Page 159 | Bohemian | Sonoma & Napa Counties

Rolling ‘Stones’: Irish comedy satisfies at Spreckels

Harry Duke

Aug 29, 2023

Rolling ‘Stones’: Irish comedy satisfies at Spreckels

What happens when Hollywood comes to town is a well-worn plot device best exemplified by the classic “Mayberry Goes Hollywood” episode of The Andy Griffith Show. Mayberry’s reactions to the arrival of a film company in their quaint Southern town was played for gentle humor.

Playwright Marie Jones takes the same plot elements and transports them to County Kerry, Ireland (where life is not quite so gentle) with Stones in His Pockets. The Spreckels Theatre Company has a Sheri Lee Miller-directed production running in Rohnert Park through Sept. 10.

Charlie (Jimmy Gagarin) and Jake (Sam Coughlin) are two local lads working as extras on an American film being shot in their hometown. Outside of being able to earn 40 quid a day, Charlie’s got a script he’s hoping to pass on to someone who can do something with it while Jake is quite taken with the film’s female star.

Charlie and Jake spend their time on set dealing with an impatient director, an unctuous AD, an elderly local who proudly proclaims he’s the last surviving extra from The Quiet Man and a troubled young addict, among others.

After a hectic day of shooting on location, a night out at the local pub results in Jake spending some time with the woman of his dreams while another local’s interaction with the star leads to a decidedly different end.

Besides Charlie and Jake, Gagarin and Coughlin play every other role regardless of the character’s age or gender. As soon as one’s ear has adapted to the Irish brogues in use, one quickly finds oneself trying to figure out who’s who. The transitions between characters are simply done, usually indicated by a change in posture or vocal pitch or a quick exit and entrance. The only costume change is the putting on and taking off of a cap.

Credit to Miller, Gagarin and Coughlin for defining the characters strongly enough to allow the audience to eventually grasp the transitions.

A lot of the show’s humor deals with the issue of authenticity, ranging from American film star Caroline Giovanni’s struggles with an accent to a herd of cows that has to be replaced because “they don’t look Irish enough.”

Gagarin and Coughlin don’t struggle with accents and do look Irish enough. They both shine in this simply staged production which avoids being an exercise in acting and, despite some heavy moments, is quite amusing.

‘Stones in His Pockets’ runs through Sept. 10 in the Condiotti Experimental Theater at the Spreckels Performing Arts Center, 5409 Snyder La., Rohnert Park. Fri & Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 2pm. $12 -$34. 707.588.3400. spreckelsonline.com.

Letters to the Editor, Week of Aug. 30

Bohemian Staff and Contributors

Aug 29, 2023

Home Front

I do not believe that any of the post-world wars have been in the interest of the American people or the world, and it greatly concerns me that we have methodically pushed Russia into a corner.

Why are we risking global recession, which results in millions of indirect deaths by the poorest people in the world—who now include many paycheck-to-paycheck Americans—as well as nuclear war, to play hero when we have millions of American homeless who could use those billions?

Please stop wasting our tax dollars, pay down the deficit and help Americans at home, rather than risking all our lives with nuclear war.

Dane Rose

San Rafael

Game Changer

Readers by now may be aware that former President Donald Trump has come out with a new version of Monopoly. Every place you land on the board, it says, “Go Directly to Jail.”

Craig J. Corsini

San Rafael

Train Pains

The SMART train article in the August 25th edition confirms all the predictions made by the anti-SMART campaign that lobbied against funding the train. SMART is a disaster. Anyone who has to wait for the train to cross a main street in San Rafael knows full well that most cars are empty or near empty. This was the case pre-COVID. Throwing good money after bad is foolhardy. Let SMART die.

Jack Lieberman

San Anselmo

We welcome your letters to the editor via le*****@******an.com and le*****@********un.com.

Senator aims to extend pandemic rules for state boards

Sameea Kamal

Aug 29, 2023

Senator aims to extend pandemic rules for state boards

For a July meeting, the Little Hoover Commission—an independent state oversight agency—posted notice that the public could attend in Sacramento, but also in Traverse City, Michigan, or Southampton, New York.

Why the locations scattered across the country? Because some commissioners were taking part in the discussion on aging while on vacation. But California’s open meetings law requires in-person access to members of state bodies during public meetings, wherever they are.

The odd setup is a reflection of a post-pandemic declaration world: While COVID-19 public health rules have relaxed around in-person gatherings, remote work continues, even in state government. And as of July 1, some of the in-person requirements suspended during the pandemic are back in place—including disclosing remote meeting locations and making them accessible to the public.

Enter Senate Bill 544, sponsored by the California Commission on Aging, which seeks to reinstate some of those exemptions until Jan. 1, 2026. The bill—the latest of several in the last few years seeking to ease open meeting rules—passed the Senate in May, and is awaiting an Assembly appropriations committee hearing.

“While the executive order was in place during COVID about public meetings, costs went down 90%. Participation went up from vulnerable populations, and people were able to participate remotely in hearings the way they hadn’t before, and it was trying to continue those benefits,” said state Sen. John Laird, the bill’s author, from Santa Cruz.

The bill seeks to remove requirements to post all teleconference locations, post agendas at each location and make those locations accessible to the public. Instead, boards would only be required to post the physical address for one site, and only one board member or staff member would have to be physically present at that site.

But the bill’s opponents—a rare coalition of good government, press, taxpayer and industry groups—say Californians should be able to address their government officials in person.

“We really believe that having the opportunity to have that face-to-face interaction … is a really core belief for the democratic institutions,” said Laurel Brodzinsky, legislative director for California Common Cause.

Opponents also raise concerns that state boards could save the controversial topics for remote-only meetings, where the public may have less opportunity to weigh in.

“We see this all the time here [in Sacramento]—there is a huge line of members of the public for controversial bills choosing to participate,” said Brittney Barsotti, general counsel for the California News Publishers Association, which opposes the bill unless it’s amended further. “And while it might be disruptive for those of us that work in the Capitol every day, like, that’s the point, right? It’s the ability to organize and have your voice heard, instead of being in an empty room with one poor staffer and a speaker.”

In a concession to those concerns, the bill was amended last week to require that a majority of the members of a board be at the same location for at least half of its meetings.

Ethan Rarick, executive director of the Little Hoover Commission, said it supports the bill based on its own positive experience with remote meetings, but also on its June 2021 report on online meetings, which showed that more than half of the 46 state boards surveyed reported greater attendance by members.

Rarick noted that the Bagley-Keene Act—the law that governs open meetings for state boards and commissions—doesn’t require meetings be livestreamed, which would become a mandate under Laird’s bill.

“The more important point for our commission was that it can also increase the kind of people who are able to serve, and thus kind of increase the diversity and representation,” Rarick said.

Barsotti doesn’t buy that justification from the state boards: “They’re not simply expanding access for the public virtually. What they’re doing is trading it off.”

The Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, passed in 1967, says: “The people of this state do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them … The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created.”

Staying informed means a state body—any multi-member body that is created by statute or required by law to conduct meetings—is required to post public notices about when they’re meeting, prepare agendas and accept public testimony.

But balancing openness with efficiency can be frustrating, according to the state itself.

A handbook by the Attorney General’s office, updated in 2004, notes that the “unnatural communication patterns brought about by compliance with its rules” is an intentional choice to ensure the public has a seat at the table. “Simply put, some efficiency is sacrificed for the benefits of greater public participation in government,” the handbook says.

But Laird said the state learned a lot during the pandemic on ways to increase public participation while protecting people’s health.

“While it’s very important to have a majority of people there in person, we’ve been given some options that increase participation and protect people,” he said. “ And we should leverage those into a public process that really allows people to participate and has a majority of people there all the time in person.”

Still, some of the bill’s provisions remain to be worked out, such as no longer requiring disclosure and access to some remote locations, specifically private homes. Supporters argue that change is necessary to protect the privacy and safety of state board members, particularly those in “vulnerable groups” who may be targeted for “harm or harassment,” according to the bill analysis.

Brodzinsky of California Common Cause said she understands the privacy concerns, but aside from emergencies or health issues, doesn’t think it’s appropriate for members who choose to serve on boards and are accountable to the public to participate in meetings from home.

Common Cause, as well as the California Newspaper Publishers Association, also raised concerns that current language only requires an audio option, and not video.

It’s not just the expected opponents who are raising concerns.

In a July opposition letter, the Glass Packaging Institute, the California Manufacturers and Technology Association, the California Association of Winegrape Growers and other business groups wrote that remote participation eliminates eye contact, discourages debate, and stifles pre- and post-meeting discussions.

Laird said he heard the concerns from an August hearing “loudly and clearly,” and is considering amendments, such as on-camera participation and quorum requirements.

While the legislature is scheduled to adjourn Sept. 14, the senator still hopes to get it passed this session due to what he calls the ongoing need to allow people with disabilities or those with trouble traveling to serve on commissions or boards.

“We are still in the middle of COVID. And so I think that we still have to figure out a way that people that are compromised have a way to participate, and that is something that can’t be put off ’til next year,” he said.

Common Cause says its concern isn’t just with this bill, but with a “dangerous trend” of legislation the last two years that seeks to roll back public access.

Last year, a similar bill by former Assemblymember Bill Quirk that would have allowed meetings to be held entirely by teleconference died in committee. But Assembly Bill 2449 passed, extending until 2026 pandemic-era exemptions to teleconferencing rules for local governments.

This year, at least seven bills have been proposed that would expand the use of teleconferencing for public meetings, three of which have moved forward.

Trivia, Week of Aug. 30

Howard Rachelson

Aug 29, 2023

1 VISUAL: From 1849 to 1851, during the time of the gold rush, Sacramento was not the capital of California. Which city was at that time, and in fact became the state’s first capital, when California became a state in 1850?

2 This sea animal usually has five arms (it can have up to 40 arms), with eyes at the end of each arm. What is it?

3 What television award show that celebrates television first aired in 1949?

4 VISUAL: Which island nation in the Caribbean Sea lies closest to the South American mainland, only about seven miles from what South American country?

5 The Academy-Award-winning Best Pictures in 2022, 2021 and 2020 all had one-word titles. What movies were they?

6 English grammar: A verb which ends in -ing and operates as a noun (such as… “running with the bulls”) is called a … what?

7 Can you name four sports whose names begin with the letter B, but don’t involve a ball?

8 VISUAL: Founded around 250 B.C., this city of Asia Minor was originally named Philadelphia. Today, it’s a capital city with a five-letter name, in a Middle East country with a six-letter name. What is it?

9 The years 1665 and 1666 were not good years for the inhabitants of London. What two different unfortunate events took place in those consecutive years?

10 What numerical quantity is a measure of the effects of the Earth’s gravity on each person?

ANSWERS:

1 San Jose

2 Starfish

3 Emmy Awards

4 Trinidad lies about seven miles off the coast of Venezuela.

5 2022: CODA, 2021: Nomadland, 2020: Parasite

6 Gerund

7 Boxing, badminton, bobsled, bicycle racing, bullfighting … more?

8 Amman, Jordan

9 1665: Great Plague, which killed almost 70,000 people; 1666: Great Fire, which burned for four days and four nights

10 Your weight. Thanks for the question to Rishi Schweig from West Marin.

Culture Crush, Week of Aug. 30

Michael Giotis

Aug 29, 2023

Bolinas

Art Marches On

Between January 2017 and January 2020, James Lerager photographed eight marches in Oakland and San Francisco. The results have been arranged in a photo essay on display in Bolinas. Lerager’s photos capture the shifting mood of demonstrators, from the early exuberance of the first Women’s March to the steely determination of the anti-Trump resistence. ‘Marching 2017-2020 Photography by James Lerager’ is showing at the Farmstand Gallery at the intersection of Olema-Bolinas Road and Horseshoe Hill Road, Bolinas. 9am to 5pm daily; show closes Aug. 31.

Petaluma

Big Top

Circus Vargas channels the “City of Lights” in their latest, greatest production, “Bonjour, Paris!” This all-new high-energy, action-packed extravaganza delivers a live, truly family entertainment experience. A Parisian-style circus production, it features performers, aerialists and acrobats rather than animals. The death-defying stunts are intended to thrill audiences of all ages in a two-hour spectacle under the big top. Circus Vargas’ ‘Bonjour, Paris!,’ multiple shows daily, through Sept. 4. Sonoma Marin Fairgrounds, 175 Fairgrounds Dr., Petaluma.

Santa Rosa

Mary Jane

In the drama, Mary Jane, a single mother of a chronically ill child is surrounded by a community of women willing to fight beside her, sometimes in spite of her own wishes. Winner of the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play in 2018, the show, presented by Left Edge Theatre, features a small ensemble cast, many of whom play dual roles that highlight the truths and deceptions we tell each other and ourselves. 7:30pm, every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Aug. 31 through Sept. 16 at The California, 528 7th St., Santa Rosa. Tickets start at $20.

Napa

Lucky Dice

In an age even more cautious about every word we say, might it not be a relief to just hear somebody let go of all that caution? Comedian Andrew Dice Clay is counting on it. Questions loom of course, like, is Dice’s material still misogynist? Is he actually funny? Do his appearances in 21st century movies by Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen compare to his performance in Ford Fairlane? Only one way to find out. Napa Summer Sessions presents Andrew Dice Clay. 8pm, Saturday, Sept. 2, outside at 850 Bordeaux Way, Napa. Food and drinks available.

Authors Astound: Local scribes court resident readers

Isabella Cook

Aug 29, 2023

Authors Astound: Local scribes court resident readers

For many, September is the first official symbol that marks summer’s shift into autumn. With that shift, the ever-expanding hours of evening call for a couple of cozy pastimes to fill the long nights ahead.

And there is no activity more appropriate for autumnal entertainment than reading, an act that allows its audience to escape into worlds, thoughts and adventures far beyond the reaches of reality. Or, in some cases, so deep into those realities are readers that returning to the waking world can be a bit of a bore.

Here in the North Bay, where the natural splendor of the landscape has inspired artists for decades, it’s no surprise that local authors abound—and with astounding abundance.

Across every genre and generation, the counties north of San Francisco have hosted world-famous authors such as Jack London, Shel Silverstein and Isabel Allende, to name only an unfair few.

Now, new and not so new names alike are taking to the stage (or shelf, as it were) to represent, to readers far and wide, this season’s specially curated local literary lineup of Marin, Sonoma and Napa counties. So, snuggle up and settle in for a few fantastic fall book suggestions, all written by those who live(d) here too.

Bethany Browning

For the fall months ahead, few can compare to the most seasonally appropriate autumnal author, Bethany Browning. Browning has lived in the North Bay for over two decades and has been, in her words, “cranking out books like a madwoman.”

“I think what’s wonderful about the North Bay is not only the natural beauty we can draw from in our work, but also the people here are so interesting and wildly individualistic that I’ve been able to tap into the celebration of really odd characters, most based on people I met while living here,” Browning said.

Browning’s off-kilter tone and simultaneously cozy and spooky stories range from hilarious to hilariously horrifying, and readers can rejoice in reading Sasquatch, Baby! and Dead Spread. Even better? Browning’s third book, Shimmerfish, will be released in September of this year.

“I set out to write women’s fiction—a big commercial success like Gone Girl,” Browning explained. “But when I sat down to write…that’s not what came up. So, I started following the impulse to write my off-kilter writing, and I found a voice and a vibe in horror, weirdness and quirky mystery that I enjoyed a lot more than fitting into a broad commercial niche.”

To help support an independent local author and to learn more about Browning and her books, visit her website at bethanybrowning.com.

Christian Chensvold

In a world where cargo shorts reign supreme, and chivalry is all but dead, one local author has taken it upon himself to champion against the changes in clothing and courtesy over the past couple of centuries. Local author Christian Chensvold wrote The Philosophy of Style to address not only the decline of the cravat but also the attitude surrounding its fall from grace.

“[My book] is about old-fashioned, gentlemanly topics, an exhalation of the cult of elegance,” said Chensvold, who also writes the “Spirit” column for Weeklys. “The material, although gentlemanly, is very witty, and the essays have a preservation of Oscar Wilde.”

Picturing Wilde’s downright Dandy depictions of cultured dudes and dames helps to illustrate the disparity in dress addressed in Chensvold’s book, especially when one recalls that Wilde’s death was as recent as 1900. In wardrobes, far and near, the options of what to wear have become rather woeful.

“The local angle is in [the book’s] slice of Americana, a North Bay tale of this character who goes to Berkeley in the ’60s and comes back to Sonoma disillusioned at 40,” Chensvold concluded. “The amount of detail drawn from real life that I took and transposed into fiction really stunned me—the book is a culmination of 25 years of writing about being a gentleman.”

For those looking to read all about fashion (and its decline) through a fresh, factually sound lens, look no further than Chensvold’s ‘The Philosophy of Style.’ To learn more or to take the ‘How Dandy are You?’ test, visit Chensvold’s website at dandyism.net.

Anita Gail Jones

Anita Gail Jones is a local author already earning awards for her debut novel, The Peach Seed, which was only officially published earlier this August. The Peach Seed touches on Jones’ roots, having been born and raised in Georgia (the peachiest place in the United States).

In Jones’ The Peach Seed, readers can expect an intimate glimpse into two eras of Georgia—the primary plot line in 2012, but with the added perspective of flashbacks to the not-so-distant past of the 1960s.

To learn more about Jones, her book ‘The Peach Seed’ or the Gaines-Jones Education Foundation (the scholarship foundation Jones and her husband, Rob Roehrick, founded to benefit Black students on a needs basis), visit the website at anitagailjones.com.

Barbara Sapienza

This local author has a whole lot more to her than words—she’s an all-around inspirational artist with works spanning from the visual arts of painting and dancing all the way to writing and to the inexorable artistry of the inner workings of the mind itself.

And after retiring from her career as a clinical psychologist in the big city of San Francisco, Sausalito resident Sapienza added “author” to her list of achievements. Her current works include The Girl in the White Cape, The Laundress and Anchor Out.

To learn more about Sapienza and her stories, visit the official website at barbarasapienza.com.

Julia Park Tracey

Though Julia Park Tracy is honored as Alameda’s poet laureate and currently resides in the rolling foothills of California’s Sierra Nevadas, she was and will always remain an acclaimed North Bay author. After all, she was born and raised in Sonoma County and has spent the rest of her life in and around the Bay.

This resplendent writer of all things historical fiction recently released her latest book, The Bereaved, which gives readers an opportunity for an intimate look into the author’s personal research of her grandfather and his adoption.

Tracey also previously wrote and published Amaryllis: Collected Poems, I’ve Got Some Lovin’ to Do: The Diaries of a Roaring Twenties Teen, Reaching for the Moon: More Diaries of a Roaring Twenties Teen, Tongues of Angels and Veronika Layne Gets the Scoop.

To learn more about Tracey and her books, visit the website at juliaparktracey.com.