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6 , 2006 |
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It's
About Time
Maafa Awareness Month continues this week with a healing ritual with Brother Mandaza Kandemwa from Zimbabwe, Thursday, Oct. 12, 5-7 p.m. at the Malonga Center for the Arts, Room 116. A donation is requested but not demanded. Visit www.maafasfbayarea.com for the complete month’s listing or call (510) 529-5260. The Sunday Ritual was beautiful. More to come later. Panel Addresses the Residual Psychological Effects of Enslavement Ousmane Sembene: Pioneer of African Cinema, “Ceddo” and “Xala” October 13 &14 at Pacific Film Archive This Friday, Oct. 13, 8:15 is the wonderful film, “Ceddo,” (Senegal, 1977, 120 mins.). In the guise of a political thriller set in the 18th century, Ceddo, takes on taboo subjects—Islamic influence in Senegal, African support for the slave trade, the status of women – becoming a reflection on all forms of colonialism in Africa. “Like a contemporary Euripides, Sembene has created a form of public, primal art.” – Village Voice.
Xala (Senegal, 1974, 123 mins.) screens Saturday, Oct. 14, 8:14 p.m. I recall reading Sembene’s earlier novel by the same title, long before I saw the film. The work translates well on the screen. An aging, affluent businessman about to marry his third wife is struck with the curse of xala (impotence) in “one of the most sophisticate works of the African cinema – at once both comic and an early accurate polemic against the black bourgeoisie of Dakar.” – Albert Johnson
Free Film Screenings AXE Black Filmmakers present: Oakland International Film Festival Finalists Thursday, Oct. 19, 6 p.m. reception, 7 p.m. feature presentation, at Fanatics, 601 Cesar Chavez Street, San Francisco. Visit http://w ww.ufafilm.com/sanfrancisco or write to sanfrancisco@ufafilm.com for more information. A filmmaker question and answer session will follow the screening. The Finalists of the 2006 AXE Black Filmmaker's Series are: "ONLY IN YOUR DREAMS" by Richard C. Montgomery (Cleveland, OH); "HOLY FIT" by Stephanie Louis (Brooklyn, NY); "THE LET OUT GUYS" by Selton Shaw (Washington, DC) Ashkenaz: Berkeley's Home for World Music Since 1973, 1317 San Pablo Ave. at Gilman Berkeley, (510) 525-5054, presents: Traditional and Contemporary Music of Tanzania: NEW LIFE BAND, http://www.newlifeband.net, this weekend Friday, October 13, 9:00 p.m. Tickets are $13 and $11. From the East African country of Tanzania, New Life Band makes a welcome return to Ashkenaz in this benefit concert for International Health Partners US/Tanzania, a non-profit organization rehabilitating hospitals throughout Tanzania. The infectious dance music from the colorfully attired seven-member band draws on both tradition and current styles, with lyrics featuring a Christian message; the group grew out of a church ministry that found music as an excellent way to make positive change in the world beneficial to all people. New Life Band first came to San Francisco in 1997, and have returned several times for church-related programs, but at Ashkenaz the emphasis is on uplifting all souls through their infectious dance music. Also at Ashkenaz: African Night: FELA KUTA Birthay Tribute with SILA & THE AFROFUNK EXPERIENCE, BABA KEN & AFRO GROOVE CONNEXION and DJ JEREMIAH & THE AFROBEAT NATION this Saturday, October 14. 9:00 p.m. Tickets are $18/$15 advance/students. Visit http://www.ashkenaz.com. It’s all Fela all night! And for lovers of Afrobeat, it can’t get any better. Celebrating Fela’s 68th birthday the Ashkenaz way, two heavy funk bands provide the live music, and DJ Jeremiah takes care of connecting with Fela’s greatest recordings. Fela Anikulapo Kuti (1938-1997) was Nigeria’s (and all of Africa’s for that matter) most outrageous and political musician, a fearless human rights leader who stood up to his own government and declared his home compound a separate nation. He was imprisoned more than once, and, oh yes, he was also the creator of Afrobeat, putting heavy James Brown soul into African rhythms in a big band context, amping up the guitars and drums, and especially the horns. Fela’s music was a churning stew of hot dance music as he sang, blew sax, and the women singers and dancers were usually some of his more than two dozen wives. Any well-stocked music store today carries his CDs. And the hip-hop section is piled with raps backed by Fela samples. Z-Plays present: GADGET, a multi-media theatrical event created and directed by David Szlasa Featuring guest artists: Sara Shelton Mann (choreography), Sherwood Chen (dance), and internationally renowned DJs: DJ Ralph Cutler (ambient), DJ Kerowack (house), and DJ Excess (hip hop) Friday and Saturday, Oct. 13-14, and Thursdays - Sundays, Oct. 19-29, 8:00 p.m., at Thick House, 1695-18th Street, San Francisco, Tickets are $15. For information call (415) 421-4849 or zspace.org Have you ever wondered what the people who built the first atomic bomb were thinking? Or is it a story that is so well known that it has eclipsed its own importance? Theater/installation artist David Szlasa has tackled these and other questions in a new production entitled GADGET. GADGET is an explosion of light, sound, movement, and story as cacophonous as the bomb itself. GADGET is more than a play or an art installation; it is a total theatrical experience that invites the audience to fully engage all of their senses by interacting with the production. The story about the Manhattan Project unfolds through a hybrid of archival film and sound recordings, original video imagery, and dance performances. David Szlasa also weaves his interviews with living members of the Manhattan Project into the mix. The result is a multi-faceted tale about the camaraderie and pride that blossomed on the high plateau of Los Alamos, New Mexico, placed into context with the underlying ideas about atomic weapons in the 21st century. GADGET brings together some of the best artistic talent in the Bay Area - live video performed by creator/director David Szlasa; choreography by Sara Shelton Mann; dance by Sherwood Chen; sound design by Ralph Cutler; lighting design by James Clotfelter; and costume design by Katrina Rodabaugh. Each week these artists will be joined by a different guest DJ. The all-star DJs specialize in different musical styles, and their score will change the tone of the piece from week to week. The first week of the run (October 13-14) GADGET welcomes DJ RALPH CUTLER, an ambient DJ from New York City. The second week (October 19-22) KEROWACK from London will mix house music into the show (www.kerowack.com). And on the third week (October 26-29) DJ EXCESS, a hip-hop DJ and the 2000 Western Hemisphere Scratching Champion and the World Scratching Runner up 2000 will take the project in a whole new direction. GADGET is a co-production of Z Plays, a program of The Z Space Studio, and David Szlasa. The project has been workshopped in New York City and in San Francisco. The October run marks GADGET's official world premiere. Details and images of GADGET are on www.thisisgadget.com Batopia at the Oakland Public Library this month Little ones who dare are invited to share in a few October traditions that bring Halloween to life. Oakland Public Library wants all the little children to come in for hair-raising stories, haunted crafts, and visits from real live bats! As usual, the Three Witches of Oakland Public Library will be swooping in to our libraries to keep the tradition of Halloween story-telling alive. This year, there's even a male witch! The full menu of free frights follows: Learn the truth about bats when Maggie Hooper, the Bat Lady, brings some of her flying friends to the library. This educational program shares the important message that instead of being scary, bats are really our friends. Golden Gate Branch, 5606 San Pablo Ave., Tuesday, October 10, 10 am, 597-5023; Elmhurst Branch, 1427-88th Ave., Tuesday, October 17, 11 am, 615-5727; Melrose Branch, 4805 Foothill Blvd., Monday, October 23, 3:30 pm, 535-5623; West Oakland Branch, 1801 Adeline St., Tuesday, October 24, 10 am, 238-7352; Lakeview Branch, 550 El Embarcadero, Tuesday, October 24, 1 pm, 238-7344; M.L.K., Jr. Branch, 6833 International Blvd., Monday, October 30, 3 pm, 615-5728; Piedmont Ave. Branch, 160-41st St., Monday, October 30, 7 pm, 597-5011 Intersection for the Arts Literary Series hosts: The Anxiety Chronicles: How Fear Shapes Politics, Sex, and Language This panel discussion with Susie Bright, Mark Hertsgaard, Geoffrey Nunberg, moderated by Jack Boulware, Saturday, October 14, 6-7 p.m., is in conjunction with Intersection's international interdisciplinary project Terror? an international interdisciplinary project investigating how each one of us experiences fear and how it affects our lives, September 11 - November 11. The panel and exhibition are at Intersection for the Arts, 446 Valencia Street, San Francisco, (415) 626-2787 or visit www.theintersection.org. This free event is in conjunction with Litquake: an annual San
Francisco literary festival produced by the Litquake Literary Project,
a California nonprofit founded by San Francisco writers that brings
together a wide range of authors for over a week of readings and
panel discussions. Organizers created the event to represent a lively
and inclusive overview of San Francisco’s thriving contemporary
literary scene and to foster interest in literature, perpetuate
a sense of literary community, as well as host a vibrant forum for
Bay Area writing as a complement to the city's music, film, and
cultural festivals. An Evening with Audri Scott Williams: The Trial of Dreams
World Peace Walk Team Throughout the Trail of Dreams World Peace Walk, walkers meet with traditional/ indigenous wisdom keepers of the land, community leaders, spiritual leaders, youth leaders and community service organizations. In addition, walkers participate in community service projects throughout. The Trail of Dreams Team will be celebrating one year on the road on October 21 while in California. Visit www.tdworldpeacewalk.org or call (678) 613-6739. Film on Dafur Next Wednesday, Oct. 18, 7:30 p.m. at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Screening Room, 701 Mission @ 3rd, $8/$6 for Museum of the African Diaspora members and YBCA Members, Students and Seniors. In this upcoming screening is a moving documentary about the Darfur crisis. A Sudanese immigrant to the UK returns to her homeland to understand why the seemingly racially harmonious country of her memories has become the scene of one of the worst instances of ethnic cleansing in recent history. What she discovers is that race may be too crude a concept to understand the crisis of Darfur. Director Taghreed Elsanhouri says that she made this film, All About Darfur, “out of a passionate belief that I was uniquely qualified to tell a story of race because as a northerner in Sudan I know what it is to belong to a dominant group and as a black woman in Britain living with racism I know what it must be like to live marginalized as a minority in Sudan. It is this double consciousness that informs my story.” Haynes Johnson to Speak at Commonwealth Club Journalist; Commentator; Author, The Age of Anxiety, will speak on McCarthyism to Terrorism, Thursday, October 12, 11:30 a.m. to 1:00. The event will include a book signing. The event will be held at the Kellogg Auditorium, Silicon Valley Bank, 3005 Tasman Dr., Santa Clara. The cost is $15, Members, $25, Non-Members. Haynes Johnson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and frequent contributor on PBS’s The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Haynes Johnson, will reveal what he sees as the parallels between the sinister crusade of Joseph McCarthy and the Bush administration's relentless war on terror. We have fallen into an age of misinformation, says Johnson. He maintains that we must make sure that fear does not conquer reason and ensure that we avoid the mistakes that our country made 50 years ago. Johnson began his journalistic career as a first lieutenant in
artillery in the Korean War and went on to serve as a national affairs
columnist at the Washington Post. The author of 11 books, three
of which are bestsellers, was twice named the Ferris Professor of
Journalism and Public Affairs at Princeton University and a Regents
Lecturer at the University of California at Berkeley. In fact, this, my first trip to Bruns Memorial Theatre this season, was a delightful evening spent caught up in the revery of banished royals, star-crossed lovers and happy endings. I hadn't realized until I sat down to reflect on the characters and their lives how close this play is to The Tempest, where Prospero, a duke is banished by his brother, his daughter, Miranda, in love with her cousin, the other duke's son. The end of both plays a happy reconciliation. Is nobility a state of mind or something one inherits? In the same way, is gender just as fluid, does what one believes makes it so? Orlando's wooing of a man he pretends is Rosalind, then falling in love with said Rosalind is just as perplexing to him as it is to everyone else. Does he know in his heart, the man, is really his woman? Then there are the various subplots Shakespeare is great at, to further complicate the already complicated lives. But this just proves how much our lives are enriched, one hopes by those we allow inside. There are many surprises in director Jonathan Moscone's adaptation like the live orchestration and the original score. The set is marvelous, apples covering the stage in the first act, Orlando and his servant picking them up from the orchard floor. Another great touch are the Orlando's love letters on all the trees in the second act. (He even throws a few into the audience which we of course stop looking at the play to read. The letters state they are simply a prop and to keep watching the action on stage.) It's great seeing a professional production which does justice to a script, especially one which I already knew and enjoyed. Thursday evening was a visit to familiar territory, territory I knew but not the way Cal Shakes interpreted it. The last time I saw As You Like It, African American Shakes performed it at Yerba Buena Gardens. It was set in the antebellum south and the dukes were brothers, one white the other of African decent. The younger, Orlando, shunned by his brother not just from greed, but also race. It was a really fascinating premise that worked well. It was a really fascinating premise that worked well, as well as The Taming of the Shrew works. Set in the ‘60s Black Power Movement, Kate is a woman of the day: independent, self-assured and headstrong. When watching the excerpt performed last month I recalled her lines as her suitor egged on by a wager sought to tame her, and recoiled at its blantant disregard to what one considers "PC" or politically correct now. Why did Kate have to change? Why would anyone want a broken women? What was Shakespeare saying with this play? It reminded me of horse breakers, and slave breakers…men skilled at stealing souls. African American Shakes' The Taming of the Shrew, continues Friday-Sunday, Sept. 22-Oct. 22 at the African American Art and Culture Complex, 762 Fulton Street, San Francisco,(415)762-2071. Visit www.african-americanshakes.org. (Sunday, Sept. 24 at 4 p.m. they will be at the Woodminster Ampitheater in Oakland (off Skyline Blvd.) for a special East Bay performance.) As You Like It is Tuesday-Sundays, through October 15 at the Bruns Ampitheater: 100 Gateway Blvd., Orinda. There is a shuttle from the Orinda BART Station. Call the box office for tickets and times (510) 548-9666. Visit www.calshakes.org. For additional details, and related links visit http://calshakes.org/eflash/2006/ayli_special_offer/ayli.html. San Francisco Shakespeare in the Park's The Tempest closed September 24 at the Presidio in San Francisco. Visit www.sfshakes.org or call (415)558-0888 for information about their other programs and performances this season. Challenges to Umoja (Unity): Africans and African Americans in
Oakland This gathering highlights the relationship between Africans and African Americans in Oakland as an example of the ways that long-standing communities in the Bay Area work together with recent immigrants from their home regions Saturday, October 14, First Unitarian Church of Oakland, 685 14th Street, (between Castro and Martin Luther King Jr Way), 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Moderated by Walter Turner, College of Marin, Africa Today, KPFA Radio, the panelists: Nunu Kidane, Priority Action Network, Rev. Kelvin Sauls, The United Methodist Church, and Kalemba K. Kizito, California State University, East Bay, will address the following questions: How do we understand and overcome cultural conflict between new immigrants and long-standing communities? How do we build solidarity and work together for social justice?
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