A young black male raised without a father, expelled for assaulting his teacher in fourth grade finds poetry mentors who help cultivate his gift for words and turn him into a beacon of hope in his community. It's the kind of adversity-overcoming story that fuels the inspirations of Hollywood filmmakers. It is also the real-life story of Sacramento Area Youth Speaks poet/mentor Andre Tillman, otherwise known as Dre-T. "I would say ages six through eight were my troubled years," Tillman says, recounting the incident that got him expelled from grade school, "I remember knowing it wasn’t my teachers fault." It was right around this time that a young, frustrated Andre Tillman would discover wh

Most famous comedians, when they want to work out their new material before a big tour, will make a clandestine appearance at a local comedy club or do an unannounced ‘guest set’ at a comedy showcase. Not if you are Robin Williams. Williams took over Sacramento’s Crest Theater last night and shared his workout with 950 loyal fans, who paid $50 each to watch the comedy great perfect his “Weapons of Self-Destruction” material before debuting his tour in Australia and New Zealand on November 4. William’s proceeds were donated to the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Service. Greeted with the first of three standing ovations as he walked onto the stage, Williams quipped, "Getting a standing ov

What do a Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist and atheist have in common? Besides the fact that they all perform stand-up on the "Coexist? Comedy Tour," they are all from Northern California and have spent time in the same Prius while on the road. Saturday night, the Coexist Tour will stop at the Crest Theatre for a live taping. The show features Tissa Hami (the Muslim), Mike Winfield (the Christian), Tapan Trivedi (the Hindu), Moshe Kasher (the Jew), Keith Lowell Jensen (the atheist) and Sammy Obeid (the Buddhist) performing stand-up about their religious differences. It started a little over two years ago, with a conversation between Jensen and Trivedi about God. Jensen told Trived