Laurie Carlos & Ananya Dance Theatre

Laurie is my mentor/big sister/collaborator. I first worked with Laurie in 1998. She took me under wing/as she has done for so many others. Before that time I learned by doing/was working from Intuition and passion - not a bad thing/but mann it as such a Blessing in my Journey to be Apprenticed.

Laurie is an Obie and Bessie award winner. She originated the role of the Lady In Blue in For Colored Girls. A Lower East Side New York home girl, Laurie currently lives in St. Paul. She directs/curates Naked Stages and The Late Nite Series for Pillsbury House Theatre in MLPS.
An early version of her piece, Porkchop Wars is in a book I am co-editor of (Experiments In A Jazz Aesthetic).

This clip is from Laurie's work with her dear friend and collaborator Ananya Chatterjea. Laurie worked as Director/Musician/Performer in Ananya Dance Theatre's Kshoy!Decay!

Kshoy!/Decay! from Ananya Dance Theatre on Vimeo.

More about Laurie Carlos HERE.

Sekou Sundiata

Sekou Sundiata influenced everyone from Ani DiFranco to Vernon Reid to countless other musicians/poets/spoken word/hip hop/and theatre artists. He collaborated with Rhodessa Jones, Craig Harris and many legends. Sekou died in 2007. I am so Grateful that I got to meet him/and see his work live. His work is truly a source of deep inspiration and direction for me.

You can view Sekou's 51st Dream State at the Walker Art Center
Hear Sekou talk about his work on NPR HERE.
This clip is from Sekou's appearance on Def Poetry Jam

More about Sekou Sundiata HERE.

Aishah Rahman - Audience Responses

Credited as the person that coined the term, Theatrical Jazz Aesthetic (in the 1970's), Aishah Rahman is just plain ole brilliant. You can read a wee bit of her writing about "Tradition and a New Aesthetic" HERE. Clearly an innovator/a history maker, Ms. Rahman teaches at Brown University. Her daughter Yoruba Richen is a very important filmmaker.
This clip features Aishah Rahman and audience members responding to a production of her play The Mojo and the Sayso at ACT - A Contemporary Theatre (I like that she liked the production).

More about Aishah Rahman HERE.

Adrienne Kennedy - Funny House of a Negro

An Obie, Guggenheim and Rockefeller Award winner, I believe that Adrienne Kennedy is one of the greatest/most important contemporary playwrights. I Love her autobiography, People Who Led to My Plays,(Knopf 1987) and am both inspired and haunted by her plays.
This clip is from a 2009 CalArts production of Funny House of a Negro.

More about Adrienne Kennedy HERE.

Jessica Hagedorn - Toxicology

Born and raised in the Philippines, Jessica Hagedorn came to the US when she was a teenager. A filmmaker, novelist, theatre maker, musician/Jessica is winner of many awards including the Guggenheim Fiction Fellowship. Jessica Hagedorn, Robbie McCauley and Laurie Carlos created a group they called, Thought Music, which was widely know for their piece Teeny Town. From 1975-1985 she was leader of a band called, The Gangster Choir. I freaking LOVE their piece Tenement Lover!
This clip is a trailer for her new book Toxicology...

More about Jessica Hagedorn HERE.

Lawrence "Butch" Morris & Poet Chorus

I have only met Butch Morris twice, but man am I ever influenced by his work. My passion for the idea of "Conducting" is directly inspired by Mr. Morris. My dear friend and collaborator Helga Davis, who has worked with Butch (she's in this clip) Conducted performers during a piece of mine that she directed and composed (love conjure/blues). I have since been obsessed with the idea of Conducting audiences and performers. Anyways...I look forward to seeing Butch Morris perform again...

Watch live streaming video from whitneymuseum at livestream.com

More about Lawrence "Butch" Morris HERE.

Robbie McCauley & Sedition Ensemble

I am extremely influenced and inspired by Robbie McCauley's work. This clip is from 1983...I just LOVE it! She is such a pioneer/a fierce innovator. An AUDELCO, Bessie, and OBIE award winner/a beautiful Spirit and humanitarian...Robbie teaches at Emerson College. She just premiered her piece, Sugar. I am proud to say that an excerpt of an early version of Sugar is in a book I am co-editor of (Experiments In A Jazz Aesthetic).

More about Robbie McCauley HERE.

Dianne McIntyre Talking About Her Work

An incredibly important dance artist, Dianne McIntyre has choreographed for stage and film (I.E. Beloved). She has worked with everyone from Ntozake Shange to the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre to Olu Dara's Orka Orchestra. Many, including my mentor, Obie and Bessie award winning Laurie Carlos, came up in Ms. McIntyre's Sounds In Motion Studio in Harlem. I hope to meet her one day soon...

PlayhouseSquare Report to the Community - Dianne from PlayhouseSquare on Vimeo.

More about Dianne McIntyre HERE.

Ntozake Shange Reading

I haven't had much luck finding early footage of Ntozake Shange and her collaborators/so I was thrilled when one of my students shared this...

More about Ntozake Shange HERE.