Are you ready for a Miami Made Weekend? This innovative festival of dance, music, theater and works in progress comes to the Arsht Center March 3-6, 2011, and it is free and open to the public. The event consists of three initiatives: Here & Now: 2011, showcasing works commissioned by the Arsht Center and Miami Light Project; Incubator, which engages local artists and presents works in progress that have been commissioned and developed by the Arsht Center; and Outloud, featuring readings of new plays by South Florida playwrights.

Miami Made Weekend Here & Now: 2011 will feature new work by South Florida-based artists Letty Bassart, Elizabeth Doud & Carlos Caballero, Liony Garcia and Ana Mendez. The program will include Letty Bassart’s Requiem for a Mustard Seed Closes in Song, Act 1, which is described as dance theater that was inspired by an investigation into lost and found items. If you’re going to pull a knife, USAlo, is a collaboration between Carlos Caballero and Elizabeth Doud. Liony Garcia’s Clandestine is a dance theater piece which uses montage and performance art to explore clandestine acts as a result of sexual suppression in individuals. And, finally, dancer-choreographer Ana Mendez will choreograph and direct a ritual dance, The Body Is Present, with members of Psychic Youth Inc. in homage to the life and work of Cuban artist Ana Mendieta.

Commissioned by Miami Made’s Incubator, Phallussy features a lively cast of dancers, a musician and a spoken-word artist who will take you on an interdisciplinary jaunt to convey the labeling and stigma that come with sexual roles and gender — from old-fashioned double standards, to dating, to orientation, to the death of chivalry.  This performance contains nudity. Summer Hill Seven’s Hang Time por Rubin Stacy! commissioned by Miami Made’s Outloud series, is a hybrid art form that combines stand-up comedy and spoken-word poetry. This is the first public sharing of Hang Time Por Rubin Stacy! which is a conversation about race in America following the election of the first self-identified African-American president.

Event Information: Miami Made Weekend is packed with events, performances, readings and panel discussions. Visit Miami Made Weekend to view the entire schedule of events.  All Miami Made Weekend events are free and open to the public. For priority access and guaranteed seating to all events, purchase a VIP Access Pass for $35. Arrive 10 minutes before showtime.Visit www.arshtcenter.org for tickets and further information.