"Months on End," playing at the Tre Stage on La Brea at Sunset this is a treat -- a great indie theater find with a strong script and a great cast. We attended the show last Friday where we watched 12 months of happiness and heartache unfold. The play starts with a New Year's Eve party in January, then continues to introduce the characters, a few at a time, as we learn how their lives......

A new youth arts center in Watts run by the city's Department of Cultural Affairs will have its grand opening later this month during a weekend when two festivals will be happening. Named after the famous jazz musician and past local resident, the Charles Mingus Youth Arts Center will expand space for youth arts programs. The new building, which is next to the Watts Towers Arts Center, will bring more classroom space expanding the department's......

That tiny notation at the bottom of your calendar tells you today is indeed Flag Day. And while many Angelenos are inadvertently and loosely interpreting that to mean "stick a Lakers flag on your car" it is actually (and obviously) a bigger deal on a national level. Besides waving your own Stars and Stripes or taking part in a parade, it's tough to commemorate the adoption of the flag. To the north of us, at......

Since billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad has funded Los Angeles institutions such as LACMA's BCAM and UCLA's Stem Cell Institute, Curbed LA asked its readers what he should spend his money on next if it were to be a civic project. The "Subway to the Sea" won with overwhelming results....

Photo Megan Geckler's art by susan catherine via LAist Featured Photos This is a purposefully backdated post for a National Arts Marketing Project (NAMP) workshop called "The New Frontier Part Two: Blogging, Social Networking and YouTube!" organized by the LA Stage Alliance with guest speakers D. Jean Hester and LAist Editor, Zach Behrens. The following are notes and reference links for workshop participants. BLOGS - Video: Blogs in Plain English - General Blogs: boingboing,......

Not only does California ranks dead last in per capita state spending for the arts, its largest city is losing its media art critics. After LA Times dance critic Lewis Segal was bought out last month, news comes that LA Weekly classical critic Alan Rich was given the ax yesterday. Public Relations blogger Laura Stegman has the scoop:After getting the news earlier today, I spoke with Alan late tonight, and he said, "It's open season......

A reader sent along a pithy and poignant e-mail with a petition attached last week. The petition is to save one of the many LA Times cuts buyouts, specifically dance critic Lewis Segal, whose last piece was printed today. All the reader wrote was "Why is the LA times abandoning arts?" USC's Sasha Anawalt broke the news earlier this month on the National Arts Journalism Program's blog. She quotes Segal saying there is a chance......

Yeah, this is how I feel. / Photo "Supervisor Zirves" by db via LAist's flickr pool. This morning was a rough start for everyone and we still got a little sleepies in us, but we'll definitely be awake for these events tonight. After another latte. CLASSICAL* The LA premiere of "The Axe Manual" happens tonight at Zipper Concert Hall as part of the Monday Evening Concert series. The program includes important recent works by......

Photo by ~db~ via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr It's official: Police have identified the Green Skeleton Bandit who was fatally shot earlier this week when he was caught in the act of robbing the AutoZone in NoHo by a US Marshal. He was 24-year-old Lawrence Dean Smith Jr. of Palmdale who used a knife and wore a skeleton-themed sweatsuit in his robberies. Fight for the right to ficus! Local activists in......

"Sister Cities" | Photo by Stephanie Asher via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr An update on yesterday's Harbor-Gateway shooting of a 6-year-old in a car. LAPD Chief Bratton announced: "We are very confident that we have the people who were involved in the actual shooting in custody." For the Lakers fans out there, LA City Councilman Bernard Parks declared today as "Derek Fisher Day." 1,817. That's the number of teacher layoffs so......

Two North Hollywood news items melded into one last night when, as reported on LAist, a US Marshal walked in on a robbery in progress at an auto parts store in NoHo Arts, fatally shooting one suspect who is believed to be the "Skeleton Bandit." The robber had recently unsuccessfully held up a local Jack in the Box and a mini mart dressed in an outfit initially described as a skeleton costume, but as reported......

View Larger Map *UPDATE, Weds. 3/5, 10:00 a.m.: The suspect who was shot is believed to be the North Hollywood-area's "Skeleton Bandit." He died in hospital from his injuries after being removed from the scene. *UPDATE, 11:24 p.m.: The alleged robber who was shot by the U.S. Marshal is now at the hospital in critical condition and the suspected accomplice is still at large according to Officer April Harding of the LAPD. So how was......

Test Your Reflex plays this month at Hotel Cafe on Wednesdays | Photo by Luke Wooden via their MySpace Despite SXSW starting up this week with 100+ Los Angeles based bands heading over there, residencies are growing stronger and more venue-diverse across the line, especially on Monday nights where the volume makes it hard to choose from. Here's to a great month of residencies, rock on. Mondays The Chapin Sisters @ The Echo (Free),......

Don't be angsty like this lady...go out tonight! / Photo by Plankton 4:20 via LAist's flickr pool. FILM “Animation Nite: From Halifax with Love” is a program at the Echo Park Film Center that features short animated and semi-animated films by women who’ve all lived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, eh. The screening includes work by host Siloën Daley and six others. Music by local band Foot Foot follows. 7:30 // Echo Park Film......

Don't try this at home -- or at the Civic Center Metro Station. / Photo by puck90 via LAist's flickr pool. TRANSIT TALK Metro is studying alternatives for connecting the Gold, Blue and Expo lines through downtown Los Angeles. This study will examine linking the future Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension (near the Little Tokyo/Arts District Station) and the 7th Street/Metro Center Station. Tonight Metro will update the public on the project and allow......

Do you think this is part of the Reno 911! marketing campaign? / Photo by Bernard Mickey Wrangle via flickr. COMEDY* Paging Reno 911! fans: Robert Ben Garant, who plays Deputy Travis Junior, hosts The Armando Show tonight. (It’s an hour-long improvised comedy show inspired by an audience suggestion). He’ll be joined by a few other Reno castmates: Carlos Alazraqui, Thomas Lennon, Niecy Nash, Kerri Kenney and Cedric Yarbrough. 8 pm // iO West......

COMEDY “Groundlings Swimsuit Edition” is the comedy troupe’s latest offering, with plenty of sketch and improv. Keep your fingers crossed that we won’t see them in Speedos. (But then again, Speedos are funny…) 8 pm // Groundling Theatre // 7307 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles // $21.50. FILM Crenshaw Boulevard comes to life in the hands of director Dan Wozniak and producer Christopher Molony. The documentary features 12 vignettes of people along the street’s 24......

photo courtesy of artist Local independent dance artist Liz Hoefner has directed and choreographed Fear of Drowning/Fear of Flying and will present its premiere this Friday through Sunday at the Diavolo Dance Space in the Brewery Arts Complex. According to her, the new dance theater work is a collection of stories, dialogues and dances that relate to actual and metaphorical fears of traveling, flying, drowning and dying in a post 9/11, tsunami, and Hurricane......

With the near completion of the Central Los Angeles High School #9, or the LAUSD High School for the Visual and Performing Arts, on Grand Avenue more folks are talking about the architecture stylings of Coop Himmelblau and the monument to the arts that they’ve created. Driving along the 101, people have speculated as to the meaning and purpose of the tall structure that creates an entry along with the Cathedral bell tower across......

One of L.A.'s most unique and important centers for poetry, literature, and art, the non-profit center Beyond Baroque, may be in danger of losing its lease. According to an email sent out by the group's Board of Trustees, City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo would like to begin the auction process for the building, offering it up for other non-profits to bid on. City Councilman Bill Rosendahl had promised to extend Beyond Baroque's lease for another......

They've brought luminescence to Burning Man nights and misting relief to blistering Coachella days. This Saturday, Do LaB sets out to light up your love life, whether you hate V-Day or not. Skip the roses and head downtown for a night of burlesque, nonstop beats, and a brand new performance by the Los Angeles' own Lucent Dossier Vaudeville Cirque. The Do LaB's transporting the naturific, visionary vibes you know from their Lightning in a......

Arts and Crafts class at the Craft and Folk Art Museum tonight. / Photo by CarbonNYC via flickr. GET CRAFTY Make your Valentine’s Day gift tonight instead of picking through the lame leftover cards in the Ralph’s card aisle tomorrow. The Craft and Folk Art Museum hosts “A Creative Valentine” and provides materials for you to let your inner artist loose. Couples are encouraged to attend to get a jump start on the Valentine’s......

Mardi Gras + Super Tuesday = Drinks with LAist @ Seven Grand tonight. SUPER TUESDAY DRINKS WITH LAist It’s Super Tuesday and Mardi Gras. What other reason do you need to celebrate with LAist? Come to Seven Grand tonight to watch election returns. (Who knew that primaries would be this exciting?) You never know…people may start flashing for beads after a few Glenlivets. For questions or to RSVP: events@laist.com (Note: Seven Grand is a......

The LA River in all its glory. DEBATE WATCHING Now with John Edwards out of the picture, Hillary and Barack only have eyes and one-liners for each other. Watch them duke it out during the Democratic candidates debate tonight with friends and bloggers in the comfort of CineSpace (because really, you don’t want to be anywhere near Hollywood and Highland). RSVP at RSVP@gatherinc.com. Doors open at 4:30 pm // CineSpace // 6356 Hollywood Blvd., Los......

In some TV news with local flavor, Santa Monica-based Ovation, "The Arts Network" (I thought this was Lifetime's tagline?), has announced a series of partnerships with cultural institutions across the country to produce and promote their content and collections. Local organizations include: the LA Opera, Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, and P.S. ARTS. Now if I could only get Ovation on local cable.... Also, despite our tailspin into recession and the lack of decent......

Here at LAist, we really love local folk music, especially The Hollow Trees. In fact, we love them so much that we've interviewed them three times: a little ">over a year ago, then in May about Stagecoach (the roots version of Coachella) and this last December. We'll spare any in depth analysis this morning, but will just say if you're looking for things to do late this morning, whether your a parent or babysitting some......

Last Friday I trundled up in the tram at The Getty Center to see a 'sold out', intimate performance. For the mere cost of parking and a little bumper-to-bumper on the 405, I and my brother from another mother, MX, got to sit in a comfy auditorium and listen to the laconic stylings of ex-punk (no pun intended) troubadour, John Doe. Now, ain't yah jealous? Of course, I've always had a crush on Mr.......

News on Heath Ledger's untimely and tragic death is still developing. Keep checking our sister site Gothamist for updates. OMG, girls, have you heard? Caroline on Crack is holding the best contest evarrrrr over at her site -- head over now for your chance to win a date with one of L.A.'s most eligible bachelors, Andy Sternberg, our very own News Editor! I can say with utmost confidence that he is totally not a......

It’s kinda quiet on the event front, a perfect day to reflect on Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy. But if you're into going out tonight: CLASSICAL Southwest Chamber Music continues its Musical Imagination and Color series with a concert featuring 20th century composers, including Stravinsky, Milhaud, Berg, and Bartók. Violinist Lorenz Gamma, clarinetist Jim Foschia and pianist Ming Tsu are on the bill tonight. 8 // Colburn School Of Performing Arts: Across The Street......

Update on why Ventura Blvd. in Studio City was shut down this afternoon by the LAPD: according to the North Hollywood Police Division, the shooting took place at De Soto Ave and Gresham St. in Chatsworth. Later, the suspect's car was found at the Studio City 7-11, prompting the LAPD shut down the area to search (hence all the helicopters). The suspect was later found in the city of Fontana and was arrested without......