THURSDAY, JUNE 25 

“Our Himmlers, Eichmans Unscathed as Obama Dithers: Why Is He Afraid of Torturers?” with Ray McGovern and Jon Eisenberg at BFUU Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar St. Donation $5-$10. 333-6097. 

Climate Change Action Group Facilitator Training from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Ecology Center, 2350 San Pablo Ave. Free. Workbook is $10. Registration required. 548-2220, ext. 240. 

“Oakland: Politics and Policing” Panel discussion sponsored by the Wellstone Democratic Club at 7:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Pot-luck at 6 p.m. www.wellstoneclub.org 

“The Political Crisis in Iran and the need for revolution” A discussion at 7 p.m. at Revolution Books, 2425 Channing Way. 848-1196. 

Red Cross Blood Drive from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the American Red Cross Bus, 2021 Challenger Dr., Alameda. To schedule an appointment call 800-448-3543. www.beadonor.com 

Summer Dance Party EveryThurs. at 7:30 p.m. at Live Oak Park. Teachers will lead a variety of dances from around the world. All ages at 7:30, teens and adults at 8:30. Cost is $2 children, $5 adults. 

Circle of Concern Vigil meets on West Lawn of UC campus across from Addison and Oxford, Thurs. at noon and Sun. at 1 p.m. to oppose UC weapons labs contracts. 848-8055. 

Three Beats for Nothing South Mostly ancient part music for fun and practice meets every Thurs. at 10 a.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center, Ellis at Ashby. 655-8863. asiecker@sbcglobal 

Fitness Class for 55+ at 9:15 a.m. at Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237. 

FRIDAY, JUNE 26 

Compost Give-away from 8:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., with first priority given to Berkeley Unified School District and Berkeley Community Gardens at Berkeley Marina Maintenance Yard, 201 University Ave., next to Adventure Playground. 981-6660. 

City Commons Club Noon Luncheon with Sally Pipes, Pacific Research Institute, on “The Top Myths of American Health Care” Luncheon at 11:45 a.m. for $15, speech at 12:30 p.m., at the Berkeley City Club, 2315 Durant St. 527-2173. www.citycommonsclub.org 

Red Cross Blood Drive from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Alameda Hospital, Conference Room A, 2070 Clinton Ave., Alameda. To scehdulae an appointment call 800-448-3543. www.beadonor.com 

Humanistic Judaism Shabbat at 7:30 p.m. at the Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave., Albany. Please bring finger dessert or snack to share for the Oneg and non-perishable food for the needy. 428-1492. Programs@kolhadash.org  

“What is Jewish Spirituality?” at 6:15 p.m. in a private home in Oakland’s Lake Merritt area. Location given on RSVP. Potluck contribution or $7. 559-8140. www.jewishgateways.org 

Berkeley Women in Black weekly vigil from noon to 1 p.m. at Bancroft and Telegraph. Our focus is human rights in Palestine. 548-6310. 

Berkeley Chess Club meets every Fri. at 7 p.m. at the Hillside School, 1581 Le Roy Ave. 843-0150. 

SATURDAY, JUNE 27 

The Future of Albany Waterfront The City of Albany is sponsoring small-group sessions on a vision for the future of Albany’s waterfront from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave., Albany. 444-4567. rsvp@voicestovision.com  

45th Birthday UNA/UNICEF Center from 10 a.m. ato 5 p.m. with a celebration of the 64th anniversary of the UN Charter at 1 p.m. at 1403B Addison St. 849-1752. www.unausaeastbay.org 

G.I. Suicide Awareness March and Rally Meet at 11 a.m. in Civic Center Park across from Veteran’s Bldg and march to People’s Park for speakers, music and food.  

Dr. Helen Caldicott on “The Relevance of Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear Power to international relations and the Green Revolution” at 7:30 p.m. at Redwood Gardens Community Room, 2951 Derby St. Ticekts are $12-$15. Benefit for SuperBOLD (Berkeleyans Organizing for Library Defense). 843-2152. 

Haiti Action Committee Memorial for Fr. Gerard Jean- Juste at 7 p.m. at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1640 Addison St. www.haitisolidarity.net 

Backyard Chickens Learn how to get started with your own low-effort backyard flock. We’ll discuss life cycles, coop designs, breed selection, care and feeding for health and egg production, protection from predators and ways of integrating your chickens into your garden From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the East Bay. Location given upon registration. Cost is $30-50. Sponsored by Institute of Urban Homesteading East Bay. 927-3252. 

Friends of Five Creeks Volunteers remove invasives and improve habitat at restored Baxter Creek at the north end of the Ohlone Greenway, El Cerrito. Meet at 10 a.m. where the Ohlone Greenway breaks Conlon, west of Key and east of San Pablo. Snacks, water, tools, and gloves provided. 848-9358. www.fivecreeks.org 

Master Gardeners at the Berkeley Farmers’ Market Get advice on watering, plant selection and pest management from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Center St., between MLK and Milvia. 639-1275.  

Build a Nest Box for Your Backyard Golden Gate Audubon and Wildcare of Marin County are sponsoring a Nest Box Building Workshop for Western Chickadees, Tree Swallows, flycatchers, Western Bluebirds. All materials provided and hands on instruction in how to assemble nest boxes. No experience necessary. From 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Golden Gate Audubon Society parking lot, 2530 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $15-$20. Space limited. To register call 843-2222. 

Walking Tour of Old Oakland Explore the 9th and Washington St. district. Meet at 10 a.m. in front of Ratto’s, 821 Washington St. Tour lasts 90 minutes. Reservations can be made by calling 238-3234.  

Walk to Talk A walkathon to raise awareness and funds for aphasia services at 9:45 a.m. at Downtown Oakland Senior Center, 200 Grand Ave. at Harrison St. 336-0112. www.aphasiacenter.org 

“Fuchias” How to grow and care for these plants at 10 a.m. at Magic Gardens, 729 Heinz Ave. Free. 644-2351. 

Teen Drumming Circle at 3 p.m. at Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. To reserve a drum please call 981-6147. 

Introduction to Improv Theater and Acting with Pan Theater in downtown Oakland, from 10:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. For ages 18 and up. Free. Advance registration requested pantheater@comcast.net 

Cork Boat Regatta A family day at the museum of Children’s Art. Build your own yacht and set sail in the mini-pool, from 1 to 4 p.m. at 538 9th St., Oakland. Cost is $7. 465-8770. www.mocha.org 

Ham Radio Demonstration for Field Day at from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Crown Memorial Beach, close to Shoreline Drive, Alameda. 523-1397. www.arcaham.org 

Beach Party Weekend at Playland Sat. and Sun. from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 10979 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. Cost is $10-$15. 232-4264 ext. 25. www.playland-not-at-the-beach.org 

Red Cross Blood Drive from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the American Red Cross Bus, at YMCA, 2001 Allston Way. To schedule an appointmetn call 800-448-3543. www.beadonor.com 

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.  

Lawn Bowling on the green at the corner of Acton St. and Bancroft Way every Wed. and Sat. at 10 a.m. for ages 12 and up. Wear flat soled shoes, no heels. Free lessons. 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. 

Open Shop at Berkeley Boathouse from 1 to 5 p.m. at at 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. Take part in constructing a wooden boat or help out with other maritime projects. No experience necessary. First time is free, cost is $10 per day. 644-2577. www.watersideworkshops.org 

SUNDAY, JUNE 28 

Berkeley International Food Festival with cooking demonstrations, food samples, and live entertainment, from noon to 5 p.m. several blocks in either direction of the San Pablo and University aves intersection. Free. 845-4106. www.berkeleyinternationalfoodfestival.com 

“Thank You Bill and Judy” A community celebration to thank Bill and Judy Fujimoto for their 31 years at Monterey Market at 2 p.m. at King School Park, Hopkins St. near Colusa. Please bring a sweet or savory finger food to share. 

Dr. Helen Caldicott on “Can and should there be a world ban on nuclear weapons now?” at 2:30 p.m. at First Congregational Church, at the intersection of Dana and Durant. Vigil at 1 p.m. at on the west lawn across from the intersection of Addison and Oxford. 848-8055. 

Home Expo An opportunity to learn about home repair and home improvement projects, from 1 to 5 p.m. at El Cerrito Community Center, 7007 Moeser Lane, El Cerrito. www.el-cerrito.org 

“And Still I Rise: A Day of Advocacy and Tribute to Congolese Women” with Kambale Musavuli, from the D.C. based organization, Friends of the Congo, along with Bay Area activists from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. bayarea@friendsofthecongo.org 

Tour of the Berkeley City Club, designed by Julia Morgan, from 1 to 4 p.m. at 2315 Durant Ave. Sponsored by the Landmark Heritage Foundation. 848-7800. 

Family Printmaking Workshop in conjunction with “Reverberations” Japanese Prints of the 1923 Kanto Earthquake from 3 to 5 p.m. at Mills College Art Museum, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland. 430-2164. www.mills.edu/museum/ 

Sad Voter Pink Tea Party with Code Pink at 6 p.m. at Redwood Gardens, 2951 Derby St. bayareacp@yahoo.com 

Free Hands-on Bicycle Clinic Learn how to do a safety inspection, from 10 to 11 a.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. Bring your bike and tools. 527-4140. 

Social Action Forum with Cheryl Meyers, Nevin Community Center on “Working as a Community Organizer” at 10 a.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302, ext. 306. 

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

Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace Peace walk around the lake every Sun. Meet at 3 p.m. at the colonnade at the NE end of the lake. 763-8712. lmno4p.org 

Tibetan Buddhism with Bob Byrne on ”Mantra and Healing” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 809-1000.  

Sew Your Own Open Studio Come learn to use our industrial and domestic machines, or work on your own projects, from 2 to 6 p.m. at 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. Also on Thurs. from 2 to 6 p.m. Cost is $5 per hour. 644-2577. www.watersideworkshops.org 

MONDAY, JUNE 29 

“Living Green: Communities That Sustain” with Jennifer Fosket and Laura Mamo at 7:30 p.m. at Builders Booksource, 1817 Fourth St. 845-6874,. www.buildersbooksource.com 

KPFA Local Station Board Election Forum at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Fellowship Unitarian Universalist meeting hall, corner of Cedar and Bonita. 644-1937. 

Community Yoga Class Mon. and Thurs. at 10 a.m. at James Kenney Parks and Rec. Center at Virginia and 8th. Seniors and beginners welcome. Cost is $6. 207-4501. 

Three Beats for Nothing South Mostly ancient part music for fun and practice meets every Mon. at 3 p.m. at the South Berkeley Senior Center, Ellis at Ashby. 655-8863. asiecker@sbcglobal 

East Bay Track Club for girls and boys ages 3-15 meets Mon. and Wed. at 6 p.m. at Berkeley High School track field. Free. 776-7451. 

Morning Meditation Every Mon., Wed., and Fri. at 7:45 a.m. at Rudramandir, 830 Bancroft Way at 6th. 486-8700. 

Small-Business Counseling Free one-hour one-on-one counseling to help you start and run your small business with a volunteer from Service Core of Retired Executives, Mon. evenings by appointment at Berkeley Public Library, 2090 Kittredge St. For appointment call 981-6148. www.eastbayscore.org 

World Affairs/Politics Discussion Group, for people 60 years and over, meets at 9:45 a.m. at Albany Senior Center, 846 Masonic Ave, Albany. Cost is $3.  

TUESDAY, JUNE 30 

Hillside Club Book Lust Salon meets to discuss works by Ward Just at 7:30 p.m. at 2286 Cedar St. Non-member donation $5. 845-4870. www.hillsideclub.org/booklust 

“Obama Six Months Later: The change you thought and the change you got” A discussion at 7 p.m. at Revolution Books, 2425 Channing Way. 848-1196. 

Poles for Walking and Hiking at 7 p.m. at REI, 1338 San Pablo Ave. 527-4140. 

Family Storytime for preschoolers and up at 7 p.m. at Kensington Library, 61 Arlington Ave., Kensington. 524-3043. 

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. 

End the Occupation Vigil every Tues. at noon at Oakland Federal Bldg., 1301 Clay St. www.epicalc.org 

Street Level Cycles Community Bike Program Come use our tools as well as receive help with performing repairs free of charge. Youth classes available. Tues., Thurs., Sat. and Sun. from 2 to 6 p.m. at at 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. 644-2577. www.watersideworkshops.org 

Berkeley Camera Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda. 548-3991. www.berkeleycameraclub.org 

Bridge for beginners from 12:30 to 2:15 p.m., all others 12:30 to 4 p.m. Sing-A-Long at 2:30 p.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center. 981-5190. 

St. John’s Prime Timers meets at 9:30 a.m. at St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 2727 College Ave. We always welcome new members over 50. 845-6830. 

WEDNESDAY, JULY 1 

Native Plant Workday Volunteers will help care for native plants by collecting seeds at our restoration site and sowing them in our on-site nursery. Other activities include watering and general maintenance. From 1 to 4 p.m. at Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland. 452-9261 ext. 119. 

Berkeley Path Wanderers: Walk with a Founder Join BPWA co-founder Jacque Ensign for a convivial and relaxed morning walk on the paths around Live Oak Park culminating in an optional lunch in the Gourmet Ghetto. Meet at 10 a.m. in front of Live Oak Park Recreation Center, 1301 Shattuck Ave. 520-3876. www.berkeleypaths.org 

Walking Tour of Chinatown Meet at 10 a.m. at the fountain of Pacific Renaissance Plaza, Ninth St., between Webster and Frainklin. 238-3234. www.oaklandnet.com/walkingtours 

Berkeley Path Wanderers: Solar Calendar Summit Walk Explore the Berkeley waterfront at dusk, including new and upcoming restorations. Enjoy refreshments as we watch sunset and nearly full moonrise at the top of Cesar Chavez Park. Meet at 6 p.m. at Sea Breeze Delicatessen, 598 University Ave. at Frontage Rd. 848-9358. www.berkeleypaths.org 

“Fed Up” A documentary about genetic engineering, modern pesticides, and agribusiness at 7:30 p.m. at Humanist Hall, 390 27th St., Oakland. Donation $5. www.Humanist Hall.org 

“The Efficiency Illusion and other Energy Myths: Why Cap & Trade Won't Work—and What Can” with Dr. Roger Pielke, Jr., University of Colorado, at 6 p.m. at Giannini Hall, Room 141, UC campus.  

Red Cross Blood Drive from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Oakland Police Dept. Lobby, 455 7th St., Oakland. To schedule an appointment go to www.BeADonor.com 

Red Cross Blood Services Volunteer Orientation from 10 a.m. to noon at 6230 Claremont Ave., Oakland. Registration required. 594-5165. 

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. 

Theraputic Recreation at the Berkeley Warm Pool, Wed. at 3:30 p.m. and Sat. at 10 a.m. at the Berkeley Warm Pool, 2245 Milvia St. Cost is $4-$5. Bring a towel. 632-9369. 

Berkeley Peace Walk and Vigil at 6 p.m. at the Berkeley BART Station. www.geocities.com/ 

vigil4peace/vigil 

Teen Chess Club from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the North Branch Library, 1170 The Alameda at Hopkins. 981-6133. 

Berkeley CopWatch Drop-in office hours from 6 to 8 p.m. at 2022 Blake St. 548-0425. 

THURSDAY, JULY 2 

Berkeley Recycling Center BBQ & Open House See Berkeley's recycling program in action with tours of buyback and donation operation, watch sorting and baling equipment, observe off-loading of curbside trucks, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Berkeley Recycling Center, 2nd St. and Gilman St. 524-0114. berkeleyrecycling.org 

Come Play Board Games at 3 p.m. at the Richmond Public Library, Main Children’s Room, 325 Civic Center Plaza, Richmond. Most of the games are only suitable for ages 3 and up. 620-6557. www.richmondlibrary.org 

Red Cross Blood Drive from noon to 6 p.m. at the American Red Cross bus at 2106 Shattuck Ave. To schedule an appointment go to www.BeADonor.com 

Circle of Concern Vigil meets on West Lawn of UC campus across from Addison and Oxford, Thurs. at noon and Sun. at 1 p.m. to oppose UC weapons labs contracts. 848-8055. 

Summer Dance Party EveryThurs. at 7:30 p.m. at Live Oak Park. Teachers will lead a variety of dances from around the world. All ages at 7:30, teens and adults at 8:30. Cost is $2 children, $5 adults. 

Fitness Class for 55+ at 9:15 a.m. at Jewish Community Center, 1414 Walnut St. 848-0237. 

FRIDAY, JULY 3 

Kensington First Friday Art Walk from 6 p.m. to 9p.m., with street musicians, free refreshments at participating businesses on Colusa Circle, as well as works by local artisans. 525-6155.  

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 

Sideshow weekend at Playland-Not-At-The-Beach Celebrate P.T. Barnum's birthday with a trip to the sideshow Fri.-Sun. from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 10979 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. Cost is $10-$15. 932-8966. www.playland-not-at-the-beach.org 

Berkeley Women in Black weekly vigil from noon to 1 p.m. at Bancroft and Telegraph. Our focus is human rights in Palestine. 548-6310. 

Three Beats for Nothing Mostly ancient part music for fun and practice meets every Fri. at 10 a.m. at the North Berkeley Senior Center, Hearst at MLK. 655-8863. asiecker@sbcglobal 

Berkeley Chess Club meets every Fri. at 7 p.m. at the Hillside School, 1581 Le Roy Ave. 843-0150. 

SATURDAY, JULY 4 

4th of July at the Berkeley Marina with entertainment, food, games, arts and crafts booths and more, from noon to 9:30 p.m.. Fireworks at the Berkeley Pier at 9:30 p.m. No cars after 7 p.m. 

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 

El Cerrito’s Fourth of July Celebration, with carnival games, rides, circus performances and live music, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Cerrito Vista Park on Moeser Lane, El Cerrito. www.el-cerrito.org 

Disney’s High School Musical: Summer Celebration at 7:15 p.m. at Craneway Pavilion, inside the historic Ford Point Building, 1414 Harbor Way South, Richmond. Activities from 5 p.m. on. Performance followed by fireworks. www.craneway.com 

Independence Day on the Aircraft Carrier USS Hornet with live music, interactive games and tours of the carrier, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at 707 W. Hornet Ave., Pier 3, Alameda. Cost is $10-$25. 521-8448, ext. 282. www.hornetevents.com 

People’s Weekly World Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Cuban Revolution, as well as the 40th anniversary of the first Venceremos Brigade with music, Cuban food and art exhibition from 1 to 5 p.m. at 2232 Derby St. Cost is $12. 548-8764. 

Adbusters July 4th Event with Adbusters contributing editor on the future of the anti-corporate movement in America at 6 p.m. at The Long Haul Infoshop, 3124 Shattuck Ave. micah@adbusters.org 

Free Sailboat Rides from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Cal Sailing Club, Berkeley Marina. Wear warm, waterproof clothing and bring a change of clothes in case you get wet. Children 5 and over welcome with parent or guardian. www.cal-sailing.org 

Free Garden Tours at Regional Parks Botanic Garden Sat. and Sun. at 11 a.m. and 2 pm. Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Tilden Park. Call to confirm. 841-8732. www.nativeplants.org 

Lawn Bowling on the green at the corner of Acton St. and Bancroft Way every Wed. and Sat. at 10 a.m. for ages 12 and up. Wear flat soled shoes, no heels. Free lessons. 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. 

Open Shop at Berkeley Boathouse from 1 to 5 p.m. at at 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. Take part in constructing a wooden boat or help out with other maritime projects. No experience necessary. First time is free, cost is $10 per day. 644-2577. www.watersideworkshops.org 

SUNDAY, JULY 5 

Bay Trail Bike Bash Brunch for the grand opening of the new Ford Point Bay Trail at at 8 a.m. at Craneway Pavilion, 1414 Harbor Way South, Richmond. Ribbon-cutting at 9:30 a.m. www.craneway.com 

Social Action Summer Forum with Carson Perez, Program Associate for the Children’s Defense Fund California on “Freedom Schools, Children’s Sabbath, and the Goals of the Children’s Defense Fund” at 10 a.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley, 1 Lawson Rd., Kensington. 525-0302, ext. 306. 

Free Garden Tours at Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Tilden Park Sat. and Sun. at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Call to confirm. 841-8732. www.nativeplants.org 

Lake Merritt Neighbors Organized for Peace Peace walk around the lake every Sun. Meet at 3 p.m. at the colonnade at the NE end of the lake. 763-8712. lmno4p.org 

Huston Smith on “Tales of Wonder” at 11:30 a.m. at Epworth UMC, 1953 Hopkins St.  

Tibetan Buddhism with Judy Rasmussen on “Creating Positive Community” at 6 p.m. at the Tibetan Nyingma Institute, 1815 Highland Pl. 809-1000. www.nyingmainstitute.com 

Sew Your Own Open Studio Come learn to use our industrial and domestic machines, or work on your own projects, from 2 to 6 p.m. at 84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park. Also on Thurs. from 2 to 6 p.m. Cost is $5 per hour. 644-2577. www.watersideworkshops.org 

CITY MEETINGS 

Mental Health Commission meets Thurs., June 25, at 5 p.m. at 2640 MLK Jr. Way, at Derby. 981-5217.  

Zoning Adjustments Board meets Thurs., June 25, at 7 p.m., in City Council Chambers. 981-7430.  

Council Agenda Committee meets Mon., June 29, at 2:30 p.m., at 2180 Milvia St. 981-6900. 

www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil/agenda-committee 

Community Environmental Advisory Commission meets Thurs., July 2, at 7 p.m., at 2118 Milvia St. Nabil Al-Hadithy, 981-7460.  

Landmarks Preservation Commission/Zoning Adjustments Board Meeting meets Thurs., July 2, at 6 p.m., in City Council Chambers. 981-7429.  

THURSDAY, JUNE 25 

CHILDREN 

“Cowboy Songs and Ballads” with Adam Miller at 3 p.m. at the Richmond Public Library, Main Children’s Room, 325 Civic Center Plaza, Richmond. 620-6557. 

FILM 

Free Outdoor Movies at Jack London Square “Hook” Come at 7:30 p.m., movies begin at sundown. Bring blankets and stadium seat. 645-9292.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Philip Dreyfus reads from “Our Better Nature: Environment and the Making of San Francisco” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Berkeley Opera Highlights from the upcoming production of “The Ballad of Baby Doe” at 12:15 p.m. at Berkeley Public Library, 5th Floor, 2090 Kittredge St. 981-6241.  

Kickin’ the Mule with Freddie Hughes at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $13-$15. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Stonehoney at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

Matt Eakle Band at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $10. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Everything Gone Green, The Actors, Goodbye Nautilus at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082.  

Speak the Music, beatboxing, at 8:30 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $8. 849-2568.  

The Sacred Profanities at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790. www.beckettsirishpub.com 

FRIDAY, JUNE 26 

THEATER 

Aurora Theatre “Jack Goes Boating” through July 19. Tickets are $28-$50. 843-4822. auroratheatre.org.  

Berkeley Rep “You, Nero” at 2025 Addison St., through June 28. Tickets are $13.50-$71. www.berkeleyrep.org 

Contra Costa Civic Theatre “Thoroughly Modern Millie” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at 951 Pomona Ave., El Cerrito, through July 19. Tickets are $15-$24. 524-9132. www.ccct.org  

Joe Orrach’s “In My Corner” solo show, Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 7 p.m. at Oakland School of the Arts’ New Black Box Theatre, in the Fox Theatre Complex, 531 19th St. Oakland, through June 28. Tickets are $18-$28. joeorrach.com 

Masquers Playhouse “Lady Windermere’s Fan” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2:30 p.m. at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond, and runs through July 4. Tickets are $18. 232-4031. www.masquers.org 

Pinole Community Players “Pump Boys & the Dinettes” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Community Playhouse, 601 Tennet Ave., Pinole, through July 11. Tickets are $17-$20. www.pinoleplayers.org 

Shotgun Players “Faust, Part 1” Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. at The Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. through June 28. Tickets are $18-$25. 841-6500. www.shotgunplayers.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

“What Goes Around, Comes Around” Street art on vinyl, a group show by Everybody Get Up! Reception at 6 p.m. at Float Art Gallery, 1091 Calcott Place, Unit 116, Oakland. www.thefloatcenter.com 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Dianne Hale reads from “La Bella Lingua: My Love Affair with Italian, the World’s Most Enchanting Language” at 7:30 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Ritmojito, Latin, at noon at the Kaiser Center Roof Garden, on top of the parking garage, 300 Lakeside Drive, Oakland. Free.  

Dave Gleason, of Wasted Days, at 2 p.m. at Down Home Music, 10341 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 525-2129. 

Hanif & The Sound Voyagers at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $6. 841-JAZZ.  

Suni Paz & Rafael Manriquez at 8 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $14-$16. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Caribbean Allstars and Native Elements at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10-$13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

The Moore Brothers, Casual Fog at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $7. 841-2082.  

The P-PL at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

Reality Playthings improvisation with Frank Moore at 8 p.m. at Temescal Arts Center, 511 48th St., Oakland. fmoore@eroplay.com 

Santero, Carne Cruda at 9 p.m. at Shattuck Down Low, 2284 Shattuck Ave. Cost is $7. 548-1159.  

Dana Salzman Quartet at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

Tara Tinsley’s Birthday Show with Ryan Toth and Jeremy Ferrick at 8 p.m. at Art House Gallery and Cultural Center, 2905 Shattuck Ave. Tickets are $10.  

SATURDAY, JUNE 27 

CHILDREN  

Los Amiguitos de La Peña with Colibri & Suni Paz at 10:30 a.m. at La Peña. Cost is $5 for adults, $4 for children. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Rabbit on the Moon with songs, puppetry and acrobatics, Sat. and Sun. at 12:30 and 3 p.m. at Children’s Fairyland, 699 Bellevue Ave., Oakland. Cost is $7. 452-2259. www.fairyland.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Stan Goldberg reads from “Lessons for the Living: Stories of Forgiveness, Gratitude and Courage at the End of Life” at 4 p.m. at Mrs. Dalloways, 2904 College Ave. 704-8222. 

Rhythm & Muse with poets Lucille Lang Day and Marc Elihu Hofstadter at 7 p.m. at Berkeley Art Center, 1275 Walnut St., 644-6893.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Passamezzo Moderno 17th century music of Merula, Schmelzer, Frescobaldi and others performed on dulcian, violin, organ and harpsichord, at 8 p.m. at Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St. Tickets are $8-$12. 549-3864.  

Bluegrass Kid’s Jam from 1 to 4 p.m. at at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $12.50-$13.50. 548-1761.  

Star Spangeld Summer Gael Alcock, cello, with Skye Atman, piano, John Pearson, guitar, Adam David Miller, poetry, at 7 p.m. at 2424 Warring St. Donation $10, no one turned away. Benefits Cha house. 548-9050. 

Miss Faye Carol & Her Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. Cost is $15. 841-JAZZ.  

Gil Chun’s 15th Annual Bay Area Follies at 7 p.m. at the Roda Theatre, Berkeley Repertory, 2025 Addison St. Tickets are $12-$15. Dancegil@sbcglobal.net  

La Mixta Criolla at 9 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$12. 849-2568.  

Baba Ken & The Afro Groove Connexion at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10-$13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com  

Marcus Shelby Trio at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

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

Mark Levine & the Latin Tinge at 8 p.m. at the Jazzschool. Cost is $15-$18. 845-5373. www.jazzschool.com 

Larry Stefl Jazz Quartet at 9:30 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. Cost is $3. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

20 Minute Loop, The Hollyhocks, Ultralash at 9:30 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082.  

Jacques Ibula at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

Marcus Shelby Trio at 8 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

SUNDAY, JUNE 28 

CHILDREN 

Orange Sherbet at Ashkenaz at 3 p.m. Cost is $4-$6. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

“Mystery Made Manifest” New work by Susan Dunhan Felix. Artist talk and poetry reading at 2:30 p.m. at the Bade Museum, Pacific School of Religion, 1798 Scenic Ave. 848-0528.  

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Bluegrass for the Greenbelt Festival with The Waybacks, The Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band, Laurie Lewis and the Right Hands, and many others from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Dunsmuir House, 2960 Peralta Oaks Dr., Oakland. Tickets are $40, free for children 12 and under. For tickets see www.slimstickets.com 

Jazz Vespers with the Jazz Connection Quintet at 4 p.m. at Downs Memorial United Methodist Church, 6026 Idaho St., Oakland. Tickets are $20, $10 for children. 420-0104.  

London Players Music for strings, winds, and piano at 7 p.m. at Crowden School, 1475 Rose St. Tickets are $10. 409-2416. 

Gil Chun’s 15th Annual Bay Area Follies at 2 p.m. at the Roda Theatre, Berkeley Repertory, 2025 Addison St. Tickets are $12-$15. Dancegil@sbcglobal.net  

Hip Hop Awareness Fundraiser at 8 p.m. at La Peña. Cost is $5-$20. All ages. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Dave Le Febvre Group at 3 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island. Cost is $12. 841-JAZZ.  

Carlos Oliveira & Brazilian Origins, featuring Harvey Wainapel, at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $12. 841-JAZZ.  

Soul Jazz Sundays with the Howard Wiley Organ Trio at 5 p.m. at The Aqua Lounge, 311 Broadway, Oakland. Donation $5. 625-9601. 

Wild Buds in a benefit for the Ecology Center at 7 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

McLaren’s Voices Eclectica at 5 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

MONDAY, JUNE 29 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Subterranean Shakespeare “Henry VI, Part I” Staged reading at 7:30 p.m. at Berkeley Unitarian Fellowship, 1924 Cedar at Bonita. Tickets are $8 at the door. 276-3871. 

Poetry Express open mic theme night on “predator and prey” at 7 p.m. at Priya Restaurant, 2072 San Pablo Ave. 644-3977. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Iya Khan at 5:30 p.m. at Palm Tree Plaza, Jack London Square. 645-9292. www.jacklondonsquare.com 

Wild Buds in a benefit for the Ecology Center at 6:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Americana Unplugged: The Whiskey Brothers at 5 p.m. at Jupiter. 843-8277. 

Mike Marshall and “International Mandolin Night” in a benefit for Aurora School at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage Coffee House. Cost is $24.50-$25.50. 548-1761. www.freightandsalvage.org 

TUESDAY, JUNE 30 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Jack Passion, author of “The Facial Hair Handbook” and two-time, undefeated champion of natural full beards from the World Beard and Mustache Championships reads at 7:30 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

La Banda Feufollet at 8:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Dance lesson at 8 p.m. Cost is $9. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Singers’ Open Mic with Kelly Park at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

WEDNESDAY, JULY 1 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Mo’Rockin Project, world music, at noon at Oakland City Center, 12th and Broadway. 

Rosalie Sorrels in Concert at 7:30 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 201 Martina St., corner W. Richmond Ave., Point Richmond. Suggested donation $10. 236-0527.  

Gilliam Harwin Group at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Woman Drum Maestras: Born to Drum at 7 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $20-$22. 849-2568. www.lapena.org 

Whiskey Brothers, old-time and bluegrass at 9 p.m. at Albatross, 1822 San Pablo Ave. 843-2473. www.albatrosspub.com 

Everton Blender, Admiral Tibet, Donovan Bananza, reggae, at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $15-$18. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

THURSDAY, JULY 2 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Bongo Love at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $10-$13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

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

Singer’s Open Mic with Ellen Hoffman at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $5. 841-JAZZ.  

The Deep at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

These United States, Mushroom at 9 p.m. at The Starry Plough. Cost is $8. 841-2082. 

FRIDAY, JULY 3 

THEATER 

Aurora Theatre “Jack Goes Boating” through July 19. Tickets are $28-$50. 843-4822  

Contra Costa Civic Theatre “Thoroughly Modern Millie” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at 951 Pomona Ave., El Cerrito, through July 19. Tickets are $15-$24. 524-9132.  

Masquers Playhouse “Lady Windermere’s Fan” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2:30 p.m. at 105 Park Place, Point Richmond, and runs through July 4. Tickets are $18. 232-4031. 

Pinole Community Players “Pump Boys & the Dinettes” Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. at Community Playhouse, 601 Tennet Ave., Pinole, through July 11. Tickets are $17-$20.  

Opera Piccola “The Play’s the Thing” staged readings at 7:30 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak at 10th, Oakland. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

EXHIBITIONS 

“Help Me Remember How Beautiful the World Is” Works by YaChin Bonny You. Opening reception at 7 p.m. at the Compound Gallery, 6602/6604 San Pablo Ave., Oakland. Exhibition runs through July 26. 655-9019. thecompoundgallery.com 

“This Town” Group art show of cities, people, cultures of Northern California. Opening reception at 7 p.m. at Exlectix Galery, 10082 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. www.eclectix.com 

“just because there are questions, does not mean there are answers” Installation by Sam Lopes, Joy Fritz and others. Opening reception at 7 pm. at Blankspace Gallery, 6608 San Pablo Ave., Oakland. 547-6608.  

“Wood and Water” Works by Mary Curtis Ratcliff and Anna Vaughan and “Forecast” Works by Julie Alvarado, Aaron Geman, Kathleen King and Joan Weiss. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at Mercury 20 Gallery, 25 Grand Ave., Oakland. Exhibition runs to Aug. 1. 701-4620.  

“Painting from a Deep Place” Works by Leigh Hyams and others. Reception at 7 p.m. at Oakopolis, 447 25th St., Oakland. Exhibition runs to July 11. 663-6920. 

“Shedding” Works by Kimberley Campisano and Yasmin Lambie-Simpson on the creative expression of change. Opening reception at 6 p.m. at Red Door Gallery, 416 26th St., Oakland. Exhibition runs to July 31. www.reddoorgalleryandcollective.com 

FILM 

The Afro-Mexican Presence in Film with sceenings of “The Forgotten Robot” and “The Third Root” at 7 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak at 10th, Oakland. Cost is $5-$8. 238-2200.  

READINGS AND LECTURES 

UpSurge! Jazz poetry for the 3rd Annual Fredrick Douglass Day/Alternative 4th of July Celebration with the Frederick Douglas Youth Ensemble at 8 p.m. at Oakland Public Conservatory of Music, 1616 Franklin St., Oakland. Barbeque at 6 p.m. www.opcmusic.org 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Independence Day Celebration with the Oakland East Bay Symphony at 7 p.m. at Craneway Pavilion, inside the historic Ford Point Building, 1414 Harbor Way South, Richmond. Free. www.craneway.com 

Technohop Danceparty: In-degenerate’s Day Edition at 9 p.m. at La Peña Cultural Center. Cost is $10-$12. 849-2568.  

Danny Caron Trio at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $12. 841-JAZZ.  

Justin Ancheta, Stitchcraft at 9 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $8 with bike, $10 without. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

Darol Anger’s Monster String Quartet with Brittany & Natalie Haas and Lauren Rioux at 8 p.m. at Freight and Salvage. Cost is $18.50-$19.50. 548-1761.  

Green Machine at 10 p.m. at Beckett’s Irish Pub, 2271 Shattuck Ave. 647-1790.  

SATURDAY, JULY 4 

THEATER 

Disney’s High School Musical: Summer Celebration at 7:15 p.m. at Craneway Pavilion, inside the historic Ford Point Building, 1414 Harbor Way South, Richmond. Activities from 5 p.m. on. Performance followed by fireworks. www.craneway.com 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Macy Blackman & The Mighty Fines at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $14. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

Youssoupha Sidibe in a benefit for SEVA, at 9:30 p.m. at Ashkenaz. Cost is $110-$13. 525-5054. www.ashkenaz.com 

SUNDAY, JULY 5 

EXHIBITIONS 

Squeak Carnwath: Painting Is No Ordinary Object, docent tour at 2 p.m. at Oakland Museum of California, 10th and Oak Sts. Admission is $5-$8. 238-2200. www.museumca.org 

READINGS AND LECTURES 

Amy André, Sherilyn Connelly, Kimberly Dark, Daphne Gottlieb, and others read from “Visible: a Femmethology” at 6 p.m. at Pegasus Books Downtown, 2349 Shattuck Ave. 649-1320. 

MUSIC AND DANCE 

Sing Out for Single Payer with Anne Feeney, Jon Fromer, Roy Zimmerman and many others at 5 p.m. at 33 Revolutions Cafe, 10086 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. 898-1836. www.33revolutions.com 

Jaz Sawyer’s Eight Legged Monster at 8 p.m. at Anna’s Jazz Island, 2120 Allston Way. Cost is $12. 841-JAZZ. www.AnnasJazzIsland.com 

A man dances salsa in silhouette, then bobs and weaves like a fighter in the ring, backed by a tight piano trio. Lights up; Joe Orrach turns and tells us, “When I was 17, I signed a contract with the U.S. Air Force for the next four years of my life. After three, they decided they had enough. I could’ve told them that after a week!” 

Joe proceeds to show us what “enough” means over the next hour or so, as he dances, feints and jabs, complains and exults, talks to us about and just plain shows his early days, relentlessly, with passion and humor in his solo act, In My Corner. 

The show runs for another weekend at the new Black Box Theatre, Oakland School for the Arts’ new stage in the uptown Fox Theatre complex on 19th Avenue, just off Telegraph. 

Solo shows, autobiographical solo shows—ethnic identity autobiographic solo shows—have become a staple, even a cliché in American performance. But Joe Orrach shows what it is to be Puerto Rican-Italian, from the Bronx transplanted to Long Island, with such engagement—and so many arrows in his quiver, strings to his bow—that he has us reacting to his very synapses as they fire nervous impulses. To tell is to instantly re-enact, to re-experience a life. 

Constantly changing tempo, breaking up the rhythm, telling us one thing as he does something else in counterpoint, Joe puts it across by bringing us into his activity, even as he’s describing it. Not illustrating one by the other, but setting a whole series of acts in motion by a recited fact or image. An image itself has been defined as a complex, and In My Corner. compounds those complexities into what would be merely a tour-de-force if it weren’t so close to the bone, yet higher than a kite. It’s truly a show, continuous entertainment, its infectious spirit telegraphed by the rapture of the performer. 

All the perceptions and sensitivities are there, from memory, brought alive with relish: the family scene, the food, his parents dancing—and when he’s praised for winning a twist contest, his father demurring, “His timing’s off. Watch me and my wife. Please,” as they writhe to Tito Puente. 

Joe’s characterization of his father colors the show as much as his own impulsive delivery: his father teaching him how to shave, and talking about romance and marital disappointment, breaking into a rendition of “Besame Mucho.” Or putting up a speedbag in the basement (there’s one in a rollaround frame onstage) and teaching his boys boxing (“My father didn’t have much patience; in fact, he had no patience at all.”). Or shouting out instructions and imprecations to the P.R. boxer on TV, losing to Ballentine Ale by a knockdown. Or confronting the coach at school for punishing Joe for a misdemeanor while letting his non-Puerto Rican accomplices off easy—and beating the system. 

In My Corner. takes us up through Joe’s initiation into The Sweet Science—though opening the metal doors into the gym, he falls backwards at the stench—and a gripping first bout, after which he’s almost assassinated, thought to be “a whitey from Long Island.” It tails off with disappointment, estrangement even, until he changes his shoes, learning “so that’s how you do it!”—with a sensational tap routine to salsa, that burns on into curtain call and an encore. 

It’s a great solo show, with a great performer giving his all. And, like anything else, a few others have been crucial: Joe’s co-writer, Lizbeth Hasse; his director and dynamic lighting designer, the ubiquitous Jim Cave (of Laney College as well as everywhere else); and three tremendous musicians: pianist and music director Matthew Clark, drummer Micha Noor Patri and bassist Eugene Warren. 

IN MY CORNER 

8 p.m. tonight (Thursday) through Saturday, and 7 p.m. Sunday at the New Black Box Theatre, Oakland School of the Arts (in the Fox Theatre building), 531 19th St. at Telegraph, Oakland. $28 ($10 student discount), benefit for the school. (415) 433-4380. www.joeorrach.com.

When director Mario Gonzales welcomed the audience to Round Belly Theatre Company’s performance last Sunday at West Oakland’s Noodle Factory, offhandedly acknowledging it was Father’s Day, there was some irony: Living Room, billed as an ensemble piece, is more about what keeps the family apart than together, no one more estranged than dear old dad. 

Gonzales recounts in the program the six-week series of “improvisational, ensemble-building and creative writing exercises” during which the piece was developed, the characters drawn from 1950s television family comedies—a familiar resort for sketch comedy as well as more serious theater. 

The family—Patrick Holt as Dad, Katie Meinholt as Mom, Son played by Lucas Buckman (an alum of Berkeley High’s Independent Theatre Productions) and Josh Han as Baby—present themselves like they’re in a box, or terrarium, acting out their dysfunctionality through speeches to the audience, dialogue, jittery rewinds and fast-forwards in and out of flashbacks, and parody of boob-tube familial cheerfulness and rancor that would make a cat scream. 

Son mopes; Dad fumes and lashes out; Mom acts positive and sticks to it vehemently when questioned, showing the strain. Only Baby, dressed as a superhero in beachtowel cape, necktie headband and Snoopy slippers, is really happy, because he wants to be: “I know exactly who I am ... I’ve been meditating lately.” 

Son, swathed in bathtowel, looks at the mirror image of his fondled chesthair, over the audience, while talking into a handheld tape recorder. “It’s not like I haven’t been with girls before. Boys, too. I have the Internet ... we all face the night alone.” Meanwhile Mom stands outside the bathroom door, fretting: “I know you’re in there, talking to yourself again.” 

“Damn the day I was born,” Dad curses, holding a Channelmaster. “Why won’t my numbers hit?”  

Baby tells about his day in school— “We learned about Class, and Privilege, and Power, Diversity, Colonialism and Dancing”—and threatens a hunger strike, immediately following next week’s “spaghetti night.” 

There’s a visit from Grandma, never seen, as the family faces the audience and fawns. “My favorite mother-in-law!” says unxious Dad. 

Son comes in drunk, and Mom confronts him, while Baby crouches behind the sofa, eavesdropping. Earlier, Dad said of Son, “He’s almost old enough to buy cigarettes and pornography.” Son: “C’mon 18!”  

Living Room is mostly vignettes, soliloquies and asides. There’s satire amid the parody. Given the theme, Round Belly could use a bit more alienation, of the theatrical type, making a clearer definition (like TV, there’s sometimes a “low def” sense here) between narrative and theater, a common enough blur in many other shows. Some of their best, most theatrical moments—Dad sulking in a bright jumpsuit, slouched in the recliner Mom has sworn she’ll burn someday; Baby’s Zorro-like leap from behind the couch and prowl after Mom and Son have it out; saying hello (and goodbye) to Grandma—could use a little underscoring, some of that sense of demonstrating, of showing something Brecht used to talk about when he’d mention “alienation,” or just plain strangeness. 

“I am married to a man who believes he’s an embarrassment to his family,” Mom shares with us. And finishing on the “strangest” upbeat note of all: “I love the idea of family ... They think family happens to everybody.” 

LIVING ROOM 

Presented by Round Belly Theatre Co. at 8 p.m. Friday, June 26 and Saturday, June 27, at the Noodle Factory, 1255-26th St. at Union (a few blocks west of McClymons High School), West Oakland. Suggested donation: $10. 

www.roundbellytheatre.com.

Berkeley pianist Daniell Revenaugh remembers, during his student days in the late 1950s at Florida State University, walking at night by a former slave cabin near the campus in Tallahassee, hearing composer Carlisle Floyd, best-known for his nine operas, including Susannah, working on his Sonata for Piano.  

“It’s one of the three great American sonatas of the 20th century,” Revenaugh said, “Along with Aaron Copland’s and Samuel Barber’s, which have their following, and been frequently performed during the past half century. Floyd’s hasn’t. ... I wanted to encourage Floyd to write again for piano, and do something to bring the Sonata to light, hopefully inducing further performances.” 

Revenaugh has done just that, capturing his performance of the formidable yet ravishing piece—after a rare, fascinating tutorial for the pianist by the composer, now in his 80s—on a DVD Revenaugh co-produced. The DVD, now available at the Musical Offering, was honored at the Tallahassee Film Festival in April. 

“It was a great success, the auditorium was full—to my surprise, no music faculty members or piano students, but theater and dance students and townspeople,” Revenaugh recalls. “Afterwards, audience members came up to us to say how much they appreciated the Sonata, understanding it better because of the coaching Floyd gave me on camera.” 

Indeed, the unusual combination of a lesson for the player by the composer—following their conversation, with Floyd’s comments and Revenaugh’s demonstrations of musical points at the keyboard—is not only a boon for musicians and students, but a privileged glimpse into the process of music-making for untrained listeners, making it all tangible, showing how both a composition and its performance are put together. 

“I’d never actually played for Floyd,” said Revenaugh, “and we hadn’t seen each other in years. I took advantage of his move back to Tallahassee after his many years with the Houston Opera. But I had no idea how he would respond to my idea. To my great, surprised satisfaction, he gave me this detailed lesson before I attempted to perform the Sonata, as if he had just written it—and Floyd hadn’t seen or heard it since its first performances, after which it just sort of faded away, in great part because of its highly individualistic style.” 

In the DVD booklet, Revenaugh notes of his own encounter with the piece, “not an easy task for a musician whose repertory starts with Bach and ends abruptly with Bartok’s 1926 Sonata.” 

Revenaugh characterized the Sonata as “Post-Romantic, structured after the 19th-century manner, harmonically traditional, with 20th-century inclinations to dissonance—but easily appreciable, if not on the first, surely the second hearing.” 

Floyd’s third opera, Susannah, staging the story from the Apocrypha in a rural Tennessee setting and dialect, was premiered at Florida State in 1955, followed by its New York City Opera debut the following year, then a City Opera production at the 1958 World’s Fair in Brussels. It has had a great worldwide success.  

“Over 800 performances,” Revenaugh recounted, “more than West Side Story, second only to Porgy and Bess for American operas performed.”  

Floyd has been honored, along with Leontyne Price and Richard Gaddes, by the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as by the National Opera Institute, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and was awarded the National Medal of Arts at the White House in 2004. 

Revenaugh, whose mother danced with Mikhail Folkine’s ballet company, and whose paternal great-grandfather was portraiturist Aurelius O. Revenaugh, grew up in Louisville, Ky., living there until his teens when, he said, “I realized I couldn’t go any further with my musical career there; I had to get into a more competitive environment. My record collection had many Egon Petri records. I managed to get a recommendation to him. I thought he was at Cornell University; he was at Mills College. My parents brought me out here. I was 16 years old.” 

Petri mentioned composer Ferruccio Busoni, Petri’s mentor, to Revenaugh at their first meeting. Revenaugh would go on to record Busoni’s Piano Concerto, Opus 39 in 1967, conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Men’s Voices of the John Alldis Choir, with fellow Petri student John Ogdon at the keyboard, on EMI, an award-winning recording still in catalogue.  

In 2007, EMI released Revenaugh and Lawrence Leighton Smith’s recording of Busoni’s Complete Two Piano Programme, originally composed and arranged by Busoni to further Petri’s career. Busoni and Petri performed it together, but it wasn’t recorded until Revenaugh and Smith’s version. 

“Busoni’s recitals were said to have a demonic, magical power,” Revenaugh said. “Posters announcing his concerts would only say ‘Busoni.’ I resisted playing Busoni, even playing records, for years.”  

It wasn’t until the 1960s, after rescuing Petri’s papers, including much Busoni memorabilia, from Petri’s house in Poland, from where he fled the invasions of 1939, that Revenaugh “got intrigued with the possibilities to try to make Busoni live on.” To that end, he also founded the Busoni Society. “It’s quite frankly the same thing I’ve been trying to do with the Floyd Sonata,” he said. 

Revenaugh has the largest collection of Busoni memorabilia anywhere. He also acquired the cabin where Floyd worked on Susannah and the Sonata for Piano, moving it to the Millstone Plantation Preservation Institute outside Tallahassee, where he hopes it will house a Floyd archive and be a guesthouse for visiting artists. 

Revenaugh, who once wrote a magazine article entitled “When the Piano Recital Became Deadly,” also organized the Electric Symphony Orchestra, which debuted in Zellerbach Auditorium, as well as L’Institut de Hautes Etudes Musicales in Switzerland—both in 1973—as well as the Classical Cabaret, which performed in the early ’90s at Freight & Salvage and the Julia Morgan Center, with jugglers, fire-eaters and eccentric dancers sharing the stage with classical music.  

“I’m not trying to popularize,” Revenaugh declared, “but to propagate a huge body of literature out beyond its usual sociological barriers.” 

An on-and-off Berkeley resident since 1951, who now divides his time between here, Switzerland and Tallahassee, Revenaugh said he’s spent more time in Berkeley than anywhere, including his childhood home.  

“Berkeley has left me alone to my own devices,” he said. “I have not been disturbed in any way. And, like in London, there is everything life can afford in the Bay Area.” 

The Piano Sonata of  

Carslile Floyd  

DVD at The Musical Offering, 2430 Bancroft Way. 849-0211 www.musicaloffering.com. $19.98.

In the shady backyard of the Prescott-Joseph Center for Community Enhancement, a grand old Victorian just a few blocks up Peralta Street from West Oakland BART, The Low Bottom Playaz present two short plays, and the actors’ lines as they perform are textured by the rustling of leaves in the breeze at this outdoor venue. 

The first play up, Flowers for the Trashman, depicts a sadly familiar happening: two young African-American men are ushered into jail, where they are expected to share a cell with a white prisoner (another young black actor in whiteface) who keeps calling out: “Dammit, jailer, I want to make my phone call.” Finally, the jailer (also in whiteface) escorts him out; the two remaining young men sit, stew—and talk. 

What rises out of that conversation is the play. One, Wes, doesn’t know his father. When asking what he’s like, he’s told one thing one day, something very different the next, depending on his mother’s mood. His buddy Joe, on the other hand, lives with his father, the two of them alone since his mother left; father and son hardly talk. 

Joe’s fraught, and he’s angry, reading out the others around him—he’s someone who gets in trouble for his mouth. His inheritance, no doubt: Joe’s father, who sells flowers, is called the Trashman because of his bad tongue, one reason Joe’s mother “put him down.” 

“Your daddy thinks he’s white or something,” Wes needles. “Don’t know anything about flowers but ‘Roses are Red, Violets are Blue’”—then sings that old doo-wop, “White port and lemon juice.” Even Wes will finally admonish his buddy for his hot put-downs of his own father. 

Another prisoner is brought in, a little bit older. Joe starts in on him, too, and Wes defuses it. Turns out he knew Joe’s brother in Folsom. “You got a cold ass brother, man.” But he remembers Joe sending books to his brother and asks, “Ain’t you supposed to be a writer or something?” He compares him to James Baldwin, though Baldwin’s gay. “How do you know Jesus Christ ain’t a fag?” Joe shoots back. “All those Apostles he had with him. He must’ve had a gay old time, spreading the Gospel!” The prison-hardened parolee, worried his arrest will send him back, doesn’t like Joe “cuttin’ up on J. C. like that.” 

The talk and the tale go round and round, covering the same ground but always turning up something else, some realization of both wanting and not wanting, loving and hating, what they have. 

Flowers for the Trashman was written by Marvin X in the early ’60s. Things haven’t changed much at all. And, as director Ayodele Nzinga remarked of her cast—the young men of the Lower Bottom Playaz, most of them Hip-Hop performers—“They never asked for interpretation, they just understood the inflections, as if they were in the same era.” It comes across as anxious yet offhand, streetwise. 

Marvin X—poet, playwright, cultural figure since the days of Black House in Oakland, with Ed Bullins, Eldridge Cleaver and other, maybe more familiar, names—lives in Berkeley now. The notorious (but elegiac) play, Salaam, Huey, Salaam, concerns a meeting between Marvin and Huey Newton in an Oakland crackhouse. Nzinga has worked with him since meeting him and directing a play of his at Laney College, over 20 years ago. 

Next up is Opal Palmer Adisa’s The Bathroom Grafitti Queen, with Nzinga in the regal lead role, and Tatiana Monet bravely taking up a slew of supporting parts—all the women, from church lady to street, who occupy the next stall and provide the scribble for the Grafitti Queen to pontificate on. 

It’s funny, and harrowing. Nzinga brings across a woman who’s walked away from her job as a meter maid, leaving her vehicle’s engine running, to follow a higher, if ribald, calling. Or is it a street person’s sense of dislocation? She’s looking for her daughter, searching for her home ... sharp one minute, hazy the next. As Nzinga says, “She’s trying to remember, get back and handle it ... Even in her absence, she ministers to other people. She’s misplaced her life, but is perfectly willing to tell you what to do with yours!” Her mission, at least, is as clear as its premises are stained and jotted over. 

“I love the freedom to walk around all painted up!” Nzinga’s a thoughtful, humorous, articulate woman, with a great deal to say about theater and its relation to community. She jokes about her identification with the Bathroom Queen: “Longly, wistfully thought of as being crazy—but of what I’ve got to do next Tuesday! That’s what’s beautifully tender and precious about her.”  

Nzinga also produces Recovery Theater and Shakespeare In The Hood, with her “remixes” of The Bard, like Mack, A Gangsta Tale, from Macbeth, or the new Romeo and Juliet remix, Ebony and Johnny. Some of her cast, besides Tatiana Monet, who just returned from acting in LA, go by their Hip-Hop handles: Doe & Reezy (Joe and Wes), Wolfhawk Jaguar (vocalist for Hairdoo, who played the parolee), Leo Coleman (the white prisoner), Hi-Beats Entertainment (jailer plus working the tech boards in the booth)—and have all been with the Lower Bottom Playaz (named after the neighborhood’s monicker), some for all nine seasons. 

After the show closes, July 25, they’ll take the plays along with Nzinga’s Mama at Twilight; Death by Love to the San Francisco Theater Festival in Yerba Buena Gardens. 

THE LOWER BOTTOM PLAYAZ 

Flowers for the Trashman by Marvin X and The Bathrroom Grafitti Queen by Opal Palmer Adisa, performed by The Low Bottom Playaz, Friday–Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p. m. through July 25. Prescott-Joseph Center, 920 Peralta Street (four blocks from West Oakland BART). $10 (no one turned away for lack of funds). Information: 510-835-8683; reservations: 510-208-1912.