Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture

Ghostly tales

A wintry evening with friends in an Irish pub takes a turn for the supernatural in PCPA’s The Weir

It’s said that everyone has a story, and in PCPA’s version of The Weir, everyone does—each one filled with sadness, laughter, torment, and a bit of the supernatural. To summarize this play is to do it an injustice. It’s simple in concept—set in the fictional rural Irish town of Carrick, four local men are having […]

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Arts Briefs

A Hancock student wins big for his take on student life Dustin Peterson, an Allan Hancock College photography student, beat out 340 contestants to take grand prize in the Foundation for California Community Colleges contest, College Seen II. The photo contest was sponsored by Adobe and challenged entrants to depict the life of a community […]

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It’s independence time!

Las Fiestas Patrias celebrations return to Santa Maria

The United States celebrates its independence on July 4 with fireworks, and the beginning of the school year in September with a sigh of relief. For many Latin countries, however, September is the time for celebrating independence. Las Fiestas Patrias is the national celebration of two holidays, Cinco de Mayo (which technically happens in May) […]

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The active artist

From painting murals to keeping venues alive, Hattie Stoddard stays busy

In an artists’ world, nothing is really ever complete. Everything can be improved upon or changed. The smallest details can be an artist’s harshest enemy and most difficult challenge. Such is the case with Santa Maria artist Hattie Stoddard. Sitting in her dining room, sipping Crystal Light, Stoddard reflected on her mural work at the […]

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Community theater celebrates a milestone

Santa Maria Civic Theater celebrates 50 years

Even a theater critic such as myself gets sentimental when he learns that Santa Maria Civic Theatre is celebrating its 50th season this year. I have some personal experience with the organization’s history. My first (and, thus far, only) appearance on a Santa Maria stage was in the theater’s production of the suspense thriller Veronica’s […]

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The joint is jumpin’

PCPA’s Hot Mikado swings onto the stage

There are some who like it cool and those who like it hot. PCPA’s take on Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado is for the latter. It’s definitely hot. A love story at its heart, Hot Mikado balances the American swing-era style and attitude atop a Japanese setting to tell a story laced with political jabs […]

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Finding his purpose

Author Francisco Jimenez shares his experience as an immigrant and his struggle for a new life

To say that life was hard for Francisco Jimenez would be a gross understatement. Life didn’t hand him lemons, it gave him ground crops. And they weren’t handed to him—he had to pick them himself. But life also has a way of giving purpose to struggle, and in the case of Jimenez, he found that […]

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Arts Briefs

Celebrate music in the garden After seven successful seasons, the Santa Maria Philharmonic begins its eighth on Sept. 27 with a concert of selections from Weber, Schubert, Elgar, and Tchaikovsky. To kick off the 2008-2009 season, the Santa Maria Philharmonic Society will host a fundraiser on Sept. 7, titled “Garden Party at Ambrosia,” at the […]

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About face

Artist CarolK.’s latest exhibition at Grossman Gallery turns all eyes on the face

For some artists, perhaps the only other thing more valuable than their work is time—time to create, and time to think about creating. Such time was an elusive thing for artist Carol A. Kemp, who goes by the moniker of CarolK. To make the most of what she had, she committed to a project that […]

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Arts Briefs

Get ready for an Orcutt Aquacenter poolside party Get one last summer swim in and help support the Orcutt Aquacenter from noon to 3 p.m. on Sept. 28 at the Foxenwood Tennis and Swim Club, 1087 Clubhouse Drive in Orcutt. The Aquacenter’s board of directors is hosting a poolside party and barbecue in celebration of […]

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It’s all about heart

Members of The Despair give it their all for their band, their music, and their dreams

This is the story of a group of guys trying to make it big in rock’n’roll. It’s a story like a lot of other stories in a lot of other cities. It’s a story about young friends who are passionate about music, give up the comforts of a secure lifestyle, move in together, and devote […]

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