Agenda

You were an obedient child. You'd never dream of sticking it to the man. So how are you going to get that cutie-pie anarchist boy stuck on you? David Kessler's documentary If You Break the Skin, You Must Come In, made as part of a project to teach teens in foster care about art and filmmaking, never manages to hide its amateur origins.

It's impossible to ignore the moody musical thread that Ken Burns wove through PBS' The War. A solemn, even grieving mood pervades the balance of the program, including a Stabat Mater setting by the great Polish composer Szymanowski, and a newly commissioned piece by Penn composer James Primosch based on Vietnam War-era poetry by Denise Levertov. When Weedeater singer "Dixie" Dave Collins opens his mouth, it sounds like Swamp Thing blowing chunks of bong water and whiskey.

Adrian Tomine's Shortcomings opens with a Chinese-American woman comparing her grandfather to the fortune cookies he makes, "a hard protective shell, containing haiku-like wisdom." The Xperimenters will offer three sets of performances at the Wilma a year (in November, March and July), giving the talented crew a huge opportunity to develop their company, create work and establish an audience. Your ears may require a bit of aural adjustment the first time you listen to Çudamani, a Balinese gamelan ensemble.