Poet and/the Bench, the four-year-old lifestyle store and jewelry atelier space from Jeffrey Levin and Bonnie Powers – and "Best Gifts" winners in Marin Magazine's 2019 Best of the County issue – continues its run of hosting innovative, thought-provoking events with a gathering that combines art and food in the spirit of sparking dialogue.

The "Art-Full Conversation," set for Thursday, Nov. 14 at 7pm, is the first of a series that pairs Chef Antonio Candelario of De La Terra Kitchen with one of the artists whose work is on display at the shop at the 11 Throckmorton Avenue space, in this case artist Jeffrey Palladini. The couple says the event centers around a "chat over a communal dinner where the convergence of food culture, art and inspiration meet. We have always envisioned Poet and/the Bench to be a gathering place for lively dialogue, discovery and appreciation of artistic expression. This series broadens our mission through an amplified culinary experience."

Under the theme "Encountering the Unexpected," the event Is "in the spirit of the traditional Souk, where wandering the mazes of a marketplace brings surprises around every corner" as part of  "a thematic, regionally influenced menu," including five courses that are seafood and vegetarian forward.

Candelario specializes in modern Mediterranean soul food, and his research and experimentation on different cultures and their culinary heritage have taken him all over the world seeking out foods and flavor, from his Caribbean roots to a love of North African cuisine and many cultures in between. In Palladini's latest thesis, Thread Series, the random looping and twisting patterns of a dropped length of twine are a seductive metaphor for the way we get from our aims and dreams to the outcomes. "The more you try to exert control the random creeps in, [and] it turns out that the more you try to represent the random the more control creeps in," Palladini says.

A few seats remain for the limited seating event. 

The 411: Poet and/the Bench continues its run of hosting innovative, thought-provoking events with "Art-Full Conversation," set for Thursday, Nov. 14 at 7pm, featuring Chef Antonio Candelario of De La Terra Kitchen and artist Jeffrey Palladini. 11 Throckmorton Avenue. Tix $145. MORE INFO & TIX. 

Hey Mill Valley!

The PG&E blackout has ended (for now)!

If you were ever looking for a reason to #ShopMV, skip that Amazon click and support your local businesses, many of whom are your neighbors and all of whom lost thousands of dollars in business over the past several days, NOW IS THE TIME!

We've got a thread going here of who is open today and going forward. We know community anchor Mill Valley Market has been open throughout the outage, offering much-needed charging stations and ice. Whole Foods Market is open. At the Mill Valley Lumber Yard, Once Around is open. Flour Craft Bakery Mill Valley and BOL Superfood Cafe - Marin will be open on Thursday. Who else?!?

Check out our FB thread here for the latest updates – and feel free to add to it! Now let's get out of the house and support our neighbors!

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Two years after it was approved to open in the 250 East Blithedale Ave. center that used to contain Mill Valley Services, Tony Tutto Pizza and SummerHouse, Le Marais Bakery, French native Patrick Ascaso’s renowned bakery and bistro that first opened in 2013 on Chestnut Street in San Francisco, is eyeing an opening in January 2020 within the revamped 29,565-square-foot space that already includes Compass, AP Luxe Salon and Belle Marin Aesthetic Medicine.

But before it does so, Ascaso and his team have launched a Kickstarter campaign to help furnish a community patio in front of the space.

"Six years after our first shop opened, our business has come full circle," Acaso says in the video announcing the Kickstarter campaign. "Now we are growing to our fourth location and we are bringing more local jobs, locally made croissants an pastries, French roast coffee and classic French food I grew up with that my grandmother and mother once made for me to another community," he says. 

San Francisco-based WorldCo., which bought the 250 East Blithedale Avenue property in 2014, received Commission approval in May 2016 to redevelop the 71-year-old buildings on the lot to include three retail spaces and one restaurant. They’re doing just that, razing the former Tony Tutto building near the streetfront and renovating the two larger buildings that contained Mill Valley Services and SummerHouse.

Le Marais, named after the popular historic district in Paris, boasts a menu that ranges from coffee and pastries, baguettes and desserts to an array of breakfast, lunch and dinner items, including French favorites like traditional the croque monsieur and madame (menu).

Le Marais Bakery has another location in Ghiradelli Square, one on Castro Street and a commissary kitchen in the way in the Tenderloin. Ascasco’s eatery would be something of anomaly in Mill Valley, as most cafes don’t serve dinner and most restaurants don’t open for coffee and pastries at 6am. 

"The space has all the character and charm we've found in our other locations, large windows and beamed, barrel-vaunted ceilings. We spent the past two and a half years getting city approvals, design, and now are well on our way in construction," Ascaso says of the new space. 

The 411: Le Marais Bakery, French native Patrick Ascaso’s renowned bakery and bistro that first opened in 2013 on Chestnut Street in San Francisco, is eyeing an opening at 250 East Blithedale Avenue in January 2020.

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The youth takeover at Makers Market's slate of monthly Outdoor Markets continues on Nov. 9, as a pair of emerging artists showcase their work amidst 15 makers and a youth bluegrass band creates the perfect soundtrack for some early holiday shopping spanning most of the Mill Valley Lumber Yard property.​ 

​Teen artist Hailey Groff showcases her succulent designs, ceramics, and oil paintings (at left), while Taylor Kibrick displays his block prints (below), all while Jubilee, a new bluegrass band from Marin, performs throughout the event on Saturday, Nov. 9 (check out one of their songs below.​

The Outdoor Markets also offer first-time MVLY visitors the chance to check out all that the multi-faceted community gathering space and retail and foodie destination has to offer. Its spaces are nearly full, and include Stacy King's Lulu Design Jewelry, Louise Dockstader's Once Around as well as the opening of Watershed Restaurant from Ged Robertson and Kyle Swain and Mad Dogs & Englishman, an innovative, creative bicycle shop from Jennifer Blevins and Martin Watson. That array of businesses joined an ever-burgeoning roster of MVLY tenants that started with Molly de Vries' Ambatalia and Gayle Nicoletti’s Bloomingayles, and later added Serena Armstrong’s FarmHouseUrban, Suzy Ekman’s Makers Market, Amy Lowery’s The Edit, Chelsea Hutchison’s BOL Superfood Cafe, Brit Morin's Makeshop and Paige Mycoskie's Aviator Nation.

HERE ARE THE OUTDOOR MARKET VENDORS FOR NOV. 9:

​NOTE: Help the environment and take advantage of the easy transit, pedestrian and bike access to the Lumber Yard, with 60 bike parking spaces onsite. If you need to drive, don’t park in front of neighbors homes as there is ample median public parking in the surrounding area.

​The 411: Makers Market, continues its slate of monthly Outdoor Markets on Nov. 9 at the Mill Valley Lumber Yard, 129 Miller Ave., 10am-5pm. MORE INFO.
​
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Celtic harpists Patrick Ball, Aryeh Frankfurter and Lisa Lynne are set to perform "Celtic Music & Stories for the Season," a concert and storytelling event on Thursday, Nov. 21 at the Community Church of Mill Valley. 
 
This trio is well known for their first show "Legends of the Celtic Harp," which tells stories and legends of the harp through time. In their new show "Celtic Music & Stories for the Season," storyteller and wire-strung harpist Patrick Ball along with harpers and multi-instrumentalists Lisa Lynne & Aryeh Frankfurter step into the world of Irish and English literature. The trio presents a heartwarming collection of tales and music from Celtic legend and traditional folk stories. They perform a  Child’s Christmas in Wales, a chapter from The Wind in the Willows, and passages from Shakespeare, William Butler Yeats, and Thomas Hardy, and mingle them with beloved and original pieces of seasonal music. Audiences will hear three Celtic Harps, Swedish Nyckelharpa, Fiddle, Bandura, Bouzouki and more.

The 411: Celtic harpists Patrick Ball, Aryeh Frankfurter and Lisa Lynne perform "Celtic Music & Stories for the Season" at the Community Church of Mill Valley, 8 Olive Street on Thursday, Nov. 21 at 7pm. Tix $10-$20. MORE INFO & TIX.

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What began as a celebration of a quintet of 2019 Milley Award winners on Oct. 20 at the Mill Valley Community Center morphed into a series of beautiful odes to inspiration.

Mill Valley City Councilmember Stephanie Moulton-Peters kicked it off. "For me, the Milleys celebrate the creative energy that is uniquely Mill Valley, that manifests itself through the people who live and work here in so many ways, everyday."

"This takes my breath away," author and teacher Karen Benke, accepting the award for Literary Arts, told the packed house before thanking a litany of colleagues, friends, family and fellow supporters of the written word – "the list is long and it billows in the breeze," she said, and Mill Valley Librarian Anji Brenner in particular. 

She then delivered a timely dedication to the art of poetry itself: "Poetry is a works that softens our hearts, and the world needs some soft hearts right now."

Former Mill Valley Mayor Bob Burton, accepting the award for Contributions to the Arts Community for himself and on behalf of his late wife Elza, noted how bittersweet it was to receive such adulation without the woman who had been with him for their decades of support and leadership at organizations like Marin Theatre Company and the original Sweetwater.

Acclaimed travel photographer Robert Holmes said that while he fed his creative spirit all over the world, being surrounded by "the highest percentage per capita of creative people anywhere in the world" in Mill Valley was the ultimate inspiration. "This is as creative community as there’s ever been."

Phil Pastuhov, a director of aerial photography on films like Mission Impossible 2 and The Fast & the Furious, shared a similar sentiment about how much he loved coming home after working far afield on a film. "Every time I crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and passed through the rainbow tunnel, I felt – and I still feel – a sense of peace and contentment in coming home."

Not surprisingly, the final honoree of the evening, musician Lorin Rowan, made his case in song, bring up brothers Peter and Chris Rowan for a set of heartwarming music, including "My Father's Son," a tribute to a patriarch who imbued the trio with a love of music.

The Milley Awards, Mill Valley’s annual celebration of the community’s vast amount of creative achievement and distinguished accomplishments in the arts, unveiled its 2019 class of winners in July. As usual, the honorees come from a wide array of fields, all providing yet another reminder of the vitality of the local arts and entertainment scene in the 94941. This year’s ceremony, the 24th, was hosted by former ABC-7 personality Don Sanchez.

The Milley Award recipients are selected by a panel of judges from nominations received from the community, based on one or more of three criteria: Outstanding achievement in creating, performing or teaching in the arts; Demonstration of a significant body of work; Service to the arts community. Recipients must have a close association with Mill Valley and were born, educated, worked or lived in the town of Mill Valley or performed a large body of their work  in Mill Valley. This year the judges were Marin Theatre Company Literary Manager/Resident Dramaturg Laura A. Brukner, Marin Theater Company, Seager Gray Gallery co-owner Suzanne Gray, MV Chamber co-director Jim Welte, Mill Valley Librarian Anji Brenner and Throckmorton Theatre sound engineer Edwin DeShazo.

Past Milley Award winners include: Gary Yost, Gini Wilson, Eve Pell, Michael Painter, Betty Goerke, Lisa Kristine, Jimmy Dillon, Jim Lange, Jane Hirshfield, Bill Champlin, Dan Hicks, Paul Liberatore, Si & Max Perkoff, Lucy Mercer, Suki Hill, Kathleen Quinlan, Rob Nilsson, Cyra McFadden, Bob Weir, Pirkle Jones, Scott Mathews, George Duke, Barry Spitz, John Goddard, Lee Sankowich, David Harris, Maria Muldaur, Dart Cherk, Jacques Leslie, Gretchen Mentzer, Mimi Farina, Martin Cruz Smith and Rita Abrams. Organizations and businesses have been honored as well, including the Mill Valley Chamber Music Society, the Mountain Play Association, the Outdoor Art Club, O’Hanlon Center for the Arts and the Depot Bookstore & Café.

Here's a selection of photos from the 2019 Milley Awards by photographer Jim Block:

And here's a compendium of tribute videos to the five 2019 Milley Award winners:

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Take it from acclaimed Mill Valley woodblock print artist Tom Killion: it's never too late to learn a new skill, even if the quest takes you so far afield that you end up at a papermaker that's been in business for 1,500 years in a tiny Japanese village.

Journey to Hokusai, a new documentary from Chikara Motomura that screens at the O'Hanlon Center for the Arts on Friday, Nov. 15, charts the journey of Killion, the creator of iconic California landscapes influenced by traditional Japanese techniques using linoleum and wood, to learn the traditional Japanese method of printing by hand.

Deeply inspired by the renowned 19th-century artist Hokusai, who was famous for his Ukiyo-e woodblock prints and paintings, Killion made a pilgrimage to Japan to study under Kenji Takenaka, a fifth-generation master printer in Kyoto. As he learns new techniques and trades in his oil-based ink for traditional watercolor, Killion discovers more and more about the history of printmaking.His odyssey takes him to a papermaker that is still in business after 1,500 years and to the quiet village of Obuse, where Hokusai spent his final years. Journey to Hokusai is an intimate exploration of the connection between two artists from different worlds.

The film recently screened as part of the 42nd Mill Valley Film Festival. Both Killion and Motomura are attending the O'Hanlon event to answer questions.

The 411: Journey to Hokusai, a new documentary from Chikara Motomura about artist Tom Killion's journey to learn the traditional Japanese method of printing by hand, screens at the O'Hanlon Center for the Arts on Friday, Nov. 15. Doors 6:30pm, screening at 7pm. 616 Throckmorton Ave. Tix $15. MORE INFO & TIX. Trailer: https://vimeo.com/273780152

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UPDATE: Due to to the PG&E power outage and related uncertainty, the opening of Hook Fish Co. has been pushed to Nov. 10.

The long-rumored next phase for the ever-evolving, multi-faceted space in the heart of Tam Junction that's anchored by the 15-year-old Proof Lab surf and skate shop, is almost here.

On Saturday, Nov. 2, Proof Lab founders Will Hutchinson and Nate McCarthy, along with Christian Morabito and Beau Caillouette, the duo behind Hook Fish Co., the sustainably caught fish market/restaurant in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset, officially open a new indoor-outdoor hybrid of an integrated Hook Fish Co. food trailer with a beer garden and plenty of outside space for events like film screenings. There's also an indoor bar with a 15-plus beer menu of mostly local brews, as well as wine, cider, kombucha and other nonalcoholic drinks.

The menu mirrors that of Hook Fish Co. in SF, centering on recipes created by Hook Fish Co. chef Luke Johnson for burritos, tacos and sandwiches featuring the fresh fish of the day or poke or pibil, as well as salads, fish and chips and starters like ceviche, crab cakes and poke + chips. There’s also soft serve ice cream.

To hear Hutchinson and Morabito tell it, the partnership blossomed in a similarly organic way as did past arrivals like the Mill Valley Potter’s Studio, Magic West Music School, skate and surf camps, Studio4Art and the CNL Native Plant Nursery, not to mention Equator Coffees at Proof Lab, whose arrival in 2013 made the space even more of a community gathering spot, as well as vital services like a biodiesel station and styrofoam recycling.

That is, collaborating with friends who have great ideas and the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit to make it happen.

For Morabito, a visit to Proof Lab to buy a new skateboard turned into much more than that.

Hutchinson walked with him over to the space that George Kim, whose family owns the entire property that includes Proof Lab and its partners and subtenants, had offered to have Hutchinson and McCarthy lease after Martha Pearl moved her Alpha Dog Lodging facility down the street on Shoreline Highway in 2018.

“We didn’t have any plans to do a restaurant – it was more about how to use and how to tie it into what we have going,” Hutchinson says.

The potential fit they sought was two-fold. One was the parking-driven, practical component of something that would complement Equator’s busy mornings and Proof Lab’s retail-centric days. Second was the social: Owners and employees of all those like-minded businesses often sought a place to hang out together after work with co-workers, friends and family.

“Those two plans lined up,” Hutchinson says.

Hutchinson and Morabito spoke about what could be done with the space and how. The conversation continued. Before they opened Hook Fish Co. as a caterer in 2014 and a restaurant in 2017, Morabito and Caillouette had been refining the concept for a long time, including hosting pop-ups in places like Proof Lab’s parking lot.

“It’s been an amazing experience to push beyond the typical restaurant,” Morabito says, pointing to their focus on customer education on fish industry buzzword misnomers that lack transparency, like “the freshest fish you can buy.”

“We’ve always admired that Proof Lab has had the approach of being community-driven business owners and filling a need that adds features that improve the community,” he adds. “When the opportunity came to be part of their space amongst a lot of other like-minded business owners, that was a really attractive opportunity for us.”

Hutchinson says he and McCarthy wanted no part of running a restaurant, having watched the learning curve of friends who’d done it. “We saw Hook Fish Co. go through the process of creating an incredible restaurant, and their focus on quality seafood is something different and it aligns with our sustainability mission and they’re a partner we know and trust. Their design aesthetic and community orientation is also a great fit. And they're just friends we like working with and spending time with.”

The 411: On Saturday, Nov. 2, Proof Lab and Hook Fish Co. will officially open a new indoor-outdoor hybrid of an integrated Hook Fish Co. food trailer with a beer garden and plenty of outside space for events. MORE INFO.

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Architect Daniel Castor has designed eye-catching residential and commercial projects all over the Bay Area, including in his hometown of Mill Valley. 

But the designs he might be best known for in town aren’t buildings. They’re his wild creations – a stellated icosahedron and a dragon float, among others (see above) – as entries in the Mill Valley Memorial Day Parade on behalf of Greenwood School, where his daughters attended.

“It was the kind of school where it was all hands on deck,” Castor says. “I got really into it, not only to have people from the school to help me make it happen, but also the great reactions we received each year.”

Though Castor has deep roots in Mill Valley, he took quite the circuitous journey to get to Mill Valley. He was born in Malaysia and lived there and in Singapore until he was nine, when his family moved to Nashville, Tenn., and later to Chattanooga, where he spent his formative years. He attended college at Princeton, lived in New York City for a stretch and got his Master’s degree at Harvard University. After landing a Fulbright fellowship to work in Amsterdam for a few years, Castor found himself creating drawings at the Getty Museum Research Institute in Los Angeles. 

“At that point, I was a quasi-academic, artist and architect, and I essentially faced three forks in the road: become an academic, an artist or practicing architect,” he says. “It was around the same time I met my wife (longtime Mill Valley resident Jennifer Jerde), and that settled it – the other two options were too dicey.”

Castor started his practice in 2000 and had an office in San Francisco, but the couple had their daughters in 2001 and 2003, and quickly felt the pull to be closer to home. He took an office for a few years on Miller Ave. in the Jungsten Construction building, and later established Daniel Castor Architecture at 244 Miller Ave., the former home to Barbara Chambers’ Chambers + Chambers Architects. 

Castor met Jerde in 1995, and when they decided to move in together, they settled on a rock-paper-scissors battle to determine if it was Jerde’s home in Mill Valley or his flat in San Francisco’s Mission District. 

“She won,” he says with a laugh.

Castor says he designed a number of larger homes in Marin and Sonoma counties in the early years of his practice, and has largely concentrated his efforts in Marin and the North Bay since then, designing both residential and mixed-use projects. Recent projects include a home on Ethel Ave., another on Ryan Ave., and a mixed-use project in Glen Ellen that’s currently in process.

“I’ll always love the parade regardless – it’s always the best day of the year,” he says.

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On a typical morning at the Cup of Joe's coffee cart outside Joe's Taco Lounge on Miller Ave., manager Enrique "Rico" Ruiz has his hands full serving up coffee, lattes, pastries and breakfast burritos and more to busy commuters.

But there's also his unexpected-yet-vital role as a quick-footed crossing guard at the ever-unpredictable intersection at Miller and Montford avenues where Joe's resides. Since Cup of Joe's debuted in April, and particularly since the new school year began in August, Ruiz and Joe's owner Gabriel Leis have noticed how often Homestead Valley students have a hard time getting across the intersection on their way to school because of a combination of inattentive, hurried drivers and an oft-confusing intersection that features 14 incoming lanes.

"It's incredible," Ruiz says. "It happens every couple of days."

​But instead of firing off an angry letter or yelling at a driver from a distance, Ruiz has taken to rushing over to the intersection and calmly assisting children across Miller.

That act has not gone unnoticed.

Tara Ordonez, a longtime local resident and teacher at Edna Maguire Elementary School, took to Nextdoor several weeks ago to praise Ruiz for stepping up as she watched, sitting six cars back on Montford, "countless cars going in all directions ignore my son standing in the crosswalk waiting carefully to cross."

That's when she saw Ruiz appear and tell her son, "I'll help you out there" and got into the crosswalk to block traffic. "I was told by a friend that this same scenario happened again and that he kindly walked both of my children across the crosswalk," Ordonez adds. "I am so immensely grateful to this kind soul but I am equally shocked and dismayed that drivers are in such a rush in the morning that they can't let people safely use the crosswalks. Slow down and make sure to visit Cup of Joe's, he is clearly doing a lot more than just selling coffee!"

"What I've seen working 6am to noon on this corner is astounding," says Leis, suggesting the City add flashing crosswalk lights like those that exist further down Miller at Evergreen.

For Ruiz's part, he's considering picking buying a handheld stop sign like those used by crossing guards.

​"Whatever helps," he says.

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"It's a fundamental question that all of us face in relationships, familial or otherwise: ‘Do I support my loved ones through anything, no matter the cost – or do I draw a line, in terms of how far I’m willing to go?’”

Marin Theatre Company Artistic Director Jasson Minadakis posits this dilemma at the heart of Mother of the Maid, written by Marin playwright Jane Anderson and directed by Minadakis. Mother of the Maid reimagines Joan of Arc’s epic tale through the eyes of her mother, Isabelle Arc, a sensible, hard-working, God-fearing woman in the fifteenth century whose daughter communes with Saint Catherine, dons men’s clothing and prepares to lead the French army into battle. 

Isabelle follows the baffling journey of her odd and extraordinary daughter with a mother’s loving persistence – facing her own upended fears and faith along the way. History may remember Joan of Arc as a patron saint, armed heroine, and deft political thinker—but her mother remembers things quite differently.

“Mother of the Maid is one of those rare plays that gets to the heart of what it is to have a child and know they are extraordinary, yet struggle to understand that child," Minadakis adds. "Many caregivers will be able to relate to what it means for Isabelle and Jacques Arc to have a child who they can’t quite understand, but whom they know they need to support; even when that support may put their child’s life in danger."

This “robustly sentimental,” (New York Times) “quietly piercing, luminous new play” (New York Stage Review) finished its Broadway run—starring the inimitable Glenn Close—with critical acclaim.

"Marin is where my heart is, it’s where I go to soothe my soul," says Anderson, an Emmy award-winning writer and director for theatre, film and television whose screenwriting credits include The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio, starring Julianne Moore and Woody Harrelson, which she also directed, as well as HBO’s Olive Kitteridge, starring Frances McDormand for which she received an Emmy Award for best teleplay and limited series, a Writers Guild Award for best teleplay and nominated for a Golden Globe for best limited series.

"I’m so glad that this very raw and personal piece of me is getting a home on the MTC stage," she adds.

The 411: Marin Theatre Company's production of Mother of the Maid opens Nov. 14, and runs through Dec. 8. 397 Miller Ave. Tix $25-$70. MORE INFO & TIX. 

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Sara Pearson, the longtime executive at the Mountain Play Association, announced this week her upcoming departure from the staff of the 107-year-old nonprofit theater.

The move comes one year since the Mountain Play Association, the nonprofit organization that produces live theater productions atop Mount Tam, reorganized its top brass, moving artistic producer Eileen Grady into a new executive director/artistic producer role. Pearson then became the organization's director of leadership and development with a focus on fund development, board development, and long-term strategy.

"Starting this winter, (Pearson) will continue her affiliation with the Mountain Play working as a fundraising consultant through the 2020 season," the organization said in a statement. She'll also return to her previous work as a fundraising consultant to non-profits. Past clients include Marin Conservation League, Conservation Corps North Bay, and Matrix Parent Network.

Pearson began her association with Mountain Play as a member of the board of directors from 2001 to 2006. In 2007, she was selected to lead the organization upon the retirement of outgoing Executive Director Kathy King. Pearson served as executive director for 12 years during which the organization celebrated its centennial year, and later began expanding its artistic programming to “off-mountain” productions.
 
“I am proud of our accomplishments over the last “baker’s dozen” years and I’m very confident the organization is in good shape and in good hands,” Pearson says. “It’s been a huge honor to work with such a dedicated, talented and passionate bunch of people both on the stage and behind the scenes. Mountain Play is a unique cultural tradition – I’ll be a supporter for life!”
 
Pearson says her proudest accomplishments include the 2013 publication of a colorful history book, Marin’s Mountain Play, 100 Years of Theatre on Mount Tamalpais, written by Elisabeth Ptak. The Mountain Play community will acknowledge Pearson at the organization’s annual gala to be held on November 2 at the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center. She will receive the Tamalpa Award, which honors individuals who have had a significant impact on the development and evolution of Mountain Play. Pearson will be the 11th honoree in a tradition that began in 2009 honoring former Executive Producer Marilyn M. Smith.
 
“Since 2008, it has been my pleasure to serve as Sara’s board member, employee, colleague, and sidekick,” Grady says. “Sara leaves the organization with a legacy rich in passion, growth, and vision. Both this executive director and the Mountain Play are better for Sara’s partnership, dedication, and leadership.”

​The Mountain Play's 2020 production is Hello Dolly!
 
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Joey Hoeber is well known around town as one of the co-owners of the trio of Body Kinetics health clubs, along with his brothers Michael and John, and as the manager of the Mill Valley location. What is less known about Hoeber is that he's been involved in local theater for 45 years as an actor, director and producer.

Hoeber takes those talents to the director's chair next month as BLUFF: A Dark Comedy, a play he produced and co-directed with Dianne Harrison, opens Nov. 1 at The Belrose theater in San Rafael. Running through Nov. 16, the production tells playwright Jeffery Sweet's story about love and family on a collision course. Incorporating theatrical techniques pioneered by Chicago’s Second City comedy troupe, the play alternates between farce and drama breaking down the fourth wall as the drama builds, including the audience as a confidant/witness. 

"BLUFF tells the story of Emily and Neal who are doing fine as a new couple in the West Village of New York until her brash and vulgar stepfather comes to town for a convention," Hoeber says. "Gene (stepfather) brings with him all the contradictions Emily has been trying to bury."

The play stars Bay Area actors Isabelle Grimm as Emily, Will Livingston as Neal and Cameron Stuckey as Gene. The cast also includes Tamara Chandler as Emily’s mother Georgia, Anya Cherniss as Doubling Actress and a special appearance by an unnamed local actor playing Doubling Actor.

The 411: BLUFF: A Dark Comedy, a play produced and co-directed by Body Kinetics health clubs co-owner Joey Hoeber, runs Nov. 1-16 at The Belrose theater in San Rafael. MORE INFO & TIX. 
​
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The Mill Valley Chamber Music Society, the non-profit, all-volunteer organization founded in 1973 to present exceptional classical musicians in Mill Valley at affordable ticket prices, continues its 2019-2020 concert series with a Nov. 10th performance by Telegraph Quartet.

The Bay Area-based ensemble, described by the San Francisco Chronicle as “…an incredibly valuable addition to the cultural landscape” and “powerfully adept…with a combination of brilliance and subtlety,” is comprised of Eric Chin and Joseph Maile on violins, Pei-Ling Lin on viola and Jeremiah Shaw on cello. The quartet formed in 2013, the Telegraph Quartet was awarded the prestigious 2016 Walter W. Naumburg Chamber Music Award and the Grand Prize at the 2014 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition.  

The quartet is currently on the chamber music faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music as the Quartet-in-Residence and has given master classes at the SFCM Collegiate and Pre-College Divisions, through the Morrison Artist Series at San Francisco State University, and abroad at the Taipei National University of the Arts, National Taiwan Normal University, and in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

The program features Alban Berg: String Quartet Op. 3 in G minor; Bartok: String Quartet #4 and Beethoven: String Quartet #14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 131.

The MVCMS concert series also features Gould Piano Trio with Robert Plane, clarinet on January 26, 2020; Alexei Sitkovetsky, violin and Wu Qian, piano on February 23, 2020; and Aizuri Quartet, March 8, 2020.

Two months later, MVCMS showcases the talents of five emerging classical musicians at the annual Marin Music Chest “Young Artists' Concert,” on May 17, 2020.

MVCMS concerts are held at 5 p.m. Sundays at the Mt. Tamalpais United Methodist Church, 410 Sycamore Avenue, Mill Valley, an intimate concert venue featuring superb acoustics and free parking.

Season subscriptions are $145 per person for five concerts or $105 for three concerts. All subscribers receive complimentary tickets to the annual Marin Music Chest Young Artists Concert. Tickets are sold at the door at $40 per person. Free admission for youth age 18 and under. Subscriptions or single tickets can be ordered online here.

​The 411: The Mill Valley Chamber Music Society's 47th season continues Sunday, November 10 with Telegraph Quartet. Concerts are at 5 p.m. Sundays at the Mt. Tamalpais United Methodist Church at 410 Sycamore Avenue. Single tickets are $40 general and free for youth ages 18 and under. Season subscriptions options include $145 per person for all five concerts or a mini-subscription for $105 for three concerts. All subscribers receive a complimentary ticket to the annual Marin Music Chest Young Artists Concert on May 17, 2020. MORE INFO & TIX.

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For more than three decades, Mill Valley’s Singers Marin has established its own take on the “think globally, act locally” mantra, singing everywhere from stages in Iceland and Australia to Bay Area concert venues and at the annual Winterfest celebration in downtown Mill Valley.

“We’ll never turn down a voice that wants to sing,” says Singers Marin Founder and Artistic Director Jan Pedersen Schiff.

To continue those efforts, the nonprofit organization hosts its annual gala and silent auction on Sunday, Nov. 3 from 12-3pm at the Mill Valley Community Center, 180 Camino Alto. The event will be hosted by its honorary Chair, Deborah Koons Garcia, a filmmaker, founding member of Wings of Song chorus and the widow of late Grateful Dead legendary guitarist Jerry Garcia.  

The event also features entertainment by Lovin' Harmony, an Andrew Sisters style trio, as well contemporary pop songs by the Not-so-Sisters duo, both made up of current and former singers.

"There will be amazing auction items to bid on, including sea and land adventures, wine tours, dining gift cards, and tickets to theatre, music, museums and so much more," says Pedersen Schiff. "A lunch buffet with wine will be catered by Debbie Ghiringhelli Catering."

The 411: Singers Marin hosts its annual gala and silent auction on Sunday, Nov. 3 from 12-3pm at the Mill Valley Community Center, 180 Camino Alto. Reservations available online. RSVP by October 29. MORE INFO.

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