Amal, the name of the ferocious theater piece from the Combat Hippies which I saw last Friday, means “hope” in Arabic. And this riveting, authentic original work supplies that in all kinds of ways. Combat Hippies and Amal are the latest creations from Teo Castellanos, the theater artist and teacher/mentor who, despite numerous awards and…
Category: Activism
Our Story Here and Now with One Night in Miami
With One Night in Miami, the riveting play that just kicked off Miami New Drama’s second season, artistic director Michel Hausmann hits straight to the heart of his troupe’s mission – presenting work that’s central to Miami. Not only because of the play’s uniquely Miami story. But because that story speaks to and for a…
#HerToo – Pioneering Performance Artist Karen Finley Takes Miami
Listen up kids. One of the raddest and baddest female performance artists ever is playing Miami tonight (Friday). Before #metoo, before mansplaining was called out, before performance was “time-based art,” Karen Finley was shocking our cultural system. Calling out the patriarchy? Finley took her challenge to the Supreme Court. Finley was one of the most…
Listen to the Dead – Tania El Khoury’s Gardens Speak
What may well be the most powerful, unique and mesmerizing work in all of Miami Art Week is buried in a room at the side of the Fillmore Miami Beach. In Tania El Khoury’s Gardens Speak, the dead come alive and speak directly to us. The piece is an indefinable mix of installation, story-telling, sound,…
Bread, Roses, and a Declaration of Joy
[Photo – Jennifer Kronenberg and Carlos Guerra of Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami] This is a cultural blog, but celebrating culture often feels difficult these days. Politics is so enraging and frightening. The abuse, lies, stupidity and nastiness of President Trump; the meanness of politicians who seem determined to decimate support for the environment, health,…
Changing the World, One Film at a Time – the Good Fight at Good Pitch Miami
The stars/heros were a teenage refugee from Honduras, a Mayan activist from Guatemala, a park ranger from Bolivia, a mentor to struggling teenagers in Los Angeles. The power brokers were foundation leaders and media executives. The supplicants were storytellers, filmmakers and activists. At stake was a chance to change the world. They all came together…
The singular, spectacular Joey Arias
Long before drag was mainstream and creating a gender-blurring self was an activist act, Joey Arias was doing both. The singular diva, singer and artist-entertainer, who performs Friday as part of Fundarte’s Out in the Tropics festival, is a legendary founding figure of New York’s art/music/nightlife underground. A word he scoffs at, one of the…
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