This week on Open Air, Open Air, KALW’s radio magazine for the Bay Area Performing Arts in Times of Corona, host David Latulippe talk with Robert James, director of the film Mrs. Vera's Daybook, which premieres on July 27 on KQED; as part of our Corona Radio Theater, we present Episode 2, Novice Nurse: Susie Terse!, of the San Francisco Mime Troupe’s summer series Tales of the Resistance; and Peter Robinson shines his unique light on cultural affairs from around the Bay Area.
Mrs. Vera's Daybook is a documentary about two San Francisco artists, David Faulk and Michael Johnstone, who fall in love at the height of the AIDS epidemic. While most of their community is overcome with grief and rage, David and Michael discover an unlikely joy through the creation of Mrs. Vera, an outrageous costumed character made from found materials. What begins as an intimate art project and a way to pass the time while battling illness soon takes on a life of its own.
Now 25 years later, a large and diverse community has evolved around Mrs. Vera, all centered around one day of costumed celebration in the SF Pride Parade. Filmmaker Robert James follows David and Michael, while Mrs. Vera receives the coveted Community Grand Marshall appointment for the SF PRIDE Parade in 2019.
Mrs. Vera's Daybook premieres on July 27 on Truly CA, KQED’s showcase of independent documentaries about life in the Golden State.
We raise the virtual curtain of Open Air’s Corona Radio Theater for the second installment of Tales of the Resistance, a nine-part series of original political comedy radio plays by the San Francisco Mime Troupe.
In this week’s episode, Novice Nurse: Susie Terse! - The Price of Infection: can Nurse Susie find a way to deliver vital antiviral medicine while navigating hospital bureaucracy while fending off the corrupt Capitalist Healthcare Conspiracy?
Plus, Open Air’s regular contributor and critic at large, Peter Robinson, has some good news for Bay Area hikers and bikers: the Angel Island-Tiburon Ferry is up and running. He offers tips and suggestions for a visit to Angel Island State Park, the ‘Jewel of San Francisco Bay’; discusses how Bay Area libraries are operating during the pandemic; and muses on ‘The Age of the Podcast’.
Open Air with host David Latulippe will be broadcast live on Thursday, July 23, at 1pm, to be archived at this very location afterwards…