The heaters are on for Twelfth Night

The arboretum gazebo is the venue for the Davis Shakespeare Ensemble's production of Twelfth Night, continuing tonight (Jan. 14) and this weekend, and next Thursday through Sunday, Jan. 20-23.

And, no matter what the weather, the Bard's comedy will go on, organizers said, pointing out the gazebo is covered and that heaters will be in place.

The ensemble is not affiliated with UC Davis, but eight of the nine founders have connections with the university.

Eleven actors and a three-member band perform in Twelfth Night — 14 people in all, including five alumni, seven undergraduates and one graduate student.

Performance times are 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and 2 and 8 p.m. on Sundays.

Ticket reservations and more information: (760) 310-0323 or davis.shakespeare@gmail.com.

Tilly No-Body: Watch it on UCTV

Tilly No-Body: Catastrophes of Love, devised by Bella Merlin, professor of acting, is being presented on UCTV.

You can see the 75-minute video four more times through this weekend: 1 p.m. today (Jan. 14), 5 and 8 p.m. Jan. 15 and 1:30 p.m. Jan. 16. Where to watch. Or you can watch it online whenever you choose.

Tilly No-Body premiered on the UC Davis stage last October, as a collaboration of the Department of Theatre and Dance and the Sideshow Physical Theatre Company.

The play follows the tumbling thoughts of Tilly Wedekind, wife and muse of celebrated German playwrigh, Frank Wedekind (Spring Awakening and Lulu). Weaving together biography, personal letters, drama and original songs, Merlin traces the Wedekinds’ passionate marriage, leading to Tilly’s attempted suicide and Frank’s premature death.

Read the Department of Theatre and Dance news release.

Celebrating the clarinet

The UC Davis Clarinet Festival begins Thursday, Jan. 20, with a free Noon Concert by José González Granero, principal clarinetist with the San Francisco Opera.

His program includes Poulenc's Clarinet Sonata, Lovreglio's Fantasia La Traviata and one of the Béla Kovács’ solo clarinet etudes, Hommage à Manuel de Falla.

The Noon Concert venue is the Vanderhoef Studio Theatre at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.

The Vanderhoef Studio Theatre also is the venue for two more festival concerts, each of which is a ticketed event:

• Friday, Jan. 21 — With faculty affiliate Ann Lavin, festival director, and guests: 12 clarinetists present a program that begins with Alban Berg’s elegant and haunting Four Pieces for clarinet and piano, and finishes with the pulsating and popular New York Counterpoint by Steve Reich. Also: works by Carter, Lutoslawski, and UC Davis composers Jerome Rosen and Laurie San Martin. 8 p.m.

• Saturday, Jan. 22 — Charles Neidich, clarinet, and John Cozza, piano. Program: Weinberg’s Clarinet Sonata, op. 28; Neidich’s In Memoriam and Threnos; Brahms’ Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, op. 120, No. 1; Prokofiev’s Sonata in D Major; and Saint-Saëns’ Introduction et Rondo Capriccioso. 2 p.m.

More information. Tickets for the Jan. 21 and 22 concerts are available online, or by visiting or calling the Mondavi Center box office, (530) 754-2787 or (866) 754-2787.

Empyrean Ensemble: Americans in Rome

Americans in Rome is the theme for the newest musical sensations from UC Davis' Empyrean Ensemble.

The Americans in Rome concert is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 23, in the Vanderhoef Studio Theatre. Here is the program:

• Don Byron — Selections from 7 Etudes for Solo Piano (2008–09)

• Claude Baker — Three Phantasy Pieces for Viola and Percussion (2005)

• Martin Bresnick — Bird as Prophet for Violin and Piano (1999)

• Martin Brody — Dusk from The Book of Hours for Piano Trio (2000)

• Keeril Makan — Mu for Solo Violin (2007)

• Laura Schwendinger — Song for Andrew for Piano Quartet (2008)

Tickets are available online, or by visiting or calling the Mondavi Center box office, (530) 754-2787 or (866) 754-2787.

Focus on Film: 25th Hour

The Mondavi Center's Focus on Film continues Thursday, Jan. 27, with Spike Lee's 25th Hour (2002), in which Edward Norton plays a drug dealer in his last hours of freedom before a seven-year jail term.

This year's Focus on Film presents intimate stories about men at the most crucial times in their lives, with music that transcends the "soundtrack" tag — instead taking a central role in the aesthetic experience. Terence Blanchard composed an original scoire for 25th Hour.

Starting time is 7 p.m. in the Vanderhoef Studio Theatre, and 25th Hour runs for 135 minutes. The film is rated R. Admission is $10.