Finding tickets for a live concert was kind of hard, so I made a compromise and decided to see a musical instead. The show I picked is called "Fields of Gold: A theatrical tribute to the music of Sting" and is in conjunction with the San Francisco A.C.T. Young Conservatory and the BIRD School of Rock. The performances are from June 1-17th at the Zeum theatre.
The story is set in Lagrange, Indiana and focuses on the coming of age of a group of Amish and non-Amish teens. The plot centers around "rumspringa" a time when young Amish teens come of age and are allowed to experience the outside world before commiting themselves to the faith. When five Amish youths cross paths with some "English" (an Amish term for non-Amish) teens from around the area, their lives entangle and experience a dramatic change.
Since the play was a tribute to Sting, his songs were woven throughout the play very carefully and worked beautifully with most of the plot. Some of the best numbers were: Bring on the Night, Why Should I Cry, King of Pain, Fragile and Fields of Gold.
The set was simple, a single platform with two raised platforms to the side. The backdrop was blue and painted with stalks of wheat. Actual stalks of wheat were used to seperate the band, which was behind the platform, from the stage area. The costumes were decently done, though one girl's costume was ill-fitted and drove me nuts. The lighting design was also nice and really added to the atmosphere of the play.
One of my favorite elements was the band from the BIRD School of Rock. These students were very talented and could rival any professional band. The music was great and they even played an encore at the end of the performance.
Overall, Fields of Gold was an interesting story to watch that was well performed by some very talented young actors and musicians. It was a great way to support the arts and young artists. While the script was sometimes shakey, the cast pulled off a show that was not only moving but catchy and I left the show humming "Fields of Gold" and wishing I had Sting on my iPod.
After wandering a bit I found myself inside the SF Botanical gardens. They have various sections of the park set up to support a particular type of plants from various areas of the world. The map at the entrance showed the full span on the park, which was huge and probably easy to get lost in. So I stuck to the Australian area.
Floral photography can be fun, so I took some artsy fartsy photos:
I actually don't remember the names of most of these plants, but they were very beautiful. The desert plants had some really interesting patterns and colors. Some were familiar--like cacti, but a lot of the plants I had never seen before.
There were squirrels everywhere but it was hard to get a good picture of the little fellas.
Really an enjoyable place to be on a nice day. The park sort of reminds me of a similarly large park in Brooklyn, NY. I'll definitely be back. Maybe for a picnic.
As an amateur costume designer, I have always been in love with fashion. So when I saw all the fliers and flags about town for the Vivienne Westwood exhibit--I had to go.
The exhibit is staggering and if you love fashion or really cool looking clothes--you would be delighted. The collection starts at her roots as she deconstructed clothes for the punk crowd and the Sex Pistols which included bondage wear, ripped 1950s garments and shirts with lewd images. Her following works which began to grace the runway began to explore the mythological, the future and even play with the past.
It was evident in a lot of her later works how much her Anglophilia inspired her. You saw kilts deconstructed into skirts, crinoline as everyday wear and dresses based on paintings. While Vivienne Westwood never went to art school for fashion or had formal sewing lessons, she learned through deconstruction and later by researching patterns and construction styles of the past.
The only downside to the exhibit was that you were not allowed to take photos. There were so many beautiful things I would have captured. So instead I found these photos from the de Young website for folks to get a little taste of her style. The photo in the middle is my favorite and I even went back before leaving to sketch it.
Cheers!
The collage:
I'm not going to talk too much about APE, since I'm doing a presentation of it in class. APE stands for the Alternative Press Expo and this means lots and lots of illustrators, comic book artists and independent publishers.
Since I figure Grindhouse is a group movie and I was going alone, I chose to go see First Snow at the Opera Plaza Cinema. I've never been to the Opera Plaza Cinema before, but it was really nice and intimate, which was perfect for seeing this kind of film. Admission was $9.50, but hey that's $1 less than AMC.
this is my first entry on VOX...enjoy.
