WEDNESDAY 9/29
Keri Kellerman
Carnage contestants Altwies, Thone, Roget, and Arndt.
Jay Maidment/Columbia Pictures
Del Toro (left) with Ron Perlman on the set of Hellboy.
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Visual Arts: Assembly Required
Set-apart From Memory by Time is an architectural funhouse. Set diagonally across the large gallery, this corridor can be entered from either end. (Walk around it first, and you'll see the fresh sheetrock and two-by-fours, like the back of a stage set.) Inside, the space either expands or collapses, depending on your direction of travel. California artist and architect Primitivo Suarez-Wolfe has previously constructed temporary structures in the desert that are carefully unbuilt—the skewed lumber never reaching any final form. This installation works both ways: What seems to be an ordinary hallway, perhaps in some old hotel, gradually expands around you. Then the ceiling raises, the wainscoting rises, and the dimensions shift until the once-contained space is more of a suggestion—like an exploded textbook diagram of something you need to assemble. Reverse direction, and the form does in fact reassemble itself; one's sense of shelter and security are restored. (Through Nov. 13.) Open Satellite, 989 112th Ave. N.E. (Bellevue), 425-454-7355, opensatellite.org. Free. Noon–6 p.m.BRIAN MILLER
THURSDAY 9/30
Dance: Sci-Fi Steps
Charles O. Anderson, director of Philadelphia's dance theatre X, calls himself "a kinetic storyteller." His movement style, lush and bold, is always balanced by a narrative thread. He says "I have trouble making abstract movement that doesn't attach itself somehow to the world we live in." It's not just about how compelling bodies are as they surge and flow—a dance has to engage all the parts of your brain. For his new World Headquarters, presented by Velocity Dance Center and the CD Forum, he adapts themes from the novels of the late local science-fiction writer Octavia Butler, linking spirituality and future worlds with what he terms "neo-traditional African dance." (Through Sat.) Velocity Dance Center, 1621 12th Ave., 325-8773, velocitydancecenter.org. $10–$18. 8 p.m. SANDRA KURTZ
Stage: Before Blanche
Tennessee Williams loved to write a dramatic Southern belle, and one of his first, Amanda, the matriarch of his 1944 The Glass Menagerie, remains among his best-known—an oft-vilified character, blamed for the dysfunction of her family after their financial security slips away. In truth, it may be hard to sympathize with Amanda today. Unless you've been lamenting the challenges of life without your servants, you may not relate to her particular woes. But her complaints aren't entirely imagined: She was abandoned by her alcoholic husband; her daughter is crippled and dependent; and her adult son has the maturity of a moody teen. For all this, we see that Amanda genuinely wants better lives for her children, and it's this humanity that Karen Gruber Ryan brings to the role. She may seem young for the part, but with her determination and strength in the role, she owns the stage and leads Schmeater's cast to a fine production of the classic. (Ends Oct. 16.) Theater Schmeater, 1500 Summit Ave., 800-838-3006, schmeater.org. $15–$21. 8 p.m.BRENT ARONOWITZ
Books: Vampire Outbreak
After his acclaimed Pan's Labyrinth, Oscar-nominated and one of the most praised movies of 2006, you could excuse Guillermo del Toro for slowing down and going on a long vacation. The Mexican-born writer/director has been working nonstop since 1993's Cronos, often producing and collaborating with his countrymen Alejandro González Iñárritu and Alfonso Cuarón. Yet he's continued to direct Hellboy movies, is currently writing The Hobbit (possibly in two parts! Possibly to be directed by Peter Jackson!), and has found time to launch a book-writing career. He's now followed The Strain with The Fall (William Morrow, $26.99), in which the same vampire virus continues to plague mankind. A trilogy is planned with co-writer Chuck Hogan; after that, don't be surprised if the whole undead saga becomes a TV miniseries. (After, we hope, The Hobbit.) Tonight, del Toro will be interviewed on stage by local film gadfly Warren Etheredge, always a cheerful and gracious host. Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum, 325 Fifth Ave. N., 367-5483, empsfm.org. $30 (includes book). 7 p.m.BRIAN MILLER
FRIDAY 10/1
Classical: BAM! BAM!
The Eroica, number three, has always been my ninth-favorite Beethoven symphony—it can be a real watch-checker of a piece in the hands of a conductor who's not quite sure how to bring some goal-directed drive to its garrulous sprawl. But I've found smaller, leaner orchestras to be pretty good at making the symphony spring to life; hearing all the inner details better holds the attention. Christophe Chagnard leads it with the 35-member, Tacoma-based Northwest Sinfonietta tonight. The orchestra is celebrating its 20th anniversary with two soloists about that age: violinist Marié Rossano and cellist Julian Schwarz, on hand to play Brahms' Double Concerto. My favorite movement's the finale, in which a bumptious polka and bittersweet strains seem to compete for your favor, but end up reconciling and somehow melding. Benaroya Recital Hall, Third Ave. & Union St., 888-833-4747, nwsinfonietta.org. $10–$29. 7:30 p.m.GAVIN BORCHERT
Stage: War of the Words
The bloody battle between two kids in a playground brawl is nothing compared to what's waged when their respective parents meet to discuss the matter. So goes God of Carnage, the Tony-winning tweak on upper-middle-class anxiety from Parisian playwright Yasmina Reza. You may remember her Art several seasons ago at the Rep, in which the purchase of a pricey all-white painting sent three friends into various amusing conniptions. Reza writes crisp, engaging drawing-room comedies often studded with topicality, and Carnage goes so far as to bring up issues like Darfur. But, like Art, it's mainly a chance to watch good actors play profane parlor games. This tempting ensemble includes local acting "It" couple Hans Altweis and Amy Thone—founding members of the justly praised New Century Theatre Company—as well as the superior Denis Arndt and woefully underrated comic bombshell Bhama Roget. Parents may be grateful that, during the 90-minute play, there's no intermission in which to compare their kids'—and their own—misbehavior. (Through Oct. 24) Seattle Repertory Theatre, 155 Mercer St. (Seattle Center), 443-2222, seattlerep.org. $12–$45. 7:30 p.m.STEVE WIECKING
