Viewing: Alliance Theatre - View all posts

April events! 



Photo by Beverly Crawford

SPRING IS FINALLY HERE! I couldn't be more excited. I always feel like spring is the most hopeful time of the year. For me, anyway.

So. I was at Lenny's last night seeing The Judies, and I was thinking (as I do often), "Wow, there is so much good music going on in Atlanta! I'm so glad to be here right now." Seriously, guys. You can go to any venue in Atlanta virtually any time of the week and see incredible musicians. They're everywhere! And there's music for everyone! The Atlanta music scene is such a great one. You guys should all go take advantage of that!

On that note, there are a lot of great things going on in April, and I thought I'd share my picks for the month with you so you can go check them out! :-)

MUSIC
THEATRE
  • Lookingglass Alice at the Alliance Theatre - 3/31/10 - 5/2/10 - Defy logic – and gravity – in a topsy-turvy, timeless tale of a little girl who journeys through the looking glass to become a queen. Marvel as Alice floats, falls, and flies overhead in a radically reconfigured Alliance Stage. It’s a dizzyingly playful feat of ingenious wonder, peppered with playful acrobatics certain to awaken the kid in all of us. Once you pass through this looking glass, you may never want to come back out!
     
  • THE SHOW! - Out of Hand Theatre - at Horizon Theatre - 4/2/10 - 6/18/10 - A 60 minute late-night Freak Show, Out of Hand style. The Show! is never the same twice because the audience runs The Show. A ridiculously interactive Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Event, The Show! is wild, big fun!!!!
     
  • 100 Saints You Should Know - Actor's Express - 3/18/10 - 4/17/10 - The lives of five people collide in this emotionally charged drama about unraveling faith and the redemptive power of human connection. While Matthew is on an enforced furlough from the priesthood, he seeks refuge at the home of his curious and devout mother. He is followed by Theresa, the rectory’s cleaning lady, who is desperately searching for meaning and completion while trying her best to raise her unruly teenage daughter alone. Through vividly poignant character sketches, we find sometimes that God really is in the details – even when those details get messy. Featuring Carolyn Cook.

VISUAL ARTS
  • Fight or Flight - New work by Kelly McKernan - Beep Beep Gallery - Opening Saturday, April 10th 8:00 pm through May 2nd - In this newest body of work, Kelly McKernan continues to explore her psychological responses to the stresses and struggles of reality. While much of her previous work commented on the consequences of using idealism as a coping mechanism, “Fight or Flight” takes a more direct and personal approach by addressing these responses in terms of biological survival tactics.
     
  • Cartoon Madness 5 - The Lunchbox Show - Alcove Arts Gallery - Opening Saturday, April 10th 8:00 pm - For thirty-five years, metal lunch boxes were a critical accessory for school kids. Starting with the Hopalong Cassidy model in 1951, a lunch box could be a child's most personal statement. While the exterior let everyone know what was the coolest new TV show or pop music group, the interior neatly housed a meal of your choosing (with help from Mom).
     
  • Conor McGrady - On Foreign Soil - Saltworks Gallery - March 19 through April 24 - SALTWORKS is pleased to present On Foreign Soil, featuring new works on paper by New York-based artist Conor McGrady. The exhibition will be on view from March 19, 2010 through April 24, 2010. This is the third solo exhibition on McGrady's work at the gallery.


OTHER EVENTS
  • Collective Conscious Art Show - Friday, April 9th - 8:00 pm - 431 Fair St. SW, Atlanta, GA 30313
     
  • Extremity Experiment - Open Mic Night - Saturday, April 24 - 6:00 pm - Atlanta Contemporary Art Center - As always, we welcome singers, poets and musicians to bless the mic and those looking to network. This experiment will be sure to enlighten and entertain all of your senses.
     
  • Rocky Horror Picture Show at Frolicon - For all of you convention goers out there, make sure you check out Rocky Horror Friday, April 2nd at Midnight (Technically Saturday...). I'll be playing Janet this year and it's carnival themed! Should be a lot of fun!!
     
  • Talking Back to the Muse - Saturday, April 17th - 8:00 pm - Composition Gallery - Poetry Atlanta and Composition Gallery in Candler Park team up for this special evening to celebrate National Poetry Month on Saturday, April 17, 8 p.m. Favorite Atlanta poets will be reading a classic poem followed by a response, rebuttal or rant of their own. It's sure to be a unique evening of poetry.
     

There you go, guys! Lots of incredibly awesome things to check out. I'm definitely going to be at several of those events! So get out there and support your local and independent artists! Share the art! You never know what you'll experience. You could go to a show and the band could play that perfect song that you need to hear, you could see a painting that really touches you, you could see a play that makes you laugh your ass off. There is all kinds of wonderful art going on in Atlanta, so get out there and experience it!

If I missed an event that you'd like to share, make sure you leave a comment here on the blog!

Cool stuff to do in February!! 



Waterfall at Roswell Mill by Gareth Botha


Well February is here! Time for Valentine's Day, wishing it was warmer outside, getting really sick of the whole winter thing, birthdays for Aquarians, all of that crap!

If you've got the "I'm sick of winter" blues, here is a bunch of really cool artistic stuff for you to do! Lots of choices, so don't ever say I didn't tell you about anything cool to do!


Music

- TONIGHT! February 2nd - My band, Long Absent Friends, will be playing at Lenny's Bar along with Goodland, Transloader, and Aftermath. (Goodland features Geoff Goodwin and Chase Adkinson, who I played with in Novo Luna.) Goodland will be on at 9:00 PM, Long Absent Friends at 10:00 PM. The cover is 6 dollars - 21+ - Lenny's Bar - 486 Decatur Street Southeast, Atlanta, GA 30312

- February 4th - Nobody's Darlings, Ordain, The Mitch Hansen Band, and The Issues - 9:00 pm - 6 bucks - 21+ Lenny's Bar - 486 Decatur Street Southeast, Atlanta, GA 30312

- February 4th - Lindsay Appel, Lexi Street & Soul Shakers -  The EARL! - 9:00 pm - 7 bucks - 21+

- February 4th - Haji Basim - Library Coffee Company - 2523 Caldwell Rd NE - Atlanta, GA

- February 19th - Trances Arc, The Modern Society, The Biters - The Earl - Atlanta, GA - 9:00 pm - 7 bucks

- February 20th - Elliott Rubin - 8:00 PM at The Uptown Loft, Johns Creek, Georgia - Cost: $5

- February 20th - Laura Veirs & The Hall Of Flames, Cataldo, The Old Believers - Star Bar - 9:00 pm - 12 dollars

- February 26th - Kim Boekbinder of Vermillion Lies, Adron, Rita of Helen Keller's Ukulele - The Drunken Unicorn - $5 for 21+, $7 for 18+

- February 27th - Blair Crimmins & The Hookers, A Fight to the Death - Star Bar - 9:00 pm - 8 dollars




Theatre/Dance

- February 13th - The Voodoo Revue: A Mardi Gras Masquerade! Come and enjoy a night of mayhem and excitement as The Collective transports you back to a time of voodoo magic and old New Orleans. This is event is a fundraiser for The Collective and our newest work Rising Sons performing at 7 Stages February 18th-21st. -  We will have three amazing bands performing, including Skylights and H.M.S. Disco. Also, enjoy comedy, magic, and other acts from Collective performers!  -  The cover is $10 (cash only, please!) and the event is BYOB (must be 21 to drink!) Doors open at 8pm and the show starts at 9pm.  -  Don't forget your mask and your dancing shoes! It is sure to be a fantastic time!

- January 22 - February 7 - Relapse Theatre presents Clive Barker's "A History of the Devil," running January 22 through February 7, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Friday and Saturday performances begin at 7:30, Sunday performances at 5:00. Tickets are $10 at the door, First Come, First Serve!

- February 5th and 6th, 2010 - doors at 7:00 p.m. - Spectrum: Mythos at The Georgia Ballet Studios - Join The Georgia Ballet for an incredible evening of extraordinary performances that showcase the company in contemporary and inventive new choreography! Spectrum: Mythos, An Evening of New Works will include a one hour dance showcase performance, live music, food and drink, and a silent auction with fun and exciting items for everyone.

- February 12 - March 14 - Shooting Star by Steven Dietz at Horizon Theatre - Sparks fly and snowflakes fall as two old flames meet by chance in a blizzard bound airport. Reed, a suit-and-tie with Blackberry, and Elana, a bohemian with rain stick, were once idealistic college lovers. Here they reconnect and share stories deep into the night. Humor, heartache, secrets, and snow. When morning comes and all flights are cleared for departure – what’s the final destination for these two? A delicious, bittersweet comedy with heart and bite.

- Jan 29 - Feb 21 - Alliance Theatre - Tennis in Nablus, A World Premiere by Ismail Khalidi -  Palestine. 1939. Allegiances… and identities… are never what they seem. Under British colonial rule, two nations buckle under conflicting claims to their rightful land. And as the world explodes around them, one divided family seeks to achieve the delicate balance between peace and freedom.




Visual arts

- February 4 - Eyedrum - Ayed Hallim: Instrumentalities - Opening reception for a Small Gallery show of new assemblage works by Atlanta bricoleur Ayed Hallim. Hallim, the pseudonymous alter ego of a former local arts journalist, creates works in found metal, spent packaging, and other repurposed materials. After the reception, Hallim performs during Open Improv on some of the "perjunction" instruments included in the exhibition. Exhibition on view through February 21.

- February 5 - "Columns, Stacks, Heaps, and Piles" by Justin Richel - Young Blood Gallery - Starting Friday, February 5th, YBG will be displaying a series of small-scale works on paper by Justin Richel. This series will focus on small and affordable works from the "Sweets" series.

- February  6 - Art Papers 11th Annual Art Auction - 7:00 to 10:00 pm - Mason Murer Fine Art

- February 13 - March 7 - Beep Beep Gallery - Material - "Material" is a group sculpture featuring five artists working in a variety of media. Artists include: Lucha Rodriguez, Romy Maloon, Crystal Wagner, Chase Folsom, Jessica Orlowski



There you go! Tons of awesome artists to go out and support! :-)

As always, leave a comment if I've left something out.

Stay tuned for another podcast full of music sharing and awesomeness. (Like a mixy but with me talking in between songs so it's legal!)





Holidays, Atlanta events, good times. 



Reticent by Gareth Botha


Well, December is upon us and there is a lot going on!

First of all, I have several announcements/upcoming events:
  • UNSENT LETTERS CD release - December 15th - On December 15th, I will release my debut album! It will be available here on the website for digital download for 5 dollars or you can order a physical copy for 7 dollars.
     
  • Unsent Letters CD release show at Smith's Olde Bar in the Atlanta Room - Friday, December 18th - 11:00 pm - 8 dollars - 21+ - Come out to Smith's Olde Bar where I will be playing a set and selling my CD (for just 5 dollars!). Come shoot some pool, drink some beer, and hear some music! I would absolutely love to see all of you there!
     
  • New Facebook Page - I have a new artist page on Facebook. So if you are on Facebook, be sure to become a fan for all of the updates, and suggest me to your friends!
     
  • Long Absent Friends shows - I am in a new band called Long Absent Friends, and we are playing our first shows ever coming up! We will be playing on December 27th at 10:00 pm at Smith's Olde Bar in the Atlanta Room and January 8th at 8:30 pm at Red Light Cafe. Come check it out! Especially if you are a fan of the Smashing Pumkins, Stars, Arcade Fire, and/or Broken Social Scene.
     
  • New links - Check out my links page for a couple of new things. For example, my brother, Kevin, has a new music blog which is pretty sweet.

THEATRE

December is a time for theatres to do Holiday shows! Actually, for a lot of theatres in Atlanta, a great portion of their ticket sales comes from these shows. (See this interesting article from Access Atlanta.) So make theatre part of your Holiday traditions!

Some of my favorites:
  • Atlanta Ballet's Nutcracker - December 11 - 27 - Nutcracker has always been a Holiday tradition for me, and I absolutely love this production. (And not just because I played a toy soldier in it when I was 12! Haha.) Combine the beautiful dancing with the gorgeous costumes and set and the imaginative coreography...not to mention Tchaikovsky's classic and beautiful score...and it's really hard to go wrong.
     
  • A Christmas Carol - The Alliance Theatre - Nov 27 - Dec 24 - What is Christmas without a little Dickens? Alliance has always done an excellent job of staging this Holiday classic, and it's really just a fun show.

     
  • Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris - Horizon Theatre - Nov 27- Jan 3 - I have a personal relationship with this hillarious holiday show about an out-of-work 30-something writer who takes a job as an elf at Macy's. Last year, when I was working as an apprentice at Horizon, I did my crew/volunteer hours on this show, and I ran the spotlight. Even though I saw the show literally 30 something times, it was still funny. So check it out!
For more Holiday show listings, check out Access Atlanta or Atlanta Performs.


STAGED READINGS

  • Turning Pastoral by Matthew Katis - Saturday, December 12th - 7:00 pm - Kennesaw State University - FREE - Come out to this staged reading of CMU grad student, Matthew Katis's, new play. 
     
  • Working Title Playwrights presents The Scrapbook: A Modern Christmas Carol by Raymond Fast - Monday, December 14th - 7:30 pm - Academy Theatre - "You can't buy happiness. Nice thought - until you're money's gone. Since Gary's heart attack, he and wife Micki have lost their business, home, and savings. Now Gary thinks their kids and grandkids would be happier not traveling across country to visit them for Christmas. Can the memories awakened by a scrapbook remind Gary that love has no price tag, needs no trappings, and is worth more than anything money can buy?"
Come help these playwrights develop their new works! Your feedback is the most important thing for playwrights!


MUSIC

Three shows that I'm hoping to catch!

Well, that's it for me. If there are any December events that you'd like to mention, be sure to leave a comment here on the blog so that all of my readers can hear about it. :-)

Stay tunes for my Top 10 Albums of 2009. I'm thinking of doing this in a podcast as opposed to a blog so I can actually play some tracks for you. :-)