Tonight, Rogue Machine@Theatre Theater presents the latest installment of Rant & Rave. A number of vocal LA writers have been asked to rant or rave on the topic of Education. Hosted by Ron Bottita, the evening will feature original works by Daniel Jordan Booth, Phil Casnoff, Patrick Flanagan, Mel Green, Ellie Herman, Douglas Kearney and Roger Lowenstein. Tickets: $15 (but get $5 off by showing them a past due bill from the last two months). 8 pm. more ›

There’s a panel discussion tonight at 7:30 at the Aero Theater on everything you wanted to know about producing web-based entertainment. Panelists include Jim Burns, Executive Producer of Fear Clinic, FearNet.com; Illeana Douglas, Creator/Writer/Actor, Easy to Assemble, Mark Gantt, Executive Producer/Co-Writer/Actor The Bannen Way, Peter Hyoguchi, CEO, Strike.TV; Amber J. Lawson, Comedy Publisher at Babelgum.com, Brady Brim-DeForest, CEO of Tubefilter.com; David Fickas, Drama 3/4 Productions and others. Tickets: $20, $15 for students/seniors and $12 for Cinematheque members. more ›

Events are a little few and far between tonight, but here are three of interest. Post any other suggestions you may have below. more ›

Tonight kicks off the summer season at the Ford Amphitheater--a great little venue across the way from the Hollywood Bowl--with its first J.A.M. Session. Dance in the Making is a participatory program that begins at 7 pm. “Create movement, develop character and explore the creation of dances from professional dancers' perspective with the talented members of L.A. Contemporary Dance Company with music composed and performed live by SONOS a capella group.” The workshop serves as prep for the artists, leading to a world premiere of Gods and Marionettes at the Ford on June 18. more ›

There's a book signing and discussion tonight with cartoonists and authors Jaime Hernandez, Jordan Crane and Todd Hignite at Family Bookstore for the release of The Art of Jaime Hernandez-The Secrets of Life and Death. "Jaime Hernandez more ›

There are a number events to celebrate the 40th Earth Day anniversary, so if we could attend just one, it would be Sustainable Silver Lake's celebration at Spaceland today until 5 pm. Eco-experts will be there to share tips on how to green our lives, and local vendors will provide green snacks. They're asking people to come down and make a pledge to do one simple thing to help make your world a greener place. Pledges will be broadcast live on the web by DUBLAB, and KCRW’s Anthea Raymond, KPCC’s Alex Cohen and actor Ross Marquand will play MCs more ›

As part of the Ring Festival LA, Maestro James Conlon, Music Director of LA Opera, stops by ALOUD at the Central Library to discuss Wagner's monumental work, The Ring of the Nibelung, which will receive its first-ever presentation in Los Angeles this Summer.  7 pm. Afterwards, he’ll join the Young Literati for cocktails at Café Pinot, in the Central Library's Courtyard. While the ALOUD discussion is free to everyone, the cocktail party is reserved for members of Young Literati.  To RSVP, email youngliterati@lfla.org. Non-members interested in attending may do so with a $20 pre-payment. Please call 213.228.7542. Parking is available for $8.
 more ›

Tonight, Zócalo presents The Next Financial Meltdown with Simon Johnson at NPR West at 7:30 pm. Despite the financial crisis, six “megabanks” still rule the financial markets. Johnson, co-author of 13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown, explains why "big banks and the ideology of unfettered finance still endangers us today, and what we can do to avoid another meltdown." Free parking is available on-site behind the building. 7:30 pm. more ›

Tonight at 7:30 pm, Zócalo and The Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West present the program How Will Climate Change Transform L.A.? Moderated by Paul Wennberg, director, Linde Center for Global Environmental Science at the California Institute of Technology, the panel includes CalTech Professor of Environmental Science Tapio Schneider, UCLA Associate Professor of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Alex Hall, and Pulitzer Prize winning environmental writer Usha McFarling. The event takes place at The Huntington in San Marino. Free, but reservations are recommended. more ›

If he does say so himself, LA’s own iconic chronicler of 20th century American crime James Ellroy has just published his “ultimate masterpiece." Following American Tabloid (1995) and The Cold Six Thousand (2001), Blood’s a Rover completes Ellroy’s “Underworld USA” trilogy of novels exploring the dark side of the dark side of our country’s political madness circa 1958-1972. more ›

Today marks the start of the four-day Digital Hollywood Fall at the Loews Hotel in Santa Monica. There are waayy too many panels and speakers to mention, since the conference has multiple tracks on each day. But trust us, there are a lot of good sessions on the very long agenda. Tickets are $95-$300. If you can’t make it, then follow dhollywood on Twitter feed or the hashtag #DH09. more ›

The Hammer Museum presents a lecture by artist and photographer Stephen Berkman tonight at 7 pm. He’ll discuss his work, which uses antiquated photographic and optical processes. “Berkman, currently a teacher at the Art Center of Design, will also discuss his quixotic art in the context of the early history of the photographic medium, including phenomenology, spirit photography, and the technical processes used to achieve them.” The lecture is a related program to “The Darker Side of Light” exhibition. The public program is free, but tickets are required. Parking is available under the museum for $3 after 6 pm. more ›

The Wooster Group returns to REDCAT tonight with La Didone, a daring production of Francesco Cavalli's 1641 Baroque opera mashed up with elements of Italian director Mario Bava's 1965 sci-fi cult film Terrore nello spazio (Planet of the Vampires). This West Coast premiere of La Didone runs through June Tonight’s performance begins at 8:30 pm, and tickets are $40-55, with student discounts available. more ›

The ACME Comedy Theatre is hosting the LA Comedy Festival today through May 17. Tonight there are two shows on the schedule. At 8:30 pm has the long-form troupe The Waterbrains, followed by Rick Ramos and the sketch comedy of FUCT. The late show at 9:30 pm has Shredding the Envelope, Adam Harrington and Improperetta. For more comedy this week, check out our LAist Week in Comedy. more ›

L.A. Theatre Works presents Kenneth Lonergan’s This Is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan through Sunday, reuniting Mark Brokaw, who directed the Off Broadway premiere, with original cast members Mark Ruffalo, Josh Hamilton and Missy Yager. The performances will be recorded at the Skirball to air on LATW's syndicated radio theater series, “The Play's The Thing,” which broadcasts weekly on public radio stations nationwide (89.3 KPCC here in LA). Playwright Kenneth Lonergan will be in attendance at the performances on Friday night and Sunday at 4 pm. Tickets: $20-$48. more ›

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Los Angeles. Read below for a few options that don’t involve Leprechauns or green beers. more ›

Los Angeles Times Editorial Board Member John Healey moderates the Zócalo discussion “How Will Labor Discord Change Hollywood?” tonight at 7:30 pm at the ArcLight Sherman Oaks. Zócalo’s panel of Hollywood and high-tech experts will explore why talent unions are having so much trouble reaching a deal with the studios, what it means for talent unions in future negotiations, and how Hollywood will fare during the economic crisis and in its transition to the digital age. The event is free, but reservations are recommended. more ›

Ghettogloss presents a group show by members of the Drawing Club, featuring work by : Ray Caughron, Matthew Gray, Silas Hite, Emily Hillburg, Annie Hsu, Patrick Whitehorn and more. The opening cocktail reception is tonight from 8 pm to midnight. The show runs through Feb. 11. more ›

Okay okay we know we’re supposed to be out there volunteering for MLK Day or prepping for Barack’s big day tomorrow, but if you just want to sit back and watch, here’s what’s going on around town: more ›

DOCUMENTARY FILM: The Egyptian Theatre hosts ITVS Community Cinema’s Independent Lens Documentary Series tonight at 7:30. On the big screen is Lioness, a film about women in combat. “They went to Iraq as cooks, clerks and mechanics and returned a year later as part of America's first generation of female combat veterans. Despite an official government policy that states that women are not supposed to partake in direct ground combat, the five women featured here most certainly did.” Admission is free and there will be a panel discussion following the film. more ›

WINE TASTING: There’s a wine tasting benefit for the New West Symphony tonight at 6 pm. The reception at Le Chateau at the Beverly Hilton features wine, cheese and New West Symphony musicians. Tickets are $35 per person. more ›

WORDS: Zócalo hosts journalist E. Benjamin Skinner tonight at MOCA. He’ll discuss his book A Crime So Monstrous: Face-to-Face with Modern-Day Slavery. Skinner has witnessed negotiations for the sale of human beings in 12 countries and four continents (e.g., a Haitian 12-year-old girl sold as sexual and domestic slave for $50) and will discuss his dealings with former slaves, traffickers, liberators and survivors. Admission is free, but reservations are recommended. more ›

TALK*: Tim Sinclair from the Booker T. Washington National Monument in Hardy, Va., will discuss Washington’s story around a traditional campfire at Temescal Gateway Park at 7:30 pm. Born as a slave, Booker T. Washington became one of America's most prominent African American educators and orators of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. more ›

FILM*: There’s a great double feature starting at 7:30 pm tonight at the Egyptian Theatre honoring actress Celeste Holm. Up first is The Tender Trap (1955) with Debbie Reynolds stars as a romantic interest of a womanizing socialite, played by Frank Sinatra. Holm plays a rival for Frank’s attention. Following is a newly restored print of All About Eve, where an ingénue outshines a veteran actress (played by Bette Davis’). Celeste Holm plays Bette’s pal in the film. There’ll be a discussion in between films with Celeste Holm herself. more ›

more ›

Brick Lane, a film based on the novel of the same name by Monica Ali, will be screened and discussed at the latest Zócalo event tonight. Director Sarah Gavron and actress Tannishtha Chatterjee will be interviewed by Los Angeles Times columnist Meghan Daum to talk about the classic immigrant story that focuses on London's Bangladeshi community. more ›

Zócalo asks “Is Business Abusing the Ballot?” in a panel discussion tonight. “California businesses are increasingly taking their disputes with cities, labor and especially each other to municipal ballots in the form of initiatives and referenda. As a result, voters, not the market, are forced to pick business winners and losers and decide complex development, planning and zoning questions that are supposed to be handled by city governments.” To discuss this trend are political consultants Rob Stutzman and Harvey Englander, Anaheim City Councilwoman Lorri Galloway and labor strategist and advocate Madeline Janis. more ›

more ›

more ›

more ›