tommy nakamura was the
coolest drink of water to/ever
get on the number 84 northbound.
i never missed my 6:30 a.m. bus
cause at 7:15
when we pulled up to olympic avenue
tommy nakamura would step aboard
black shades black silk shirt black slacks
shinny black ankle boots no jewelry no smiling
tommy would stroll down the aisle
like a cool breeze.
by the time the bus pulled off
i’d smile into a sweet sleep
having just seen beauty…
— Excerpt from con flama; (c) 2000 Sharon Bridgforth

I wrote con flama as a 1999-2000
National Endowment For The Arts/Theatre Communications Group
Artist In Residence at Frontera @ Hyde Park Theatre, Austin, TX,
Vicky Boone, Artistic Director.

con flama is a word opera/a blues and jazz based script. it is blues in it’s sensibility and base herstory /it is jazz in it’s composition/communal telling and non-linear exploration of time. con flama gives glimpse to a Black gurl’s passage through her personal history and her connection with the people in her world/community. this piece is based in Los Angeles/in Spirit time and the 1940’s –1970’s.

Pictured: Zell Miller, 111 & Sonja Parks. Photo by Bret Brookshire.

Frontera @ Hyde Park produced con flama
9/6/00 - 9/30/00 with support from: The National Endowment For The Arts, The Rockefeller Foundation Multi-Arts Production Fund and individual contributions
Director: Laurie Carlos
Composers: Lourdes Perez & Annette D’Armata
Set Design: Leilah Stewart
Dramaturg: Dr. Joni L. Jones/Omi Osun Olomo
Featuring: Florinda Bryant, Zell Miller 111, Sonja Parks, and Ana Perea

Pictured: Zell Miller, 111, Ana Perea, Florinda Bryant and Sonja Parks. Photo by Bret Brookshire.

from age nine to sixteen i used public transportation to get from my home in Black, working class south central los angeles to school (and anywhere else i needed to go). since my high school was located near echo park, i was Blessed with the experience of cross-cultural travel every day/the experience of witnessing changing languages, smells, music, style and protocol as part of the everyday journey. during the course of a simple bus ride communities mixed, changed and intersected many times. this is the trip that i was thinking of when i wrote con flama/with language as the vehicle i wanted to explore the cultural landscapes of american life…Sharon Bridgforth

Penumbra Theatre Company, St. Paul, MN,
presented con flama as a main stage production 1/29/02 – 3/3/02
Director: Laurie Carlos
Composers: Lourdes Perez & Annette D’Armata
Featuring: Djola Branner, Aimee Bryant, Zell Miller 111, Mankwe Ndosi, Sonja Parks, Ana Perea, and Ambersunshower Smith.