I never made it to this production, but LOVED the poster. It has the look of some "jazzy jive" being performed during the Harlem Renaissance.

After several reviews came out for "Vivisections," both extremely positive, Zelda Fichander, at the time Arena's Producing Director came to address cast, crew, director and Playwright. She apologized for thinking that this was just a play about Rap, and not realizing it was a play about sooooo much more.

There have been plenty of plays use that Rap, but Castro, "Vivisections" lead character, is a former college student who loves Emily Dickinson and has adopted a Rap personna that's he become weary with. His latest action movie, "Eat Lead --- The Final Chapter" (in which he capitalizes on his signature moment "I AIN'T BE DEAD, NOW EAT LEAD!") has provoked him into a historical nightmare that lets him see who he has become. And in seeing himself, he can now see where he falls with black entertainers from the past, particularly those from the Harlem Renaissance. 

My cast for "Telling Baltimore" religiously drove DURING RUSH HOURS from DC, Virginia and the outer regions of Maryland to Hopkins east Baltimore campus to rehearse at Hopkins east Baltimore campus. They wanted to get their veteran's story out there, and they wanted it to be right. I could never be exhausted because they were putting so much into the whole experience. 

We also did several other performances in DC and Maryland. We became a Veterans's touring company for several years.

Here's two excerpts from the performance. Again, I was so fortunate to be part of this. Hearing the stories from each Veteran were at times painful and also exhilarating. Those two extremes travelled from "who they were" before their service into who they were after their service. 

For 3 years we did a one-hour performance at the Waxter, and the audiences loved every minute. It's was Tyrone's brainchild, he brought me in and we were off and running. The audience loved the acting, dancing, singing and music we brought to the occasion. We utilized some of the best actors in the city and each show felt like a show-stopper.  

I was asked to create a monologue celebrating "Gratitude" for the Unitarian Church of NYC. During the performance as I was listening to all the other monologues, I was struck by how much gratitude played in so many daily aspects of life. From the moment we get to have "another day," to what we can ADD to those days. Our words were to inspire the audience, but judging from the reactions of the readers, I think the event inspired the presenters even more. And when all was said, how wonderful it was just to live another day! 

Local producer Manuela Reyes, gathered various artists for an evening of readings and music at the Baltimore Aquarium. The most beautiful part of the evening was the performances were staged at various levels in the Aquarium. So the echoes, the sounds of the water and the the music were all so close to the audience --- it was was such a creative adventure all-around. I read a poem I wrote, but because of how things were staged I felt like part of a 4X4 relay team. The baton was handed off to me, and there I was off and running!

The quality is a tad poor, but I think you can decipher the environment and the crowd who enjoyed this performance. Everyone created a piece of work for the event.

Ray Cornelius gives a good historical context for the play. To have a revival of the play after 30-plus years is no small feat, and speaks to the devotion that True Colors had about the work. 

They pulled off a great "guerilla theatre" event right in the heart of Atlanta's most populated subway/rail stop. 

I was there with my trusty cell, thinking "wow, this is some NICE applause! Judge for yourself.

Love this Trailer. What's surprising about the play is that it's so much more than audiences initially think. The revelations, conflicts and language separate the play from the "playground". 

People were "worried" about THE BALL. Would it make noise? What if someone loses it. What it someone doesn't catch it? What if it goes into the audience?!?! All these became non-issues. Nothing distracted from the dialogue and characters. And the ball actually becomes a character.  

Another "archived" event "He-Man Ball" past life. And another thumbs-up reviews.

"Zulu Fits" got a review so good I could eat it!

That's Lauren Blackwell (left) and Yakima Rich (right), we're living the high life between rehearsals. 

This Video was filmed across from the Baltimore Streetcar Museum. Patty Cannon and her gang engaged in Slave Catching" (kidnapping FREED slaves and reselling them down south) was a major component to "Zulu Fits" but this aspect was one of several themes in the play. 

The article (2011) gives a good account of "Zulu Fits" contemporary and historical aspects. Mentioned in the "A Different World" section.

I worked with the Thomas Smith (who left Hopkins to start GETTY IMAGES!!!), and the African-American Newspaper to create a script, find a cast and "discovered" Christopher (co-worked who plays beautiful piano) to have an event that was OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. It celebrated the connection between East Baltimore, the AFRO and Johns Hopkins. Thomas found some wonderful archived photos from the AFRO that showcased Johns Hopkins medicine and east Baltimore neighborhoods, images that showed the community spirit and beautiful neighborhoods that East Baltimore had. 

Though the production was on-point, at the post play Q&A I engaged with members of the east Baltimore community who had longstanding complaints about Hopkins, and they made their complaints heard. But after all was said and done, and we had a reception afterwards. For many community members this was the firsts time they'd ever been inside one of the Hopkins buildings. Much to the dismay of the Hopkins security team, I insisted that the event be open to the public. Am I taking a bow? Pretty much.

The Director bowed out, so I took the reins. This was early 90's. I think..... 

This was a VERY short play that was done at a bar in Charlottesville, VA. and then arrived at the ID America Festival in NYC on the east side. 

I was able to attend this production, and I can't tell you how exciting it was. Frequently, the "He-Man" casts have been either very good at basketball, but maybe a little inexperienced acting-wise, or vice-versa. The Houston cast was great at both. 

When I first saw this I definitely had an OMG moment. I met Tony again when I went down for the opening. Lucky me. 

Ann is a published author and Fred is a retired US Navy physician. The New Day Campaign had performances throughout Baltimore City and County. We had similar events at Baltimore Design School, Stevenson University and the School for the Arts. 

Was proud to speak on behalf of New Day. Always felt our goals were on the money --- removing stigmas surrounding trauma & addiction. I also brought in a few "Telling Baltimore" veterans (literally "veterans") to present short dramatic presentations. 

A few years back (maybe decades?). Baltimore Magazine gave me some nice "space". The response from the Center Stage (final sentences) in this interview gave me the absolute motivation to move forward. 

The reviewer just stopped in for excerpts from a variety of Fringe Festival performances. He seemed to like mine.

A Preview of the Baltimore Fringe Fest by Andrew Sargus Klein

"After back to back preview nights for the Charm City Fringe Festival, I found myself wishing for more such performances (in general, not just for the Fringe Festival).

There’s a certain looseness and camaraderie that comes when a half-dozen casts are crammed into one ill-fitting venue and asked to perform a small slice of a larger work. Lines are bobbled, sets are broken, and audience participation is pretty much always on the table. It’s a low stakes accessibility, and it works. The price of good, informal cheer was a lack of nuance and subtlety.

Since the productions picked their most crowd-friendly scenes to present at Joe Squared and Mercury Theatre, it’s difficult to plot the emotional spectrum of this year’s lineup. As such, it’s also difficult to pinpoint which productions are can’t-misses and which ones are a hard pass

It was clear enough that humor and accessibility are two of the more dominant themes at this year’s Fringe. I didn’t mind that I saw Alonso Lamont Jr. perform the same piece of his one-man show on both preview nights; B-Side Man, which centers on Lamont’s “journeys, transformations, segues, stories, love, loss, [and] dark days,” was a hit with both crowds.

Lamont described life as an African-American man in 1970s Iowa City—specifically, dancing to Aerosmith wearing nothing but a red thong and cowboy boots. There’s an immediacy to his storytelling and a genuine warmth of character that comes with it."