Arts & Culture

Undergraduate students have the potential to do great things.This year’s THIRDeYE Theatre Festival,entirely put on by undergraduates,is not one of those great things. The first play of the festival,The Readers by Joe Ferreira,threw together important plot elements at the very beginning.The mysterious silhouetted paper passers,the barking dog and the franticly cleaning artist started the show off,dare I say,dramatically.

While some students saw last summer as a break from work, Jason Dunne saw an opportunity. The junior art studio major embarked on a project – to create 30 chairs in 30 consecutive days. Dunne challenged himself with certain guidelines for the project, such as only using recycled or found material and not using any parts that were previously on a chair. The final display, which will be presented at the Basement Gallery (located in the basement of the art building) from Nov. 10 to 15, is a collection of 30 unique chairs.

MUSIC Mylo Jenkins,Brethren,Brethren & the Brethren Today,9:30p.m.,$5 Primary Concepts at219E Street Santa Cruz band Mylo Jenkinsmakesthe kind of down-home rootsy indie-folk that reminds me of my childhood days sippin‘ lemonade out on my front-porch.OK,so I may be embellishing a bit – truth be told,the apartment I grew up in San Jose didn’t have a porch to host impromptu folk jam sessions – but the idea is nice,no?

As the third largest film industry in the world,Chinese cinema is getting some much-deserved attention in the city of Davis. The2008Asia Pacific Film Festival opens today and runs until Sunday.The event is free.A short presentation will accompany each screening,and a public symposium titled “Understanding Chinese Cinema:Gender,Modernity,Identity” will be held on Friday at1:30p.m.at Olson6.

Atlanta rock band Deerhunter is defined by two simple characteristics – teenage angst and sexual exploration.The latter I got from a sticker on the album that described their sound as “a distrubing plea for erotic asphyxiation.” Um… is that supposed to make me want to buy the album?

There’ll Be Diamonds byPortland-based bandSuper XX Man is the kind of album that should accompany a long-distance road trip.The effortless transitions between tracks make it an easy listen from beginning to end.

The brilliance of the Internet (besides self-promotion and e-endorsing presidential candidates – I like to think all those Obama pins I sent out on Facebook did some good for his campaign) lies in its ability to make even the mostboring day seem exciting,or at least marginally interesting enough to care about.Why else would people create blogs that chronicle their lives or to follow things like random street fashion?

Much like a romantic comedy – you know,thatold standby you rely onto give you the warm fuzzieswhen you’re feeling down – Jason Mraz did what he does best as he took the stage in Freeborn Hall on Nov.3:deliver feel-good pop tunes.

Despite late night hours,research and writer’s block,the time and effort poured into class papers and assignments is not always in vain. The University Writing Program’s20th annual Prized Writing Student Authors Event will present three winners from its2007-2008competition.The free event will be held today in126Voorhies at4:30p.m.

The annual UC Davistheatre and dance department THIRDeYE Theatre Festival returns this year with three new plays written,directed,produced and performed by undergraduate students.This year’s selected plays areThe Readers by Joe Ferreira,When Marcelli Met the Dream Maker by Carolyn Duncan andA Piece of Water by Julie Friedrichsen.

In a world where irony and self-deprecation have become the norm for all things cool,singer-songwriter Jason Mraz has maintained his sunny position in the music industry. Mraz will perform tonight at7:30in Freeborn Hall.Opening for Mraz is Irish singer Lisa Hannigan.Tickets to the show are sold out. From his first albumWaiting for My Rocket to Cometo his latest releaseWe Sing.We Dance.We Steal Things.,Mraz has carved a niche for himself with his signature upbeat tunes.

MUSIC Thin Air Trio with Margriet Naber Tchicai Today,7:30p.m. Delta of Venus Feeling a bit anti-brocial lately? Good food and some live jazz from Thin Air Trio and pianist Margriet Naber Tchicai should do the trick.Problem solved.