There’s something about Miami. It welcomes you by not making too much of a fuss about you. “Oh, so there you are,” it seems to say. Great. Dale, Chico. Te veo despues y nos tomamos un cafe.” And you know, it’s happy to see you.

My favorite spot to welcome the day in all of Miami is not anywhere near the infamous SoBe of the tanned and gorgeous. It’s not on a boat gliding past tall downtown buildings on bayside waters. It’s sitting on the sidewalk facing the huge, colorful, exhuberant sculpture at the entryway of the otherwise unremarkable Dadeland Metrorail Station in South Miami.

It’s fittingly called “Welcome” and stands amid the light gray concrete on mornings when my own bed wants nothing to do with me and, as my mother would say, “el que me fume, pierde el vicio.”

And here’s the trick: you sit on the sidewalk in front of it with your newspaper and your strong, sugary, Cuban coffee, you look at it for awhile, and pretty soon you start to feel happy and, god forbid, optimistic. By then you’ll look a little crazy to couples walking by with their strollers or their dogs, so taking a few pictures of the pure, innocent, joyous embrace it offers won’t make much of a difference. (I recommend polaroids because you’ll want to touch your production inmediately. Don’t make it too precious. You’ll be back.)

Its creator, Romero Britto, has long been an outcast of the traditional art world. (“He’s too commercial.”) He’s also an outcast of the outcasts who say there’s no depth to his work. I wouldn’t know, and I confess to being unmoved by the hanging pictures in his gallery space. But his sculptures: these big gifts of happy for open spaces, sum up for me what he’s often quoted as saying: “For me, art can reflect the celebration of the simple and good things in life. This is most important to me!” Just like Miami.

*****

Anjanette Delgado is an Emmy award-winning writer and multimedia producer with over eighteen years of experience in broadcast, cable, print and Internet environments, both nationally and internationally. Her book “The Heartbreak Pill” is out in stores and she is hard at work on her second novel “The Calle Ocho Clairvoyant.” Anjanette lives in Miami, Florida, and her very favorite quote is “When you’re going through hell, keep going,’” by Winston Churchill.

Mark DeCarlo visits the island of Maui and invites you to join in on all the fun.

As heard on Mad Dog’s radio show in Palm Springs:

The Maui Prince, Hawaii -Filled with enchantment and romance, this Hawaiian paradise will find its way into your hearts without emptying your pockets. Rated one of the top hotels of the island, the Maui Prince is now offering amazing rates for all their rooms, including ocean front rooms. Their amenities range from spa to complimentary valet to wi-fi in your room, should you need it.

Take advantage of their Special Packages or let them take the worry away from planning a wedding! That’s right, lucky divas! They also have wedding packages, complete with every detail, including the fabulous backdrop of Black Rock and red sunsets.

***

Email us at diva@travelingdiva.com for more info and special rates not advertised on their website!

and….. shhhhhh… the secret to their free upgrades!!!!!! diva@travelingdiva.com

Thanksgiving conjures multitudes of memories and impressions in our minds of stupendous family meals.  There is the enduring image of going to grandma’s house where she spent all day in the kitchen cooking up homemade ravioli and other special holiday dishes – a feast for her eager family.  While the adults snuggled around the dining room table, the kiddies caused a ruckus in the kitchen.
These days I’m no longer the young mother with small children, but the grandmother, who has never made homemade ravioli. The shame of it haunts me – but only for a little while. Times change. This year I engineered our Thanksgiving dinner, but did not cook it, as we dined in comfort and charm at the splendid Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach, California. I’m sure my mother never enjoyed such luxury back in Chicago.
The BBC provided the ideal venue for an elegant family Thanksgiving dinner, serenely soothing with tinkling piano in the background, and I knew every song being played, including the lyrics. It wasn’t just recorded noise…it was authentic music. The four-course menu offered several choices ($75 adults; $37 children) – and all were declared “delicious.”  Though I am the only person who actually ate turkey – the others opted for prime rib, sea bass, and, in the case of the youngest, peanut butter and jelly, even though it was not on the menu…
Every one of our family of nine enjoyed the beauty of the bayside scenery just beyond the wall of mullioned windows. The children liked watching the magnificent yachts gliding past or moored just beyond the glass. The BBC is perfect for watching the famous Newport Beach Christmas boat parade, Dec. 14-18.
This was the best Thanksgiving dinner in recent memory – great food, excellent service, all amid what is possibly the prettiest dining room on the water. It is not overdone, with gaudy appointments – it is a symphony in creamy tones with touches of terra cotta. Tables and comfortable rattan chairs are spaced at distances, which make for a secluded sense. For those who value a dining experience which leaves one happy and content, this is the place. There are many opportunities in the next month to savor the season’s festivities at the beautiful BBC.

Balboa Bay Club Holiday Events

Wed., Nov. 30th6- 7 p.m. Complimentary
HolidayResort Lighting Ceremony – cookies& hot beverages.
Featuring the 1st Marine Corps Band, Camp Pendleton
Please consider donating a new, unwrapped toy for the Toys forTots program.

Thurs. Dec. 1 –The Four Preps Holiday Concert
Grand Ballroom 6p.m.
Tickets $25 949-630-4120

Dec. 14-18 Christmas Boat Parade
Starting at 6:30p.m.

Dec. 1st-23rd  Holiday Afternoon Tea
Two seatings – 2 p.m.& 4 p.m.
The Library
Traditional Tea  $34
Governor’s Tea – w/champagne $39
949-630-4145

Dec. 23rd The Night Before Christmas Eve
Featuring the All-American Boys Chorus
6 p.m. & 9p.m.
The Grand Ballroom
Please considerdonating a new, unwrapped toy for the Toys forTots program.
$68 adults; $34 children
949-630-3120

And these special evenings -
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Dinners
New Year’s Eve Black Tie Gala
New Year’s Eve in Duke’s Place

Balboa Bay Club
1212 West Coast Highway
Newport Beach, CA 92663
949-645-5000
For details visit http://www.balboabayclub.com/
www.balboabayclub.com
Reservations - 949-630-4145

Angela Rocco DeCarlo  copyright 2011

Hotel Casa 425 is just what it claims to be: a home away from home. Located on the town square, within steps of fine restaurants, cafes, boutiques, art galleries and the prestigious Claremont Colleges, Casa 425 is a sophisticated boutique hotel with spacious rooms with clean lines and understated art. This diva recommends you grab a drink at the hip lounge or a complimentary green apple on your way out.

Another great alternative is the Doubletree Hotel Claremont. DIVA’s TIP: All Doubletree Hotels offer a warm cookie at check-in. If you are nice, you can get more than one…. Want to float off into winter? Try Essentials Day Spa & Salon at the Doubletree Hotel Claremont 555 W. Foothill Blvd. Claremont, CA 91711 Phone: 909-626-2411 www.Doubletreeclaremont.com

Charming Downtown streets have a charm of their own. Reminiscent of middle America, with the advantages of LA’s technology-driven stores, downtown offers select stores, products and services, sure to satisfy the most eclectic of tastes. For the visiting foodies, La Parolaccia, an Italian gourmet corner restaurant seems to be the all the rage in Claremont Village. Within the fancy interiors, the first thing you notice is the smell of delicious garlic and the smile of our server. Try the Focaccia Forza Italia, a thin crust focaccia from their wood burning oven, topped with goat cheese, tomato sauce, arugula, fresh tomatoes and white truffle oil, or their Carpaccio di Bue con Arugola e Funghi, or as I called it, heaven in my mouth. This appetizer of raw beef tenderloin came topped with fresh arugula, mushrooms, capers and shaved parmesan cheese. La Parolaccia Osteria Italiana 201 N. Indian Hill Claremont, CA 91711 909-624-1516 http://laparolacciausa.com/

This tree-lined downtown houses a myriad of mom and pop places as well as trendy favorites. You.ll find a specialty cheese and olive oil place, The Cheese Cave, where you can try cheeses from all over the world, specialty fennel salame and hand-pressed olive oils. Definitely ask for a taste of Snow White. You’ll absolutely adore it. You’ll never think of the fairy tale the same way again. Cheese Cave 325 North Yale Avenue, Claremont, CA 91711-4727 909-625-7560 http://www.claremontcheese.com/

What a better place to start a hot date than a dimly lit place being served high quality wine and light fare, surrounded by comfy pillows? Add 1950′s standards to that equation and no woman could resist. Packing House Wine Merchants on First Street offers excellent service with an enjoyable, relaxing, and fun atmosphere at which to shop, drink, and learn about wine. This is definitely a place of which Sinatra would approved. Packing House Wine Merchants 540 West 1st Street Claremont, CA 91711-4618 909-445-9463 http://www.packinghousewines.com

For those looking for nightlife, there’s Hip Kitty, a swanky and intimate jazz supper club and lounge in downtown Claremont Village. Live music is featured on its stage 6 nights a week and every seat in the house has a great view. If comedy is your style, Flappers Comedy Club’s A-list comedians perform for very thankful audiences. Order the cheese plate, unexpectedly fantastic, and even the MC and host comedians were great. Make sure you drink plenty at the Wine Merchants downstairs and the comedy and cheese will seem even better. There’s also Piano Piano, your big city dueling piano bar with some of the most amazing talent you’ve ever seen come out of a small town.

La-la land getting too crowded for you? Come relax in Claremont. This is a place you will want to go back to time and time again.

DiscoverClaremont.com

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Even a three-year old understands the concept of saving old things for the future.

Michelle Christine, my toddler granddaughter looked around our house one day at the children’s table and chairs and toys she knew had been her daddy’s.

“You saved this for me, “ she stated, not asked. She knew.

I pounced on her thought and told her there were people we didn’t even know who had saved things for us in big buildings called museums. Would she like to go see them? She said, yes, and so our museum adventures began ten years ago.

With my second granddaughter, Serritella Dainelle, I was late starting. She is six years old and last Sunday we went to the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, Santa Ana, CA. The facility is having great success with its China exhibits  – China’s Enduring Legacy – Warriors, Tombs and Temples; and Ancient Arts of China, but we were there to see the memorial to Christopher Columbus and the small gallery of oil paintings tucked upstairs in an out of the way location.

You are not likely to find Columbus’ bust as it is secreted deep in a courtyard near the entrance, but set back so it is not in plain sight. It is worth seeing. Serritella brought a long-stemmed rose from our garden to place on the monument. We’ve been talking about the great age of exploration and how important Columbus was in turning terra incognita into the world we now know. She was interested to see a likeness of the man she’d been learning about. Though it is generally agreed by scholars that no known portrait of Columbus shows the man as he appeared in life.

After we had paid homage to our cultural cousin we headed for the little picture gallery I remembered from past visits. In particular I wanted to see the oranges again…a vibrant painting of  parchment-wrapped fruit that is as beautiful as anything I’ve seen in European galleries. As we slowly made our way around the small gallery, Serritella was entranced by the room’s ceiling of painted decorations. Then she seemed to study the paintings and asked: ‘Why are there trees in all the paintings?” I was rather astounded she had realized, without knowing the name, that she was viewing examples of California plein air paintings. This school of artists captured the natural beauty of old California with its canyons, streams and towering trees.

Painting outdoors became more likely once paint tubes were invented in 1841. Artists were able to abandon mixing their own pigments and carrying them in pig bladders or glass vials.   Paints could now be produced in bulk and sold in tin tubes with a cap. The cap could be screwed back on and the paints preserved for future use, providing flexibility and efficiency to painting outdoors. The manufactured paints had a balanced consistency that the artist could thin with oil, turpentine, or other mediums.  Paint in tubes also changed the way some artists approached painting. The artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir –“Without tubes of paint, there would have been no Impressionism.” For the Impressionists, tubed  paints offered an easily accessible variety of colors for their plein air palettes, motivating them to make spontaneous color choices. With greater quantities of preserved paint, they were able to apply paint more thickly.

Serritella and I talked about the scenes of trees, rivers and mountains which the California plein air artists had painted. She reminded me of having seen “Blue Boy” and “Pinkie” with her mother and brother at the Huntington Museum and Library, Pasadena, CA. The galleries in which those paintings reside are mostly portraiture, so she obviously was comparing the differences between those pictures and the outdoor scenes at the Bowers. Not a bad introduction to the world of art for a very little girl.

Westrolled around the Bowers for a while after leaving the paintings looking at the artifacts displayed in the large galleries. As we were leaving Serritella asked if she could paint outside when we got back home. And that’s what she did.

Upon arriving back at our home she gathered up her water color paints, brushes,smock and set up her work on the little picnic table outside under the trellis facing the garden and pool. She worked with deep concentration for some time, creating pictures of the pool, another of the flower beds and others of the scene before her. Meanwhile, her brother, Sam, who had gone to a hockey game, not the museum with us, worked on his own picture of the yard. He chose to do a draftsman-like rendering of the pool, complete with brick coping in great detail. Their individual work indicated again, every artist has his or her unique vision and each is to be nurtured and treasured.  We plan to return to the Bowers again and again for longer visits as the children gain in age.

Bowers Museum of Cultural Art
2002 N. Main St.
Santa Ana, CA 92706
714-587-3600

Days & Hours – Tues. – Sunday
10a.m. to 4 p.m.
General Admission
Adults $12, reduced rates of $9 for younger visitors.
Free Sundays –first Sunday of every month, Target Free Day

Special ticketed exhibits, such as the Chinese exhibits, require additional fees.

Credit: Angela Rocco DeCarlo, is a veteran journalist.She covers culture, travel and lifestyle.

Try the meatballs, with that delicious red sauce, and of course the famous beef ‘sangwich.’ Thin sliced of authentically seasoned roast beef, served on a bakery fresh Italian roll with your choice of sweet green peppers or hot giardiniera. Ahhh.. slice of heaven…

For the more adventurous type, the Taste Chicago hot dog is not your ordinary wiener. This all beef Vienna sausage comes with an array of mustard, celery salt, relish, pickles, onions, tomatoes, and peppers.. just no ketchup… trust me. You don’t… want to ask… for the ketchup.

Can’t make it to Chicago this year? Taste Chicago is the closest thing to eating in Chi-town. Good games, great food, great people. Taste Chicago is this diva’s choice for Chicagoan food in the valley.

Taste Chicago

603 North Hollywood Way
Burbank, CA 91505-3125
(818) 563-2800

www.TasteChicago.biz

Warning: This is not an unbiased review. I love Las Brisas Restaurant for its incomparable location. The place is quaint, just comfortable enough to satisfy, with flashy rose gardens in seasonal bloom, but make no mistake, it is the ocean which holds pride of place. It sits on a promontory overlooking the sun-dappled Pacific Ocean, with curving Laguna Beach to the south replicating vistas of Italy’s Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast, our families’ ancestral home.

For us former Chicagoans, the place, especially in January, represents a fantasy of beauty and breezes (hence the name The Breezes) to which we’ve brought our most beloved family and friends. Our Chicago-born fathers, Mike DeCarlo and Pete Rocco, taking their first plane ride in their 80s, relished the experience of eating in sunshine on a winter day. My sister, Christine, and others have shared our delight in merely being in this sublimely spectacular spot. Native Californians cannot fathom the depth of pleasure experienced by we cold-clime folk, who find ourselves squinting into the winter sun as we munch delicious Las Brisas nachos on the terrace. We can almost feel we’re again visiting fabled Positano, Italy, seated on the terrace of the celebrated San Pietro Hotel. The scenery is that similarly spectacular. Any visitor will respond favorably to the sensual charm of the area.

We are not alone in our devotion to the Las Brisas experience. The Southern California landmark began in 1938 as the Victor Hugo Inn. It became Las Brisas in 1979, and has been a magnet for visitors from all over the world, not just Chicago. Having on-property valet parking is no small thing in a beach town with limited street parking.

Of course the food is lovely, the calamari is particularly delicate and flavorful with a soft garlic lemon butter sauce ($10.25) that is a fine introduction to whatever comes next. On one recent visit we had our favorites on the patio -fish and chips and cheesy nachos -yummy. The patio has its own menu, separate from the inside dining room. Last week the couple seated next to us on the patio were visiting from Naperville, Illinois, a town near our former Downers Grove hometown.Noticing my Cubs bag they struck up a conversation and we had the most pleasant time talking about our rotten-weather Chicago and how glorious is Las Brisas.

Reservations are taken but the promise of a window seat is withheld. Therefore to increase your chances of unobstructed ocean views try going on a Monday when there is more opportunity to snag a window table to catch sight of the pelicans fishing for their lunch or if one is lucky seeing dolphin play dates carousing in the distance. There is an outcrop of rocks off the gazebo viewing area which is home to marine birds and mammals- I think they may be seals.

The place offers Mexican Riviera seafood dishes, as well as beef and chicken entrees for breakfast, lunch, dinner, Sunday brunch and cocktails. My lunch dish of four large sea scallops sauted in spicy chardonnay with garlic butter sauce and wild mushrooms was marvelously fresh-tasting and flavorful ($17.50). I’ve enjoyed the Ensalada de Primavera, substituting romaine for the spring greens but keeping the caramelized walnuts, pear, cranberries, feta cheese with a citrus-ginger dressing. ($6.50). Never having acquired a taste for alcohol I cannot speak for the drinks but I did notice margarita cocktails were priced at $9.50.

For those seeking every opportunity for beautiful vistas it is worth mentioning a small park with gorgeous views reached off Pacific Coast Highway by turning right (if you are driving south) onto Crescent Bay St. Continue to the end of the cul-de-sac and park on the street. The little park provides wonderful views up and down the coastline. The town of Laguna Beach is filled with art galleries and other interesting shops. Begin and end at Las Brisas and you are sure to enjoy it all.

Las Brisas Restaurant
361 Cliff Drive
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
949-497-5434 – reservations online –
www.lasbrisaslagunabeach.com

Angela Rocco DeCarlo, copyright, 2010

What is Matta Napkin?

It’s a daily drawing on a stolen napkin. My plan is to put a new one up on my blog every day for a year.  It might sound easy, but I’m putting my health in danger by eating so much fast food in order to get the proper canvases to create. Also, I dare you to buy nothing at a  Del Taco but then try to grab a stack of napkins… they will go over the counter to stop you. I truly am an American hero/visionary.

I was watching a new-ish mom demand that a Subway Sandwich Artist give her free meat samples so her little boy could taste it before ordering. If the child didn’t like the meat, he’d spit it out on the counter. If he liked the meat he’d spit it out on the counter, accompanied by an approving grunt. It was the most wonderful thing I’ve ever witnessed… and I’ve seen puppies born. So I felt I  had to document the event by drawing it on a napkin to share it with the world. Unfortunately, that napkin was destroyed in a Mr. Pibb accident in my truck. Since then I’ve been drawing on napkins every day.

Who was your inspiration?

My wife Rose Abdoo who said, “You should draw and let other people besides me see it.” Since she is never wrong I began drawing.

No! I am delighted that people come to the site. It’s also extra cool when you see that folks visit the site from Australia, Greece and Malaysia. Now Malaysia might be a mistake as there’s a Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (www.matta.org ) but I’m going to assume I’m huge in Malaysia until proven otherwise.

My father asked, “So are you going to be making fun of your mother and me on the internet now?” He’s e-mailed me almost six times asking the same question. It’s like the guy is obsessed with me!  Luckily, my lawyer has gotten a restraining order on both of them so I don’t have to be afraid to be on the internet.

Why Napkins?

They’re everywhere… except of course when you have a runny nose. Plus there is nothing worse than watching someone grab a pile of napkins the size of Eddie Money’s head then throwing the stack out without using them. I say put the extra napkins back or sneak them out under your shirt and draw on them later.

Like any good parent… I don’t like the first ones…  I like the newer ones.

Starting at the end of the month I’m introducing “Guest Napkins” every Wednesday. I’m really excited and flattered that many people I admire have agreed to draw their own  napkins. Hopefully, one of the first napkins will be  by a person who has been one of the sites biggest supporters. One of the kindest people on the planet… I can’t tell you her name but it rhymes with Via Nardalos.

More napkins, more fast food, maybe a book and hopefully I become voted the third best napkin artist on the internet.

For more information on John Matta and Matta Napkin visit: http://mattainc.blogspot.com

Blithe Spirit, the 1941 Noel Coward comedy, playing at the intimate Costa Mesa Playhouse until September 25, allows theater-goers the opportunity to enjoy good talent, brilliant dialog, all amid some zany antics designed to conjure back to life the dear departed. The three-hour production is directed by David Anthony Blair.

Coward’s play opened in 1941 London during the worst of the German bombings: The Blitz – of Britain during World War II. So it might be easy to see how a creative exercise onstage, of retrieving loved ones from the grave, would resonate at that time in history. However, the play has enjoyed long life, with many revivals, during the past 70 years. It’s most recent incarnation on Broadway was in 2009 with Angela Lansbury in the key role of Madame Arcati, the eccentric medium, who accidentally conjures a dead wife, much to the chagrin of the current, alive wife.

The Costa Mesa specter hits the right notes of comedy and British sophistication without creeping anyone to pieces.  The seven-member cast of this well-staged production is fortunate to be well-clothed and placed onto a nicely designed set, as they handle the required British accents with success. Author Coward took the title from the Percy Bysshe Shelly poem, To A Skylark’s Hail to thee blithe spirit, bird thou never wert Coward’s London office was destroyed in the wartime bombing and it is said he went away and wrote the play during a week in the countryside. Blithe Spirit ran for nearly 2,000 performances in London and more than 500, later in 1941, on Broadway. It’s still around because it is beautifully written and works. Actors have sparkling speeches, situations are amusing and the people never lose their cool even when highly exasperated. What a treat to never have to hear dialog that resorts to vulgarity and code curse words. It is worth the ticket if only to hear humans speak so eloquently in every situation.

English socialites Ruth and Charles Condomine,� well-played by Jennifer Pearce and Paul Griffiths respectively, host a dinner party and seance featuring a well-known local eccentric, medium Madame Arcati, played with a light zany touch, by Judy Jones. Charles plans to use the evening to research psychics for his next novel. Friends, Dr. and Mrs. Bradman, played by suitably scientific Dan Henry and charmingly giddy Norma Jean, respectively, round out the guest list. The doctor is a skeptic and his wife is willing to believe whatever may turn up once Arcati goes into her trance. The maid, Edith, played by Danielle Macinnis, is too-noisy a presence in early scenes. Though necessary later on.

Of course, the evening goes bump in the night and Arcati accidently conjures Charles’ dead first wife, Elvira, strongly played by Emily Price, to plague the proceedings. Her initial appearance is appropriately ghostly, until she settles in to demonstrate she just showed up to finish aggravating her husband, a job apparently left undone in life.

It is a marvelous tribute to art in the abstract that individuals such as these fine Costa Mesa actors work so hard to provide an evening’s entertainment for a group of strangers. The audience was suitably appreciative for the laughs and opportunity to contemplate what it would be like to have departed loved ones return. But most of all for an evening of sophisticated intelligent entertainment,� without a hint of current TV sitcom mentality, marked by the lowest common denominator, usually inane ‘sex up your nose’ nonsense. If only contemporary writers might grab a dictionary or thesaurus and write dialog that sings, instead of slangs, but there was only one Noel Coward. His works is still worth experiencing.

Costa Mesa Playhouse has an excellent website with prompt ticketing applications. Future productions include “Earthlings Beware!”; “Nunsense”; “The Crucible”; “Hedwig & the Angry Inch”. Ticket prices are modest, discounts for students and seniors. Learn more at http://www.costamesaplayhouse.org

Costa Mesa Playhouse
661 Hamilton St.
Costa Mesa, CA92627
949-650-5269

Angela Rocco DeCarlo copyright, 2011

SCARLET STONE

This epic piece is based on the last work of Siavash Kasrai, Moher-ye Sorkh (Scarlet Stone) which re-tells the most famous tragedy of Iranian mythology, namely Rostam and Sohrab. The production uses the modern rendition of Ferdowsi�s ancient mythology to portray the current struggle of the people of Iran, especially those of the youth and women, in their brave quest for freedom and democracy.� The goal is to make this project directly relevant to the current political and social climate of Iran and the Middle East in general.� Scarlet Stone emphasizes the value of wisdom over infatuation and brings to our attention the need for all Iranians to take responsibility for the cultural, social, and political development of the country in the past 60 years.

UCSD�s professor, director/composer- Shahrokh Yadegari in collaboration with French-Iranian choreographer/dancer Shahrokh Moshkin Ghalam (also starring as Sohrab) have gathered some of the best performing talents of the Iranian diaspora to include Afshin Mofid- former NY ballet star (as Rostam), Ida Saki- young rising star dancer (Gordafarid -Sohrab�s lover), Miriam Peretz- Bay Area-based acclaimed dancer (Tahmineh-Sohrab�s mother) and Fatemeh Habibizad, the first female Iranian Naqqal - (Epic Story Teller, Ferdowsi) for this production.� Advanced interactive video designed by Ian Wallace, and stunning lighting by Omar Ramos and Kristin Hayes define the world of the story.

Similar to the artistic form of Kasrai�s poem, Scarlet Stone is staged with modern aesthetics and a deep commitment to the traditional and ancient values of Persian arts. Advanced interactive technology is used for production and projection/diffusion of video and sound, which will help the integration of the multiple disciplines used in this project. With a critical view, Scarlet Stone offers strength as well as hope. One can argue that much of what is addressed in Scarlet Stone, both in terms of societal problems and solutions are alive in the current social and political movements in Iran. For many years, the only option for defining a structural basis for a social or political movement was either leaning towards the left or the right. Kasrai, having come from the leftist tradition and having been the victim of the disillusionments which followed the left movement in Iran, proudly writes a hopeful poem for facing the problems which have plagued our times. We feel the current movements in Iran (and the Middle East in general), where all sections of people have come together to voice their desire for peaceful reform and freedom, are a living example of this approach.

Yadegari says: �our goal is to produce Scarlet Stone in a way for it to become a catalyst for communication among Iranians, Iranian diaspora, and all those interested and invested in the evolution of the political and social life in the region. The production employs artists of highest caliber and uses exquisite interactive design technology to tell the touching and sobering story of Siavash Kasrai, in which he praises wise and passionate commitment to global human values as a beckon of hope for the current sociopolitical climate of Iran. We believe that the recent movements in Iran and later around the world, are fundamentally new forms of peaceful approach to political dissent, where actions are not fed by partisan politics, but by grass root social necessities.�� Moshkin-Ghalam believes �today’s generation of the youth and women in Iran are the generation of the `Shorabs and Tahminehs�, who bravely, passionately, and peacefully have been struggling against oppression.� The non-violent resistances of Iranian people after the 2009 election in Iran is an excellent example of the committed, thoughtful, and intelligent political activism which Kasrai has depicted for us.�

Scarlet Stone has been in production since the 2009 uprising in Iran and has been generously funded by prestigious grants such as the the MAP Fund, a program of Creative Capital supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, the University of California Research in the Arts Institute�s Production Grant, UCSD�s Arts and Humanities Innovation Fund, and by a grant from Chehrazad Foundation.

San Diego

Mandel Weiss Forum at UCSD

Saturday, November 19, 2011 at 8pm

presented by Persian Cultural Center

Tickets $50, $35, and $20 for students

Los Angeles

Freud Playhouse, UCLA

Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 8pm

Sunday, December 11, 2011 at 7pm

presented by Persian Arts Society

Tickets $75, $55, $45

For more information about this production, please refer to the website at www.scarletstone.com.