Arts DEVOté

Buzz, buzz, buzz goes the honeybee It’s trick-me spring in Chico, and Arts DEVOté couldn’t be happier with this year’s extended calendar of sunshiny evenings. With the city in early bloom, A.D. is all abuzz thanks to a very busy arts community—or maybe it’s the antihistamines.

Man make fire, and off-Broadway musical The energetic Ruttenburgs (Phil and Sue) over at Chico Cabaret are stoked about the musical the company is preparing to put on this June, UG: A Caveman Musical. Auditions are under way, and the Ruttenburgs recently made a trip to West Hollywood to see a performance of UG at the Attic Theatre and they ran into the play’s writer, Jim Geoghan (dude wrote for the Gary Shandling Show and Mama’s Family —badass!). Phil says this will be only the third time the musical has been produced, and that there’s a good chance Geoghan will make the trip to li’l ol’ Chico to check it out.

The more things change, the more they change As if the financial threats to local Internet radio (see “The Days of Lore,” CN&R, March 15) and the whole Blue Room director change-up (see “Curtain coming down,” CN&R, March 15) weren’t enough of a shake-up to our local arts foundation, the founding crew of the Crux Artist Collective—Christine Fulton, Weston Thomson and Dave Sutherland—have announced that they are bidding adieu to their creation at the end of April. But thankfully some current Crux studio members, Sean Cummins (a.k.a. HipMo drummer for local punks Gruk), Shyla Black, Max Infeld and Ty Gorton, are already in place to take over the reins. According to Cummins, the new crew is already in the process of “transferring lease names, bank account info, all that good stuff.” Whew.

A related note: Cruxter Fulton has just accepted a position as art curator for the Lost on Main nightclub’s gallery space. According to Fulton, her plan includes “focusing on local talent, running six- to eight-week exhibitions that showcase two and three artists at a time.” First up: Weston Thomson and CN&R ad designer Daniel Beebe—opening reception: Sun., March 25. For more info, contact Fulton at <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> </script>.

Word Give it up for Chico State philosophy prof Troy Jollimore, whose book of poetry, Tom Thomson in Purgatory, just won the prestigious National Book Critics Circle Award For Poetry for 2006. And, by give it up, A.D. means buy it. The Chico State bookstore and downtown’s Lyon Books are selling it for $13.95.

Bi-weekly Devotions

On stage

• Theatre on the Ridge: 1977 Tony Award-winning The Shadow Box runs March 22-April 14. www.totr.org

• Aquila Theatre Company: Chico State’s Chico Performances brings the touring theater company to Laxson for two plays—Romeo & Juliet (March 25) and The Canterbury Tales (March 27).

On the walls:

• Third Floor Gallery (Chico State): Master of Fine Arts group show.

Make your own:

• Recycled art: The Crux invites you to explore using alternative/used materials in art, Fri.-Sun., March 23-25, noon-5 p.m. Contact Dragonboy at <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript"> </script> for info.

• Myth and clay workshop: “Allow the story to give inspiration to the clay,” Sun., March 25, at All Fired Up Ceramic Art Center. Call to register: 894-5227.