Santa Cruz Writes fosters a literary community in Santa Cruz County

heir tagline is “Enhancing literary opportunities for Santa Cruz County writers.” And in the past year since Santa Cruz Writes first started, that’s exactly what the group has done.

After attending a writing conference in Washington, D.C. at the beginning of 2011, local writing colleagues Jory Post, Julia Chiapella and Karen Ackland were inspired to start a literary journal that would feature the works of Santa Cruz County writers. Their idea for an online literary magazine soon ballooned into a collaborative literary hub—complete with live readings, literary outreach in local schools, a poetry contest and community-based projects. This multifaceted hub is sheltered under the umbrella organization Santa Cruz Writes—with the online literary journal “phren-Z” (phren-z.org), launched in February of this year, as its main outlet.

Krishna Das lets his soft white underbelly show

Jim Carrey’s single greatest contribution to humanity is quite possibly his statement, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of, so they can see that it’s not the answer.” In 1969, a Long Island-born bus driver named Jeff Kagel came close to learning the truth of those words the hard way. Kagel, an aspiring singer, had a daunting decision to make: join a newly signed band called Soft White Underbelly, thereby fulfilling his lifelong dream of being a rock star, or follow his heart by moving to New Hampshire to be with his spiritual teacher Ram Dass (who, in his former incarnation as Harvard professor Richard Alpert, had also discovered that prestige, accolades and worldly accumulations didn’t add up to a state of fulfillment).

Comedy and kingship rule in SSC’s funny, moving ‘Henry IV Part 2’

Sir John Falstaff rides again in “Henry IV Part 2,” the third production in Shakespeare Santa Cruz’s 2012 summer season. The sequel to last year’s popular “Henry IV Part 1,” returning director Scott Wentworth’s production offers plenty of drama—death and loss, kingship, statecraft, rebellion, family dynamics, and the passing of the crown from one generation to the next, along with a resonant meditation on aging that runs throughout the play.

Local ‘Plot Whisperer’ shares the secrets of story structure

Do you have a story you’ve been struggling to write that seems to lie limp on the page? What you may need is structure—and the Plot Whisperer can help you.

Santa Cruz author Martha Alderson adopted the name “Plot Whisperer” after working with hundreds of writers in plot workshops, retreats and individual consultations. With clients that include bestselling authors, New York editors and Hollywood movie directors, Alderson has a gift in helping writers navigate the often arduous task of writing and realizing the novel, memoir or screenplay of their dreams.

Editor’s note:  Catherine Barnett is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Whiting Writers Award, and a Pushcart Prize. Her first book of poems, “Into Perfect Spheres Such Holes Are Pierced,” was published in 2004 by Alice James Books. Her second poetry collection, “The Game of Boxes,” was just released by Graywolf Press. Barnett works as an independent editor and teaches at Barnard College, The New School, and New York University.

Mistaken identities and musketeers make ‘Twelfth Night’ and ‘The Man in the Iron Mask’ a rousing success

‘Twelfth Night’

Shakespeare Santa Cruz continues to brighten up our foggy coastal summers with imaginative live theater. The company launches its 31st season with “Twelfth Night,” one of Shakespeare's most enjoyable and accessible romantic comedies. Directed by SSC Artistic Director Marco Barricelli, this lively production floods the stage with knockabout farce, yet leaves enough breathing room for moments of poignant reflection on the ways romantic love can be found—and lost.

Cabrillo Stage hits a homerun with ‘Anything Goes’

There are pros and cons to producing one of Broadway’s most adored musical comedies, littered with hits by one of the most quoted American Songbook composers of the 20th century. Among the pros? Everyone knows the songs. The cons? Everyone knows the songs. Fortunately for Santa Cruz theater fans, Cabrillo Stage deftly avoids the pitfalls of familiarity and presents Cole Porter’s endearing vehicle, “Anything Goes,” to great success.

SSC’s star composer elevates the drama of ‘Henry IV Part II’ with music

When Rody Ortega is not composing music for Shakespeare Santa Cruz, he works as a commercial airline pilot. The sky is an important source of inspiration for Ortega, but he believes he can reach people on a deeper level through the arts. “Art can take you places an airplane can’t,” he says.

For the fourth summer in a row, Ortega has returned to UC Santa Cruz, where he will help elevate Shakespeare’s “The Man in the Iron Mask” and “Henry IV Part II” with music. The latter—which runs Aug. 7-26 at the Sinsheimer-Stanley Festival Glen at UCSC, and stars Charles Pasternak, V Craig Heidenreich and Richard Ziman—is the second segment of Shakespeare’s “Making of a King” trilogy.

Mark Bryan’s paintings address the (sometimes ugly) state of the union

In Mark Bryan's oil painting, “Ship of State,” a massive vessel reminiscent of the Titanic, but with The U.S. Capitol building for a super structure, angles downward, slipping into a calm sea strewn with icebergs. Amidst the flailing arms of the passengers struggling to stay afloat, two lifeboats occupied by self-satisfied men in top hats, with bags of money, have their henchmen row them away from the scene.

Big, bold and drenched in fun, ‘Anything Goes’ sets sail at Cabrillo Stage

Part Two of Cabrillo Stage’s triple summer threat promises to be a show-stopping voyage. The creative ship that is “Anything Goes” opens this week as part of Cabrillo’s plan to take a bite out of the Big Apple this season—“A Chorus Line” opened recently to rave reviews; “Escaping Queens,” written by local Joe Ortiz, opens in August.