Ella Kruglyanskaya

The Power Station presents Grafika.

Fill October's final full weekend with art. As fall trickles into town in fits and starts, decorate your life at these galleries. And for once, Friday is the stronger night to hit the galleries, although there will be compelling work to see Saturday as well.

Ella Kruglyanskaya's Grafika
Much of Latvian-born artist Ella Kruglyanskaya's work turns an eye on the female form. In Grafika, both her large and small-scale pieces present a caricatured look at the depiction of the body in art. She plays with both bold color and simple sketching for a varied approach on the sexuality of the body, at once cartoonish and serious. See the work in its opening reception at the Power Station (3816 Commerce St.) from 6-8 p.m. Friday. More information at powerstationdallas.com.

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Patrick Michels

These are students giving President Obama a standing ovation.

Friday night, I found myself doing the Dallas Do-si-do Ditch. It's a cute little shuffle that people here do after a show with the following steps.

1. Wait for first moments of applause.
2. Jump to your feet without missing a beat.
3. Swing your partner out the aisle.
4. Promenade out the door.

I'm sure the 10s of other people doing it with me had really important places to go after a lovely, and not too long, evening at the symphony. I, on the other hand, was not in a hurry, although I certainly would've told you I was if you'd asked. I was avoiding the curtain call's inevitable standing ovation.

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Alison Rosa

Michael Keaton and Edward Norton put up their dukes in Birdman.

It's awards season and the hyped movies are starting to land in theaters. On this week's Voice Film Club podcast, we talk about Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman, starring Michael Keaton, and Alex Ross Perry's Listen Up Philip, and carve out some time to recommend Nothing Bad Can Happen and Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me. All four of those films have received high praise and some have been hit with some pretty damning criticism, including the description that Iñárritu is a "pretentious fraud," leveled by film critic Scott Tobias of The Dissolve. Amy Nicholson of the LA Weekly, along with Alan Scherstuhl and Stephanie Zacharek of the Village Voice, dive into what stirs critics use loaded words like those when reviewing a movie. Ahh, must be Oscar season.

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Justin Terveen

Kettle Art Gallery features Terveen as part of photography month.

Dallas can be a difficult city to be proud of. I'm sure that statement brings with it numerous detractors who will verbally punt me back to wherever I'm from. I grew up here, just to be clear, and even moved back after very quickly falling out of love with New York. But when people ask what there is to like about Dallas, it's a difficult question to answer. "Big city opportunity, small town feel" has become my go-to answer. Look, I'm not an impassioned advocate for much of anything. I'm a doubter, a questioner, an all-things-are-gray kind of person. But anytime I'm returning to Dallas after a trip, I anticipate seeing the Dallas skyline in the distance. It gives me the same feeling that the smell of my parent's home does, or my grandma's perfume, or the embrace of a friend.

That small swell of pride, love, or whatever it is that seems to say home, is the same feeling I get when looking at Justin Terveen's photos at Kettle Art Gallery.

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Airbnb

In February, a few of my friends wanted to hit the slopes in Aspen. We had a friend who'd recently moved to Snowmass, where snow is plentiful and pot is legal. To save a little bit of money we rented a condo from Airbnb. I was skeptical about sleeping in someone else's bed and using their dishes, but there was a wood-burning fireplace, a community hot tub, and we would be saving hundreds of dollars. Sold.

Last week, I used Airbnb for the second time. We were in Denton for the night and didn't want to worry about drinking too much to drive. For $50 we stayed in the back room of a lovely little home just minutes from the square. Sure, it's odd to invade a stranger's home, but I'm starting to buy into the sharing culture, one stay at a time. So I've rounded up some of the places I'd consider spending the night, if I were visiting Dallas.

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Can Turkyilmaz

In the center of an abandoned warehouse, carpenters put the final screws into a sandbox big enough for a giant. Near the front of the box, a woman buries a man in the sand. She's wearing a black leotard and a mask reminiscent of the reptilian birds from Labyrinth, he's wearing little more than a loin cloth and lines of beige paint. It's clear that at some point he will emerge from the sand, but first he must be buried.

Just West of the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, Cara Mia Theatre Co. collaborated with Prism Co. to fabricate an archaeological dig for the show, Teotl: The Sand Show, a movement-based piece that excavates a rivalry between two Aztec gods. The building, 500 Singleton Blvd., used to house an ironworks. Now it's owned by the group developing Trinity Groves, which loans it to artist groups for performances and events. It's been an exhibition space for Dallas Biennial 14 and the final resting place of performance artist George Quartz. Now it's filled with 20 tons of sand.

"Like other Prism Co. shows, we started with the material and said, 'Gee wouldn't sand be fun?' Which leads us to questions like, what happens if you try to drink sand or dance with it?" says Jeffrey Colangelo, Prism Co's founder and Teotl's writer and director. "Then we dug into the mythology to give ourselves something raw to work with."

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Actor. Teacher. Director. Voice Coach. Mentor. Poet. Matthew Tomlanovich wore many hats, but one that always seemed glued to his head, was friend. After battling a MRSA infection in his spinal cord for six months, Tomlanovich died Sunday.

I could give you his bio: "Over 30 years of experience working in the theatre as an actor, director, and vocal coach. He taught at several universities and conducted workshops in the United States and England. He held a BGS from Oakland University, an MFA in Acting from the California Institute of the Arts, and a Masters of Arts in Vocal Studies from the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. He taught at Southern Methodist University, Cal-Arts, The Actor Training Program at the University of Utah, University of North Texas, University of Texas at Dallas, London's East 15 Acting School and Central School of Speech and Drama, and was an Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework. He spent many years acting on local stages, and performed with The Irondale Ensemble Project, at various Off-Broadway theaters, the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, the St. Petersburg Salon (Russia), the Garden Grove Shakespeare, among others. He also had many film and television appearances under his belt. He was diagnosed with a MRSA infection in his spinal cord on April 3, 2014."

But this is not what makes a man. This is not how Matt would want to be remembered for. He would want to be remembered for his mentorship and his work for the community that he loved.

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"Criminals have more fun" could've been the subtitle of the musical, Bonnie & Clyde, currently on stage at WaterTower Theatre. History's law-breaking power couple certainly have a better time than the rest of their family in the Depression-era story. And it seems the actors playing them are having a damn good time themselves. Earlier today, the cast put out this Youtube video of them lipsyncing the apropos lyrics to the Top 40 Jessie J song "Bang Bang."

See Bonnie & Clyde through November 2. Tickets available at WaterTowerTheatre.org.

Liliana Bloch Gallery

One of Alicia Henry's Compelling 'Faces'

Liliana Bloch might run the smallest gallery in town. With just a few white walls cordoning off her art inside Brian Gibb's The Public Trust, she's proving with each exhibition she programs that in the art world, it's not size that matters.

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Dallas Arboretum

Get out there and enjoy the crisp fall air.

Monday, October 20
Autumn at the Arboretum
This week the weather will be perfect to swing by the Arboretum for its celebration of fall and all things pumpkin. As the fall foliage turns a crisp brown, the expansive gardens fill with the fun of a fall festival. Visit the Pumpkin Village, wander the grounds, and watch the colors change daily from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. at the Dallas Aboretum and Botanical Garden (8525 Garland Rd.). Admission is $15 for non-member adults and available at the gate on a first come, first served basis. More information at dallasarboretum.org.

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