This review of "Mad at Miles" (highly recommended) provides more background information than I provided earlier, and it also connects some of the recent domestic-abuse dots from recent and past headlines.
As the as-far-as-I-can-tell unidentified review writer puts it, "I mean come on. Just because he hit a woman, you can’t stay mad at Miles, right?"
Whether you have trouble answering that question or not, I highly recommend that you consider attending "Mad at Miles" in Winston-Salem on Thursday, August 6, 2009, either at 3:00 PM or 8:00 PM. Look back here for more details (scroll toward the bottom).
Saturday, August 1, 2009
"Mad at Miles" Recommended For Men and Women of All Races
I've read about the National Black Theatre Festival for years, but I only attended for the first time two years ago. I had an ulterior motive: to preview a play that I knew that Triad Stage planned to offer the following February and see if it might be appropriate to take my eighth-grade students to see. As it turned out, "From the Mississippi Delta" included content that definitely would NOT have been appropriate for middle-school students, but I appreciated the play enough to check it out again when it did appear on Triad Stage.
I've seen two of the plays that are being performed next week in Winson-Salem: "Mad at Miles: A Black Woman's Guide to the Truth" and "Extremities."
I've never seen "Extremities" on stage; I've only seen the movie version that starred Farrah Fawcett and Alfre Woodard. As I remember, the movie dealt powerfully with painful, provocative issues surrounding rape. On stage, this story might be even more intensely felt by audience members who will witness the action and the characters' interactions live. Attending the play might remind some viewers of the strong performance delivered by Fawcett in the main role. (I believe that Wendy Raquel Robinson, who played Principal Regina "Piggy" Grier on "The Steve Harvey Show," will be playing the part that Fawcett played.)
"Extremities" will probably be worth attending, but if you want a recommendation, plan to see "Mad at Miles." As far as I know, you can't rent "Mad at Miles," and even if you could, I'm not sure that anything less than a live performance could do its content justice.
"Mad at Miles" was peformed on Triad Stage earlier this year in its Cabaret theatre, and while it was an in-your-face performance about how too many men (including Miles Davis) mistreat women, it wasn't a one-note (unforgivingly angry) performance. You wouldn't expect to laugh or feel inspired by such a horrible topic, but as put together by Pearl Cleage and as performed by its three female stars, "Mad at Miles" brought to the surface just about any and every emotion you could imagine, making you feel hopeful at the same time that you felt the intense anger pouring out of its protagonists.
I'm not sure if the same three actresses will be performing "Mad at Miles" in Winston-Salem at 3:00 PM and 8:00 PM on Thursday, August 6, 2009. If it's the same three performers, be prepared to witness an amazing production, and if any or all of the actresses are different than the ones who performed on Triad Stage, hopefully they too will do this important play justice.
Call 336-723-7907 to order tickets ($25.00 each). If voice mail picks up, just leave your name and phone number, and you'll receive a call back. I don't think you'll regret putting forth the time and money to see this play. Just keep in mind that the content is very mature, and it's probably not appropriate to take children to see.
Here are some more details: Venue: RJR Black Box. Phone: 336.723.2266. Thursday, August 6, 2009, 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM. 301 N. Hawthorne Rd. Winston-Salem, NC 27104.
I've seen two of the plays that are being performed next week in Winson-Salem: "Mad at Miles: A Black Woman's Guide to the Truth" and "Extremities."
I've never seen "Extremities" on stage; I've only seen the movie version that starred Farrah Fawcett and Alfre Woodard. As I remember, the movie dealt powerfully with painful, provocative issues surrounding rape. On stage, this story might be even more intensely felt by audience members who will witness the action and the characters' interactions live. Attending the play might remind some viewers of the strong performance delivered by Fawcett in the main role. (I believe that Wendy Raquel Robinson, who played Principal Regina "Piggy" Grier on "The Steve Harvey Show," will be playing the part that Fawcett played.)
"Extremities" will probably be worth attending, but if you want a recommendation, plan to see "Mad at Miles." As far as I know, you can't rent "Mad at Miles," and even if you could, I'm not sure that anything less than a live performance could do its content justice.
"Mad at Miles" was peformed on Triad Stage earlier this year in its Cabaret theatre, and while it was an in-your-face performance about how too many men (including Miles Davis) mistreat women, it wasn't a one-note (unforgivingly angry) performance. You wouldn't expect to laugh or feel inspired by such a horrible topic, but as put together by Pearl Cleage and as performed by its three female stars, "Mad at Miles" brought to the surface just about any and every emotion you could imagine, making you feel hopeful at the same time that you felt the intense anger pouring out of its protagonists.
I'm not sure if the same three actresses will be performing "Mad at Miles" in Winston-Salem at 3:00 PM and 8:00 PM on Thursday, August 6, 2009. If it's the same three performers, be prepared to witness an amazing production, and if any or all of the actresses are different than the ones who performed on Triad Stage, hopefully they too will do this important play justice.
Call 336-723-7907 to order tickets ($25.00 each). If voice mail picks up, just leave your name and phone number, and you'll receive a call back. I don't think you'll regret putting forth the time and money to see this play. Just keep in mind that the content is very mature, and it's probably not appropriate to take children to see.
Here are some more details: Venue: RJR Black Box. Phone: 336.723.2266. Thursday, August 6, 2009, 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM. 301 N. Hawthorne Rd. Winston-Salem, NC 27104.
Considering Council Candidate Cornell
From John Robinson's post about Greensboro City Council candidates' web presences (and absences), I had noticed that Jorge Cornell had among the most impressive online content available for citizens to check out. I wasn't the only one to notice this; Jeffrey Sykes and Ed Cone both shared their observations on their respective blogs.
Sue Polinsky asked some questions, some of which had already been answered by the News & Record, but from her questions, I started thinking about my own thoughts and questions related to Jorge Cornell. I hope Ed didn't mind the rather long comment(s) I ended up posting at his website. It made me realize that, except for one June post about "Driving Miss Daisy," I hadn't posted anything on my own blog in months. I didn't set out to go on as long as I did, and once I did, I probably should have just done as I'm going to do now and posted my comments here:
I've listened to a couple of the posted press conferences, and Jorge Cornell seems to feel that the organization he leads here in North Carolina, the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation, and its local members have been unfairly targeted by anti-gang law enforcement. Apparently, the ALKQN has a very contradictory history that bounces between the extremes of murderous drug lords and sincerely interested community organizers. I guess the question is how sincere Cornell and his local Latin King followers are about focusing on the positive and turning their backs on any violent and drug-based temptations. I would like to see Cornell address these issues in great detail, particularly since a significant number of the organization's/gang's members (on the national level--I'm not sure about locally) have embraced horrible, indefensible acts against fellow human beings. I appreciated that Cornell attended and spoke out against domestic violence, sharing that he had witnessed this problem within his own family. (I don't think there was any posted video of his comments, which I would have liked to have watched.) The Troublemaker posted some questions and comments about Cornell in a July 1st post (July 1, 2008). (When you look up "Jorge Cornell" online, the link listed at the top takes you to the Troublemaker website.) If Cornell has made mistakes but has every intention of putting any negativity from his past behind him and moving in a positive direction, he deserves a chance to prove himself. Electing him onto the City Council right now may or may not be too early.
Wikipedia offers this: "But their "apparent contradictions", the Latin Kings may argue, can be better understood when viewed through the lens of their teachings. Once a member of the Almighty Latin King Nation, according to the "Latin King Manifesto", a member naturally passes through three stages of consciousness:
(1) the Primitive Stage, wherein the neophyte member is expected to be immature and to be involved in such activities as gang-banging and being a street warrior without the full consciousness of Kingism ;
(2) the Conservative or Mummy Stage, which is where a member tires of the street gang life but is still accepting of life as it has been taught to him by the existing system that exploits all people of color, dehumanizes them, and maintains them under the conditions and social yoke of slavery;
and (3) the New King Stage, where the member recognizes the need for a revolution of the "mind". According to the Manifesto, "The New King is the end product of complete awareness, perceiving three-hundred and sixty degrees of enlightenment; his observations are free and independent; his thoughts are not clouded by any form of prejudice...For him there are no horizons between races, sexes and senseless labels", including gang labels for recognition. The New King no longer views the rival warriors as the cause of his ills and seeks world unity for the sake of humanization and freedom for all the "Oppressed Third World Peoples".
Therefore, as appropriately expressed by their own teachings, a great majority of Latin Kings live a criminalistic lifestyle while a select few seek to better their communities and fight against social oppression and injustices."
Is Cornell in the New King Stage? Can he be a powerful voice in encouraging young people to bypass the Primitive Stage? If he can be a voice of positive inspiration for young people, I wish him the very best, and if his intentions and personal pursuits are honorable and positive, I wish him great all-around success. Perhaps Cornell can enlighten us about his perspective on all this.
Sue Polinsky asked some questions, some of which had already been answered by the News & Record, but from her questions, I started thinking about my own thoughts and questions related to Jorge Cornell. I hope Ed didn't mind the rather long comment(s) I ended up posting at his website. It made me realize that, except for one June post about "Driving Miss Daisy," I hadn't posted anything on my own blog in months. I didn't set out to go on as long as I did, and once I did, I probably should have just done as I'm going to do now and posted my comments here:
I've listened to a couple of the posted press conferences, and Jorge Cornell seems to feel that the organization he leads here in North Carolina, the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation, and its local members have been unfairly targeted by anti-gang law enforcement. Apparently, the ALKQN has a very contradictory history that bounces between the extremes of murderous drug lords and sincerely interested community organizers. I guess the question is how sincere Cornell and his local Latin King followers are about focusing on the positive and turning their backs on any violent and drug-based temptations. I would like to see Cornell address these issues in great detail, particularly since a significant number of the organization's/gang's members (on the national level--I'm not sure about locally) have embraced horrible, indefensible acts against fellow human beings. I appreciated that Cornell attended and spoke out against domestic violence, sharing that he had witnessed this problem within his own family. (I don't think there was any posted video of his comments, which I would have liked to have watched.) The Troublemaker posted some questions and comments about Cornell in a July 1st post (July 1, 2008). (When you look up "Jorge Cornell" online, the link listed at the top takes you to the Troublemaker website.) If Cornell has made mistakes but has every intention of putting any negativity from his past behind him and moving in a positive direction, he deserves a chance to prove himself. Electing him onto the City Council right now may or may not be too early.
Wikipedia offers this: "But their "apparent contradictions", the Latin Kings may argue, can be better understood when viewed through the lens of their teachings. Once a member of the Almighty Latin King Nation, according to the "Latin King Manifesto", a member naturally passes through three stages of consciousness:
(1) the Primitive Stage, wherein the neophyte member is expected to be immature and to be involved in such activities as gang-banging and being a street warrior without the full consciousness of Kingism ;
(2) the Conservative or Mummy Stage, which is where a member tires of the street gang life but is still accepting of life as it has been taught to him by the existing system that exploits all people of color, dehumanizes them, and maintains them under the conditions and social yoke of slavery;
and (3) the New King Stage, where the member recognizes the need for a revolution of the "mind". According to the Manifesto, "The New King is the end product of complete awareness, perceiving three-hundred and sixty degrees of enlightenment; his observations are free and independent; his thoughts are not clouded by any form of prejudice...For him there are no horizons between races, sexes and senseless labels", including gang labels for recognition. The New King no longer views the rival warriors as the cause of his ills and seeks world unity for the sake of humanization and freedom for all the "Oppressed Third World Peoples".
Therefore, as appropriately expressed by their own teachings, a great majority of Latin Kings live a criminalistic lifestyle while a select few seek to better their communities and fight against social oppression and injustices."
Is Cornell in the New King Stage? Can he be a powerful voice in encouraging young people to bypass the Primitive Stage? If he can be a voice of positive inspiration for young people, I wish him the very best, and if his intentions and personal pursuits are honorable and positive, I wish him great all-around success. Perhaps Cornell can enlighten us about his perspective on all this.
Feel the Bahama Breeze in Raleigh!
A few days ago, I visited my brother and his wife in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Dinner time arrived, and we discussed going out to get a bite to eat. The all-important question: where? Brother Brice mentioned a few possibilities, but his strongest suggestion seemed to be a place called Bahama Breeze, a restaurant he vaguely recalled having eaten at once before some time ago.
We enjoyed very good meals there, but beyond the food quality (and quantities), Bahama Breeze's atmosphere itself is special. A particular part of the restuarant really grabbed us, and after we finished our dining experience, we all remarked on what a treat it was to enjoy the indoor "outdoor" seating. It was raining when we arrived, and I dropped my brother and his wife off at the door before rolling around to the other side of the restaurant to park. Had I not driven to the other side of the restaurant, my dad and I might have missed noticing the open-windowed patio seating. Brice and Lynette were already inside and had put us down for a table, receiving one of those devices to alert us when a table became available. My dad and I asked if they would be interested in the semi-outdoor seating we had noticed, and they found the suggestion agreeable. When we indicated our preference to the hostesses, we were told that we didn't even have to wait; if tables were available there, all we had to do is go sit at one, which is what we did. I'm assuming the food would have tasted just as good had we chosen to eat at one of the traditional "inside" tables, but I can't imagine that we would have enjoyed the atmosphere as much (and that's not saying anything negative about what we observed on the inside; I'm just emphasizing how cool our surroundings were "outside").
Apparently, Raleigh is the lone North Carolina city to have a Bahama Breeze, and the only other bordering state to have one is Georgia. (Georgia and Florida seem to be the most popular locations for this chain.) From the website, I did notice that at least one Bahama Breeze appears to be on the water, and that's perhaps the only missing ingredient for the Raleigh restaurant. The website offers a virtual tour, but I'm not sure that it really captures the quality of the experience we had. (I haven't even mentioned the service, something that always matters when dining out, but that too was on a superior level; we had a great waiter!)
So if you're in the Raleigh area, I recommend Bahama Breeze for your consideration. More specifically, I recommend trying the virtual "outdoors" dining the patio area provides.
From the website: "Bahama Breeze brings you the feeling of a Caribbean escape, featuring Caribbean-inspired seafood, chicken, and steak, handcrafted tropical drinks, and a vibrant island atmopshere." From my perspective: Bahama Breeze achieves exactly what it sets out to accomplish.
CORRECTION: I indicated that Bahama Breeze is only located in one of North Carolina's bordering states; I just realized that, in addition to having three stores in Georgia, there's one in Memphis, Tennessee also.
Dinner time arrived, and we discussed going out to get a bite to eat. The all-important question: where? Brother Brice mentioned a few possibilities, but his strongest suggestion seemed to be a place called Bahama Breeze, a restaurant he vaguely recalled having eaten at once before some time ago.
We enjoyed very good meals there, but beyond the food quality (and quantities), Bahama Breeze's atmosphere itself is special. A particular part of the restuarant really grabbed us, and after we finished our dining experience, we all remarked on what a treat it was to enjoy the indoor "outdoor" seating. It was raining when we arrived, and I dropped my brother and his wife off at the door before rolling around to the other side of the restaurant to park. Had I not driven to the other side of the restaurant, my dad and I might have missed noticing the open-windowed patio seating. Brice and Lynette were already inside and had put us down for a table, receiving one of those devices to alert us when a table became available. My dad and I asked if they would be interested in the semi-outdoor seating we had noticed, and they found the suggestion agreeable. When we indicated our preference to the hostesses, we were told that we didn't even have to wait; if tables were available there, all we had to do is go sit at one, which is what we did. I'm assuming the food would have tasted just as good had we chosen to eat at one of the traditional "inside" tables, but I can't imagine that we would have enjoyed the atmosphere as much (and that's not saying anything negative about what we observed on the inside; I'm just emphasizing how cool our surroundings were "outside").
Apparently, Raleigh is the lone North Carolina city to have a Bahama Breeze, and the only other bordering state to have one is Georgia. (Georgia and Florida seem to be the most popular locations for this chain.) From the website, I did notice that at least one Bahama Breeze appears to be on the water, and that's perhaps the only missing ingredient for the Raleigh restaurant. The website offers a virtual tour, but I'm not sure that it really captures the quality of the experience we had. (I haven't even mentioned the service, something that always matters when dining out, but that too was on a superior level; we had a great waiter!)
So if you're in the Raleigh area, I recommend Bahama Breeze for your consideration. More specifically, I recommend trying the virtual "outdoors" dining the patio area provides.
From the website: "Bahama Breeze brings you the feeling of a Caribbean escape, featuring Caribbean-inspired seafood, chicken, and steak, handcrafted tropical drinks, and a vibrant island atmopshere." From my perspective: Bahama Breeze achieves exactly what it sets out to accomplish.
CORRECTION: I indicated that Bahama Breeze is only located in one of North Carolina's bordering states; I just realized that, in addition to having three stores in Georgia, there's one in Memphis, Tennessee also.
At Least Two Local Theatres Blogging Away
Two local theatres have blogs that highlight both current and upcoming productions: the Open Space Cafe Theatre Blog and the Triad Stage Blog.
Up next at the OSCT is "Dinah Was!: The Dinah Washington Musical," running from August 20-30, 2009.
Triad Stage is preparing for a "Picnic" that will be held between September 6th and September 27th.
If you've never visited these theatres before, I recommend both very highly. The only regrets I've ever experienced with these two theatres are the performances I haven't found/made time to attend. While very different from one another, what they share is the ability to bring highly entertaining, very provocative productions to life on their respective stages.
Knowing date ranges for each theatre's next productions, you seriously should consider making plans to attend these shows. Unless you make plans to do so, chances are high that you will end up missing great opportunities to see great entertainment practically in your own backyard.
Up next at the OSCT is "Dinah Was!: The Dinah Washington Musical," running from August 20-30, 2009.
Triad Stage is preparing for a "Picnic" that will be held between September 6th and September 27th.
If you've never visited these theatres before, I recommend both very highly. The only regrets I've ever experienced with these two theatres are the performances I haven't found/made time to attend. While very different from one another, what they share is the ability to bring highly entertaining, very provocative productions to life on their respective stages.
Knowing date ranges for each theatre's next productions, you seriously should consider making plans to attend these shows. Unless you make plans to do so, chances are high that you will end up missing great opportunities to see great entertainment practically in your own backyard.
Policeman and Professor Didn't Invent the Art of Stepping on Toes
When I saw "Rounding Third" last Saturday at the Open Space Cafe Theatre, I didn't realize that I would have the opportunity to witness a preview of the conversation between a police officer and a professor (with a president and a vice president on the sidelines).
"Rounding Third," a play about two little-league baseball coaches who have very different views about what should matter most for their players (winning vs. having fun), does not mention race at all, and I don't recall any law enforcement issues leaping off the stage.
But throughout the play, the two characters stepped on each other's toes by saying and doing things that were unintentionally but effectively hurtful or offensive to one another. (Fortunately for audience members, the characters' words and actions provoked not only deep thinking but also strong laughter.)
Race is cited as a topic that has the potential to bring out the worst from our human natures, but we don't require the presence of racial issues for us to manage to hurt and offend one another on still very significant levels. Without race, we still manage quite well to figure out other ways to be jerks toward one another, whether we mean to be or not. (It's arguably an American tragedy how many of us have no conscience about intentionally trying to hurt and offend others around us.) And almost without fail, at the same time that we step on other people's shoes without realizing that we're doing so, we have a sixth sense for immediately being able to perceive when other people are stepping on our own shoes. We're infuriated at the people who step on our own shoes, but we more often than not regard ourselves as blameless and can't see our own natural abilities for doing the very same in reverse.
Maybe someone needs to create a play for us to watch about the conversations that take place between a police officer and a professor, and if it helps the cause, maybe their races can be a part of their conversations. Just remember though, that while race matters, it's not a prerequisite for humans to fail to communicate adequately and respectfully with one another. Ultimately, it's just as much a human thing as it is a race thing.
"Rounding Third," a play about two little-league baseball coaches who have very different views about what should matter most for their players (winning vs. having fun), does not mention race at all, and I don't recall any law enforcement issues leaping off the stage.
But throughout the play, the two characters stepped on each other's toes by saying and doing things that were unintentionally but effectively hurtful or offensive to one another. (Fortunately for audience members, the characters' words and actions provoked not only deep thinking but also strong laughter.)
Race is cited as a topic that has the potential to bring out the worst from our human natures, but we don't require the presence of racial issues for us to manage to hurt and offend one another on still very significant levels. Without race, we still manage quite well to figure out other ways to be jerks toward one another, whether we mean to be or not. (It's arguably an American tragedy how many of us have no conscience about intentionally trying to hurt and offend others around us.) And almost without fail, at the same time that we step on other people's shoes without realizing that we're doing so, we have a sixth sense for immediately being able to perceive when other people are stepping on our own shoes. We're infuriated at the people who step on our own shoes, but we more often than not regard ourselves as blameless and can't see our own natural abilities for doing the very same in reverse.
Maybe someone needs to create a play for us to watch about the conversations that take place between a police officer and a professor, and if it helps the cause, maybe their races can be a part of their conversations. Just remember though, that while race matters, it's not a prerequisite for humans to fail to communicate adequately and respectfully with one another. Ultimately, it's just as much a human thing as it is a race thing.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Laughter Raises Serious Issues About Athletics
It's too late to catch it at the Open Space Cafe Theatre, but if you were lucky, maybe you saw "Rounding Third" before the show closed last Saturday (July 25th).
Two men with very different philosophies about what should matter most for young people who play sports are forced by circumstances to coach the same baseball team. Veteran coach Don knows that the only way that playing baseball can really be any fun is for the team to win. To win, he understands that he must select the players who already possess the most positive potential. Michael has very little experience with baseball and has never coached before, but for a variety of reasons, he's interested in doing so now. Fate leads Michael to become Don's assistant coach. You couldn't ask for a better mismatch of personalities, and in scene after scene, the stark differences in these two coaches' approaches and views jump out at the audience.
With some recent local events, a more timely play couldn't have been selected to help us examine our own personal views and attitudes about youth athletics.
Ken Ashford and Scott Stevens did an outstanding job of capturing the spirit of these two coaches, and their constant back-and-forth dialogue provided just about non-stop laughs. The lines are well-written for these characters, but Ashford and Stevens made sure that they were delivered in ways that guarantee their maximum impact (laughter!) on audience members.
I made it to the closing night performance with a group of 10 others, and we were thoroughly entertained. For that evening's performance, just about all the theatre's seats were taken. I was told that a few other nights didn't enjoy the numbers in the audience that this show and its performers deserved, and more than anything, that's an unrealized loss for anyone who didn't get a chance to see "Rounding Third."
The play doesn't ultimately answer the question of which philosophy is the superior one, but it gives both coaches a fair shot at making their cases for their respective views.
Guilford County has several venues for great theatre, and if you're not taking advantage of these opportunities to see live theatre in your own backyard, you probably don't realize what you're missing.
To get a glimpse of "Rounding Third," check out the Open Space Cafe Theatre's blog posts about this production (with photos included!): here's one, another one (with a Greensboro Grasshopper tie-in), a third one, and the final one.
Two men with very different philosophies about what should matter most for young people who play sports are forced by circumstances to coach the same baseball team. Veteran coach Don knows that the only way that playing baseball can really be any fun is for the team to win. To win, he understands that he must select the players who already possess the most positive potential. Michael has very little experience with baseball and has never coached before, but for a variety of reasons, he's interested in doing so now. Fate leads Michael to become Don's assistant coach. You couldn't ask for a better mismatch of personalities, and in scene after scene, the stark differences in these two coaches' approaches and views jump out at the audience.
With some recent local events, a more timely play couldn't have been selected to help us examine our own personal views and attitudes about youth athletics.
Ken Ashford and Scott Stevens did an outstanding job of capturing the spirit of these two coaches, and their constant back-and-forth dialogue provided just about non-stop laughs. The lines are well-written for these characters, but Ashford and Stevens made sure that they were delivered in ways that guarantee their maximum impact (laughter!) on audience members.
I made it to the closing night performance with a group of 10 others, and we were thoroughly entertained. For that evening's performance, just about all the theatre's seats were taken. I was told that a few other nights didn't enjoy the numbers in the audience that this show and its performers deserved, and more than anything, that's an unrealized loss for anyone who didn't get a chance to see "Rounding Third."
The play doesn't ultimately answer the question of which philosophy is the superior one, but it gives both coaches a fair shot at making their cases for their respective views.
Guilford County has several venues for great theatre, and if you're not taking advantage of these opportunities to see live theatre in your own backyard, you probably don't realize what you're missing.
To get a glimpse of "Rounding Third," check out the Open Space Cafe Theatre's blog posts about this production (with photos included!): here's one, another one (with a Greensboro Grasshopper tie-in), a third one, and the final one.
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