Arts & Events

THURSDAY, OCT. 16 -more-

Not since the 1930s, facing a previous great depression and the impending danger of a fascist New World Order, and the ’60s with a previous illegal and immoral war, has there been such a great outpouring of political art. -more-

“All difficulties are but easy when they are known.” This line from Measure for Measure is like a key to The Bard’s comedies—and maybe comedy in general. Howard Hawks, who pioneered the screwball comedy on screen, said the difference between comedy and drama was one of perspective: in drama, obstacles are to be overcome; in comedy, they’re embarrassing roadblocks (or banana peels on the road), getting in the way of what’s desired, making the seeker look ridiculous. -more-

TheatreFIRST is celebrating their 15th anniversary with a fete for supporters, 7 p.m. Saturday at Chapel of the Chimes on Piedmont Avenue with a staged reading and Paul Bregman’s piano music, special guests including performers Dana Kelly, Wanda McCaddon, Sandra Schlechter and Simon Vance, with co-founder and Artistic Director Emeritus Clive Chafer and TheatreFIRST’s new artistic and producing team, Dylan Russell and Allison Studdiford. -more-

Jazz and soul singer Valerie Troutt and Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir will headline “Prepare for a Future,” an intergenerational pre-election concert in downtown Berkeley, featuring more than a dozen other local performing artists, Friday Oct. 17, at Shattuck DownLow, 2284 Shattuck Ave. The concert comes three weeks before the election and three days before the deadline for voter registration in California, Mon., Oct. 20. -more-

Soldiers of Conscience, a new documentary airing at 9 p.m. today (Thursday) on PBS, begins with a surprising fact: Approximately 75 percent of World War II combat soldiers, when presented with the opportunity to fire on the enemy, did not pull the trigger. Turns out the inhibition that keeps a man from killing was stronger than all the training, conditioning and propaganda thrown at them in preparation for just such a moment. -more-

It’s amazing to me how differently two professionals can do their jobs. This applies to price, efficiency, safety and our comfort in working with the varied commercial connections we all make in our lives. It’s true with medical professionals, auto mechanics and tax accountants and it never ceases to stun me when I encounter either end of the scale. At the low end (and we know how bad things can get there, right?) there are those behind the counter at stores who have such small mandates and cannot seem to manage to provide us with even the most modest bits of service. My personal pet peeve is the clerk who can’t get off the phone with her boyfriend to sell me a roll of floss. -more-

Matt Cantor’s recent survey of local hardware resources, which I agree with entirely, got me thinking about how much I love hardware stores. I even have a copy of The Periodic Table of Hardware (and you can too, for a mere $11.95 at www.thisandthat.com/periodictable.htm—not only is it printed on an excellent pegboard background, but you’ll be supporting a local artist as well). -more-

Two unusual poetry events at Moe’s Books on Telegraph: Jack Marshall of El Cerrito, long an influential Bay Area writer and teacher, reads Mon. Oct. 20 at 7:30 p.m.; the following Monday the great Nathaniel Tarn, poet, translator and anthropologist, celebrates his 80th birthday, reading and in conversation with Moe’s Owen Hill, after a week of Bay Area events. see sfsu.edu-poetry or call the Poetry Center (415) 338-2227. Moe’s readings are free. -more-

THURSDAY, OCT. 16 -more-