FRIDAY, JUNE 8 

Impeachment Banner Fridays at 6:45 to 8 a.m. on the Berkeley Pedestrian bridge between Seabreeze Market and the Berkeley Aquatic Park, ongoing on Fridays until impeachment is realized. www. Impeachbush-cheney.com 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Philip P. Frickey on “U.S. Law of Federal-Indian Tribal Relations” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $14, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. For information and reservations call 526-2925.  

“Born into Brothels” Academy Award winning documentary at 7:30 p.m. at The Center of Light, 2944 76th St., Oakland. 635-4286. 

“Walmart: The High Price of Low Cost” will be screened at 2 p.m. at the YWCA Berkeley. 2600 Bancroft Way. Free. 848-6370. 

Free Diabetes Screening Come find out if you might have diabetes with our free screening test and make sure not to eat or drink anything for 8 hours beforehand, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Latina Center, 3919 Roosevelt Ave., Richmond. 981-5332. 

Womansong Circle Participatory singing for women with Betsy Rose and Kelly Takunda Orphan at 7:15 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Suggested donation $15-$20. 525-7082.  

Circle Dancing, simple folk dancing with instruction at 7:30 p.m. at Finnish Brotherhood Hall, 1970 Chestnut St at University. Donation of $5 requested. 528-4253. www.circledancing.com 

SATURDAY, JUNE 9 

Live Oak Park Fair, juried festival of arts and crafts, Sat. and Sun. from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 1301 Shattuck Ave. 898-3282.  

Temescal Street Fair with music, art making, craft and community booths and food from noon to 6 p.m. along Telegraph Ave. between 48th and 51st. 654-6346, ext. 2. www.temescalmerchants.com 

Berkeley History Center Walking Tour “Buddhist Churches: Jodo Shinshu Center” led by Sady Hayashida, architect and Glenn Kameda, at 10 a.m. Cost is $8-$10. For information on meeting place and to register call 848-0181. 

Walking Tour of Jack London Waterfront Meet at 10 a.m. at the corner of Broadway and Embarcadero. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. www.oaklandnet.com/walkingtours 

“Point Pinole: A Place Apart” An exhibition on the explosive and peaceful past of the Point Pinole Shoreline. Opening reception at 1 p.m. at Contra Costa County Historical Society, 610 Main St., Martinez. Exhibit runs to Aug. 23. 925-229-1042. 

Trails Challenge in the Eastshore State Park from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Bring water, lunch, sunscreen and sturdy walking shoes for the eight-mile excursion. For information and meeting place call 525-2233. 

Shotgun Player’s Silent Auction Fundraiser at 6 p.m. at the Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St. 841-6500, ext. 301. 

Berkeley Garden Club Spring Plant Sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 547 Grizzly Peak Blvd., at Euclid. Many native plants, succulents and perennials available. 845-4482. 

NAACP Meeting to discuss the 98th National Convention in Detroit, MI, and some local events at 1 p.m. at 2108 Russell St. All are welcome. 845-7416.  

Learn to Row Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Jack London Aquatic Center, 115 Embarcadero, Oakland. Participants must know how to swim. Call for more information. 208-6067. 

Great War Society meets to discuss “Sinking of the Lusitania” by S. Compagno at 10:30 a.m. at 640 Arlington Ave. 527-7118. 

California Writers Club celebrates the fifth-grade winners of the story contest at 10 a.m. at Barnes and Noble, Jack London Square. 272-0120. 

Training for Small Business Owners and people interested in starting their own business at 2 p.m. at the Berkeley Public Library, 3rd floor community room, 2090 Kittredge St. Sposored by The Small Business Administration and the Berkeley Public Library. 981-6148. 

“Drought Tolerant Mediterranean Plants” with Gail Yelland, landscape designer, at 10 a.m. at 10 a.m. at Magic Gardens, 729 Heinz Ave. 644-2351. 

Mini-Farmers in Tilden A farm exploration program, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. for ages 4-6 years, accompanied by an adult. We will explore the Little Farm, care for animals, do crafts and farm chores. Wear boots and dress to get dirty! Fee is $6-$8. Registration required. 636-1684. 

Hopalong Animal Rescue Come meet your furry new best cat friend from noon to 3 p.m. at 2940 College Ave. 267-1915, ext. 500. www.hopalong.org  

Exotic Birds 101 An introduction at 2 p.m. at RabbitEARS, 303 Arlington Ave., Kensington. 525-6155. 

Hall of Health Medical Mystery Festival for children ages 4 to 12 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Hall of Health, lower level, 2230 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $5. 705-8527.  

An Evening of Chanting with religious leaders from different Asian styles/traditions at 7 p.m. at the Jodo Shinshu Center, 2140 Durant Ave. at Fulton St. Donation $10. 809-1460. 

Free Garden Tours at Regional Parks Botanic Garden Sat. and Sun. at 2 pm. Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Tilden Park. Call to confirm. 841-8732.  

Around the World Tour of Plants at 1:30 p.m., Thurs., Sat. and Sun. at UC Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive. 643-2755.  

The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club provides free instruction every Wed. and Sat. at 10:30 a.m. at 2270 Acton St. 841-2174.  

Car Wash Benefit for Options Recovery Services of Berkeley, held every Sat. from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lutheran Church, 1744 University Ave. 666-9552. 

SUNDAY, JUNE 10 

Live Oak Park Fair, juried festival of arts and crafts, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 1301 Shattuck Ave. 898-3282. www.liveoakparkfair.com 

Wild About Watersheds A 2 mile roundtrip hike in Wildcate Creek Regional Trail in Richmond. Meet at 10 a.m. For information and meeting place call 525-2233.  

Creek Care A resource conservation project from 1 to 3 p.m. on the Wildcat Creek Regional Trail in Richmond. Wear layered clothing that can get wet and dirty. For information and for meeting place call 525-2233. 

Green Sunday: The Successful Picket at the Port of Oakland What it means for the longer term struggle against the war and for funding our needs at home at 5 p.m. at Niebyl-Proctor Library, 6501 Telegraph Ave., at 65th in North Oakland. 

Liquid Gold Fertilizers Learn how to turn weeds, kitchen scraps and natural byproducts into plant fertilizers. A workshop from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at EcoHouse, 1305 Hopkins St., near North Berkeley BART. Bring 2 liter plastic bottles, old hoses/ bicycle tubes, cardboard or newspaper, large containers or 5 gallon buckets w/ lids. Cost is $15, no one turned away. 548-2220 ext. 242. ecohouse@ecologycenter.org  

Social Action Forum with Antonio Medrano on Amnesty International at 9:30 a.m. at Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, One Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302. 

Children’s Community Center Celebrates 80 Years with cake, music and art projects from 2 to 4 p.m. at Children’s Community Center, 1140 Walnut Street. RSVP to cccboardchair@gmail.com. 

Blood Drive from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Congregation Netivot Shalom, 1316 University Ave. To make an appointment please call 872-0751. 

Tibetan Buddhism with Sylvia Gretchen on “The Art of Happiness” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 843-6812.  

MONDAY, JUNE 11 

“Voices of Iraqi Workers U.S. Solidarity Tour” with Iraqi labor leaders at 7 p.m. at Martin Luther King, Jr., Middle School, 1781 Rose St. 527-1222. 

Berkeley School Volunteers training for summer volunteer opportunities in preschool, elementary, and middle schools, from 4 to 5 p.m. at 1835 Allston Way. 644-8833. 

Drop in Knitting Class at the Albany Library Work on your own project or make pet blankets and children’s hats to be donated to charity organizations. At 3:30 p.m. at 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

TUESDAY, JUNE 12 

Tuesdays for the Birds Tranquil bird walks in local parklands, led by Bethany Facendini, from 7 to 9:30 a.m. Today we will visit Tilden’s Inspiration Point. Call for meeting place and if you need to borrow binoculars. 525-2233. 

Tuesday Tilden Walkers Join a few slowpoke seniors at 9:30 a.m. in the parking lot near the Little Farm for an hour or two walk. 215-7672, 524-9992. 

New to DVD Screening and Discussion at 7 p.m. at JCCEB, 1414 Walnut St. Discussion follows. 848-0237. 

“The Basics of Buying Your First Home” A free workshop with Jonathan Cole, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Consultant at 7 p.m. at El Cerrito Library, 6510 Stockton Ave. 526-7512. 

Fresh Produce Stand at San Pablo Park from 3 to 6 p.m. in the Frances Albrier Community Center. Sponsored by the Ecology Center’s Farm Fresh Choice. 848-1704. www.ecologycenter.org 

Community Sing-a-Long every Tues, at 2 p.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 1247 Marin Ave.. 524-9122.  

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. Share your digital images, slides and prints and learn what other photographers are doing. Monthly field trips. 548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. We offer ongoing classes in exercise and creative arts, and always welcome new members over 50. 845-6830. 

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13 

Walking Tour of Oakland City Center Meet at 10 a.m. in front Oakland City Hall at Frank Ogawa Plaza. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234. 

“The Next Industrial Revolution” a documentary about the transformation to an environmentally sustainable society at 7:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., between Telegraph and Broadway, Oakland. Donation $5. www.HumanistHall.net 

“Underground” A documentary about the Weather Underground at 8 p.m. at Long Haul Infoship, 3124 Shattuck Ave. www.thelonghaul.org 

“Braving Borders, Building Bridges: A Journey for Human Rights” An African American Tour of the U.S.-Mexico Border A forum and report back at 6 p.m. at Laney College Forum, 900 Fallon St., Oakland. Donations accepted. 849-9940. 

“Human Factors for Technical Communicators” Monthly meeting of the Berkeley Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication at 7:30 p.m., dinner at 6:30 p.m. at Highlands Country Club, 110 Hiller Dr., Oakland. Cost is $15-$24. for reservations see www.stc-berkeley.org  

Berkeley East Bay Track Club for ages 4-16 starts at 5:30 p.m. at Rosa Parks Elementary School, Ninth St. and Allston Way. Free. 512-9475. 

Free Diabetes Screening Come find out if you might have diabetes with our free screening test and make sure not to eat or drink anything for 8 hours beforehand, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Latine Center, 3919 Roosevelt Ave., Richmond. 981-5332. 

Poetry Writing Workshop with Alison Seevak at 7 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave., Albany. 526-3720, ext. 17. 

Walk Berkeley for Seniors meets every Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. at the Sea Breeze Market, just west of the I-80 overpass. Everyone is welcome, wear comfortable shoes and a warm hat. 548-9840. 

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil at the Berkeley BART Station, corner of Shattuck and Center. Sing for Peace at 6:30 p.m. followed by Peace Walk at 7 p.m. www. 

geocities.com/vigil4peace/vigil 

Stitch ‘n Bitch at 6:30 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

THURSDAY, JUNE 14 

AC Transit Public Hearing on the Bus Rapid Transit Environmental Impact Study/Report at 5:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 

“Rehab it Right!” with Jane Powell, restoration consultant at 7:30 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. E-mail a few photos of an interior and/or kitchen project to nj2oakland@yahoo.com for expert tips. Cost is $8-$10. 763-9218. www.oaklandheritage.org 

Quit Smoking Class from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., with optional accupuncture at the South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis St. For more information call 981-5330. 

East Bay Macintosh Users Group will discuss Apple TV at 6 p.m. at Expression College for Digital Arts, 6601 Shellmound St., Emeryville. http://ebmug.org 

According to city spokesperson Mary Kay Clunies-Ross, the city’s web page incorrectly states that there is a budget workshop preceding the regular council meeting on June 12. 

Instead, the budget will be discussed during the regular June 12 meeting. The public can speak to the council on the budget at that time and again on June 19 during a public hearing on the budget, part of the regular council meeting. A vote on the budget is slated for June 26. 

As part of an ongoing effort to print stories by East Bay residents, The Daily Planet invites readers to write about their experiences and perspectives on living healthy. Please email your essays, no more than 800 words, to firstperson@berkeleydailyplanet.com. We will publish the best essays in upcoming issues. 

FRIDAY, JUNE 8 

THEATER 

Altarena Playhouse “The Last Five Years” Fri and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at 1409 High St., Alameda, through June 10. Tickets are $17-$20. 523-1553. www.altarena.org 

Berkeley Rep “Oliver Twist” at 8 p.m. at the Roda Theater, 2015 Addison St. through June 24. Tickets are $45-$61. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org  

Berkeley Rep “Great Men of Genius” with Mike Daisy in four different monologues at 2025 Addison St. through June 30. Tickets are $30-$75. 647-2949. 

California Shakespeare Theater “Richard III” at the Bruns Ampitheater, 100 Gateway Blvd., Orinda, through June 24. Tickets are $15-$60. 548-9666. www.calshakes.org 

“Colorstruck” Donald Lacey’s one-man show at 8 p.m., Sun. at 7 p.m. at Laney College Theater, 900 Fallon St., Oakland, through June 15. Tickets are $10-$20. 663-5683.  

Masquers Playhouse “Ring Round the Moon” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m. at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond, through July 14. Tickets are $15. 232-4031.  

Shotgun Players “The Cryptogram” Thurs.-Sun. at 8 p.m. at The Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave., through June 17. Tickets are $17-$25. For reservations call 841-6500.  

Travelling Jewish Theater “Death of a Salesman” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 and 7 p.m. at Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave., through June 10. Tickets are $15-$44. 1-800-838-3006. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Lush Life” A group show by 15 artists whose work celebrates the garden. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at ACCI Gallery, 1652 Shattuck Ave. Exhibit runs through July 8. 843-2527. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Jason Roberts reads from “A Sense of the World” at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

Cameron Stracher describes “Dinner with Dad: How I Found My Way Back to the Family Table” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500.  

Rafaella Del Bourgo, Rose Black, Gayle Eleanor read their poetry at 7 p.m. at Nefeli Caffe, 1854 Euclid Ave. at Hearst. 841-6374. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley High Jazz Ensemble, Lab Bands and Combos at 7 p.m. at the Florence Schwimley Little Theater, Berkeley High Campus. Tickets are $3-$10. 

Berkeley Edge Fest “The Music of Frederic Rzewski” with Frederic Rzewski and Ursula Oppens, piano, at 8 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $32. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu/presents/season/2006/edgefest/ 

Clerestory “In the Midst of Life” Men’s octect performs music by Purcell, Elgar and Tavener at 8 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Bancroft Way at Ellsworth. Tickets are $8-$10. www.clerestory.org 

Susie Davis, TapWater at 5:30 p.m. at Park Place at Washington Ave., Point Richmond. Free. www.pointrichmond.com/prmusic/ 

Bay Area Classical Harmonies at 8 p.m. Arlington Community Church, 52 Arlington Ave., Kensington. Tickets are $15, children $5. 526-9146. 

Hanif & The Sound Voyagers at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. Cost is $12. 841-JAZZ.  

Donny Dread, Ancient King, Xcaliba and Nubian Natty, reggae, at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054.  

Darol Anger & the Republic of Strings at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761.  

The Nomadics at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

The Bleu Canadians, The Phenomes, Bob Wiseman at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082.  

Ninja Academy, Walken at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $5. 525-9926. 

Jeff Jernigan at 9:30 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

5 Days Dirty, Round Three Fight, Traces of Reason at 8:30 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway. Cost is $10. 763-1146.  

Nora Whittaker Band & Macabea at 8:30 p.m. at Epic Arts, 1923 Ashby Ave. Cost is $5-$10. 644-2204.  

San Pablo Project at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Chrome with Helios Creed, Triclops, progressive rock, at 9 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $10-$12. 451-8100.  

SATURDAY, JUNE 9 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña ¡Vamos A Cantar! with Jose Luis Orozco at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $4 for adults, $3 for children. 849-2568.  

Flute Sweets and Tickletoons “Little Kids Little Songs” at 7 p.m. at the Albany Library, 1247 Marin Ave. 526-3720. 

ALICE, Arts and Literacy in Children’s Education with Congolese Dance, Ballet Folklorico and trapeze arts at 7:30 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave. Donation $25. RSVP to 482-0415.  

Bookpals Storytelling at 11:30 a.m. at Children’s Fairyland, at 699 Bellvue Ave., Oakland. 452-2259. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Self as Superhero” ArtEsteem’s annual exhibition at 3 p.m. at ASA Academy and Community Science Center, 2811 Adeline St., at 28th St., Oakland. 652-5530.  

“Animals, Sea Creatures and Animation” Paintings, sculpture, digital and fiber art and more, in a benefit for Hopalong Animal Rescue. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at Expressions Gallery, 2053 Ashby Ave. 644-4930.  

“One Thousand Words: New Paintings by Mary Younkin” Artist reception at 6 p.m. at Luka’s Taproom & Lounge, 2221 Broadway at Grand, Oakland. 451-4677.  

East Bay Open Studios Sat. and Sun. at various studios around the East Bay. For maps see www.proartsgallery.org 

THEATER 

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley “A Dream Play” Sat. and Sun. at 3 p.m. on the lawn in front of Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Wlnut St. at Berryman, through July 1. 841-5580.  

FILM 

“Under a Shipwrecked Moon” by Antero Alli, at 8 p.m. at Kaleva Hall, 1970 Chestnut St. Cost is $5-$10. 464-4640.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Berkeley Edge Fest Composer Interviews with Sarah Cahill, Frederic Rzewski and Ursula Oppens at 2 p.m. at 125 Morrison Hall, UC Campus. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu/presents/season/2006/edgefest/ 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Mozart for Mutts and Meows Midsummer Mozart Festival fundraiser for Berkeley Humane Society at 7 p.m. at the Berkeley City Club. 845-7735, ext. 19. 

Berkeley Edge Fest “The Tyrant” composed by Paul Dresher, John Duykers, tenor, at 8 p.m. at the Zellerbach Playhouse, UC Campus. Tickets are $36. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu/presents/season/2006/edgefest/ 

Matthew Owens, cellist and poet, will perform his new works at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St., Live Oak Park. Cost is $10. 644-6893.  

Keith Doelling, double bass, at 4 p.m. at Crowden School, 1475 Rose St. 

Slavyanka Men’s Russian Chorus at 7:30 p.m. at First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 685 14th St., Oakland. Tickets are $16-$20. www.slavyanka.org 

Na Leo Nahenahe Summer Concert at 2 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $15.00 at the door, children 12 and under are free. 

Passamezzo Moderno “Venice and Vienna in the Early 17th Century” at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St. Tickets are $8-$12. 549-3864.  

The Sacred Jazz Symposium: Exploring Spirituality in the Music at 2 p.m. at The Black New World and Pleasure Club, 836 Pine St., Oakland. Tickets are $10-$20, no one turned away. Sankofacc@earthlink.net 

La Peña’s 37th Anniversary and Open House at 6 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $22-$24. 849-2568.  

Brazzissimo! at 8 p.m. at Piedmont High School Auditorium, 800 Magnolia Ave., Piedmont. Tickets are $5-$10. www.brazzissimo.com  

Gateswingers Jazz Band at 8 p.m. at Central Perk, 10086 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 558-7375. 

The Ravines at noon at Cafe Zeste, 1250 Addison St. at Bona. 704-9378. 

Ellen Robinson and her Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. Cost is $12. 841-JAZZ.  

Pellejo Seco, Luis Valverde, and Ekobios, rhumba cubana, at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $15. 525-5054.  

Katherine Peck and Michael Burles at 7:30 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Mucho Axe at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Robin Flower & Libby McLaren at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $19.50-$20.50. 548-1761.  

Meshugga Beach Party, The El Dorados, The TomorrowMen at 8:30 at Blakes on Telegraph. Cost is $10. 848-0886.  

Sheila Jordan “Jazz: A Life’s Work” at 8 p.m. at the Jazz 

school. Cost is $20. 845-5373.  

Draggin’ Suzy, Sorrow Town Choir, The Backorders at 9 p.m. at The Stork Club, 2330 Telegraph, Oakland. 

Don Burnham & Friends at 8 p.m. at Spuds Pizza, 3290 Adeline St. Cost is $7. 558-0881. 

Diego’s Umbrella, Tippy Canoe & the Paddlemen at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082.  

Insaints, Fabulous Disaster in a benefit for A Safe Place Shelter, at 8 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $6-$10. 525-9926. 

Varukers, Scarred for Life at 7 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway. Cost is $10. 763-1146. 

SUNDAY, JUNE 10 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Photographs of China and Mongolia” by Berkeley photographer Caroline Johnson. Reception at 1 p.m. at The LightRoom, 2263 Fifth St. 649-8111. www.lightroom.com 

Paintings by Michael Adkins Opening reception at 4 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

The Jersey Boys cast will discuss the musical based on Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons at 11 a.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

Khaled Hosseini introduces his new novel, “A Thousand Splendid Guns” at 7 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Berkeley, 2345 Channing Way. Ticekts are $12-$40. 559-9500. 

Architecture Tour of the Oakland Museum of California at 1 p.m. at the koi pond, first level, Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak at 10th St., Oakland. 238-2200. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Junteenth Freedom Mass with the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir at 10 a.m. at St. Cuthbert’s Episcopal Church, 7900 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. www.stcuthbertsoakland.org 

Berkeley Edge Fest “The Music of Frederic Rzewski” with Frederic Rzewski and Ursula Oppens, piano, William Winant and Ben Paysen, percussion, at 3 p.m. at Hertz Hall, UC Campus. Tickets are $32. www.calperfs.berkeley.edu/presents/season/2006/edgefest 

Chamber Music Sundaes with San Francisco Symphony musicians and friends, and featuring Tio Navarro at 3 p.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. Tickets are $18-$22. 415-753-2792.  

Young People’s Symphony Orchestra Pops Concert at 2 p.m. at Greek Orthodox Church of the Ascension, 4700 Lincoln Ave., Oakland. Cost is $10-$15. 849-9776. 

Soul at the Chimes with Promise, Called Out and the East Bay Church Men’s Chorus at 2 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes, 4499 Piedmont Ave., Oakland. Tickets are $20-$25. 464-3086.  

Talking Wood CD Release Party at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. Cost is $8. 841-JAZZ.  

Jacob Wolkenhsuer at 11 a.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

Americana Unplugged: Donner Mountain Bluegrass Band Reunion at 5 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

BandWorks Concert, with kids, teens and adult rock bands, from 1:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $5. 525-5054. 

Piano Trio Summit with Dick Hindman, Joe Gilman and Mark Levine at 4:30 p.m. at the Jazz 

school. Cost is $18. 845-5373.  

Have Heart, Allegiance, Soul Control, Turn it Around at 5 p.m. at 924 Gilman St. Cost is $7. 525-9926. 

Damnweevil, Walken at 6 p.m. at Oakland Metro, 201 Broadway. Cost is $6. 763-1146. www.oaklandmetro.org 

Jessica Williams Trio at 7 and 9 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square, through Sun. Cost is $14-$24. 238-9200.  

MONDAY, JUNE 11 

EXHIBITIONS 

“A Buddhist Pilgrimage to China” Photographs by Zohra Kalinkowitz on display at Studio Rasa, 933 Parker St., Studio 38, to Aug. 15. 843-2787. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Martin Cruz Smith reads from his new suspense novel, “Stalin’s Ghost” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

Katherine Hastings and Ed Coletti at 7:30 p.m. at Moe’s Books, 2476 Telegraph Ave. 849-2087. 

Poetry Express with Bucky Sinister at 7 p.m., at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. 644-3977. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

“Russian Evening of Songs” with Maria Mikheyenko, soprano and Dmitri Anissimov, tenor, at 7 p.m. at Le Bateau Ivre, 2629 Telegraph Ave. 849-1100. 

Classical at the Freight New Esterhazy String Quartet at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $17.50 -$18.50. 548-1761.  

Parlor Tango at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Blue Monday Jam at 7:30 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is $5. 451-8100. w 

Dayna Stephens at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s. Cost is $10-$16. 238-9200. 

TUESDAY, JUNE 12 

CHILDREN 

“The Adventures of Spider and Fly” a puppet show by P & T Puppet Theater for ages 3 and up at 6:30 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave. Free. 524-3043. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Rising Sun: A Bridge to Japan” American art influenced and inspired by Japan and its arts at Alta Bates Medical Center Gallery, 2450 Ashby Ave., through Aug. 23. 204-4444. 

“Poetics of Space” Intaglio prints by Seiko Tachibana opens at the Cecile Moochnek Gallery, 1809-D Fourth St. and runs through July 1. 549-1018. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Shannon Hale reads from “Austenland” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. 559-9500. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Gator Beat at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cajun dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $10. 525-5054.  

Singers’ Open Mic with Ellen Hoffman at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $6. 841-JAZZ.  

Jazz Fourtet at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Octobop at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10. 238-9200.  

Jazzschool Tuesdays at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Tony Wheeler, founder of Lonely Planet, reads from “Unlikely Destinations” at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books. 559-9500. 

Nomadic Rambles, storytelling at 7 p.m. at Nomad Cafe, 6500 Shattuck Ave. 595-5344.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Fiveplay at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $8. 841-JAZZ.  

BandWorks Concert at 7:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $5. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

The Flux at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

Jenna Mammina at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

Bill Bell at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10. 238-9200.  

THURSDAY, JUNE 14 

THEATER 

“Colorstruck” Donald Lacey’s one-man show Thurs. and Fri. at 8 p.m. at Laney College Theater, 900 Fallon St., Oakland. Tickets are $10-$20. 663-5683.  

“Pagbabalik” (Return) A multidisciplinary theater production by Aimee Suzara at 7:30 p.m., Sat. and Sun. at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave. Tickets are $10-$15. 849-2568, ext. 20. 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Residency Projects, Part I” Kala Fellowship Artists Talk with Freddy Chandra and Su-Chen Hung at 7 p.m. at Kala Art Institute, 1060 Heinz Ave. Exhibition runs to June 30. 549-2977.  

“Painting to Live: Art from Okinawa’s Nishimui Artist Society: 1948-1950” Opening reception at 4 p.m. at the IEAS Conference Room, 6th flr, 2223 Fulton St. 642-2809. 

“A Buddhist Pilgrimage to China” Photographs by Zohra Kalinkowitz. Conversation with the artist at 7 p.m. at Studio Rasa, 933 Parker St., Studio 38. 843-2787. 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Michael Ondaatje reads from “Divasadero” in a benefit for Poetry Flash at 7 p.m. at Cody’s Books on Fourth St. donation $10. 559-9500. 

Clifford Chase reads from “Winkie” at 7 p.m. at Revolution Books, 2425 Channing Way. 848-1196. 

Heidi Swanson describes “Super Natural Cooking: Five Ways to Incorporate Whole & Natural Ingredients into Your Cooking” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Duck Baker at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

The Very Hot Club at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $9. 841-JAZZ.  

Misner and Smith at 7 p.m. at Caffe Trieste, 2500 San Pablo Ave., at Dwight. 548-5198.  

Kally Price Combo, Myles Boisen’s Past-Present-Future, Kim Vermillion at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $5. 841-2082. 

Terence Blanchard at 8 and 10 p.m. at Yoshi’s at Jack London Square. Cost is $10-$22. 238-9200. www.yoshis.com 

Unholy, Apiary, Year of Desolation, heavy metal at 9 p.m. at the Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph, Oakland. Cost is 10-$12. 451-8100.  

Selector: Karmacoda at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 848-8277. 

PHOTOS OF MONGOLIA 

AT THE LIGHTROOM 

Photographer Caroline Johnson is showing giclée prints of her trip to Mongolia last year at the Lightroom. The show will be in the gallery through July 13, with an opening reception this Sunday, June 10, from 1-5 p.m. 2263 Fifth St. For more information, call 649-8111 or see www.lightroom.com. 

‘AN AMERICAN IN PARIS’ 

AT CERRITO THEATER 

Gene Kelly is best remembered as the lovestruck man who splashed about in Singin’ in the Rain, widely considered the greatest of movie musicals. But his previous film, An American in Paris, playing this weekend at the Cerrito Theater, earned him the greatest acclaim during his career, including a unique Academy Award for overall achievment for 1951. The movie contains some of the highlights of Kelly’s work as a dancer and choreographer: his light-hearted rendition of “I Got Rhythm,” accompanied by a covey of Parisian schoolchildren; his machine-gun tap dance to “Tra La La,” much of it atop Oscar Levant’s piano; and of course, the show-stopping 16-minute ballet fantasy sequence. Though this segment might seem dated and indulgent to modern audiences unfamiliar with the great musicals of the 1940s and ’50s, it was a groundbreaking innovation. Kelly first experimented with it in On The Town (1949) and would revisit in the following year in Singin’ in the Rain (1952), but the American in Paris ballet is the fullest expression of Kelly’s interest in exploiting the unique qualities of cinema in the presentation of dance, while still managing to resolve plot points, develop character, and move the narrative forward. The film shows at 6 p.m. Saturday and at 5 p.m. Sunday. 10070 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito.  

www.picturepubpizza.com.

Actors Ensemble of Berkeley has taken on an ambitious project—Strindberg’s shape-shifting A Dream Play as a site-specific performance, in and around the Berkeley Art Center in Live Oak Park, played during afternoons over the next few weekends. And admission is free. 

The production features 11 actors as 32 different characters at 10 locations, inside and out. Director David Stein, who adapted Strindberg’s text, written at the turn of the 20th century, talked about the genesis and progress of this unusual project: “I’ve been chewing on this for the last four years. I did Phaedra with Subterranean Shakespeare, and that introduced me to the Art Center. I was captivated by the architecture, the settings, walking around the creek, with all the evergreens, the cypress making strange bends—all very ethereal.” 

A copy of the play surfaced at a garage sale, at the same time that a production of it in another area was reviewed in a magazine. “I thought it was perfect for a site-specific staging, with its sudden scene changes and its many possible interpretations.” 

Stein spoke of the play’s “great story, about a child of the gods who comes to earth for the first time, and sees humanity for what it is, all the ugliness and hypocrisy, but also love and kindness.” 

He worked over the text, “paring it down to 14 scenes, distilling it to the essence. The original has 50 different characters! We try to refer to them, and to much of what was cut. There were so many stage directions, heavy props ... the daughter of the gods coming down through the clouds from out of the sky! When I first looked at it, with its moving walls and mountains growing, I thought, how do we get from one scene to the next? But I took out the stage directions, and said, ‘We can get there.’” 

The Actors Ensemble version uses only minimal sets and just a few props. “We put our budget into the costumes,” said Stein, “and they’re gorgeous, very bright, in Hindu style. Our designer, Helen Slomowitz, did a great job.” 

On his philosophy of taking the action off one stage and around the building, across a landscape, Stein says, “This is only the second time we’ve done Strindberg, and the second time we’ve done an outdoor show. The first was Euripides’ The Bacchae, which I directed in ’03 at John Hinckle Park. I liked it at Hinckle. I like having the audience in the middle, like overhearing something happening nearby, an argument next to you, and you want to know what’s going on. When it’s outdoors, versus in a theater, you can follow along to the next site—or, if you want to, you can wander off. Everyone gets a map on the back of the program, so they can stroll away and come back to the next scene, or the one after.” 

Asked about the meaning of it all, Stein reflected, “What’s the play about, how to sum it up? The plot’s Expressionistic, almost like a painting. The more we rehearsed, the more we picked up the connections. Like the characters are oftentimes the same. Agnes [the earthly name of the child of the gods] keeps repeating, ‘We are poor souls, all of us!’ But it’s not all gloom and doom. All the moments ring true—and often you just have to chuckle. It applies to everybody, and is really timely—perfect for what the world is going through right now.” 

A DREAM PLAY 

Presented by Actors Ensemble of Berkeley at 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through July 1 on the lawn in front of the Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St. Free. 841-5600. www.aeofberkeley.org.

By KEN BULLOCK 

Special to the Planet 

“Please, sir ...” It seems that almost everybody knows that Oliver wants some more, as Dickens’ great book of the London slums has been sentimentalized and staged and filmed, just as his Christmas Carol finds its way into countless theatrical venues every holiday season. But there have been few enough adaptations of the novelist’s creations that have served up the sensibilities of Dickensian genius—much less what’s actually there, in the stories themselves—as well as the innovative, theatrically satisfying version of Oliver Twist, as adapted by Neil Bartlett, with Gerard McBurney’s fitting music, produced in association with American Repertory Theatre and Theatre for a New Audience, onstage at Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theatre until June 24. 

Originally commissioned by the Lyric Hammersmith in London, Oliver Twist boasts a fine, very professional ensemble of 13 performers, who take on double duty as they switch seamlessly (or with great humor, as Gregory Drelian, the big, stubbly lug who becomes street thug Bill Sykes doubles in a bonnet as the smarmy mortician’s wife, Mrs. Sowerberry) from one persona to the next, following orphaned Oliver (Michael Wartella) in his indenture to the Sowerberrys and subsequent escape to London, where he’s discovered by the devious Artful Dodger (Carson Elrod, marvelously transforming himself from Narrator to the grotesque attitude of the Dodger in a twinkling), and led through the tortuous streets and alleys of London’s Chinese box puzzle of a plan, with the Dodger reeling out the place names Homerically, into the most degraded inner slums, where Oliver is shoehorned in among the other youngsters of Fagin’s troupe of pediatric pickpockets, the apple of his mentor’s eye, with “the face of an angel,” meaning more loot from their slippery business of street mayhem. 

Fagin is played by Ned Eisenberg in a stand-out performance, a grinning, overly amicable monster who can turn on a farthing into a vengeful demon. A self-parodying Jew, who in moments of terror resorts to Hebrew prayer, Eisenberg’s Fagin dances like a delicate marmoset on his toes when he sees Oliver come to visit him in prison—then, after failing at an escape with the boy in tow, he’s engulfed by the sheer stage darkness of his fate, a frightening, sobering moment straight from the book, as is Fagin’s first, torqued posture in custody, taken right from Cruikshank’s original caricatures of the novel’s personae. 

Bartlett, who expressed the wish to explore the many facets of narrative and dramatic means by which Dickens, himself an amateur player and professional raconteur, mounted his great stories, compounded of a reformer’s zeal and “that savage old English humor” (as T. S. Eliot described the last survival of the dark laughter from Elizabethan dramatists Marlowe and Middleton in this Victorian’s popular serial novels), manages to touch on that strange, volatile mixture with which Dickens could tell, with Shakespearean scope, of one world existing cheek-by-jowl, all-unknowing, with another. 

There’s a sense of almost cosmic finality when Oliver, recovered by the world of “The Quality,” stands oblivious in tableau with his long-lost, unknown relatives, as his former companions of the workhouse and the streets are propelled through narration into their bleak, ghastly fates—a kind of gut-wrenching schism between social castes that seems to rip apart the stage, with its excellent grimy decor, like a paper toy theater. 

There’s a contemporary taste for self-narrating theatricals, and the “word-for-word” kind of adaptation of texts performed verbatim, talked through onstage, could learn a good deal from Bartlett’s skillful use of Dickens’ essentially unmodified text, of speech rhythms transformed, through the physical theater practices of the talented performers, into stage rhythms, of each disparate element finding its appropriate expression in concert with the rest—and what could have been merely a tour-de-force turned into compelling theatrical art. It’s a true tribute to Dickens, whose great stature, influence and infectious humanity can be hinted at by the excitement conveyed by Henry James, so different a writer and artist, in memoirs penned late, of the great occasion of meeting the great Charles Dickens and the impression he made, at the start of a career of genius. 

OLIVER TWIST 

Through June 24 at Berkeley Rep, 2025 Addison St. $45-$61. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org. 

Photograph by Kevin Berne 

Michael Wartella and Carson Elrod star in a dark new take on Oliver Twist.

“Brecht is a very challenging ‘Jeopardy’ question,” quipped a deadpan Mike Daisey at the start of the first in his series of four monologues, Great Men of Genius, at the Berkeley Rep thrust stage through July 1. 

Daisey’s tossed-off line sets the tone of an evening the Village Voice fittingly characterized as “like a coked-up History Channel biography.” 

Daisey presides, seated at a chair behind an old oblong wood table, with his pages of notes before him. There’s no other scenery, and Daisey doesn’t get up, except to exit at the end. A big man by his own admission—and frequent exploitation as material, like the picture he makes of himself doing the “Dead Man Float” in a rooftop swimming pool at a Hollywood hotel and the consternation that stirs it up—Daisy could be called ursine, amplifying the verbal action of his solo pieces with wide eyes that narrow, his large mouth, which even closed seems agape, and sweeping gestures with his hands. 

When he jokes about himself in one of his frequent, seemingly off-subject autobiographical digressions, such as ranting about “Freedom of speech! Freedom of Speech!” (”before I burned out on dialogue!”) in a caffeine-induced, quixotic, one-man freshman crusade (and subsequent damage-control, accusatory “informal talk group” that he’s escorted to from his dorm), it doesn’t take an act of imagination to see it. Daisey’s stories seem to be pretty strictly non-fiction, albeit with trimmings. 

His “lecture” on Brecht, first in a series which encompasses an unlikely gaggle that also includes showman P. T. Barnum, inventor Nicolai Tesla and science fiction writer-turned-Stalinoid of Dianetics, Scientology’s L. Ron Hubbard, goes from beginning to end of “B. B.’s” peripatetic existence, fleeing always one step ahead of the Nazi invasion, finally across the beleaguered Soviet Union, and aboard ship to “the most improbable of possible” safe havens, Hollywood, where his career as a screenwriter ends when he’s called before HUAC, to which he talks evasively, a plane ticket to Switzerland in his pocket, as he misses the New York opening of his play Galileo, starring Charles Laughton (and directed by Joseph Losey, replacing an oft-considered Orson Welles). 

The most touching and truest moment about Brecht comes up when Daisey describes the hurried productions of his political plays mounted during exile, that, although poorly attended, attract audiences of future resistance fighters, collaborators and the apolitical, who yet remember the communal sense of sitting together “for one moment ... in the crux of history, for a human conversation about what was happening in their times,” Brecht’s faith in theater (and poetry and song), and his testament to “those who will not live in dark times like these.” 

Otherwise, Daisey’s glib, playing fast and loose with his subject, banking shots off the sloppy myths about “alienation effect” and out-of-context speculations that constitute whatever’s popular knowledge of Brecht—a figure Daisey talks of from the start as hazy to most. Increasingly he rambles through his college days in retrospect, his student drama productions, meeting his wife and collaborator (director Jean-Michele Gregory), and their spat over his “sell-out” 40-minute, upbeat showcase performance of a previously 90-minute, darkly satirical piece for a Hollywood exec crowd, in hopes of getting cast. It’s his stock-in-trade, fusing the quick hits of the post-adolescent wiseguy with the reflective, sentimentally sarcastic nostalgia of the middle-aging college boy. 

His style will probably find more amicable company with less challenging, more boffo figures as Barnum and Hubbard. Nonetheless, judging from previous appearances in previous monologic outings, Daisey’s decision to focus on a figure other than his own, gradually edging out his subject with the backwash of his own subjectivity, dilutes his effectiveness as solo performer, garbling his formula of recounting autobiographical episodes, then digressing in whimsically amusing “asides” when he takes on a broader subject that surfaces from his personal musings. The technique’s flexibly plastic, but limited in range, more from contemporary stand-up or sketch comedy than “performance art,” or the tradition of the dramatic or literary raconteur. 

GREAT MEN OF GENIUS 

Through June 30 at Berkeley Rep, 2025 Addison St. $30-$75. 647-2949. www.berkeleyrep.org. 

Photograph by Ursa Waz 

Mike Daisey in Great Men of Genius.