SRQ DAILY Feb 28, 2020
Friday Weekend Edition
"We want to honor Carroll's legacy and continue our mission of being a trailblazer, and to continue giving black artists the mentorship and development they need to achieve their aspirations."
For Nate Jacobs, Black History Month is a time to reflect upon and remember the triumphs of the African American artists upon whose shoulders he stands. Some of these giants of African American letters are well known—Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, Toni Morrison—but others contributed quietly to the body of black art without much fanfare, and it is one of these unsung heroes that Jacobs celebrates with the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe production of the musical “Your Arms Too Short to Box with God.”
The musical was written in 1976 by Vinnette Carroll, who six years earlier had become the first African American woman to direct on Broadway. With “Arms Too Short,” Carroll revived and reinvented the gospel tradition of the African American community with a new form of theatre called the gospel song-play. With this new form, Carroll was able to retell the Book of Matthew from the perspective and in the cultural language of African Americans, using song and dance to tell the story of Jesus’s betrayal and the women who supported him along the way. For Jacobs, the musical checks all the boxes on the WBTT’s mission.
“Vinnette Carroll was a trailblazer” says Jacobs, “and she opened the door for more black productions.” As WBTT continues to polish the uncut gems of talent in the Sarasota region, Jacobs will look to greats like Carroll and remember not just his own journey to the theatre’s stage, but the obstacles many before him have overcome for their moment in the spotlight. “Predominately white regional theatres don’t usually go for black stories,” says Jacobs, who cites the documented difficulties experienced by Lorraine Hansberry in getting “A Raisin in the Sun” to be the first Broadway musical production from an African American playwright.
For Jacobs, it’s about removing those obstacles and allowing artists to be artists. “Theatre was never talked about in my household as a possibility,” says Jacobs, which is why reaching back in time to revitalize an almost-forgotten musical is, paradoxically, also a time to think about the future. “We want to honor Carroll’s legacy and continue our mission of being a trailblazer,” he says, “and to continue giving black artists the mentorship and development they need to achieve their aspirations.”
So, as Black History Month comes to close, Nate Jacobs stands gratefully on the foundation of his predecessors’ triumphs and gazes boldly into the future. “Your Arms Too Short to Box with God” runs through April 5th.
Pictured: The cast of 'Your Arms Too Short to Box with God' includes Cequita Monique, Syreeta S. Banks and Teresa Stanley, Carvas Pickens, Dai'Sean L. Garrett, Charles Wesley Lattimore Jr. and CJ Melton. Taken by Sorcha Augustine.
Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 1012 N Orange Ave., Sarasota, 941-366-1505
Head to the circus for a one-of-a-kind yoga experience next week, dubbed Yoga.Music Movement. “Finally, a party that leaves us nourished, our cups full, bodies turned on, spirits flying high,” says Nati Pitch of SRQ Beats, hosting its first-ever meditation dance party. Taking place in the newly-renovated Sailor Circus Arena at the Circus Arts Conservatory, yogis will gather on the big top floor and start with a moving meditation with Maggie Kay, before moving into a vinyasa yoga class with three different local yoga studios including Body Heat Yoga Joint, The Yoga Shack and Studio K2G Yoga & Fitness. Take advantage too, of practicing with embodiment tools from Maggie Kay and learn how to integrate them into your daily life.
O & A Coffee and Supply will be ever present to provide the caffeine in case you’re not quite awake enough to plank or warrior, while Green Zebra will be there to fill your body with nutritious goodness with delicious organic juices and smoothies, and Nutty Girl to treat yourself with yummy vegan and gluten-free healthful snacks. And throughout the unique flow, expect to connect and celebrate with funkified sounds and spins by California DJ, Antoinette Van Dewark and Nati Pitch. Namaste and dance.
Sunday, March 8, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm at The Circus Arts Conservatory, 2075 Bahia Vista St., Sarasota. Tickets are $30 and can be found here.
Left photo, courtesy of Body Heat Yoga Sarasota. Right photo of Dj Antoinette, taken by Wyatt Kostygan.
Harvey Milk Festival (HMF) honors the legacy of Harvey Milk by fostering the arts as a catalyst for social and political change. HMF features a variety of attractions including live music, film, performing and visual artists, speakers, and vendors designed to engage a large and diverse audience. #WeSupport campaign intends to educate and empower participants to take a more active role in rejecting discrimination within their communities. Educating and inspiring for a stronger future. There are four main HMF events ranging from May 1-9, 2020. The cost associated with each HMF event varies.
Alexander Eli, Paige McMullen, Summer Wood of TOMBOi
For more information on event details, and pricing information
Manatee County's Agriculture and Extension Service is planning for the upcoming Open Educational Garden Event with the Manatee County Master Gardener Volunteers, on Saturday, March 28, 2020 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. The event is held at the University of Florida/IFAS Extension Manatee County, Agriculture and Extension Service, Educational Gardens, 1303 17th Street West (Manatee CountyFairgrounds) in Palmetto. Featuring demonstration/educational gardens and several information/demonstration stations covering; school and community gardens, the community seed bank, rain barrels, worm composting, the Florida Friendly Landscape Assistance Program, the Plant Diagnostic Clinic, soil and/or water testing services, and others. Come enjoy the gardens and the varied activities. The Florida Master Gardener Volunteer Program was created to assist Extension Agents in providing research based horticultural education to Florida residents. In Manatee County, residents can bring their horticultural questions to the Plant Diagnostic Clinic where Master Gardener Volunteers will assist in resolving their questions. The clinic is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Soil testing for pH and soluble salts is available for a small fee. Educational garden tours are available. Various educational classes in residential horticulture are offered through-out the year to the public. Contact the Manatee County Agriculture and Extension Service, 941-722-4524, to be put on the mailing list for the Master Gardener monthly e-newsletter.
University of Florida/IFAS Extension Manatee County, Agriculture and Extension Service, Educational Gardens
To learn more about Manatee County Agriculture and Extension Service
The final opera of the 2020 Winter Opera Festival is a new production of La Wally (pronounced “lah vahLEE”) by Alfredo Catalani, a work not seen in the U.S. for more than 30 years. In a village in the Tyrolean Alps, the strong-willed Wally resists her father’s wishes, choosing to pursue an unrequited love. When the man of her dreams breaks her heart, a chain of events leads to tragedy. The work’s lush and melodic music features one of opera’s most captivating arias, “Ebben! Ne andrò lontana,” (“Well, then! I’ll go far away”), a sad and haunting song that was featured in Jean-Jacques Beineix’s 1981 French thriller film, Diva. La Wally will have six performances through March 22, 2020. Tickets start at $19 and are available at www.sarasotaopera.org and in the Sarasota Opera Box Office.
La Wally, Photo by Rod Millington
The Bradentucky Bombers are excited to announce their first home game of their 14th Season on Saturday, March 7. This Double Header will include two games against Greensboro Roller Derby of Greensboro, North Carolina. Game One is the Bomb Squad versus Greensboro Gate City All-Stars. Game Two is the Nuclear Bombshells versus Greensboro Counterstrike. Both games occur consecutively on Saturday, March 7 at Ellenton Ice & Sports Complex 5309 29th Street E., Ellenton at 5:00 pm, doors open at 4:30 pm. Tickets are available. For this game, our Buy One, Get One deal is for spectators under 18 with valid ID for tickets purchased at the door. Purchase tickets in advance online, or your favorite skater for $10! Tickets are $12 at the door; Kids 6—12 $6 at the door; Kids 5 and under FREE. For more information visit www.bradentuckybombers.com or the Facebook event (https://www.facebook.com/events/2491695371055337/). Beer is available for purchase in the rink (cash only). The party begins after the games at Darwin Brewing Company and Taproom 803 17th Avenue W., Bradenton. All raffle proceeds will go to the Junior Rolling Rebels, the local juniors roller derby league.
Photo by Patrick Laughre
For more information on these events of the Bradentucky Bombers
The fifth annual Suncoast Music Scholarship program will offer up to $20,000 in music scholarships through a competition open to 10th through 12th grade students who reside in Sarasota or Manatee County. This scholarship program is funded through a partnership of Sarasota Music Club and Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota. Four scholarship awards are available for graduating seniors to use for advanced music education. These awards are: 1st place - $5,000, 2nd place - $4,000, 3rd place - $3,000, and 4th place - $2,000. Two awards of $2,000 are available for 11th grade students, and two $1,000 awards will be available for 10th grade students. All scholarship funds are to be used for expenses related to the study of music. Lee Dougherty Ross, Director of Competitions for Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota and Co-Chair of Suncoast Music Scholarships, said, “We are so happy to be able to offer this scholarship to help support young musicians.” Information and applications are available through the websites of both sponsoring organizations: www.SarasotaMusicClub.org and www.ArtistSeriesConcerts.org. Applications must be received by 5 pm on March 25, and the auditions will be held on April 18. The 12th grade winners will perform at the annual awards luncheon on May 2.
For more information, call Lee Dougherty Ross, 941.388.1188, or Susan Hicks, 941-925-3602.
2019 Suncoast Music Scholarship winners (Left to right): Joshua Hellberg, Nadia Brooks, Susan Hicks, John Alan Fischer, Lee Dougherty Ross, Andrea Guaita, Luca Stine. Photo credit: Rod Millington
To learn more about scholarship opportunities and the Sarasota Music Club & Artist Series Concert
Inspired by the 2020 Pantone Color of the Year.
Click here to read the full story in our February 2020 Business Edition!
Photos are now available from the 16th Annual SRQ Home of the Year Awards Ceremony. The 2020 Home of the Year Awards Ceremony took place at SRQ Studios on Tuesday, February 25. Developed to recognize talent in the design and construction industry, the SRQ Home of the Year Competition celebrates incredible residences along the Gulf Coast.
The full list of awards and winners can be viewed in print in the March 2020 edition of SRQ Magazine and the feature is also available to read and download online. Congratulations to our nominees, winners, and contributors for enriching our community through great design!
Born and raised in Mexico City, where he spent most of his career, Manuel Álvarez Bravo (Mexican, 1902-2002) was one of the most important figures in 20th century Latin American photography. Although he took art classes at the Academy of San Carlos, his photography was mostly self-taught, but he was savvy to the emerging international artistic avant-garde. Considered to be one of the founders of modern photography, his work extends from the late 1920s to the 1900s. He was a key figure from the period following the Mexican Revolution—often called the Mexican Renaissance—in which arts and literature flourished. This “Renaissance” owed to the happy—though not always tranquil—marriage between a desire for modernization and the search for an authentic national identity with Mexican roots, in which archaeology, history and ethnology played an important role. Support for this exhibition has been provided, in part, by the Ringling Endowment at the Florida State University Foundation. Paid for in part by Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax Revenues.
John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota
Concealed and Revealed offers a unique selection of paintings by the artist, along with numerous objects from the Solomon Archive on view for the first time. Syd Solomon (American, 1917-2004) described himself as an “Abstract Impressionist” alluding to the fact that his work infused impressionism into the processes, scale and concepts of Abstract Expressionism. Solomon moved to Sarasota in 1946 with his wife Annie. His was the first work of contemporary art to be collected by The Ringling in 1962. His paintings were greatly influenced by climatic factors and reveal a fascination and concern for Florida’s aquatic environment. Solomon incorporated his experience as a camouflage designer during World War II into his painting. It is not well-known that he was also an accomplished graphic artist, who in his early years designed commercial signage for prominent hotels and businesses in Sarasota. Like his work in camouflage, Solomon’s calligraphic skill was essential to the development of his later gestural abstraction.
Syd Solomon: Concealed and Revealed is presented in partnership with the Estate of Syd Solomon and is accompanied by a 96-page publication with essays by former curator at The Ringling Michael Auping, George S. Bolge, Dr. Gail Levin, and Mike Solomon. The exhibition will include artworks from private collections and The Ringling’s permanent collection.
John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota
Guests can “step back in time” to see an in-depth history of both Ferrari and Porsche, and the incredible cars that were released along the way, at Sarasota Classic Car Museum’s upcoming exhibit. The exhibit will showcase over 16 Porsche models, from 1951 to 2004, as well as six classic Ferraris ranging in years from 1965 to 2011. This exhibit is included in the price of admission to the museum.
Sarasota Classic Car Museum, 5500 North Tamiami Trail, Sarasota
Sarasota’s hometown circus, Circus Sarasota, is ready to bring chills, thrills and laughs aplenty to audiences of all ages during its professional winter show, Circus Sarasota 2020. Each year, an international cast of renowned artists is chosen to showcase the finest acts in various circus arts disciplines. Once again featuring new and innovative acts, Circus Sarasota 2020 will offer high-flying, heart-stopping thrills, laugh-out-loud comedic antics, and acts that defy both expectations and the boundaries of human limitations. This year’s show features incredible artistry on the flag pole and single trapeze, fast-paced Alanian riders on horseback, hand-to-hand acrobatics, juggling, breathtaking aerial artists, and much more! All performances are rain or shine and take place under the air-conditioned Ulla Searing Big Top in Nathan Benderson Park (behind the Mall at UTC). Showtimes are Tuesdays through Saturdays at 7 p.m., Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2 p.m., and President’s Day (February 17) and Sundays at 1 and 5 pm. Tickets are $15-$55, with children under 2 free. Go to CircusArts.org, call the Box Office, or visit the Big Top Box Office beginning Monday, January 20, 2020 (140 UTC Dr., Sarasota) Monday through Friday from 10 am to 5 pm. When picking up tickets, please present your confirmation email or I.D.
Ulla Searing Big Top in Nathan Benderson Park, 140 UTC Dr., Sarasota
Abstract Expressionist Syd Solomon lived and worked in Sarasota, Florida. From his home on Siesta Key, Solomon painted Florida’s coastal ecosystem and was profoundly inspired by the local landscape. Solomon was also an advocate for environmental conservation, a legacy continued by The Ringling today. During this workshop, participants will learn from Rose Garden Horticulturist Kai Sacco as he leads a walking tour of the Bayfront Gardens exploring topics such as coastal ecosystems, red tide, pollinators and the importance of native plants. Attendees will also learn how to create a Florida Friendly landscape using native plants.
The program will begin in the Chao Lecture Hall followed by a walking tour tailored to the topic. Please wear comfortable clothes and walking shoes and allow additional time to make your way from the Visitors Pavilion to the Lecture Hall.
The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota
Florida Creativity Conference celebrates 17 years in 2020! If you are open to awakening more of your creative potential, this conference is the great opportunity to explore creativity in many wonderful forms! FCC provides hands-on and interactive learning, music and movement, connecting and innovating. Participants walk away with a fresh ‘tool kit’ of creative problem solving skills and productive practices for their personal and professional life, and a sparked imagination which can positively impact every area of life!
USF Sarasota-Manatee - March 6-7, 2020 | Ringling College of Art and Design - March 8, 2020, 8350 N Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34243 | 2700 N Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34234
Celebrate the legendary music of Ray Charles at the Van Wezel with Emmy Award® winner Clint Holmes, 10-time Grammy Award®-winning band Take 6, six-time Grammy nominee and Downbeat vocalist of the year Nnenna Freelon and Grammy winner Kirk Whalum. This 90-minute feel-good extravaganza includes dazzling soulful performances of hit songs including “Hit The Road Jack,” “What'd I Say,” “I Got a Woman,” “I Can't Stop Loving You,” “Baby It's Cold Outside,” “Alexander's Ragtime Band,” “Georgia On My Mind” and many more classic hits. Ray Charles was an American treasure who won every major honor from the Georgia Hall of Fame to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, from The Kennedy Center Honors to a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award as well as induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He transcended racism and cultural upheavals and spread his music based on Gospel, Blues, Jazz and Country around the world. Tickets are $42-$67. Purchase at www.VanWezel.org or visit the Box Office. Groups of 10 or more should contact 941- 263-6726. This show is sponsored by Wilde Lexus Sarasota. Pre-show dining is available at Mattison’s at the Van Wezel located in the theater and can be reserved at www.VanWezel.org or through the Box Office.
Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 North Tamiami Trail, Sarasota
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