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Who needs SNL when two local guys with a serious manbrows can aptly poke fun at Santa Cruz politics and more? When it first debuted on Community Television back in 2005, the bi-monthly talk show (and, really, some critics would just call it plain ol’ bi) known as SoWat spotlighted locals making a difference in the arts community. It still does that, but in the course of three years, the popular show has added a number of new elements that warrant a mention here. One could even be tempted to say this televised soiree smacks of a modern-day Late Night with David Letterman by way of a more youthful—or is it euthanized?—John Stewart. (But one has not been paid enough to do so—yet.) In any case, hosts Jeff Dinnell (a local actor with biting wit; pictured far right) and Chip (the single-monikered über supporter of local arts) work off each other with such a graceful splash of inventiveness, you can’t help but be taken in by their overtly male offerings. Quite simply, their comedy is often underplayed and when they’re not overly focused on themselves—I’ve counted a mere two episodes in the past year—SoWat is one funny, dare I say, informative ride. Incidentally, for newbies, the SoWat in the title refers to the South of Water Street district, but the duo’s creative libidos reach far beyond that. Sam Farr recently popped up in a short filmed stint. Santa Cruz Mayor Ryan Coonerty followed in similar suit (... proving that some politicians aren’t afraid to show off their sense of humor.) In other filmed segments, the boys were found parading around various art and film fests—a shameless montage of Dinnell’s David Arquette/Pee Wee Herman ’07 interview stands out. Their most recent endeavor finds them trying to recreate Annie Lebowitz’s revered Rolling Stone cover shot of a nude John Lennon embracing Yoko Ono (this page.) While their John-Yoko experiment is a stunning testament to just how well late-twentysomething buttocks can hold up under enormous pressure, it certainly caught our attention (and quickly made us look the other way.) Catch them both (clothed) Wednesdays and Sundays at 8 p.m. on Community TV, Channel 27. -Charlie Price (Yeah sure) |
Chip & Jeff Dinnell, SoWat
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| The Santa Cruz Film Festival is back with a more than a week of new independent films. So last year Pee Wee Herman gave Jeff a Big Adventure, This Year Christa Martin stars as a Esther Blodgett, a singer with the Glenn Williams Orchestra when Norman Maine discovers her. He is enthralled - she is a great singer, and she has that "little something extra" that marks star quality. And who should know better - Maine is one of the top stars in Hollywood. He explains to her that she should aim higher; that she could be a great star if only she would believe in herself and her talent. He talks her into quitting the orchestra and staying over in Los Angeles so he can get her a screen test at his studio. Esther is taken by surprise, but she senses that there is something in what Norman has said, so she agrees to stay, much to the chagrin of Danny McGuire, her close friend who also travels with the orchestra.
Esther is signed by the studio as a contract player, and she works at bit parts until opportunity knocks: a major production is about to be shut down due to an unexplained absence of the big singing star. Maine talks Niles into giving Esther a chance at the part. She auditions for the part, and Niles decides to take a chance on her. The film is a hit, and Esther is on her way. Esther and Maine get married, and she's on top of the world. But soon Maine's heavy drinking is causing problems at the studio. His career begins to slide, and he cannot get himself turned around, though he tries desperately. As Esther rises to stardom, Norman slides into oblivion, losing his contract at the studio, and nearly losing the one thing he loves best - Esther. Out of desperation he does the one thing that he knows will ensure Esther's continued success... |
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ThreePenny Opera. On streets not far from our doorsteps, the world is controlled by gangsters, pimps, beggars and thieves. Corruption is the currency of survival, desperation is its engine. Infamous street criminal and womanizer Macheath, a.k.a. Mack the Knife, draws heavily on favours from fraudulent officials at the highest levels to escape execution. In saving himself, he leaves behind him the wreckage of broken hearts and destroyed lives. Sexy, witty and painfully real, The Threepenny Opera shines the harsh light of truth on our comfortable world. Weill and Brecht's magnetic and crystalline depiction of the urban underbelly is a work of sly humour, high theatricality and evocative music. Cast Present by Santa Cruz Chamber Orchestra |
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75 of the West Coast's best artists exhibit and sell their original contemporary fine art and crafts.
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Intervene! Interrupt! Rethinking Art as Social Practice is a three-day conference and month long series of interventionist exhibitions hosted by The University of California Santa Cruz in May 2008. A series of exhibitions featuring the work of participating artists will run concurrently with the conference, hosted by: the Art department and the Sesnon Gallery at UCSC; the LAB, San Francisco; and the Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose. Interruptions will foster exchange between scholars, innovative regional and international artists and curators, through panel presentations, performances and indoor and outdoor exhibitions. There will be a Wikipedia dedicated to real-time collaboration and exchange between participants. The conference will generate a publication documenting the scholarly and artistic work emerging from this event. More |
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| ©2006 SoWat TV |
