Arts Alive San Antonio

The Public Theater of San Antonio is launching its new season of one-person shows this weekend with Buyer & Cellar, a hilarious comedy about Alex, a struggling actor in L.A. who gets a job as a caretaker of a superstar’s basement “Main Street” shops, featuring her collection of dolls and other “treasures.” Playwright Jonathan Tolins was inspired to write the satirical play after seeing Barbra Streisand’s book My Passion for Design  in which the diva described and photographed her opulent home and estate on the California coast. The story is told from Alex’s point of view.

Directed by Tim Hedgepeth, the show stars Rick Sanchez who seems perfect for the role.

Performances will be virtual only, live streamed from the Russell Hill Rodgers Auditorium, at the San Pedro Playhouse. Showtimes are Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. The show opens tonight and runs through Sept. 20. For tickets go to www.thepublicsa.org or call 210-733-7258.

Over at the Classic Theater of San Antonio, they are getting ready for their Third Community Conversation: Amplifying Black Female Voices, Q&A Session. Facilitated by Cynthia Freeman Gibbs, the event will feature Danielle King, Linda Nance, Deborah Omowale and Melissa Sledge who also took part in the previous two Conversations. It’s a free event but registration is needed; Sept. 16, 7-8:30 p.m., via Zoom. However, questions must be submitted in advance to ruben@classictheatre.org by 5 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 13.

And the Woodlawn Theatre is inviting you to spend Friday night with the cast of their In the Heights musical production. Hosted by artistic director Christopher Rodriguez, the virtual event will feature cast members from two different productions of the show – Miguel Ochoa, Ana Hernandez and Melissa Gonzalez. It costs only $5 per household to enjoy cast videos and listen to the artists’ stories and live performances. That sounds like a deal! All proceeds will benefit the theater and the Woodlawn Academy which trains a lot of aspiring performers. To  register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_XgDWGz_TTkmLg7U6YLpOMQ

San Antonio Film Festival promised to return for online mini-fests throughout  the rest of 2020, and that’s exactly what it will be doing next week, Sept. 16-20. More than 150 films have been selected for the 2020 festival, including the work of 21 San Antonio filmmakers as well as original work of their colleagues from Japan, Singapore, Israel, France, Switzerland, Holland, Spain and Bulgaria.

September’s highlights:
  Show Me What You Got, the festival’s Grand Prize Winner, directed by Svetlana Cvetko. A live-stream Q&A with the creators of the movie is scheduled for Sept. 17, from 7-8 p.m.
   Andre and his Olive Tree isa food-focused film that explores a chef’s obsession with perfection. Live stream Q&A, Sept. 18, from 7-8 p.m.
   Teenage Girl: First Wheels; Live-stream Sept. 16, 7-8 p.m.

Movie fans can stream official selections by purchasing an all-access pass for $69, a monthly mini-fest pass for $29, or individual movie tickets for $5. Tickets available at https://watch.eventive.org/safilm. To see the full schedule visit www.SAFILM.com

We told you last week about the so-called World Heritage Festival, which is really a celebration of our own Spanish missions which have been named as one of the World Heritage sites by UNESCO. Upcoming events include a concert by the Agarita Chamber Players, that will actually be played inside the San Jose Mission church but broadcast virtually to the public. The event honors the 300^th anniversary of the mission. To watch go to: www.YouTube@WorldHeritageSA or on the fest’s Facebook page; Sept. 11, 7 p.m.

For a different kind of music, there’s the live show by San Antonio garage-band rockers, Los #3 Dinners who are best known for their original songs about life in San Antonio. Part of the Texas Public Radio’s the Lonesome Lounge, it will be broadcast from the Lonesome Rose club on St. Mary’s Strip, Monday, Sept.4 at 7 p.m. Free. To watch go to www.facebook.com/pg/texaspublicradio/events/

One of our city’s most eclectic performing arts presenters, the Carver Community Cultural Center, was forced to cancel a number of shows due to the coronavirus pandemic but, luckily, they have been rescheduled. The Hiplet Ballerinas, a highly original dance ensemble, will come to San Antonio Jan. 23, 2021; Jazz pianist Christian Sands has been rescheduled for March 27, 2021, and “Eleven Reflections on September,” a spoken-word multi-media performance on the Arab-American experience and related topics, is on the calendar for April 1 of next year. The Soul Rebels will appear on May 8.

In conjunction with the show “Eleven Reflections,” the Carver and Art2Action plan to launch a year-long series of Reflection Sessions on the second Tuesday of every month, leading up to the 20^th anniversary of 9/11. The online sessions will be live and interactive. The first one already took place a couple of days ago. We’ll look forward to the next one. It’s hard to believe that almost two decades have passed since that horrible event happened.

Finally, let us remind you that this is the week of the Big Give which started today. Pick the arts organization you value and love and make a donation. Find your favorite non-profit on www.thebiggivesa.com