City Lights is celebrating its 60th birthday this Sunday with a party in Jack Kerouac Alley, where there will be music, flash readings and special in-store discounts. Founded in 1953, City Lights began as the nation’s first all-paperback bookstore with an all-access inclusionary vision. What once served as a space for Beat literature forerunners like Ginsberg, Kerouac, Gregory Corso and William S. Burroughs to freely express their radical ideas, City Lights continues to function as “a literary meeting place” — as its masthead still proclaims.

Although City Lights remains at its original location in the heart of North Beach, the bookstore’s initial modest-sized storefront has expanded to now occupy three floors of the entire building. It carries a mix of paperback books and hardcovers from both major and independent publishers, including City Lights’ own publishing house, which is two years younger than its bookstore counterpart.

City Lights Executive Director Elaine Katzenberger explained the need for the bookstore’s corporate side to balance its “funky independent side,” which has dwindled comparatively since the ’80s. She asserted that “changes in the book industry sort of mean that if you’re going to survive, you have to actually learn how to run a business too. So we’ve all had to learn that.”

Still, Katzenberger assured, “I would say in terms of the ethos and the aesthetics and the spirit of the place — I feel like that remains pretty much untouched.” Katzenberger explained that the core of City Lights adheres largely to founder Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s principle and vision, which “really had to do with wanting to create a meeting place where people could come and encounter books and magazines and each other in a … populist environment.”

City Lights’ mission is composed, as Katzenberger referred to it, of a “two-sided coin,” with the bookstore and publishing house on either side. Katzenberger said, “The symbiosis of the two projects is part of the genius of why we exist all this time … It really has to do with those ideals about community and open access to ideas and also an open mind about what kind of ideas deserve access.”

While Ginsberg’s “Howl” is a proud symbol for City Lights, Katzenberger explains that there is more to City Lights than its Beat beginnings: “I think sometimes people think that City Lights published the Beats and stopped there, but that’s obviously not true.” The Beats were the counterculture voice of their time, but with each new decade comes a shifting counterculture. In this sense, while Beat poetry is no longer the center of City Lights, contemporary counterculture perspective remains the focal point. As Katzenberger said, “A lot of the sort of protest and resistance movements find ways (into) the books that we publish.” Current publishing endeavors revolve around antiglobalization movements, immigration reform movements and racial issues in America.

The anarchist heart of City Lights, a true literary and political landmark, gives the bookstore its rich history and continuous cultural relevance. The new decade of the beloved independent bookstore marks the persistence of its mission to represent the underrepresented, diversify voices, promote critical cultural thought and provide a crucial alternative to the ideas circulating in mass media.

Contact Denise Lee at deniselee@dailycal.org.

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Considering that “Clerks” is as old as its target audience was when it was released, it’s easy for some to not recognize the characters of Jay and Silent Bob and their type of humor. In an interview with The Daily Californian, Mewes provided a synopsis for the film, stating “C-3PO and R2-D2 discover weed and superheroes.” Though the characters have been around since 1994, Jay and Silent Bob are still comical in their own crude and ridiculous yet serious ways, making their appearances timeless and unique.

For Mewes, “Jay and Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie” represents his move from more passive roles into the production and craft of film. While Smith has been making films such as “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” and “Red State” since the release of “Clerks 2,” Mewes spent nearly a decade battling substance abuse, which he and Smith discuss publicly on their podcast “Jay and Silent Bob Get Old.” Now, nearly three years clean and married, Mewes feels more focused, and he took on a producer role in “Jay and Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie.” He stated, “Since I’ve been clean, it’s affected me in the sense that now, going to work, I don’t have to stress about getting drugs the next day … and because of that, I feel like I could focus more on making the movie and the characters.”

Mewes seems passionate about expanding his career in film, as he plans on taking more producer roles. Over the two years of production, his duties included directing voice actors and setting production schedules for animation. This more involved role seems to fit well with his nearly 20 years of experience acting in film. Now seems like the perfect time for Mewes to branch out from his character Jay. Smith has publicly stated that “Clerks 3” will be the last “Clerks” film in the franchise, and Mewes feels like there is room for only one more “Jay and Silent Bob” film before Smith and Mewes become too old for their roles. Nearing the end of this universe, Mewes wants to continue making people laugh through ridiculous characters, even if it is not under the name of Jay.

For old-school fans of Jay and Silent Bob, “Jay and Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie” seems to be shaping up as a faithful return to these classic stoners, even in its animated form. Premiering at the Warfield Theatre this Saturday, Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes will be at the showing with a full Q&A session immediately after the screening.

Contact Art Siriwatt at asiriwatt@dailycal.org. Check him out on Twitter at @artsiriwatt.

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The stereotype that gamers are all young, horny and male is fading, and even the cosplayers — people hired to dress in character costumes — at E3 represented a wider variety of gaming characters rather than only busty females. The infamous “booth babes” — scantily clad women paid to entice convention-goers to exhibits — of previous years were largely absent from E3 2013, replaced by knowledgeable men and women with a passion for the games they were presenting. Presenters didn’t resort to cheap tricks to entice people to see their games; the games spoke for themselves.

“Watch Dogs,” which was announced at last year’s E3, is about a hacker with access to a city’s computer-powered infrastructure, and it garnered so much attention that the line for the extended gameplay demonstration exceeded three hours. Contrary to the belief that gamers love violence, killing is optional in the game, and the gameplay revolves around cleverly manipulating your environment rather than on combat alone.

One line at the Nintendo Co. booth was estimated to be a four-hour wait. Nintendo’s games have never been seen as impressive graphically — mostly because Nintendo has a particularly cute aesthetic — but they were the most fun demos on the show floor by far, and they attracted a sizeable crowd to Nintendo’s booth. “The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds,” a sequel to the beloved “A Link to the Past,” even utilized the often-ignored 3D feature of Nintendo’s 3DS handheld, an exciting step for an already strong system.

The hardware improvements are integral to new gameplay features. In the case of Nintendo’s Wii U, which was released late last year, the new controller — the touch-screen GamePad — promises to expand gaming possibilities, though its launch was rough and its library skeletal. The newly announced PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, on the other hand, sport eight gigabytes of RAM, a huge step up from the half-gig of their predecessors. This allows for vastly expansive worlds far beyond anything gamers have experienced before because the new hardware can handle more complicated software. “The Witcher 3,” for example, features a world several times larger than its already extensive predecessor, allowing for boundless exploration.

Microsoft Corp. seemed to make a lot of gamers angry with its hardware, though. Its Kinect motion sensor is touted to be “always on,” raising privacy concerns, and the used game restrictions seemed invasive to many convention-goers. Still, Microsoft’s Xbox One booth was extremely crowded, and its controller tech demo would have been promising had the features been used in any of the games on display.

On top of the hardware and gaming improvements, E3 2013 was exciting enough to reinvigorate even the most disillusioned gamer’s passion for the medium. The industry has shown signs of maturing, and the promise and potential of next-gen gaming — in whatever form it takes — makes this year an especially thrilling time to be a gamer. Games deserve to be taken seriously as culturally relevant entertainment medium, and next-gen means growing up to fill that role.

Kallie Plagge is the assistant arts editor. Contact her at kplagge@dailycal.org. Check her out on Twitter at @kirbyoshi.

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— Grace Lovio

Sunday, June 23, 11:00 AM
Victoria Theatre

Big Joy
According to him, San Francisco artist James Broughton was visited as a child by an angel named Hermy, who offered him the gifts of “intuition, articulation and merriment.” In his life and in his work as a poet and poetic filmmaker, Broughton used these gifts to instill a sense of playfulness and whimsy into all that he did. “Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton” documents the life of the famed boundary-pusher, from his troubled childhood, when his mother would subtract a quarter from his allowance every time he acted effeminately, to his torrid love affairs, including a hyper-charged romance with a film student 35 years his junior. Narrated by Broughton’s poetry and diary entries and loaded with interview content and footage from his films (including “Pleasure Garden,” “The Bed” and “Erogeny”), “Big Joy” is an inclusive feature that radiates with the love, joy and art that Broughton devoted his life to sharing.

— Grace Lovio

Saturday, June 22, 4:00 PM
Castro Theatre

Pit Stop
“Pit Stop” is the latest film from director Yen Tan, following a similar vein to his previous work, “Ciao.” This weighty and thought-provoking film, which won prizes at the Nashville and Dallas film festivals earlier this year, explores the themes of isolation, being gay in hostile territory and uneasy intimacy with the unblinking eye of documentary-style cinematography and incisive writing. Two characters, both blue-collar gay Texans, navigate their complicated desires for love, family, freedom and clear identity. These struggles are expressed in lovely and unlovely scenes that examine the liminal spaces of previous marriages, broken relationships and the threshold of death. Blessed with more vision and a larger budget than the gay movies of yesteryear, “Pit Stop” carries enough weight to be mentioned in the same sentence as “Brokeback Mountain” but offers better and more tender sex scenes and an ending that will keep your heart in one piece.

— Meg Elison

Friday, June 21, 4:00 PM
Castro Theatre

Mia
The audience never meets Mia, the titular character of director Javier van de Couter’s Argentine drama, in person, but it gets to know her through a diary she left behind for her young daughter Julia. One day, Ale, a trans woman living in the Pink Village, a poverty-stricken area inhabited by mostly trans residents, finds this diary and tries to solve the mystery of Mia’s disappearance. Ale longs for the things Mia had: financial stability, a house and a family. She frequently takes trips through wealthy neighborhoods and yearns for the life she never had access to. Eventually, while trying to piece together an explanation for Mia’s disappearance, Ale is lured into Mia’s home by Julia, who seeks a stable guardian outside of her alcoholic father.

Ale is caught between wanting a “normal” life and living in the village that houses her close friends, but she is constantly under threat of police violence. While gorgeously shot and featuring a stunning performance from trans actress Camila Sosa Villada, the film seems to stick to misconceived notions of what success and family constitute and tends toward the saccharine.

— Rene Hernandez

Thursday, June 27, 11:00 AM
Castro Theatre

Interior. Leather Bar
James Franco teams up with San Francisco-based director Travis Mathews to recreate the allegedly “missing” 40 minutes from William Friedkin’s “Cruising” (1980), in which an undercover detective visits a gay S&M nightclub. The resulting film is “Interior. Leather Bar,” a strange hybrid of documentary and fiction in which it is never really clear who is acting, who is the audience or what is scripted. Franco’s friend Val Lauren agrees to take the leading part, played by Al Pacino in the original film. The film’s most powerful scene features a discussion between Franco and Lauren, during which they consider their response to the sexually explicit scenes they are filming, questioning, “Would it feel different if it were a guy and a girl?” Franco reflects on heteronormativity and societal norms in Hollywood films: “I don’t like realizing that my mind has been twisted by the way that the world has been set up around me, and what that is is straight, normative kind of behavior, and it’s fucking instilled into my brain … Every fucking love story is a dude that wants to be with a girl, and the only way they’re going to end up happy is if they walk off into the sunset together. I’m fucking sick of that shit. So if there’s a way for me to just break that up in my own mind, I’m all for it. … Sex should be a storytelling tool, but we’re so fucking scared of it. Everybody talks about sex, but don’t dare put it in a movie! Don’t show gay sex! Show people getting blown away and killed, but don’t show gay sex!”

— Meadhbh McGrath

Sunday, June 23, 9:15 PM
Castro Theatre

“Blood in the Grass”
The short film anthology “Blood in the Grass” presents four directors’ takes on the unequal status of gays in America and Israel. Stories of love and conflict are cast upon the backdrop of a society with strict (and even lethal) regulations on homosexuality. While mostly an exaggeration LGBT community in the West, these films call attention to the fact that, in many other parts of the world, this dystopia remains a reality.

In “The Naturalist,” for instance, a mysterious female agent is sent to rehabilitate a man into having normalized sexual and emotional desires. Challenging questions are posed, which many must face daily: Is love worth persecution? Is acceptance worth denying one’s true identity? And how can anyone precisely define normality?

Together, these films combine elements of science-fiction with real struggles faced by the gay world, producing a flawed but often fascinating result.

— Erik Weiner

Friday, June 28, 9:15 PM
Victoria Theatre

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Perhaps most charitably described as a two-hour Google promo punctuated by poorly constructed jokes and Owen Wilson being lovable, “The Internship” is a “turns out old dogs can learn new tricks” comedy co-written by Vaughn and director Shawn Levy. Both are Hollywood veterans; Vaughn appeared in “Anchorman,” “Dodgeball” and “Wedding Crashers,” and Levy directed the Tina Fey-Steve Carrell vehicle “Date Night” as well as the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots-inspired “Real Steel.”

Baiting the audience with its goofy premise and a sneak peek inside the vaunted Google campus in Mountain View, it would not be a stretch to say that the key reasons the film was made were the obvious on-screen chemistry between Wilson and Vaughn from “Wedding Crashers” and Google’s blessing to shoot on-site free of charge. Puffed with cliches like a sexual coming-of-age scene in a strip club and the usual Owen Wilson forbidden romance (did I mention Wilson and Vaughn co-starred in “Wedding Crashers”?), “The Internship” is an extremely decent bad movie.

Nick (Wilson) and Billy (Vaughn) are watch salesmen at the top of their game — until the game, of course, collapses as a result of people using smartphones instead of watches, resulting in their company going out of business. Nick takes up work at the mattress store run by his sister’s creepy boyfriend (one of the movie’s few bright spots, played marvelously by Will Ferrell) and Billy gets in a shouting match with his longtime girlfriend about his unfulfilled potential and missed mortgage payments. Somehow, Billy scores an interview for himself and Nick at Google, where they stumble their way into the company’s summer internship program.

Once at Google, Billy and Nick team up with cosplay-obsessed (Google it) Neha, “repressed, self-punishing Asian” stereotype Yo-Yo, smartphone-glued smart-ass Stuart and obnoxiously dorky Google intern team leader Lyle — not to mention their primary antagonist, a one-dimensional British jerk named Graham. By the end of the movie, you will hate all of these people.

Put through a number of challenges — like developing an app and playing a game of Quidditch — the interns are judged on their performance in these events as well as their “Googliness.” We’ll get to “Googliness” in a minute, but here is where we depart from the realm of analyzing the one-dimensional plot and begin to assess the absurdity of the movie writ large, particularly as it relates to being an advertisement for Google, Inc.

The successful integration of art and corporatism has a rich history. Nike in particular is quite good at this. The Spike Lee-Air Jordan commercials with Michael Jordan and Lee’s infamous “Mars Blackmon” come to mind. I still wake up at odd hours of the night shouting Blackmon’s catchphrase, “It’s gotta be the shoes!”

Nike’s collaboration with indie pop group LCD Soundsystem yielded “45:33,” an outstanding EP consisting of one 45-minute long track marketed as the perfect jogging music. While LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy later conceded the marketing was 100 percent bullshit, this album and Lee’s collaboration with Nike are representative of an artistic drive that sought to exploit the partnering brand as supplementary to their artistic vision. Not vice versa.

In “The Internship,” we get, as Julian Assange described it, the full “banality” of Google’s mantra, “Don’t be evil.” Throughout the movie, the actors practically scream the company’s PR talking points. One earnest Google employee shouts that “diversity is in (Google’s) DNA!” At another moment, one of Google’s notorious driverless cars rolls by our stunned protagonists, forcing Billy to comment to Nick that “It’s only scary because it’s new.”

There is a reason, as the Los Angeles Times reported, that Google let the filmmakers use its campus free of charge (save for veto power over any material that Google found objectionable). The message “It’s only scary because it’s new,” is perhaps better suited to Google’s own interest than to an already overcliched comedy script. And no corporate trope is better suited to a movie this bad than the cliche’s cliche: “Googliness.”

“Googliness,” as we are to understand it, is the essence of Google — the secret sauce that makes these lovable computer science dorks the new masters of the future. According to Google’s own website, “Other companies screen for intelligence and experience in potential recruits. But Google also looks for ‘Googliness’ — a mashup of passion and drive that’s hard to define but easy to spot.”

Unsurprisingly, the movie is hard put to describe Googliness; while I have not rewatched the film for fear of inducing a severe migraine, I do not recall any description of the term that did not use shots of Owen Wilson’s face or stupid metaphors. Is Googliness in the DNA-bound diversity that we heard of earlier? Is it in the pluck, tenacity and crooked nose of Owen Wilson? Possibly. Likely? Nah.

What’s more likely is that Googliness, in addition to the dork-as-crusader myth that’s at the heart of Silicon Valley, is just that — a myth. Were it not that the cult of tech has already invaded Hollywood (consider 2010’s fantastic “The Social Network” and every Pixar movie ever) this myth’s insidious presence might appear out of place. But, as we are reminded, the reality is that the dorks have invaded Hollywood, and now they’re collaborating on terrible comedy films.

If “The Internship” is an omen of a trend in filmmaking, expect to be disappointed. Crappy movies that misuse Google, Facebook or any anchors of Silicon Valley culture are just crappy movies, no matter how much “Googliness” they possess.

Contact Noah Kulwin at nkulwin@dailycal.org.

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Hailing from Perth, Australia, Tame Impala is composed of three core members: Dom Simper, Jay Watson and Kevin Parker — whose lead vocals have been tiresomely compared to John Lennon’s. The band performed in front of an enormous screen that displayed a range of psychedelic lights and images, synchronized to match the sonic waves of each song. What initially resembled a Windows ’98 screensaver became a rather elemental visual accompaniment to the sonic enticement of Tame Impala’s live show.

As the show progressed, the screen’s images evolved to look closely like renderings of the cover art of the band’s first album, Innerspeaker. At other moments, the screen displayed a single fiery spot at the center that resembles a volcanic hotspot — a fitting representation of the show’s overall tone. Tame Impala’s performance was far from stagnant; rather, it was alluringly eruptive with moments of subtle placidity — only before aural explosions.

With a neo-psychedelic noise that draws on inspirations like the Rolling Stones, Tame Impala has been widely praised for creating a fresh musical persona that makes them innovative without being simply derivative. The hour-and-a-half long set was packed with a balance of songs off of Innerspeaker and their sophomore album, Lonerism. There was nothing about Tame Impala’s show that was repetitive or lulled; they managed to maintain structure and fluidity in their performance while exuding consistently untamed energy from one song to the next, transitioning with compelling lengthy interludes that wove the songs seamlessly together to form one cohesive narrative of a set list.

Their performance was prefaced by an opening act from Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Jonathan Wilson, whose sound leans a little more toward bluesy folk. Wilson’s lead-in successfully set the tone and helped the crowd in smoky, excited anticipation for the show’s main act.

Tame Impala opened their performance with a new song called “Led Zeppelin” and moved straight into “Solitude is Bliss.” One of the show’s highlights was “Be Above It,” an understated song full of whispers, rumblings and bursts that was made all the more memorable in a live performance. The band closed with a wildly captivating performance of “Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control,” an absolute immaculate cap-off to their stimulating trip of a show.

Tame Impala’s entrancing quality was reflected in the crowd’s reception. There was moshing during the band’s performance of their popular and catchy single “Elephant.” And someone felt it appropriate to get on another’s shoulders — prompting many “this-is-not-Coachella” stares from other audience members. In fact, each song performed elicited a different response from the audience, who slow-clapped for “Apocalypse” and swayed lighters for “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards.” At some point, a bra was thrown on stage for good measure. As cheesy as they may have been, these responses managed not to obstruct but enhance the downright pleasure of the show, generated by the band’s idiosyncratic, psychedelic splendor.

Contact Denise Lee at deniselee@dailycal.org.

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Written by Charles Busch and directed by F. Allen Sawyer, “The Divine Sister” is a hilariously irreverent romp through camp and parody in a deliciously over-the-top style. The story centers around a small convent with money problems and — what else? — a dark secret. Taking on miracle healing, lost love and the inescapable silliness all musicals possess, the cast members obviously enjoy themselves in every twist and turn of this very funny plot. Drawing elements from “The Da Vinci Code” and “Agnes of God,” the play never leads you to where you think you’re going. Nothing is sacred here, and nothing is predictable.

On opening night, the audience rolled in the aisles at the unusual and disarming humor. Joe Wicht turns in a notable old-school drag performance of exaggerated femininity in a tall frame with a Harvey Fierstein voice in the role of Mother Superior. J. Conrad Frank outdoes any Joan Collins impersonator on Earth as Sister Walburga, with a German accent that could stop a Swiss watch. David Bicha triumphs as the teenage Agnes, with a doe-eyed dopiness that sets us up for the big reveal as only a talented player can do. The overall feel of the cast is a tight-knit group of very funny people who are having as much fun performing as the audience is watching.

Opening night was a delightful success. In the places where the technical aspects of the show were a little less than smooth, the cast knew how to deal with it like seasoned hams. As a bonus to the first-night crowd, the NCTC invited the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to join the audience, bringing their safe-sex missionary work and the air of real live nuns in the seats. The Sisters were the best and most festive of guests, and their numinous presence made the whole night seem magical.

“The Divine Sister” is playing at the New Conservatory Theatre Center until June 29. Tickets range between $25 and $37, but the theater offers student rush right before the show if you’re feeling adventurous. The NCTC is an excellent small venue with a mission of showcasing the city’s diversity while providing a place for emerging artists and acts of all kinds. The venue puts on family-friendly shows as well as very adult plays and entertainment. Keep its calendar in mind — it’s convenient to BART to and very affordable for a night out.

Contact Meg Elison at melison@dailycal.org.

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The exhibit essentially consists of three rooms (or, rather, “headspaces”) that each convey its own theme, message and mood. Featured in one of the rooms is a large video projection and an installation piece consisting of several TV screens, both presenting clips that document the interaction between the artist and her partner — clips presumably shot in the couple’s home. In effect, the visitor can simultaneously watch the couple embrace affectionately on one screen and moments of individual solitude on another. Presented alongside these pieces are works of poetry. Recording moments of joy, anger and silence, these video clips are at once strikingly intimate, removed, playful and thoughtful.

The middle room of the exhibit consists of a collection of black-and-white photographs arranged in a square formation on one of the walls. Shot in settings such as backyards, public transportation and sidewalks around the Bay Area, these photographs have a rough quality and edge. The potentially serene image of two youths eating ice cream is invested with a grim ambience due to its concrete backdrop and the defiant, guarded glares of the subjects. The sense of difficulty and distress exuded by the photographs is underlined by their placement in a square, making their impact even more dynamic and forceful. Despite the somber environments, however, the feeling of a strong black community nevertheless shines through these images — a community that comes together for parades, dancing and celebration. Especially captivating is the touching image of three young boys on a living room carpet, saying grace before their meal of delivery pizza, and that of a young girl, clearly in a state of agitation, standing amid a group of youths on the sidewalk.

The third room of the exhibit contains a handful of photographs displayed along its walls. The difference in atmosphere created by the photos featured in this room and those in the middle room is immediate and striking, noticeable at first simply due to the transition from black-and-whites to color photographs. These final images radiate warmth, joy and creativity. There is, among others, the photo of a young couple coming together for a lingering kiss; that of an artist immersed in work in a vibrant, colorful studio; and that of two girls smiling contagiously at the camera in a summer setting. Having these photos spread out evenly around the room rather than in a concentrated composition creates the feeling of being enveloped by their warm aura.

Although the exhibit doesn’t necessarily suffer from its absence, having simple captions providing information on the location and subject matter of the photographs would have been a gratifying addition. Given the fact that the exhibit is anchored in a specific geographic area, it would have been interesting as an observer to be able to identify more closely with this setting. Regardless, the profound nature of Kelley’s “Headspace” speaks for itself through the mediums employed — spaces filled with adversity but also spaces of community, joy, beauty and love.

Contact Corinne Platten at cplatten@dailycal.org.

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Aaron Murphy plays John, the preoccupied and demeaning professor, with Frannie Morrison as Carol, his frantic and rather helpless student. The two engage in heated dialogue throughout the play, which follows a power struggle between a university professor and his student after she accuses him of sexual assault and places his chances for tenure in jeopardy. UC Berkeley graduate Drewes leads the production as director of Mamet’s tense two-person drama.

Murphy fittingly plays the role of a pedantic and condescending patriarchal figure, while Morrison, at first appearing frantic, blooms only in the later scenes as she finally gains composure. The audience is left wondering who is in the right and who is in the wrong as they negotiate the fine line that defines what they consider to be sexual exploitation and manipulation. The play seems to dare audiences to pick a side.

Carol initially attends her professor’s office hours to ensure she will receive a passing grade in his allegedly confusing class, initially bestowing John a significant degree of the power. Morrison’s performance as a desperate student is rather unconvincing, as she pleads with John that she has done everything possible to succeed in his class yet continues to fail. John’s unsupportive and discouraging advice, though rather unprofessional, can hardly be viewed as sexual harassment. Rather than sympathizing with Carol, John rants, “Education (is only) prolonged and systematic hazing,” accepted as “a matter of right,” all while successfully maintaining his role of the self-involved patriarch by answering the incessant calls of his real estate agent. Although he strays from what we would expect from a professor, John would not typically be considered a sexual aggressor in this case, even in spite of the multiple times he consolingly touches her arm.

Scene II brings a more composed and poised Carol to her professor’s office. This time, she comes to discuss her report of his sexual offenses instead of her failing grade, ultimately leaving her with the upper hand in their exchange. Her evidence of sexual harassment rests almost entirely on conversations twisted and contorted to fit her case, leading the audience to question her accusations. Carol then moves to confront John based on her belief that he relishes the power he enjoys as a professor, a power she bitterly resents in her complaints. Carol seethes that he calls education “hazing” from what she views as his “so-protected, so-elitist seat” while treating her learning difficulties as a joke. Originally, it seems as though her grievances are rooted in her bitterness over his failure to be an effective guide and educator rather than in his sexual offenses.

As the play reaches its final scene, the audience begins to doubt John’s innocence in the alleged sex crimes, causing the audience’s sympathy to shift onto Carol. The final moment of conflict causes audiences to question all of their previous beliefs and judgments of the characters and the power dynamic between John and Carol.

Although somewhat overdramatized at times, the play definitely achieves its goal of avoiding espousing one side of the argument over the other, ensuring the audience leaves the theater feeling that no matter which side they take, they’re wrong.

Contact Sasha Chebil at schebil@dailycal.org.

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Gunderson first appeared on the Bay Area theater scene in 2011 with the premiere of her debut play, “Exit, Pursued by Bear,” presented by the Crowded Fire Theatre Company. In the space of two years, she has debuted seven plays total and is making quite a name for herself in the local arts scene. “By and By” is only one of the three new plays Gunderson will be presenting this year.

Science fiction seems rather uncommon among theatrical plays; however, Gunderson and director Mina Morita have together brought to life an extraordinary production that magically and thrillingly transcends time and space. This is done through precise and ingenuitive staging and creative technical supplements of lighting, sound and design.

The art of theatre seeks to recreate an experience unlike our very own. The theatrical experience is one meant to connect worlds and lives in an appealing and creative manner, bringing together audience members and the story being told on stage, both aesthetically and emotionally. Shotgun Players’ “By and By” is a theatrical work that does just that. It tells the story of Steven, a leading scientist in human cloning, and his teenage daughter Denise. As the play opens, Steven has just revealed to Denise that she is, in fact, a clone of his ex-wife of the same name who died years ago. After 18 years of living in seclusion, Steven has run into a bit of trouble, for he was the first scientist to successfully design the human clone experiment, and the products of his design are now becoming sick and dying off; Denise, however, has remained healthy. Distraught, Denise runs away to seek answers to the the questions she has regarding her existence.

The play is composed of four actors — each playing more than one character, with the exception of Michael Patrick Gaffney as Steven. Jennifer Le Blanc portrays both the modern-day teenage Denise as well as the ghostly embodiment of her predecessor, the wife Denise. While Le Blanc captures the role of the elder Denise wonderfully, she comes off completely unbelievable as the teenager daughter Denise.

Credit must be given to the two actors with more obscure roles — Lynne Hollander, who sublimely takes on her three roles as Denise’s manic aunt Amanda, the creepy government worker Dr. Green and the sweet receptionist of the support group for clone families; and Bari Robinson as the clone child nearing the brink of death, Marcus, and the other eerie government worker, Dr. White. Hollander and Robinson performed their roles exceptionally and believably, all while swiftly maneuvering between scenes.

“By and By” explores a world in which human cloning is relevant and the ways in which it could affect the world. It dives deep into the moral problems and issues that would arise amid such a phenomenon. It is mostly the content and plotline of the production that makes the work one so exceptional. The story told seems more appropriate for film or television — however, Shotgun Players has managed to create a whole new kind of theatrical experience that defies the limits of live theater.

Shotgun Players’ “By and By” will be running through June 23 at The Ashby Stage.

Contact Michelle Lin at mlin@dailycal.org.

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