RATS! FIRED AGAIN!
RATS! FIRED AGAIN!
You don't have to be on The Apprentice to feel the sting of the cobra. Actress Annabelle Gurwitch was dropped from a plum role in a Woody Allen film, but, instead of crying about it, she used her rejection to create the play Fired! Tales of Jobs Gone Bad.
Gurwitch will share her story this Thursday through Sunday at the Skirball Cultural Center. Joined by show-business veterans who've also been handed pink slips at one time (or more), Fired! is a series of comedic monologues, performed with no set or staging, emphasizing the rawness of rejection. The cast of 11 includes Carl Capotorto (The Sopranos), Dana Gould (comedian/producer, The Simpsons), and Matt Walsh (Old School), among others. “Everyone who is part of the project is either a friend, someone I've worked with, or a friend of a friend,” says Gurwitch. “I like it this way – it reminds us all that we're part of a community.”
Of course, the play isn't just for people who have been fired and need to find solace in others' stories. It's for anyone who has ever been axed, worried they might be, or maybe even wished they would be. According to the playwright, it's for anybody who has to work for a living. “I think it's somehow comforting and inspiring to know that everyone – whether you're flipping burgers or you're the star of a sitcom – has gotten canned,” she says. She also hopes it will provide some comfort and inspiration. “Hearing about how people cope and pick themselves up after being fired helps prove that old axiom – it's not the bounce that counts, it's the bounce back.”
Performances will be recorded for L.A. Theatre Works' nationally syndicated radio theater series, The Play's the Thing, to be heard by empathetic ears all over the city. Indeed, the stories in Fired! are broad: “I tried to pick the biggest variety of professions, humiliations, and triumphs as possible!” laughs Gurwich, who's also working on a related book and documentary. “We will draw from stories from our well-known folks and go across the country looking for best and worst fired stories,” she enthuses. “I'd like Fired! to do for the workplace what Super Size Me has done for the burger – make it just a little more healthy for human beings.”
–Taleen Babayan
Fired! Tales of Jobs Gone Bad. Skirball Cultural Center, 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., L.A., (310) 440-4500. Thur.-Fri. at 8 p.m.; Sun. at 4 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. Closes Sun. $20-$45; $15 with pink slip or proof of unemployment insurance. For reservations and information: (310) 827-0889 or Latw.org.
**************
Thursday 17
GREEN DAY
It's St. Paddy's Day! Will you a) wear green, b) turn green, or c) go green? Consider that last one by checking out the party at Organic Interior Design in Venice tonight. This eco-lifestyle store will be unveiling a new line of luxurious, environmentally sustainable products, including linens, drapes, and bath towels, plus bio-friendly mattresses and a custom-designed sustainable sofa! Also enjoy organic, raw taste treats from Leaf Cuisine, live music, and a raffle with organic goodies galore. Fifty percent of the evening's proceeds will go to Heal the Bay, the local nonprofit trying to clean up our coast. Sure, it's fun to be a drunken nuisance to your environment, but why not tend to it instead? 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Free. 1501 Main St., Venice, (310) 581-6450.
Friday 18
ON THE DOWN SEW
Every week is Fashion Week if you're checking people out. And if you're examining the local designer scene on a regular basis, you know that L.A.'s Sew Down is the place to go to spot up-and-coming trends and fresh fashion surprises. Tonight, the sixth edition of this “playfully avant-garde” event will take place at Club Naked (formerly Qtopia) in Hollywood. An outdoor runway show will feature the work of 15 local designers, with vendor booths and DJ group Rabbit in the Moon adding even more sparkle and edge. Drinks will be available, too, so you can purchase items and samples with credit card abandon. Go get fabulous. 8 p.m.-4 a.m. $25; $50 VIP. 6024 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Sewdown.com.
Saturday 19
A WORLD OF FUN
You're off to see the wizards, the wonderful wizards of comic-book heroes, at “Wizard World Los Angeles” this weekend. Friday through Sunday, the Long Beach Convention Center will be packed to the Marvel-ous gills with comic books, toys, anime, videogames, and comic cult stars of TV, film, and print. Avi Arad (Spider-Man, X-Men, The Hulk) will be the guest of honor at this pop culture extravaganza, which will also host Stan Lee, Kevin Smith, and Jason Mewes, among others chatting, signing, and soaking in the cells. And of course bring the kids: Up to two little ones under age 10 get in free with an adult! Fri. 2 p.m.-8 p.m.; Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. $25; $45 weekend pass. 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach. Wizarduniverse.com.
Sunday 20
LOOTING FORWARD
In case you didn't want to know, yesterday marked the two-year anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Thousands of people have died and been injured because of this offensive, and the hits just keep on coming. On Saturday, there will be a commemorative march and rally with Veterans for Peace, starting at Hollywood and Vine (Answerla.org). And today, Track 16 Gallery hosts a “Saloot to Looting,” a reminder of what took place at Iraqi art museums two years ago. Feel the rush of ruination by running into one of the gallery's installation spaces and grabbing any two items you can get your greedy hands on. Like war, this is no joke. 8 a.m.-noon. Free. Bergamot Station, building C1, Santa Monica, (310) 264-4678. Track16.com.
Monday 21
TUNESMITH TUTORIAL
Hey, all you singer-songwriters out there: How about a little studio time? “The Songwriters Studio,” that is, where pros discuss how to write the songs that make the whole world sing. This month, spunky songstress Lisa Loeb is the featured guest, sharing with program producer and interviewer Dan Kimpel anecdotes about her career and creative process, woven together with live performance and followed by a “Songwriters Round.” Better yet, it all takes place in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel's Cinegrill lounge, a historic site for musical delight. 8 p.m. $15; $12 ASCAP members. 7000 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 882-1415 or Songwritersstudio.com.
Tuesday 22
READ ALL ABOUT IT
Posters, posters everywhere, especially at the L.A. County Museum of Art, now hosting two big shows about art on big pieces of paper. Representing this side of the Atlantic is Rauschenberg: Posters, with more than 100 examples of work made since the '60s by one of the more prolific American poster artists of the 20th century. On the other is German and Austrian Posters – War, Revolution, Protest: Recent Gifts to the Robert Gore Rifkind Center for German Expressionist Studies, with works created in the art nouveau style, as well as propaganda, film, and theater-related items. Both exhibits are open through June 12, and both have a lot to say. Noon-8 p.m. $9; $5 students and seniors; free for kids under 18. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., L.A., (323) 857-6000. Lacma.org.
Wednesday 23
PRICEY PLAYMATES
Beanie Babies and Cabbage Patch Kids were one thing; a limited-edition collectors' toy by an art star is another! Tonight at MOCA Grand Avenue, the L.A. chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA LA) hosts the panel discussion “Playing with Art: Exploring the World of Artist-Created Toys.” Hear multicreative hyphenate Gary Baseman and illustrator Tim Biskup as they join Critterbox Toys founder Conor Libby in a public discussion about the challenges and consequences of these collaborations, plus what they might mean for the current generation of kids. Or is it you you're buying this stuff for? 6:30 p.m. $30; $20 students; $15 AIGA members; $10 AIGA students. 250 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. (818) 558-3968 or Aigalosangeles.org.Published: 03/17/2005
DIGG | del.icio.us | REDDIT
