stay tuned...

stay tuned for images and commentary on my time in london and dublin.

go dumb, get hyphy.

hyphy.

PLEASE read the article on hyphy, a style of hip hop out of the bay area. style might be an incorrect label. the energy or intensity is not particularly innovative or earth-shattering. the music is contained, it was born in the bay and has not left until now. had it not been for a few friends from the bay, and my subsequent visit there this summer, i would never have known about it.

eleganza spin?

eleganza 2006 is over. i'm strangely sad because as mangerially nightmarish as it was, i feel deeply committed to the project. i slept 15 hours last week, probably consumed more calories in red bull and lattes than substantial food, and have lost my voice. i am proud to have produced a show of that magnitude.

check out the first bit of eleganza spin.

when the rainbow is enuf/...& the streets were too much.

i just got off of two shows, a dramatic play and eleganza 2006. below is the review of the dramatic play that i produced in the loeb experimental theatre.



“I found God in myself and I loved her.”

“I felt revealed unto myself.”

These lines were repeated by the women and men, respectively, at the end of the BlackC.A.S.T. production of “when the rainbow is enuf/...& when the streets were too much.” The play is the product of extensive work on the part of director Jon E. Gentry ’07, who adapted and compressed the all-female play “for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf” by Ntozake Shange and its male counterpart “for black boys who have considered homicide when the streets were too much” by Kieth Antar Mason. This staging, produced by Miles A. Johnson ’08, Shawna J. Strayhorn ’07, and Kimberly D. Williams ’07, ran at the Loeb Ex from April 6–8.

These final lines had the feeling of a revelation—something arrived at through the characters’ struggle and growth. This was not necessarily the case: instead of presenting an overall arc, “rainbow/streets” was impressionistic, combining short scenes, monologues, song, and dance to present an image of being young and black in America.

The last scene’s lack of context highlighted the main downside of this approach: a lack of growth and a certain static quality to the characters and situations. This drawback, however, was more than offset by the play’s ability to present a wide variety of experiences and to shift rapidly between humor and pain without seeming forced, a far more difficult task to accomplish within a more traditional narrative. When less continuity of character and plot is necessary, the subject matter can shift from dancing to death without inducing whiplash.

In combining two plays written in a similar style but years apart, Gentry has created a hybrid that meshes surprisingly well. The male and female characters don’t interact directly, but their roles enhance each other, especially in segments that are parallel between the two—for example, a woman’s monologue on rape is mirrored by a scene among the men about being wrongly accused of rape.

This adaptation is so seamless that it became difficult to conceive of the two plays as separate entities.

The actors were given the difficult task of taking on all this humor, grief, and occasional didacticism, largely in monologue form without reliance on interaction between characters. By and large, they rose wonderfully to the occasion.

Among the men, Bryan C. Barnhill II ’08’s Brother #3 was mesmerizing in his rant on the assumption that young black men are dangerous, and equally so in the later scene in which he experiences its consequence. The women were consistently excellent, but the standout was Chiazotam (Cheech) N. Ekekezie ’08 as Lady in Red, who delivered a story of domestic abuse with a spellbinding intensity and anger.

The character names (all the men are “Brother #” something, and all the women are “Lady in” a color) presuppose identities, allowing the actors to shift in and out of their stories. The costuming represents this, with each woman wearing a tank top with her color, and each man a t-shirt with his number.

At its best, the play is by turns joyful, poignant, and angry as it deals with the two massive topics of love and the experience of being black in modern—or in some vignettes, 1960s and ’70s—cities. At its weakest, it is preachy, as the characters step outside themselves to deliver the playwright’s views. The monologue on acquaintance rape, for example, was reminiscent at times of a “Sex Signals” talk: long on message, short on drama.

“rainbow/streets” is a play that thrives on its inconsistencies. By varying widely in tone and subject, it achieves a broader perspective than any one narrative could achieve. Admittedly, the shortness of the scenes doesn’t always earn the emotional investment of the audience or give a deepened sense of character. But even in the less compelling scenes, the play provides a varied and fascinating cross-section of experiences.

give me some.

gay and loud.

as once noted, one of my favorite movies, documentary really, is paris is burning directed by jennie livingston. the film is the story of drag balls, queer men of color, the late 1980s, and performance. these men gathered in harlem dancehalls to "vogue." my junior tutorial began with this concept. i used the film as a way to springboard and discuss appropriation, theories of the body, space, and race and sexuality as a trope.

read this article that smacks of postmodernism called "gay and loud" printed in where else, the village voice. notice the deliberate relationship between paris is burning and a new, new york city controversy. gentrification rears its ugly head. this time, queer black and Puerto Ricans kids are being pushed out of Christopher Street pier. they are being called vulgar, loud, and low class. that might be true, but the city belongs to everyone right.

i was asked to think about urban gentrification in my theories of sexuality class. whenever a city is "cleaned up" always ask yourself for whom and in what context. the city is "cleaned up" for ivy league transplants but not for 14 year old queens from queens. the "cleaning up" of anything if not universally good - consider the young queer kids, runways, or homeless who find solace in these open areas.

appropriating blackness.

shanghai, here i come.

i got word that i got a grant for china, so i am going for free!

i <3 you, mike skinner.

brit is in.

check out this article on the streets aka mike skinner, a one man brit rap invasion. maybe he'll be what miss dynamite never was.

i have a grand don't come for free, skinner's second studio album. i'm feeling this british garage sound.

check it out.

this summer, etta james and the roots band will be performing a few selected show dates including a june date in nyc at carnegie hall. if reasonably priced, i will most certainly have to go. this is an amazingly unexpected combination. freshmen year, i saw the roots with jason mraz at brandeis with russell. i guess they like the duet thing.

a got damn shame.

i haven't posted in nearly a month. i apologize for that. a number of exciting things have happened this semester, so much so that i have not had the time to keep up with myself. i promise, promise, promise that this blog will become regular or semi regular or something substantial.

i taped a segment for 20/20 with john stossel on the myth of "acting white." it is set to air on april 14th, i'll keep you updated.

i just got back from london (and ireland) last night & my body is aching, literally. i will be sure to post pictures soon. on the travel front, i have 2 more trips scheduled for the year--china for 3 weeks in august and mexico city for 10 days or so in september.

i have my summer plans nearly finalized. i will be working at mtv news at 1515 broadway for 8 weeks this summer in nyc. china and mexico will follow. a bit of work on my wgs thesis will be in there--somewhere--as well.

put plainly, leading a student group is tough. this upcoming week, a play, an adaption of for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf by ntozake shange, is going up this thursday in the loeb experimental theatre.

the following week, i will write 25 pages on the issue of madonna and theories of black bodies in motion as mapped onto her 1994 video "secret."

the following week is eleganza.

pray for me.

smack, or something like it.