World Premiere-Jennylin Duany's 'Cabaret Unkempt'

CARNIVAL CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS COMISSIONING PROGRAM PRESENTS
THE WORLD PREMIERE OF CABARET UNKEMPT

Carnival Center for the Performing Arts will present the world premiere on Thursday, December 29 of Cabaret Unkempt, an irreverent, satirical memory piece by Miami native Jennylin Duany that incorporates projected media, music and poetry with live performance. The third original work to premiere in the Studio Theater during the Center's inaugural season, Cabaret Unkempt is an exploration of Duany's Cuban-American background, her body, her self-image and her moving and often hilarious experiences as a performer of 'size' in a culture where size definitely matters.

"In this piece, I pay homage to the 'excess' parts of me that have been there for such a long time," Duany said of her work.

In the two-person performance commissioned by Carnival Center and 651 Arts New York, the Rubenesque Jennylin Duany and her wiry counterpart Elizabeth Doud ruminate on the bombastic expectations of control, body mass, plastic surgery and self-acceptance in a world obsessed with body image. Cabaret Unkempt was created in collaboration with filmmaker Dinorah Rodriguez de Jesus Rodriguez, costumer Estela Vrancovich, composer Ricardo Lastre and lighting designer Justin Townsend and is produced by Akropolis. It was included in the 651 Arts Salon Series in 2006. Cabaret Unkempt is a National Performance Network Creation Fund Project co-commissioned by Carnival Center for the Performing Arts in partnership with Diverse Works, Houston and the National Performance Network. NPN and the NPN Creation Fund is sponsored by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Ford Foundation, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Altria, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency).

Carnival Center supports South Florida artists through a commissioning program which began in 2005 that helps develop new work through commissions, access to artistic advice from Center staff and other arts professionals, and public presentations. The first commissioned work to be performed at Carnival Center was Natasha Tsakos' Up Wake which was well-received by critics and nearly sold out every engagement. In addition to Cabaret Unkempt, other Center commissions to premiere during the inaugural season include the outdoor aerial performance spectacular Flexion (January 4, 5 and 6) and three new works to premiere during Here & Now 2007, which is co-commissioned with Miami Light Project.

Tickets are $15 and $30 and are available online at www.carnivalcenter.org or (305) 949-6722.
For group tickets (20 or more), contact (786) 468-2326.

Parking is available at the Omni Performing Arts Parking Garage and four other conveniently located Carnival Center authorized lots. Visit www.carnivalcenter.org for map and directions.

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