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Get within and see what all the fuss is about. Shown: The Crucible Mural. Urban Guide Listings to plan your week by 'From Within These Walls' Artists are colliding and collaborating, making a bubbling brew of creative substances at The Crucible in Berkeley. The Crucible is a non-profit educational facility offering classes for the entire community in everything fire -- from sculpture and industrial design to welding and blacksmithing. This is a one of a kind place and they throw the parties to match, beginning in 2002 with the opening reception of the Student Art Show and Refusalon this Saturday night. There will be works of all media and type on display, including everything that didn't make the cut for the final show. It was the faculty and staff jury responsible for selecting winners who decided, in the true tradition of the arts, to dedicate a night to the more than 140 pieces judged, of which the show ultimately exhibits only about 40 pieces. The staff is striving to maintain an overall non-competitive atmosphere and this event is a great way to do just that. If you miss this thrill ride, do not miss out on their January 12th masquerade fundraiser, Great Balls of Fire. Its $45 dollar entrance fee goes directly to a stellar arts organization and a guaranteed great time filled with belly dancers, explorations into industrial design cooking, and more! Sat/5, 6-9pm. The Crucible, 1036 Ashby, Berk. 843.5511. (AL) Dalton and Pace are no Pope Lick chickens. 'The Trestle At Pope Lick Creek' With movie malls playing the same film on ten screens, it's easy to forget that nothing quite captures the dynamic between live actor and animate audience. More real than a monochromatic flic, more alive than a reel, theatre is both momentary and residual. And Aurora Theatre in Berkeley would like us all to experience and remember the quick heat of a stage. Their new play, The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek, is written by Naomi Wallace, a playwright awarded for her genius, poetic portrayals of everyday trials. Set in the years of the Great Depression, in some nameless Nowhereville, two young characters live the present and imagine the future. Time and place aside, the pressing themes of love and poverty apply to all, if we could just have a heart adventurous enough to seek them out. Sure, tickets are more expensive than movie stubs, but the theater barters plays for labor. Work as an usher and see it for free! Jan. 4-Feb. 10. Wed-Sat, 8pm; Sun, 2 and 7pm. $26-$35. Aurora Theater, 2081 Addison, Berk. 843.4822; www.auroratheatre.org. (EP) Old standards, new interpretation. Patricia Barber Critics can't always agree on the genre Patricia Barber falls into, saying she fits somewhere between Billie Holiday and Joni Mitchell, but Barber knows exactly where she stands. "I would define it as jazz. I'm going to insist that my years of sucking in smoke and playing for $100 a night entitle me to assert that this is jazz and this is what it sounds like in 2002." She has been developing her sound since she was born to a saxophonist and jazz vocalist in Chicago. In 1984 she began performing five days a week at the now famous Goldstar Sardine Bar in Chicago and has since released six albums. January 8-10, Yoshi's hosts the CD release of her most recent Nightclub, Premonition/Blue Note Records. The album consists of 12 classics from of the American Repertoire. Barber's piano and vocals are in the forefront with a spare trio accompaniment. Joining her are Marc Johnson and Michael Arnopol on bass, Adam Nussbaum and Adam Cruz on drums, and Charlie Hunter on the 8-string guitar. Patricia Barber's music is intelligent, creative, and expressive. You don't need to be any more specific to know that jazz sounds good in 2002. Tues/8-Thurs/10, 8 & 10pm. Yoshi's, 510 Embarcadero West, Oak. $18. 238.9200. (SB) Brown vs. Riles It's a new year: time to reflect on the past, to gaze optimistically into the future, and most importantly, to exercise the authority of hindsight with confidence. With the next four years of Oakland politics open for discussion, it's your opportunity to quit whining and engage in the spar. In the right corner is Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown. In the left corner, long-standing City Councilmember Wilson Riles, Jr. Who do you hope leaves the ring waving his fist high above his head victorious this spring? If that's a tough question, the Greater Mandana Action Coalition and the Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church have organized the first mayoral forum of the season. Brown and Riles will come to blows discussing, debating, groveling, and reveling. If for no better reason than pure entertainment, this'll be a show you want front row seats for. Mon/7, 7pm. Barnett Hall (behind Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church), 3534 Lakeshore, Oakl. 839.8788. (LS) Picks by Susan Batchelder (SB), Aimee LeDuc (AL), Erica Pedersen (EP), and Leigh Saffold (LS). [ East Bay | Metroactive | Archives ]