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Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” is one of the most famous “rom-coms” of all time, with its budding romances, meddling villains, potential catastrophes, and witty banter between enemies-to-lovers Benedick and Beatrice. Elings Park presents the award-winning ensemble Naked Shakes in this popular comedy for two outdoor performances in Godric Grove on Friday, September 6 at 5 p.m. and Sunday, September 8 at 3 p.m.

Performed in their hallmark style of minimal props and simple costumes, Naked Shakes puts the focus on the abilities of the actors and the brilliant words of the Bard. Director Irwin Appel’s original production is filled with music, dance, and revelry, and is scored by a live jazz quintet.

Advance general admission tickets are $17 for adults, $13 for teens and seniors, and free for children under 12. Available online at www.elingspark.org. Tickets will be sold at the door, as available, at $20 for adults and $15 for teens and seniors.

“Naked Shakes productions are ‘unplugged,’ exciting, and accessible to audiences of all ages,” says Dean Noble, executive director of Elings Park. “The young actors are energetic, nimble, and whole-heartedly committed to conveying both the humor and heartache in this beloved farce.”

This is the second of two Shakespeare plays presented this summer in the Park’s scenic Godric Grove amphitheater. Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum one of their signature production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on Saturday, August 17 was sold-out.

“There’s nothing quite like experiencing these wonderful plays in the open air and under the oaks in Godric Grove,” adds Noble. “We’d love the Park to become a destination for summer Shakespeare.”

Now in its 19th year, Naked Shakes is a UCSB ensemble that annually produces a Shakespearean play under the direction of Professor Irwin Appel. Critically acclaimed and award-winning, they not only perform on campus but have transported productions to the Southwest Shakespeare Company at Taliesin West (Scottsdale, Arizona), the Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles, Westmont College, and Center Stage Theater in downtown Santa Barbara. In the summer of 2023, they performed in Italy’s Verona Shakespeare Fringe Festival, performing “The Death of Kings,” their acclaimed adaptation of Shakespeare’s history plays. Visit www.theaterdance.ucsb.edu/performance-programs/naked-shakes.

“Whether you are a Shakespeare lover or you have never seen a live theater production in your life, Naked Shakes’ ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ is for you,” says Appel. “Sit back, relax and prepare to laugh and cry your way through this wild ride and deeply emotional and joyous adventure.”

In celebration of Family History Month and international Home Movie Day, the UCSB Library’s Santa Barbara Community Archives Project is partnering with the Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society (SBCGS) to promote the importance of home movie collections and to provide free digitization services for Santa Barbara community members. Digitized materials will be preserved for future generations in the Library’s Local History Collections.

Current and former residents of Santa Barbara County are invited to bring their eligible films (8mm, Super 8, 16mm) to the SBCGS’s Sahyun Library (316 Castillo St) on October 24, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., and October 27, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., for free off-site digitization. Original materials and digital files will be returned to participants at no cost. UCSB Library will then provide long-term preservation for the digital copies.

To learn more about the event and the services we will provide to you as well as other local history resources available at the SBCGS Library, please check the Event FAQ on the UCSB Library's Website or stop by SBCGS’s Family History Month Open House on Sunday, October 6, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., at Sahyun Library, or at SBCGS’s monthly membership meeting on Saturday, October 19, 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., at First Presbyterian Church of Santa Barbara (21 E Constance Ave). Both events are free and open to the public; a SBCGS membership is not required to attend.

Host Bio
Laura Jean Treat Liebhaber is a Curator at UCSB Library Special Research Collections where she oversees the Film & Television, Santa Barbara & Local History, and Oral History Collections. Laura was born and raised in California’s Central Valley to a family of local history enthusiasts and has called Santa Barbara home since joining UCSB Library in 2020. Along with her colleague Angel Diaz, Laura launched the Santa Barbara Community Archives Project, a UCSB Library initiative to document the rich and diverse communities that make up Santa Barbara by digitizing, preserving, and sharing family histories. For more than a decade, Laura has dedicated her professional work to preserving home movies. While at the University of North Texas, Laura ran two successful home movie digitization projects and local film events under the name Spotlight: North Texas with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. She also participated in the Texas Archive of the Moving Image’s award winning Texas Film Round Up Program. Laura holds an M.S.I.S. from the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Information. She is Member of the Board of the Association of Moving Image Archivists and Co-Chair of the AMIA Local Television Task Force.

In celebration of Family History Month and international Home Movie Day, the UCSB Library’s Santa Barbara Community Archives Project is partnering with the Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society (SBCGS) to promote the importance of home movie collections and to provide free digitization services for Santa Barbara community members. Digitized materials will be preserved for future generations in the Library’s Local History Collections.

Current and former residents of Santa Barbara County are invited to bring their eligible films (8mm, Super 8, 16mm) to the SBCGS’s Sahyun Library (316 Castillo St) on October 24, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., and October 27, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., for free off-site digitization. Original materials and digital files will be returned to participants at no cost. UCSB Library will then provide long-term preservation for the digital copies.

To learn more about the event and the services we will provide to you as well as other local history resources available at the SBCGS Library, please check the Event FAQ on the UCSB Library's Website or stop by SBCGS’s Family History Month Open House on Sunday, October 6, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., at Sahyun Library, or at SBCGS’s monthly membership meeting on Saturday, October 19, 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., at First Presbyterian Church of Santa Barbara (21 E Constance Ave). Both events are free and open to the public; a SBCGS membership is not required to attend.

Host Bio
Laura Jean Treat Liebhaber is a Curator at UCSB Library Special Research Collections where she oversees the Film & Television, Santa Barbara & Local History, and Oral History Collections. Laura was born and raised in California’s Central Valley to a family of local history enthusiasts and has called Santa Barbara home since joining UCSB Library in 2020. Along with her colleague Angel Diaz, Laura launched the Santa Barbara Community Archives Project, a UCSB Library initiative to document the rich and diverse communities that make up Santa Barbara by digitizing, preserving, and sharing family histories. For more than a decade, Laura has dedicated her professional work to preserving home movies. While at the University of North Texas, Laura ran two successful home movie digitization projects and local film events under the name Spotlight: North Texas with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. She also participated in the Texas Archive of the Moving Image’s award winning Texas Film Round Up Program. Laura holds an M.S.I.S. from the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Information. She is Member of the Board of the Association of Moving Image Archivists and Co-Chair of the AMIA Local Television Task Force.

In celebration of Family History Month and international Home Movie Day, the UCSB Library’s Santa Barbara Community Archives Project is partnering with the Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society (SBCGS) to promote the importance of home movie collections and to provide free digitization services for Santa Barbara community members. Digitized materials will be preserved for future generations in the Library’s Local History Collections.

Current and former residents of Santa Barbara County are invited to bring their eligible films (8mm, Super 8, 16mm) to the SBCGS’s Sahyun Library (316 Castillo St) on October 24, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., and October 27, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., for free off-site digitization. Original materials and digital files will be returned to participants at no cost. UCSB Library will then provide long-term preservation for the digital copies.

To learn more about the event and the services we will provide to you as well as other local history resources available at the SBCGS Library, please check the FAQ on the UCSB Library's Website or stop by SBCGS’s Family History Month Open House on Sunday, October 6, 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., at Sahyun Library, or at SBCGS’s monthly membership meeting on Saturday, October 19, 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., at First Presbyterian Church of Santa Barbara (21 E Constance Ave). Both events are free and open to the public; a SBCGS membership is not required to attend.

Host Bio
Laura Jean Treat Liebhaber is a Curator at UCSB Library Special Research Collections where she oversees the Film & Television, Santa Barbara & Local History, and Oral History Collections. Laura was born and raised in California’s Central Valley to a family of local history enthusiasts and has called Santa Barbara home since joining UCSB Library in 2020. Along with her colleague Angel Diaz, Laura launched the Santa Barbara Community Archives Project, a UCSB Library initiative to document the rich and diverse communities that make up Santa Barbara by digitizing, preserving, and sharing family histories. For more than a decade, Laura has dedicated her professional work to preserving home movies. While at the University of North Texas, Laura ran two successful home movie digitization projects and local film events under the name Spotlight: North Texas with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. She also participated in the Texas Archive of the Moving Image’s award winning Texas Film Round Up Program. Laura holds an M.S.I.S. from the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Information. She is Member of the Board of the Association of Moving Image Archivists and Co-Chair of the AMIA Local Television Task Force.

“Brilliant performances!” The Tolucan Times. “Brilliant portrayals!” broadwayworld.com. “Just plain brilliant!” playwright/performer Wendy Michaels.

This joyous and poignant musical, now in its 6th smash year, follows the life of the beloved Yiddish story-teller as he spins tales of loves and losses, fame and failures, travels, travails, filled with the tremendous optimism that kept him going against all odds. Based on the controversy surrounding his stories and plays and his passionate quest to honor the universality of the human spirit and celebrate our common humanity, he reminds us always that we have more in common than in conflict. It’s the perfect show to introduce our young people to, and remind ourselves of, the rich Jewish heritage of the worlds of Sholom Aleichem.

“I will never forget my evening with Sholom Aleichem and I thank you for bringing my cousin so beautifully back 'To Life'.” Lillian Aderman Moller

Playing to sold-out houses until the day before the lockdown, the delightful musical, back by audience request, is written by the internationally acclaimed team of Chris DeCarlo and Evelyn Rudie, with lilting songs by Emery Bernauer, E. Rudie and Sholom Aleichem himself. Audiences are treated to an in-depth look at the joyous and poignant events that inspired the foolish philosophers, philosophical fools, comical shtetl folk and not-so-comical scoundrels that populated Sholom Aleichem's world.

“Chris DeCarlo has become the reincarnation of Sholom Aleichem” LASplash

The musical stars veteran performer Chris DeCarlo, who again assays the role of the beloved author, a characterization which has been enjoyed by more than a quarter of a million audience members, and Evelyn Rudie, who has created and portrayed more than three dozen Sholom Aleichem characters in over 2,000 performances to date.

“Evelyn Rudie is an all-around theatrical wizard!” Casting Call

Aleichem Sholom is presented by the Santa Monica Playhouse Jewish Heritage Project, supporting productions that keep the unique richness of Jewish theatre alive, honor the historical and cultural importance of Jewish heritage, and insure that new generations of theatre-goers appreciate and celebrate the life experience of Jewish ancestry, literature and tradition.

“ ‘Sholom Aleichem’ means ‘Hello, peace be with you.’ For Santa Monica Playhouse it means ‘richness in Jewish theatre for the community to enjoy.’ ” The Messenger

Santa Monica Playhouse is supported in part by generous grants from the We Are Santa Monica Fund, the City of Santa Monica and the Santa Monica Arts Commission, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture and Playhouse PALS.

Sat 7:00pm, Sun 3pm – Aug 10, 16, Sept 13-14 - wine and dessert reception included in ticket price

It’s the 10th Annual Santa Monica Playhouse BFF Binge Fringe Festival of FREE Theatre, Oct 14 – Nov 16, the only FREE Fringe Festival in the nation, offering over 36 plays, workshops and family-oriented events. What’s happening on BFF THURSDAYS?

Oct 16: STAGE MAMMA: From Child Star to Leading Lady. Award-winning actor Rheagan Wallace shares her extraordinary life with raw honesty, poignant reflection, and unexpected humor. “A virtuosic solo performance!” DoLA. Includes post-show Q&A with the artist. Rated 16+

Oct 23: Wise Ass Women from the Westside, an evening of comedic storytelling featuring Pattie Fitzgerald, Wendy Hammers and Susan Landon. Three wise (ass) women from the westside of LA share their wit and wisdom in comedic monologues, stand up bits, and stories. You’ll laugh a lot, cry maybe a little, and be grateful you are alive. Rated 16+

Oct 30: Zach Ring’s The Advocate is a “Hollywood” dramedy filled with suspense, lucky breaks and unluck consequences. Written, directed and produced by Zach Ring; featuring Rob Nagle, William Duffy Reina Guthrie, Clarissa Park, Hilary Kang Oglesby. 18+

Oct 30: Terri Silverman’s Workshop for Writers, Performers, Storytellers & Anyone Who Has Something to say. Fun writing and story-telling exercises. No experience necessary – just the willingness to have fun and take a little leap.

Nov 6: My Great Turnround: What God and Argentine Tango Taught Me About Life. Amidst a spectacular whirlwind of comedy, truth, multimedia and fabulous Argentine Tango, Ruthie Danziger and Tango Pro Daniel Ledesma answer the burning question, “Will this fiery, passionate dance be enough to reignite Ruthie’s passion and purpose in life, or will she Tango alone? Includes post-show Q&A and refreshments with the cast. Rated 16+

Nov 13: Trans Mom vs Family court: Justice Sees No Gender. A brutal custody fight. No attorney. No safety net. Just truth, love, risk and raw will. With reenactment, live looping, original music, courtroom audio,photographs and video clips, Rejyna Douglass-Whitman tells the story no one else could. Includes post-show Q&A with the artist. Winner of the 2025 Hollywood Fringe Festival Transcendent Craft and Daredevil Awards Rated 14+

Binge on Theatre this Fall – a great alternative to your couch.

Santa Monica Playhouse programs are supported in part by generous grants from the We Are Santa Monica Fund, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, the City of Santa Monica and the Santa Monica Arts Commission, the Ahmanson Foundation and Playhouse PALS.

A recent NPR/PBS News/Marist poll found nearly 6-in-10 voters say President Trump's top priority should be lowering prices. That concern is being expressed loudly in the swing state of Wisconsin.

The governance of public schools is rather complex issue that incorporates various government entities at the federal, state and local levels. Added to the mix are a variety of organizations and special interest groups that have an impact on what is taught, how it is taught, to whom, and under what circumstances. In recent times, schooling has become highly politicized. However, this is not new. To understand how this happens, this lecture will examine the structure of public education in the United States and how it has evolved. Dr. Carol A. Bartell is Dean and Professor Emeritus of the Graduate School of Education at California Lutheran University. She also served as Interim Dean at several Cal State Universities. She has taught at every level of education, from preschool to doctoral students, working in six states during her long career. She has served in a state policy role at the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and held appointments on many state and national organizations and advisory boards. Her doctoral degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies is from Virginia Tech. The Fifty and Better program was designed to offer university-level courses (no tests, no homework) taught by experts in the field, and to host social engagement activities for individuals age 50 and older.

Conejo Valley residents are invited to see and participate in Ventura County’s largest public emergency communications exercise of the year on June 25th and 26th. Amateur radio operators, also known as Hams, from the Conejo Valley Amateur Radio Club (CVARC) will be participating in a national amateur radio exercise know as Field Day from 11:00 AM Saturday, June 25 to 11:00 AM June 26, 2022.

The CVARC Field Day Event will be held at the Lake Sherwood Development Company field located at 378 W. Potrero Road in Westlake Village on the south side of W. Potrero Road, between Trentwood Drive and Stafford Road.

CVARC holds one of the largest and most comprehensive Field Day events in the country as members set up as many as 20 temporary amateur (Ham) radio stations to demonstrate emergency communication skills and services to the public. Radio signals bring people together while providing essential emergency communication for communities in times of earthquakes and wildfires when cellphones and email, are often disrupted.

Field Day is an annual amateur radio activity organized since 1933 by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the national association for amateur radio. There are more than 775,000 amateur radio operators in the United States and more than 103,000 in California. For more information about Ham radio or CVARC Field Day, please visit www.cvarc.org.

On Saturday, July 16, 2022, join artists Hiroko Yoshimoto, Katherine Chang Liu, W. Scott Miles, and Tori Tasch at the Santa Paula Art Museum for the premiere of "Hiroko Yoshimoto: New Works" featuring "Impending Storms", a collaborative art installation by Blue Marble Art Collective. Yoshimoto's newest artworks represent the Ventura artist’s continued work on her long-running “Biodiversity“ series, an output that amounts to nearly 300 paintings and sketches which speak to Hiroko's concern for the ever-growing threat to biological diversity. Many of the artworks will be available for purchase.

Yoshimoto recently teamed with fellow environmentally-conscious artists Liu, Miles and Tasch to form Blue Marble Art Collective. The group creates mixed media art and installations that put a spotlight on the looming dangers of significant loss of species and biodiversity.

The premiere party will include a special musical performance by Karen Pecht. Wine, beer and hors d’oeuvres will be served. Admission to the premiere is $5 for SPAM members, and $10 for non-members.
"Hiroko Yoshimoto: New Works" and "Impending Storms" will be on view at the Santa Paula Art Museum July 16, 2022, through November 6, 2022.

HEADER IMAGE: "Biodiversity #119" by Hiroko Yoshimoto, 2019, Oil on canvas, 50 x 86 inches.