Sights & Sounds is your weekly guide to the Bay Area arts scene through the eyes and ears of local artists. Our guest is Molly Raynor: poet, educator, and Performing Arts Coordinator at RYSE Youth Center in Richmond. RYSE’s Fairytale: a Multimedia Production by Richmond Youth opens May 14th.
Raynor told KALW’s Jen Chien about three cool arts events happening this week around the Bay.
The African-American Shakespeare Company’s production of Antony and Cleopatra runs Saturdays and Sundays from 5/7 through 5/29 at the Buriel Clay Theater, in San Francisco. This epic love story between a Roman empire ruler and the queen of Egypt has a pared down cast and a modern day, House of Cards spin on it.
RAYNOR: I’ve seen the magic that Peter Callender (Antony) is able to create as a director, and I’ve seen him in many plays in the Bay Area. He’s just one of my favorite local actors.
On Friday, 5/6, Mayer Hawthorne plays a concert at Fox Theatre in Oakland. The Grammy nominated singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist is on his fourth full length album, Man About Town. Hawthorne did most of the production for it, played many of the instruments, and wrote every track, pulling from his life and relationships for inspiration.
RAYNOR: I knew Mayer as Drew growing up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and it’s really cool to see someone who was behind the scenes go off and do his own thing, and really get a lot of shine, and represent for the Midwest.
On Monday, 5/9, indie hip-hop artist Aesop Rock is at the Fillmorein San Francisco. The 20 year veteran of the underground music scene is back with another album, The Impossible Kid. On it, Aesop Rock mines deeply personal experiences for material, exploring themes of loss and regret.
RAYNOR: Aesop Rock is a storyteller. He uses a lot of abstract and figurative language that helped me think about different ways to play with words.
