#postdigital art world
Sinsaliva, a still frame by Ruzica Ivanovic and Celia Garcia Nogales, is part of the #postdigital exhibition at ArtCenter Sarasota.
Technology is pervading every sector nowadays — even art. A new exhibition, #postdigital at ArtCenter Sarasota, highlights more than 25 regional artists who are using technology to create their work. Some even use technology as part of their work. The exhibition, displayed in three galleries, features paintings, sculptures, prints, immersive video and sound installations. Also on display are several projects by Faulhaber Fab Lab including a drone, a robot, and remote-controlled cars. These whizzing displays stem from a variety of places, including Ringling College of Art and Design, New College of Florida, Suncoast Science/ Faulhaber Fab Lab, Pine View School and IMG Academy. In Gallery Four, visitors also can see "Local 707," a members-only, all-media, all-subject juried exhibition.
Monday-Saturday, 10-4 p.m.; ArtCenter Sarasota 707 N Tamiami Tr., Sarasota; 941-365-2032; artsarasota. org
"Poem of My Life"
Actor Alan Brasington performs his one-man show "The Poem of My Life" at the Starlite Room. PROVIDED BY ALAN BRASINGTON
Alan Brasington has had a varied life and career and he shares some of his own life lessons in his one-man show "The Poem of My Life,” which he will present at 7:30 p.m. May 28 and June 3 at the Starlite Room. The show was first seen in January as part of the second SaraSolo Festival. Brasington is a former actor, who appeared in numerous Broadway shows and was trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.
While appearing on Broadway in “Two Shakespearean Actors” he said he realized that “I’m not enjoying this anymore and I stopped doing it.” Instead he focused on his other business, providing props for stores and movies, including "Captain America” and the upcoming Meryl Streep film “Florence Foster Jenkins.”
Brasington came to Sarasota about two years at the request of his partner Allen Newman, who died soon after they arrived from pancreatic cancer. Brasington stayed and started building a new community and life here. He has been enjoying the return to acting with this project “because I’ve written it as well as reciting it. It’s about being more grown up and being creative rather than running around auditioning as I used to do.” He describes the piece as a personal memoir “about the two sides of all of us. So many people tell us what not to do, but we find our guides who pull us from there and lead us to a life that we have.”
Tickets are $15 at gottavan. org or at the door. The performances are at the Starlite Room, 1001 Cocoanut Ave., Sarasota. For more information: gottavan.org
“Anything Goes”
Some shows have just always appealed across generational lines. In 1999, Vanessa Russo played the lead role of Bonnie in a production of “Anything Goes.” Now, she is choreographing 84 middle school students in a tap dance for a new production of the Cole Porter class for the Sarasota Academy of the Arts.
Young performers from the Sarasota Academy of the Arts perform the Cole Porter classic "Anything Goes" at the Players Theatre. COURTESY PHOTO
The musical was first seen in 1936, and has been revised many times for different Broadway productions over the years. Thomas Nock, who comes from a theater and circus family plays Billy Crocker, a young wall street broker who becomes a stow away on an ocean liner to be near the woman he loves. Julia Beatt plays Reno Sweeney, the entertainer and evangelist who sings the title song and "Blow, Gabriel Blow." Hannah Marsha plays Russo's one-time role of Bonnie, the sassy girlfriend of a would-be notorious gangster.
Julie Rohr McHugh stages the large production.
7 p.m. Friday May 27.; Players Theatre; 838 N. Tamiami Trail/U.S. 41; 941-365-2494; theplayers. org
Big Brass Band
Vocalist Sharon Scott performs with The First Brass and The Jacobite Band during a traditional Memorial Day concert. Carla Varisco photo
The Jacobites and First Brass return with their 10th Annual Memorial Day Concert on Sunday, once again joined by singer Sharon Scott, the Riverview High School Kiltie Dancers, 16 brass musicians and bagpipes.
To pay tribute to those lost in the fight for freedom, this show will honor Vietnam veterans.
Gen. James Hesson, Coordinator for the Vietnam War 50th Commemoration, and Ted Smith, President of the Sarasota County Veterans Commission will present readings and give pins to all attendees who participated in the Vietnam War.
Old cell phones are also being collected at the event for “Cell Phones for Soldiers,” a non-profit that converts phones to calling minutes for military personnel. Dig through those drawers for old phones and drop by for some sweet music, inspirational performances and remembrance.
3 p.m. May 29, St. James Methodist Church, 2049 Honore Ave, Sarasota.$15 advanced, $20 day-of; Students 18 and under are free; 941-928-0296; thefirstbrass. org
20-Year Anniversary Musical Retrospective
Favorite artists from years past return to the Historic Asolo Theater this weekend to perform a selection of the classical and popular music that has helped the Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota build to its 20th anniversary.
Piano duo Elizabeth Joy Roe and Greg Anderson perform during the Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota 20-year celebration. COURTESY PHOTO
The lineup includes pianist Elizabeth Joy Roe, who made her Sarasota debut in 2004 and will return with Greg Anderson as the Anderson & Roe piano duo; soprano Monica Pasquini, who was first performed for the series in 2006; violinist Alexander Markov, the “wild musician” with the golden, electric violin; pianist Heike Doerr, who frequently plays with Markov; and baritone David McFerrin, known for his “appealingly textured sound.”
The program will feature a mix of styles, including Paganini, Gershwin, Schubert and Cole Porter, among others.
May 28 and 29, 7:30 p.m.; Historic Asolo Theater; 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota; $25-$45 tickets; 941-360-7399 or artistseriesconcerts.org
Last chance
Deborah Cox and Lynette DuPree in a scene from "Josephine" at Asolo Rep. Deborah Cox and Lynette DuPree in a scene from "Josephine" at Asolo Rep. GARY W. SWEETMAN PHOTO/ASOLO REP
The musical "Josephine" wraps up a successful run at Asolo Repertory Theatre this weekend before the creative team and producer Ken Waissman figure out the next steps on the planned route to Broadway. Deborah Cox plays legendary performer Josephine Baker in this musical that focuses on the years from 1939 to 1945 when she was the star of the Folies Bergere in Paris and then became involved with the French Resistance movement when Nazis occupied France.
Performances continue through Sunday in the Mertz Theatre, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. 941-351-9010; asolorep.org
And Kenneth Jones' play "Alabama Story," which looks at segregation, changing race relationships and book banning in 1950s Alabama, ends its successful run May 28 at Florida Studio Theatre's Gompertz Theatre, 1247 First St., Sarasota. For more information: 941-366-9000; floridastudiotheatre.org
