempe, Galvin Playhouse. This annual presentation highlights the best of the ASU School of Dance research and performances presented this year

29-30 7:00pm   The Eighth Annual ASU Student Film Festival. Produced by the ASU School of Theatre and Film and the ASU Filmmakers Association presented at Harkins Valley Art® Theatre in downtown Tempe. The traditionally sold-out event takes place over two nights and will feature the work of dozens of filmmakers eager to see their work on the big screen. Audience members can vote for their favorites in the 10-minute film competition as well as enjoy the best creative work by students in the Festival Showcase. $10 | Tickets available at ASUfilmfestival.com

Ongoing until end of May (?) MEMORY ROOM 7051 E 5th Ave, Suite D (Scottsdale), Th & F (6-8pm) & Sat (various performances between 10am-8pm). The ‘atmospheric’ performance was conceived and directed by Prof. Rachel Bowditch, designed by our own Dan Fine, Adam Vachon, Anastasia Schneider and performed by the “memory-keepers” our own Rachel Bowditch, Julie Rada, Chelsea Pace, Shay Webster and Jennifer Strickland. A beautiful and serence piece, quite evocative, taking Virginia Woolf's plea for a "room of one's own" for women artists into a performance/installation.

30  7:00 screening of THE DREAM IS NOW, by Academy Award winner Davis Guggenheim, a documentary about the situation facing undocumented students at ASU and across the U.S. Followed by panel discussion at 7:30 moderated by James Rojas from the Real Arizona Coalition, withErika Andiola, one of the DREAMers (undocumented youth) starring in the film, currently a member of Congresswoman Krysten Sinema's staff. ISTB 4, 600 E. Tyler Mall ASU Tempe. Must register to reserve free ticket

MAY

2    6:30pm  ASU Transborder professor and filmmaker Paul Espinosa presents his Emmy award winning IN THE SHADOW OF THE LAW.  Followed by Q&A with Espinosa. ASU's  AE England Civic Space, 424 N. Central Ave. Phoenix. Mexican workers and their families have been crossing the border without documents to work in the United States for generations. This 1987 PBS film was one of the first national profiles of life “in the shadow of the law.” The one hour documentary examines the daily dilemmas faced by four families, from constant worry about apprehension by the U.S. Immigration Service, to being taken advantage of by many who capitalize on their vulnerability. In 1986, Congress passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act, the last successful effort at comprehensive immigration reform. The bill was a source of both hope and uncertainty for these families. Would they qualify for amnesty and become part of American society, or would they remain in the shadows?

2   F.E.S.T.I.V.A.L.  ASU School of Dance the final presentations of the second and third year Creative Practice dance classes and The Informal Dance Concert.  PEBE 132  6pm.

2-19  CLYBOURNE PARK  Arizona Theatre Company. Written by Bruce Norris  Directed by Mark Clements. “The history of America is the history of private property.”   Home is where the heart - and history - is. Jokes fly and hidden agendas unfold as two vastly different generations of characters tip-toe the delicate dance of social politics. Pitting race against real estate, two seminal events - 50 years apart - are at the crux of the conflict in the same north Chicago house. This rich and lightning-quick 2011 Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy is every bit as provocative as it is entertaining as it cleverly spins the events of A Raisin in the Sun into an unforgettable new story about race and real estate in America.

3-19  GOOD PEOPLE by David Lindsey-Abaire. Actors Theatre of Phoenix. Herberger Theatre Center. As so many Americans continue to feel the effects of recession economics, the subject of class may be all too resonant right now. From the Pulitzer Prize winning writer of Rabbit Hole, David Lindsay-Abaire’s Good People was a recent critical and audience hit when it debuted on Broadway earlier this year. Margie Walsh can’t catch a break. Laid off from her job at the dollar store, Margie is a single mother, and "know(s) that she and her handicapped daughter are only a single paycheck away from desperate straits." Margie is faced with the harsh reality that South Boston is providing her exactly the same level of opportunity it always has: none. Wry, rough around the edges and ready to make a change, she goes to seek out the one man who got away – both from “Southie” and from her. Instead, she finds herself in the ‘burbs and wildly out of her element, facing the question – is opportunity granted or earned? Nominated for a 2011 Tony Award for Best Play, Good People takes an affectionate look at the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ through the eyes of characters who won't be ignored. Top 10 in 2011 – New York Magazine Top 10 in 2011 – Time Out New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play UNFORTUNATELY, IN FEBRUARY ATP ANNOUNCED THEY WERE SUSPENDING THEIR SEASON. MAKE SURE TO CHECK BACK TO SEE IF THIS SHOW IS RUNNNING.

3-12 Orange Theatre Company presents YOU YOU SHOULDN'T COME BACK,  multimedia revisioning of Tennessee William's Sweet Bird of Youth. 605 E. Grant St.   May 3, 4, 5 & 10, 11, 12 at 8pm featuring: Chelsea Pace, Katrina Donaldson, Sarah Harvey, Tucker Bingham, William Crook, Director: Matthew Watkins Dramaturg: Joya Scott Lighting & media: Chris Peterson Sound: Stephen Christensen Stage Manager: Laura Miner   I think this is the strongest work I've seen yet from this exciting and innovative company. Go see them in their excellent new home next to Levine Machine

4    Phantom Limb Company: 69°S. 2 p.m. and 8 p.m  Scottsdale Center for the Arts
A stunning recreation of the heroic 1914 Trans-Antarctic Expedition. A remarkable collaboration between The Phantom Limb Company and The Kronos Quartet, 69°S. is a series of dynamic tableaux vivants inspired by Sir Ernest Shackleton’s harrowing 1914 Trans-Antarctic Expedition, which ultimately became a triumph of spirit, deep camaraderie and pioneering leadership. This narrative installation-in-motion melds theatrical performance, puppetry, photography and film with original music and an unconventional acoustic palette to create a stunning – and unprecedented – artistic and emotional journey.

7  7:30pm  Arizona Theatre Company presents a one night benefit reading  of American Foundation for Equal Rights and Broadway Impact's*8*   Written by Dustin Lance Black  Directed by Matthew Wiener  Executive Producer Neil Giuliano.  Uncover the truth about marriage for gay and lesbian Americans. "8"—a new play by Academy-award winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black (Milk, J. Edgar)—demystifies the debate around marriage equality by chronicling the landmark trial of Perry v. Schwarzenegger (now Hollingsworth v. Perry). Learn about the historical context of marriage from expert testimony. See the human cost of discrimination. Uncover the arguments used to justify bans on marriage for gay and lesbian couples. Using the actual court transcripts from the landmark federal trial of California's Prop. 8 and first-hand interviews, "8" shows both sides of the debate in a moving 90-minute play reading. This one-night only event is a fundraiser for American Foundation for Equal Rights and Summer on Stage, ATC’s summer youth theatre program.
Purchase online here or call the ATC Box Office at (602) 256-6995.   $45-$130

UNFINISHED SPACES NoFestival Required. TBA. A film about Cuba's National Arts School.

30 THE MOST OF LIT LOUNGE Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts. 7pm A special Lit Lounge on the BIG stage in Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts featuring Comedy Central Stage performer Shaz Bennett, Best-selling authorJen Sincero, Stephen Colbert's guest on Comedy Central Joe Smith, The Moth Story Slame (New York) winner Molly McCloy, L.A. Drama Critics' Circle Award-winning playwright Kim Porter, Award-winning author Hillary Carlip, AZ/NYC writer/performer Jeff McMahon, and more! A peek at the musical guests (with more to come!): Where Are All the Buffalo and Doug Bale! Advance tickets are strongly suggested as Lit Lounge events sell out quickly! Member tickets: $8 at 480-499-TKTS (8587) Non-member tickets: $10.

JUNE

13  EDIBLE STORIES: FROM DESERT FOODS TO FOOD DESERTS Stories about food, place, environment. SMOCA Lounge   rsvp smocarsvp@sccarts.org   7pm Free!

20 OVER ARIZONA Film Screening at SMOCA presented by No Festival Required.  7:30pm  An aerial journey over the state

JULY

11 FULLY AWAKE: BLACK MOUNTAIN COLLEGE  7:30pm film screening at SMOCA/No Festival Required

26  Lit Lounge at SMOCA