wcw AUGUST 2023

out and about continued
to express familiar emotions through
unique and intimate portraits
• Iren Tete, solo exhibition. Tete is
an artist originally from Sofia, Bulgaria
who is currently based in Gainesville,
FL. Iren is a Visiting Assistant
Professor at the University of Florida
and was recently Visiting Faculty in
Ceramics at Alberta University of the
Arts in Calgary, Canada.
Tete has had solo exhibitions at
Galleri Urbane (Dallas, TX), Gallery
371 (AUArts, Calgary, Canada), and
The Lee Dam Art Center for Fine Art
(Marysville, KS), among others. Her
work has been exhibited in Nebraska,
Texas, New York and Florida. In
2020, she was selected as an Emerging
Artist by Ceramics Monthly Magazine.
Iren has completed residencies
at the Archie Bray Foundation for the
Ceramic Arts (Helena, MT), Zentrum
für Keramik (Berlin, Germany), Northern
Clay Center (Minneapolis, MN),
among others. Her work was featured
in the Latvia Ceramics Biennale and
beinnale Officine Saffi (Milan, Italy)
• Ry McCullough, solo exhibition.
Artist Talk: Thursday, Sept 14, 5:30-7
pm. Registration: $5. McCullough is
an artist and educator, working in
Tampa, FL. He earned his BFA from
Wright State University in Dayton,
OH, where he concentrated in areas
of printmaking and sculpture. Upon
completion of his undergraduate
work, he served as the Director of
Sculptural Studies as well as teaching
printmaking at Stivers School for
the Arts. He has exhibited nationally,
internationally and is the founder of
the Standard Action Press Collaborative
Zine Project.
Location: 707 N. Tamiami Trail,
Sarasota, www.artsarasota.org.
Island Gallery and Studios has
paintings by Jim Wheeler, August
1-31. “Around the World” is an exhibit
of photographs that have been digitally
and/or manually enhanced with the
addition of acrylic over-painting for a
unique “painterly” look.
Wheeler is originally from Chicago
and has lived in various locations
around the country before settling
in Florida 25 years ago. A long-time
painter of acrylics, he studied art
under a French painter named Marini.
Jim has been a photographer since
the age of 16. He was an award-winning
photographer and judge with
the Cleveland Photographic Society.
Jim’s photography has been published
nationally for many years, and
through this, he evolved into digital
photo manipulation.
Meet the artist on August 5, from
10 am to 6 pm. Island West Gallery
and Studios is located at 456 Old Main
Street in downtown Bradenton. Gallery
hours are 10 am to 6 pm, Tuesday
through Sunday.
Visit www.islandgalleryandstudios.org
or call 941-778-6648.
▼
At The Ringling
Reclaiming Home, Contemporary
Seminole Art runs through September
4. This group exhibition marks
The Ringling’s first presentation of
contemporary art by Native American
artists with ancestral, historical, and
present-day connections to Florida.
An imperative step toward establishing
a meaningful relationship with the
Native American artistic community,
▼
Reclaiming Home will highlight
the breadth and depth of
the artwork by Seminole, Miccosukee,
and mixed-heritage
artists from Florida with the
important work by internationally-recognized
artists. The
exhibition will expand the conceptual
framework of Native
American art made in Florida
today and provide a fuller understanding
of the complexities
of issues within the art of the
Seminole diaspora.
Artists include Noah Billie
(Seminole), Wilson Bowers
(Seminole), Houston R. Cypress
(Miccosukee), Alyssa Osceola
(Seminole), Jessica Osceola
(Seminole/Irish), Brian
Zepeda (Seminole), Corinne
Zepeda (Seminole /Mexican),
and Pedro Zepeda (Seminole).
Presented with the important
work by the internationally-recognized
artists of Muscogee
(Creek) and Seminole
descent from Oklahoma and
beyond—Elisa Harkins (Cherokee/Muscogee
[Creek]), C.
Maxx Stevens (Seminole/Muscogee
[Creek]), Tony Tiger (Sac and Fox/
Seminole/Muscogee [Creek]), and
Hulleah J. Tsinhnahjinnie (Taskigi/
Diné [Navajo]/Seminole)—the exhibition
will expand the conceptual
framework of Native American art
made in Florida today and provide a
fuller understanding of the complexities
of issues within the art of the Seminole
diaspora.
Reclaiming Home is also the first
collaboration between Florida’s Ah-
Tah-Thi-Ki Museum of Seminole culture
and history, located on the Big
Cypress Indian Reservation, as several
important loans from the museum
will be featured in the exhibition.
The John and Mable Ringling
Museum of Art, 5401 Bay Shore Rd.,
Sarasota. Info: www.ringling.org.
Theatre
At Florida Studio Theatre, Ken
Ludwig’s A Comedy of Tenors begins
August 2 in the Gompertz Theatre.
One hotel suite, four tenors, two
wives, three girlfriends, and a stadium
filled with screaming fans. It’s
1930’s Paris and the stage is set for
the concert of the century…as long as
producer Henry Saunders can keep
Italian superstar Tito Merelli and his
hot-blooded wife from causing utter
chaos. Runs to August 20.
▼
• Their Summer Cabaret has The
Surfer Boys, a tribute to the band
credited for creating pop music’s iconic
“California sound.” In this lively
music revue, four Broadway veterans
bring The Beach Boys’ biggest hits to
life with classics like “California Girls,”
“Good Vibrations,” “Barbara Ann,”
and “Surfin’ USA.” The Surfer Boys is
in FST’s Goldstein Cabaret through
August 13.
• Next up is Divas Three, a celebration
of the artists whose musical impact
earned them the coveted title of
“Diva.” In this dazzling Cabaret, three
powerhouse female vocalists deliver
the biggest hits by some of music’s
most influential women, such as Aretha
Franklin, Carole King, Celine
Dion, and Whitney Houston. Featuring
classics like “We Are Family,”
The Hermitage Artist Retreat has playwright Dave
Harris, presented in partnership with Westcoast
Black Theatre Troupe on August 18 at 6:30pm at
Westcoast Black Theatre.
“Stop! In the Name of Love,” “Total
Eclipse of the Heart,” and “It’s Raining
Men.” Divas Three runs in the Court
Cabaret to September 10.
Tickets at FloridaStudioTheatre.org
Beginning August 5, FST Improv
Presents: As Seen on TV, an original
sitcom created on the spot. Featuring
a never-before-heard theme song and
commercials, As Seen on TV includes
all of the elements of one of America’s
favorite forms of televised entertainment.
Runs Saturday nights through
September 30.
▼
• FST Improv Presents: Fast Times
at John Hughes High, returns for an
exclusive performance on August
12. Inspired by films as The Breakfast
Club and Risky Business, FST Improv
cast members will shape an all-new
story celebrating the abundant awkwardness,
hormones, and dreams of
American teenage life.
• Bringing the Summer Improv Season
to a close is FST Improv Presents:
The End of the World, which performs
for one night only: September
2. Disaster has struck the planet and
the future of humanity is at stake. The
world’s only hope is for FST Improv to
record a movie telling the true story of
the end of the world, leaving their film
behind as a warning to any future civilization
looking to make a go of it here
on Earth. This 90-minute improvised
disaster movie performance will have
audiences rooting for FST Improv’s
performers to beat the odds and survive
the end of the world.
• Taking the Bowne’s Lab stage
in Tournament of Fools and Comedy
Roulette are returning cast members:
Kevin Allen, Tori Baird, Taylor
Bungo, Cameron Clements, Christian
Corpora, Valerie Dale, Sylvia
Day, Sarah Durham, Darryl Knapp,
Will Luera, Shawn McWhinnie,
Kathryn Parks, Keegan Penny, Sal
Piccolo, Christine Reagan, Autumn
Steiner, Joshua Thomason, AJ Trinci,
Danielle Trzcinski, and Matt Walker.
Jim Prosser or Helena Rankin will
alternate as musical improvisers on
the piano at each performance.
Visit www.floridastudiotheatre.org/
The Players Sarasota has
The Graduate running from
August 16-27 at 1130 Theatre,
3501 S. Tamiami Trail Suite
1130, Sarasota.
Terry Johnson’s stage
adaptation of The Graduate,
based on the novel and the
iconic 1967 film, is a bitterly
hilarious dark comedy, full of
rapid-fire dialogue between
fascinating and horrifying
characters. This play explores
family dysfunction, parental
expectations, crumbling
marriages, and the naive, yet
disillusioned, dichotomy of
youth, against the shiny backdrop
of affluent Southern California
in the 1960s.
▼
Tickets: theplayers.org
Manatee Performing Arts
Center has Something Rotten!
Welcome to the Renaissance!
Set in the 1590s, brothers
Nick and Nigel Bottom are
desperate to write a hit play
but are stuck in the shadow
of that Renaissance rock star
known as “The Bard.” When a local
soothsayer foretells that the future
of theatre involves singing, dancing
and acting at the same time, Nick and
Nigel set out to write the world’s very
first musical. But amidst the scandalous
excitement of opening night, the
Bottom Brothers realize that reaching
the top means being true to thine own
self, and all that jazz.
▼
Runs August 10-20. Box Office: 941-
748-5878. Manatee Performing Arts
Center is located at 502 Third Avenue
W, Bradenton.
Venice Theatre has The Cemetery
Club through Aug 13. A funny,
sweet-tempered, moving romantic
comedy about three Jewish widows
who meet once a month for tea before
going to visit their husbands’ graves.
Last year’s version sold out so they’ve
brought it back with the same cast: Jan
Wallace, Gina Scarda, Loretta Zullo,
Jim Parise, and Sandi Wall.
▼
At the Pinkerton Theatre, 140
Tampa Ave. W., Venice. Info: venice
theatre.org/
Programs at the Hermitage Artist
Retreat continue with celebrated
playwright Dave Harris, who comes
to the Hermitage as part of the recently
announced partnership with New
York’s Roundabout Theatre Company
and their Underground Series
▼
• “From the Heart of Philly: The Works
of Dave Harris” with Hermitage
Roundabout Fellow Dave Harris. Presented
in partnership with Westcoast
Black Theatre Troupe on August 18
at 6:30pm at Westcoast Black Theatre,
1012 N Orange Ave, Sarasota,
• “Secret Song: Unraveling the Mystery
of Berg’s Lyric Suite” with Hermitage
Fellow Hilan Warshaw. Presented
in In partnership with Sarasota
Opera on August 23 at 6pm, 61 N
Pineapple Ave, Sarasota.
Registration is required. $5 per person.
To learn more, visit https://
hermitageartistretreat.org
Selby Gardens
▼
Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
has Diving Into Nature with the iconic
art of Sarasota designer and illustrator
John Pirman. The exhibit will
feature Pirman’s celebrated artwork
inside the Museum of Botany & the
Arts and outside in the Gardens of the
Downtown Sarasota campus.
John Pirman: Diving into Nature
will be on view through September
17. The show comprises works
spanning Pirman’s long career in New
York City and now in Sarasota, along
with pieces from his formative years
growing up in Ohio.
Several images of Selby Gardens
scenes will be printed in large format
on aluminum and set directly in the
locations that inspired them. Selby
Gardens downtown location is at 1534
Mound Street, Sarasota. For information,
visit www.selby.org.
Selby Gardens also has its 43rd Annual
Juried Photo Exhibition. This
year’s exhibition will again be conducted
virtually, with digital photos
entered through an online portal and
all accepted submissions displayed
in an online gallery for the duration
of the show. The open call for submissions
will run from August 7-14.
Photographs that are entered for
consideration for the show must have
been taken at or of either Selby Gardens
campus—Downtown Sarasota
or Historic Spanish Point—within the
past year. The five entry categories are:
· Living Art - Express your creativity
and artfully interpret nature through
the play of light, color, and composition.
· Make a Splash - Showcase the scenic
beauty of the aquatic environments
at Selby Gardens’ two bayfront campuses.
· Plant Portraits - Capture the character
of the plants that are the real
stars of the show at Selby Gardens.
· The Birds and the Bees - Highlight
the wonderful wildlife at the Downtown
Sarasota and Historic Spanish
Point campuses.
· Black and White - Convey the beauty
of nature at Selby Gardens through
the elegance of black-and-white photography.
Complete rules and requirements
are at www.selby.org. The virtual gallery
is on view Aug. 29–Sept. 30.
Summer Movies
at Sarasota
Opera House
Sarasota Opera again has its
Summer Classic Movies at the Opera
House.
• Vertigo (1958) — August 11 at
7:30 p.m. Set among San Francisco’s
renown landmarks, Scottie Ferguson,
an acrophobic detective is hired to
shadow a friend’s suicidal wife, Madeleine.
After he saves her from drowning
in the bay, Scottie’s interest shifts from
business to fascination with the icy
alluring blonde. When he finds another
woman remarkably like his lost
love, the now obsessed detective must
unravel the secrets of the past to find
the key to his future. Directed by Alfred
Hitchcock, starring James Stewart,
Kim Novak, and Barbara Bel Geddes.
▼
• The Great Escape (1963) — August
25 at 7:30 p.m. In 1943, the Germans
opened Stalag Luft III, a maximum-security
prisoner-of-war camp
designed to hold even the draftiest
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8 WEST COAST WOMAN AUGUST 2023