Dustin Lance Black, the Academy Award-winning writer of the screenplay,
Milk (about the life and death of activist and first-ever openly gay elected official Harvey Milk) will speak at ACLU-Michigan's spring Legacy Lecture at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD). His topic: "Activism and the Creative Class: The Art of Building Inclusive Communities." Bring it on. We like it.
Black will share his personal experiences as an artist who has become a strong advocate for LGBT rights. The gay son of devout Mormon parents who grew up in Texas, Black, inspired by the example of Harvey Milk, dared to come out, be himself and pursue his dreams.
Black has won acclaim for his work as a writer and producer of the HBO series,
Big Love, about a modern Mormon family in Utah practicing polygamy, and for his screenplay,
Pedro about the late AIDS activist Pedro Zamora. A look at the efforts of local artist/advocates, including muralist Chazz Miller, founding director of Public Art Workz and an artist-in-residence of the Artist Village, and the ACLU-Michigan's work defending freedom of expression, also will be presented. The evening also will include a strolling reception and networking.
Helping to make this event possible are sponsors: Between the Lines; Stephan Bobalik; Bureau of Urban Living; C&N Party Rentals; Cooley Law School; Future Reproductions; LGBT Leadership Committee of the ACLU; Majestic Cafe; Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion; Michigan State University College of Law; Rachel's Place; Slows Bar BQ and The Whitney.
Tickets are $30 for ACLU members; $40 non-members; $15 students (includes an
ACLU of Michigan student membership) and $100 for the VIP reception beginning at 6 p.m. For more info and tickets go
here.Wednesday, March 10, 6 - 9 p.m. The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit is at 4454 Woodward Avenue, in Detroit's Midtown.
Anyone around here ever heard of the Fords and the Fishers? Sure you have. But how about the LeMerdes? No, well, then, here's what you need to know: Jacques LeMerde arrived on the banks of the Detroit River with Antoine de La Mothe Cadillac in 1701 to establish Detroit as a trading post for beaver and other furs. LeMerde's unsung progeny have been fighting the good fight in Detroit ever since.
Detroit Be Dammed: A Beaver's Tale, a live theatrical production now up at Planet Ant, recounts the stories of the LeMerde family as they live through some of Detroit's most famous historical moments. This multi-media spectacle features 10 original songs, animation, video and a cast of five of Detroit's most talented actors: Jessalyn Brooks, Mikey Brown, Chris Jakob, Kennikki Jones and Chris Korte. The show is directed by Detroit Second City alum Shawn Handlon.
Now through March 27. Curtains up Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m; Sunday performances (March 14 and 21) at 3 and 6 p.m.
$20 general admission. $5 discount for students, seniors(60 and over) and Hamtramck residents.
To reserve tickets call 313-365-4948. Planet Ant Theatre is at 2357 Caniff Avenue, Hamtramck.
Spring, we declare, is here. Want proof? The Park Players, one of Detroit's oldest community theater groups, is opening its spring musical production,
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, a full week before the official end of winter.
The famed musical, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, is based on the "coat of many colors" story of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. Its themes of love, betrayal, virtue and redemption are timeless, making it a favorite worldwide. A whopping 20,000 school and community productions have been staged to date.
The Park Players continue their popular tradition of offering food and beverage nights, giving patrons a chance to enjoy an entire evening event when attending their productions. The Park Players have been presenting
theatrical productions without interruption since the early 1950s. Like
Detroit, the Park Players have undergone tremendous change, now featuring a policy of race-free
casting, and specializing in thought-provoking
theater and musical productions. Some of the recent past productions include
The
Laramie Project, Dead Man Walking (in conjunction with Divine Child
High School),
The Wiz, To Kill A Mockingbird, Smoky Joe's Café, Ragtime
and
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Complete schedule this weekend for
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat: Friday, March 12, 6:30 p.m. (Dinner Theater: $26); Saturday, March 13, 8 p.m. (performance only: $16); Sunday, March 14, 2 p.m. (performance only: $16; students and seniors $14).
The Park Players are at 18445 Scarsdale, in Detroit's Rosedale Park. For more info on this and other productions send an
email here.
Matias Aguayo left his increasingly oppressive native Chili for Germany in 1975, two years after an infamous military coup forced thousands into exile. He was in Cologne throughout the fertile 1990s, part of a movement of young internationalists re-imagining and recasting the future of electronic dance music production and performance.
Aguayo says his productions and performances have blurred over time, each having influence over the other. He is not a typical studio rat, more an innovative practitioner of the live electronic arts, unafraid to take on risks and collaborators for his journey through music. His shows are more like social experiments, a means to engage communities, make new discoveries about what keeps his motor running. His combo live/DJ sets include a microphone, drum pads, maracas and a flute. He sings, he dances, jumping on the floor and bouncing to his own tunes.
His LP,
Ay Ay Ay on Cologne's Kompakt made a number of top
critics' lists for best of 2009. A label called Comeme, which he runs
with collaborators in South America and Europe -- he now splits time
between Buenos Aires and Paris -- has nice street buzz in the
underground techno and house communities.
Read more about this most intriguing dance music innovator in the current
XLR8R
magazine, in a cover story penned by FilterD editor Walter Wasacz, and
see and hear him perform this Friday, March 12, 10 p.m., at the Works
(1846 Michigan Avenue, Detroit's Corktown). Brought to you by
Proper|Modulation and also featuring Detroit's Kevin Reynolds, Secrets
and Aran Daniels. $10.
So much art in Detroit, so little time. Nonsense. Take your time and
you can see a whole bunch of it, especially since quite a bit of it is
centralized in Midtown, home to Wayne State University, College for
Creative Studies, Detroit Institute of Arts, MOCAD, Detroit Artists
Market and much more. But don't neglect the University the
Michigan School of Art & Design's space on the corner of Woodward
Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Called Work • Detroit,
of course you knew that, is a unique space for sharing the creative
process in the city. The gallery's mission is to explore and define
lines of connection between the University of Michigan, Detroit -- and
beyond, to the outer reaches of the galaxy, we hope. Work • Detroit
presents the work of student, faculty, alumni, as well as local,
national, and internationally prominent thinkers and makers.
Now
up: work by John Daniel Walters, with opening reception this Saturday,
March 13, 6-9 p.m. Regular gallery hours for this show are
Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. through April 2.
We've recovered nicely from Paczki Day, doing pretty well after another rockin' Blowout weekend and now look forward to one of our favorite Sunday afternoon parties, the 52nd Annual Detroit St. Patrick's Parade. We predict sunny skies and warm temps. We also forward a public service announcement via the parade committee and the City of Detroit encouraging reasonable restraint by parade goers. That's right, drinkers, that means you. Cool it on the overt drunkenness and public urination. That command comes directly from City Hall and the organizers, who need you to curb your enthusiasm so that they can get a permit for next year -- and years to come.
A couple of points worth mentioning: the Detroit Police are moving the barricades out into Michigan Avenue for two lanes on either side of the avenue to provide additional room for parade watchers. Police say they will be writing tickets for obviously drunk and rude people. They will warn people, but then they will be writing tickets. There will be parties indoors at the Corktown Tavern, Slow's, LJ's Lounge, the Gaelic League and other venues throughout the afternoon. Bar staff has been instructed to watch for alcohol leaving the premises (a legal no-no), so watch it.
Keep the St. Patrick's parade, one of Detroit's best good times, alive and well. March 14, 2 p.m., along Michigan Avenue, in Detroit's Corktown. Go
here for late-breaking info throughout the week.