The Occidental Theater Department will present two main stage productions in Keck Theater this fall, Naomi Wallace’s “One Flea Spare,” a searching examination of class, privilege and other issues set in London during the plague-ridden summer of 1665, and Luigi Pirandello’s “Tonight We Improvise,” which shocked its 1930 audience by challenging theatrical conventions and testing the boundaries between fiction and reality.

“One Flea Spare,” directed by Jamie Angell, will be presented in Keck on Nov. 1-4 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 5 at 2 p.m. “Tonight We Improvise,” directed by Laural Meade, will be presented in Keck on Nov. 15- 18 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 19 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 ($8 for senior citizens and $5 for students.) For more information, call the Theater Department Box Office at (323) 259-2922.

Occidental honored for community service

Occidental College has been named to the first- ever President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, a new federal effort to recognize colleges that have provided outstanding service to their communities.

Occidental was one of 99 colleges and universities honored “with distinction” by the Corporation for National and Community Service for their outreach efforts over the past year, including service to areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina. More than 500 institutions of higher education applied for the honor.

From July 2005 through June 2006, some 1,200 Occidental students – almost two-thirds of the entire student body -- participated in a wide variety of community service projects, many of them focused on local schools in Northeast Los Angeles. Examples of community-based learning at Occidental include:

A new collaborative venture between the mathematics departments at Occidental and nearby Franklin High School that involves using Occidental students to explore ways to increase the number of Franklin students who pass algebra – one of the keys to increasing high school graduation rates.

Spanish classes whose students provide tutoring to pupils in local elementary and middle schools, many of whom come from Spanish-speaking households. The children benefit from the tutoring, and Occidental students get an excellent opportunity to hone their verbal language skills in a real-life setting.

Improving access to college has long been a focus of Occidental’s outreach efforts. The college’s Upward Bound program celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. One of California’s largest and most successful programs, it serves more than 200 low-income first generation college-bound students from five local high schools each year. Last year, Occidental’s GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) partnership with Los Angeles Unified School District served more than 1,500 low-income middle and high school students from Eagle Rock Junior/Senior High School, Marshall High School and Nightingale Middle School.

First Annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar

If you are researching any imaginable subject concerning Los Angeles, you cannot afford to miss the “First Annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar” at the Huntington Library from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4. Co-sponsored by the LA as Subject Archives Forum, the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West, and the Los Angeles History Research Group, this major event will feature booths representing Occidental College Special Collections and more than 40 other regional archives specializing in materials relating to Los Angeles.

Researchers will be able to browse a wide array of subject matter, talk to archivists about their holdings, and make appointments to visit and research in the many archives represented. Information also will be available to introduce researchers to more than 200 archives that are members of the LA as Subject Archives Forum. Throughout the event, a series of speakers will also discuss the holdings of their archives, which range from the very large to less-visible community-based archives scattered throughout the metropolis. Parking and admission to the Bazaar is free; no registration is required (Admission to the Huntington Gardens is not included). Light lunch and refreshments also will be provided free of charge. For more information, visit http://www.usc.edu/libraries/archive s/arc/lasubject/forum.html

Don't Miss the Organic Gardening Workshop this Saturday!

Just in case being a good global citizen isn't motivation enough, we'll be serving free Swork coffee and oven-fresh, homemade cookies at the Eagle Rockdale Community Garden & Art Park's first public event Saturday, Nov. 4, from 10 a.m. - noon. As you may know, the Garden opened in March and currently has 22 active plots.

Beyond refreshments, our Natural Gardening Workshop will share three separate sessions about Earth-friendly practices for your landscape: 1. Fundamentals of organic gardening led by Yvonne Savio of the LA Master Gardener Program, 2. the ABC's of composting with TERA's Mary Tokita, and 3. selecting and using California native plants with John Wickham, director of the Theodore Payne Foundation.

In addition to the educational workshops, we'll be announcing a call for artists to submit ideas for five bench art projects, to debut in 2007!

Suggested Donation: $5

The garden is located at 1045 Rockdale Avenue. Directions: From Figueroa/La Loma intersection: Go East on La Loma for 2 short blocks, then Right on Lanark. Park in the gravel lot or along the street and walk to the Garden. Look for the mosaic Sign-Arch welcoming you at the south end of Shelby-Lanark Park.

Email: communitygarden@TERA90041.org

Phone: (323) 259-TERA