If you want to experience something completely different in Miami then make your way over to Locust Projects, a non-profit art exhibition space. Let’s go wild! The original Rocky Horror movie is coming to Miami. The theater world has a lot to celebrate in Miami this season. The famous Actors’ Playhouse in Coral Gables is celebrating its 36th year in existence. If you love sushi like I do, you must try Intimo of South Beach, a Japanese-Peruvian restaurant.

Jen Clay’s Immersive Textile Video Game

Experience a trip like no other at Locust Projects, a non-profit art exhibition space located at 297 NE 67th Street.  The structure is being used to display a textile video game that was created by Jen Clay, a well-known and local multimedia artist, who is represented by Miami’s Emerson Dorsch Gallery. Jen is known for her textile creations as well as her animations for performances, video works and installations.

The textile exhibit is an immersive environment where visitors can play the interactive video game. They are invited to explore an alien forest of quilted tree-like creatures. Players have to maneuver to get out of the woods while encountering some very challenging experiences.

Jen says, “the game can be read as an allegory for the ways we navigate the tricks our minds play on us, and specifically on those whose minds truly do produce hallucinations, an experience that can be difficult to imagine.”

Please watch the videos because Jen offers a detail explanation on what she was thinking when she created the exhibit and how she executed it.

The entire presentation makes you feel like you entered a completely different world. It’s very overwhelming. The first thing you think is, “How did this all come about?” It’s completely wild and very imaginative. One clue, Jen’s husband makes video games, and she works in textiles. Put that all together and you get an exhibit called “Eyes of the Skin.” Jen received her Masters in Fine Arts in sculpture from the University of Florida while also studying costume design and behavior analysis.

Eyes of the Skin is funded in part by a Knight New Work Grant awarded to the artist in 2022 by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The exhibition’s realization at Locust Projects is presented as part of Knight Digital Commissions.

Locust Projects is a non-profit art exhibition space. The space was created in 1998 by three artists; Westen Charles, COOPER and Elizabeth Withstandley.  The space was created to serve as a place for contemporary artists to create site specific works outside of the commercial gallery system. GET THE DETAILS.

Oct. 15. Forget All Your Troubles

The original Rocky Horror picture show is coming to Miami at the Adrienne Arsht Center. Tickets are $35. Let me know soon if you want to go in a group. I will organize one. It can be three of us to as many as we get. It will be fun to go with people you know. This is one of the best chances to see a slightly older group than you usually get at Miami events. Trust me, plenty of young people are going to show up, but this is our chance to out sing them.

Let me know what you are going to wear so I can figure out my getup too. I just may put rollers in my hair and chew lots of gum. My go to outfits are usually black so I will build on that. I have to get the script to the dialog and songs. I can’t remember much. I need a brush up. Whoever finds them first please send copies to me. loisw@hwhpr.com. And vice versa. This is out of sight!

Actors’ Playhouse in Coral Gables Celebrating 36 Years

The theater is one of thirteen major cultural institutions in Miami-Dade County. It is located on the famous street in Coral Gables called the Miracle Mile. It looks  like a wide boulevard lined with 20 or more restaurants, clothing boutiques, designer furniture stores, book shops, and all kinds of independent retail outlets. It’s wonderful to go to the theater and have fun things to do before and after. These stores are just steps away.

The lineup of stage performances this year is very exciting. Look at the billboards alongside this story to see some of the productions. The private nonprofit professional theatre organization presents a full season of Mainstage and Children’s programs and extensive educational outreach and community service.

Actors’ Playhouse has produced more than 180 Mainstage productions including Broadway and Off-Broadway style musicals, mystery/thrillers, comedies, and new works, and over 170 Children’s Theatre productions. Actors’ Playhouse has received and has won 90 Carbonell Awards for artistic excellence. The Children’s Musical Theatre is continually voted “Best of the Best” KIDS CROWN AWARD by South Florida Parenting Magazine.

In addition to Mainstage and Children’s year-round programming, the theatre has a Theatre Conservatory, offering classes to children, teens, and adults, as well as a summer camp; a Kids Fest Weekend, and sponsors the annual Young Talent Big Dreams countywide youth talent contest in partnership with The Children’s Trust. GET THE DETAILS.

I Ate the Whole Thing

I ate this entire platter of sashimi twice last week at Intimo of South Beach, a Japanese-Peruvian restaurant.  I know you can’t believe it. It cost $85 each time. That was a lot of money to spend and plenty of food to eat. But I did it. I love sashimi. I just knew a platter of protein was better than some of the fancy dishes that were filled with carbs and sugar. I skipped the appetizer and dessert.

I weighed myself each time the very next morning. I didn’t gain a pound. I felt it was a miracle to eat such a big meal and not do any damage. The fish was so fresh and tasty that it simply ruins most other meals for you. Intimo is just across the street from where we live so we can drop in anytime.

I was thinking about the price the other day and it occurred to me that $87 wasn’t that exorbitant after all. A friend in New York City told me that even when she goes into a local diner for dinner it costs her close to $75 for any type of fish meal. That includes her cocktail, coffee, and dessert. I would rather just have the platter of sashimi.

You can’t go wrong at Intimo. I never heard anyone say they didn’t love their meal. Trust me, their fish is so fresh and tasty that most other meals can’t compare. I admit that you can’t eat the same thing over and over and always love it. That’s why I will try to spread my sashimi feasts every other month. I don’t want to ruin a good thing. GET THE DETAILS.