Time, an invisible yet pervasive force, was the common thread that wove together the talks of each speaker at last night’s 10x10 Series, presented by Halflants and Pichette Architects. During the event, ten speakers, each an expert in their field, are challenged to create a ten slide presentation, with only 30 seconds to speak about each slide. Making time count, both in a literal and figurative sense, was at the heart of the event, which has been on hold for the last two years due to the pandemic.

“One of the interesting parts of the 10x10 is that we all work within our circles and within our own passions,” says Michael Halflants, one of the event’s organizers, “and it’s really interesting to get a glimpse of what happens outside and how other people are carving their own lives.”

The evening began with Justin Bloom, an environmental activist, who gave the audience a crash course about the health of Sarasota’s water systems. While they are imperiled, Bloom’s talk indicated that there is still time to protect this crucial resource. The following speaker, art historian Chelsea Bruner, shared the work that her Ringling College students are doing to preserve a house that has been integral to Sarasota’s African American community for generations to come.

Houses, like those built by his father, inspired the next speaker, illustrator and sculptor Tom Casmer to create intrictate wooden sculptures. Casmer examined the many people, places and things that have inspired his work over the years. Speaker and cheesemonger Louise Converse found inspiration to tell stories through the medium of cheese by reflecting on medieval art, which, like the very product she sells, has aged well. Painter Lisa DiFranza considered the passage of time as she presented works that she created each day during the pandemic, turning her focus to the importance of social interaction.

Michael Halflants showcased the work that his company has done to create architectural spaces that bring people together, even amidst the isolation of the past two years. Fellow design enthusiast and Architecture Sarasota president Marty Hylton shared his goals to preserved the historic buildings of the Sarasota school of architecture.

Moving back towards the two-dimensional, painter Bruce Marsh took the audience on a tour of his art’s evolution, and multi-media artist Mike Solomon presented powerful images of essential workers, individuals affected by violence and his own mother, all people who faced challenges over the past years. To finish the event, Jarred Wilson, a collector, discussed how postcards and family photos can act as a time capsule in a turbulent world. Indeed, the evening itself served as a powerful reminder of everything that the world has been through the past few years, and a beacon of hope for the future to come.

The 10x10 Series will return in April, 2023. For more information, visit 10slides10speakers.com. 

Pictured: Lisa DiFranza speaks about the ways the pandemic affected her art at the 10x10 event. Photo by Laura Paquette.

This weekend, head on down to Florida Studio Theatre to catch a performance of Babel by Jacqueline Goldfinger. The production, which made its debut in FST’s Bowne's Lab Theatre on January 18th, is a part of FST’s Stage III Series which focuses on telling more challenging and contemporary stories. Babel is a part of a Rolling World Premiere with National New Play Network and won the organizations Smith Prize for Political Theatre was set to make its debut at FST in 2020, but production was delayed due to the pandemic. Finally, after three long years, Goldfinger’s play is set to take the stage.

Babel takes place in a not so distant future where expectant parents can test for – and consequently tweak – the future behavioral traits of their unborn child. The play follows two expectant couples with similar test results and the decisions that they are faced with, exploring the world of modern eugenics and the lengths that parents will travel for their children.

“Babel lives in a future where we have been able to figure out how to shift behaviors and traits in utero so that hopefully you wouldn't have serial killers. The question is then what are the ripple effects?” says playwright Jacqueline Goldfinger. “As exciting as it might be, what are the negative aspects of it? Would trying to limit the behavioral spectrum from the time in utero, would there be great art? Would there be great music? What are those things on the behavioral spectrum that might be considered outside the norm but not dangerous – what are the things that we’d lose in terms of our humanity and ability to self curate?

The inspiration for Babel stemmed from a hospital visit Goldfinger had during her own pregnancy. “I have a son who’s now perfectly healthy, but when I was pregnant with him there were some complications and we had to do some tests. I did not realize how far reproductive technologies had advanced, how many things doctors can test for, and how much you can know now in advance,” says Goldfinger. “They’re working on and have ways where you can state your preferences for hair and eye color and gender through IVF treatment. The next step in these tests will be altering the behavioral elements of these traits.”

Florida Studio Theatre, Box Office: 941-366-9000, 1241 North Palm Avenue, Sarasota. 

Pictured Left to Right: Tom Patterson, Lucy Lavely, Rachel Moulton and Anique Clements. Photo by John Jones.

To learn more click here.

The Manatee Performing Arts Center (MPAC) will host a very special matinee showing of a rags-to-riches story featuring a young man, whose family fled the Nazi invasion of their home in Italy, and who would one day become the most famous professional wrestler in the world. Bruno Sammartino makes its Florida debut at MPAC on Thursday, February, 9 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $8 and can be purchased on the MPAC’s ticketing center online. Sammartino, who passed away in 2018, was the son of Italian immigrant parents. During World War II his family fled the Nazi invasion of their home in Italy after fearing for their lives at the hands of Adolf Hitler’s SS troops. At the age of 13, the malnourished Italian boy reached the U.S., unable to speak English and became an easy target of schoolyard bullies. Sammartino battled adversity to eventually become one of the greatest legends in wrestling history. During the peak of his fame he headlined 188 sold out shows at Madison Square Garden. The documentary is an in-depth story of “the man behind the belt” with a unique look at a legendary athlete’s worldwide fame told through the lens of everyday life. In addition to family interviews, the documentary includes testimonies from celebrities who looked up to Sammartino including Tampa Bay resident John Cena and Arnold Schwarzenegger who called him, “the star of all stars.”

“It allows others intimately involved with his life to share their experiences about the man behind the titles,” says film producer Larry Richert. “It’s the story behind the heart of a champion and a true wrestling legend and the love of a mother and son tested to the limits of human capacity. It’s the story of how Bruno got to America. It’s as riveting as any tale ever told, and you’ll root for him all over again.” Richert is a Pittsburgh radio celebrity who hosts the Radio Morning Show on 100.1 F.M. and A.M. 1020 KDKA. He is the ambassador of the Bradenton Area in the Pittsburgh Market. Richert will attend the special film screening along with Sammartino’s son Darryl Sammartino. The two will participate in a Q&A with the audience following the show. Bruno Sammartino was produced by HM3 Bruno LLC, Pat Hampson, Michael Young, Craig Koryak, Chris Martin, Chris Cafardi and Larry Richert. For more information on the film or about Bruno Sammartino, visit https://www.brunosammartino.org/ 

Click here to view the trailer.

Jen Beagin is the Whiting Award winning author of Pretend I’m Dead and the sequel Vacuum in the Dark. I had read and loved the dark humor and candor of the latter and am excited to report that her newest is even better.

With Big Swiss, Beagin ventures into a new character and setting, where a California transplant named Greta finds herself in the dichotomous Hudson New York, known for its quirky artists as well as its newer gentrified populace.

Her sardonic writing voice is certainly her signature and here she brandishes the comedy in Greta’s ‘profession’ as a transcriptionist for a sex therapist named Om. Her interjections to the inappropriate responses Om sometimes elicits, make for great belly laughs. I enjoyed learning some spicy Spanish lingo as well as the nuances of raising miniature donkeys and bee keeping.

And while some of that certainly sounds silly, Beagin is sage enough to weave in complicated relationships and back stories to make this 300 plus page book breeze by. Big Swiss is perfect for both its levity and its depth and is available for pre-order at www.sarasoatbooks.com and in store at BookStore1 117 S. Pineapple Ave. beginning on February 7th, 2023.

Big Swiss by Jen Beagin Publication Date 2/7/23 ISBN #9781982153083. 

The Chamber Orchestra of Sarasota will feature guest artist and award-winning pianist Joseph Kingma in a concert titled “Virtuoso Night,” 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 15, at St. Boniface Episcopal Church, 5615 Midnight Pass Road, Siesta Key. The third concert of the orchestra’s sixth season will include Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's charming Divertimento in F Major, Carl Nielsen's graceful “Little Suite for Strings” and Leos Janacek's powerful Suite for String Orchestra.The program opens with J. S. Bach's Piano Concerto in F Minor, with Kingma at the keyboard. The pianist received the Lorin Hollander Award in the American Prize Competition for his 2021 performance of Beethoven’s “Emperor Concerto” with the Chamber Orchestra. Kingma, who won First Prize in the American Liszt Society’s 2017 Franz Liszt International Piano Festival and Competition, is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music (Music Teachers National Association) and the Coordinator of the Keyboard Division and Assistant Professor of Piano at Palm Beach Atlantic University. This will be his third appearance with the orchestra. Mozart composed his spirited Divertimento in F Major in 1772 for a planned musical trip to Italy. He was only 16 years old. It is written in the style of an Italian sinfonia, with a nod to the music of Johann Christian Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach’s youngest son. Carl Nielsen wrote his “Little Suite” in 1886. He had graduated from the Copenhagen Conservatory and was teaching and playing violin while studying with Orla Rosenhoff. The suite was his first published composition. “Virtuoso Night” is sponsored by Stan and Margaret Krol and the Marie Beckman Declaration of Trust.The Chamber Orchestra will conclude its 2022-2023 season on Thursday, March 23 at 7:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 2050 Oak St., Sarasota, with “Celebration.” The concert will feature the music of five Jewish composers, in honor of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel. The orchestra will perform compositions by Mendelssohn, Gershwin and Bloch, plus the U.S. premieres of works by Israeli composers Boris Levenberg and Noubar Aslanyan. Tickets for each concert are $35 and can be ordered online or purchased at the door. To purchase tickets and for more information, visit chamberorchestrasarasota.org or call 219-928-8665. 

Pictured: The Chamber Orchestra of Sarasota presents Virtuoso Night Feb. 15 at St. Boniface Episcopal Church, with guest pianist Joseph Kingma. Courtesy of The Chamber Orchestra of Sarasota.