Lens Life Wayne Miller has seen the world change since he first picked up a Kodak box camera to photograph zoo animals for a grade-school project. As a staff photographer for Life magazine, Miller captured lasting images of Hiroshima five days after the atomic bomb hit, and contributed portraits of world leaders Dwight Eisenhower and Nikita Khrushchev, which were included in the world's most attended photo exhibit, "The Family of Man." Miller brought many white Americans face to face with black Americans for the first time with candid photos of Chicago's South Side, but it was in his own suburban back yard in Orinda that he found his personal postwar America. Miller's pictures of his children, taken at home, in classrooms, and at play in the early '50s, were eventually compiled into the book The World Is Young. Miller speaks and shows slides of his work at "From Hiroshima to the Family of Man: The Personal and Photographic Journey of Wayne Miller," a benefit for the San Francisco Photo Documentary Group, at 7:30 p.m. at Theater Artaud, 450 Florida, S.F. Admission is $5-10; call 821-9652.
Blowin' in the Wind Katy, an ex-prisoner of war, tries to cope with a journalist's painful interview questions in Campo Santo's production of Erin Cressida Wilson's Hurricane. Katy serves as a narrative conduit as five initially dissimilar sets of characters reveal themselves. In Utah, Esther tells of her experiences with the A-bomb; in New York, Ray and Judy discuss their relationship, while Linda quizzes Larry, a multiculturalist sexist, about an acting job. And in San Francisco, Maria, a woman with AIDS, is determined that her daughter get into Stanford. Hurricane marks Wilson's return to the local stage since her work My Girl Is in Front played in the Magic Theater's recent production "Pieces of the Quilt." The show opens with a preview at 8 p.m. (and runs through Feb. 16) at New Langton Arts, 1246 Folsom, S.F. Admission is $9-12; call 267-3956.
Mr. Mystery Maybe his anthropology training made Tony Hillerman more aware than other authors of the contradictions between modern living and a cultural heritage among Native Americans. Hillerman, in 1991 declared a grand master by the Mystery Writers of America, sets his novels in Native American communities, and has been lauded for his accurate portrayal of the land and the people. His titles include the best sellers Coyote Waits and Talking God, the recently published The Fallen Man, and Dance Hall of the Dead, which won the 1973 Edgar Allan Poe Award for best mystery of the year. Local author Joe Gores interviews Hillerman at 8 p.m. in the Herbst Theater, 401 Van Ness, S.F. Admission is $16; call 392-4400.
thursday
january 30
C'mon Mammy, Throw Me That Grammy! Suspense is key and stakes are high during the second annual Grammy Showcase's grueling selection process. More than 6,000 unsigned bands submitted demos for consideration in this national competition. Showcase organizers whittled that number down to 60 participating bands, five in each showcase city (San Francisco is one of 12). Showcases in each city pick one band to compete at one of three regional competitions, and that winner gets to attend the awards show and wins money, equipment, and recording time. That said, the A&R reps, agents, bookers, and radio station directors judging the San Francisco showcase have a complicated task ahead of them, considering the far-flung styles from which they must choose. The Marginal Prophets, featuring K Chronicles cartoonist Keith Knight, spike hip hop with samples of Camper Van Beethoven and The The, while the Buckets provide alternative-type country road music with frequent references to beer. Mumblin' Jim takes Beck's '70s disco cheese and hip-hop sampling route, Action Plus stands the Cocktail Nation on its collective ear, and former members of Romeo Void, American Music Club, and the Club Foot Orchestra meet in Engorged With Blood. The fun begins at 9 p.m. at the Great American Music Hall, 859 O'Farrell, S.F. Admission is free; call (800) 544-8991.
Brains Aren't Everything Flipper's early punk video Brainwash and Dinky and Rascal, a music video about two dogs' adventures, screen with Boy Frankenstein, a portrait of a guy constructed from the comments of his friends, and A Shawn Story, which uses a model of Haight Street and plastic action figures to tell its tale, in "Pretty But Stupid," a collection of "pretty films by girls, stupid films by boys." This program is the first in a Film Arts Foundation series of short films that continues with theme nights "Lust for Life" (Feb. 27) and "A True History of Crime" (March 27). The series begins at 8 p.m. at the 111 Minna Street Gallery, S.F. Admission is $6-7; call 552-FILM.
Safety Net Because rates of HIV infection continue to grow among women, the information provided by the Women and HIV Conference continues to be crucial and timely. Educators and health care and social work professionals, as well as women with HIV and AIDS, will have access to recent clinical and social research, presented in forums like "Ethical, Legal, and Policy Issues" and "HIV Throughout the Life Cycle." The conference begins with registration at 8 a.m. (also Friday) at the Ramada Hotel Civic Center, 1231 Market, S.F. Admission is $50-100, with scholarships available to people with HIV/AIDS; call 554-9630.
friday
january 31
Heart Attack Moonstruck scriptwriter John Patrick Shanley turns his attention yet again to amore, New York style, in "Two Valentines by John Patrick Shanley." Actors' Theater Group stages Shanley's one-act plays Welcome to the Moon, about a guy who returns to the Bronx several years after high school graduation to reveal a secret to an old friend, and The Dreamer Examines His Pillow, in which a woman's father confronts her boyfriend, only to discover that he and the boyfriend have more in common than the woman has with either of them. The show opens at 8 p.m. (and runs through Feb. 22) at Bindlestiff Studio, 185 Sixth St., S.F. Admission is $10; call 974-1167.
Split Personalities When people are consumed by a passion for one thing at the expense of all other areas, the Japanese say they are "like Ashura," a former demon adapted by Buddhist mythology and representative of inner turmoil. In Moon at Dawn, Takami & Dancers explore life's contradictions, inspired by the three-headed, six-armed figure, and accompanied by taiko drummer Jimmy Nakagawa, shakuhachi flute player Hideo Sekino, and poet Minori Yata, among others. The show opens at 8 p.m. (and continues through Feb. 9) at Dancers' Group Studio Theater, 3221 22nd St., S.F. Admission is $8-10; call 824-5044.
Dancing Cures What Ails You Dancers and audiences alike are usually jumping for joy by the end of Revelations, Alvin Ailey's signature piece, which ends in an exuberant swell of gospel music. Modern dance icon Judith Jamison, the Ailey dancer who assumed directorship of the company in 1989, has included Revelations in two of the three programs the company will perform here, but the real revelation may come with Cavalcade, a Lar Lubovitch work performed for the first time by dancers other than the choreographer's own. Jamison also capitalizes on her company's musicality with Suite Otis, a collection of dances set to Otis Redding music, and For "Bird" -- With Love, a jazzy tribute to Charlie Parker. The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performs at 8 p.m. (and continues through Feb. 9) at Zellerbach Hall, Bancroft & Telegraph, UC Berkeley campus. Admission is $18-40; call (510) 642-9988.
saturday
february 1
Dog Day Afternoon A sequel to 101 Dalmatians is already in the works at the Golden Gate Kennel Club Dog Show, where 101 retrievers will be shown, along with 96 Rottweilers and 71 Siberian huskies. Dalmatian devotees, poodle lovers, and dog fanciers of all stripes will probably find at least one of their favorite canines here, since there are 135 breeds, popular and rare, listed among the 2,200 entries. Flyball demonstrations and "canine good citizen testing" are part of the scheduled entertainment. If the warm, fuzzy cuteness doesn't get to you, the noise and the smell just might. Events begin at 9 a.m. (also Sunday) at the Cow Palace, Geneva & Santos, Daly City. Admission is $4-8; call 469-6000.
Dead See Scrawls It's been like Return of the Living Dead around here lately, what with the Garcia-Koons bout and the pop-culture exhibit "The Art of the Dead," which features concert paraphernalia, photos, posters and album cover art, lithographs, and original watercolors by Jerry Garcia. The exhibit, which is sponsored by Volkswagen (natch), is about to hit the road for a national gallery tour; its last day in town, artists and photographers Stanley Mouse, Alton Kelley, and others will be signing posters, beginning at noon at the ArtRock Gallery, 1155 Mission, S.F. Admission is free; call 255-7390.
sunday
february 2
Habla Turista? "Travel for Foxy Old Ladies" is just one of the seminars offered at Maiden Voyages magazine's First Ever Women's Travel Expo, and if it seems that a travel conference just for women is fairly specific, consider that "Women and Safety" is another workshop available to participants, since some of the world's countries are less hospitable to female travelers than others. Lori Dobeus, owner of self-defense training outfit the Women's Safety Project, will discuss self-defense and travel at the expo, which also boasts packing demonstrations, prize giveaways, and exhibitors from hotels, airlines, tours, and other travel industries. It all begins at 10 a.m. in Building A of the Fort Mason Center, S.F. Admission is $5-6; call (800) 528-8425.
All Over the Map Historian Peter Pierson conducts a history tour of the Iberian Peninsula in his lecture "Spain: Mainstream to the Exotic," while harpsichordist Elaine Thornburgh evokes that country by playing the music of one of its honorary citizens, the composer Scarlatti. Later, actor Peter Donat revisits Russian playwright Anton Chekhov in the comic monologue On the Harmfulness of Tobacco, and David Bartlett draws architectural parallels between Gothic cathedrals and Osaka's new International Air Terminal in "A Tale of Two Cathedrals." The world tour is courtesy of "A Taste of Humanities West"; it begins at 1 p.m. at the Cowell Theater, Fort Mason, S.F. Admission is $25; call 391-9700.
monday
february 3
Spring Is Sprung The 50th anniversary of its photography department and faith that winter rains will subside eventually are enough cause for the San Francisco Art Institute to celebrate. Photographer and SFAI alum Larry Sultan will discuss his work with urban and familial landscapes in the first session of the school's spring lecture series, at which sound artist Alvin Curran (March 3), Puerto Rican-born Latino kitsch artist Pepon Osorio (March 5), writer Coco Fusco (April 9), and printmaker Claudia Bernardi (Feb. 19), among others, will also speak. The first lecture begins at 7:30 p.m. in the SFAI Lecture Hall, 800 Chestnut, S.F. Admission is $4-6; call 749-4545.
tuesday
february 4
Making a Racket What all kids know -- that you can make noise with anything -- the creators of Stomp have parlayed into a lucrative, award-winning career. The young percussion ensemble that performs the show is most widely known for their Coke commercial, in which they bang garbage can lids together and pummel steel barrels full of ice, making an enthusiastic and rhythmic clamor. What we might consider merely Zippo lighters and stiff bristle brooms, wooden poles and hubcaps, Stomp choreographers think of as instruments. The show opens at 8 p.m. (and runs through Feb. 23) at the Golden Gate Theater, 1 Taylor, S.F. Admission is $15-42.50; call 776-1999.
