A practical list of stores essential for nesting

September marks the start of a new lease for many students, and they are tasked with turning a new space into their domain — home sweet home. Nesting plays a large role in ensuring a new environment is comfortable, but many students are also on a tight budget. However, aesthetics shouldn’t have to suffer, especially when there are several stores that are both stylish and affordable.

Amazon

The company that will solely be responsible for humans never leaving their homes again in a few years is also great for decor. A good way to fill in empty wall space while adding personality is through wall art. On Amazon, it is available in a wide variety of options, such as canvas paintings, tapestries and 3D designs. Let’s ditch the act of haphazardly tacking up posters.

Ikea

Visit Ikea on a day when there is nothing to do because going to Ikea is more exciting than going to Disneyland. Their decor revolves around clean lines, minimalism and neutrality. Unfortunately, most Ikea items require assembling, but that’s what makes them so affordable. Remember to breathe when tackling assembly. Also, don’t forget to grab some cinnamon rolls on the way out.

Target

Target’s Room Essentials collection provides an affordable selection of items that may not necessarily be decor, but can accentuate the style of the room nonetheless. Functional items such as coat racks, bookshelves, towels and laundry baskets can possess a coherent  decorative style. Also, Project 62, a mid-century modern collection of pieces inspired by the era in which Target was founded, is an affordable style that suits Davis well.

World Market

Hear me out. While World Market may be the most expensive selection on this list, they frequently have sales on small accent pieces that can upgrade a room to the next level of sophistication with items such as accent rugs, throw pillows and nightstands. World Market presents a rustic, eclectic style that is concise and modern at the same time.

Zinus

Zinus bed frames are the quintessential actualization of the ideal college bed frame. They’re simple, sturdy and easy to both assemble and disassemble, which means they can be transported by car to new apartments. Their SmartBase line starts at $67 for a full-sized bed frame not including a headboard and baseboard. Frames with a headboard and baseboard included start at $100 and retain the same benefit of easy assembly and disassembly.   

SPCA/Facebook Marketplace

Thrifting for clothes is an obsession still going strong, especially among young people. Why not thrift for furniture? The local SPCA store on 3rd St. in Downtown Davis can be a treasure trove for patient and persistent shoppers. It also may require some vision and a little dusting, but that’s part of the fun. Craigslist is more suspenseful rather than fun, so I wouldn’t recommend that route. Instead, check out Free & For Sale or Marketplace on Facebook for finds in Davis and the surrounding area.

Written by: Josh Madrid – arts@theaggie.org

Second annual festival culminates in weeks of intense preparation

In the Della Davidson dance studio, two young sisters argue in a room scattered with pens, nail polish, a checker board and a third new sister who was created out of rage in a cauldron. Assistant director Charlie Lavaroni, a third-year English and human development double major, calls a break.

“More voice,” Lavaroni directs Anne Homer, a second-year English and human development double major. “Make that ‘I hate you’ more genuine.”

Right across the road, five actors rehearse in a living room set in the not too distant future. Full of energy, panic unfolds as the family fears for their future, an emotion that many audience members might resonate with. “It’s amazing how quickly it happens,” says one of the family members regarding a health care crisis after the U.S. Congress outlaws medicine and medical practitioners in this dystopian work.

For the past month, a dedicated group of 33 UC Davis students and faculty have been workshopping, rehearsing and growing as artists in a conservatory-like setting. After a successful debut last fall, the Ground and Theatre Festival returns this year to perform Mark Rigney’s “Summertime,” directed by Tom Burmester, and Sam Collier’s “Daisy Violet the Bitch Beast King,” directed by UC Davis alumna Lisa Quoresimo, for the UC Davis community.

The Ground and Theatre Festival was founded in 2017 by Broadway veteran and theatre and dance professor Mindy Cooper, performance studies student Tom Burmester, assistant professor of musical theatre at Southern Utah University Lisa Quoresimo and Danika Sudik.

“It is a festival that is dedicated and designed to bring new voices to the stage, new works to the stage, to cultivate new ideas,” Cooper said. “I knew that I had to make a place where works could develop. I also knew that I had a whole bevy of fantastic theatre artists [who have] very split focuses because they’re in school […] so I knew I wanted to do a festival where we could percolate new theatre ideas and the student ensemble could really concentrate.”

Over 300 submissions in all stages of development came across Cooper’s desk and seven were chosen to both workshop and perform.

Ian August, a New Jersey based playwright and lyricist, had the opportunity to workshop his small and intimate play, “Brisé.” “Brisé” is a one-man piece about a 29-year-old male dancer who is dying of a rare brain disorder. Cooper chose “Brisé” because of its power to resonate with the audience.

August collaborated with Lavaroni to workshop the play and dissect it. Everyone involved had the opportunity to grow together as artists.

“What I needed to do was just work with people who really cared about this script and wanted to dive deep,” August said.  

While seven works of theatre were chosen, only two will be performed for the Davis community, “Daisy Violet the Bitch Beast King” and “Summertime.” Also being performed are devised works by students not in the productions that are being performed.  

Sophie Brubaker, a second-year human development and theatre and dance double major, plays Josephine, the eldest sister in “Daisy Violet.” Oppressed by social expectations and limitations, Josephine and her polar opposite of a younger sister, Henrietta, create another sister in a cauldron to serve as their scapegoat. This new sister named Daisy Violet ends up being everything they’re not and fights against society in ways they can’t, which the actors hope will empower the audience.

“I think I’ve learned how to not just act on the surface, but to really feel and embody [the character],” Brubaker said of her experience in the festival.

Anne Homer, a second-year English and theatre and dance double major, plays Henrietta.

”I feel like Henrietta is what I want to be,” Homer said. “She is very outgoing, she says what she feels. Later, she’s kind of like the epitome of the struggling artist. She is very expressive and I admire that a lot [about] her.”

Lavaroni, who is both the assistant director to Lisa Quoresimo and workshopped “Brisé,” empathizes with the struggle faced by the two sisters — that is, the struggle of growing up, oscillating between adulthood and childhood and reconciling with your past.

“It’s a strange piece of theatre unlike anything I’ve ever encountered,” Lavaroni said. “I think it was a really cool challenge that I wanted to dive into.”

“Summertime,” with its subtle sci-fi feel, is just out of touch enough with reality to captivate the audience. The play engages the idea of a global catastrophe and the consequences it has on a regular family. This fast-paced unusual family dramedy is sure to take the audience on a journey as some members of the family rise to the challenge of dealing with the crisis.

“In a way, I identify with all of them, but I also don’t identify with any of them,” Director Tom Burmester said of the characters. “They are a middle class American family, but they are each so deeply neurotic in their own way.”

The festival itself, both on stage and in practice, has an overarching theme of sustainability. Throughout the festival, all of the artists have focused on using less paper and more technology, only recycled paper when it’s needed, and implementing other environmentally friendly practices. The theme of sustainability is only enhanced by the back and forth of history and future in the plays.

To see “Daisy Violet the Bitch Beast King,” “Summertime” and the devised works, visit www.groundandfield.com. All shows are free of charge, but reservations are encouraged. The shows will run Oct. 4 to 6 at the Della Davidson Dance Studio and Wyatt Theatre.

Written by: Liz Jacobson — arts@theaggie.org