Ballet stays on its toes in ‘Nutcracker’

JOYCE RUDOLPH

Beginning its third season, Burbank’s Media City Ballet is rehearsing

its first full-length production of Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker,”

scheduled for two performances Dec. 14 at The Alex Theatre in

Glendale.

Choreographer is Natasha Middleton, artistic director for the

ballet company. John Pomeroy, lead animator of The Walt Disney Co.,

is creating backdrops.

Shows are at 2 and 7 p.m., with the second performance being a

fund-raiser for the Burbank Boys & Girls Club.

Additional performances will be at the Performing Arts Center at

Cal State Northridge. Show times are 8 p.m. Dec. 19; 2 (a benefit performance for the Girl Scouts of America) and 8 p.m. Dec. 20; and 2

p.m. Dec. 21.

The Alex Theatre is at 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale, and the

Performing Arts Center is at 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge.

Tickets range from $18 to $32. For tickets at The Alex Theatre,

call 243-2539. For tickets at the Performing Arts Center, call

677-3093. Tickets for either venue can be purchased by calling Media

City Ballet at 972-9692. For groups of 15 or more, call Go As A Group

at (626) 578-1940.

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After working for 20 years as an art director and design

consultant for others, Randall Williams has opened his own gallery,

Randall’s Art, at 2309 W. Burbank Blvd., Burbank. A grand-opening

party will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday.

Williams has a bachelor’s degree in fine art and creates in a

variety of media -- oil, pastel, acrylic, airbrush, pencil sketches

and digital manipulations. His business will offer retouching and

restoring of photographs as well as art classes for ages 10 and

older.

The Burbank resident has displayed his work at the Harvest

Festival at George Izay Park in previous years. He is a member of the

Burbank Fine Arts Federation, the Burbank Art Assn. and the Chamber

of Commerce.

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Officials have announced deadlines for entries in the sixth annual

The Method Fest independent film festival scheduled from April 2 to 9

at AMC Media City Center Theaters in Burbank. Festival organizers are

looking for story-driven films with strong acting performances.

The festival, celebrating breakout acting performances in

independent film, puts its focus on the actor, believing acting is

the core ingredient to independent film.

The competition is named after the Method school of acting, with

many of today’s top actors tracing their lineage back to great

Method actors like Robert DeNiro and Meryl Streep.

Deadlines for film submissions are Dec. 5 and Jan. 23 (late

deadline). Entry fees are $40 and $50 (late) for features; $30

(early) and $40 (late) for short films; and student entries are $25.

Screen formats accepted are 35mm, Beta SP and DigiBeta.

For entry information, call (310) 535-9230 or visit

www.methodfest.com.

* JOYCE RUDOLPH’s column appears Wednesdays. For events happening

this weekend, read her 48 Hours column Saturdays. Reach her at

637-3241.