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Pencil This In: Steve Martin Plucks it Up for the LA Public Library
Ahh welcome to Monday. / Photo by Fire Monkey Fish via LAist's flickr pool.
Ahh welcome to Monday. / Photo by Fire Monkey Fish via LAist's flickr pool.
FUNDRAISER
REDCAT hosts a reception and fundraiser honoring the film The Watermelon Womanand its director Cheryl Dunye from 6 to 7:45 pm tonight. The night will include an art auction, and proceeds will go toward adding The Watermelon Woman to UCLA’s Outfest Legacy Collection. The evening will include special guest appearances by members of the original Watermelon Woman cast, a burlesque performance by Malaika Millions and a DJ set by Anna Margarita Albelo. The 1996 film--the first ever theatrical feature directed by an African-American lesbian--will be screened at 8:30 pm after the reception. Tickets to the film are $9.
BOOKS AND BANJO*
Steve Martin’s playing the banjo tonight at 8 pm to raise money for the Los Angeles Public Library. The comedian-bluegrass musician will be in conversation with Dave Barry to launch the ALOUD at L. A. LIVE series. Held at L.A. LIVE’s Club Nokia, Martin will be performing songs from his musical debut CD, The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo. The Steep Canyon Rangers band will appear with Martin and the CD’s producer, John McEuen (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band founder) will join the group on stage during the performance. Tickets are $25-$250. STORYTELLING
TonightThe Moth’s third Los Angeles GrandSLAM takes place at King King Room, when 10 champion Moth StorySLAM storytellers will tell five-minute true tales on the theme “Feast or Famine”. Included in the lineup are a psychotherapist, a reformed Seventh Day Adventist, a reality show producer, a swamp queen, a two-time GrandSLAM champion. They and five others will be judged by Jason Bentley (KCRW Music Director), Moon Zappa and Jackie Clark (VH1, UCB Theater), among others. There aren’t any notes or scripts allowed, just throwback storytelling. The winner’s story will be featured on The Moth's podcast. The show begins at 8 pm, and tickets are $15. The event is now sold out!
GEEK OUT
GeekOut ’09, hosted by Shira Lazar, is all about celebrating everyone’s inner geek. The event celebrates the launch of “I am a Geek,” a video that features some of the biggest personalities in the social networking and web 2.0 space, including Shaq, Steve Wozniak, Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Pollak, Wil Wheaton and Kevin Rose. Taking place at the W in Westwood, attendees can sip on “Geektinis,” rock out to Dublab's live streaming DJ, take pictures in the photobooth and tell the world why you’re a geek at the 12seconds patio. The event starts at 7 pm and free and open to the public. RSVP here.
FILM
Cinemad's Short Film Almanac screens at the Silent Movie Theater tonight at 8 pm. Since 1998, Cinemad tries to spread the word about great films that are ignored by traditional distribution and magazines, especially the short films. “This almanac of past Cinemad short subjects is a mix of wild styles and unusual atmospheres, from the frenetic lesson in heroic cinema in Virgil Widrich's animated wonder Fast Film, to a nuanced look at reality by Sam Green and the stark desolate worlds of Jake Mahaffy or Jennifer Reeves. Tickets are $12.
*Pencil pick of the day
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