This quote is in honor of the legend, the legacy and the inspiration of John Lewis. I know it may be easier said than done, Tomatoes, but it is especially poignant since we lost him during these unprecedented times. The organization, “Tutor Together” will provide you with hope and inspiration.  The Valley Cultural Foundation is bringing positivity, love, events, and music with their “Drive-Up Movies.” Feel like Zooming with Odysseus? The Getty Center can make that happen. You can get your Theatre fix from home with the Road Theatre’s Summer Playwrights Festival. You’ll love this week’s podcast on when celebrity activism goes bad.  And check out The Three Tomatoes Book Club. Remain hopeful and safe, Tomatoes.

July 30 – August 16   Summer Playwrights Theatre Festival 11

Thank goodness! The Road Theatre Company is once again bringing you, “The Summer Playwrights Festival 11” by streaming it directly through Facebook this year, Tomatoes! Hallelujah! As The Road Theatre Company embraces change during the Covid crisis with ingenuity, innovation, reinvention, and creativity, they have not been deterred in their important mission. This amazing company has forged ahead to present the 11^th Summer Playwrights Festival.  BRAVO!

They have selected 26 playwrights to celebrate the playwright’s unique voices over 12 days in July and August.  Among them is “Reykjavik” on July 31^st, directed by friend and fellow Tomato, the wonderfully talented Ann Hearn.  We are the lucky ones, Tomatoes, because The Road Theatre Company is bringing “SPF 11” to all your virtual devices where you can enjoy the play readings streaming live on their website, Facebook and You Tube page.  That is certainly worth a $15 donation isn’t it, Tomatoes?  The Road Theatre Company, led by founding artistic director Taylor Gilbert and artistic director Sam Anderson, is a multi-award-winning theater that has been named one of the top ten intimate theater companies in Los Angeles (LA Weekly). The festival is also the primary fundraising event for the theater, so if you attend, please give.  You will get so much in return for your donation and that good feeling that you get when you are supporting and giving to a very deserving theatre company, especially during this very trying time for theatre in general.

Listen in here.

Tutor Together

Seventeen year-old Emma Shaffer is to be commended for her ingenuity, leadership and compassion because “Tutor Together”, whose mission is to provide free, quality online tutoring to struggling students without the means or access to tutoring, is Emma’s creation. Wow! Oh Wow! Her staff & volunteers are all teenagers, Tomatoes! Amazing! Your kids or grandkids might just need their help when the school season is back online.

If you have any doubt about this young generation, this will give you such hope for the future. “Tutor Together” is especially important during this time of quarantine when many children in our communities do not have equal access to instruction from teachers.  Tutor Together strives to support and enhance their education and seeks to prevent students’ learning from being compromised due to lack of access and help them excel in their academic endeavors. Through one-on-one online tutoring sessions, Tutor Together provides free tutoring for students from Kindergarten through eighth grade. One-hour sessions are led by qualified, successful high school students through Zoom, so access to a computer, cell phone, or other technological device is necessary. They offer tutoring in a variety of Language Arts and Math subjects, and sessions can be confirmed through our simple sign up feature! What a wonderful endeavor and organization, Tomatoes. Check it out.

Thru August 30.  Drive-Up Movies

When was the last time you saw a movie for a mere $5, Tomatoes?! A long time ago I bet. Well, thanks to the Valley Cultural Foundation, the leading art organization in the San Fernando Valley, they are bringing you a little bit of an old-time summer experience at old-time prices with their “Drive Up Movies.” I get misty and nostalgic just thinking about it. 

Next up… this Sunday… “The Secret Life of Pets” with emerging artist Tina Matheiu. All the “Drive-Up Movies” will start with opening acts at 7:45pm staring Emerging Artists. There will be Food Trucks at the event to purchase from. A menu will be provided to each car as it arrives. Tomatoes can be sure they will be safe as the this in-person event will follow all the safety protocols of the Los Angeles County Health Department to provide a safe environment. A face mask must be worn at all times when outside the vehicle and a social distance line will be required and enforced at the Food Trucks and Restrooms.  So safe and fun. Hurry up, reservations are limited to 75 cars per showing so they will sell out fast at these cheap prices. 

thru Aug 16.  Zoom with Odysseus

Albeit this Zoom experience from The Getty, is unique, but it sure looks like a heck of a lot of fun for the whole family, Tomatoes.  The 5 pre-recorded episodes of Homer’s epic tale  “The Oddyssey,”offers a wild retelling of Odysseus’s journey with a whole new creative and clever twist.  Aren’t you, at least, a little bit curious, Tomatoes?

Don’t you just love Greek mythology? Hmmm…. Well, if not, you’ll like this version. The Getty Villa’s virtual theater presentation of The ODDyssey, a whimsical comedy series that is wacky, colorful and fun for all ages.   It recounts Homer’s 24 books in five webisodes, 15–20 minutes each, and is co-produced by the Getty Museum and the Troubador Theater Company. The Troubadour Theatre Company, aka the Troubies, is a free-wheeling, no holds barred, Commedia Del Arte flavored, slapstick driven Los Angeles based ensemble of actors, musicians, and comedians that has been performing for audiences throughout Southern California and beyond since 1995. Their fast-paced, laugh-filled, loose adaptations (some of the lines are still there) of classic plays, literature and film, as well as their original productions make this company a unique and exciting experience for theatergoers of any age.  It certainly might brighten your spirits, Tomatoes.