Events have moved online during the coronavirus crisis, but it can still be as much of a challenge to keep track of this virtual reality as it was to find events pre-coronavirus. Making sure Topanga
residents have up-to-date access to resources, events and activities during this challenging time was the driving motivation behind the creation of Topanga New Times.
In this section we will feature a wide selection of classes, lectures, events and activities offered by canyon neighbors, and by artists, teachers, chefs, performers, organizations and schools throughout Los Angeles County and beyond.
Local Community Colleges Switch to Online Only Classes, moving fully online for summer and fall classes. Nearly 3000 classes will be available online at Santa Monica College. SMC is also offering counseling and support services to help students cope with the changes.
Enrollment for the Fall 2020 semester (which starts August 31) and for the Summer intersession (beginning June 22) is already underway. A press release clarifies that a limited number of courses that are not easily offered in a fully online environment may be offered via a hybrid option, if health and safety requirements permit. That could potentially include lab classes and hands on art coursework.
SMC’s main campus at 1900 Pico Blvd. and five satellite campuses also remain closed to the public until further notice.
Classes at SMC Emeritus—the college’s program for older adults—and those delivered through Community Education and the noncredit program will also take place online, wherever possible.
“Your instructors and counselors are learning new skills, software, and tools so that they can give you the best possible academic experience,” Dr. Kathryn E. Jeffery wrote in her email to SMC students.
Learn more or enroll in classes at smc.edu Pierce College in Woodland Hills, and all of the other colleges in the Los Angeles Community College District, are also switching to remote/online learning only for summer and fall of 2020.
Registration for Pierce College Summer Sessions opens May 11; Classes Begin June 15. For more information visit www.piercecollege.edu
If you are offering an online class or activity and would like to be included in our calendar, or you know someone who would, please email details, including web address, times, and a brief description to hello@topanganewtimes.com
L.A. Theatre Works
Theaters may be closed, but the show goes on at L.A. Theatre Works. The world’s leading producer of audio theater, LATW offers audiences around the globe free access to state-of-the-art recordings of both contemporary and classic plays, each performed by leading actors of stage and screen.
L.A. Theatre Works productions are aired weekly by radio stations across the U.S. and internationally. Every Friday, audiences can stream that week’s broadcast online for free, along with broadcasts from previous weeks.
Currently streaming:
The Sisters Rosensweig by Wendy Wasserstein, starring Jamie Lee Curtis, JoBeth Williams and Caroline Aaron.
Park Your Car in Harvard Yard, written by Israel Horovitz and starring Judith Ivey and Jason Robards;
Pulitzer Prize and Tony Awardwinning Lost in Yonkers by Neil Simon, starring Barbara Bain, Dan Castellaneta, Ben Diskin, Roxanne Hart and Kenneth Schmidt;
April 18: Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, starring James Marsters, Charles Busch, Emily Bergl and Matthew Wolf; and April 25: and
The Graduate, with Matthew Rhys, Kathleen Turner, Bruce Davison and John Getz. To
stream current and recently broadcast plays, go to https://latw.org/broadcasts#recent.
Listeners can hear additional titles by subscribing for free to L.A. at https://latw.org/podcasts. Free access is also available to over 30 science-themed plays from L.A. Theatre Works’ “Relativity Series.” Titles include Copenhagen by Michael Frayn, starring Alfred Molina, Shannon Cochran and David Krumholtz; and Proof by David Auburn starring Robert Foxworth, Anne Heche, Kaitlyn Hopkins and Jeremy Sisto. With lead funding provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation,
bridging science and the arts in the modern world, the plays in this series present science as a thoroughly human endeavor, bringing to life the people and stories behind the research and invention that shape and change our world. Go to https://latw.org/relativity-series
Science for kids with Professor Egghead Free Livestream daily at 12:00 p.m. covering different topics in science with demonstrations on states of matter, polymers, chemical reactions, force and motion! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNDZiiFlA0apfgXJQ_QsFTQ
Kid-Friendly Cooking Lessons. Chef Eric Horwitz is offering free live-streamed parent-andchild
cooking lessons at 11 a.m. each Friday. www.youtube.com/user/CookingItaliano/featured.
Summer Reading Program. Los Angeles County Library Summer Reading Program. While
the library’s in-person programs are canceled until further notice, readers of all ages are invited
to participate in the library’s online discovery program: Log books you read; write and read
reviews; complete online activities; earn points and prizes; share with your Library community.
For more info and to sign up, visit www.lacountylibrary.readsquared.com
A Day at the Ranch. Big Heart Ranch in Malibu is offering a range of free live-streamed
talks, classes, story times and other events, through the City of Malibu’s virtual recreation
program. Spend time with the ranch’s rescue animals—horses, chickens, ducks, pigs, rabbits, peacocks, and more; watch the horse experts work with the ranch’s wild mustangs. Children
will enjoy storytime, while adults are invited to listen to ranch founder Suzi Landolphi discuss
healing from trauma. www.malibucity.org/DocumentCenter/View/26202/Big-Heart-Ranch-
Weekly-Online-Program-Schedule
The City of Malibu’s Birds and Bees: A Celebration of Spring in Malibu. This community art show went up the week California shut down, but the show, which features local viewed online at www.malibuspringart.artcall.org/pages/web-gallery
Knowledge Drop Wondering if it will be safe to go in the water when the beaches finally reopen? Heal the Bay’s new online kid-friendly science series tackles the question on May 8 at 1:30p.m., followed by an explanation of red tides and bioluminescence on May 15, 1:30 p.m. To learn more or sign up to participate, visit www.healthebay.org/knowledge-drops/
Wish someone would read you a story? preferably one with a happy ending? Check out the Harry Potter website www.wizardingworld. com, where Daniel Radcliff, Stephen Fry, David Beckham, Dakota Fanning, Claudia Kim, Noma Dumezweni, Eddie Redmayne and others will be reading the first Harry Potter novel out loud, chapter by chapter, every week. Because who couldn’t use a little magic right now?
Topanga Youth Services presents Live and Free online classes! Join us for some fun and creative group sessions to connect with others while we are staying at home. For ages 10-18 Please register with tys@topangayouthservices.org Please also share any suggestions or ideas for activities, classes or workshops either online or for later in person! Would love to create more of what you want!
Mondays and Wednesdays from 2-3- Dance with Kristy! Dance technique, flexibility, structure and core training using genres from Jazz, Bollywood, Contemporary or Musical Theatre or any suggestions from you! Kristy Beauvais is well known in the Topanga community with her organization, FOCUS Fish, as well as teaching, directing and choreographing shows with many groups, including Topanga Elementary and with TYS over the years. She will be your guide to broaden your musical horizon tastes and move your body in a fun and creative way, in the comfort of your own socially distanced home. Let’s laugh and sweat, “together.”
Wednesdays at 5-6 Cooking with Kali! Make a meal or a snack with what you have or see some suggestions from Kali using fresh and healthy ingredients that taste great and are fun to make! Kali “Soup Sorceress”, is a food blogger and advocate for supporting small local, organic farms. Kali led our chocolate and pickle workshop and also started Little Chefs Cooking Club, and looks forward to sharing her experience and knowledge of healthy and fun ways to prepare food!
Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:30-4:30 (additional time TBD)- Sing with Morgan! This Singing performance class will work on incorporating acting techniques and methods to song. We will discuss and personalize interpretation of the music and lyrics that create an inner story to enhance performance. Morgan Weitz has been working with kids in the theatre in many capacities, including coaching on Broadway for many years. Her goal with this as any other instruction, is not merely about performing but about enriching all aspects of people’s lives.
Fridays from 2-3- Monologues with Sarah Kay! Break down your own monologue with Sarah Kay and the group through a communal rehearsal process and presentation together. You can choose your own monologue or be assigned one or two to work on. Sarah Kay Peters is a teaching artist, actress, director and puppeteer who has been working in theatre with kids around LA in a variety or arts disciplines for the past 14 years. Sharing with and coaching the next generation of artists is an essential part of her creative work, and she looks forward to all the ways we can inspire each other and explore our artistry and humanity through monologues!
Melanie Kareem: I am holding DAILY ukulele classes on ZOOM!! We are having a blast!!! 2:00 -3:00pm Beginners 3:15 – 4:15pm Intermediates The classes are by donation – details will be provided. Those who would like to participate should email Barbara Webb at the email address below. It’s for all ages. Interested people must send their request for the link via email to Barbara and they should tell us how they found out about the class. That’s all. Really simple. barbarawebb@mac.com
Improv classes! Please email Adam at nobleloaf@gmail.com for info regarding his virtual improvisation class There is no better moment than now for us to be in touch with our creativity, our senses of humor, and our ‘senses of human.’ Take care. Be kind. See you on-line!
