Mary Damiano Photo by David Vance

Mary Damiano’s Arts Scene

Mark Monday October 27 on your calendars and join MiamiARTzine.com as we celebrate our third anniversary with a party at the World Erotic Art Museum in Miami Beach. Why WEAM, you ask? Because the arts are sexy, that’s why. Tickets are only $20 and include admission to the museum, drinks and hors d’oeuvres. We’re still firming up all the details and festivities, so watch upcoming issues of MiamiARTzine.com for details. www.weam.com.

Ceci Fernandez

Miami Actress Makes the Grade
Miami native Ceci Fernandez, 23, is one of 12 students from around the world to be accepted to attend the prestigious Bristol Old Vic Theater School, founded by Sir Laurence Olivier in 1946. You might have heard of some of the people who have attended this school: Peter O’ Toole, Gene Wilder, Patrick Stewart, and recent Academy Award winner, Daniel Day Lewis, to name just a few. It’s not surprising that Fernandez has been accepted to such a school—she’s been delivering solid work at many of South Florida’s best theatres, including as part of the ensemble in City Theatre’s Summer Shorts Festival this past summer. Attending a school like the Bristol Old Vic Theater School would open major doors in a highly competitive industry for any young actor, but talent alone won’t get Fernandez to the Bristol Old Vic. Financial constraints might keep her home. Last year, Fernandez was forced to pass up an opportunity to attend CalArts’ three-year master’s program due to finances. In an effort to keep history from repeating itself, several close friends are spearheading an initiative to raise a sort of private scholarship for Fernandez. Hispanic Events, Inc., a non-for-profit organization that helps Hispanic artists further their careers, will accept tax-deductible donations from those generous enough to help her. Friends are also holding a fundraiser to help Fernandez pay for school. The happy-hour fundraiser/benefit concert will take place Tuesday, August 26, at Flavour Nightclub, 2895 McFarlane Rd. in Coconut Grove. Performers include Jose El Rey; masters of fusion music, Afrobeta; a mock-Reggaeton group called The Toners; and various live visual artists painting everything from canvases to Converse, with the ever-popular “Deuce Crew” manning the turntables. Fernandez will appear in Betrayed at GableStage beginning August 16 and at the 24 Hour Theatre Project on Monday, August 25. For more information on the fundraiser, contact Alex Fumero at alex.fumero@gmail.com, If you’d like to donate to the scholarship for Fernandez, send contributions to Ceci Fernandez, 11401 SW 40th St. Suite #370, Miami, FL 33165.

Dennis Wilson, James Taylor and Laurie Bird in a scene from Two Lane Blacktop

On the Road
The Wolfsonian delves into a pre-interstate America with Cinematic Detours: Road Movies, this year’s summer film series. The 1971 cult classic Two Lane Blacktop, directed by Monte Hellman, will be screened Thursday, August 21. It’s about three youths participating in a cross-country road race. The series finishes with the 1969 French New Wave film Pierrot Le Fou directed by Jean-Luc Godard, which will be screened Thursday August 28. It’s about the unorthodox life of an unhappily married man. Both films depict the crises and the transformations of characters and offer a look into the culture and times in which they were produced. For more information, visit www.wolfsonian.org.

Photographer Lochai and Naomi Wilzig at the opening night reception for Lochai’s exhibition of erotic photographs at Wilzig’s World Erotic Art Museum Photo: Robert Harbour

Bound for Miami Beach
There’s still time to see the exhibition by renowned photographer Lochai at the World Erotic Art Museum (WEAM) in Miami Beach, which runs through the end of August. Lochai is a good fit for WEAM’s continuing its mission to present the work of artists whose controversial subject matter frequently collide with what is generally considered to be acceptable parlor art. Declaring he “shoots for the walls and not the computer screen,” Lochai’s images of bondage and fetish, have been published in The Journal of Photography, Secret Skin Two, Bizarre, Prometheus, Fetish Anthology and Extreme Anthology. In 2007, Lochai’s photo, Beach Bound, was judged by Erotic Signature as “The World’s Most Erotic Photograph.” Along with his runner-up images, Alyssa Bound and Spider Bites, Beach Bound appears in the collector’s edition of The World’s Greatest Erotic Art of Today, Volume 1. Curves, the 2008 runner-up appears in Volume 2. Working with some of the world’s most beautiful models, Lochai, who along with Bobby Knight is a founding member of “Pro Photo Tour” www.prophototours.com, a three-day intensive workshop, finds his subject matter an opportunity to unleash the hidden truths and desires that lie not only in the persons of his models, but in the heart of his viewers. Approximately 30 images are on view in the exhibition. www.weam.com.

Todd Allen Durkin, Antonio Amadeo, Ceci Fernandez and Ricky Waugh in Betrayed at GableStage Photo: George Schiavone

Theatre Openings
New Theatre in Coral Gables once again tackles the Bard with As You Like It, which runs through September 7. www.new-theatre.org. Also in Coral Gables, GableStage at the Biltmore Hotel has the southeastern premiere of Betrayed by George Packer, about Iraqi translators in Baghdad, and runs August 16 through September 14. www.gablestage.org. Ground Up & Rising has The Last Days of Judas Iscariot by Stephen Adly Gurgis, a courtroom drama set in purgatory that puts Judas on trial. The play runs through August 25 at Miami Dade Community College, Kendall Campus, Building M. For more information, call 305-726-4359 or e-mail BoxOffice@GroundUpandRising.org. The Sol Theatre in Fort Lauderdale has Blowing Whistles, about what happens when a gay couple brings a young man into their relationship. Blowing Whistles runs through September 5. www.soltheatre.com. Rising Action in Oakland Park opens Bathhouse, the Musical, August 20 through September 8. It’s an all-male revue about a young man looking for love in all the wrong places. www.risingactiontheatre.com. Religion is very much on tap at the Broward Stage Door in Coral Springs, which has two new shows coming up. First up is The Convertible Girl by Danny Simon, a comedy about a woman who decides to convert to marry her Jewish boyfriend. It runs August 15 through October 12. In the Stage Door’s other theatre there’s Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? A musical that follows eight kids through their Catholic school education in 1950s Chicago. It runs August 29 through October 5. And the Caldwell Theatre in Boca Raton finishes up their summer season with Lying in State, a comedy that skewers politicians and their advisors. It runs September 5-21. www.caldwelltheatre.com.

Art Comes Out of the Closet
If you’re an artist, you probably have lots of older work around the house or the studio. Sell your old artwork and make room for new creations at the Out of the Closet Art Sale, presented by ArtsUnited on Saturday, September 6, 1:30- 4 p.m. at ArtServe in Fort Lauderdale. The Out of the Closet Art Sale is an opportunity to sell all your outdated artwork, and for the public to buy original artwork at bargain prices. Artwork must be priced at $200 or less. ArtsUnited will not take any percentage of these sales. Artist tables are $30 for ArtsUnited, ArtServe and Broward Art Guild Members, and $50 for non-members. One table and two chairs will be provided. Participation is first come, first served. Admission to the public will be free. ArtServe is located at 1350 East Sunrise Blvd. Deadline to apply for a spot is August 25. For more information and to receive an application, e-mail artsunited1@aol.com.

The ceiling in one of the outer gazebo buildings at Vizcaya Photo: Mary Damiano

Fabulous Freebie
My husband Sam and I took advantage of one of Vizcaya’s free days last month and toured the palatial estate. I hadn’t been there in years, and Sam had never visited, but whether you’re a first-timer or a frequent visitor, it is spectacular. The house and gardens transport you to another time, and fun to imagine being a guest at the estate and having tea in James Deering’s favorite rooms. There were no tours available, but friendly and knowledgeable docents were stationed in the main rooms to answer questions. The gardens are lush and expansive but look out for the uneven ground and mud if it rains the way it did the day we went. The last free day is Sunday, August 31, so don’t miss it. Get there early though. We got there before Vizcaya opened and a crowd had already gathered. By the time we left at 12:30 p.m., the parking lot was full, a cop was doing crowd control and people were parking blocks away and hiking to the manse. www.vizcayamuseum.org.

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