BACK TO love conjure/blues

I was having trouble writing and decided to ask friends to help. We organized a series of house parties during which I’d read whatever new text I could muster up and then we’d eat and dance. The act of sharing the creative process with my community of loved ones/and the fact that my peoples is crazy - really jump started the writing. It was during these parties that I discovered the character Big Bill (aka Priscilla telling me some bootleg butch advice regarding da wy’mns). After a while I had completed a draft of the text.

Then what had happened was…

In 2003 Dr. Edmund T. Gordon invited me to read during a series he curated on race, gender, sexuality and class. I read from the draft of love conjure/blues. During the talk back I expressed the need to hear the work performed. Dr. Gordon came up to me after the event and vowed support from The Center for African and African American Studies, University of Texas, Austin/of which he was at the time director of. From then it was on and popn baybay…

The Center for African and African American Studies U.T. Austin (CAAAS) supported the development of the writing of love conjure/blues by producing a staged reading in 3/2004
Featuring: Writer/Director Sharon Bridgforth; Music Director/Composer Helga Davis;
Performers: Florinda Bryant, Daniel Dodd-Ellis, Daniel Alexander Jones
Joni L. Jones/Omi Osun Olomo, Sonja Perryman,
Marlah Fulgham, Sean Tate and Carsey Walker, Jr.
LISTEN

CAAAS also produced a production which celebrated the book release in 9/2004 featuring:
Writer/Director, Sharon Bridgforth; Composer Conductor/Director, Helga Davis; Musicians Fred Cash, Jr. & Greg Rickard; Performers: Florinda Bryant, Daniel Dodd-Ellis, Gina Houston, Daniel Alexander Jones, Joni L. Jones (Omi Osun Olomo), Sonja Perryman, and Sean Tate.

BACK TO love conjure/blues