A6 THE ADVOCATE Unleashed
Movies
This week: “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” (PG) “The Tourist” (PG-13) “The Company Men” (R) “The Fighter” (R)
DVDs
This week: “Inception” (PG-13) “Shrek Forever After” (PG) “The Year of Getting to Know Us” (R) “Fox 75th Anniversary Collection” (NR)
CDs
New releases: Deadmau5: “4x4=12” Daft Punk: “TRON : Legacy Soundtrack” Redman: “Reggie” T.I.: “No Mercy” Plain White T’s: “Wonders of the Younger”
Games
New releases: World of Warcraft: Cataclysm (PC - T) TRON: Evolution (All Platforms - T) Duke Nukem Trilogy: Critical Mass (DS - T) SBK X: Superbike World Championship (PS3, XBOX360, PC - E10+) Editor’s note: This column lists popular new (and upcoming) releases for the week.
l WEDNESDAY, DEC. 8, 2010
SCENE
Play orients Knox Center ‘Guadalupe’ unites, promotes diversity By Hilberth Ibarra STAFF WRITER
The performance “Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe” featured at the Knox Center from Dec. 1 through 4 successfully brought the community together. CHRISTIAN SOTO / THE ADVOCATE The play was written and Holy spirit — The little girl (Karyme Martin) listens to Juan Diego (Rex Marin) as he speaks about the Virgin directed by drama department de Guadalupe during “Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe” in the Knox Center on Dec 1. Chairman Clay David with the intention of giving the Richmond on a journey to show her the oriit appear very real. the message of the play was so and San Pablo Latino communigin of the Virgin de Guadalupe. For someone fluent in Spanish, universal and clear that they were ties a gift for the holidays, as well As she goes from place to place, the language was very clear and able to understand the heart of the as to highlight the importance she learns about the history of easy to understand. The education- performance. of diversity and bring people Mexico, from the Nahua, Toltec al content was impressive. From Anya De Paoli, a non-Spanish together. and Aztec civilizations, the little girl to Saint Juan Diego, speaker, said, “I thought it was an “(There) is nothing in to the Spanish conquest the actors with principle roles excellent play although it was in the Latino community for playreview and the significance of the were very passionate about their Spanish. The storyline was one the holidays and I wanted Virgin de Guadalupe. performances. that everyone would be able to to do a play about the At the end of the jourThe script seemed to be a little understand. I wouldn’t change Virgin de Guadalupe,” ney, she is led back to the slow moving, despite the fact anything. I wouldn’t even convert David said. “It is about church where the statues that the play was barely 30 minit to English. I thought it was great coming together.” “Nuesta Senora kiss her good-bye and utes long. Though the production in Spanish.” The play lasted approxde Guadalupe” remind her that they will started a little later than scheduled, Similarly, Rolando and imately half an hour and ★★★★★ always look after her. Then everything else ran smoothly and Jonathon Argueta, father and son, Venue: Knox was performed in all Center one by one, the saints was well organized. respectively, and other Spanish Spanish. Directed by: Clay turn back into statues just One thing that was rather innospeakers in the crowd also enjoyed The cast was made David before her mother comes vative was that after the play the the play. up of a diverse group of Open Until: Closed to get her. audience was invited to come up The father and son agreed, the actors from many differAs soon as people onto the stage and interact with costumes and scenery were great, ent ethnicities. walked into the Knox the cast. the acting was good, the Spanish The performance cenCenter, they were greeted They could talk and take picwas well spoken and the story was tered on a 3-year-old girl tures with the girl and the saints, very devoted. who did not know the story of the with colonial Mexican music and a warm “Buenas Noches.” providing a nice end to the perforThe entire performance, though Virgin de Guadalupe. One night, This allowed the audience to mance that brought the commushort, went very well, yet the she decides to stay and pray in her get into the mood of the play nity together. message of the play was the most church after mass. before it even began. Along with the diversity of important part of the night. As she begins her prayers, one The set, scenery and props the cast, the audience was also “It’s not about making money, of the statues in the church, Saint were exceptional. They looked so extremely diverse. There were it’s about coming together, about Juan Diego, comes to life and realistic that they made the Knox people of all different ethnicities, diversity and how important it is,” introduces her to the other saints at the church, including Saint Ines, Center feel like a Catholic church. cultural and religious backgrounds David said. The costumes and make-up and ages. Saint Teresa, Saint Francisco de Contact Hilberth Ibarra at hibarra. Many members of the audience Asis and Saint Miguel Archangel. designed by professor David also advocate@gmail.com. helped to set the scene and make could not speak Spanish, however, Saint Juan Diego invites her
Comedy routines fizzle on stage Student humorists lack originality, fail to entertain crowd By George Morin PHOTO EDITOR
POINT RICHMOND — It would have been nice to be able to say, “At least the food was good.” However, when The Boilerhouse Restaurant took more than 45 minutes to serve a single order of garlic fries, it made a few pathetic and unprepared comedy acts much harder to sit through. Students from the college’s drama department and other students who signed up performed what they considered to be short comedy acts in front of their family and friends at the Stand Up Comedy Show held at The Boilerhouse in the barren financial district of Point Richmond on Nov. 23. Disregarding the extreme rudeeventreview ness of workers and bartenders scurrying around trying to help the audience, a few “Stand Up people seemed to Comedy Show” enjoy the comedy ★★★★★ acts, even though Headliner: Stand the majority Up Comedy Show lacked originality. Where: The Those just try- Boilerhouse Restaurant, Point ing to enjoy their Richmond meals shook their heads with looks of shock and disappointment. The restaurant’s ambiance was very pleasing, but the extremely slow service to even be seen and helped for simply a glass of water was unreasonable. Some
CHRISTIAN SOTO / THE ADVOCATE
Jokester — Contra Costa College student Cardellous Snell performs his comedy act during the Stand Up Comedy Show at the Boilerhouse in Point Richmond on Nov. 23.
tables were covered with crumbs and smear marks from previous patrons, but were not taken care of until about 30 minutes into the show. And that was not the worst of it. The corny jokes and acts in the beginning of the event were almost unheard due to technical problems and the large groups of families conversing with one another rather than paying atten-
tion to the stage. Some of the performers struggled on stage and, even with the crowd’s support, many to make an exit before their time elapsed. This may be due to a lack of experience in performing in front of a crowd, but it also shows a huge lack of preparation. The night was full of corny and recycled jokes, one after another. “You have less of a shot of me
making a shot than Shaq making a free throw,” student Jashawn Fields said in his act. “I’m as serious for your daughter as I am about my other two girlfriends,” student Manuel Santoyo said. The comedians were nothing out of the ordinary and not very engaging to the audience. This event, although not very good as a comedy show, was a good way to get students out and in front of a crowd to get better at doing stand up. Drama department chairman Clay David did a great job at promoting the event. It was exciting to see groups from the college working together with local businesses. Though not very engaging or entertaining, the effort to get a bunch of the student body and locals together to enjoy one anothers’ companies was a success. One of the last performers, Gaspar Bernal, gave a glimmer of hope that comedy was a part of the comedy night. His off-hand jokes between awkward silences filled with his mellow guitar work reminded me of a similar comedic style by Demitri Martin on Comedy Central. His routine was the only thing that helped me enjoy my night while waiting 30 minutes for a glass of water. There will be another Stand Up Comedy Show held tonight at the John and Jean Knox Center on campus, featuring many of the same performers. General admission is $5. Hopefully this night will include some laughs. Contact George Morin at gmorin. advocate@gmail.com.