Scooby, Shaggy, and the Gang Spotted in Australia, Truly Needed for the Case of the Stolen American Passports

This van was spotted in Cairns, Australia earlier this summer.

Wish Scooby, Shaggy, and friends had been able to help recover 15 American passports stolen in Sydney July 4th. Instead, replacements had to be secured, consulate had to be visited.

In Europe, 14 stolen American passports recovered after thief leaves them in airport. No replacements required.

Be very careful with your passports and other treasures. There are thieves out there, ready, waiting, very eager to pounce.

Two Local Blogging Theatres Provide Provocative, Highly Entertaining Shows for Our Community

The Open Space Cafe Theatre is blogging about its current show.

Triad Stage is blogging about its preparations for its season-opening production.

You might still be able to get tickets to the final two shows of "Dinah Was!" at the Open Space Cafe Theatre this weekend (7:00 PM on Saturday, August 29, 2009 and 3:00 PM on Sunday, August 30, 2009). [Box office: 336-292-2285]

Triad Stage's "Picnic" opens with its preview performances on Sunday, September 6, 2009 at 7:30 PM. The show runs through September 27th, with performances every day of the week except Monday. [Box office: 336-272-0160]

I highly recommend both theatres, particularly for everyone who has never experienced these theatres' fantastic shows. You really can't imagine what great local and professional talent you're missing out on, but once you see either theatre's shows, you'll know.

If You Don't Have Plans This Weekend, You Might Not Be Too Late . .

If you're looking for some great entertainment this weekend, you should seriously consider trying to get tickets to "Dinah Was!" at the Open Space Cafe Theatre.

The OSC Theatre's most recent blog post indicates that there may still be some tickets left for the 7:00 PM performance on Saturday, August 29, 2009, and the 3:00 PM show on Sunday, August 30, 2009. (You may be too late, but for your sake, I hope you're not.)

To find out if you can still get tickets, call 336-292-2285. If voice mail picks up, just leave your name, phone number, how many tickets you want, and which show you'd like to attend. Someone will return your call. You can also drop by the box office about an hour before the show to see if tickets are still available.

The Open Space Cafe Theatre is small, intimate, and very unintimidating. It's the kind of theatre where anyone should feel comfortable. (It's not the only theatre in our community about which this is true; Triad Stage, the Broach, and other local theatres also make you feel right at home.)

Before the show and during intermission, you can purchase drinks and desserts to take back to small tables. And if you have a larger group, the OSC Theatre staff and volunteers put smaller tables together so that members of your group can sit together.

I've enjoyed every performance I've seen at the Open Space Cafe Theatre, and I've absolutely loved some of the productions.

People who pay a lot more to see shows in other venues should seriously consider giving the Open Space Cafe Theatre a chance. ($20.00 per ticket; $17.00 for senior citizens; $2.00 off each ticket if you have a party of 8 or more.) By attending the Open Space Cafe Theatre, you risk falling in love like I have, and if that happens, you won't want to miss another show.

The Perfect Time for Your First Experience at the Open Space Cafe Theatre!

You only have four more chances to see "Dinah Was!" at the Open Space Cafe Theatre:

• Thurdsday, August 27, 2009 at 8:00 PM
• Friday, August 28, 2009 at 8:00 PM
• Saturday, August 29, 2009 at 8:00 PM
• Sunday, August 30, 2009 at 3:00 PM

When I dropped by Saturday evening, I was told that Friday's show is almost sold out. Hopefully it's not too late for you to get tickets for you, your loved ones, and your friends so that you can enjoy a wonderful night out on the town! (Bert's Seafood is right across the street from the theatre, and I also recommend Elizabeth's Pizza right down the street.)

You can peek in on some of the preparations behind this production.

Discover some of the other talented people behind this show.

Here's a glimpse of some of the characters in costume, ready to perform.

Tickets are $20.00 each. Senior citizens can get tickets for just $17.00. If you get together a group of 8 or more family members and/or friends, you can each get a $2.00 discount on your tickets.

Just call 336-292-2285 to order your tickets before the final shows sell out. If the voice-mail answers, just leave your name, your phone number, the date you hope to attend, and how many tickets you wish to reserve. Someone will call you right back to process your order.

IMPORTANT: If you haven't attended an Open Space Cafe Theatre production before, leave some room in your stomach for dessert. This theatre is small but in a very intimate, very positive way, and you sit at tables at which you can enjoy desserts and drinks purchased before the show or during intermission. The OSC Theatre is only one of the most recent additions to our community's great offerings, and if you haven't seen a show there before, now's a great time to take that plunge!

Are You Ready for the Big Picnic in Downtown Greensboro?

Between September 6 and September 27, you have 22 opportunities to participate in a picnic in downtown Greensboro. Click here and scroll to the bottom to see the calendar of dates and times.

Preparations and rehearsals are already underway to make sure all's ready for a successful "Picnic."

Compare the play's poster to the live-action photos.

Check out the costume and set images, as well as some background details.

Find out who's on the guest list for this "Picnic."

Preston Lane share his thoughts about the "Picnic."

And "INSIDE TRIAD STAGE" is now linked to WE101."

Remember: You're Invited To Attend This "Picnic"!

Emmett Till's Murder a Part of Our Unimaginably Horrible, Shameful Past

In last week's Go Triad, Joe Scott helped me make a decision about what play to see at the National Black Theatre Festival. Written and performed by Mike Wiley, "Dar He: The Story of Emmett Till" turned out to be a very solid choice.

I knew the very basic details about what happened to Emmett Till: at the age of 14, while visiting relatives in Mississippi, this African-American boy from Chicago allegedly whistled at a white woman and was later brutally murdered. His mother decided to leave his casket open so that others would have an opportunity to see the handiwork of white Southern men.

For about an hour-and-a-half, Mike Wiley went seamlessly back and forth among several different characters, including Till, his mother, the white woman he supposedly whistled at, and the two white men who later confessed to murdering Till after being acquitted in court. (I lost track of exactly how many characters Wiley ultimately played; one suggestion for future programs would be to list all of the characters and include a brief biographical description of each. That would be useful for audience members, many of whom, like me, probably learned far more than just the basic details we might have known before seeing the play.) Wiley is a mesmerizing performer. When he's in front of you, you can't take your eyes off of him; you want to follow his every word, his every movement, his every expression, and you marvel at how he so thoroughly becomes each of the characters he plays.

Seeing the play reminded me of something that I've long known but which becomes easier and easier to put in the back of one's mind: while America is a great and sometimes absolutely amazing country, there are pieces of our country's history for which we should all be deeply ashamed. Emmett Till's murder is one of those pieces. Audience members last night spent more time watching the play than the 12 white men on the jury spent deliberating before delivering a "not guilty" verdict for the two men tried for Till's murder.

It's been 50 years since Till was murdered. If he was still alive, he'd be between the ages of my father and mother, both in their sixties. While 50 years is a long time ago, it is still within the memory of a signficant portion of the population. Till's 1955 murder (one day before my mother turned 12 and Michael Jackson turned 3) occurred at a time when many white people didn't see anything wrong with how black people were treated in our country, even when such treatment went as far as murder. Such attitudes were still commonplace even more recently than 50 years ago.

I prefer an emphasis on how far we've come, but it's a mistake not to acknowledge how horrible the not-so-distant past was. "Dar He" makes you realize how far we've come, but it also reminds us of how far we had to come to get to where we now are.

"Dar He" is part of a two-part performance at the National Black Theatre Festival. Nora Cole opens the show with "Voices of the Sprits in My Soul." About an hour later, Mike Wiley performs "Dar He." This two-part show is being performed right now at the Ring Theatre on Wake Forest University's campus (3:00 PM start time), and it will play one more time at 8:00 PM this evening at the same theatre. Tickets are $37.00 each. You may call 723-7907 or try to secure tickets at the door. (Last night, tickets were still available at the door.)

To view excerpts from Mike Wiley's performance of "Dar He," visit here. (Past reviews of "Dar He.") Details about some of his other productions that Wiley brings to life can be found here.

Cornell Campaign Needs To Address His Arrest More Thoroughly

Jorge Cornell's campaign for an at-large spot on the Greensboro City Council seems to think that a video of his arrest that was posted on his campaign's website pretty much speaks for itself.

I almost hesitate to comment about the video. There are several surreal qualities to it: a fairly calm but forcefully insistent police officer; a fairly calm but forcefully resistant Cornell; a less calm daughter screaming about her father (Cornell) being arrested; a younger girl who is crying (Cornell's other daughter?); a woman asking for her cell phone, which is apparently in Cornell's possession; Cornell going on about his council candidacy and the current scene validating past claims he's continuing to make about the police unjustly targeting him and the organization he leads; seemingly unrelated people who are right there where the action is but who don't seem that interested, affected, bothered, or concerned; etc. (I'd be curious to know what unaffiliated witnesses thought about the whole scene.)

The best special effect, which well suits the entire scene's surrealism, came at the end of the video: carefree bubbles floating over Cornell and the police officer as Cornell is placed in the police car. (To my knowledge, Just Be has not been accused of arranging for its store to be in the background for this video.)

In an initial News & Record report, Sgt. Ron Sizemore, head of the Greensboro police gang unit, said, "They got out in the street and started hollering and flashing gang signs, and they knew some Bloods where there."

The N & R report continues: "It was unclear whether Cornell was flashing gang signs. A police report for the incident was unavailable Sunday afternoon. Gang members from the Bloods and the Latin Kings do not get along, Sizemore said, and the arresting officer, R.A. Watkins, attempted to speak to some of the men near Cornell. 'And they needed to talk to them. And (Watkins) tried to step around (Cornell) and Cornell blocked his path,' Sizemore said."

I'm probably not the only one now waiting for Cornell's campaign to post the video showing the events leading up to when Cornell inserted himself between the police officer and the man/men that the officer was attempting to question. (Video is not always the perfect evidence some of us would like it to be, particularly when it's conveniently turned on for one scene but not an earlier one.)

Cornell's campaign cites its endorsement of the Paradigm Shift. Part of that document emphasizes Cornell's efforts to increase the peace among different groups/gangs.

These are some questions I have for Cornell:

1) Did the hollering and flashing of gang signs actually occur? And if so, were Cornell's friends or fellow Almighty Latin King & Queen Nation (ALKQN) members participants in these activities?

2) Did Cornell himself participate in the hollering and flashing of gang signs?

3) Why did Cornell not simply allow the officer to talk to the man/men the officer was originally trying to address?

4) If Cornell, his fellow ALKQN members, or his friends did participate in the hollering and gang-sign flashing, what defense does Cornell have to offer for these actions?

5) Were Cornell and his friends/fellow ALKQN members aware that Bloods were nearby? If so, what kind of dialogue/interactions took place between them? Was peaceful or uncivil discourse taking place between members of the two groups? What was Cornell's role in what was taking place?

I'm also still curious to hear Cornell address some of the issues and questions I raised in this post. It's obvious that Cornell's website has attracted some interest and curiosity. Part of my curiosity stems from seeing students inspired by gangs and not feeling that their interest in gangs is ultimately in their best interests, academically or otherwise. I do think that some less mainstream leadership may be needed to lead some young people away from the negative temptations typically associated with gangs. The Paradigm Shift expresses an interest in addressing these issues, but part of me is skeptical. (The Paradigm Shift literature recognizes that there will be some, if not much, skepticism about some of its proposals.) The video of Cornell's arrest has increased my skepticism rather than raising my hopes in his leadership. If he's serious about his city council campaign, he has an obligation to address the concerns that other citizens and I have about how he handled himself during this incident.