Laura Antoniou in SF. April 29 - May 4
Laura Antoniou storms through San Francisco, offering both new classes and discussions and old favorites. Check her out at these fine venues!
April 29th
Laura appears at the Center for Sex and Culture with a new workshop:
"Tell Me What You Want, What You Really Really Want."
Description: Often, when we try to tell our partners what we like or want, those words are filtered through things like expectations, projection, fear, shame and verbal shortcuts. Expand your creativity and verbal skills beyond I like flogging or anything you want through an interactive game and exercise. Learn how creative communication and courageous risk-taking can make your relationship and play more intimate, satisfying and fun. Communicate fantasies in a way that will inspire reality; say what you mean, and mean what you say and make it seductive.
For information on cost and time of event, visit the Center for Sex & Culture, www.sexandculture.org
April 30
Laura presents her most popular class, "The Way of It: Establishing and Maintaining a Protocol" at The Citadel. The event takes place from 8-10 p.m. (doors open at 7:30) and the cost is $20. http://www.sfcitadel.org/ for more information.
May 1
Laura starts off the month at the Center for Sex and Culture, presenting
"Too Kinky for Words: Playing Way Off The Edge."
Description: Everyone loves to claim they play on the edge, or their style of being kinky is somehow greater than the average pervert. Yet even among the uber-kinky, there are those of us who have fantasies - or play styles - which seem to be beyond what is considered "acceptable." Is your kink really "OK"? How can you tell? Are there boundaries to fantasies? Should there be? Should we/can we own our most unmentionable ones? How do you share fantasies with a partner if they make you uncomfortable?
This workshop is more of a guided discussion group on the process of identifying, naming, sharing and potentially enacting our scariest fantasies. It's not about being outrageous to shock others - it's about fear of community mores, worries about personal responsibility, shameful eroticism and secret joys.
Participants must come prepared to write down a fantasy or playstyle (anonymously, if they wish) and turn it in to the presenter.
For information on cost and time of event, visit the Center for Sex & Culture, www.sexandculture.org
May 2
Special “Marketplace Maven” Event at Femina Potens, 2199 Market Street from 6-7:30.
This is your chance to sit down with the author of the Marketplace series and dish the dirt. Get all the inside scoop: how the series was developed, the characters created, the storyline expanded. Ask *anything* from background details to future plans; share your own feelings about the way things have gone and where you think they will, should and shouldn't go next. Get a look at the Marketplace Codex and timeline, and review the sometimes hilarious suggestions fans have made for the mythical movie. Then hear an excerpt from the upcoming book. And maybe win a signed and numbered first edition of one of the books!
Tickets are available in advance at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/31263 . For more information, visit feminapotens.com
May 3
Laura returns to the Citadel with a new workshop: "Tops Are From Gor, Bottoms Are From Roissy."
Description: We frequently draw our relationship models from fictional universes, forgetting that those universes don’t always work the same way. What happens when concepts like “master,” “slave,” and “service” are filtered through the Marketplace, Gor, Roissy, or other fictional universes? Laura will help separate fantasy from reality, discuss effective communication of roles, and explore how to borrow from fiction honestly while we craft our relationship styles. There’s good stuff in our fiction as well as bad - be prepared to laugh at the unrealistic expectations, smile at fond memories of our dearest inspirations, and grimace at how we can turn something we did as a lark for a few years into a colossal waste of time.
The event takes place from 2-5 p.m., with doors opening at 1:30. Cost is $30. Visit http://www.sfcitadel.org/ for more information.
May 4
Laura proudly offers the keynote address at International Ms. Leather. Enjoy a weekend with leatherwomen and those who love them. For registration and information, visit www.imsl.org
May 4
Laura returns to the Center for Sex and Culture, to present "Revenge of the Middle-Aged Guard."
Description: Youve been there; youve done that. So why do things seem so much more complicated now? If you remember when my space meant where you took a hot date after dinner, links were for chains and poly was followed by ester you may be feeling your age a bit. Laura sure is; her bed time bears a suspicious resemblance to the time she used to go out to SM clubs. This round table is designed for those who arent ready for old fart status and arent sure if theyre want to be added to a Facebook friends list, either. Limited kvetching allowed, but more designed to discuss what our experiences have taught us and what we want to do to enhance our personal and community relations. No one under 32 allowed! Go to a dang TNG meeting or have a mocha soy latte with a shot of mango and text your BFF on how unfair the world is.
For information on cost and time of event, visit the Center for Sex & Culture, www.sexandculture.org

Plan your next roadtrip with MapQuest.com : America's #1 Mapping Site.
April 29th
Laura appears at the Center for Sex and Culture with a new workshop:
"Tell Me What You Want, What You Really Really Want."
Description: Often, when we try to tell our partners what we like or want, those words are filtered through things like expectations, projection, fear, shame and verbal shortcuts. Expand your creativity and verbal skills beyond I like flogging or anything you want through an interactive game and exercise. Learn how creative communication and courageous risk-taking can make your relationship and play more intimate, satisfying and fun. Communicate fantasies in a way that will inspire reality; say what you mean, and mean what you say and make it seductive.
For information on cost and time of event, visit the Center for Sex & Culture, www.sexandculture.org
April 30
Laura presents her most popular class, "The Way of It: Establishing and Maintaining a Protocol" at The Citadel. The event takes place from 8-10 p.m. (doors open at 7:30) and the cost is $20. http://www.sfcitadel.org/ for more information.
May 1
Laura starts off the month at the Center for Sex and Culture, presenting
"Too Kinky for Words: Playing Way Off The Edge."
Description: Everyone loves to claim they play on the edge, or their style of being kinky is somehow greater than the average pervert. Yet even among the uber-kinky, there are those of us who have fantasies - or play styles - which seem to be beyond what is considered "acceptable." Is your kink really "OK"? How can you tell? Are there boundaries to fantasies? Should there be? Should we/can we own our most unmentionable ones? How do you share fantasies with a partner if they make you uncomfortable?
This workshop is more of a guided discussion group on the process of identifying, naming, sharing and potentially enacting our scariest fantasies. It's not about being outrageous to shock others - it's about fear of community mores, worries about personal responsibility, shameful eroticism and secret joys.
Participants must come prepared to write down a fantasy or playstyle (anonymously, if they wish) and turn it in to the presenter.
For information on cost and time of event, visit the Center for Sex & Culture, www.sexandculture.org
May 2
Special “Marketplace Maven” Event at Femina Potens, 2199 Market Street from 6-7:30.
This is your chance to sit down with the author of the Marketplace series and dish the dirt. Get all the inside scoop: how the series was developed, the characters created, the storyline expanded. Ask *anything* from background details to future plans; share your own feelings about the way things have gone and where you think they will, should and shouldn't go next. Get a look at the Marketplace Codex and timeline, and review the sometimes hilarious suggestions fans have made for the mythical movie. Then hear an excerpt from the upcoming book. And maybe win a signed and numbered first edition of one of the books!
Tickets are available in advance at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/31263 . For more information, visit feminapotens.com
May 3
Laura returns to the Citadel with a new workshop: "Tops Are From Gor, Bottoms Are From Roissy."
Description: We frequently draw our relationship models from fictional universes, forgetting that those universes don’t always work the same way. What happens when concepts like “master,” “slave,” and “service” are filtered through the Marketplace, Gor, Roissy, or other fictional universes? Laura will help separate fantasy from reality, discuss effective communication of roles, and explore how to borrow from fiction honestly while we craft our relationship styles. There’s good stuff in our fiction as well as bad - be prepared to laugh at the unrealistic expectations, smile at fond memories of our dearest inspirations, and grimace at how we can turn something we did as a lark for a few years into a colossal waste of time.
The event takes place from 2-5 p.m., with doors opening at 1:30. Cost is $30. Visit http://www.sfcitadel.org/ for more information.
May 4
Laura proudly offers the keynote address at International Ms. Leather. Enjoy a weekend with leatherwomen and those who love them. For registration and information, visit www.imsl.org
May 4
Laura returns to the Center for Sex and Culture, to present "Revenge of the Middle-Aged Guard."
Description: Youve been there; youve done that. So why do things seem so much more complicated now? If you remember when my space meant where you took a hot date after dinner, links were for chains and poly was followed by ester you may be feeling your age a bit. Laura sure is; her bed time bears a suspicious resemblance to the time she used to go out to SM clubs. This round table is designed for those who arent ready for old fart status and arent sure if theyre want to be added to a Facebook friends list, either. Limited kvetching allowed, but more designed to discuss what our experiences have taught us and what we want to do to enhance our personal and community relations. No one under 32 allowed! Go to a dang TNG meeting or have a mocha soy latte with a shot of mango and text your BFF on how unfair the world is.
For information on cost and time of event, visit the Center for Sex & Culture, www.sexandculture.org

Plan your next roadtrip with MapQuest.com : America's #1 Mapping Site.