The Great Debaters Is AMAZING…
Archive for December, 2007
The Butchlalis De Panochtitlan hosted a kickassss event to benefit QTeam A queer and trans youth of color collective
Festivities took place at Tropico de Nopal and included a surprise appearance by fineass Javi (aka Adelina Anthony)
Javi and his bois (thats D’Lo on the right)
Ricardo Bracho was in da houseas as was Irina Contreras, Rigo Maldonado, Hector Silva, Dorain Wood, and yours truly,
Sexy DJ got up and rocked da mic
and of course La Vicki waz there
Mannno mannn…I’m home for the holidaze and feeling sooo very Blessed.
First off you know the weather is gorgeous/and yes I’ve been to the Beach….don’t hate….
I just got to testify/I have received soooo much Love from my artist Loved Ones here….. Adelina Anthony curated a screening/talk featuring The love conjure/blues Text Installation Film on DEC. 12th, 2007 @ 7:30 pm at the Southern California Library for Social Research 6120 S. Vermont Avenue | Los Angeles, CA 90044
Karla Legaspy, Stacy Macias, Adelina Anthony.
Dorothy Randall Gray and Latrice Dixon
The queer artists of color came out to support!!! The love conjure/blues Text Installation Film was made as a document of the performance/installation. Our initial plan was to use it to facilitate community based conversations about art/form/organizing etc.
but I was so deeply moved by my experience at this event/that I have sent a shout out to Jen Simmons (the film maker/my collaborator on the project) to see what she thinks about us distributing the film. Thank you my L.A. peoples/for the encouragement….!!!!
The LYRICAL EXPOSE Reading Was A Smash
I had the honor of being on program with the UCLA Chican@ M135 class taught by the one and only Claudia Rodriquez of the Butchlalis de Panochtitlan!
The event was BEAUTIFUL!!! It was sponsored by Chican@ and Gender Studies Departments on 12/10/07 4pm - 7pm at the Young Research Library, UCLA Presentation Room, 11348
Check me out hangn with: Claudia, Alicia Gaspar de Alba and Alma Lopez
Alicia has a NEW NOVEL titled: Calligraphy of the Witch
Oh yeah…thats what I’m talkn about…
Daniel Alexander Jones bought the shonufffunky heat to the Cal Arts Acting Program . Daniel worked with the students to present a staged reading of The Book of Daniel that nobody was prepared fo! I am soooo happy that I was a witness
Our very own fancyladycalartsMFAplaywright Virginia Grise hosted a slamming dinner at her home
I did a little dramaturgn fo La Vicki between parties/shows and thangs
Students from the acting and playwrighting program came ova
as did Saint Erik/the Dean Ehn,
the lovely Megan Monaghan/Literary Manager from South Coast Repertory Company
and the mighty artist/Head of Writing for Performance Carl Hancock Rux
delta dandi explores the life of a Black blues woman musician traveling with a jazz band in the 1940’s at the height of the birth of modern jazz….
Thanks to The Center for African and African American Studies, UT Austin (CAAAS) I was Blessed with the opportunity to present a reading of my new piece delta dandi in-progress:
November 30, 2007 8:00 PM
Winship Drama Building (WIN), Room 2.180 | University of Texas, Austin
The joint was PACKED!!!! Due to the vision and ongoing hard work of the current directors of CAAAS - there were artists, athletes, activists (my peoples from Alma de Mujer and Resistencia Bookstore were in da house!), community members, professors, and students from all walks. I conducted the audience in a choral reading of some of the text/with me as the lead reader. The audience was amazing!After the reading CAAAS gave me some beautiful presents/then we had a great talk back sessionand loads of wonderful snacks.
Here is what Desire Taylor, an undergraduate heading towards med. school had to say about her experience
Hi Sharon,I did not get a chance to talk to you after your reading, but I wanted to tell you how much I appreciated hearing a portion of “Delta Dandi”. I was truly enamoured with your use of language and the distinct qualities associated with each character.It was extremely insightful to hear someone talk about the beginnings of a journey that they intend to embark on.I also wanted tell how cool I think it is that you would share a work in progress and allow yourself to be open and yet so vulnerable. In a culture where meaning is only assigned to the finish product, it was refreshing to be reminded of how important the process and the journey is.I wish you the best of luck with the creation of this piece. I am sure it will be an amazing growing experience!
best,
Desire
I’ll soon post more about delta dandi but for now I want to thank: all the folks that came out to support the in-process experience; Sheree L. Ross who is the consciousness patron of the arts to this piece; and of course CAAAS.CAAAS supported the development of delta dandi with a research grant which funded my trip to Nigeria in 2006. During the reading I projected photos from that trip. Since the trip I have been asking myself: What are my Ancestor’s stories? What is my relationship to Africa? How do African rituals and performance inform my artistic aesthetic (jazz)? These questions/this story will come alive as a living orchestration: a choir; a blues singer; jazz musicians; photos and film projections; the text; me conducting… In other words we gonn Be bop’n…Mo soonsoon…Peace!
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