Each week, Arts Orange County and Culture OC deliver you this look at the stories and events happening in our arts and cultural community.

Ignite Dance

A landmark celebration marks the Irvine Barclay Theatre's 35 years of presenting dance by bringing together six diverse and distinguished ensembles for an evening that travels around the world and from classic to contemporary MORE

God of Carnage/Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, at South Coast Repertory opening Jan. 23.

Sure, ballet and other dancers exert massive physical effort. But when it comes to other types of artistic creation, it’s not exactly bullfighting. Orchestra members sit. Painters stand at easels. And acting? Isn’t that just a matter of learning lines and not bumping into the furniture?

Not if you ask Kim Martin-Cotten and Brian Vaughn.

Both describe their current rehearsal process at South Coast Repertory as “running a marathon” or “climbing a mountain.” Beginning Jan. 23, the two actors embark on a nearly two-month run performing in repertory, appearing in a combined 53 performances of Yasmina Reza’s “God of Carnage” and Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” Eight of those days feature performing both shows back-to-back.

These are not supporting roles. Both plays are intense four-character dramas with darkly comic edges, and Martin-Cotten and Vaughn play married couples who are onstage nearly the entire time. The emotional and physical demands are relentless.

Mural Story

You can catch a glimpse of the orange fields through the chain link fence at Santa Ana’s Memorial Park. Past the mud churned from the construction site floor, these fields are preserved on one mural among torn down concrete, a window through time to Orange County’s orchards and first Chicano workers. It is not a miracle that this portal to the past exists. It needed all the hands of modern Santa Ana to keep it standing.

This is “Chicano Gothic,” a mural painted in 1987 by Emigdio Vasquez, one of the founding fathers of the Chicano Art Movement. For almost 30 years, “Chicano Gothic” stood at Santa Ana’s Memorial Park pool, depicting Latino migrant workers and the land where they sowed community seeds. Now it stands alone, waiting for the $29 million renovation to upgrade Memorial Park’s aquatic center, opening in 2026.

10th Anniversary of ABT William J. Gillespie Dance School

The school will host a special master class series featuring former ABT Artistic Director Kevin McKenzie.

Each week, we recommend a variety of events and experiences from the listings at SparkOC.com, our free website for Orange County's arts and cultural community.

Moon Over Buffalo

Newport Theatre Arts Center stages the classic farce about a married couple, longtime touring actors, trying to overcome backstage chaos before a matinee where a famous director will be watching MORE

Surf City Artisan Fair

Shop for locally-made jewelry, home goods and more at this street fair in downtown Huntington Beach MORE

Orange County Youth Symphony

Young musicians take the spotlight in this free concert at Aliso Viejo's Soka Performing Arts Center MORE

History on the Flightline

A unique opportunity to see aviation history come to life as reenactors at Santa Ana's Lyon Air Museum share stories and memorabilia of flying MORE