BRIEFLY IN ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

Film Society presents ‘Dante’s Inferno’ premiere

The Laguna Beach Film Society will present a West Coast premiere of “Dante’s Inferno,” the new film from Sean Meredith and Sandow Birk, at 7 p.m., March 15, at the South Coast Cinema.

A film society member reception will be at the Wells Fargo Community Room at 6 p.m., with a coffee, dessert and wine film discussion to follow, open to the public. Both Meredith and Birk will be attendance.

Tickets are $15 at the door or free to film society members. For more information, call (949) 494-5872, ext. 201, visit www.lagunaart.org, or e-mail lagunafilmsociety@hotmail.com.

New show at Laguna Coffee Co.

A collection of watercolor mono prints and pastels on rag paper by Joanne Wolfe-Kaplan is now on view at the gallery at The Laguna Coffee Co., 1050 South Coast Highway.

Local artist Wolfe-Kaplan was born in Los Angeles and studied art at L’ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris as well as at the Laguna Art Institute (now the Laguna College of Art & Design) and UCLA.

Her one-woman showing of abstract figurative works will run through March 22. There will be a wine and cheese opening tomorrow from 2 to 5 p.m. at the gallery.

For more information, call (949) 280-4695.

Last chance for Saturday clay workshop at festival

The Festival of Arts, 650 Laguna Canyon Road, will offer the second in a series of ceramics workshops from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow.

The workshop will be led by 32-year festival exhibitor Walter Reiss, who stretches and distorts clay, resulting in highly manipulated objects and forms.

During the “Clay and Play” workshop, Reiss will present various hand-building ceramic techniques suitable for students of any level.

The ceramic workshop is $50 plus materials; for reservations, call (949) 494-1145, ext. 206.

Last call for women artists

Laguna Beach women artists wishing to exhibit their art at the Woman’s Club of Laguna Beach 6th Annual Art Show, Sale and Auction are asked to call Nadine Nordstrom at (949) 499-0233 or e-mail nadinenordstrom@cox.net before March 12.

Exhibit space is free but limited; exhibiting artists will be asked to donate one piece for the art auction, valued at $50 or more, with the proceeds going toward the renovation of the Woman’s Club.

All types of arts and crafts are eligible, including jewelry, ceramics, paintings, collages, basketry, drawings, photographs, and tapestry.

Laguna College offers public workshops

Laguna College of Art & Design is offering a variety of workshops to the public.

All classes take place at the campus at 2222 Laguna Canyon Road. Pre-registration is not necessary. All classes are drop-in, on a space-available basis.

For additional information on specific classes, please contact the instructor directly at the e-mail address listed below.

Earl joins Festival Foundation

Longtime Laguna Beach resident Bob Earl has been appointed to the board of the Festival of Arts Foundation for a five-year term. He joins Scott Moore, president, John Campbell, vice-president/secretary, John Rayment, treasurer, and David Young.

“Bob is a perfect fit for the Festival of Arts Foundation,” said Moore. “His background in investments, coupled with his hands on involvement with Laguna Beach High School’s Scholarship Foundation are just two of his talents. Being a member of the Festival of Arts Scholarship Committee is just icing on the cake. We are fortunate to have him on board.”

Earl has a sound record of community service including serving many years on the Festival of Arts Scholarship committee; a director and past president of SchoolPower Endowment Foundation; co-chair of the Laguna Beach Unified School District Technology Committee; and a project leader for Laguna Beach Unified School District Board of Trustees.

When his daughter Annalee attended Laguna Beach High School from 1997 to 2001, he was chairman of the School Community Advisory Council and member of the PTA and High School Technology Committee.

In addition, Earl has a professional background in investments and business. Currently he divides his time between managing his personal portfolio and offering investment opportunities as a real estate agent. He founded Laguna Funding, which through Western Gateway Capital invests private money in real estate trust deeds in Southern California.

Earl holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. His wife of 18 years, Marge, is on the Festival of Arts scholarship committee.

The Festival of Arts Foundation was established with a $2.5 million grant from the Festival of Arts in 1989. Earnings were earmarked for the funding of art grants and scholarships to be awarded in Laguna Beach.

Colin Campbell Cooper lecture March 18

Deborah Solon will speak on the work of impressionist Colin Campbell Cooper, whose work is featured at a new exhibition at Laguna Art Museum, at 1 p.m. March 18 at the museum.

Solon co-curated the exhibition with William Gerdts; she will speak on the work Cooper completed while in California.

For more information, visit www.lagunaartmuseum.org

‘Anne of Green Gables’ comes to Playhouse

The Laguna Playhouse Youth Theatre will present “Anne of Green Gables” from May 11 to 20.

The final production of the youth troupe’s season is adapted by R.N. Sandberg from the novel by L.M. Montgomery. The production is directed by Kelly Herman.

“Anne of Green Gables” tells the story of a freckle-faced, red-haired orphan and her adoptive family in Nova Scotia.

Tickets are $20 for adults, and $16 for children. For more information, call (949) 497-2787 or visit www.lagunaplayhouse.com

Student exhibition begins April 1 at college

“The Best of the Best,” an annual juried exhibition of original artwork by Laguna College of Art & Design students, will show at the college, 2222 Laguna Canyon Road, from April 1 to May 7.

An opening reception for the free exhibition will be held in conjunction with First Thursday’s Art Walk from 6 to 8 p.m. April 5 in the college gallery; free parking is available throughout the show’s run.

For more information, call (949) 376-6000.

Van Cliburn piano finalist in Laguna Beach Live! concert April 14

Laguna Beach Live! will present pianist Davide Cabassi in concert at 8 p.m. April 14 at the Laguna Beach Artists’ Theatre, 625 Park Ave.

Cabassi made his debut at the age of 13 with the RAI Symphony Orchestra in Milan. At the 2005 Van Cliburn competition, he was one of the top prizewinners and received fourth place in the overall competition.

Cabassi will perform works by Bach, Beethoven, Debussy, De Falla and Ravel. Concert ticket are $25 for center orchestra; $20 for rear and far sides, and $10 for full-time students and are available online at www.lagunabeachlive.org or through the Laguna Playhouse at (949) 497-2787.