Female gibbons sing expressive duets in the treetops. Hundreds of unique species of birds, frogs and insects also call and chorus.

These are sounds from Indonesia’s Mentawai Islands, as captured in a multimedia work, Mentawai: Listening to the Rain Forest, to be presented here by the Department of Theatre and Dance, this Sunday (April 22) — Earth Day — in Main Theatre (Wright Hall). Admission is free and open to the public.

Linda Burman-Hall, professor of ethnomusicology at UC Santa Cruz, created the soundtrack, using University of the Pacific biologist Richard Tenaza’s rare field recordings of threatened and endangered species.

The sound goes with Tenaza’s photographic images and Burman-Halls’s video.

“In the midst of this sonorous world live indigenous tribes who have listened to the rain forest and existed harmoniously with its flora and fauna for millennia,” states a flier for the program.

The organizers said Main Theatre will open at 6:30 p.m. and the program will begin at 7.

The Edge Performance Festival

Undergraduates and graduate students are not done yet with their Edge Performance Festival.

The remaining schedule:

• Main Stage Dance — 8 p.m. today and Friday (April 19 and 20), and 2 p.m. Sunday (April 22), Main Theatre (Wright Hall)
• Undergraduate One-Acts and Hour of 5s Performance Work — 9 p.m. Friday (April 20) and 3 p.m. Sunday (April 22), Lab A, Wright Hall
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show — midnight Saturday (April 21), Main Theatre (with rental costumes available)

More information.

Read a book, see some dancing

The Library Dance Project scheduled for next week will "quietly bring dance into the daily lives of library-goers.”

The Department of Theatre and Dance announced that Christine Germain, a Master of Fine Arts candidate in choreography, will lead her beginning and intermediate dance classes in performances in the Shields Library courtyard, at 3 and 5 p.m. Wednesday (April 25).

Shelly Gilbride, a Davis arts consultant and dancer, and a UC Davis theatre and dance Ph.D. alumna, is producing the Library Dance Project and another event, Dance Dance Davis, under the auspices of the university’s Institute for Exploration in Theatre, Dance and Performance.

For Dance Dance Davis, Gilbride is recruiting at least 100 people of all ages for a flash mob performance at a surprise location at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, May 9. Free instruction starts next week and will lead up to a final rehearsal and social hour Monday, May 7, and then the real thing.

More information on Dance Dance Davis.

Auditions set for Granada artist's new work

The Department of Theatre and Dance announced auditions for Granada Artist-in-Residence Ellen Bromberg’s and the snow fell softly upon the living and the dead, a new work investigating ideas of death and beauty.

The choreography credit goes to dance professor Della Davidson in collaboration with Bromberg, a choreographer and video artist. Davidson died in March. Read more about the production and the collaboration.

Students, faculty and staff are welcome to try out from 6 to 10 p.m. Tuesday, May 1, in Main Theatre (Wright Hall). The sign-up sheet is in 101 Art Building; there is no need to prepare anything in advance.

Rehearsals are set to begin Wednesday, May 2, and performances are scheduled May 31 through June 3.

Head start for Lovett, Martin, Izzard tix

The Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts has added three shows to the 2012-13 season, and is giving UC Davis staff, faculty and students a head start on the tickets next week. The new shows:

• Lyle Lovett — Saturday, July 7
• Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers — Saturday, Aug. 5
• Eddie Izzard — Friday, Oct. 26

Ticket sales start Monday (April 23) for Mondavi Center subscribers; Thursday (April 26) for staff, faculty and students; and Sunday, April 29, for the general public. The box office is open from noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Phone orders: (530) 754-2787 or (866) 754-2787. Online: mondaviarts.org.

More about the new season.

From the Top invites applications

Speaking of the Mondavi Center's new season, it includes a taping of the National Public Radio Program From the Top, showcasing America’s best young classical musicians.

The Mondavi Center this week put out a news release stating From the Top is seeking talent for the UC Davis taping (scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 25) and other concerts on the show's national tour. The show accepts applications and recorded auditions continuously — and is continually making selections. To be considered for the Mondavi Center taping, you should submit your application by June 25.

The show is open to solo performers on all instruments, composers and vocalists, and instrumental and vocal ensembles. Musicians must be 8 to 18, and not have graduated from high school.

Of the more than 100 musicians chosen to appear on the radio program every year, about 20 receive Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Awards of up to $10,000 in support of further music education.

Application and scholarship information.

Tickets to the From the Top taping at the Mondavi Center are being sold in subscriber packages only. Individual tickets are set to go on sale Aug. 10.

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