In the Black Again
After a string of bad luck — broken sound equipment, busted chairs, and a cease-and-desist letter from the owners of the Spamalot franchise — brought the Dark Room's production of Monty Python and the Holy Grail to a screeching halt in May, the theater's owner, Jim Fourniadis, faced a tough choice: buttonhole his loyal donors for yet more money, or temporarily shut the doors. He chose the latter, and the beloved Mission District art house went dark for two months. But now, Fourniadis says, it's back open. Bad Movie Night has already restarted on Mondays. On Wednesdays, local comedian Matt Lieb will host a new weekly showcase called the Tabernacle. (Its predecessor, The Business, migrated to Lost Weekend Video in June.) Fourniadis has high hopes for the theater, owing partly to its cult following and partly to its Mission District environs. Unlike other boot-strapped artists, he believes that gentrification hasn't yet eradicated the black box theater and gallery scene. Still, given the recent spate of blood-letting in the San Francisco art scene, this might be a rare silver lining.
Money in the Streets
New drivers who sign with UberX could earn up to $5,000 their first month, guaranteed. That's according to the latest string of Uber billboards, which have been placed somewhat incongruously on Muni buses throughout the city. Five thousand dollars a month is far more than the starting salary for a California public school teacher. It's more than the median salary for journalists. It's certainly a better paying gig than petty drug-dealing, though not quite as lucrative as high-profile ecstasy trafficking. It certainly beats driving a cab in San Francisco, though it's about commensurate with what one would earn driving a Muni bus. And it's still piddling compared to the $7,074 a month that a Facebook MBA intern might pull. There are, of course, a few stipulations: The UberX driver must be new, must work 40 hours a week, and must have a 90 percent acceptance rating to be eligible. Still, it's a tantalizing offer.
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