Camille Gavin
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Festival keeps things short, sweet
This year's 22nd annual One Act Festival at Bakersfield Community Theatre will feature five original plays by local authors. As the name indicates, any play submitted for the competition must tell a complete story in only one act. Not an easy job, I would think. But, said Michael Pawloski, the producer, the winning playwrights were up to the task.
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BHS students cut tracks in pro studio
Bakersfield High School, the granddaddy of all Kern County secondary schools, has scored plenty of "firsts" in its 116-year existence.
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Wind Wolves mural celebrates state's bounty
What began as a 20-inch poster for the educational program at Wind Wolves Preserve southwest of Bakersfield has ended up as a 10-foot-high mural. Artist Nancy Putney says it's one of the most challenging projects she's ever done.
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Art will help vets
Granada Theater co-owner Jim Spohn is offering silent movie buffs a unique experience on Saturday afternoon -- a genuine Charlie Chaplin movie with music and sound effects courtesy of a 1928-style pipe organ.
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'Steel Magnolias' emotion in full bloom
Set in a beauty salon, the play highlights the importance of comedy in real life
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'Carousel' of arts events to dazzle community through 2010
Ann O'Neill, one of the stars of "Carousel," which opens Friday at the Spotlight Theatre, is a relative newcomer to local theater but she doesn't lack for experience.
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Camille Gavin: It's pipes, pedals, perfection as church dedicates organ
While getting ready to do the final tuning on the newly enhanced organ at the First Presbyterian Church in downtown Bakersfield, Robert Tall took a moment to explain in layman’s terms the expertise it takes to know which stops to pull, which knobs to turn, and which pedals to push.
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'Jukebox' covers decades of songs
An energetic troupe of 12 singers, dancers and musicians is expected to liven up the Rabobank theater stage on Wednesday with "American Jukebox," a roundup of popular and country western music from the 1950s to the '90s.
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Camille Gavin: 'Jukebox,' 'Super Villain' and Writers Workshop
An energetic troupe of 12 singers, dancers and musicians is expected to liven up the Rabobank theater stage on Wednesday with “American Jukebox,” a roundup of popular and country western music from the 1950s to the ’90s.
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Camille Gavin: Circus comes to Stars Theatre with 'Barnum'
Stars Theatre Restaurant opens its new season Friday evening with “Barnum,” a lively musical about the famous circus showman P.T. Barnum.
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Camille Gavin: Spotlight show embraces taboo theme
I applaud artistic director Hal Friedman and the powers-that-be at Spotlight Theatre for continuing to stretch the envelope for actors as well as audiences by presenting contemporary plays that deal with social taboos.
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Camille Gavin: Melodrama gives Oildale a big, juicy 'Wedding' kiss
Gaslight Melodrama’s new show, “My Big Fat Oildale Wedding,” combines a parody of a popular film with a salute to a town that holds a fond place in the hearts of many lovers of melodrama.
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Camille Gavin: 'Wash Your Troubles Away' — and help fight cancer
“A squeaky clean musical” is the way Black Gold Productions describes its annual show, which opens Friday evening for six performances. The phrase reflects the melodrama’s title, “Wash Your Troubles Away or … Dirty Deeds Come Clean.”
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Camille Gavin: Life of former slave makes for moving, provocative play
“A Woman Called Truth” is Bakersfield Community Theatre’s tribute to Black History Month. The play is about the life of a former slave who became one of the most respected figures in both the abolition and woman’s suffrage movements.
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Camille Gavin: It doesn't get any better than Panama-Buena Vista for an arts educator
Way back in 1969, when trombonist Dennis Herbst was hired as a music teacher, most of the Panama-Buena Vista Union School District was surrounded by fields of alfalfa and cotton.
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Camille Gavin: Not into the big game? See 'Thoroughly Modern Millie' instead
“Thoroughly Modern Millie” is on stage this weekend at Spotlight Theatre and Hal Friedman, artistic director, is touting the Sunday matinee as an ideal choice for nonfootball fans.
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Camille Gavin: Rustle up some melodrama merriment with 'Revenge'
No one had to tell me “Rustlers Revenge” is an honest-to-goodness old-fashioned melodrama — with plenty of opportunities to boo, hiss and cheer. I knew that the moment I read a list of the characters’ names.
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Camille Gavin: Bakersfield composer makes happy music — listen for yourself
Bakersfield composer Richard Southwick’s “Mountain View Rondo” is happy music — the kind that makes you smile when you hear it. Its main theme is bright and breezy, especially the staccato passages, and when I first heard it, I saw in my mind’s eye images of children skipping through a sun-drenched field of Kern County’s glorious wildflowers.
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Camille Gavin: Former Bakersfield artist's work included in prestigious collection
On this Christmas Day I am reminded of a biblical phrase often heard at this time of year: “Peace on earth and good will toward men.” What spurred the thought was an e-mail I received from former Bakersfield resident George Van Dreal, who now lives in San Jose.
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Camille Gavin: Unconventional calling as puppeteer pulls former editor's strings
Who among us hasn’t seen an ad for a particular kind of job and thought: Hmm, that sounds kind of interesting — but for various reasons we fail to follow up on it.
