Tag Archives: Lobero Theatre Foundation

Don’t Miss Dendy’s Dystopian Distractions!

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Dystopian Distractions! rehearsal, photo by David Bazemore, courtesy Lobero Theatre

Dystopian Distractions! rehearsal, photo by David Bazemore, courtesy Lobero Theatre

I was fortunate enough to attend a “Friday Club” rehearsal of DANCEworks‘ guest resident choreographer Mark Dendy‘s new work Dystopian Distractions! (This job certainly has some perks …!) A powerful and extremely ambitious new work, Dendy describes it as “a black comedic deconstruction of the American war machine as conceived by an artists interested in exploring our relationship with war through the lens of pop culture.”

The pieces I saw in rehearsal explored not only issues of war and power struggles, but also had a strong environmental message, which is fitting given that the world premiere production falls the same week as Earth Day.

Dystopian Distractions! rehearsal, photo by David Bazemore, courtesy Lobero Theatre

Dystopian Distractions! rehearsal, photo by David Bazemore, courtesy Lobero Theatre

DANCEworks is a collaboration between SUMMERDANCE Santa Barbara and the Lobero Theatre Foundation designed to offer notable choreographers a month-long residency in which to create, rehearse and premiere a brand new work on the Lobero stage. This partnership puts Santa Barbara on the map as a community that supports the creation of new choreography in a significant way. DANCEworks is gaining broad recognition within the world of contemporary dance and has already contributed to the careers of groundbreaking choreographers Aszure Barton, Larry Keigwin, Doug Elkins and Brian Brooks.

 

Dystopian Distractions! rehearsal, photo by David Bazemore, courtesy Lobero Theatre

Dystopian Distractions! rehearsal, photo by David Bazemore, courtesy Lobero Theatre

Dystopian Distractions! premieres this Saturday night, April 26, at 8 p.m. at the Lobero Theatre. Tickets are available now at the Lobero Box Office, 805/963-0761. The theater is located at 33 E. Canon Perdido St.

—Leslie Dinaberg

Originally published in Santa Barbara SEASONS on April 22, 2014.

 

Local Arts and Culture Nonprofits Join Giving Tuesday Movement to Encourage Nonprofit Support

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image003First there was Black Friday. Then there was Cyber Monday and now we have Giving Tuesday on Tuesday, December 3.

The Santa Barbara Museum of Art, the Ensemble Theatre Company, Ganna Walska Lotusland, Lobero Theatre Foundation, Music Academy of the West, Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation, Santa Barbara Dance Institute, Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara Zoo, State Street Ballet, The Granada Theatre, and Wildling Museum have joined Giving Tuesday, a first of its kind effort that will harness the collective power of a unique blend of partners—charities, families, businesses and individuals—to transform the way people talk about, think about and participate in the giving season.

Coinciding with the Thanksgiving Holiday and the traditional kickoff of the holiday shopping season, the aim of Giving Tuesday is to inspire people to take collaborative action to improve their local communities, give back in better, smarter ways to the causes they support and ultimately help to create a better world.

Launched in 2012, Giving Tuesday welcomed more than 2,500 partners from all 50 states in the U.S. The collective efforts of partners, donors, and advocates helped fuel a 50% increase in online giving. Last year more than 50 million people worldwide spread the word about Giving Tuesday―resulting in milestone trending on Twitter.

Sounds like a lovely idea to us!

For more information about the Giving Tuesday initiative and to search participating nonprofits in the Santa Barbara area, visit www.givingtuesday.org.

—Leslie Dinaberg

Originally published in Santa Barbara SEASONS on December 1, 2103.