Feature Archives

In association with the Brava Theater Center, the Dell’Arte Company presents Shadow of Giants by Matthew Graham Smith. This two-night, special engagement will be held Friday, March 24 and Saturday, March 25 at Brava Theater Center.

Shadow of Giants is about the struggle over one redwood tree. It is a struggle with international ramifications, a struggle that involves tree-sitters, ghosts and mythology. An athletic ensemble of five actors portrays the ongoing conflict between environmentalists desperately fighting to preserve the last of the ancient forests, and the big timber companies who own them. It’s a story of a divided community, greed, hope, and power, told through dynamic physical theatre.

Based in a former logging town on California’s North coast, the Dell’Arte Company is an artist-managed professional touring company with a long history of creating original work that is inspired by their region. This ongoing ensemble of artists has created more than 35 award-winning, original works of theatre since 1977, and has toured with acclaim to international festivals.

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The 12th Annual Radical Performance Fest took place on Friday and Saturday evenings, March 17th and 18th, in San Francisco. Doors opened at 7:30pm, with the shows beginning at 8:00pm, at SoMarts, 934 Brannan (at 8th Street). This politically laced, and artistically creative event raised money to send local youth (ages 15-25) to the Art in Action summer camp. Artists on Friday night included Colored Ink, Olga Salamanca, Sparlha Swa, and more. On Saturday night, perofrmers such as Samsara, deep dick collective, and Joe Navarro graced the stage.

SoMarts Cultural Center | Blue Buddha's Basement

The artwork of Jason Justice was on exhibit at the Thoreau Galleries in San Francisco's Presidio. Jason Justice is a local activist and graphic designer. Dozens of patches, cards, picket signs, and posters that he designed for organizations such as the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, UniteHERE Local 2, Courage to Resist, and DanceSafe were shown through April 20th. The Thoreau Galleries are located in the Thoreau Center for Sustainability on Lincoln Boulevard in the Presidio. Read more

"My Name Is Rachel Corrie" was supposed to be opening in New York at the New York Theater Workshop during the week of March the 20th. However, the producers of the play were told that it was going to be postponed indefinitely. This play was based on Rachel's Corrie's diaries. The text had been edited from her diaries by Alan Rickman, who directed, with Megan Dodds playing Rachel, the show as it was performed by the Royal Court Theatre-- to overwhelming critical acclaim. The show appears to have been postponed due to its political content. Read ISM suggestions for writing letters to protest the New York Times's coverage of this story.

Activists worldwide plan to hold public space readings of Rachel's emails and journal entries during March 16th, the anniversary of Corrie's death. People plan to give fliers to passersby to encourage them to ask themselves, "Why are people so frightened of Rachel Corrie's words?" Read more

Democracy Now's Interview with Vanessa Redgrave | Warren Guykema's letter published in Counterpunch | More articles about the play | If Americans Knew's Rachel Corrie page | Rachel's Words website

Local diva/artist/poet Aya de León held her annual Alternative Valentine's show, on Tuesday, February 14th at 8pm at the La Peña Cultural Center. Flyer This spoken word and musical event celebrated "love of self, of spirit, of family and community, of peace, of democracy!" The evening was hosted by Aya de León, with guests such as members of Kreatibo, Alicia Raquel, Mike Molino, and the band Panama. Aya de León married herself in 1996 and has been throwing celebrations of self-love ever since.

La Peña Cultural Center | Aya de León

El Enemigo Común (The Common Enemy) scratches beneath the surface of neoliberalism, and looks at some of the most hidden atrocities in recent North American history. The film documents instances of paramilitary activity against indigenous communities in Oaxaca, Mexico from 2002 through 2005, and includes footage of protests in Cancun against the World Trade Organization, and in Miami against the Free Trade Area of the America's. The three locations in isolation expose the disparities in North American resistance movements, but also bring us closer to understanding the nature of an emerging common struggle.

Bouncing back and forth from community to community, El Enemigo Común is both an introduction to some of the many ignored resistances in North America, and an urgent call to action for international civil society, to stand in solidarity against state sponsored repression and for human peace, dignity and justice, in Oaxaca, Mexico. The film provides a historical context for the current violent incarnation of capitalism and empire, and provokes action against it as a common enemy. Read more

Preview: Watch the Video Trailer! || El Enemigo Común

Audio from Santa Cruz Screening: Simon speaks on El Enemigo Común || Ryan Harvey performed: COINTELPRO | Open Song to the U.S. Occupying Forces | Remember Me | Freedom | New Orleans Got Iraqed | The Plan Puebla Panama | Give It Time

Stew Albert, a prominent member of the "Youth International Party" (Yippie!) an unindicted co-conspirator in the infamous Chicago 1968 "Conspiracy Trial," an instigator of People's Park and so much more died in his sleep on January 30th. Albert had incurable and inoperable liver cancer, but his belief in a better world and his unfaltering activism reportedly kept him busy until the very last moments of his life. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, February 1st at 1:00 at the Havurah Shalom at 825 NW 18th Ave in Portland, Oregon. Albert kept a weblog- "a personal log by an American radical activist who knew he was dying of cancer, but stoically continued to rant against empire." Read more

Stew Albert's Yippie Reading Room website | Stew Albert's Blog | Read more about the Yippies