Arts DEVO

Be mine, Chico Didn’t make a reservation for a fancy dinner spot in time for this Valentine’s weekend? Good! There’s way too much killer stuff going on in Chico anyway—our This Week (pages 24-25) and Nightlife (pages 28-29) sections are overflowing with fresh events, and Pontiak is coming (See Music, page 24) on Friday to Café Coda! Here are Arts DEVO’s other picks:

Today, Feb. 13: Word! Poetry Slam: Chico State has a full slate of lectures, talks, films, music and more in honor of Black History Month (visit the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at www.csuchico.edu/diversity for a full schedule), and tonight at the Naked Lounge Tea & Coffeehouse, at 6 p.m., it’s a two-round poetry slam (first 20 to sign up are in!). Also tonight, at 7:30 p.m., the Blue Room Theatre opens Gidion’s Knot (which runs through Feb. 22). The play—which won best new play at the 2012 Contemporary American Theater Festival—stars Hilary Tellesen and Sheri Bagley.

Friday, Feb. 14 (and Saturday, Feb. 15): The Uncle Dad’s Art Collective is bringing all of its creative powers to the 1078 Gallery for Everybody in Outer Space Stayed in Room 213. The original “burlesque and vaudeville show” is from the mind of dancer/choreographer/artist Eva Blanshei and will feature music by Aubrey Debauchery & The Broken Bones. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. both nights.

Saturday, Feb. 15: Two art shows: Chico musician/artist Johnny Dutro played with the fancy toys (3-D printer, etc.) at Idea Fabrication Labs to create the works for his new show, Myriad Wonder (reception 3-6 p.m.), and Kyle Forrest Burns debuts a set of large format (120mm) black-and-white photographs during a reception at the Naked Lounge, starting at 7 p.m.

Arts and ends Word on The Facebook is that the Blue Room is bringing back the rad and wildly successful Hedwig and the Angry Inch rock-show musical! Local theater stud Matt Hammons will reprise the role he first owned a decade ago, and he’ll be reuniting with at least some of the original cast and band as well. Official dates haven’t been announced, but it looks to be opening in early spring. Stay tuned.

Speaking of theater, there’s a new a face in the local scene. Well, some old-school faces—including Blue Room co-founder Denver Latimer—doing something new: Slow Theatre. As the name might suggest, the group’s mission is to take a “deliberate approach to artistic production involving outreach to find stories within our community, published research to bring contextual understanding to our artists and audiences, multiple readings of the script within ever widening circles of our community to prompt critical dialogue, and workshopping the text.” There are currently several projects in the works (including the The Butcher Shop 2014 festival), and the new company will be holding a benefit on March 7—with readings, appetizers and music by Susan Schrader—to raise money to pay for obtaining nonprofit status. Visit www.slowtheatre.com for more info.

Last, the Chico Arts Commission is conducting an Arts and Economic Prosperity study to measure the impact that arts has on our community. The results would be an invaluable tool for convincing public officials to be smart and save a little something for art, which we all know pays enormous cultural and economic dividends for very little investment. If you want to take part, contact Commissioner Muir Hughes at muirhughes@yahoo.com.