Happy International Women’s History Month!
Black Choreographers Here and Now, Week 3: BCF at Resident Audience Workshop (RAW) featured two chorographers in very different work, mentored by two veteran choreographers: Raissa Simpson for Natalya Shoaf and Robert Henry Johnson for Frankie Lee Peterson III. Natalya Shoaf in collaboration with Jane Selna, also the performer in the work, “fourth study,” was a solo piece that was an exploration in space, body and movement. Defined by controlled and staccato phrases on a body that utilized the entire room, audience marking perimeters – it would have been nice to know what the creators’ were thinking, what the performer was thinking as she moved throughout the space, prone, upright, running – which was a really cool move. Selna started running from lying on the floor to standing. It was an amazing “Get Out” moment (if readers remember the older couple at dusk (smile). Perhaps you are more familiar with the Museum of the African Diaspora’s 50th Anniversary of the Studio Museum of New York multimedia work (second level) that has black people running—always running.
Dressed in a nylon slip, hair in one braid traveling down her back, the lines were clean and sharp and each gesture measure and precise. The artist’s body rested, each lift an opportunity to contemplate the present moment as faded into the next. Even her falls and the noisy shifts in body weigh added to the work which was performed without music or sound except that of feet traction on the floor or from the dancer herself.
Frankie Lee Peterson III’s “Reflect, Reflex” which followed, had us move our chairs back to the more pedestrian theatre look, so that those of us who were short could not see really well. Nonetheless, this work, which was autobiographical had much to recommend it. Familiar with the choreographer and his collaborators from last season or the one before that —Peterson’s poetry and visual art added much to a work that both affirmed his humanity as it did that of his audience as lessons he learned were held in a literal self-reflection as we gazed at ourselves and each other in the large mirrors dancers carried into the audience.
Choreography was rigorous containing backflips as well as hip-hop, modern dance—I even saw a bit of an African warrior-style emerge in Peterson’s final solo. I loved the scene on the bus or BART – transit where Peterson’s character was thrown into another confined space—closets, empty cars, bathroom stalls – haunting spaces where Peterson asked audience to witness the turmoil, the bullying and the abuse. Topics of incest, molestation and neglect tumble into fatherloss and its impact on a young boy – seven initially, and how this trail of tears followed him through elementary and middle school, cross country – after-high school.
Seated between two large figurative paintings of dancers, vulnerability etched in Peterson’s still life, we watch other characters immerge, and the paintings disappear— in its place four mirrors, the shadowy presence of an alter-ego. Each of the characters is a facet of the one soul. From the moment Peterson sits down until he reaches for himself in the reflected image—the work moves with the support and participation of dancers James Bowen, Jessica Reninos and Linda Steele II.
If you missed Shawn Hawkins (Week 2) and Robert Henry Johnson (Weekend 1), they have encores in Week 4, March 9 and 10, 7:30 p.m., at Laney College, 900 Fallon Street, Oakland. Visit https://www.bcfhereandnow.com/
Black Women Sleeping
House/Full in process EPISODE 13: BLACK WOMXN DREAMING “divine the darkness” in association with Ashara Ekundayo Gallery, 480 23rd Street, Oakland. For details whisper with Black Woman and Black Girls you will find us we are looking for you… March 24-April 14. Visit http://housefullofblackwomen.com/
Public Events:
MARCH 24 – APRIL 14, 2019
divine the darkness” Installation
Created by Alexa Burell/Shelly Davis Roberts/Stephanie Johnson
March 24 5-7pm
Opening Ceremony “blessing of the beds”
Opening invocation Tobe Melora Correal/Yvette Aldama
Sound Healing Gina Breedlove
Decolonizing our Dreams Amber McZeal
March 27th 6:30-8:30
Artist Conversation “divine the darkness and the neuromelanin wall”
April 4 6-8pm
Dream Writing Workshop with A-lan Holt
April 14 6-8pm
Closing Ceremony Twilight Procession
Women’s History Month at Alameda Island Poets
Alameda Island Poets’s Women’s Month Reading is Wed., March 6, 7 p.m. at the Frank Bette Center, 1601 Paru Street, Alameda. Featured poets are Susan Cohen, Sharon Coleman, and Angela Chung and is hosted by Nanette Deetz and Alameda Poet Laureate Cathy Dana. Following features are refreshments and AIP’s famously-friendly open mic. If any poets would like to donate work to the Poets of Paradise, AIP is still accepting donations. AIP’s March special guest is Berkeley Poet Laureate, Rafael Jesus Gonzalez. The FREE AIPoets Workshop is March 14, 7 p.m. The theme is: political poetry and activism.
Comedy
Amazonian Bold & Bad A– Comedy, hosted by Jackie Keliliaa and Dara M. Wilson, Thursday, March 14, 7 p.m. (doors 6:30 p.m.) at JGG, 406 14th Street, Oakland. Tickets BitLy/Amazonians319
Comedy at Ashkenaz! Women’s History Month Comedy, Thursday, March 14, 2019, 1317 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, 8:00 PM 9:30 PM features a diverse line up of African American, Indian American, Caucasian, Jewish, disabled, LGBT, physician-by-day . . . comedians: Carla Clayy, Priyanka Wali, Jade Theriault, Lisa Geduldig. http://www.ashkenaz.com/
Theatre
Dr. Susheel Bibbs in O Freedom! – Meet Mary Pleasant, a one-woman musical on Mary Ellen Pleasant – Mother of Civil Rights in California, Two shows– Mar. 23 at 7 p.m. and March 24 at 4 p.m., at the Brick House Art Gallery Complex in Sacramento – There will be a short introductory film on Pleasant, then Dr. Bibbs one-woman with Carlos Fuentes accompanist, historian Clarence Caesar as emcee. The last time Dr. Bibbs performed the work was in 2007. Sat., March 24, 6 p.m., is a VIP reception wine and more – (only room for 25) -$50. Tickets for the play: $25 general admission, $15 students with ID. Sunday, March 24 performance is 4 p.m.
On the Fly
10th Annual Powerful Women of the Bay Award Luncheon Celebrating Women’s History Month and the Contributions of Outstanding Women in the San Francisco Bay Area, Friday, March 8, 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Scott’s Seafood, 2 Broadway, Oakland. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/powerful-women-of-the-bay-10th-annual-awards-luncheon-tickets-47150094201 Lots of great shows at Freight and Salvage: Lady Smith Black Mambazo; Omar Sosa & Sekou Keita Transparent Water Trio;Visit https://www.thefreight.org/ Visit Brava https://www.brava.org/upcoming Great events this month: Cultural Odyssey’s 40th Anniversary: We Still Live Here; Annual International Women’s Day Golden Thread’s What Do the Women Say- Roots and Reflection Black Fatherhood Conference, March 16, 8-5 at Merritt College, 12500 Campus Drive, Oakland. Featuring Dr. Lamont Hill, Jerry Tello, free lunch, free workshops. Register: https://alamedacountyfathers.org/ Empowering Womxn of Color Open Mic All Stars: Spring 2019, March 10 @ 6:30 pm – 9:15 pm at La Pena Cultural Center 3105 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley. DOORS OPEN AT 6:30PM / PERFORMANCES AT 7PM Donation based entry: $5-10 Sliding Scale Suggested Donation. No one turned away for lack of funds! All proceeds will go towards covering the costs of hosting this series. https://lapena.org/upcoming-events/
RESISTANCE, RESILIENCE, & ANTICIPATION: A fresh look at the Black Arts Movement in Oakland, March 1-23. The films and panel discussions are all free and take place at the Oakland Library, Brookfield Branch, 1081 81st Avenue. Visit https://www.swfcenter4sj.org/
Africa Rising II – Resilience Through Resistance
Featuring 20 renowned experts from Africa and the African Diaspora in one inspirational performance, a pre-performance African marketplace, 20 dance and drum workshops, free site specific performance, a high school workshop, and more from March 7-10, 2019!
Diamano Coura West African Dance Company hosts its 24th annual “Collage des Cultures Africaines”, one night of mesmerizing performances with international guest dance and drum artists from Senegal, Brazil, Liberia, Peru, America, Trinidad, Guinea, with six nationally and locally acclaimed dance companies, 20 dance and drum workshops with international artists from March 7 to 10, and other community activities at the Malonga Center for the Arts, 1428 Alice Street, Oakland -Workshops.
Saturday, March 9 is the dance concert. Doors open at 6pm for the African Marketplace. The dance performance starts at 8pm. Tickets range from $30 – 18. Group discounts available. For ticket and workshops information call (510) 459-2426 or visit diamanocoura.org or email diamanocoura@gmail.com
Book Signing and Lecture
Ifayemi Elebuibon, the Araba of Osogbo Land, Nigeria, has a new book: Iwuri: The Healing Power of Prayer. He will be giving a free Lecture and Booksigning, Sunday, March 24, 1:30-6 p.m., at Greenlining Building, 360 14th Street, Oakland.
Ashkenaz Music and Dance Center (1317 San Pablo Avenue @ Gilman in Berkeley):
Kathy Reyes and Ashkenaz Music & Dance Community Center are proud to present B.E.L.L.A, an amazing weekend that will launch the 2019 Women’s History Month celebration. Friday, March 8 from 11:00 am – 2:30 am; Saturday, March 9, from 9:00 am – 2:30 am BELLA is a weekend-long, women-focused celebration of multi-cultural social dance. Bringing to you professional and inspiring women instructors to offer workshops, showcase at the evening dance social and judge our Ladies Showdown Competition. This is a 2 day event that will offer 15 hours of dance training, 24 workshops to choose from, performances, the Ladies Team Showdown competition and Social dancing to Bachata, Salsa, Merengue, and more. Visit: https://www.belladanceweekender.com/schedule
Arenas Cuban Spring Gala with Susana Arenas and the Arenas Dance Company with DJ Antonio Chávez and Cuban Vegan Dishes catered by Prima’s Corner! At Ashkenaz Saturday, March 16, 7:30 PM 11:30 PM
Mama Africa: Sistahs of the Drum and Adwoa Kudoto and the DrumGhana and Dance Ensemble, Saturday, March 23, 2019, 8:00 PM 10:30 PM
Film
“Taking Back the Power: The New Women’s Rights Anthem,” Friday, March 8, 7:00pm – 11:30 pm at 
Impact HUB Oakland, 2323 Broadway, 510-858-2323.
Celebrate International Women’s Day with us at the Impact Hub in Oakland. This will be a special evening as we launch the long anticipated Women’s Rights anthem, “Taking Back the Power,” produced by YAP! and Big Picture Anthems. The premiere of “Taking Back the Power” will headline a night filled with artistic inspiration, valuable discussion, and great music. The launch event will feature performances from some of the anthem’s featured artists: Iva Brito, spoken word poet and talented rapper and Dakota Lopes, both traveling from the east coast (New Bedford, MA). There will be a panel discussion with topics including the role of the arts and how it can help enhance the women’s movement. Panelists include creators of the anthem and film, as well as activists on the front line. The event will be mc’ed by Angel Diaz. Doors open at 7pm for music and networking and the program will get started with performances and panel at 7:30pm. The film will premiere at 9:00pm and a discussion will ensue, followed by music by Dj Anghelli.
Because of this fact, some states (including Texas) actually require adults from age 18 to 24 who icks.org super viagra uk are getting a new license for the first time to complete a drivers’ education course to their teens, provided that the parent is qualified and meets the requirements. As a good rule, all foods on the high end of the glycemic index has to be followed if you really wish to have longer and harder online ordering viagra erection for ecstasy and lust filled moment during bedroom actions. It works the same and there is no http://icks.org/n/bbs/content.php?co_id=SPRING_SUMMER_2013&mcode=40&smcode=40d0 no prescription sildenafil wonder why enhanced sperm production is a familiar desire of a number of men. Be sensitive to what they are saying, what they not saying, and what they might be feeling. bought here cialis canadian pharmacy https://oakland.impacthub.net/things-to-do-in-oakland/
International Women’s Day Festival III, Saturday, March 9, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm at Impact HUB Oakland, 2323 Broadway
In honor of International Women’s Day, a globally recognized holiday that promotes a more inclusive, gender equal world, Sol Sisters, Inc. invites you to celebrate with us at our third annual International Women’s Day Fest.
The day will consist of an expo-style feel in the main room with tables lined of local women vendors, accompanied by DJs, dancers, poets and musicians who will grace the stage to share their power through performance! We will also have a rotation of workshops facilitated by incredibly empowering women.
To ensure you get to fully participate in the day’s events, childcare will be provided for the entirety of the event. Age appropriate activities will be provided for children ages 3-11. Tickets required for children 12+ Ticket proceeds go towards providing low-income women and girls access to our events and services. Visit https://oakland.impacthub.net/things-to-do-in-oakland/
Marie and Rosetta at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley presents the West Coast premiere of the roof-raising musical play Marie and Rosetta, by Lucille Lortel Award-winner George Brant, directed by Robert Kelley starring Michelle E. Jordan as Rosetta and Marissa Rudd as Marie. From stirring up churchgoers in the morning to rocking the Cotton Club at night, Sister Rosetta Tharpe inspired Elvis, Ray Charles, and more on her way to the Rock and Roll 
Hall of Fame. Growing competition on the 1940s Gospel Circuit finds Rosetta auditioning a new partner with a voice made from heaven. Will they break, blend, or find harmony at last? Previews begin March 6 with opening night: March 9. The play runs through March 31, Tuesdays-Sundays at the Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto. Tickets are: $40-$100; savings available for educators, seniors, active military, and patrons 35 and under. For information or to order tickets visit theatreworks.org or call (650) 463-1960
Women of Color Changing the Narrative Entrepreneur Conference
ODOS will host the 2019 inaugural ODOS Women of Color (WOC) conference, Saturday, March 16, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. to highlight the need for Economic Development for African American Women and other Women of Color who are Solopreneurs or Entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. Many women experience barriers and financial challenges in creating a new business. The conference provides info to attendees who seek to create and work in their passion job, desire to create new business or need help with an existing small businesses, baby boomers, corporate drop-outs, retirees, women experiencing corporate lay-off, and college students, or millennials seeking a side gig or options to the corporate life.
ODOS expert keynotes and panelists will share info on business development, funding options, wellness, business branding, and social media. The tools and resources presented will help femaleprenuers in decision-making choices, creating an entrepreneur mindset, stimulate creative processes, and help female entrepreneur businesses LEVEL UP in 2019! The conference is at the Mexican Heritage Center, 1700 Alum Rock Avenue, San Jose. Visit: https://odos-woc-conference.eventbrite.com/
Concert
RHONDA BENIN’S 7th Annual JUST LIKE A WOMAN features the iconic Grammy® nominated singer Maria Muldaur, jazz & blues vocalist Kim Nalley, producer/singer Rhonda Benin, Brazilian influenced jazz singer Sandy Cressman, blues singer Lady Sunrise, West Coast Female Blues Vocalist of the Year Tia Carroll, rhythm & blues singer Niecey Robinson, and the 2019 Youth Artist drummer Jayla Hernandez; all backed by music director Tammy Lynn Hall & The Lillian Armstrong Tribute Band: Ruthie Price, Kristen Strom, and the return of Ruth Davies. Oakland radio personality Flo Wiley returns as the M.C.
Just Like a Woman is Saturday, March 30, 8 p.m., Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison, Berkeley, (510) 644-2020, www.thefreight.org. Tickets are $25 in advance and $27 at the door. Visit www.tinyurl/JLAW2019
Benin has designed a unique concert format for JUST LIKE A WOMAN: each artist performs twice, once with a cover of a song written by or the success of which is largely attributed to a woman, then each artist performs again with an original composition. This format is part of what’s kept audiences returning year after year. Not only do you get to hear familiar music in a new way, you get to hear new music from established and emerging artists.
Also an education professional, Rhonda Benin knows how important it is to present opportunities for new experiences. For 2019 she is launching a direct appeal to Bay Area women’s groups, asking them to say yes to provide the opportunity for 100 girls and their escorts to have this unique concert experience.
Black Eagles Review
By Wanda Sabir
“Black Eagles” by Leslie Lee, directed by L. Peter Callender, currently on stage at African American Shakespeare Company challenges prejudicial notions of courage and patriotism. All the Fighting 99th Tuskegee Airmen want is an opportunity to serve. What makes this story even more compelling is its double exposure. Three of the men have older and younger selves. The elders reflect in flashbacks – the younger men, including one dummy, are disciplined, recognize the bigotry and do not racism to divide their ranks or undermine their worth. What happened at Port Chicago was replicated on military bases throughout this country and in international theatres. Racism is a uniquely American export even in Nazi Germany white skin was more privileged, which made the Marine’s Memorial Theatre a perfect setting for Lee’s work. Add to that Bertram Clark’s Tuskegee Airman and African American WWII posters, photos and artifacts and the performance has a larger resonance when patrons walk into the theatre lobby, stand at the concession stand and look out the window nearby. Black history is everywhere.
The cast both elders and younger selves are excellent. The energy and excitement of youth balanced with the wisdom of age gives the audience a dual perspective on military life the younger selves have not lived yet. Stationed in Italy, 1944, the men escort white fighter pilots with less flight experience when technically if all were fair, the reverse would have been true. President Obama invited “over 330 of these men to his inauguration and in 2007, surviving airmen were invited to the Capitol rotunda to receive the Congressional Medal” (program notes).
30 years ago Callender originated the character I found most intriguing, Roscoe (actor Ron Chapman), because he is a ventriloquist and plays with a doll. I don’t know how many officers share their vulnerabilities through such a vehicle, but it works. That Sunday, Opening Weekend, Callender had on his leather bomber jacket from his performance at the Manhattan Theatre Club. He told me in a follow-up interview that he got called into the production late and the men in the cast formed such a bond they all had their jackets personalized with a Tuskegee airman design. Also special to the director is his son, Brandon’s (as Nolan) first performance with the AASC.
America is at war, at war both domestically and globally, yet the men are optimistic that they will get a chance to prove their humanity. Strange how death validates life. The Black Eagles are also young and as youth, they know how to have fun. The jitterbug drill is a moment in the play that you don’t want to miss. Choreographed by Kendra Kimbrough Barnes, the men are steppin’ tall, steppin’ with pride. And this is just one of the many wonderful moments we share with the men both in the air and on the ground—another is when the black officers call on the white officers, their peers, to challenge the unfair restrictions on black soldiers. The play closes March 31, with two shows: Sat., at 8 p.m., 3 p.m. on Sunday at the Marines’ Memorial Theatre
609 Sutter Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA. The nearest BART Station is Powell. For tickets visit African-AmericanShakes.org or (800) 838.3006. To listen to an interview with the director, visit http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks/2019/03/20/wandas-picks-radio-show
Crowded Fire presents: West Coast Premiere of Lucy Thurber’s “Transfers”
A Review by Wanda Sabir
Everyone probably knows a college applicant waiting for that letter in the mail indicating admission—who knows, that person might be you (smile). Lucy Thurber’s “Transfers” is that story. Directed by Ken Savage at Crowded Fire Theater in San Francisco at the Potrero Stage, 1695 18th Street, Thursday-Sunday through March 23 – the work examines the lives of two young men who are about to perform at “the interview.” Without intermission, the 90 minute story ploughs through multiple layers of historic trauma and too much inherited sorrow and pain, sorrow active detachment can often alleviate; separation from harmful sites can remedy—cold antidote to its efficacy or so the applicants: Cris and Clarence and their sponsor, David DeSantos (David Everett Moore) think.
Photo by Adam Tolbert
The ensemble is stunning in this charged story of chances—not quite roulette but just as deadly as these 20 year olds put all their hopes in a basket held by tenuous straw loops. David, the recruiter for the fellowship or scholarship students, sees education as a ticket to the promising future his was, while the crass presentation Cristofer leads with is just insecurity he has learned since he’s been floating along without his oar or anchor. Caleb Cabrea’s Cris is more than what comes from his mouth. Cris is trying to find his place too in a world that has become frightening.
Victor D. Ragsdales’s Clarence Matthews wants to be seen. Invisible, he is observant and sees all. He chooses when and how he wants to participate. This doesn’t lessen his vulnerability and his longing for acceptance. His transfer application’s acceptance establishes that place for him. He speaks about the beauty of New England, how much he loves the ivy and brick and mortar structures on campus . . . how he wants to lose himself in letters, books and writing.
His and Cris’s stories are so important to what the institution lacks. Cris doesn’t see Clarence, but Clarence sees Cris, just as David’s girlfriend doesn’t see him. Coach McNulty (Allison Whismore), David’s peer and friend, tells him, his girlfriend does not deserve him, that he is a good man. Transfers is about honoring each other, because sometimes we do not honor ourselves.
David fights for his transfer students’ admission with Michael Wayne Rice’s Professor Geoffrey Dean who is a deciding committee vote. All the actors are excellent; however, Rice’s Dean is played with alacrity and grace in contrast to David’s impassioned staccato. Similarly, Clarence’s control never cracks in contrast to Cris’s volatile range. Whismore’s Rosie McNulty, herself a transfer scholarship student understands quotas and exclusion. She moves with authority, a woman who knows her value and doesn’t mind collecting a few white male scalps for her belt. She doesn’t suffer fools like David does.
Transfers is dynamic in its storytelling range—everyone has a story and Lucy Thurber finds a way to weave them all into a larger American story of academic access, who gets in and who does not. There are only so many slots. The work will make those with the keys to admission perhaps think about the selection process and keys into that process.
Photo by Adam Tolbert
As Cristofer says to Clarence with pride what differentiates the legacy students from them is they own their names. Cris and Clarence participate in the conjuring of spirit.
Applications cover the walls on the set—real applications. The papers floats behind all the scenes, an active limbo or instability that is Professor Geoffrey Dean’s office (Michael Wayne Rice) where the colors of the institution hang or the hotel room or Coach Rosie McNulty’s (Alison Whismore) office at the university or a coffee shop where the two men meet up after the trials have ended.
David perhaps becomes too personally invested in seeing that his candidates impress gatekeepers and get into the Ivy League institution. He shares his own college freshman story with one of the boys, Clarence Matthews (Victor D. Ragsdale) whom he has an immediate rapport, not so with Caleb Cabrera’s Cristofer Rodriguez, who is youthful bold and brash with a sprinkling of vulnerability.
Cristofer rushes into the room, too small for three men as he blows on his clasped hands trying to get feeling back in his fingers. In language laced with expletives, he immediately establishes his turf and makes a few assumptions about the men in the room, some true others problematic. His cultural shock is in direct contrast to Clarence’s ease based on his peer’s research before arrival about the town, its people and the institution he’d like to be a part of. This ease is visibly disrupted when Clarence learns that his transfer interview is an audition.
Photo by Adam Tolbert
Chilly. The cold yet beautiful landscape is indicative of a steep culture shift almost a rupture we wonder who will be allowed to cross. Inadequate accommodations and an early fight with his girlfriend disturb what might have been an easier introduction to the candidates for David. However, the three rehearse or perform mock interviews with their coach and familiar David whose biases inhibit rather than help the candidates. At one point Cris storms from the room into a biting cold as Clarence tells David he was wrong to speak to Cris as he did –he does not know Cris before the fall.
Both applicants were chosen because of their leadership on campus. Both see this scholarship as opportunity to perhaps figure out what the next step is in lives they were not supposed to have. As Cristofer says to Clarence – he kept his eyes forward as he moved through their neighborhood. He did not look to the left or right because he might have gotten distracted and never made it to the gym or to school or back home. Back home, in the old neighborhood, the boys never had a conversation, but they knew what each was surviving: drugs, violence, poverty. Cristofer is an athlete, a wrestler, and Clarence is a literary student. Both are really smart; however, Cristofer has a really high SAT score. These youth are two competitors for 5 slots. There are 6 contestants.
Cristofer feels guilt. How did he get to this point in life when so many others did not? Was it because he had a grandmother who paid the heat bill and made sure he had enough to eat and could study and get to the gym from the age of five where his coach continued the lessons? In contrast, Clarence only had the streets. He didn’t have a grandmother at home; in fact, there was no home—no safety, no protection—not that the streets and gang life offered a better alternative. Both boys spoke of fear. And though Clarence didn’t have many options, he did manage to escape.
That hotel room becomes a reckoning with the past, an opportunity to grieve what has been lost. Cristofer had no opportunity to reflect once his anchor—his grandmother was gone. Survival meant being tough and getting out. Survival he states in his interview with Coach McNulty, meant stepping over bodies and not looking back.
Ultimately, “Transfers” is about honor and remembrance, honoring the people who sacrificed for the transfer students’ ability to show up that day willing to make the leap. Transfers is also a salute to youth and their advocates (David, et al) who step up despite odds and challenge with their college applications the politics, policies and power dynamics of a dominate discourse or normative narrative rooted in their peoples’ exclusion. For tickets visit: crowdedfire.org Prices range from $10-35. The box office phone number is (415) 523-0034 ext. 1.
Note: Operation Varsity Blues is a further dismantling of a preferential system, this time in education, that when called Affirmative Action is labeled biased and when called white privilege gets fielded in softer terms. According to the Washington Post, “The 50 people charged Tuesday, March 12, 2019, in a far-reaching college admissions conspiracy include the man who coached members of former president Barack Obama’s family in tennis; an investor who founded a social impact fund with Bono; a bourbon distillery owner who is married to a former football player; and a former Harvard tennis player.”
These students whose parents bought their places on teams or on ACT/SAT scores were not qualified. What these parents did to get their unqualified children into Ivy League universities is unethical yet not necessarily illegal. In Transfers, Lucy Thurber addresses the issue of what happens when there are more candidates than slots to fill. Just imagine how many youth were displaced who were qualified, yet cheated out of an opportunity to transform their lives and by extension our nation. I had two conversations with cast members of Transfers. To listen visit: http://tobtr.com/s/11238443 (3/13/19) and http://tobtr.com/11191939 (3/8/19).