Welcome to “The Sights + Sounds Show with Jeneé Darden,”where every week we tap into the Bay Area arts scene and bring you rich conversations with artists. On today’s show, an animation-filmmaker tells a folklore story from her native country Ukraine. Then, a visual artist shares a touching story about how a MUNI driver changed his life. Lastly, a play that connects an ancient Aztec story to the present.
Today's show is about being colorful and vibrant.
Masha Ellsworth
Have you ever tried to do something really important, but you hear that annoying, negative voice inside that tears you down? Award-winning filmmaker Masha Ellsworth captures dealing with the tormenting, inner critic in the animated-short "Little t." Masha is the lead technical director at Pixar. If you're a Pixar fan, you've seen her work. But "Little t" is her independent film. Masha is originally from Ukraine and lives in the East Bay.
Kurt Schwartzmann
Host Jeneé Darden appreciates our Bay Area bus riders so much. It's not an easy job. They get us to our locations, but for artist Kurt Schwartzmann, one bus driver did more than that when he was homeless. She was a catalyst that led to him getting off of the streets. Kurt draws bright and colorful portraits of MUNI drivers, buses and the streets of San Francisco.
Luis Alfaro and Sean San José
An elder once told Jeneé that sometimes you have to know where you've been, to know where you're going. That's a lesson that comes up in the show "Aztlán." It's about a young man on parole who looks to the ancient land of Aztlán to find a better future for himself. Aztlán is a beautiful, mythical homeland of the Aztec people. It's also the name of the main character. The show ties together 959 years of history to the present.
"Aztlán" is currently running at the Magic Theater in San Francisco until July 13. Playwright Luis Alfaro is a MacArthur Fellow and director of the MFA in Dramatic Writing program at the University of Southern California. Sean San José is co-founder of the performance group Campo Santo, and lead director of the Magic Theatre.
