There's an eclectic mix of comedy, drama and spoken word in this week's theatre picks. Shut Up and Eat Your Groundlings The Groundlings’ latest sketch show hits the stage this weekend. Groundlings Theater. 7307 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles. (323) 934-4747 ext. 37. Tickets are $21.50. Opens Friday at 8 pm. Runs Fridays at 8 pm and Saturdays at 8 and 10 pm until Nov. 24. L.A. Voz L.A. Voz (Los Angeles Voice) is a series......

Like Circle X, the theatre troupe, Son of Semele (as in Dionysius the God) took 7 of Suzan-Lori Parks plays influenced by the War in Iraq to another level. In a small narrow room that is the theatre's house, the audience is whirled into worlds of chaos, confusion and dark enchantment. Usually, plays in this year-round 365 Days/365 Plays festival last about 20 minutes. Son of Semele took the plays in a lengthy direction, methodically......

Last night's 365 Days/365 Plays at the Bootleg Theatre was one of those nights full of intoxicated magnetism. About a hundred or so people pack rat-ed into the theatre lobby to begin the first play... in the dark. To say the least, it was thrilling, as the whole night was. Tonight's 10:30 p.m. performance of 365 will be their last for this week's set of plays. Like Bootleg, another troupe to keep tabs with......

By day, Terence McFarland is known throughout the LA theatre community as the Executive Director of the LA Stage Alliance, a reputable non-profit service organization dedicated to building awareness, appreciation, and support for the performing arts in Greater LA. After leaving the fashion industry in New York City to attend CalArts for a master's degree, he quickly found his role as a leader helping solve problems within the experimental art school's bureacracy of BS. It......

Though the sun has been doing a bit of a peek-a-boo with us the past few days, we can't help noticing the increase in sunshine since we made it past last week's winter solstice. Hooray sunshine! Much as we like a nice blustery day, one of the main reasons we live in southern California is the intimate relationship with have with ol' Sol down here. Esteemed musician/composer/polar bear/lexicographer of hoot Mike Watt seems to......

She: I love a gray day. I forgot how much. He: Me too. She: I hope we dont move out there and miss this gray. And the view from here. He: The view from here is great, yeah. She: Like you said, remember? "Sometimes, nothing beats standing in the shadow of a tall building." He: Yeah. I couldn't be more pleased with the state of Los Angeles theatre these days. 365 is showing us the......

Gopher: Why you pissing on it [Chevy Impala]? Chuck: So chicks know its mine. Dudes too. This is my Impala. Not yrs. Gopher: It gets you pussy? Chuck: No, man. Gopher: No? Chuck: It gets me dick. A constant hard one. Gopher: Shit Chuck: Shit is right. From December 3rd's play, "Impala". "I want to see a show in every theatre space in LA," I once told a friend a few years back. Thanks to......

Having a bedroom window facing the LA River is actually quite nice. I never see the concrete bottom: the part of the river abut my home flows 365 days of the year, even if at a half foot. I hear all sorts of strange birds 24 hours a day, always hear the slight rippling of the river and have an otherwise peaceful aural background. However, when it rains, the river changes from calm and......

The Sun: I am The Sun. I am always shining. Shine: I'm called Shine, as was my father before me. Sometimes I shine. Sometimes I dont shine. The Sun: I am The Sun. See me shine. Shine: I am a son, called Shine. Can we swear for a second? Okay, here goes... Fucking amazing. Just fucking amazing. Last night's presentation of week 2 in the yearlong 365 Days/365 Plays festival was just that. The......

Every week in Living in Sin, Jen Sincero provides advice to LA's sexually confounded. Sign up for her newsletter and have it sent to you every week. Ask Jen your questions: all are posted anonymously. Dear Jen I am forty-six years old and my husband is thirty-six. The problem is that he is a sex-a-holic, to the extreme! He wants sex at LEAST once a day, everyday, 365 days a year. If he doesn't......

In our continuing yearlong coverage of 365 Days/365 Plays, we present you with weeks two through four: Week 2: The Open Fist Theatre Company Tuesday, November 21 at 7:45 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. Friday, November 24 at 10:45 p.m. Saturday, November 25 at 6:45 p.m. Week 3: Playwrights’ Arena Wednesday, November 29, 2006, 8 p.m. Lutheran Church of the Master, 10931 Santa Monica, Los Angeles Week 4: The Elephant Asylum Theatre December 5 -......

Excerpt from Day 2 (Nov. 16): Father Comes Home From The Wars (Part 1) Father: Hi honey, Im home. Mother: Yr home. Father: Yes. Mother: I wasnt expecting you. Ever. Father: Should I go back out and come back in again? Mother: Please. We're going to say this right now and get it over with: get off your arses and participate in this yearlong national theatre festival. which is being held simultaneously around the......

On 13 November, 2002, I had this silly idea that I would write a play every day for a year. It would be about being present and being committed to the artistic process every single day, regardless of the ‘weather.’ It became a daily meditation, a daily prayer celebrating the rich and strange process of a writing life ~ Suzan-Lori Parks Hey, LAist writes everyday too. How strange that we share this habit with......

La America Tropical, the once-controversial, then painted over mural is coming back to Olvera Street thanks to the city and The Getty: The mural, one of three done during Siquieros' six-month stay in Los Angeles, depicts an Indian being crucified on a double cross topped by an American eagle. The piece, depicting the struggle against imperialism, was considered so controversial at the time that it was painted over shortly after it was finished. Here......

Holidays have a penchant for sneaking up on you. Christmas is the most obvious example, but Halloween is equally as vexing. Even though we have 365 days between each Halloween to breathe, contemplate and otherwise prepare a killer costume idea, we're never completely ready. Fear not, we're here to help the Halloween-impared. Step One: Face The Facts Take a deep breath and embrace the fact that you won't be the belle (or beau) of......