Weekend Showcase

We talk with the choreographer and some dancers from "A Very Chico Nutcracker" produced by Chico Community Ballet and on stage at Chico State's Laxson Auditorium. This unique spin on a holiday classic weaves in historical references to the town of Chico. We also talk with artists displaying work at the exhibition "Stories Six" presented by 1078 Gallery at its temporary "pop up" location in Chico.

We talk with several members of the Butte College arts faculty about the college's Arts Faire next week, a two-day event that will show off the wonderland of arts in the main campus's ARTS building: painting, drawing, sculpture, digital-arts, recording-arts, music and drama. We'll also talk with representatives from the Chico Art Center about the center's Holiday Art Show & Sale which begins December 1.

We talk with painter Frances Miller who for three decades has been using transparent watercolors to depict birds and animals. Her paintings are currently on display at Chico's Snidle Gallery. We also commemorate next week's holiday with classic satire about our nation's first Thanksgiving, as well as an original, contemporary Thanksgiving song by a Chico singer-songwriter.

On 11/10 we talk with North State Symphony's conductor Scott Seaton and NSS guest artist, violinist Chloe Trevor. They're leading the symphony's concert "Infectious Rhythms," coming to both Chico and Redding. We also talk with Mo Martin, instructor at the 7th Street Center for the Arts in Chico, which works with developmentally disabled students, guiding them to create their own artwork.

On NSPR's Weekend Showcase Friday 11/3, we talk with contributors to a current exhibit at Chico State --"Vanished: A Chronicle of Loss and Discovery Across Half a Million Years." A huge majestic tree, a native American who was the last of his tribe, a massive prehistoric mammoth's tooth, and a once-powerful-but-now-extinct volcano -- these are the vanished icons explored by the exhibition.

We visit the Black Box Theatre at Butte College to talk with the director and the cast from Butte's production of "Urinetown," a funny tuneful bizarre Tony-winning musical about a future in which everyone is forced to pay to pee. We also talk with representatives from MoNCA (Museum of Northern California Art) about their retrospective exhibit of artwork by the late James Kuiper, an icon of the Chico visual arts scene.

We talk with one of the coordinators of the Open Studios Art Tour and with some of the artists. The event this weekend invites the public to visit an array of artists in their personal workspaces in Chico and Oroville. We also visit Redding's Old City Hall where Axiom Repertory Theatre is currently performing "The Rocky Horror Show, Live." We talk with the director and the cast.

We hear from directors & actors involved with two musicals currently on stage in Chico. "Heathers" is based on the 80s movie, a wickedly dark satire of high school life. "American Idiot" is based on the album by Green Day, an edgy rock outcry giving voice to angry contemporary youths.

On 10/6 we talk with CSU Chico philosophy professor Marcel Daguerre about the exhibit he's curating at the university's Turner Print Museum, an exhibit titled "The Meaning of Life." We also talk with Nancy Lindahl, owner of the Chico stores Zucchini & Vine and Magna Carta, about her four decades of support for local artists. She'll be displaying works by four artists at the "Art Walk" event Friday evening in downtown Chico.

We visit two plays to talk with the directors and actors. We go to Chico's Blue Room Theatre where the current production is "The Arsonists," an allegorical comedy about guys who like to burn down houses. And we go to Redding's Riverfront Playhouse where the production is "Two on the Aisle, Three in a Van," a comedic look at the world of amateur theater.