America Ferrera in Real Women Have Curves.
APPARENTLY, the humid inferno that has been LA for the past week is due to take a chill pill in the next few days. Meaning, you can go back to actually doing cool stuff after you get off work instead of rushing home to air conditioning and Netflix and fever-dreams of Alaska. Here’s a list of interesting events, from talks to theater, happening around LA in the coming days. Check ’em out!
The Sex Myth at Pages (9/15)
In her debut book of the same name, journalist Rachel Hills lays bare the power of the Sex Myth — the cultural notion developed in the wake of the sexual revolution that sex and sexuality are the defining markers of the our experience as human beings. The Sex Myth is a fascinating look at how culture, science, and a host of other factors have all worked together to get society to this current point, and smartly asks: now that we know about the Sex Myth, what are we going to do about it and the way it impacts our lives? She’ll be in conversation with Ann Friedman, who writes a regular column on culture, politics, and gender for New York Magazine, and contributes to a number of other publications. The event is at Pages: a bookstore in Manhattan Beach, and tickets are free.
To read Lady Clever’s interview with Rachel Hills about The Sex Myth, click here.
Real Women Have Curves (9/8-10/4)
Real Women Have Curves is more than the critically-acclaimed movie that made America Ferrera a face to watch in the coming years. It’s also an amazing play that inspired the film, written by celebrated playwright Josefina López, chronicling the struggles of five full-figured women working together in an East LA sewing factory to keep it from being shut down. It tackles a number of interesting issues, like the dynamics of predominantly women-only spaces, the struggle of accepting bodies that differ from conventional standards, and life for Latinos in Los and Southern California. Real Women Have Curves is currently being performed at the Pasadena Playhouse. For tickets and showtimes, click here.
Angelyne Art Show (9/19-10/10)
If you’ve ever seen a buxom blonde bombshell driving around Hollywood in a hot-pink Corvette, chances are you’ve seen Angelyne. One of LA’s oldest celebrities/longest-running urban legends — you’re supposed to make a wish if you ever see the elusive motorist– Angelyne has inspired everything from billboards to photo spreads. The “Angelyne Art Show” will feature art inspired by this local piece of LA lore, and much of it will be for sale. Premiering at MODA Hollywood: The Museum of Digital Art on Sunset Boulevard, the show will cost $10 on opening night, but is otherwise free by appointment. For more information, check out the Facebook event page. Tip: bring a business card and be entered into a raffle to win a ride with Angelyne in her legendary whip.
Angelyne in the flesh.
MY LA (9/5-9/26)
Curated by Michael Rababy, The Hive Gallery’s first annual photography show is certainly coming out guns blazing. Twenty of LA’s best photographers are capturing strive to capture on film the quintessential LA spirit: its light, its people, its locations. Even if you’ve been living here all your life, some of these images are bound to make you rethink what you’ve seen and invite you to take a closer look next time you’re walking the streets you know and love. For more information on the event and the venue, click here.
SISTER performed by Erica Gimpel (9/20-/9/30)
“A poet-actress by day, in call Prostitute by night named Denise” is the subject of this one-woman play, starring actress Erica Gimpel, who is known for her role as Coco Hernandez in the series FAME. The play tackles issues like desperation, loneliness, and the quest for self-respect against a backdrop many of us know — Hollywood — to critical acclaim. It’s running from 9/20-/930 at the Bootleg Theater on Beverly Boulevard, and the show starts at 7:30PM. Click here for tickets.
