TUESDAY, AUG. 27 2013 >>>
1. Alain Resnais, 91, began his directorial career shortly after the Liberation of Paris from the Nazis, so to say he has played a bit of a role in French cinema over the years is putting it mildly. His film, You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet!, opens with the sudden death of (fictional) playwright Antoine d'Anthac, (Denis Podalydès). A cavalcade of legendary French actors, (playing themselves), are summoned to d'Anthac's home for the reading of his will. Via a prerecorded statement, d'Anthac asks that this his colleagues evaluate an experimental theater company's taped performance of his play Eurydice, a play in which each actor in attendance performed a role at some point in their career. However, as the viewing progresses, the actors find themselves slipping back into the roles they played years earlier, reenacting scenes from the play as they unfold onscreen. In some cases, actors who played the same role in different productions of the play decades apart from one another reenact identical scenes, but their individual idiosyncrasies make both performances unique and equally valid. Things take a turn for the dreamlike when the viewing room gradually transforms into stage sets to fit the scenes being performed and the actors in the viewing room give pointers to the actors onscreen, and the onscreen actors answer them, but their performances are so captivating, you just don't question it. You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet! screens at 2 and 7 p.m. in The Grand Cinema. Read Jared Lovrak's full review of You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet! in the Music and Culture section.
2. Look! Over by the cucumbers! It's Superman! Spider Man! Wonder Woman! A super-sized knitted Mr. Fantastic costume! And they're all dancing at the 6th Ave Farmers Market! Holy organics, Batman! That's right, Superfriends. The 6th Ave Farmers Market hosts a Homemade Superhero Costume Contest and dance party from 3-7 p.m. Superheroes will need to be prepared to answer two questions: What is your super power and what is your super name?
3. The Tacoma Rainiers kick off its final 7-game homestand, with its collective focus on the next three games, starting tonight at 7 p.m. against Salt Lake. The Bees - the Triple-A affiliate of the Angels - have a four-game lead on the Rainiers in the division. The only chance of making the playoffs is to take this series.
4. Speaking of superheroes, for many people around the South Sound, venturing into a comic book store for the first time can be a terrifying experience. Don't worry, the super hero-centric Capes & Cowls Book Club - billed as a "... book club adapted to mutants, aliens, technogeeks and puny humans who like to read superhero comics" - holds its monthly meeting at 8 p.m. in King's Books. This book club will ease you into the superhero comics genre with support and friendship. August's selection is Prophet Vol. 1: Remission by Brandon Graham where John Prophet is a genetically engineered super-clone sent by the Earth Empire on a mission to restore humanity. Boom! Biff! Biochemistry, beyotch!
5. On any night of the week, one can meander past the main bar in Olympia's China Clipper Club Cafe, to the back room where a disco ball, stage, stellar PA system, extensive song list, savvy DJ and lively, often tipsy, crowd scribbles on tiny, colorful paper then waits ... for Clipper Karaoke. There are number karaoke nights around the South Sound, but only one karaoke night that has been named Best Karaoke in Thurston County three years running in the Weekly Volcano's Best of Olympia issues. The China Clipper is the only lounge in Thurston County that hosts karaoke seven days a week. It's also the only lounge that uses state-of-the-art sound equipment rather than the typical karaoke set-up with a cordless mic that's passed from table to table. It goies down at 9 p.m. Read Nikki McCoy's full feature on Clipper Karaoke in the Weekly Volcano's Bars/Clubs section.
LINK: Tuesday, Aug. 27 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area
