Night+Day

wednesday
april 5
His Fool Potential Bored by the motorcycle crowd? Change your pace when the wisecracking, cocktail-clutching gentleman-of-leisure Dexter Madison (aka Joe Campaiolo) performs his new one-man comedy at Josie's Cabaret & Juice Joint. Campaiolo -- who has been hailed for his "flawless performance ... part Noel Coward and part Mr. Howell from Gilligan's Island" -- appears Wed-Sun, April 5-9, 8 pm, at Josie's, 3583 16th St, S.F. Tickets are $10; call 861-7933.

Monkey Business Dr. Jane Goodall, renowned for 30 years of pioneering observations of wild chimpanzees, gives a lecture and slide show on behalf of In Defense of Animals. Goodall and the animal rights group are working to convince the Air Force to retire 150 chimpanzees -- veterans of the space program and their offspring -- rather than lease them to a toxic-chemical researcher. Goodall is a legend worth seeing in the flesh; her lecture, "Them and Us: My Life With the Chimpanzees," begins 7:30 pm at Zellerbach Auditorium, Bancroft & Dana, UC Berkeley campus. Tickets are $10-20; call (510) 642-9988.

Susan Sontag & Tony Kushner The authors of The Way We Live Now and Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes meet to discuss art and politics for the Women's Foundation. Both writers have recently treated the subject of AIDS from its many perspectives, and their conversation promises to be stimulating at the very least. The talk begins 8 pm at Herbst Theatre, Van Ness & McAllister, S.F. Tickets are $15; call 392-4400.

thursday
april 6
Trespass Knot AGaPe Performance Group's operatic parable tells of a society torn to shreds by the seduction of riches and conflicts over territory, power and possessions. AGaPe was founded in 1989 to foster the development of contemporary opera/new music theater relevant to critical political and environmental issues. Co-produced by the Paul Dresher Ensemble and John Duykers, the premiere features opera singers Duykers and Martha Jane Howe; movement artists Jess Curtis and Stephanie Maher; and singer/performers Amanda Moody and Sarah Ludlow. Trespass Knot previews at 8:30 pm; a benefit performance followed by a catered reception takes place Sun, April 9, 2 pm. Trespass plays through April 15 at SOMAR Theater, South of Market Cultural Center, 934 Brannan, S.F. Tickets are $8-14 ($25 benefit); call 552-1770.

friday
april 7
Spike & Mike's Festival of Animation Celebrate Bob's Birthday and Bob's new Oscar (best animated short) when Spike & Mike's 1995 Festival of Animation visits the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre. This year's festival includes 11 films from six countries and features animation techniques from traditional cel animation to cutting-edge computer images. Besides Alison Snowden and David Fine's Bob's Birthday, other films are Raimund Krumme's Crossroads; Joachim Bode's Semper Idem; Debra Solomon's Mrs. Matisse; and Sleepy Guy, from the Bay Area's own Pacific Data Images. Best of all, Wallace and Gromit are back to offer a cautionary tale about untested technology in Nick Park's Claymation award winner, The Wrong Trousers. The fest screens April 7-May 27 at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, Bay & Lyon, S.F., 567-6642; April 6-9 at Wheeler Auditorium, UC Berkeley campus, (510) 642-7511; and May 5-11 at the Lark Theatre, 549 Magnolia, Larkspur, 924-3311. Tickets are $6.50-7.

Utopia/Dystopia Women have long embraced social work careers as one viable route to professionalism; now they are reshaping our concept of what the term "social work" signifies. In an effort to re-examine women's changing roles, the LAB and SF Camerawork's three-day conference on feminism brings female artists (including performer Rachel Rosenthal), activists and writers from across the country to discuss feminist activism and art. Scheduled events range from panel discussions to video screenings to performance, all taking place at the Center for the Arts Theatre, Howard & Third St, and at SFMOMA, 151 Third St, both in S.F. See Calendar listings for a complete schedule. Sign-up sheets for events will be available on Friday at 11 am at SFMOMA. Tickets are $45-75; call 978-2787. For info, call 621-1001 or 346-4063.

Fields of Vision Susan Marshall's gift is the ability to transform the mundane experiences of everyday life into the sublime. The focus of Fields of Vision, which her eight-dancer ensemble is performing in conjunction with Contenders, is a community of people experiencing the shifting sands of their lives and relationships. Marshall has choreographed pieces for the Lyon OpŽra Ballet, Frankfurt Ballet, MontrŽal Danse and Boston Ballet. Her New York-based troupe has performed at the Whitney Museum in New York, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Cannes Festival and the Vienna Tranz. Set to Philip Glass' fourth string quartet, Fields of View has its Bay Area premiere Fri-Sat, April 7-8, 8 pm, at Zellerbach Hall, Bancroft & Dana, UC Berkeley campus. Tickets are $18; call (510) 642-9988 or (510) 762-2277.

saturday
april 8
Bracing for the Big One In association with Earthquake Preparedness Month (and your continued health), the American Red Cross offers a two-hour workshop for the whole family. Training will start at 9 am at the Red Cross main office, 1550 Sutter, S.F. The cost is $10 per family, regardless of size; call (800) 520-5433.

Surfacing Blond bombshell Traci Lords unveils Surface magazine, San Francisco's self-proclaimed "national style publication." Lords and Live 105's DJ Mo host the magazine's coming-out party and the launching of Kiss of Death, an upcoming Twentieth Century Fox release starring perennial Bay Area favorite, Nicolas Cage. The best golden tresses win a $200 cash prize, so after you slather on that poison lipstick, don't forget to break out your best platinum hairpiece. Highlights include two floors of dancing, Kiss screening passes and Traci Lord's CDs and cassettes. It all happens at the DNA Lounge, 375 11th St, S.F. Admission before 11 pm is $5, $10 for the fashionably late; call 626-1409.