From ‘Woyzeck’ to Yo-Yo Ma

UCLA Performing Arts will present 199 performances of 86 events, including its first international theater festival, as part of its UCLA Live 2002-03 season.

The mix includes spoken-word artists including NPR’s Sarah Vowell, concert appearances ranging from the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson to Brazil’s Caetano Veloso to cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and mini-festivals of silent movies, avant-garage music led by Pere Ubu’s founder David Thomas, and a lineup to be determined of a multi-day music festival curated by “The Simpsons’ ” Matt Groening.

The director of the series, David Sefton, said the theater festival is “a response to my coming into town and seeing what was missing from the bill of fare in Los Angeles, including American work. Almost half of the companies weren’t being asked to come to town. Robert Wilson’s work has hardly ever been seen in L.A. I’ve seen more of it in London than in L.A.. That seemed very odd.”

Among the seven companies presenting eight productions, visionary theater director Robert Wilson has teamed up with rock poet Tom Waits and longtime partner and collaborator Kathleen Brennan for a new musical production of George Buchner’s nightmarish fable, “Woyzeck.” Created for Denmark’s Betty Nansen Theatret, this will be the only performance of “Woyzeck” outside of New York.

Italy’s revolutionary Societas Raffaello Sanzio will mount two U.S. premiere productions, including “Genesi: From the Museum of Sleep,” a story leading from the expulsion from the Garden of Eden to Auschwitz, and “Giulio Cesare,” a reworking of Shakespeare’s text, both in exclusive engagements. Groups from Holland, Germany, France and the U.S. complete the festival.

In addition to the theater festival, the Kronos Quartet will be in residence during the season with two events currently scheduled--”Nuevo,” an exploration of Latin music, with guests, and the world premiere of “Visual Music,” a UCLA commission.

Other events include the touring program that celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company; David Thomas’ “Disastodrome!” a three-day festival of avant-garde rock artists, and “Washington Square Memoirs,” which re-creates the early ‘60s’ folk music scene in Greenwich Village.

Information: (310) 825-2101 or www.uclalive.com.