A dance show sponsored by UC Davis’ Autism Awareness Association and Elite Dance Company aims to combine dance and education to promote autism awareness.

Called Spectrum: Dancing for Autism Awareness, the show will feature performances by Elite Dance Company, the Popping Club, Mobility and the Break Dance Club. In addition, an autism researcher and a parent whose child has autism will speak about the disorder. Thirty percent of the event’s proceeds will be donated to the UC Davis MIND Institute, which researches neurodevelopmental disorders.

Tickets may be purchased in advance from any Autism Awareness Association or Elite Dance Company member, or at the door for $12. The show will be held tonight at 7 p.m. at the Veterans’ Memorial Theater, 203 E. 14th St.

For more information, go to elitedancecompany.org.

Get ready to experience Moby-Dick as you have never seen it before in The Moby-Dick Variations.

The Moby Dick Variations an unconventional piece of theatre conceived and directed by John Zibell, UC Davis Master of Fine Arts directing candidate. It is inspired by Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick and uses the same themes of perspective and multiculturalism as the novel, but it views them through a contemporary lens, exploring the multiplicity of perspectives within and outside of the novel.

“I’m telling everyone it’s not a play, it’s 135 little theatrical events inspired by Moby-Dick,” Zibell said.

The performance is very different from a traditional theatrical play. Moby-Dick is the story of wandering sailor Ishmael and his voyage with Captain Ahab on the ship Peoquod.

The Moby-Dick Variations portray the novel’s plot in a non-linear fashion. Zibell’s objective is two-fold: to allow the audience to experience the many different perspectives the novel offers and to let them further their perspectives through their and the actors’ modern views.

The aim is to break every expectation that the audience has when they walk into the show. One of the unique aspects of the show is that there will be no seats for the audience. There will be several playing areas throughout the theatre and the audience will be milling through so they can see whichever bits they want. In essence, each audience member can create his or her own experience of the play.

The performers include people of all ages and backgrounds, from undergraduates to Ph.D students to professors. All of them have gotten the chance to try new things and step outside of what they normally do.

Cast member Will Klundt, a MFA candidate at UC Davis, liked being able to experiment with this performance in a way that would not have been possible in other plays. It has also changed his perspective of performing and acting.

“I’m playing Ishmael but I don’t think of it as portraying a character in the same way I normally would because of the process we’ve had. Being able to look at character in a new way is exciting,” Klundt said.

This performance will include all types of acts including dance, spoken word poetry, theatrical acting, video and still projections, and singing. Zibell wouldn’t give too much about the play away but he did say to expect a life-sized whale.

Cast member and sophomore Kevin Adamski particularly enjoyed the freedom the play gave him.

“It’s cool to be able to create material without restrictions. There’s freedom to do what you want; and it’ll get filtered into the show, but the freedom you start out with is liberating and exciting to let your imagination run wild like that,” Adamski said.

Another remarkable part of the performance is that there will be a painter on stage who will paint a painting live. The painting is based on the beginning passage of Moby-Dick that describes a painting that could mean anything depending on how people view it. Every night the painter will repaint it.

Dylan Bolles, a Ph.D candidate in performance studies, is composing the show’s music. He builds his own instruments and is making some especially for the show. Additionally, he is working with the performers on vocal scoring and how to integrate the songs into the show.

Zibell said the performers won’t necessarily stick to their specialties, which was a conscious choice on his part.

“I think the most exciting thing for me has been seeing actors choreographing dance, dancers singing and singers acting. To see artists come into a process and find things outside their comfort zone, to do something they haven’t done before and to do it on a level that is professional is amazing,” Zibell said.

A major theme throughout the production is the search for meaning and how to arrive at meaning. This will be reflected in the show by the different performances and acting. The audience will have to let go of previous expectations just as the performers had to, Kludt said.

“There’s been a lot of letting go of my own expectations of what a performance can be and finding new things. To play with chaos, you have to experience chaos and surrendering to that can be challenging but I found a lot of inspiration within that,” Klundt said.

The play opens tonight at 8 p.m. and continues through Sunday, May 15 at the Vanderhoef Studio Theatre, Mondavi Center for Performing Arts. Tickets are available online at http://mondaviarts.org or by phone at (530) 754-2787. For more information, including ticket purchase options go to http://theatredance.ucdavis.edu.

PAAYAL ZAVERI can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

While being interviewed for the documentary Gun Fight, former NRA lobbyist Richie Feldman showed the crew his arsenal of guns. He picked up one in particular and said, “I never go to the door without my best friend. If someone comes up and I don’t know who they are, I want to be prepared.”

It is scenes such as Feldman’s that two-time Academy-Award winning documentary director Barbara Kopple was able capture for the recently released Gun Fight, a documentary exploring the firearm debate in America. Kopple brought her cameras to the UC Davis Medical Center and filmed real-life gunshot wound victims.

The film, which premiered on HBO on April 13 and will be released on DVD, features a number of UC Davis emergency room physicians, most notably Garen Wintemute, a nationally recognized expert on the prevention of gun control violence, whose research has brought to attention the staggering number of illegal firearm sales that occur during gun shows.

Wintemute, who is also the director of the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program, became interested in gun control early on in his career as an emergency room surgeon. After seeing the effects of gun violence in the ER at Woodland Memorial Hospital, he decided to study public health at Johns Hopkins University.

It was here that Wintemute learned that prevention was particularly important for firearm-related injuries.

“Most people who die from gunshot wounds in the U.S. die within minutes.  They never make it to the ER.  A number of emergency medicine physicians and trauma surgeons realized that if we wanted to reduce the number of people who died from gunshot wounds, we needed to reduce the number of people who got shot in the first place,” he said.

To capture the reality of gun-related violence, Kopple and her camera crews filmed firearm victims in hopes of capturing their stories. According to featured UC Davis physician Erik Laurin, the film’s ability to capture the realities of gun violence gives it extra impact.

“It’s rare that people actually get to see what happens to someone whose been shot. I hope it brings the message home that when someone does get shot it’s a very intense scene, with all the medical care behind it and all the resuscitation to make sure the person survives, and the rehabilitation and months and years of recovering,” he said.

Williams Cole, one of the film’s producers, believes the documentary format of the film will likewise help personalize the issue.

“I think documentary film has the power to give context to issues that often are defined by clichés and sound bites.  Guns are one of those issues, they have become a symbol for many that is much more than steel and caliber,” Cole said.

According to Kopple, the original footage she filmed at the UC Davis Medical Center really provides this personalization, and gives the film emotional weight.

“It really shows you how someone suffers when they get shot. Their lives are so changed and they come apart – once you’ve been shot it just sticks with you,” Kopple said. “You really see and feel how in just one second a flash of a gunshot changes you. Like the woman that we filmed who, even after many years of being shot still had stitches in her neck, or the boy who was great at football and now he’ll never be able to walk again.”

Despite having cameras in the workplace, none of the doctors ever felt uncomfortable being filmed. This, according to Wintemute, is a testament to the sort of authenticity the film achieves.

“During their filming in the emergency department, I often simply forgot that they were there,” Wintemute said. “They did not want “performances.” They wanted regular people doing what those people would regularly do.  And that’s what they got.”

One of Kopple’s main goals was to present a multitude of perspectives on gun control, including those who were passionately for and against it. The film features everyone from a victim of the Virginia Tech shootings to National Rifle Association (NRA) advocates, as well as doctors and policymakers. This range, according to Lynette Scherer, chief of trauma and emergency surgery service at UCD Medical Center and also featured in the film, will help the documentary start a national conversation about gun control.

“I think whenever you can get people talking about it, you are enhancing your ability to make a change,” Scherer said. “Change is slow, it takes decades, but if you’re not talking about it you have no hope for change. People will recognize there are two sides to this story, and will give us the chance to move forward.”

The decision to show both sides of the firearm control debate, without taking sides, according to Wintemute, makes Gun Fight an important reflection of the ongoing debate about firearm control in America.

“They refused to oversimplify or take a position of omniscience.  It’s not a neat or happy film, but violence is neither of those things, either,” Wintemute said.

Kopple hopes that people will realize through the film that America needs to make real change in how it deals with gun laws.

“I really came away believing that something has to be done to limit gun violence in this country, and I do think that there are very sensible ideas to keep guns away from people who want to use it for violence. One thing Garen said is, ‘What will be enough to inspire a sensible approach to this issue?’ I personally would like to think that we’ve seen too much already,” she said.

Even with the heated emotions on both sides of the debate, Kopple went into filming with as unbiased an outlook as possible.

“I really try to come to a film with no agenda,” Kopple said. “Once I’m doing a film I just want to be able to soak and take everything in. When I was making my documentary about Mike Tyson, people were just shocked and said ‘Well how can you that, what about [everything he’s done]?’ But you make something that’s deeper and you allow people to feel comfortable, and we just want to learn and feel because that’s the only way we’re going to get to the bottom of the issue, particularly with gun control. If it was one-sided you wouldn’t be learning anything, there would be no complexity.”

Scherer believes that the technique that Gun Fight uses to show both sides of the issue reflects the method that she believes will actually bring progress on the firearm control issue in America.

“It’s going to be someone in the middle who appreciates both sides of this issue that will eventually solve it, and I think we [through this documentary] have the best chance of coming up with something that’s going to work with this issue. Watch it with an open mind.”

Whether you’re for stricter gun laws or not, Kopple reflects a sentiment every American can relate to when she repeats the words of featured Virgina Tech victim Colin Goddard.

“I just want a place in America where people can be safe.”

ANNETA KONSTANTINIDES can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

MUSIC

Shelley Short

Today, 5 p.m., free

Armadillo Msuic, 205 F St.

Portland singer-songwriter Shelley Short will give an in-store performance at Armadillo Music tonight.

Cinco de Mayo Dance Party feat. Zapato Viejo & Friends

Tonight, 7:30 p.m., free

Odd Fellows Hall, 415 Second St.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo! All ages are invited to enjoy free music in celebration of one of Mexico’s biggest holidays. Zapato Viejo performs Latin American songs with traditional and contemporary instruments.

RJD2

Tonight, 8 p.m., $18

Freeborn Hall

UC Davis can has RJD2? Yes! After canceling his first scheduled concert in January due to weather-related travel issues, hip-hop giant RJD2 will finally take the Freeborn stage tonight. All tickets from the original date are still valid and more are available. Don’t miss out on the chance to see one of music’s great innovators in person.

Trio 7

Friday, 8 p.m., $5 to $15 donation

Davis Art Center, 1919 F St.

The Davis Art Center’s annual Classical Guitar series concludes with Trio 7. Included in the group are Davis guitar instructor and performer Matthew Grasso, who helped organize the series, Eric Rasmussen and Matthew Foley. If you haven’t already gotten in on the DAC’s sweet guitar action, now’s your last chance to experience the beauty and fun of classical guitar performances.

American Bach Soloists

Monday, 8 p.m., $17

Davis Community Church, 412 C St.

The American Bach Soloists’ American Bach Choir, led by UC Davis’ Jeffrey Thomas, will perform Bach’s Magnificat in D Major and Antonio Lotti’s Mass for Three Choirs.

Yolo Mambo

Monday, 9 p.m., free

KetMoRee, 238 G St.

Davis world music staple Yolo Mambo will take its signature style to KetMoRee on Monday. The band’s music, inspired by cultures around the world, could be a nice change from the restaurant’s typical mood music, so check it out.

AT THE MOVIES

Food, Inc.

Tonight, 7:15 p.m., free

Regan Main

Dining Services’ sustainability coordinators will offer a free screening of the food industry documentary Food Inc. tonight in Regan Main, in the Segundo housing area. Attendees can enjoy free vegan and vegetarian pizza, popcorn, fruit and beverages. RSVP to Sara at srkosoff@ucdavis.edu.

THEATER / MONDAVI

Roby Lakatos Ensemble

Tonight, 8 p.m., $12.50

Mondavi Center, Jackson Hall

Roby Lakatos will bring his unique hybrid of classical standards and bohemian stylings to the Mondavi Center tonight. Lakatos has performed all over the world and is part gypsy violinist, part jazz improviser and part classical maestro. His concert promises to be one-of-a-kind and a treat for fans of any musical genre.

The Moby Dick Variations

Tonight to Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m., $12

Mondavi Center, Vanderhoef Studio Theater

The theater and dance department presents this original work by master of fine arts directing candidate John Zibell. Herman Melville’s classic tale of Captain Ahab and the great whale Moby Dick is reimagined from the perspectives of multiple characters in the book and the audience will be invited onstage. See preview in today’s MUSE.

Professor Henry Louis Gates

Monday, 8 p.m., $17.50

Mondavi Center, Jackson Hall

Renowned Harvard scholar Professor Henry Louis Gates’ lecture was rescheduled to Monday after a few months’ delay. You may remember the infamous “Beer Summit” incident, in which Gates was accused by a white police officer of breaking and entering while attempting to climb in the window of his own home. After weeks of heated debate, President Obama invited both to the White House to discuss the issue. Monday’s talk will delve into the history and culture of African Americans.

ART / GALLERY

Author talk: Dr. Beth Rose Middleton, Trust in the Land: New Direction in Tribal Conversation

Tuesday, noon, free

Memorial Union Bookstore

UC Davis Professor of Native American studies Dr. Beth Rose Middleton will discuss her new book at the Bookstore. The book details the Native American land conservation movement and is geared toward conservationists, government officials and anyone interested in land conservation, not just Native peoples. A Q&A session and signing will follow the talk.

ROBIN MIGDOL can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

Though rock guitarists like Van Halen and Jimi Hendrix are known all over the world, classical guitar is a bit more obscure.

“Not a lot of people know a lot about them,” said classical guitarist Matthew Grasso.

Grasso is part of a classical guitar ensemble called Trio 7 that will be the featured group in the last concert of the Davis Art Center’s classical guitar series on Friday at 8 p.m.

Not only is Grasso a celebrated guitar player and composer, but he also worked with the Art Center’s director, Erie Vitiello, to arrange the Center’s Classical Guitar series, which focuses on group ensembles. The series aims to educate audience members about classical guitars and the different kinds of music that can be played on them. Every month, the series has a different classical guitar group perform at the center to showcase the uniqueness of the instrument when played in groups.

Trio 7 is composed of Grasso, Eric Rasmussen and Matthew Foley. They got their unique name from the fact that the group consists of only three members and all three play guitars with seven strings. Each member has six to seven years of experience on the classical guitar.

Trio 7 was formed about two and a half years ago and recently regrouped. During the concert, Trio 7 will play works by Debussey, Bach and other composers. They will also be playing their own compositions and even movie themes from the 1930s to the present.

All three members agreed that since classical guitars aren’t as well known as other guitars, they would like to inform the general audience about the distinctive voice of the classical guitar.

“The seven-stringed guitar creates a different sound than what you hear in a regular guitar,” Foley said.

“We want to educate the community about the arts and the classical guitar,” Grasso said. “We want to focus on something not as familiar to everyone.”

With the upcoming concert at the Art Center, Trio 7 is thrilled to have the chance to perform for the public, especially since the classical guitar series is in its second year.

“I’d love to see this become one of our annual concerts, so if the opportunity is there I will definitely be back,” said Rasmussen, who is also a UC Davis alumnus.

The trio hopes that the audience will enjoy the concert and leave with a newfound appreciation for the instrument. Foley has a message for the audience.

“Come to the concert with an open mind. Be prepared to hear something you haven’t heard before,” Foley said.

For more information about Trio 7, go to trioseven.com. Tickets are $15 for general admission, $10 for students and seniors and $5 for children 12 and under.

MICHELLE RUAN can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

The Whole Earth Festival is about returning to our roots and bringing the community together through the basic necessities of music, dance and food. And just as the tradition has upheld its integrity by promoting alcohol-free and zero-waste festivities, it’s all about the entertainment.

This year, the list of performers hopes to supply an endless amount of dancing and good fun. But what can students expect from this year’s event?

“Students can look forward to having the best time of their lives,” said festival co-director Morgan S. Woolf. “They should expect to have no control over their bodies and uncontrollably gyrate to the swanky rhythms of the festival. They should expect to go back to their respective homes on Sunday, pour themselves a big glass of juice. Down it in seconds and exclaim: ‘Why can’t Whole Earth Festival be every weekend?”

The program for the festival is divided into themed sections: Quad Stage, Cedar Stage, DJ Stage, Soular Dance Stage, Experimental Space, Sacred Space and Kid’s Space. Each area will have its own unique events such as poetry, yoga or body painting. Other yearly favorites and highly recommended events to check out are the fire dancers starting at sundown on the Soular Dance Stage.

The following are previews of some musical performers to look out for on the main stages, Quad Stage and Cedar Stage, in the quad during The Whole Earth Festival.

Random Abiladeze &Zuhg, Friday, 5 to 6:30 p.m., Quad Stage

For many, Random Abiladeze is not only a regional hip-hop and spoken word artist, but a familiar face at Sickspits’ monthly Open Mic Night. This year, Abiladeze will unite with reggae band ZuhG on Quad Stage as one of the opening acts for the festival.

Since his first time on the Whole Earth Festival stage back in 2008, Abiladeze has continually embraced the accepting audiences and the openness of cultures, art and community.

“The Whole Earth Festival actually goes beyond the realm of any particular scene,” said Abiladeze. “It literally does invite the Whole Earth – it’s more about community building and multiculturalism. Davis is definitely a place to find different cultures, but the festival reaches far beyond its immediate environment.”

Abiladeze joined ZuhG last year at an after party at the co-ops where they improved a 30 minute-set together. It was also Abiladeze’s first time seeing the dubstep pit.

” Seeing the dubstep pit for the first time last year was breathtaking,” said Abiladeze. “I couldn’t believe how all those people were in tune to the same groove and did much of the same moves in unison without looking at each other.”

Abiladeze plans to perform an eclectic range of songs ranging from some older tunes such as “Don’t Stop It” and newer materials such as “Life of the Party”, and bluesy melody “Lonely Blues” which Abiladeze created from his alter-ego, Lanky Jenkins.

Tempest, Friday, 7 to 8:15 p.m., Quad Stage

Tempest first performed at The Whole Earth Festival as a very young band when their agent booked a show at the festival back in 1990.

Tempest was formed in 1988, with members Lief Sorbye, Michael Mullen, Adolfo Lazo, Damien Gonzalez and James Crocker.

With a style described high energy Celtic Rock music, Tempest plans on translating great energy onto the audience, as this marks their 10-year performing at the Whole Earth Festival.

“We were booked through our agent at the time, and that’s how we first connected with the event,” Sorbye said. “Since then we’ve had the pleasure of many return engagements, and this year will mark the 10th time Tempest plays the festival. We are a perfect fit for the event, as our purpose is to lift the spirit of our audience, and make people dance and feel good.”

Tempest’s music is influenced by Norwegian influences, Scottish ballads and other ranges of world music elements.

The Souterrain, Saturday, noon to 1 p.m., Cedar Stage

Created as a collective band only six months ago, The Souterrain will make their debut at the Whole Earth Festival on Saturday.

The Souterrain is currently made up of Lauren Norton on vocals, Sam Shirley on guitar and David Sachs on upright bass. Although they are not necessarily new to the music scene, this will be their first time playing specific songs on set. With an extremely smooth and soulful voice, Norton will join Shirley and Sachs for sweet, folk-y songs.

“Our set-list looks something like a Greek comedy,” Norton said. “We start off in a slower, more contentious place and by the end of the hour we’re all bopping around and doing cheesy over-the-head hand claps.  A lot of our songs start as a kind of sickness. I do most of my songwriting when I’m feeling jilted or unhealthily obsessed with someone.”

The Souterrain played their first gig at The Domes back in January. However, the band is progressing fast. Currently, the band is wrapping up their first in-studio album with hopes of a West Coast U.S. tour in June. The Souterrain will be flying back to Norton’s hometown of Dublin, Ireland, in September to start a European tour.

For more information about The Whole Earth Festival or to download this year’s program, go to http://wef.ucdavis.edu.

UYEN CAO can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.

If you’ve been reading this column with any semblance of regularity, then you must have figured out one thing about me: I see a ton of movies.

Some are good, some are bad and a select few are great. As a token of my appreciation to you, dear readers, let me break down the last few new releases I’ve seen, so you know what to skip and what you absolutely can’t miss.

Water For Elephants: Sara Gruen’s bestseller about a vet student in the Great Depression who joins a traveling circus and falls in love with its leading lady is all fun, fluff and diverting (enough) melodrama. The film adaptation, starring Robert Pattinson as the young Jacob, Reese Witherspoon as his love, Marlena, and Christoph Waltz as the manic husband, follows suit pretty much as you would expect it to. The period costumes and settings are gorgeous and the animals are great fun to watch. But a new framing device, in which the older Jacob retells his story, is clichéd and the characters are a little lifeless. It’s enjoyable but not memorable. B+

The Conspirator: You probably haven’t heard of this little film about the infamous Lincoln assassination, which, for you history buffs, is a shame. James McAvoy plays a lawyer assigned to defend the mother (Robin Wright) of John Wilkes Booth’s associate in a troublingly prejudiced trial. The film (directed by Robert Redford) sometimes feels like a History Channel special, but it neatly explores a little-known facet of one of America’s biggest historical events and McAvoy and Wright are excellent. A hodgepodge supporting cast (Justin Long, Alexis Bledel, Jonathan Groff), however, may leave you groaning. B-

Jane Eyre: Now this is a book-to-film adaptation done right. I’ve never read Charlotte Bronte’s Gothic novel about a young governess and her mysterious master, but after watching this film I feel like I have. The old mansions and foggy English moors are moody and the story is dark but not without its rewards. Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender are perfect as Jane and Mr. Rochester. If you didn’t think classic literature could be breathlessly entertaining, think again. A

Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold: Super Size Me’s Morgan Spurlock applies his congenial documentary style to the advertising industry in this amusing and eye-opening film. Spurlock chronicles his quest to fund a documentary about branding, advertising and product placement in movies purely through branding, product placement and advertising, which are completely visible throughout the film. Footage of Spurlock’s pitch meetings with company bigwigs and interviews with Quentin Tarantino, Donald Trump, Ralph Nader and more offer viewers a fascinating inside look at how advertising really works. A-

Up next in theaters for ROBIN MIGDOL: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. She’d be more excited if the Regal Davis Holiday 6 wasn’t forcing her to see it in 3D. Commiserate at arts@theaggie.org.