Page 17 - the NOISE March 2013

Desert Sunset is among the works of art by LOU Corp members at Brandy’s Restaurant.
many of them have rabbits in them. One of my friends commented, ‘How cool, a bunny and egg trees.’ Yes, Easter egg trees. I can’t believe I hadn’t noticed! Like I said, I have a unique way of depicting nature!”
“It’s in my Nature,” will begin with an open- ing during the First Friday ArtWalk at West of the Moon Gallery, located at 14 N. San Francisco and will remain on display for the month of March. Raintree-studios.com
A FEW GOOD MEN
Opening this month is Theatrikos’ latest production of A Few Good Men, directed by Scott Ballou.
Mr. Ballou gives me his synopsis of the play: “A Few Good Men is a story about two Marines accused of murder and the lawyer who must defend them. The victim is a Marine named William Santiago who died during an illegal disciplinary hazing known as a ‘code red.’ The death was an accident, but the defense, Dan Kaffee, doesn’t care to look into the facts and
encourages his clients to take a plea bargain. Another lawyer, Jo Galloway, is appalled by Kaffee’s lack of concern and encourages him to dig deeper, inspiring a passion for justice within him that he never knew was there.
“The villain is the fanatical Colonel Jessep who stands to lose everything if it is proven that he was the one who ordered the code red which led to Santiago’s death. Jessep be- lieves that any measure is justified to defend the security of the United States and if a Ma- rine died while in an attempt to make him a better soldier, then so be it.”
I ask Mr. Ballou what attracted him to this play. “I am drawn to this script for two rea- sons: the characters and the larger issues it presents,” he says. “The characters are all very complex and interesting people. I am particularly drawn to the main character of Kaffee because I like that he starts off as such
a careless self-centered guy, just sort of skat- ing through life, and by the end, he discovers he has the potential to be a great lawyer and make a difference in the world. I think every- one goes through a similar process at some point in their life.
“I also love the character of Jessep because he’s such a classic villain. He’s so sleazy and sure of himself, but there’s something about him that really makes you stop and think,
‘What if he’s right? What if we do need people like him in the world?’ That brings me to the larger issues. Jessep’s point of view is that in order to protect American freedom you have to get your hands dirty and do things that might otherwise be considered morally reprehensible. In this age of terrorism when we’re still debating things like Guantanamo Bay and torture and drone strike, that really appeals to me. I think the script does a great job of not making it black-and-white and gives the audience the opportunity to make up their own minds.”
The cast is made up of 15 men and two women, ranging in all ages, from the long- time Theatrikos veterans to those brand new to the company, all of which the director is enthusiastic to work with.
A Few Good Men opens March 22 and runs through April 7 at the Doris Harper-White Community Playhouse. Theatrikos.com
WHERE IT TAKES YOU
A spattering of stars spreads across a ceru- lean sky. My eyes are first drawn to the stars before drifting down to a little sliver of moon. Towards the horizon line, the sky lightens to white, illuminating the backside of a moun- tain range, creating a bold silhouette. When my eyes drift down to the bottom of the painting, I think at first I am looking across an expanse of water, though after further explo- ration, begin to think of it as a prairie, before
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thenoise.us • the NOISE arts & news • MARCH 2013 • 17