Photo credit Aaron Gautchi

When Lucent Dossier Experience started their new artist residency in the heart of Hollywood last month, they were presented with an unusual challenge: the h.wood space they now inhabit on Wednesday nights is a series of small, den-like chambers without a large, conventional stage. While this could have been a liability, the inventive troupe rose to the occasion by reconfiguring their show, conceptually transforming h.wood’s labyrinth of rooms into a modern day cabinet of human curiosities. Wednesdays through December 23, 2009, Lucent Dossier Experience opens h.wood’s doors every week at 8:00 p.m. with the troupe’s tantalizing performances from 9:00 p.m. to midnight, and DJs/dancing continuing until 2:00 a.m. The residency runs through December, culminating with their Orphan’s Ball on December 23rd which benefits Cuddle The World, Lucent’s charity project for disadvantaged children. Read the rest of this entry »

Los Angeles-based humanitarian organization NextAid offers three “green” holiday giving options that benefit African children in need. All three philanthropic gifts are perfect for those who want their holiday giving to mean a bit more:
1.) Funk Aid for Africa, a critically acclaimed CD mix of funky goodness released by Dubspot
2.) MUD Cares Palette of Eye Colors – earthy eye shadows by Make-Up Designory (MUD)
3.) NextAid’s “Send a Child to School” program

Proceeds from all three gifts support NextAid’s work to create sustainable solutions for African children orphaned by AIDS. For more information on NextAid, please visit http://www.nextaid.org. Read the rest of this entry »

Pioneering interdisciplinary artist Rachel Rosenthal, 83, is set to release her long-awaited book, The DbD Experience: Chance Knows What It’s Doing! DbD, or “Doing by Doing” describes her signature method of teaching improvisational theater. In the 130-page book, the Obie winning performer explores improvisational theater and its relationship to life, offering a blow-by-blow account of what happens in her 34-hour DbD weekend intensive workshops (currently still happening on a bi-annual basis in Los Angeles). This mix of memoir, teaching manual, and manifesto was edited by Kate Noonan and is set for US release in December 2009 by Routledge. Read the rest of this entry »