Mary Damiano Photo by David Vance

 Mary Damiano’s Arts Scene

Miriam Kulick, Merry Jo Pitasi and Odell Rivas, The cast of Three Angels Dancing on a Needle

Miami Production Invited to Perform in New York
Miami’s own Square Peg theatre company has been invited to New York to perform their  inaugural production of exiled Iranian playwright Assurbanipal Babilla’s Three Angels Dancing on a Needle.  The production, which was directed by Michael Yawney, will play the Brick Theatre’s Pretentious Festival in Brooklyn June 5, 6, 9 and 10.  Yawney and the cast, Merry Jo Pitasi, Miriam Kulick and Odell Rivas, will travel to New York to play the festival.  Three Angels Dancing on a Needle had two different runs at a space in the Wynwood Arts District in the past year.

Playwright Juan C. Sanchez, one of the many locals playwrights whose plays will receive world premieres at South Florida theatres. Sanchez’s play, Red Tide, will premiere at The Promethean Theatre in Davie. Photo: Mary Damiano

Local Playwrights Featured in Upcoming Season
As South Florida theatres announce their 2007/2008 seasons, the spotlight is shining on the wealth of talented homegrown playwrights.  The Promethean Theatre in Davie will produce the world premiere of Juan C. Sanchez’s play Red Tide; Sanchez wrote Buck Fever, which premiered at Promethean and received a Carbonell nomination for Best New Work.  The Caldwell Theatre in Boca Raton, is negotiating for the world premiere of Michael McKeever’s new play, Suite Surrender, a comedy which takes place in Palm Beach.  Coral Gables’ New Theatre will feature four world premieres in their upcoming season, two of which are by local playwrights: Likeness by David Caudle, who wrote last season’s The Sunken Living Room; Fill Our Mouths by Lauren Feldman, a playwright and actress who’s work has been included in Summer Shorts.  New Theatre will also premiere The Mission by Jules Tasca, which also has a local connection: New Theatre Artistic Director Ricky J. Martinez directed the reading of The Mission as part of the Lavender Footlights Festival, which took place in Miami last April.  I saw the reading, which featured E.L. Losada as a priest and Frank Rodriquez as the convict he visits in prison.  The audience loved it and clamored for a full production.

Submerged, by Henry Perez

Heavenly Event
Mark your calendars and save the date to attend the opening night of photographer Henry Perez’s first ever photo exhibition.  Henry, our star photographer here at MiamiARTzine.com, will premiere his work in an exhibition called “Heavens”.  The event, which takes place Wednesday, May 30, at Juice and Java Natural Food Café, 1346 Washington Ave., Miami Beach, will also serve as a Miami Beach Arts Trust Evening Bag, and one of Henry’s photographs will be raffled off to benefit the Miami Beach Arts Trust, which produces MiamiARTzine.com.

A scene from Irma Vap: O Retorno, the opening night film of Miami’s Brazilian Film Festival

Brazilian Film Fest
Presented by Inffinto Foundation and the City of Miami Beach, the 11^th annual Brazilian Film Festival will take place June 1-9 at the Colony Theatre on Lincoln Road.  Designed to increase the visibility of Brazilian cinema in the United States and secure its spot on South Florida’s cultural calendar, the festival is the largest competitive showing of Brazilian movies held outside of Brazil. All the films in competition are being screened in the U.S. for the first time. Over 20,000 people – Latinos, Brazilians, Americans and tourists alike – are expected at the screenings at the Colony Theatre, where over 30 films will be screened. The Brazilian Film Festival of Miami launches on Friday, June 1, with a free opening party at the North Beach Band Shell, where an outdoor screening of Carla Camurati’s Irma Vap – The Return, the 2006 Best Picture Public Choice, will be projected on the giant screen. Irma Vap is the story about a man trying to bring Brazil’s most beloved theatrical production to the big screen, but unforeseen problems may prevent the realization of his dreams. The 2006 Best Short Film award winner, What’s up Tocayo, will also be screened at the opening party. It’s a short documentary made in Havana, Cuba about a Cuban mother, Mirian Torres, who tries to show the world through her point of view. The free party will begin at 6 p.m. with a performance by the Brazilian Samba School and music by DJ Marcelo and will be followed by the outdoor film screening at sundown, about 8:30 p.m.  For a full schedule of films and events, visit brazilianfilmfestival.com.

A scene from Donne: Mothers, Daughters, Sisters, Lovers, presented by Dance Now! Ensemble

Dance Now! Ensemble Celebrates Women
Dance Now! Ensemble will finish its season with their acclaimed production of Donne: Mothers, Daughters, Sisters, Lovers at the Hollywood Central Performing Arts Center, June 2, 8 p.m., and June 3, 7 p.m.  Donne, which means “women” in Italian, brings to life intimate stories woven by the collective experiences of all women.  The women of this predominantly female dance company are the inspiration behind the creation of Donne.  In this age of super models and anorexia, DNE draws upon the fact that its dancers are healthy and do not fall into negative
traditions of body stereotyping and eating disorders.  The dancers, while representing every woman, take audiences on a dramatic ride, unveiling the universal connection of women. Donne is taken from inspiration to visual reality through the modern contemporary choreography of co-directors Hannah Baumgarten and Diego Salterini.  Donne also features an avant garde work by guest choreographer, Colleen Farnum, and a special performance from dancers of Fort Lauderdale’s Dillard Center for the Arts. For more information, dancenowmiami.org.

Michael Hardy, Susan Harris and Harvey J. Burstein the Carnival Center party to kick off their new season Photo: Manny Hernandez

Carnival Center Celebrates Upcoming Season
It’s hard to believe that Carnival Center is already announcing its upcoming season; it seems like just yesterday Miami was buzzing about the grand opening celebrations.  More than 400 members of the Carnival Center Alliance gathered at Carnival Center for its Member Appreciation Open House/Fall Preview Party on May 1.  The guests previewed the Fall 2007 season, enjoyed live music outdoors in the Parker and Van Thomson Plaza for the Arts, and mingled with Carnival Center staff and other members at the festive sunset soiree.  Guests included Jerrold Goodman, member of Carnival Center Foundation Board of Directors; David Wilson treasurer of the Carnival Center Trust Board of Directors; Oscar Braynon, Vice Mayor of City of Miami Gardens and Carnival Center Trust Board Member; Mark Houck and Raul Chacon, of the law firm Houck Anderson,P.A.; Judy Weiser and Woody Weiser chairman of the Carnival Center Foundation Board of Directors; Alain Altit and Jillian Jacobson-Altit, members of Carnival Center's Next Generation Committee; Carnival Center supporters and Alliance members: Chae DuPont, Dianne Sepler, Neal and Pat Sonnett , Evelyn Amis, Marta Lopez-Cantera and Barbara Weiss. Local jazzy pop band VoxBlu entertained guests, who enjoyed rum punch cocktails and gourmet treats created by Restaurant Associates. Members of all levels gathered to celebrate the Center’s first year and to preview the upcoming Carnival Center fall season, which includes performances by South Florida’s choir Seraphic Fire, Patti LuPone, The Four Tops and The Temptations in concert; the jazzy sabor latino of Omar Sosa & the Afreecanos Quartet and Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache Band; and Calypso @ Dirty Jim’s, a special gathering of the world’s top Calypso musicians in a U.S. premiere presentation.  For more information about Carnival Center, visit carnivalcenter.org.

State of the Arts