Mobs of screaming fans, paparazzi following your every move and a complete loss of privacy might be the accepted reality for the typical celebrity. But what about authors, people like Sandra Cisneros or Amy Tan, whose names you’ve grown up with but whose faces you don’t recognize?  Authors are a different breed of celebrity, walking the streets everyday completely anonymous to the general population. The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, coming to Royce Quad on April 26 and 27, will play host to an astonishing number of these mostly faceless superstars as they sign books and chat with the thousands who flock to this annual literary Lollapalooza. Read more...

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Audiences of Rennie Harris’ “Facing Mekka” can expect one thing plain and simple from the eclectic dance performance: an experience. Harris, whose company, Puremovement, is performing this week at Freud Playhouse through April 27, sets out to remove labels surrounding the dance world, rather than fitting into them. Read more...

The role of the music rebel is always relevant, and the rebellion against conformity flows from hip-hop, to jazz, to funk, to rock. One of the emerging hip-hop voices coming out of Los Angeles is Bambu, a Pilipino American rapper who pens lyrics about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Read more...

Blond bombshell meets tall, dark and handsome. Yet another night of blind date debauchery hits the streets of Westwood, combining a leafy dinner with a short trip to the infamous sculpture garden and a movie to heighten understanding of familiar relationships. Read more...

From 1942 to 1976 Vincente Minnelli directed 38 films, ranging from musicals such as “An American in Paris” to comedies such as “Father of the Bride” to dramas such as “The Clock.” Over the years, Minnelli’s films have won more than a dozen Oscars, including two for best picture, and in 1958 he won best director for the movie “Gigi.” Starting today and continuing for the next two weeks, the UCLA Film and Television Archive will be exhibiting “M is for Minnelli: The Melodramas.” A parallel series featuring Minnelli’s musicals will be shown at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Read more...

Some people see a room as purely functional. Others see it as a blank canvas. And no, this isn’t about interior designers, but a few students in the UCLA art department. Read more...