BE for CHANGE

On the radio!

Barbie and Ellen were on Paul Berenson's radio show last Saturday (you know Paul — the painter and classical DJ who now hosts Santa Barbara's only home-grown liberal talk show) to talk about University of Michigan football (Barbie's a faithful alum), red county/blue county politics, and — ta da — "The Fourth Wall."

The audio about the play is here.

And if you want to hear the whole show (or any of his other shows — he's had a great roster of guests) you can do so at Paul's own website. (You can hear our entire segment in the third hour — we start about half-way through.)

Early-bird discount extended

You now have until November 23 to take advantage of the "early-bird" discount on tickets for The Fourth Wall (see post immediately below). Be sure to reserve your seats today!

SAVE THE DATE: "The Fourth Wall" on November 30

Nancy Nufer (pictured at left) is a deft, enchanting actress beloved by Santa Barbara audiences. Thus it brings us all good cheer to know that Nancy is back in town to head the cast in Ensemble Theatre Company's holiday production of A.R. Gurney's sly anti-Bush comedy, The Fourth Wall — and that BE for Change supporters will get to see Nancy do her star turn before anybody else.

SAVE THE DATE: November 30. That's the preview performance BE for Change has reserved exclusively for you, for us — for supporters of grassroots Democrats in Santa Barbara who also love and support Ensemble.

About the play:

The "fourth wall" is, of course, the theatrical convention that describes the barrier between stage and audience. The heroine, Peggy, "enraged by the incompetence of G.W. Bush, Cheney, Powell and their policies of war mongering, tax cuts et al, wants to go through the wall, now a metaphor for political isolation, and onward to Washington."

Her baffled husband calls upon a New York sophisticate and a gay Freudian/Marxist professor of theatre from a nearby community college to sort out his and Peggy's perplexities, and together (with help from a player piano that knows only Cole Porter tunes) they write their surprising — and utterly delicious — personal dénouement.

Early-bird special
You can reserve your seats now and take advantage of our "early-bird special" — tickets purchased before November 10 are $50. After that date, the price goes up to $60. So...just move your mouse over to the graphic at the top of the right sidebar and click — why not do it right now?!! (Tickets include a private post-performance scmooze with the director, the cast and other members of the Ensemble production team. Dessert, wine and coffee will be served.)

When and where and why
At the Alhecama Theatre, 914 Santa Barbara Street (between Canon Perdido and Carrillo) at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, November 30. There's free parking in the Freitas Building parking lot, entrance on Carrillo between Santa Barbara and Garden Street.

Net proceeds from the evening will go to support BE for Change's mission to encourage Democratic grassroots initiatives in Santa Barbara. We have some exciting news to report on this topic, so please come back here soon. And while you're at it, why not sign up for our mailing list so we can keep you thoroughly up to date?

Note to Ensemble subscribers
You can donate your subscription tickets to The Fourth Wall back to the box office — and take a tax deduction. But even better, consider giving them to friends or family. They'd make a perfect holiday gift!

See you all on November 30!