Bay Area Now

Sunday, I met up with dear Deborah Slater at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts to take in Erika Shuch's "After All, Part 1" a very theatrical piece featuring Joe Goode as a faith-mulling beach goer, playing off a philosophical goldfish, a sequin-jacketed preacher figure and a host of other dancers, singing and moving their way through the mysteries. While I felt it a little long, there were some show-stopping moments (the cast and goldfish all entering a sea of sorts was my fave) and overall was quite a coup for Shuch, whose been tirelessly leading new and mixed media performance (for lack of a better term) in the Bay Area, notably at Intersection for the Arts, for as long as I've known of her. (I ran into another dancer at the event, Paige Sorvillo, who I'd originally met at the same Ruth Zaporah workshop many years back). Yup, a lot of notable local talent at YBCA right now. Over in the main gallery, Bay Area Now 5, a trienial festival of visual art, video and performane is in place, featuring work by, among others, my partner in taking in the Alejandro Escoveda show on Friday, artist Edmundo de Marchena, and master of light, Elaine Buckholtz.