new orleans - afo event

[Raha]

Please join all of us at ASHE Cultural Center...

" "THERE IS SOMETHING YOU SHOULD KNOW..."

...AND its there, June 11 at 3pm: THE 2ND FIFTY YEARS OF JAZZ IN NEW
ORLEANS

the EXHIBIT
the FILM
the CONVERSATION / Q&A with Harold Battiste
THE NEXT GENERATION & GUESTS

and, of course, some FOOD!

1712 Oretha Castle Haley

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[Raha]

Dear cyber arts community,

In April, I began a performance residency at the Ashe Cultural Arts Center to
work with a number of African American men from the Living Witness Social
Services Program. I guided them through the process of creating an ensemble
theater and performance piece that explored their personal stories as they
struggled with reinventing themselves after a difficult past of drug addiction
and incarceration.

They will perform their moving and powerful stories to “raise their spirits�
next week at the Ashe Cultural Center for two shows. If you are in New Orleans,
drop by and support this uplifting project and witness the creative efforts of
these men in the process of personal and spiritual reinvention through theater
and performance.

Below are the details. (Circulate with cyber abandon.)

Ashe y gracias,

Jose Torres Tama & ArteFuturo Productions
2453 Dauphine Street, New Orleans, LA 70117
504.232.2968 www.torrestama.com
poetafuego@juno.com or jose@torrestama.com
"Aim the truth at their lies."

******


WHAT: “RAISING THE SPIRIT: SELF-PORTRAITS PERFORMED�
AN ENSEMBLE THEATRE PIECE WITH MEN FROM “LIVING WITNESS� PERFORMING STORIES OF REDEMPTION & REINVENTION OF THE SELF

WHEN: Thursday & Friday, June 8 & 9, 2006 @ 5:30PM

WHERE: Ashe Cultural Arts Center at 1712 Oretha Castle-Haley Blvd.

“RAISING THE SPIRIT: SELF-PORTRAITS PERFORMED� is an ensemble theater piece with six African American men who are trying to repair their lives and spirit after incarceration, substance abuse problems, and the trauma of displacement after Hurricane Katrina. The piece has developed through a series of theater and performance workshops conducted by Jose Torres Tama, a New Orleans theater and performance artist.

With the support of funds from the Arts Council of New Orleans, Torres Tama initiated a residency program at the Ashe Cultural Arts Center to work with a number of African American men from the Living Witness Social Services program. Through a series of theater and movement workshops, he guided the participants in developing an ensemble piece comprised of improvised stories that explore their personal trials of redemption after drug addiction and the effects of a troubled past on their present journey to reinvention.

The workshops evolved into a theater piece called “Raising the Spirit: Self-Portraits Performed� that will be presented at Ashe on Thursday & Friday, June 8 & 9, 2006 at 5:30PM.

“Raising the Spirit� features Tyrone Collier, Hilrie Cooper, Royal Duhon, Gerard Jackson, Woodrow Jackson, and Darrel Price.

The show will be accompanied by a short film documentary of the workshop process as filmed by Afro Cuban filmmaker William Sabourin O’Reilly. The film of “Raising the Spirit� documents the creation process that developed into the performance, and it serves as sort of “anatomy of lives unfolding,� as it captures the theater exercises that engaged the participants in revealing their secret selves.

The Ashe Cultural Arts Center is located 1712 Oretha Castle-Haley Blvd. in New Orleans. Contribution for the show is $5 at the door. www.torrestama.com

This program is supported by a grant from The Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council as administered by the Arts Council of New Orleans.

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this is e-drum, a listserv providing information of interests
to black writers and diverse supporters worldwide.
e-drum is moderated by kalamu ya salaam (kalamu@aol.com).
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