The Acou-chix come to Miami

Our next edition of Sirens & Strings: An Acou-chix Experience will take place on Friday, April 26th in South Miami. We will present this with our partners at Artistic Vibes, another presenter of live performance that now has a studio based in the Falls Arts District.

We have been working in tandem with Artistic Vibes for the past two years since their existence. The started doing open mics at Holleman's Restaurant two years ago. Since then, they are now doing a weekly open mic on Thursdays and a monthly comedy show. Now we are looking forward to having our flagship music program at their own venue (which is now a year old).

Stephanie Rodriguez aka Quills is the co-founding managing director of Artistic Vibes and is returning as host. Miss Rodriguez was the first host when S&S debuted in June 2011 and she stewarded our 2nd edition in September of the same year. How fitting it is to have her lead again in her own home next Friday.

Our lineup includes another eclectic mix of South Florida talent including Cisca, Chrissen Brand, Paula Gavinio (making her US debut), Nickie Leon, Denise Losa, Justina Shandler, Megan Talay and the band called Things. Special guest will be Hip-hop artist Liz Harlow.

Artistic Vibes (www.artistic-vibes.com) Performance Studio is located at 12986 SW 89th Avenue, Miami. The zip code is 33176. For more info, you can visit their website as well as www.conundrumstages.net.

Rebels for a Cause: our first ever benefit

 

 

We just did our first ever benefit concert at the Beat Cup Cafe in Delray Beach called Rebels for a Cause. Seven musical acts were featured, plus some cameo appearances and poetry; all proceeds went to an organization called Life for the World, assisting the needs of those who reside in the country of Haiti.

 

The fundraiser was hosted and spearheaded by Dana DellaCamera, lead singer of the rock group Nakedown. Dana's goal was to raise $1000 for Life for the World, which will help those in need overseas. As an avid contributor to past Conundrum programs, we wanted to assist her in her campaign. The fundraiser was a success as $350 was raised privately, $400 was raised through the benefit and another $250 was promised.

 

We want to take the time out to thank all who were involved: musicians Mathew Sydney, Brie Goldsobel, Denise Losa; vocalists Michaela Paige and Whitney White; rapper Bonus, comedian Ralph Laguerre and instrumentalist Jonathan Doda for making cameo appearances; Special thanks goes to the Beat Cup Cafe for having us again, plus Beat Cup's co-owner Eric Perna for putting together a collaboration ensemble band to close out the night.

 

We hope to continue the spirit of giving by doing an annual benefit as a way for Conundrum Stages to give back to the community. Special thanks goes to Miss DellaCamera for being that inspiration.

 

From top to bottom: Dana DellaCamera & Kevin Morales of Nakedown, Denise Losa, poet Jasira Monique and Mathew Sydney

 

Photo Credit: Tabatha Mudra

 

 

 

 

The SpeakOut 4, Friday, February 22nd in Sunrise

The SpeakOut, our annual poetry compilation, returns for its 4th year at Gigi's Music Cafe in Sunrise. This is a menagerie of various disciplines including free verse, spoken word and slam including musical guests.

This will take place on Friday, February 22nd, 8pm. Admission will be free. Gigi's is located at 4385 N. Pine Island Road in Sunrise. See you there!

Holiday House 2012 Cornucopia

This coming Friday, our 3rd annual gathering of performers will be at Wilton's Bier Garden and this lineup will not disappoint:

Returnees:

BONUS
Our avid Conundrum Hip-hopper is on his 3rd appearance to our soiree. Look for him to perform some
tracks off of his new LP, Don't Judge a Book by It's Cover.

JOEY SEXTON
Mr. Sexton and his crew returns to Conundrum after performing at our Funny Business event in October.
Look out for that "Steve Urkel Purple" once again to grace our stage.

ARMANDO SANTANA
The New World School of the Arts senior returns with another one of his original monologues after contributing to our Funny Business show.

BRIAN POEM
Local Spoken Word phenom comes back to Conundrum with a new swag of poetry personified.

CALZONE SPACESHIP
The sketch gentlemen will be making their landing at the Holiday House with some skits that will either
have you rolling on the floor or something else....

Debuts:

RALPH LAGUERRE
Wellington's comedy man will be making his way South to grace our stage with his comedic missives.

FRESH THEATRE PROJECT
Another theatre upstart makes their Conundrum debut with a preview of their inaugural production. What is it? Come to OurHouse and find out.

AMALI
Vocalist/poet will be making her debut with her soulful stirrings.

CHAMELEON
A new, innovative project mixing theater, music, and multimedia will also be previewed at OurHouse.

...and there will be more.

But in order to find out what else is in store, be at Wilton's Bier Garden this Friday. Address is 2245 Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors. Show begins at 8pm and admission is Free. Donations will be accepted, proceeds going to the Poverello Center, an organization that assists those affected by HIV/AIDS.

For more info, email conundrumstages@ymail.com

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...is back: HOLIDAY HOUSE!

On Friday, December 28th, Conundrum presents its 3rd annual Holiday House, a mixer and networking event to promote the South Florida Talent Scene.

Performances from Music, theatre, comedy and other arts/entertainment will be held at Wilton's Bier Garden Restaurant and Bar. 10 plus acts will represent Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties.

Join us for the Most WonFun-derful Time of the Year. Address is 2245 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors. Admission is free, however the Garden will be accepting donations, proceeds going to the Poverello Center, an organization dedicated to the needs of those affected by HIV/AIDS. Info can be found at www.poverello.org.

Show time is at 8pm.

Also if you're on Facebook, here is our invite...and like our page while you're at it!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/449324381799167/

Special thanks to Kara Endres for another great design.

Lineup coming soon!

This Monday, we return to the Van Dyke

Conundrum Stages will be sponsoring another singer/songwriter showcase at Miami Beach's Van Dyke Cafe in the Lincoln Road Mall.

The Singer/songwriter series is held on the last week of each month featuring local acoustic musicians in various genres of music. This will be our second time recruiting artists from the community and we hope to provide audience awareness of local music.

Returnees include Mike Fleurimond of Project 1804 and Aaron Marcus Payne, who now goes by the name AMPlyfied. Avid Conundrum contributors James Carrey, Sarah Walker and Dana DellaCamera of Nakedown will also be in performance. Rounding out the lineup will be Jacob Addicott, Brandon Cope, Alana DaCosta, and Annette Navarro.

The showcase will be this coming Monday starting at 9pm. The Van Dyke Cafe is located at 846 Lincoln Road. For more info on the show and other programs at Van Dyke, visit www.thevandykecafe.com.

Pics from Funny Business, Part 2

These are pics taken from our show, Funny Business, Part 2 last Friday. There are more if you look under our Facebook page and find the album, Funny Business, Part 2.

It was a night of all things comedy including vignettes, stand-up, juggling, and music. A great time was had by all. Would like to thank Stage 84 for having us as well as the performers participating in the show. We hope to do it again next year.

Coming up: we return to the Van Dyke Cafe for another Singer/songwriter showcase late October. For more info, visit our website at www.conundrumstages.net.

Photos: Top - Juggler Andrew Ruiz; Middle - Comedian Michael Cintron; Bottom - Farewell, Goodbye by Armando Santana 

Credit goes to Iris Vera, www.ivshotphotography.info