HAPPENINGS | Dec. 31, 2020-Jan. 7, 2021 - Ventura County Reporter
- Get link
- Other Apps
HAPPENINGS | Dec. 31, 2020-Jan. 7, 2021 - Ventura County Reporter |
- HAPPENINGS | Dec. 31, 2020-Jan. 7, 2021 - Ventura County Reporter
- First China-US music school Tianjin Juilliard starts graduate program amid COVID-19 pandemic - Global Times
- Homing's In, Jan 1-10, 2021 - Bay Area Reporter, America's highest circulation LGBT newspaper
- 2020 Staff Picks: UW First Wave alum Zhalarina Sanders wins Chicago Emmy for music video series - madison365.com
HAPPENINGS | Dec. 31, 2020-Jan. 7, 2021 - Ventura County Reporter Posted: 30 Dec 2020 09:45 PM PST ELF: THE MUSICAL Through Jan. 18 online. The Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center's beloved 2019 holiday production returns for streaming online. Follow Buddy as he leaves the elf community in the North Pole to seek out his human father in New York City. $15-25. www.svvac.org/what-s-happening. Photo by Jon Neftali Photography Thursday – Dec. 31STARTING RIGHT FOR 2021 HIKE 8-9 a.m. Get a jump on a healthier year with a hike. Bring a mask and physical distancing is required. Bring water, comfortable shoes and layers are recommended. Space is limited. Led by Pleasant Valley Parks and Recreation department. Register online HERE. ![]() VC COVID TESTING BY APPOINTMENT | Avoid lines by making an appointment at State operated testing sites in the county: Newbury Park at the Thousand Oaks Library and the other is at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center. Call 1-888-634-1123 or visit www.lhi.care/covidtesting. HAVE SYMPTOMS? Make an appointment at a County Clinic in Ventura, Oxnard, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and Fillmore. Please call 805-652-7660 to make an appointment. Walk in testing schedule changes daily at other sites, visit www.vcrecovers.com. VIRTUAL FUN-RAISING NEW YEAR'S EVE CELEBRATION 6-7 p.m. Dance out 2020! Be cozy in comfy pajamas, pour the champagne and enjoy music, comedy, silent and live auction. Auctions benefit Senior Concerns programs helping local seniors. FREE online registration HERE. Friday – Jan. 1VENTURA BOTANICAL GARDENS All Day FREE entry in celebration of New Year's Day! Garden Shop will be open. Leashed dogs welcome. Wear your mask and practice physical distancing. Saturday – Jan. 2HOLIDAYS IN YOUR CAR Last day to see the lights at Ventura County Fairgrounds in this festive, drive through display. Tickets online HERE. Monday – Jan. 4ZAPPA Streaming This new, fully authorized by his family, film on the life and talent of Frank Zappa shows the brilliance and irreverence of a man who challenged the status quo, not only in the music industry but in the halls of censorship in the United States. He became the face of the music industry fighting censorship when others didn't want to speak out for fear of losing money. Known for his musical skill and exacting standards this film offered through the Oxnard Film Festival is insightful, funny and ever so relevant today. Streaming now. $12 for three days. Access the film online HERE. Tuesday – Jan. 5GUIDED ONLINE MEDITATION FOR VETERANS 10-10:45 a.m. FREE Roger Ford, with Healing in America in partnership with the Gold Coast Veterans Foundation offers this meditation session for veterans and their families who are seeking help on a physical, emotional, mental and spiritual level. Meditation can help those in need to relax, re-energize and rebalance. Details and registration are online HERE. NEW YEAR NUTRITION SERIES 10 – 10:45 a.m. FREE This is the first of two sessions offered by the Ventura County Area Agency on Aging with registered dietitians that will focus on healthy, creative recipes for the new year. To register call 805-406-8332 or email dietitian.realfood@ventura.org. Thursday – Jan. 7PERSEVERANCE TIME: MARS LANDING CHALLENGE 10 a.m. – noon Part of the Fifty and Better Lecture Series this talk with Luis Velasco, a senior engineer with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory will explore the Mars 2020 mission that sent the Perseverance rover to the red planet seeking signs of ancient life. Velasco, originally from Mexico, won JPL's Bruce Murray Award in 2018. The Fifty and Better program was designed to offer university-level courses without homework or tests and social engagement for older adults. The event is free, but you must register by 5 p.m. Jan. 6, for the Zoom link. For more information, go to CalLutheran.edu/fab or contact Christina Tierney at christinahelm@callutheran.edu or 805-493-3290. EAT SMART, LIVE STRONG 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. First session in a four week course for those 60 and over wanting to learn more about healthy food choices and ways to exercise more. Classes are stand alone, but participants are encouraged to join the full four-weeks. To register call 805-477-7353 or e-mail Christal.Greenlaw@ventura.org. GUIDED MEDITATION AND DISTANT HEALING 5:30 p.m. FREE This webinar, on the first Thursday of every month, will join you with others around the world to create a powerful healing vortex, sending group healing to those in need. To add a name to the list of those in need of healing email: info@healinginamerica.com. Details and registration are online HERE. Streaming events onlineVIRTUAL FITNESS Pleasant Valley Recreation Department offers a wide array of online classes – from salsa dancing to minecraft to 5K runs. They even have a Jedi training camp for kids! Offerings are online HERE. OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE Spring semester begins Jan. 25 Registration is open now for class offerings for OLLI at Cal State Channel Islands. These programs are college level for ages 50 and over in a wide range of topics: Magic of Ballet, Morocco and Tunisia, Science Fun and more. All classes are online. Full catalog and registration information are online HERE. Current Community Needs and ResourcesVOLUNTEER MEAL DELIVERY FOR SENIORS At least 10 volunteer drivers are needed to deliver meals to homebound seniors in the Conejo Valley area (including Oak Park, Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park). Delivery takes about one to one and a half hours, meals are picked up in Newbury Park at 11:30 a.m. Mon.-Fri. You pick the day/s you deliver. Volunteer application is online at: www.seniorconcerns.org/volunteer. Email application to: volunteers@seniorconcerns.org. Questions? Email: kfowler@seniorconcerns.org. FREE NUTRITION COUNSELING FOR SENIORS Offered by registered dietitians through the Ventura County Area Agency on Aging this telephone resource can help those over 60 with their questions about high blood pressure, eating better, controlling diabetes and more. To speak with a VCAAA Registered Dietitian, call 805-406-8332 or 805-340-3084 or email dietitian.realfood@ventura.org. NEW ROUND OF FUNDING FOR SMALL BUSINESSES Application period Dec. 30 – Jan. 8 The application period for Round 2 funding of the California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program is now open and the deadline to apply is Jan. 8, 2021. Micro-grants of $5,000 to $25,000 for small businesses and nonprofits impacted by the pandemic are available. Details and application are online HERE. MENTAL HEALTH WELLNESS LINE Mon.-Sat., 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. The Turning Point Foundation has established a phone line for anyone to speak with trained staff to offer support, coping strategies and other resources. The number is: 805-653-5045 ARTS LISTINGSMany venues remain closed in compliance with public health orders. Some classes, exhibits and events are available exclusively online. All events are subject to change and cancellation; always verify with venue and/or organizer. NEWOJAI POTTERY AND CLAY SCHOOL Jan. 4-March 14. Join the creative clay community for a series of winter classes for throwers and handbuilders, beginner to advanced, online via Zoom and in the studio. $300-395. 212 Fox Street, Ojai, 805-798-3990, classes@ojaipottery.com, www.ojaipottery.com. POPPIES ARTS AND GIFTS Jan. 1-31. Paintings by guest artist Jim Bruce of Ventura. 323 E. Matilija St., Ojai, 805-798-0033, www.poppiesartandgifts.com. CALL TO ARTISTSrealART SPRING JURIED SHOW Through Feb. 21, 2021. realART is now accepting submissions for its spring show, which will be on exhibit March 3-April 30. Sculpture, painting, photography, furniture, jewelry, functional art and wearable art. For submission guidelines and more information, visit whatisrealart.com/spring-juried-show. THEATER/PERFORMANCEA CHRISTMAS CAROL Opened Dec. 20 online. A podcast featuring an all-new musical adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic, put together by the actors from the High Street Broadcast Audio Theater. Free. www.svvac.org/what-s-happening. A CHRISTMAS CAROL Through Jan. 3, 2021 online. Jefferson Mays inhabits several characters in this one-man version of the Charles Dickens holiday classic. Available to stream as video on demand through the Rubicon Theatre Company. $50. www.onthestage.com/show/rubicon-theatre-company/a-christmas-carol-85170/tickets/5fb413ac08c47100038bbaf7 ESTELLA SCROOGE Through Jan. 3, 2021 streamed online. A mashup of Charles Dickens classics with a modern musical twist that's perfect for the whole family. $29.99-$49.99. www.rubicontheatre.org/estella-scrooge. Also streaming online through Jan. 31 courtesy of the Ojai Art Center Theater. ojaiact.org. STAY AT HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS Through Jan. 10 online. A virtual cabaret from the Simi Valley Virtual Arts Center, featuring some of the center's "all stars" singing a collection of holiday hits. Streamed online. Free. www.svvac.org/what-s-happening. STROKE OF LUCK Streaming now. The Simi Valley Virtual Arts Center presents the first in its online cabaret series featuring a musical dramedy about one woman's stroke and recovery. Starring Farley Cadena. www.svvac.org/virtual-cabaret-series. VOICES NOT HEARD Through Dec. 31 via YouTube. Camarillo Skyway Playhouse presents two pre-recorded productions from its Voices Not Heard project, available for viewing on YouTube. <em>Subtle Permission</em> focuses on a college student trying to navigate her family, issues facing the BIPOC community and police brutality. In <em>Meetings</em>, a man and his husband arrange a Zoom meeting with an estranged parent to introduce her to their newborn child. Pay what you can. skywayplayhouse.org. ART GALLERIES AND MUSEUMSAGRICULTURE MUSEUM Through Dec. 31 online: Throwing Shade, featuring the coast live oak tree and its woodland community. Ongoing: Exhibits dedicated to Ventura County's farming and ranching legacy, with antique tractors, farming implements, a living beehive, outdoor gardens and more. 926 Railroad Ave., Santa Paula, 805-525-3100, venturamuseum.org/visit-agriculture-museum/. ATRIUM GALLERY Opened Oct. 26. Origin, a virtual exhibition whereby artists reflect on creative beginnings, family history and more. vcartscouncil.org/atrium-gallery/origin/. BEATRICE WOOD CENTER FOR THE ARTS Through Jan. 16 online: Ventura County Handweavers and Spinners Guild 50th Anniversary Exhibition. Through Dec. 31: John Keenan: Ceramic Journeys. 805-646-3381, www.beatricewood.com. CALIFORNIA MUSEUM OF ART THOUSAND OAKS Through Dec. 31: Life Interrupted, a virtual exhibit of work by young local artists, with paintings, illustrations, digital art and mixed media exploring life during quarantine, social distancing and uncertainty. Ongoing: Virtual exhibit: Empathy: Beneath the Surface, multidisciplinary perspectives on the idea of empathy, personal agency and the universal bonds that connect us. 350 W. Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks, 805-405-5240, cmato.org. CALIFORNIA OIL MUSEUM Ongoing. "Museum from Home" resources, including Mineral Mondays, Women in STEM Wednesdays and Fossil Fridays. Kids' educational giveaways every month. 1001 E. Main St., Santa Paula, 805-933-0076 or www.caoilmuseum.org or @caoilmuseum. FOCUS ON THE MASTERS Ongoing. The Learning to See Student Art Showcase online, featuring work by students from Anacapa, Cabrillo, De Anza Academy of Technology; the Arts and Rio del Valle middle schools; and Montalvo, Pierpont and Sierra Linda elementary schools. focusonthemasters.com. HARBOR VILLAGE GALLERY AND GIFTS Through Jan. 11, 2021: Members Choice Seaside, with works by several BAA artists depicting local sights and sentiments. 1559 Spinnaker Drive #106, Ventura Harbor Village, 805-644-2750, www.facebook.com/HarborVillageGalleryGifts. KWAN FONG GALLERY Ongoing. Virtual exhibits: Common Ground: Artists Reimagining Community; Thinh Nguyen: Reorient, Thingamajig VI: A Printmaking Exploration and Documenting History Through Art: The Work of David Labkovski. California Lutheran University, 120 Memorial Parkway, Thousand Oaks, 805-493-3697, blogs.callutheran.edu/kwanfong/. MULLIN AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM Ongoing. Boasting one of the best collections of French automobiles in the world, as well as vehicles, artwork, sculpture and furniture from renowned designer Bugatti. 1421 Emerson Ave., Oxnard, 805-385-5400, mullinautomotivemuseum.com. MUSEUM OF VENTURA COUNTY Available online now: The MVC Gallery Marketplace has been created to help regional artists sell their works. Through Dec. 31 online: Amendment 19: Votes for Women, stories of Ventura County suffragists and the suffrage movement, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Ongoing: Several virtual exhibits, George Stuart Historical Figures® and more. 100 E. Main St., Ventura, 805-653-0323 or venturamuseum.org. OJAI VALLEY MUSEUM Ongoing. While the museum remains closed, it offers a virtual video featuring talented guests such as Perla Batalla, MAD Magazine cartoonist Sergio Aragones, a talk by Bill Weirick and more. Virtual exhibits are also viewable online at www.ojaivalleymuseum.org. realART Opened Nov. 8. Annual Winter Juried Show with over 50 artists from across the country will be on exhibit in the gallery's new space. The original gallery will also host artwork by artists such as Lynne Deutch, Diane Williams and John White. Whizin Market Square, 28873 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills, 310-452-4000, whatisrealart.com. SANTA PAULA ART MUSEUM Ongoing virtual exhibits. The First Decade: Celebrating Ten Years of Acquisitions, an exhibition of works from the museum's permanent collection in celebration of its 10-year anniversary. 117 N. 10th St., Santa Paula, 805-525-5554 or www.santapaulaartmuseum.org. SIMI VALLEY VIRTUAL ARTS CENTER Ongoing. 25th Anniversary Photography Collection, photography by Jon Neftali and Worth Living For, a suicide prevention art campaign organized by the Simi Valley Youth Council. The Simi Valley Cultural Arts Centers has created an online presence to showcase work from both local and regional artists, theater and performing arts events and more. www.svvac.org. SPICETOPIA Through Jan. 3, 2021. The Buenaventura Art Association debuts its newest exhibit space — on the walls of the gourmet spice and tea shop in Downtown Ventura — with a small image show, featuring modestly sized works that are perfect for gift giving. 576 E. Main St., Ventura. www.spice-topia.com. STUDIO CHANNEL ISLANDS Through Jan. 16 online: Elemental Dreams, jewelry and sculpture crafted in ceramic, glass, metal and wood. Ongoing: Virtual art exhibits include Gallery Virgins, Richard Barnett Portraits, Magical Realism, The Illusionists and Illuminated, as well as artist video talks, online art classes and children's educational resources. 2222 E. Ventura Blvd., Camarillo, 805-383-1368, studiochannelislands.org. VITA ART CENTER Through Jan. 14, 2021: Viewing Ventura: A Group Exhibit and First Responders by Ray Harris. Opened Nov. 14: Pulp Gallery (drawing and other works on paper). 28 W. Main St., Ventura, 805-644-9214, www.vitaartcenter.com. WILLIAM ROLLAND GALLERY Ongoing. Virtual exhibits: Common Ground: Artists Reimagining Community; Meleko Mokgosi: Acts of Resistance, examining formal and informal forms of resistance through figurative paintings that confront the politics and histories of representation; Documenting History Through Art: The Work of David Labkovski, autobiographical paintings and drawings from the artist's experiences of World War II, the Holocaust and their aftermath; Passionate Perspectives senior art exhibit; and Thingamajig VI: A Printmaking Exploration. California Lutheran University, 160 Overton Court, Thousand Oaks, 805-493-3697, rollandgallery.callutheran.edu. |
Posted: 14 Dec 2020 12:00 AM PST ![]() The landmark building of the Tianjin Juilliard School Photo: Courtesy of the Tianjin Juilliard School The Tianjin Juilliard School, the first performing arts institution in China to offer a US-accredited Master of Music degree, has kicked off its graduate courses amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The graduate program brings together 39 graduate students from 11 countries around the world, including South Korea and Canada, to the school, which was co-founded by The Juilliard School in New York and the Tianjin Conservatory of Music.The 39 students are inaugural class majoring in Orchestral Studies, Chamber Music and Collaborative Piano. Among them, 61 percent are Chinese students and 39 percent are international. Everyone or No One All of the international students have overcome difficulties to get to the campus in North China's Tianjin Municipality. Alexander Brose, Executive Director and CEO of the school, told a story about Alla Sorokoletova, a student from Uzbekistan who is currently a flute major at the school. Alla went to the Chinese Embassy in Uzbekistan several times to apply for her student visa, but she was turned away each time due to the special situation in 2020. After the Foreign Affairs Office of the Tianjin Municipal Government contacted the Embassy and introduced the school, the latter finally agreed to give Alla her visa. Brose explained that they needed all 39 graduate students to arrive at the school as otherwise the orchestra consisting of students would not be complete and therefore would not be able to rehearse and perform. There would be only four cello players but without oboe, flute and some other instrument players. Alla has already arrived at the campus and started her study. She told the Global Times that all staff members at the school are friendly and helpful, so she has not been homesick despite living in a far-off city. International Cooperation The Juilliard School in New York manages the school in partnership with the Tianjin Conservatory of Music, the Tianjin Binhai New Area Administrative Commission and the Tianjin Innovative Finance Investment Company. The announcement on the initiation of the project was made at a ceremony attended by China's First Lady Peng Liyuan in 2015. ![]() One of performance halls of the Tianjin Juilliard School Photo: Courtesy of the Tianjin Juilliard School Students interested in studying at the school need to provide the same application materials including TOEFL scores as required by the New York Juilliard School and will get a degree granted by the latter when graduating.Cooperation between the two schools takes many forms, with some students receiving instructions online from teachers in New York. When the pandemic eventually passes, it is expected that the people-to-people exchanges between the two schools will become more frequent. Teachers in New York will come to Tianjin and students at the school will have the chance to travel to the US for lessons and performances. "I'll just add that obviously,this has been a very difficult time period for China-US relations," Brose told the Global Times. "But throughout that entire time,the support that we've received from our partners in Tianjin and from our partners in Beijing has been unwavering." "So we feel that we have already served as a cultural bridge between the two countries and we know that we will be able to continue to do so in the years ahead," he added. Besides graduate courses, the school also offers Pre-College lessons to students aged 8-18 every Saturday. Nearly 90 students from different places around China, including Beijing, the island of Taiwan and Hong Kong have been enrolled in the program. Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, the campus covers about 45,000 square meters along the Haihe River in Tianjin. The school has 22 teaching studios and 84 practice rooms for students. The school is also open to the public with three performance halls of various sizes. After registering online, audiences can access performances presented by the school's students and teachers in its landmark new building. |
Posted: 30 Dec 2020 03:53 PM PST Enjoying the new year yet? While most online events carried over from the 'annus horribilis,' some new events in arts, nightlife and community should cheer you. ARTS Alice in Californiland Broadway on AirBnB Broadway Performers Different Stars Flamingos Forever The Flats From Broadway to Hollywood 'The Gaze: No Homo' The Gaze: No Homo The Golden Girls, a Puppet Parody In Good Company Live at The Lortel Making Friends The Marsh Stream Tom Detrinis' 'Making Friends' New Conservatory Theater Company: Offstage But Online Nutcracker Sweets Play at Home The Public Theater The Rip Nelson Holiday Quarantine Special Robert Moses' Kin San Francisco Mime Troupe's A Red Carol SF BATCO SF Opera SF Playhouse Zoomlets 'Three Decembers' Smuin Contemporary Ballet Stars in the House Tampon Rock Theatre Rhino Three Decembers We Players' Audio Dramas WQUR: Queer Quarantine Radio LITERARY Author Events at Booksmith Author Events at BGS-QD Author Events at City Lights Shop at Dog Eared Books, Valencia & Castro Author Events at Dog Eared Books Castro Author Events at Green Apple Books QueerWords Podcast MOVIES, TV American Pavilion Films 'Ammonite' Ammonite Benjamin Bloodsisters: Leather, Dykes And Sadomasochism Born To Be The Changin' Times of Ike White Daedalus 'Daedalus' Dekkoo Films Equal Films at The Roxie Film Out San Diego The Garden Left Behind GayBingeTV Gay Chorus Deep South The Gay Husbands of San Francisco Holy Trinity 'The Gay Husbands of San Francisco' Homo Say What House of Cardin I'm Moshanty - Do You Love Me? LGBTQ Films on Revry LGBTQ Films on Tubi Monsoon Mr. Soul Oakland International Film Festival Old Show Queens Oliver Sacks: His Own Life OutFest 2020 'Prideland' Prideland Promo Homo TV Proud Putting On Queen of the Capital Queer East Film Festival Queer Japan RuPaul's Drag Race SF Latino Film Fest Sounds of Broadway Sideways Smile Smothered Snowflake The Sons of Tennessee Williams Terrence McNally: Every Act of Life Transfinite 'Veneno' Uncle Frank Veneno Virtual Streaming Room With Cinema SF Where the Bears Are Wild & Scenic Film Festival Justin Utley MUSIC Cal Performances at Home Garrin Benfield Justin Utley The Klipptones Noe Music Old First Concerts San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus San Francisco Performances Seth Concert Series Susan Werner SF Jazz Fridays at Five Sounds of Broadway Stevie Nicks Susan Werner Zappa MUSEUMS & GALLERIES Asian Art Museum Chabot Space & Science Center's online Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive California Academy of Sciences Chabot Space & Science Center Contemporary Jewish Museum Events & Exhibits de Young Museum Entwined Exploratorium Events 'Angela Davis: OUTspoken' at GLBT Historial Museum online GLBT Historical Society events & exhibits Gregangelo Museum Haight Street Art Center Harvey Milk Photo Center Legion of Honor Mercury 20 Gallery Minnesota Street Art Project NIAD Exhibits Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts MOAD NIAD Exhibits Oakland Museum Nancy Toomey Fine Art SF Museum of Modern Art Walt Disney Family Museum Bright Light, Bright Light in Digital Pride Fest NIGHTLIFE Boy Division Digital Pride Fest DJ Don Baird Drag Alive from The Stud Drag Queen Mukbang Frolic Quarantine The Monster Show New Years Queens New Years Queens Oasis TV Quarant-Tea Quarantinis with Katya Queerpowers.com Red Hots Burlesque Russell Deason's Happy Hour in Exile SF Eagle Sampson McCormick Sundance Saloon Online Live Trixxie Carr Versus Gay Men's Sketch/Hot Draw COMMUNITY, ACTIVITIES, CLASSES, PODCASTS, RADIO AXIS Dance Classes Being Seen Castro Country Club's Virtual Gratitude Meetings and Check-in Conservatory of Flowers Daily Services at Grace Cathedral Fighting Racism Gay Men's Sketch/Hot Draw GLIDE Services Glitter Worthy HER app community chats Job Services at LGBT Center Keshet author Brandon Tyler on Out in the Bay Les Leventhal Yoga LGBT Asylum Project Podcast LGBTQ Connection LGBTQ&A Manny's Live National AIDS Memorial Out in the Bay Outdoor Dance Classes Probably True Queer Powers A Queer Serial Queer Nightlife Talks Queercore Podcast Rainbow Railroad Rainbow World Fund Resisterhood Roryography Sexitude Shabbat Services With Congregation Shaar Zahav Sound On Stay Fresh at Home Taimi Talks The T-House Worship With Rev. Dr. Megan Rohrer Do you have an event to add? Email events@ebar.com Help keep the Bay Area Reporter going in these tough times. To support local, independent, LGBTQ journalism, consider becoming a BAR member. |
Posted: 30 Dec 2020 10:02 PM PST
Zhalarina Sanders has been rapping since she was six. "I'm a hip-hop artist. I've always been a hip-hop artist, but I've also been this hip-hop artist who grew up watching Disney," she said in an interview this week. "Fell in love with Raven Symone and everything that she did, and I was like, I want to do that too." Now 28, the University of Wisconsin First Wave alum has won a Chicago Emmy for her three-part music video series, "The Light," produced with PBS Wisconsin, with her sights set on launching a career in television and music. Sanders grew up in Tampa Bay, Florida and made her way into the First Wave program at 18, earning both bachelor and master's degrees at UW. A program of the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives, First Wave offers full four-year scholarships to hip-hop artists. During her time at UW, she created and starred in a one-woman hip-hop theater piece called Rose Gold, in which she played seven characters. "It's a story that I created and the characters are loosely based on different women in my life. They're all Black women and they're all family members, so they're all connected. Rose Gold was hip hop theater, where I was doing monologues and I was acting, but it was also infused with rap and dance and all of these other things," she said. "Creating what became Rose Gold as a piece of hip-hop theater was really just me being like, 'Well, I don't yet have the capacity or awareness or skillset to recruit a cast, create something for a full cast, and rehearse with them and produce it and get it up on stage. But I know that I can keep somebody entertained for 70 minutes just by myself.' … With hip-hop theater, it is theater, but there's hip-hop. So there's going to be rapping. I'm going to be dancing. I'm probably going to freestyle, make a beat on a table or something. Just infusing as many elements of hip-hop into the story as possible. And that's important to me as a black person. That's important to me as a hip-hop artist." Sanders mounted that show at the same time that PBS Wisconsin was producing Hip Hop U, a documentary about the First Wave program. The show — and, more importantly, Sanders herself, caught the attention of PBS Wisconsin's producers. "Her talent jumped off the screen," PBS Wisconsin producer Trevor Keller said. "I think the whole team at PBS Wisconsin enjoyed working with her because she's just so full of energy and she is so creative and so full of ideas." They enjoyed working with her so much, in fact, that PBS Wisconsin director John Miskoski approached Sanders at the premier of the documentary, expressing interest in working on something together. What followed, in the fall of 2018, were brainstorming sessions, ideas, attempts at creating something for PBS Wisconsin's new digital-first programming committee, Digital Voltage. At one point, there was talk of creating a full-fledged series, based on Sanders' autobiography — all with the one-woman hip-hop vibe that everyone loved from Rose Gold. The team even shot a pilot that got a green light from management, but the production was a bit more than PBS Wisconsin could do. "We did a lot of brainstorming and there were lots of ideas thrown around in this brainstorming session," Keller said. "And we did a pilot and we kind of did some testing to see how things worked and what we could do … because we'd never really done a project like this. There was a lot of learning on our end." Ultimately the production became a series of music videos based on one chapter in Sanders' youth. The three videos span a year in high school when Sanders had her first romantic relationship with a girl, grappled with adolescence and queer identity, and had her heart broken, all while her mother also went through the process of coming to terms with her daughter's identity. Sanders wrote and performed the music, and performed most of the parts in the videos. She reconnected with Jake Penner, who'd directed Rose Gold, to direct, and PBS Wisconsin staff did much of the production design and videography. The shooting took about two and a half weeks in September 2019, almost a year after those initial conversations, and the videos were released online in May 2020. Sanders had finished her master's and moved to Atlanta by then to pursue performance full-time. "I had heard through email that it was getting a very warm reception" after it was released, Sanders said. "In terms of my community and stuff, everybody loved it and were crying, especially people who knew the story prior to it coming out, because family members are thoroughly aware of what happened. So they were all very tearful and happy. So it was a very great reception in terms of what I could see." Sanders said she was a little nervous about her mom's reaction, since the project depicts her mom's angry reaction to finding romantic texts from a girl on her phone as well as her ultimate acceptance. Sanders said it's important to recognize that she might come off as immature or self-centered in the performance — but that was intentional. "Those (songs) are written in the voice of a 14- or 15-year-old," she said. "If I were to tell that story now, I'd tell it differently. Not in the sense that the facts change, but I think the tone that I chose for the (PBS Wisconsin) version of it as a 14 year old, I chose to have a little bit of an immature perspective, or slightly self-centered. I tried to bring in empathy for my mom as much as possible, in terms of understanding where she was coming from, into that story. But even how I wrote it was still a little immature." Any worry about her mom's reaction was misplaced, it turned out. "She loved it. She loves it and has shared it with literally everybody," Sanders said. "Everybody has received a text from my mom with the link." A couple months after the release, Sanders got an email from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences letting her know the series was being considered for a Chicago Emmy — the top award from the Chicago chapter, which covers nearly 50 television stations in Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana. Then, in September, she learned that she'd officially been nominated in the Outstanding Achievement for Arts/Entertainment Programming category, alongside productions from Milwaukee and Chicago. "So then I freaked out. My family freaked out. It was a wonderful moment of freaking out," she said. "And I was like, 'Well, cool. I'm Emmy-nominated now. I guess that's always going to be my life or a part of my story. That's really cool.'" And that was enough, she said. "Still didn't think that I would get the Emmy. I mean, I'm a fairly confident human, or at least I try to be, but it all felt so soon," she said. "I feel like I just got here. It's a very small project in a very niche part of the world. This didn't feel like the thing that would get an Emmy, if that makes sense. And then the awards show happened and I won my category." With that kind of recognition in her pocket, she's as confident as ever that a big break is coming. Remember that whole series based on her life story? She's getting ready to shop that around, with hopes of selling the idea to Netflix, HBO or ABC. "We had planned to do that already, but now with the Emmy, it just makes the pitch even stronger, the proposal even stronger," she said. She said she's got plenty of material to work with, too. In terms of the full story, there's so much more. There's so much more," she said. My father, alone, is at least a season. He's a season worth of episodes. And so this was as much of a teaser as something could be for the full show." PBS Wisconsin producer Keller thinks selling a show to a big network is well within Sanders' capability. "Zhalarina has tremendous potential," he said, something he knew when working on the Hip Hop U documentary. "I would routinely say when we were editing that, I would tell people, 'We're going to look back in 10 or 15 years and be like, we had Zhalarina in this documentary before she really hit it big.'" Sanders said she doesn't have any meetings with network execs lined up yet, but will get to work on that when she finishes the last track of her album, Again. She's been releasing singles as Zhalarina, which are available on Apple Music and Spotify and most other streaming platforms. She's just got one more single to put to bed before the album drops. "The purpose of the album, or the mission of the album, is my own personal artist mission, which is that suffering is not something we have a choice about, whether or not we want to engage in this life," she said. "And so because it is inevitable, a lot of us when we suffer, we do so quietly or alone, and I want to be the enemy of that. So my album, I pray, represents being the enemy of suffering quietly and alone. It's like, if we're going to do it, let's do it in community and let's talk about it. Even if it's uncomfortable or embarrassing or just painful to put some light on it, because that's what it needs. That's what we need in order to get through it." |
You are subscribed to email updates from "music degree online,online masters programs" - Google News. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States |
- Get link
- Other Apps
Comments
Post a Comment