Posts by Bondo Wyszpolski
Stepping through the silver screen
Back to the backlot Warner Bros. Studio Tour has rolled out the red carpet by Bondo Wyszpolski If you can’t be in the movies or on TV, you can always visit the places where they make them, and with that said we’re now in Burbank and ready to join in on the new and improved…
Read MoreMusic in the garden, under the stars
Smiles of a summer night Looking up at the Constellation Quartet by Bondo Wyszpolski Violinist Emily Moore, sitting outdoors on a recent sunny afternoon, mentions the difficulty of finding intimate venues in which to perform. “We call them listening spaces,” she explains, “the small space where acoustic acts do really well. The string quartet will…
Read MoreCeramic dynamic in Manhattan Beach
Feat of Clay “Architecture of Touch” in local art center by Bondo Wyszpolski It’s probably one of the last art shows with limited access for the public, but “Architecture of Touch” highlights recent work by the instructors, staff, and students of the ceramics studio and pottery program that the City of Manhattan Beach initiated in…
Read MoreMario Giacomelli: A Sunday kind of love
Local color in black and white “Mario Giacomelli: Figure/Ground,” by Virginia Heckert (Getty Publications, 160 pp., $24.95 paper) by Bondo Wyszpolski Mario Giacomelli (1925-2000) lived his entire life in the Italian coastal town of Senigallia, in the Marche region along the Adriatic Sea. He opened a print shop in 1950, bought a camera in 1953…
Read MoreResin is hosting Mira Costa artists
Resonating at Resin Mira Costa student art show this weekend by Bondo Wyszpolski It can be a little too easy to overlook or ignore the many exhibitions at Resin Gallery, but one would need to be extremely nearsighted, culturally speaking, not to see and admire Rafael McMaster’s enthusiasm and optimism as the driving force behind…
Read MorePV High’s “Urinetown” goes with the flow
by Bondo Wyszpolski One might have wagered that a musical called “Urinetown” would have a strike or two against it from the start, let alone little chance of reaching Broadway (and pulling in three Tony Awards). It’s a wager that would have been lost, and in fact the show has been embraced by high schools…
Read MorePVHS drama dept. streams “Urinetown”
PV High’s “Urinetown” goes with the flow Director (and Hermosa native) Nicole Thompson had challenges aplenty by Bondo Wyszpolski One might have wagered that a musical called “Urinetown” would have a strike or two against it from the start, let alone little chance of reaching Broadway (and pulling in three Tony Awards). It’s a wager…
Read MorePaintings aplenty at Destination: Art
Artistic double-whammy “Show within the Show” at Destination: Art by Bondo Wyszpolski Appointments to view the work in person are still required, but Destination: Art has just unveiled an exhibition of over 75 pieces by nearly 40 members of its Associate Artists, and if that isn’t quite enough to take in there’s also “Portraits of…
Read MoreHard Luck Hank isn’t messing around!
A self-made writer and his hard luck hero In another galaxy with Hermosa Beach resident Steven Campbell by Bondo Wyszpolski So what happens when you’re the highest paid computer programmer in your company and you get laid off because, well, you’re the highest paid programmer on the payroll and these days new hires are getting…
Read MoreSouth Bay Film Society: Back in the theater?
Cinematic ebb and flow The South Bay Film Society has returned to the AMC Rolling Hills 20, but will their rental agreement be feasible to keep it there? by Bondo Wyszpolski Nine years ago, Randy Berler inaugurated the South Bay Film Society with a screening of “Three Colors: Red,” and he sold out his entire…
Read MoreArt conservator Eva Matysek
The rejuvenating touch Eva Matysek breathes new life into old or damaged art by Bondo Wyszpolski In 1929, two years after he’d designed the murals for Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, John Gabriel Beckman was commissioned by William Wrigley, Jr., to create the murals for the Avalon Theatre inside the Catalina Casino. The auditorium is…
Read MoreThe October of his youth: three decades in a coma
We’re doing everything possible to bring you home Waking up after 28 years, a man walks outside by Bondo Wyszpolski [Author’s note: Jô Soares, Luiz Alfredo Garcia Roza, João Ubaldo Ribeira, etc, are Brazilian writers. They’re sitting at a cafe in Rio de Janeiro (in March of 2002) and telling one another their ideas for…
Read MoreGetty’s graffiti black book
The years of living dangerously “L.A. Graffiti Black Book,” by David Brafman (Getty Publications, 166 pp., $35) by Bondo Wyszpolski Let’s give Angst the first word: “Is graffiti vandalism or art? Yes.” Street art, the kind you might notice on a nearby fence as you hop into your car to go to work, tends to…
Read MoreAndy and Renee at 100
In dreadful times, a musical milestone Andy and Renee? They never went away by Bondo Wyszpolski The South Bay’s preeminent musical folk-rock duo, Andy and Renee, have been performing week after week after week, yes, even during the time of the coronavirus. Furthermore, no one’s had to leave home in order to enjoy their music.…
Read More“Pick of the Vine”? Not quite ripe
Still swimming upriver “Pick of the Vine” streams online through March by Bondo Wyszpolski Little Fish Theatre, located in the arts district of downtown San Pedro, is arguably the best stage in the South Bay on account of the company’s willingness to tackle new or seldom-performed plays. Before the start of each season, the selection…
Read MoreWriting as the best therapy: novelist and educator Kari Sayers
Rescued by her own writing How Kari Sayers kept the real world at bay by Bondo Wyszpolski Kari Sayers has written three novels. The third one has been adapted for the screen and actors are being auditioned. In 2018, the Rancho Palos Verdes resident retired from teaching at Marymount University after 32 years and that’s…
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