BEST BETS Thursday 12/7

THURSDAY

8pm & 9:30 pm

Jazz

No grinches allowed at the Jazz Bakery, where the sets by Cyrus Chestnut and his trio will include songs from his latest album, the pianist’s take on the classic work by Vince Guaraldi, “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” See Review, Page 41.

The Cyrus Chestnut Trio, the Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., Culver City, today-Sunday at 8 and 9:30 p.m. $22. (310) 271-9039.

7:15pm

Movies

The American Cinematheque and Women in Film present the third annual Women in Shorts, a program of short films that have female protagonists and female issues. Titles include “Lucy’s Dream,” directed by Relah Eckstein, a fantasy about a dog who dreams she’s a woman who’s in love with her master who fantasizes she’s a drummer. Louis Pepe’s “The Dictionary Artist” follows a professional illustrator trying to achieve artistic satisfaction in the workplace. “Invisible,” directed by Mollie Jones, is about a disappearing woman. In “Survivors,” director Sheila Sofian creates an animated piece dealing with spousal abuse. A “post-Catholic” Irish woman deals with the possibilities of an unplanned pregnancy in Orla Walsh’s “Blessed Fruit.” Deborah Baxtrom turns the tables on how older women are viewed as fragile, sexless victims in “Ethel’s Sofa.” A discussion with some of the filmmakers follows.

* American Cinematheque Presents Women in Shorts, Lloyd E. Rigler Theatre at the Egyptian, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Tonight, 7:15 p.m. $5 to $7. (323) 466-FILM.

8pm

Comedy

If a talk show isn’t on TV, but it has a prime-time special, does it make a sound? J.Keith van Straaten tests this theory when his late-night, Acme Theater-based “J.Keith van Straaten Show,” a live talk show in a theater, holds a prime-time holiday special with guests Dan Castellaneta (the voice of Homer Simpson), comic Patton Oswalt and musical guests Lisa Loeb and the Duo-Tones. The show benefits the Coalition for Clean Air.

* “The J.Keith van Straaten Show Prime-time Holiday Special,” 8 p.m. 135 N. La Brea Ave., Hollywood. $35 (or two for $50). (310) 285-4686.

8:30pm

Performance Art

Performance artist Keith Antar Mason presents “In My Living Condition,” his evolving solo work that began as a response to the Rodney King beating and subsequent trials and civil unrest, examining the condition of black men in the United States.

* “In My Living Condition,” Highways, 1651 18th St., Santa Monica, today-Saturday, 8:30 p.m. $12. (310) 315-1459.

*

FREEBIE

* Filmmaker Rob Cohen will screen and discuss his 1993 film “Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story,” at Chapman University, Argyros Forum, Room 208, 1 University Drive, Orange. 7 p.m. (714) 997-6765.