Music Theatre Art Events

July 4 (Wednesday) 2:00 PM (Free) Dolores Park - 18th St. & Dolores, SF
THE LAST ELECTION - SF Mime Troupe
Pity the poor 1 per cent. Abused in that sliver of press they don’t own, condemned in the streets by a rabble who don’t appreciate the benefits of being trickled down upon, and raked over the coals by the few politicians who aren’t lined up to kiss their wealth and power. Talk about an oppressed minority! Finally, someone is stepping up to tell the story of these steaming sacks of benevolence as the San Francisco Mime Troupe presents THE LAST ELECTION, a tale that will warm the heart of every billionaire. Based on the classic 19th century melodrama The Poor of New York, the Troupe turns the story on its head, telling it from the point of view of the misunderstood Godzillionaires who have made this country what it is today: broke. 
Please check Mime Troupe’s web site for the rest of their schedule: www.sfmt.org

July 5 (Thursday) 7:30 PM ($25) ILWU Local 34 Hall - 801 2nd St., SF
Ry and Joachim Cooder - LaborFest Concert

LaborFest is proud to open this year’s LaborFest commemoration of the 1934 San Francisco General Strike with musician Ry Cooder on guitars and his son Joachim Cooder on percussion.
Ry has played a seminal role in artistic expression and his contributions are not only in his music but also in his support of musicians around the world. His work in bringing together the album The Buena Vista Social Club, later made into a film, brought the tremendous musicians of Cuba to the world and helped break the information blockade that the US puts on Cuba every day.
We expect the tickets to be sold out quickly, so please purchase your tickets early.
For more information, please click here.

July 14 (Saturday) 1:00 PM ($15, 30) Dorothy Day Community Center -54 McAllister St. at 7th St., SF
This Land Was Made for You and Me!
SF Gray Panthers Benefit Sing OutCelebrating Woody Guthrie’s 100th Birthday
Join Hali Hammer, Bonnie Lockhart, Faith Petric, Rockin’ Solidarity Labor Chorus, and Occupella
Join us in a Sing Out in celebration of Woody Guthrie’s 100th birthday and a fund-raiser for the SF Gray Panthers.  Join Hali Hammer, Bonnie Lockhart, Faith Petric, Occupella, and the Rockin’ Solidarity Labor Chorus.  There will also be videos on the importance of Woody Guthrie now and clips about his life and times.  We’ll be serving light refreshments.   Suggested donation: $15 or $30 for admission plus a year’s membership in SF Gray Panthers. Nobody turned away for lack of funds.

July 18 (Wednesday) 7:00 PM (Donation) 518 Valencia - Near 16th St., SF
Lucy Parsons: Anarchist - A reading of a play, written and directed by Howard Pflanzer
Labor Troubadour Anne Feeney Sings Out on Woody Guthrie’s Birthday
Hear a reading of Howard Pflanzer’s “Lucy Parsons”. Lucy Parsons was a radical Black labor activist and anarchist. She was born a slave near Waco, Texas and married Albert R. Parsons who had become a radical white Republican after serving first as a Confederate soldier. They moved to Chicago in 1873 and became labor organizers. In a labor rally for the 8-hour day, a bomb exploded and her husband along with eight other men were framed and charged with being responsible for the bomb. This became known as the Haymarket Square bombing and is now commemorated all over the world as May Day. She began a national speaking tour to raise money and support for her husband and the other defendants. Her struggle and life is a very important part of American history. The playwright Howard Pflanzer shows the struggles and realities of her life.
This year is the 100th anniversary of Woody Guthrie, and  Anne Feeney, former president of the Pittsburgh Musicians Union and a labor troubadour singing and standing up for working people in the US and around the world, will perform Guthrie’s songs.
http://www.annefeeney.com

 

 

July 21 (Saturday) 7:30 PM Berkeley Art Festival Space  - 2133 University near Shattuck, Berkeley
Woody Sing-Out in Berkeley (Join Folk This!)
Admission $10, students/seniors/low income $5, no one turned away for lack of funds.
Join Folk This! and friends for a community sing-a-long celebrating the words and music of Woody Guthrie.  Lyrics provided, just bring your singing voice!
For more information e-mail: folk_this@yahoo.com
or call (415) 431-8485

 

July 21 (Saturday) 8:00 PM (Free) 885 Clayton St. - at Carl St., SF
Song and Poetry Swap
For 30 years, the Freedom Song Network has been helping keep alive the spirit of labor and political song in the Bay Area, on picket lines, at rallies, on concert stages and at song swaps. Bring songs or poems to share. Everyone is welcome, regardless of musical ability or training. For info: (415) 648-3457

July 23 (Monday) 7:30 PM (Donation) The Lorraine Hansberry Theatre - 450 Post St., SF (Please note, this is a new address)
Mixed Relief 
Promoting Actors’ Equity Association and Benefiting The Actor’s Fund
Members of The Bay Area Advisory Committee of Actors Equity Association will stage a benefit performance of   MIXED RELIEF, a play about women writers of the Works Progress administration (WPA) as part of LaborFest 2012.    Presented as a benefit for The Actor’s Fund, a nationwide human services organization for professionals in the performing arts, MIXED RELIEF is directed by Equity Member Phoebe Moyer and contrasts the stories of three women writers of the WPA with those of contemporary theatre artists.
MIXED RELIEF gives an insightful look at the writers lives of the WPA (Work Progress Administration) during the Depression. Life stories of writers Anzia Yezierska, Dorothy West and Eudora Welty are juxtaposed with interviews from contemporary women theatre artists, playwrights Kara Lee Corthon, Cassandra Medley and actor-director Mabou Mimes luminary Ruth Maleczech.  Hallie Flanagan and Eleanor Roosevelt, key arts advocates in the 1930’s, make telling appearances.
Celebrating the women of the WPA and featuring members of Actors’ Equity Association in LaborFest, this play is a way not only to remind the public that there was amazing artistic development when the Federal Government made a commitment and investment in arts jobs in the 1930’s, but also that our Labor Unions are critical in the USA.
Contact for Actors’ Equity Association:  Maria Somma, Spokesperson; 212-869-8530, ext 425 or 917-560-3488; msomma@actorsequity.org
www.actorsequity.org

July 26 (Thursday) 7:30 PM (Donation) ILWU Local 34 - 801 2nd St. next to the AT&T Ball Park, SF
Beans, Bacon and Gravy
By Rockin’ Solidarity Labor Chorus
An account in song and story of the Great Depression and the New Deal. The show draws musically from the Wobblies’ Little Red Songbook, Woody Guthrie, Duke Ellington, Yip Harburg, and The People’s Songbook. The narrative highlights the contributions of Frances Perkins, FDR’s Secretary of Labor, to the New Deal’s innovations, as an inspiration to the 99% today. 7:30pm. ILWU Local 34 Hall, 801 2nd St, San Francisco (near the ballpark). More information: (415) 648-3457.

July 28 (Saturday) 2:00 PM (Free) Oakland Main Library Auditorium   - 125 14th St., Oakland
PIECES OF WORK - 100th Anniversary of Bread and Roses
Songs and Poems of Labor with Judith Offer, Adam Cornford and members of the San Francisco Labor Chorus.
Both traditional and new work will be presented, including songs of Woodie Guthrie and music from A SHIRTWAIST TALE.
www.ashirtwaisttale.com

July 31 (Tuesday) 7:00 PM (Free) 518 Valencia - near 16th St., SF
Closing Party
Please join us to celebrate the last day of the LaborFest with food, music and poetry.