JCCSF Welcomes Scholars, Athletes, Musicians, Chefs and More for 2015-16 Arts & Ideas Lineup
By: BWW News Desk Jul. 01, 2015
The Jewish Community Center of San Francisco (JCCSF) Chief Executive Officer Marci Glazer announced the outstanding thinkers, writers and entertainers that will comprise the diverse lineup for the 2015-16 Arts & Ideas season.
"We are thrilled to host a variety of trailblazers, tastemakers and thought leaders as they engage with the communities we serve," says Glazer. "JCCSF is dedicated to providing the Bay Area with hundreds of inspiring educational, recreational, social and wellness programs for all ages, and the 2015/16 Arts & Ideas lineup is a reflection of these diverse offerings."
The lineup includes world-class scholars, authors, athletes, musicians and scientists, as well as performances in music, dance, comedy and family entertainment. JCCSF is proud to welcome an array of thought leaders including author Brené Brown (September 17), creator or the popular blog "Brainpickings" Maria Popova (October 15) and feminist icon Gloria Steinem (November 10). The season features musical guests, including a performances by Jeff Daniels and the Ben Daniels Band (November 6) and singer and songwriter Storm Large (November 20), as well as conversations with Five-time Grammy Award-nominated Sara Bareilles (October 14) and Portlandia actress and Sleater-Kinney guitarist Carrie Brownstein (November 4).
Legends of stage and screen include Emmy-nominated filmmaker Tiffany Shlain (September 18), independent film director and screenwriter Todd Haynes (September 24), playwright and screenwriter Suzan-Lori Parks (September 29) and 2015 Tony-award winner Alison Bechdel (October 21). World-class celebrity chefs and interactive tasting events include Israeli-American chef Michael Solomonov (October 25), The Essential Talk-and-Tasting Guide to Becoming a Whiskey Know-It-All (October 28), ambassador for Italian culinary traditions Lidia Bastianich (November 5) and international cooking celebrity Nigella Lawson (November 16).
Single tickets go on sale Monday, August 17. For subscriptions, tickets and more information visit www.jccsf.org or call 415.292.1233.
Felicia Day: You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)
Thursday, August 20, 2015 at 7 p.m. | Tickets $27 / $67
Compulsive gamer, hoagie specialist and former lonely homeschooled girl Felicia Day has achieved extraordinary success on her own "weird" terms. A tireless entertainment mogul, actress (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Eureka, Supernatural) and "queen of the geeks," she brings together fans of gaming and geek culture with a strong message: embracing individuality fuels creation, community and innovation on the Internet and beyond. She appears in conversation to celebrate the release of her memoir, You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost).
Dan Ariely: Irrationally Yours: On Missing Socks, Pickup Lines and Other Existential Puzzles
Thursday, September 10, 2015 at 8 p.m. | Tickets $27 / $37
Dan Ariely is an Israeli-born behavioral economist and bestselling author (Predictably Irrational and The Honest Truth about Dishonesty) whose scientific experiments on the human impulse to bend the truth are conducted with the same jovial sense of mischief that John Oliver brings to the news. Share an evening of insight and laughter with Dan as he brings the best of his Wall Street Journal advice column "Ask Ariely" to life, helping us reflect on how to gain new perspectives on the inevitable problems of daily life.
Brene Brown: Rising Strong
Thursday, September 17, 2015 at 7 pm | Tickets: $47 / $67
For fans of Daring Greatly and The Gifts of Imperfection comes the latest groundbreaking research of thought leader and research professor Brené Brown, Ph.D. In Rising Strong, Brown tells us how to get back up after failure and teaches us how owning our stories of disappointment and heartbreak give us the power to write a daring new ending.
Tiffany Shlain: The Making of a Mensch
With Michael Krasny
Friday, September 18, 2015 at 7 p.m. | Tickets: $27 / $37
Emmy-nominated filmmaker Tiffany Shlain's films include Connected: An Autoblogography about Love, Death & Technology and The Tribe: An unorthodox, unauthorized history of the Jewish people & the Barbie doll....in about 18 minutes. Her latest work, The Making of a Mensch, employs the great Jewish teachings of Mussar. Join us for conversation and film clips.
SF Comedy Competition
Saturday, September 19, 2015 at 8 p.m. | Tickets: $27 / $37
Catch some great comedic talent on the way up! Hundreds apply, but only a few dozen wisecrack their way into this prestigious annual competition, which returns to Kanbar Hall for the sixth year in a row. Comedy Competition alums who've gone on to become household names include W. Kamau Bell, Louis C.K., Dana Carvey, Ellen DeGeneres, Patton Oswalt and Robin Williams.
Storytelling Secrets of the New Masters of Radio
With Roman Mars, Jessica Abel and Special Guests
Monday, September 21, 2015 at 7 p.m. | Tickets: $27 / $37
Watch radio being created in front of your eyes and go behind the scenes of some of today's most popular narrative radio shows and podcasts with their creators and producers. Noted graphic novelist Jessica Abel tells their story in her new book Out on the Wire, which offers an unexpected window into this new kind of storytelling.
With Noah Cowan, Executive Director of the San Francisco Film Society
Thursday, September 24, 2015 at 7 p.m. | Tickets: $37 / $47
Todd Haynes (Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, The Velvet Goldmine, Safe, Far From Heaven, I'm Not There) is known for making provocative films that subvert narrative structure and resound with transgressive, complex eroticism. His latest film, Carol, stars Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara as two women who fall in love in early 1950s New York, and garnered Mara a best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Suzan-Lori Parks with Carey Perloff, A.C.T. Artistic Director
Tuesday, September 29, 2015 at 7 p.m. | Tickets: $27 / $37
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and MacArthur genius Suzan-Lori Parks (Topdog/Underdog) is one of the most exciting and thought-provoking playwrights in American drama today. She adapted Zora Neale Hurston's classic novel Their Eyes Were Watching God for television, and her adaptation of the classic opera Porgy and Bess won a Tony for best musical revival in 2012. Her newest play, Father Comes Home From The Wars (Parts 1, 2, & 3) is an epic set during the Civil War.
U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera
Thursday, October 1, 2015 at 7 p.m. | Tickets $27 / $37
United State Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Hererra, the first Mexican American to hold the position, learned to love poetry by singing about the Mexican Revolution with his mother, a migrant farmworker in California. The first U.S. laureate whose work emerges from the oral tradition, Hererra takes the post as the country is debating immigration, a recurring subject of his work.
Niall Ferguson
Kissinger
Wednesday, October 7, 2015 at 7 p.m. | Tickets: $47 / $67
No American statesman has been as revered and reviled as Henry Kissinger. Once hailed as "Super-K" - the "indispensable man" whose advice was sought by every president from Kennedy to Obama - he was also hounded by conspiracy theorists, who scoured his every utterance for evidence of Machiavellian malfeasance. Join economic historian and Harvard professor Niall Ferguson, author of Kissinger: Volume I: The Idealist, 1923-1968, for a discussion of Kissinger's formative years, political philosophy and the Cold War era.
Saturday, October 14, 2015 at 7 p.m. | Tickets: $27 / $57
Five-time Grammy Award-nominated singer, songwriter and musician Sara Bareilles has riveted millions of fans around the world with her warmly intimate voice, naturally melodic songs about heartache and resilience, and spirited, anything-goes live performances. Her new memoir, Sounds Like Me, pulls back the curtain on her journey as a songwriter, sharing her artistic process and revealing how she maintains the balance between making art for herself and commercial music for her listeners. And she'll perform a couple of songs!
Maria Popova: Brainpickings
In conversation with Alexis Madrigal, Fusion Silicon Valley Bureau Chief
Thursday, October 15, 2015 at 7 p.m. | Tickets: $27 / $37
Maria Popova's wildly popular blog, "Brainpickings" has fans like William Gibson, Drew Carey, Mia Farrow and Biz Stone. A recent sampling includes Sylvia Bornstein on Pablo Neruda, and Mark Rothko on beauty, friendship and art.
The Salon presents Column McCann
Monday, October 19 at 4 p.m. | Tickets: $27 / $37
The JCCSF launches The Salon, showcasing today's best literary writers, with Colum McCann, the National Book Award winning author of Let The Great World Spin and TransAtlantic. He will read from Thirteen Ways of Looking, his latest collection of short fiction. Tickets are very limited for this intimate event which includes culinary delights from San Francisco's finest purveyors.
Adventures with Bumblebees with Dave Goulson
Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at 7 p.m. | Tickets: $27 / $37
Award-winning conservationist and founder of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Dave Goulson (A Sting in the Tale, A Buzz in the Meadow) shares his passion for bees and explains why we should care about the decline in the bee population.
Fun Home's Alison Bechdel
Wednesday, October 21, 2015 at 7 p.m. | Tickets: $27 / $37
Last year, Alison Bechdel, the country's premier graphic memoirist, became the second cartoonist in history to win a MacArthur "Genius" grant. Alison Bechdel is author of cartoon strip Dykes to Watch Out For and two graphic memoirs, Fun Home and Are You My Mother?, that turned her family history - she liked girls, her mother showed little affection, her closeted father killed himself - into multidimensional art.
San Francisco Contemporary Music Players Presents Barrière & Saariaho
Saturday, October 24, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. | Tickets: $25 / $35
The San Francisco Contemporary Music Players perform works for solo instruments and electronics, by celebrated composers (and spouses) Jean-Baptiste Barrière and Kaija Saariaho. Featured works include Saariaho's mesmerizing Six Japanese Gardens (1994) composed in memory of Toru Takemitsu, and the riveting Violance (2003) for recitant, violin, electronics and video, by Barrière. The composers will be present at the concert.
Michael Solomonov's Modern Israeli Cuisine
With Michael Bauer, San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic and editor at large
Tuesday, October 25, 2015 at 5 p.m. | Tickets: $27
Israeli-American chef Michael Solomonov is the torchbearer of modern Israeli cuisine. Hear how his unexpected path - including the death of his brother and a struggle with addiction - ultimately led to culinary fame, and learn the secret behind (and get a taste of) his world-renowned hummus.
Diana Nyad
Find a Way: One Wild and Previous Life
Monday, October 26, 2015 at 12 p.m. | Tickets: $27 / $37
After four failed attempts, Diana Nyad emerged onto the shores of Key West, Florida, after completing a 110-mile, fifty-three-hour, record-breaking swim through shark-infested waters from Cuba. Why, at age sixty-four, was she able to achieve what she could not as a young Olympian? She shares her unforgettable journey - physical, spiritual, emotional, psychological -a triumphant tale about facing fears, following a passion, and living life with no regrets. A sports broadcaster filing for NPR, Fox Sports, ABC's Wide World of Sports, and the New York Times, Nyad is one of our most compelling storytellers.
Sherry Turkle: Reclaiming Conversation
Monday, October 26, 2015 at 7 p.m. | Tickets: $27 / $57
MIT technology and society specialist psychologist Sherry Turkle (Alone Together) has been called the Margaret Mead of Digital Culture and our techno-Freud. In her latest book, Reclaiming Conversation, she discusses the power of conversation, and how reclaiming it in the digital age will help us regain lost ground.
The Essential Talk-and-Tasting Guide to Becoming a Whiskey Know-It-All
With Richard Betts, Crystal English Sacca and Wendy MacNaughton
Wednesday, October 28, 2015 at 7 p.m. | Tickets: $47
Master Sommelier Richard Betts, Art Director Crystal English Sacca and local illustrator Wendy MacNaughton have joined forces to create a clever distillation of America's favorite libation, The Essential Scratch-and-Sniff Guide to Becoming a Whiskey Know-It-All. They'll boil down years of know-how and simplify whiskey mysteries in this fun-filled talk and tasting, with live on-stage illustrations, as they urge you to, "know your booze before you choose."
The Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin
With Dan Ephron and Nancy Updike
Thursday, October 29, 2015 at 7 p.m. | Tickets: $27 / $37
The assassination of Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin twenty years ago remains the most consequential event in the country's recent history, derailing a promising but fragile Middle East peace process. Dan Ephron, author of the forthcoming Killing A King, and Nancy Updike, producer of This American Life, take us on a multimedia journey of the assassination, the trial of Jewish fanatic Yigal Amir and the tragedy's lasting reverberations.
Wendell Pierce: Reviving New Orleans
Friday, October 30, 2015 at 7 p.m. | Tickets $27 / $37
Tony Award-winning actor and producer Wendell Pierce had leading roles in the HBO series The Wire and Treme and has appeared in feature films including Selma, Ray and Waiting to Exhale. Since Hurricane Katrina, Pierce has been helping to rebuild the flood-ravaged Pontchartrain Park neighborhood in his native New Orleans. His new memoir The Wind in the Reeds: A Storm, A Play, and the City That Would Not Be Broken, reminds us of the collaborative potential art has to help heal ourselves, our families and our communities.
Simon Winchester: The Pacific
Tuesday, November 3, 2015 at 7 p.m. | Tickets: $27 / $37
In his latest book, Pacific, Simon Winchester (The Professor and the Madman, The Men Who United the States, A Crack in the Edge of the World) takes us from the Bering Strait to Cape Horn, from the Yangtze River to the Panama Canal, with stops on the many small islands and archipelagos that lie in the middle of this vast expanse of water. Winchester's research led him to live with aboriginals in northern Queensland, do jail time in Tierra del Fuego, and spend six months walking across South Korea. Experience the Pacific as you've never known it before.
Carrie Brownstein
With Dave Eggers
Wednesday, November 4, 2015 at 8 p.m. | Tickets: $27 / $37
Portlandia and Transparent actress and Sleater-Kinney guitarist Carrie Brownstein discusses her life in music, from ardent fan to her days as a pioneering guitarist and luminary in the underground feminist punk-rock movement that would define music and pop culture.
Lidia Bastianich
Everything You Need to Know to Be a Great Italian Cook
Thursday, November 5, 2015 at 7 p.m. | Tickets: $57 / $67
Lidia Bastianich, best-selling cookbook author and ambassador for Italian culinary traditions in America, discusses her new book, Lidia's Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine. She reveals the secrets behind classics like Risotto alla Milanese as well as her always-satisfying original recipes.
Jeff Daniels and the Ben Daniels Band
Friday, November 6, 2015 at 8 p.m. | Tickets: $27 / $37
Emmy winner Jeff Daniels is a beloved actor and playwright, but also a singer-songwriter and musician. For this special concert, he is joined by his son Ben's accomplished band for an unforgettable evening of storytelling and music that spans Americana, blues, jazz and rock.
Tuesday, November 10, 2015 at 7 p.m. | Tickets: $47 / $57
Feminist icon and Ms. Magazine co-founder Gloria Steinem discusses her first book in over 20 years, My Life on the Road, a candid account of how unexpected people and encounters led her to transformative ideas.
The Consulate General of Sweden presents in partnership with the JCCSF
Göran Rosenberg: A Brief Stop on the Road to Auschwitz
Wednesday, November 11, 2015 at 7 p.m. | Tickets: Free. Reservation required
Author Göran Rosenberg, one of Sweden's best-known journalists and writers, discusses his new memoir A Brief Stop on the Road from Auschwitz, in which he tells the story of his father, who survived Nazi Germany and then struggled to rebuild his shattered life. The book, recently translated into English, is a winner of the prestigious August Prize.
Monday, November 16, 2015 at 7 p.m. | Tickets: $27 / $67
Food enthusiast, television personality and journalist Nigella Lawson (Nigellisima, How to Be a Domestic Goddess) is an international cooking celebrity. Her new cookbook Simply Nigella: Food to Nourish Body & Soul offers nourishing, easy-to-prepare recipes.
Dark Matter and Dinosaurs
Tuesday, November 17, 2015 at 7 p.m. | Tickets: $27 / $37
Harvard professor Lisa Randall (Warped Passages, Knocking on Heaven's Door) is among our most influential theoretical physicists. Her new book, Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs, explores the consequences of the comet responsible for the dinosaurs' extinction, speculates about other possible missing elements and illustrates the importance of preserving the elements on Earth that are vital to our existence.
Friday, November 20, 2015 at 8 p.m. | Tickets: $27 / $37
Mix two parts Adele and one part Bette Midler with a splash of George Carlin and you get Storm Large, the six-foot tattooed diva who fronts for Pink Martini. She takes the stage with her own band to perform Broadway tearjerkers, American Songbook classics and rock goddess anthems.
LEVYdance
ROMP
Friday, December 4, 2015 at 8 p.m., Saturday, December 5, 2015 at 5 p.m. & 8 p.m. | Tickets $37
An immersive experience that raises the stakes for live performance, ROMP was named one of the "Top Ten Moments in Dance" by the San Francisco Chronicle. This playful adventure seats dancers and audience members together, uniting the two. LEVYdance's signature partnering and dynamic physicality are witnessed at close range, amplifying the intimate connections inherent in Levy's work.
Advanced Style
with Ari Seth Cohen
Wednesday, December 9, 2015 at 5 p.m. Advanced | Tickets: $27 / $37
5:30 p.m. Advanced Style film screening; 7 p.m. Conversation
Old is the new young. Witness the river of beauty and fashion ad campaigns featuring older women: Charlotte Rampling (69), Helen Mirren (69), Diane Keaton (69) and Joan Didion (80). Filmmaker, street style photographer and blogger Ari Seth Cohen (Advanced Style) discusses why older women continue to inspire him with their style, freedom and poise. Appearing with Ari will be a fabulous fashionista of a certain age.
Mark Cantor's Giants of Jazz on Film: Shouting the Blues
Saturday, January 30, 2016 at 8 p.m. | Tickets $27
Blues is a genre unto itself, as well as the foundation of much of America's popular music. Join us as we celebrate the blues in all of its forms, with an emphasis on jazz performances in a blues mode. Featured artists include Son House; Brownie McGhee; B.B. King; Art Blakey; Louis Jordan; Mary Lou Williams; T-Bone Walker; Joe Williams; Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, and others.
Circus Bella
Sunday, January 31, 2016 at 11 a.m. & 2 p.m. | Tickets $17
Don't miss this full-force, non-stop kaleidoscope of thrilling feats of balance and strength, elegant demonstrations of grace and poise, outrageous humor and slapstick antics. The music is originally composed and directed by the highly-acclaimed Rob Reich.
Frances E. Jensen, M.D.
The Teenage Brain
Wednesday, February 10, 2016 at 7 p.m. | Tickets: $27 / $37
The latest neuroscience reveals that teenagers are not an alien species - just a misunderstood one. Renowned neurologist Dr. Frances E. Jensen offers a fascinating glimpse into the adolescent brain, providing remarkable insights that translate into practical advice both for parents and teens.
Mark Cantor's Giants of Jazz on Film: When Swing Was King
Saturday, March 5, 2016 at 8 p.m. | Tickets: $27
In the 1930s, big bands and swing reigned supreme. We invite you to revisit the sounds of the big bands, both classic and modern, with the music of Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Stan Kenton and more!
Monday, March 14, 2016 at 7 p.m. | Tickets: $27 / $37
Robert D. Putnam (Bowling Alone, American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us) is the pre-eminent social scientist of our time. . He has consulted for numerous heads of state - including the last three American presidents - and hundreds of grassroots leaders and activists around the world. His latest book, Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis, offers a groundbreaking examination of why fewer Americans today have the opportunity for upward mobility.
Monday, March 21, 2016 at 7 p.m. | Tickets: $27 / $47
Dan Savage's graphic, pragmatic and witty advice changed the cultural conversation about monogamy, gay rights, religion and politics. He is an author, sex-advice columnist, podcaster, pundit and public speaker. "Savage Love," Dan's sex-advice column, first appeared in the Stranger, Seattle's alternative weekly in 1991, and is now syndicated to more than 50 papers. Savage Lovecast is one of iTunes top 50 podcasts. In 2010, Dan and his husband Terry Miller founded the Emmy award-winning It Gets Better Project, which has gathered more than 50,000 videos from people around the world offering hope to LBGT kids. A regular contributor toThis American Life who was also a frequent guest on The Colbert Report, Dan takes the stage for a conversation and Q&A about sex, love and relationships.
BANDALOOP
Tuesday, March 29, 2016 at 7 p.m. | Tickets: $27 / $37
A pioneer in vertical performance, BANDALOOP has turned the dance floor on its side. The company has mesmerized crowds with its powerful physicality and dynamic choreography, performed on skyscrapers, bridges, billboards, cliffs and historical sites. Enjoy an aerial performance in the JCCSF gymnasium, followed by a demonstration, short film and conversation in Kanbar Hall.
USF Social Justice Lecture with Chen Alon
Sunday, April 10, 2016 at 7 p.m. | Tickets: $17
Dr. Chen Alon - actor, facilitator, theater director and teacher - has been at the forefront of restorative justice programs in Israel and Palestine. A co-founder of Combatants for Peace, he served in the Israeli military for several years before refusing to serve in the occupied Palestinian Territories, resulting in prison time.
A Celebration of Animal Reproduction
With Jules Howard
Thursday, April 21, 2016 at 7 p.m. | Tickets: $27 / $37
Dinosaur misogyny, female octopi capable of killing males during intercourse, a homosexual flamingo couple, and promiscuous pandas. Take a journey of discovery through the spectacular intricacies of reproduction in the animal kingdom with zoologist and BBC broadcaster Jules Howard.
Mark Cantor's Giants of Jazz on Film: The Great American Songbook
Saturday, April 30, 2016 at 8 p.m. | Tickets: $27
Join us for a celebration of jazz standards by the "Big Five": George and Ira Gershwin, Rodgers and Hart, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and Jerome Kern. See filmed performances from Artie Shaw, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Sarah Vaughan and others.
The JCCSF has been serving the Bay Area since 1877 with programs that help individuals and the community to flourish. A second home for San Franciscans of all backgrounds and beliefs, the JCCSF welcomes more than 5,000 guests each day to world-class cultural events, a state-of-the-art fitness center, outstanding preschools and after-school enrichment, and hundreds of inspiring educational, recreational, social and wellness programs for all ages. The JCCSF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose programs are made possible through the generous support of the community. The JCCSF is located at 3200 California Street. Tickets for all Arts & Ideas events are available at www.jccsf.org or calling 415.292.1233.
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