SMART GALS PRODUCTIONS: The Speakeasy

Sunday, October 30th
(& the last Sunday of Every Month)

8:00 until 10:00 in the evening
Mt. Hollywood Underground
4607 Prospect Avenue
(Underneath Mt. Hollywood Church in Silverlake,
corner of Prospect and Rodney, one block North of Hollywood Blvd. and one block east of Vermont Ave.... Enter on Rodney.)

Gents and Dames welcomed with equal regard!
Admission:
$7.00 (general)
$5.00 (members)
Bookmarks $10.00*

Passwords & such:
310.572.7347
www.smartgals.org

Mix, mingle, swoon, shine, speakeasy!

*Keeping this all on the QT, we don't sell booze, but we do sell
bookmarks. Do I make myself mysterious enough here?
We don't sell booze, but we do sell bookmarks.

Pack $15.00 for a full night. And hush!

Rebecca Goodman, Esq., a smart gal patent attorney by day, takes on the Speakeasy at night. After a brief visit to the librarian, she takes off her glasses, sets aside the legal tomes and raises a glass to what is best and brightest in our City of Angels. A long time member of the Conservancy's Modern Committee (affectionately known as "ModCom"), Rebecca has recently spearheaded the Save the Derby Coalition, a collection of neighborhood groups, preservation organizations and concerned citizens, to save the last original Brown Derby restaurant from the developer's wrecking ball. A toast to Smart Gals. Multi-million dollar corporate contractors ... watch out! You're toast!

Never mind Halloween hijinks, nothing is more frightening than the heedless destruction of our few remaining cultural landmarks. The Speakeasy, L.A.'s coolest underground, not-so-secret semi-literary salon, is proud to offer an evening of mingling, moonshine and conversation with the Los Angeles Conservancy's Modern Committee (Modcom) (www.modcom.org), hosted by Save The Derby (www.savethederby.com ) coordinator Rebecca Goodman , and Modcom Vice Chair Emeritus Daniel Paul . Owned by the great film pioneer Cecil B. DeMille, our Los Feliz Derby is the very last of five original Brown Derbies. All the others are gone forever. Full of life and glamorous movie memories, with its great domed ceiling and drive-in roofline, the Derby is a landmark beloved by millions - a living tie to our historical and cultural past. Come get involved before this local treasure is turned into yet another set of luxury condos.

The October bookmark is being hand embroidered by San Franciso-based artist Steve MacDonald ( www.ramblinworker.com ). The evening's game will be designed by Amy Louise Francis and Branden Spradling , creators of the newly published, handmade zine, disaster!

Musical guest, Michael Bolger , will bring a little modern jazz. Homemade cookies and fresh lemonade will be served, she said knowingly.

Password is "Cobb Salad." (PS. Keep reading for more on our impressive guests.)

Steve MacDonald is a San Francisco based artist who creates embroidered paintings and coo-coo clocks on fields of golden canvas. His work is inspired by an eclectic blend of mythological elements, science fiction, and Japanese landscapes. Together his composite themes spawn a curious strand of modern day neo-folklore, provoking active and spontaneous references..."Clash of the Titans" meets "Tron", for example. Each piece depicts a different segment of an evolving, and intricate fable. This visual journey stands to prove that all that glitters is gold. He uses his antique Singer sewing machine not only to create paintings and coo-coo clocks, but also brings the magic of his embroidery to an assortment of urban accessories including bike messenger bags, hoodies, frame pads and more. His most recent exhibits include; Is There Summer in San Francisco? a group show at the Bucheon Contemporary Gallery, San Francisco .

Daniel Paul: A member of the Los Angeles Conservancy Modern Committee since 1996, Daniel Paul served as its Vice-Chair from 2000 to 2004. In 1996 he wrote the National Register of Historic Places Nomination for Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village, where he has been involved since 1994. He has also formulated a variety of Modern Committee tours including the nighttime driving tour of the Terminal Island Industrial Corridor. His current field of research is focused upon reflecting glass architecture of the 1970s. At present, Daniel is an Instructor of Architectural History at Cerritos College, and a Historic Preservation Consultant with a smattering of projects in Northern and Southern California.

More on disaster! Amy Louise Francis & Branden Spradling:

Amy Louise Francis knows your name and she's always glad you came. She is a graduate of UCLA where she received her Bachelor's degree in American Literature. She writes stories. Her work has appeared at wordriot.org and girlswithinsurance.com. disaster! is the first book to come from Queen Anne's Press, a publishing concern she created with illustrator Branden Spradling .

Branden Spradling was born in Los Angeles in 1974. He received a Masters degree in Philosophy from Cornell University at the age of 22. Currently he works at a bookstore in Los Angeles and draws pictures whenever the mood takes him. Somewhere in the back of his mind he contemplates working on a graphic novel. The second sentence in this paragraph is a complete fabrication.

More on the Los Angeles Conservancy and the Modern Committee (Modcom): The Los Angeles Conservancy , the largest membership-based local historic preservation organization in the country, is dedicated to the recognition, preservation, and revitalization of the architectural and cultural heritage of greater Los Angeles. With a two-fold mission of advocacy and education, the Conservancy works to preserve existing architectural resources by developing preservation strategies and by raising public awareness of the value of those resources through tours, lectures, publications and major programs such as Last Remaining Seats.

The Los Angeles Conservancy Modern Committee is a volunteer group formed in 1984 in response to the rapid destruction of a generation of postwar buildings. The Modern Committee's focus is 20th century architecture and related fields, which reflect the heritage of Modernism and popular culture. The Modern Committee plans tours, exhibitions and lectures, researches and nominates buildings for landmark designation, and serves as an advocate for Modern design.

'ModCom' holds regular monthly meetings to plan educational events such as tours, exhibitions and lectures; research and nominate landmarks; organize field trips; and serve as advocates for Modern design.