North Bay Beat

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North Bay Beat
News about the NBMA community and beyond...
by Linda Jay Geldens

Youth in Arts, a non-profit provider of arts education programs in Marin County, has announced The Making of Monsters, Inc. is the topic of its 2nd annual four-part conversation series. The series, held in conjunction with the Osher Marin JCC’s CenterStage productions, will feature the artists of Pixar Animation Studios. Here’s this year’s line-up:

Thursday, March 7 - “Creating the Storyboards,” with Rob Gibbs, Story Artist

Wednesday, March 20 - “Making Monsters and the World They Live In,” with Tia Kratter, Art Director

Thursday, April 11 - “Creating an Animated Feature,” with Lee Unkrich, Co-Director

Wednesday, April 24 - “The Technology Behind the Fur,” with Steve May, Simulation and Effects Sequence Supervisor

The programs run from 7:30-9:00 P.M. Detailed descriptions are posted on NBMA’s Web site under “Industry Events.”

Tickets can be purchased at:
Osher Marin JCC’s CenterStage, (415) 479-2000.
Single ticket prices are:
$18/general, $14/seniors or JCC members, and $8/students.
Series prices (for all four presentations) are:
$68/general, $52/seniors of JCC members, and $30/students.
Proceeds from the events will help fund Youth In Arts’ programs.

Jerry Frohmader and Timothy Rose are collaborating on Mobilicious, a multimedia concert to be performed on March 16 in the Recital Hall (room FA72) of the Fine Arts Building on the College of Marin’s Kentfield campus. The performance will feature drummer and percussionist M. B. Gordy, choreographer and dancer Sandi Weldon, poet Richard Grupenhoff, and Tim’s mobiles. Yes, that means the mobiles, which are constructed of steel, will be the instruments. Jerry composed the music.

M.B., a versatile musician, is coming up from L.A. especially for this performance. He has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Long Beach Opera, and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. He’s also recorded with Frank Zappa, Three Dog Night, Loggins and Messina, Bill Withers, R. E. O. Speedwagon, and too many more to name within the space of this column. M.B. has played on numerous film scores, including Collateral Damage, The Shipping News, The Siege, Titan AE, Stigmata, and Wonder Boys. Television credits include The Tonight Show, Good Morning America, King of the Hill, King of Queens, and Any Day Now. You get the picture.

Dancer Sandi Weldon has been teaching, choreographing, and performing at the College of Marin for over twenty years. In addition to teaching, Sandi has created a community theatre company in Marin called the Town Players. The company’s shows focus on moral issues, family values, and a celebration of diversity. Professional artists often mentor the multi-generational participants, resulting in exciting productions for the community.

Richard Grupenhoff is co-founder, with Jerry Frohmader, of the Institute of Disemboweled Poetics at Corte Madera. The Institute, high on the side of Mt. Tamalpais, is dedicated to the exploration of the sounds and meanings of everyday life. It’s celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Grupenhoff is also a professor of film at Rowan University in New Jersey. He’s a nationally recognized scholar of African-American film history, noted for his biography of Lorenzo Tucker (the black Valentino), one of the first books to examine the history of black-cast “race movies.”

A paragraph is not enough to describe the key collaborators, Tim and Jerry, so we’ve featured them in the PROfiles column of NBMA’s Multimedia Reporter. Take our word for it. They’ll deliver an interesting evening. Call COM’s Music Department (415) 485.9460 for more information or send an email to Joan Lisetor at jlisetor@marin.cc.ca.us.

If you have news you’d like included in this monthly column, send it to Linda Jay Geldens, Contributing Editor, at lindajay@nbma.com, and we’ll be glad to consider it.