Shakespeare’s plays often focus on nobility, but a new play from a UC Davis grad student focuses on the common people. The Dogs of War, directed by Joselle Miller, a Ph.D. candidate in performance studies, takes scenes from some of Shakespeare’s plays and uses an ensemble cast of 16 people playing four dozen roles to present a different version of Shakespeare that focuses on the people who fight in battles. MUSE: Can you describe your work? Miller: Dogs of War is an adaptation of Shakespeare’s eight history plays that deal with the War of the Roses, Richard II, Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, Henry V, Henry VI Parts 1, 2, and 3, and Richard III. These plays were often adapted together since they were a cycle and cut down to make them fit into one sitting. Usually when that happens, the scenes that get cut out are the scenes of common people, citizens, soldiers and nameless servants because they’re not the A-Plot. I went through the plays, took all... ...

The second ever Davis Anime Convention (DAiCon), put on by the Davis Anime Club (DAC), is on May 4 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. in Freeborn Hall and the Memorial Union. DAiCon offers a whole host of activities, including a cosplay contest, an animated music video contest, panels, vendors, artists, game rooms and a maid cafe. The event features special guests from all facets of anime: Wendee Lee, an american voice actor; J.S. Gilbert, a video game voice actor; Angel Hearts and Yunni, famous cosplayers and more. Tickets are $12 for pre-registration and $15 at the door. For more information and to buy tickets, visit davisanimecon.org. — Tanya Azari ...

If you were to step back five years and ask any chance passerby if they recognized the name “Iron Man,” you’d be met with one cocked eyebrow and a resounding “no.” Prior to Marvel Studio’s ambitious first independent studio effort in May of 2008, the many adventures of Tony Stark and his metal-clad alter ego were the province of die-hard followers and convention connoisseurs. In July of 2008, staring awestruck at the first preview footage from the film in Conference Room B of the San Diego Comic-Con, I was one of those people. I even dragged my father to wait two hours in line to meet Robert Downey, Jr. Today, Iron Man is one of the most recognized characters in the entire world. The franchise has gone on to break box office records, catapulting Marvel Studios into a winning season of successful blockbuster films and elevating the artform of superhero storytelling from ages hence. I had the utmost privilege of attending a pre-screening of the newest installment on May 1.... ...

If living on a farm next to cows in the middle of nowhere isn’t enough to truly make your Davis experience exactly like its stereotype, get ready to fill that void next weekend. Our campus is already quite unique with an amalgamation of cultures, languages, interest groups, sexual orientations, lifestyles, etc… But if walking/biking among hipsters and residents of the Co-ops isn’t Davis enough for you, take off your shoes and get ready for Davis’ annual modern version of Woodstock. Whole Earth Festival begins May 10 and continues throughout the weekend. It’s a ginormous, free, eco-friendly three-day music, dance, arts, crafts and education festival. Perhaps you thought Picnic Day was big. Sure, but it only lasted half a day on campus. Get ready for a more laid-back, jam-packed version of Davis students’ favorite day for three days. Oh, and you don’t have to trek through what seems like miles of campus in hot weather only to find out an event ended an hour earlier than advertised. Ahem, Doxie Derby. There’s... ...

Panic in Nintendo Land? Every year when E3 comes along, Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony all prepare huge press conferences that allow them to detail upcoming games, hardware and services. Online viewers tune in, yell at their screens angrily and dissect every moment with an equal emphasis on serious discussion and ridiculous .gifs. That will only apply to two companies this year. Last week Nintendo announced its decision to skip the big press conference — instead it will focus on smaller events for American distributors and the Western gaming press, respectively. Those smaller events will address the company’s upcoming software lineup, while Microsoft and Sony show off their brand new consoles. Thus Nintendo faces a dilemma that many saw coming from a mile away. It debuted its new system — the Wii U — well before Sony and Microsoft. But the hardware itself minimally improves on the current PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 from a technological perspective. The game library isn’t much better, with only a few standout titles since its... ...

FILM Focus on Film: Days of Heaven Monday, May 6, 7 p.m., $5 students Vanderhoef Studio Theatre, Mondavi Center Acclaimed director Terrence Malick’s second feature film, 1978’s Days of Heaven is renowned for its iconic, painting-like cinematography of the American Midwest. The film stars Richard Gere and Sally Field in early roles as lovers Bill and Abby, who attempt to pursue the American Dream in the Texas Panhandle circa 1916 when their idyllic romance is disrupted by a plan to inherit an ailing farmer’s fortune by having Abby marry him. MUSIC Christopher Taylor on Piano: Goldberg Variations Friday, May 3, 8 p.m. $17.50 – $29 students Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center The Mondavi welcomes another virtuoso artist who brings along with him a rare instrument: a Steinway-Moor piano with a unique double-tier that is an attraction unto itself. Taylor, whose other pursuits range from mathematics, linguistics and philosophy, brings his singular talent to one of Bach’s later works, The Goldberg Variations (1741). Rose Windows, Sea Dramas Saturday, May 4, 9 p.m.,... ...

Playing a hybrid mix of folk-rock, bluegrass and country, The McCoy Tyler Band is a Santa Cruz-based trio who will perform at Whole Earth Festival and live on air on KDVS 90.3 FM. The band is rooted in folk tradition, but McCoy Tyler, Clinton Brown and Chad Bowen add their unique musical perspectives to arrange progressive-yet-rootsy tunes. After having released their first full-length album in 2012, Cabin Fever Blues, the trio has been performing around the Bay Area, Sacramento, Tahoe and Oregon. MUSE was able to speak with Tyler, vocals and guitar and Brown, vocals and drums, in a phone interview, discussing their beginnings as a band, their musical influences and the unique style they bring to the traditional genre. MUSE: How did your band first take shape? Tyler: About two years ago, I wrote a bunch of songs, and I was looking for a band. I went on Craigslist seeking musicians, and Clinton and Chad were the first to respond. When we met, I explained the music, and we... ...

Consisting of various 5-minute acts, Undergraduate One-Act plays, Main Stage Dance performances and midnight sing-along showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the Edge Performance Festival showcases the performative talents of undergraduate and graduate students alike. The festival runs from April 25 to 28 and May 2 to 5 at Wright Hall and Wyatt Deck. David Grenke, artistic director of the Edge Festival, described the types of events to be featured during the festival. “Hour of 5s is an hour of five-minute cabaret pieces that showcase students’ talents, which can be singing, acting, dance, monologues or however they develop and express their creative process,” Grenke said. “The One-Acts are written and directed by undergraduates. They are each under 10 minutes in length, and the idea for that is to really focus on the craft of writing and directing plays.” The Main Stage Dance performances, occurring in Wright Hall’s Main Stage, feature four undergraduate and two graduate choreographies. “The dance performance is a capstone for Dance majors in the choreography track.... ...

As I sift through the myriad of magazines lining the back wall of CVS, my hand catches the corner of an askew publication and knocks it to the ground. I pick it up nonchalantly and catch a glimpse of the contents within. To my genuine astonishment, the $6.99 collective of glossy pages is completely filled with One Direction glamour shots, complete with perforated edges for quick access to the numerous headshots of Harry Styles. I turn to my friend from down the aisle and reveal my finding. The unexpected response: “I love that band! They’re so hot!” Two weeks later, I’m wandering through the many drunken masses of the West Quad on Picnic Day, enjoying a young rock band flood the landscape with pleasurable tunes. As I muse on the expensive sonic equipment the up-and-coming act is packing, I overhear a sentence that catches my attention. “I like this band, that guy is cute!” A hypothesis forms in my mind. Casually, I turn to the girl and ask one final... ...

I must admit, in the beginning, I thought I would hate Sexy Feminism. With the subhead “A Girl’s Guide to Love, Success, and Style,” the cover words are superimposed over a close-up photo of glossy, sultry, slightly-parted lips. It became very clear in the introduction that the book was for a very specific demographic when the authors self-identified as “shockingly mainstream” young women growing up. So in other words, I was ready to get outraged. I had primed paragraphs in my feminist bandolier about the exclusion of the lower-class, mixed-race, disabled, genderqueer, androgynous lesbian: You can’t just ignore them! They’re here, they’re queer, write books about them! But Heather Wood Rudúlph and Jennifer Keishin Armstrong hooked me with the second page of the first chapter, where they declared the first two steps of feminism: “Step 1: Call yourself a proud feminist. Step 2: Live up to the word.” They put the beat-down on the “I’m not a feminist, but …” stance: “To distance yourself from the word is to imply... ...

The Cross Cultural Center is searching for artwork to display in its front Art Lounge and hallway. Any current undergraduate, graduate, staff, faculty or community member can apply to submit art to be displayed in the center. Submitted artwork should reflect the Center’s mission: “… to foster a multi-cultural community through education and advocacy regarding systematic group oppressions, ethnic and cultural diversity, and establishing an environment of cross-cultural learning and exchange for the entire campus.” For expectations, responsibilities and specifics of submission, visit ccc.ucdavis.edu/about/artlounge. — Elizabeth Orpina ...

A Day in the Life of an Immigration Inspector The term immersion, as it applies to video games, often brings with it connotations of expansive landscapes, beautiful environmental vistas and compelling narrative developments. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim acts as a key example, in which the game’s greatest strength is the world itself and how players feel a strong connection to it. Over the weekend, I was reminded that the successful execution of a unique idea can establish the same level of immersion, in spite of a limited scope and modest production values. This cognitive shift came as a result of my time with a recent indie game titled Papers, Please. Described by creator Lucas Pope as a “dystopian document thriller,” Papers, Please transports players into the role of immigration inspector for the fictional country Arstotzka. I’ve played hundreds of video games in my lifetime, and never before have I had to admit or deny people entry into a country. Oddly enough, I had a lot of fun completing the... ...

On April 26, the pulsating beats of progressive house DJ, Panic City, will fill the courtyard of the Alpha Epsilon Pi house. The event, titled Panic Room after its featured artist, is a free event for students, put on jointly by the ASUCD Entertainment Council and AEPi and sponsored by Monster Energy Drinks. In terms of high-profile events at the AEPi house, “there has been nothing like this so far,” said third-year managerial economics major Brent Ghan. Panic City is the moniker for 26-year-old San Francisco producer Nic Magbanua, who began recording hip-hop instrumentals in high school before DJing at clubs in the Bay Area and elsewhere. Recently, his slick house remixes of highly popular artists (Daft Punk, The xx and official Chris Brown and Far East Movement remixes) have gained him increasing attention on sites like Hypetrak and Soundcloud. “Panic City is a solid EDM artist, and all involved with organizing the event, myself included, have put a lot of hard work into it,” said Kyle Simon, a fourth-year... ...

The upcoming installment of the Davis Flea Market will feature Music on the Green, an annual concert for the community organized by ASUCD. There are four bands playing, including The Blackbird, Jordan’s Beard, Whiskey Business and The She’s. “[Music on the Green] has been going on for a few years in order to bridge the gap between the community of Davis, the students of ASUCD and the university as a whole,” said Jenna Wooster, chair of the External Affairs Committee and a first-year biomedical engineering major. Wooster was involved in the planning process for this event along with the former External Affairs Committee chair, Emily Alice Gerhart. “I was involved in a lot of the logistical decisions, such as where to hold the concert, who to hire and the environmental impact,” Wooster said. The event had input from several units of ASUCD, including the Campus Center for the Environment and the Environmental Policy and Planning Commission, who are helping to make this a zero-waste event. In addition, the Entertainment Council... ...