September 14 - September 20, 1995
Thursday 14
TRAVERSING BORDERLANDS. Each year, Borderlands Theater
sends out a national call for entries to entice otherwise reticent
voices to step into the limelight and tell their stories. The
annual Border Playwrights Project provides that forum, with two
works chosen by a panel of distinguished performance art educators
and professionals. The project opens tonight with a staged reading
of Los Angeles playwright Guillermo Reves' Deporting the Divas,
a work-in-progress that has evolved from a series of monologues
by gay, Latino immigrants into a loosely-knit narrative emphasizing
the immigrant experience from the unique perspective of a fair-skinned
Guatemalan drag queen of German descent. "(The aforementioned)
diva tries to get deported, but finds that no one takes her seriously.
She's just been crowned Miss California, and has had an affair
with a politician, so no one's going to reveal that she's an immigrant,
let alone a man. The play takes a look at how twisted that can
be," says director Annabelle Nuñez.
Friday's reading is The Fat-Free Chicana and The Snow Cap
Queen, the story of a young Chicana who tries to change the
menu at the family restaurant after learning in college that her
Mexican diet is high in fat. Her struggle to come to terms with
her family's value for tradition is heightened by the admonitions
of the Snow Cap Queen (the character depicted on the canned lard
label), who comes to her as an apparition. Each reading will be
followed by a discussion with the playwrights and directors.
The annual Border Playwrights Project unfolds with two 7:30 p.m.
staged readings tonight and tomorrow in the PCC Center for the
Arts Black Box Theater, 2202 W. Anklam Road. Tickets are $5, $4
for seniors and students, available at the door. Call 882-7406
for reservations and information.
Friday 15
GOSPEL TRUTH. Some truly inspired performers take the
stage tonight in KXCI's third annual Gospel Music Celebration.
If the past two years' concerts are any indication, more devout
gospel music lovers will turn out for tonight's show than do Catholics
for Christmas Mass. Headlining the show are The Virginia Aires,
hosts of the African-American gospel music show Spread A Little
Sunshine. Rising star Joyce Randolph will open the show, followed
by Tucson's Emmanuel Grace Apostolic Church Choir.
Sing hallelujah at 8 p.m. at the Southwest Center for Music,
2175 N. Sixth Ave. Advance tickets are $12, $10 for KXCI members,
available at Craig's Salon, Al's Barber Shop, Hear's Music, Gospel
Supplies, Hopkins Barber Shop, Posses Salon and KXCI. Call 623-1000
or 884-1220 for tickets and information. Tickets will be an additional
$3 at the door.
BACH BASH. If your appreciation of Bach goes beyond the
compulsory first-year piano recital of "Ode to Joy"--and
we sincerely hope it does--this is one party you'll want to crash.
The Tucson Symphony Chamber Orchestra honors one of the world's
greatest musicians, Johann Sebastian Bach, with performances this
weekend featuring Suite No. 3 in D Major and the Brandenburg Concertos.
Performances tonight and Saturday are at 8 p.m., with a 2 o'clock
matinee on Sunday, at the PCC West Campus Proscenium Theatre,
2202 W. Anklam Road. Tickets are $17 and are available at Dillard's
and the TSO box office. Call 882-8585 for reservations and information.
Saturday 16
AT YOUR BIDDING. Orts Theater of Dance has arranged a feast
for the senses with tonight's fundraising event. Sample fine wines
from Sonoita vineyards, nibble on gourmet foods from Rincon Market,
groove with live music by jazz artist Ismael Barajas and peruse
a stunning array of visual art donated for auction by more than
25 local artists, including three children. The spoils include
pottery by Maurice Grossman, cibachrome prints by William Lesch,
a painting by Daniel Kriston, one of Steven Meckler's photographs,
a mixed media piece by Greg Schoon, ceramic art by Andre Richmond
and a "hand-built architectural glass piece" by Peter
Vrona.
Three actresses, clad in 15th-century costumes fabricated
by Anita Albala for the movie Checkmate of a Queen,
will tour the scene in a sort of "roving performance
art." Appearances by "a mime, a juggler and a Shakespearean
Puck" are also expected. "There are so many different
things to do besides the wine tasting. When you think about paying
$7.50 to go to a movie, and then $3 more for popcorn, this is
really a bargain to keep dance on stage," says Orts' artistic
director Anne Bunker.
Orts Theater of Dance hosts Fine Wine and Art, a fundraiser for
the innovative company's eleventh season, from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
at the Tucson Center for the Performing Arts, 408 S. Sixth Ave.
Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Non-alcoholic tickets
are $7.50 in advance and $10 at the door. Each ticket covers wines,
food, auction and performances. Call 624-3799 for information.
DOWNTOWN SATURDAY NIGHT. The Downtown Arts District goes
native tonight to kick off the Indian Days celebration continuing
through September 22. Tonight's featured events include a mini-powwow
with drums, dance and song from 7 to 10 p.m. in the Ronstadt Transit
Center, Congress Street and Sixth Avenue. Munch on fry bread and
dance the Waila to live chicken scratch, also from 7 to 10 p.m.,
in the Tucson Indian Center east parking lot, 131 E. Broadway;
and Native American storytellers and illusionist Bill McRea provide
magical entertainment from 7 to 10 p.m. in the Arizona Alley.
The usual palette of art openings, live music, eateries and
street vendors paints the town with colors for all tastes.
Call 624-9977 for information.
Sunday 17
SOUNDS OF SPAIN. The Early Music Society presents España,
Spanish/Mexican music from the 16th to 18th centuries tying in
with Mexican development and colonization, as performed by virtuoso
guitarist Richard Savino and soprano Andrea Fullington. Savino's
baroque guitar and vihuela are carefully styled after period
instruments, down to the "gut strings" (made from sheep
intestines), to provide a softer, gentler sound. Fullington has
extensive experience in medieval, renaissance, baroque and early
classical styles. She has performed with the Orpheus Consort,
toured festivals around the country and recorded throughout the
U.S. and Europe.
Experience the new sounds of old music at 3 p.m. at St. Philip's
In The Hills, 4440 N. Campbell Ave. Tickets are $13, $10 for seniors
and only $3 for students. There will be a pre-performance discussion
at 2:30 p.m. Call 889-4310 for information.
Monday 18
BROTHERS QUAY. Café Luna Loca, 546 N. Stone Ave.,
boldly goes where no weekday night has gone before in the struggling
venue's tireless mission to house the quirky and surreal in a
comfortable café setting. From the makers of Tool's new
video comes Brothers Quay, dark, stop-motion claymation
for twisted minds of all ages. These four short films, ranging
from 45 to 60 minutes each, have been slipped with quick hands
and hushed voices through the underground ambient scene and into
the clutches of one of the café's employees, and are now
offered to appease the masses free of charge. Show starts at 9
p.m. Call 882-4488 for information.
Tuesday 19
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY. In case you haven't noticed,
city politics in this town are more fun than a family picnic with
the Hatfields and McCoys. If you're a Democrat residing somewhere
within city limits or Republican residing in Ward 4, it behooves
you to ride, walk or employ whatever means necessary to get to
your polling place to vote in the City Primary Election for mayoral
and city council candidates. This assumes you registered to vote
before August 21. If you're unaware that being a Democrat or Republican
hinges on voter registration, we don't want you to vote anyway.
See this week's feature for a complete profile of the candidates,
their idiosyncrasies and glaring inadequacies. Speak now or forever
hold your hat in your hand.
Wednesday 20
ROGERS READS. The UA Poetry Center's Fall Reading Series
opens tonight with Pattiann Rogers reading from her recently published
book of selected works, Firekeeper. "Pattiann is one
of our best poets who writes about the natural world," says
the center's acting director, Mark Wunderlich. "We're very
pleased to have her inaugurate what we consider one of our most
exciting series to date." He describes Rogers as "obsessed
with the biological, writing eloquently about natural processes"
and "one of those who finds spiritual meaning in nature and
works diligently to ferret that out."
Reading begins at 8 p.m. at the Modern Languages Building auditorium
on the UA campus, and will be followed by an informal reception.
Admission is free. Call 321-7760 for information.
Add your Home Page to the Tucson Weekly
Sam and Mike's Guide to Climbs we have Climbed
Cindy Tallis Home Page
Raul's page. Info on the Tucson punk scene
Amateur Radio in Arizona
September 14 - September 20, 1995
