My Portfolio

LIVE REVIEW: Brit Boras and The Cavalry
The best live shows are when the music transcends the studio recording. That’s when you know an artist is good. Though Spike Hill’s sound-system didn’t sound quite perfect, Brit and The Cavalry delivered a more than worthy show. It was the voice of Brit Boras, the band’s lead singer, which brought Brit and The Cavalry to such a level. Her enchanting vocals prevented her band from drowning under instrumentals. READ MORE

Seasons
It’s so odd how Seasons’ newest EP Winter fits right into this summer. It’s the kind of music you want playing in the sweltering heat of your non air-conditioned apartment, just to let its sound swell your overheated thoughts until they are numbed still. READ MORE

Olivia Gerber
Oregon native Olivia Gerber moved to New York City about a year ago where she continues to pursue her studies and music. At Brooklyn’s Southpaw, she opened Zoe Sundra’s CD release party for her album Death By Love Songs. READ MORE

Spit Like a Big Girl at Rubicon Theatre – There are times when the universe grabs you and says, “Girl, you need to make a change.” Clarinda Ross’s solo performance Spit Like a Big Girl is a memoir of a life full of such changes, and of the soul-grabbing moments that make them necessary…READ MORE

Genesis West’s La Terrasse at Center Stage Theater – Premiering in New York back in 1999, Jean-Claude Carrière’s La Terrasse crosses the Atlantic once again to our very own Center Stage Theater.READ MORE

In The Continuum – When it comes to survival, the saying goes that “it’s every man for himself.” This theme shows up powerfully in Ensemble Theatre Company’s new production of In the Continuum directed by Saundra McClain.READ MORE

Mamma Mia! at the Granada – “Mamma mia, here I go again, my, my …” How can you resist? The all-time greatest ABBA tribute – the wonderful show about “A mother. A daughter. And three possible dads” – is coming to Santa Barbara.READ MORE

Three Reasons to Sing Along with Annie at Dos Pueblos School - The Dow is falling, endowments are slipping away, and loans are on the point of extinction. Yet, we know that the sun will come out tomorrow.READ MORE

In the Mood at the Lobero Theatre – Do you remember what is was like befre the iPod, when Walkmans were the next big thing? Consider the time when the radio was the only way to listen to music or music could only be heard live.READ MORE

CAMA Brings Classical Music to Area Schools – I met an extraordinary group devoted to preserving the value of classical music among younger people. READ MORE

Young Playwright Explores Identity in Muéveme, Muévete – They say adolescence is the toughest phase of life because it’s when we search for who we are – our identity. READ MORE

Santa Barbara Film Festival
Closing Night’s Hometown Connection
Written by Mike Cram and directed by Jeff Balsmeyer, Lightbulb ends the festival reminding its viewers of the seemingly lost American principle of perseverance and of the original American Dream.READ MORE

Eastern Bloc Sidebar
The Eastern Europe movies share the historical break from suppressive Soviet Union regime and, consequently, these 11 films share the underlying theme of existentialism. The films’ storytelling techniques are innovative and fresh as they search for new and expressive ways to convey their culture formerly trained to stay in the shadows.READ MORE

Stirring the Pot
Desperation. Vanity. Futility. Greed. Those were some of the ingredients boiling in Stirring the Pot. In these four one-act plays, the actors provoked their audience to feel sorry, hopeless, ironic, and pitiful. READ MORE

Spoon River Anthology
“I see dead people” Remember that quote from the film the Sixth Sense? It made perfect sense last Saturday after seeing the play Spoon River Anthology. READ MORE

A Midsummer Night’s Dream
From, war-ravaged Republic of Georgia, the Marjanishvili State Drama Theatre brought the U.S. premiere of its innovative production of Shakespeare. READ MORE

Blue Tempest Rages at Westmont
Since 2005, the Lit Moon Theatre Company has produced three distinct interpretations of Shakespeare’s the Tempest. READ MORE

The Imaginary Invalid
“Though he may appear to eat, sleep, and drink like everyone, he is very, very, very ill!” Director Roger DeLaurier and adapter Patricia Troxel succeeded in transplanting Moliere’s traditional French humor into a hilarious English version of Le Malade Imaginaire. READ MORE

Aftermath
“How precious is my life?”, Aftermath shows us a world ravaged by the arrival of the bomb through the eyes of youth. The play tackles the theme of global collaboration in order to provide for our planet, our people and our lives -to help the future survive. READ MORE

Hair
The split that divided the generation of the 1960s is one that transcends all eras-the massive contradiction of love against hate. READ MORE

Newton’s Cradle – PREVIEW
seven years of your life drag the suffix “teen”. Newton’s Cradle-exposes the struggles, questions and triumphs of your average teenager. READ MORE

The Spin Cycle
The Spin Cycle touches on such strong themes as the nature and meaning of success and love, but most of all, it explores the idea that growing up means moving on. READ MORE

Leading Ladies
Leading Ladies is ridiculously hilarious, presenting the audience with a complicated knot spilling over with Shakespearean premises, men becoming women, and men kissing men. READ MORE

The Wizard of Oz
The musical itself was an all-around successful show. Furthermore, the creative elements came from the choreography and musical incorporation of songs from Sting and the B-52s in several dance ensembles. READ MORE

Stoop
Given 10 women of different ages and sizes, one would assume separate identities, separate purposes, and separate lives, but over the course of this evening, a hard truth emerges. READ MORE

It’s Only Life
What keeps you going when love abandons you, and “the one” doesn’t think you are his or her “one”? And if nothing lasts forever, then what’s the point. READ MORE

Isla Vista: The Video Game
The Video Game is an endearing effort to raise awareness concerning the recent closure of I.V.’s popular center. READ MORE

Mata Hari – The Original Femme Fatale New Trial
Long considered the besr historical example of the French term “femme fatale,”, her name synonymous with spying, Mata Hari is overdue for a second look. READ MORE

The Butler at the Ranch
Who’s in Bed with the Butler? employs the farcical tools of miscommunication and willful confusion to their fullest extent. READ MORE

New Plays by UCSB student
Bellows by Nathan Kuljian, The Blue Elephant by Stacy Johnstone, and Winter Fruit by Corrie Triz – focuses on the paradox of painful memories. READ MORE

Through the Roots, Iration, and Rebelution
Twiin Productions welcomed these three bands for The Jesusita Fire Benefit at the Granada Theatre. READ MORE

Verna Beware, Killola, and Kristeen Young
A return to the roots of rock ‘n’ roll that’s fueled by sex, drugs, and women. READ MORE

Dilated Peoples
Established as a renowned West Coast underground hip-hop in 1992, Dilated Peoples continue to uphold their worth to the music community some 16 years later. READ MORE

Cesaria Evora’s -Preview
Unforgettable Voice Transcends Nostalgia. READ MORE

Pepper and Slightly Stoopid
Reggae has most definitely evolved since Bob Marley. The category has come to include ska, rock, rasta and dub. READ MORE

Jon Foreman- CD
Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman presents his more vulnerable side on his seasonal collection of EPs; Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer. READ MORE

Dominic Balli – CD
With his debut album, Public Announcement, Dominic Balli places himself among some of the brightest upcoming Santa Barbara music-makers. READ MORE