Whats-Happening: Page 616

The Man, and Women, Behind the Mask

Ballet Fantastique produces and performs first-ever authorized ballet of Zorro

Performing Arts

Zorro had some pretty good genes. On one side his father: Alejandro de la Vega, a soldier with ties to Spanish aristocracy. On the other his mother: Toypurnia, a powerful Tongva warrior who led her tribe into battle against the Spaniards. With parents from conflicting cultures, it’s no wonder Zorro (real name Diego de la Vega) had an identity crisis, growing up to be the swashbuckling, masked crusader who leaves Z’s in his wake. Continue reading →

August in September

Oregon Contemporary Theatre kicks off its fall season with a rollicking family drama

Theater

It’s the stickiest month of the year in rural Oklahoma, and the air conditioning is off. That’s the way Violet Weston likes it, despite the fact that she’s hosting a houseful of sweltering family members who’ve gathered in her home following her husband’s disappearance. Her three daughters are here, and they’ve brought assorted husbands and children in tow. Caring for seemingly fragile Violet in her hour of need should feel like a “Very Special Episode” of your favorite TV show. Continue reading →

Playwright of Champions

Aaron Posner reflects on his upcoming play at OCT, Vonnegut and filling the seats

Theater

For those among us who prefer our artists to be a bit prickly — the artist as porcupine — let me first point out that playwright Aaron Posner is the recipient of the 2012 RuleBreaker Award from No Rules Theatre in Washington, D.C. During the award ceremony in June, actor Holly Twyford summed up her appreciation of Posner thusly: “Your honesty is usually right on, sometimes brutally so.” Continue reading →

Arts Hound

Visual Arts

Who doesn’t want to be a National Geographic photographer when they grow up? The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art brings the legendary publications’ images back into the spotlight starting Sept. 28 with National Geographic Greatest Photographs of the American West exhibit. Rub shoulders with longtime Nat Geo photographer Sam Abell (he was last at the Schnitz for his exhibition Amazonia in 2010) at the free public reception 6 pm Friday, Sept. Continue reading →

State of the Arts

Arts

Only a fool will tell you how to experience art. But in the interest of EW’s inaugural visual arts issue, Arts Hound, I’m willing to play the fool. You see, in the past year as arts editor, I have encountered a widespread epidemic in Eugene: artphobia. “I just don’t get art,” people tell me, avoiding galleries, museums, art walks like the plague for fear of being, or being seen as, out of their element.  Continue reading →

Take Five

Curators at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art choose their favorite pieces

Arts

At 80 years old, the UO’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is one of the hippest places to see art in the city. But it’s also a cavernous place with nooks and crannies rotating thousands of pieces that can overwhelm the senses. So, where to start? Here, we asked five curators at the JSMA to pick their favorite pieces currently on view and tell us why the works are special.   Continue reading →