| Opening Night Gala
SOUL HERITAGE SAM COOKE REVUE
ICCC MUSICAL JUBILEE
A MEDLEY OF THE BEST MUSICAL PRODUCTIONS FROM ICCC
Thursday, August 24, 8 pm
The Regency West Entertainment Center
Written and Directed by Chester Whitmore
Produced by The Los Angeles Inner City Cultural Center
Featuring Magnificent Seven Jazz Band, Vel Omarr, Bobby Womack Sisters, The Olympics, Chester Whitmore, and The Central Avenue Dance Ensemble
Tickets $25.00; to RSVP email dca.visiontheatre@lacity.org or call 323.290.2386
Gala Closing Night Gala
GET READY
Sunday, September 3, 7 pm
Regency West Los Angeles
Written by Jaye Stewart, Joe Plummer and Debi Stewart
Directed by Joe Plummer
Presented by Tri-Coastal Entertainment
An R&B musical with, “Catchy Tunes in the Motown mode, climaxing with a smart-stepping, hand clapping finale that had the house jumping.” Chicago Tribune
Tickets $25.00; to RSVP email dca.visiontheatre@lacity.org or call 323.290.2386
Vision Theatre Festival of Staged Readings 2017
(Additional artists and programs to be announced)
Events In Chronological Order
FROG EYES
Friday, August 25, 8 pm
The Vision Theatre
Written by James Bronson
Directed by Hawthorne James
Produce by Bronson Productions
Featuring Andre Henry and Larry Mandley
On his last evening in New York, James Baldwin eagerly awaits a handsome lover while examining a painful journey through an America that rejects his color, looks, and intelligence.
THE MEETING
Friday, August 25, 8 pm
Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center
Written by Jeff Stetson
Directed by Judyann Elder
Produced by Los Angeles Inner City Cultural Center
Featuring Dejuan Christopher as Malcolm X and Lamont Young as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – a conversation between two civil rights giants of the 60’s.
VOICES OF THE UNHEARD
Sunday, August 27, 3 pm
The Vision Theatre
Produced by Spirit Awakening Foundation – Akuyoe Graham, Founder/Director
Directed by BT Taylor
Spirit Awakening Foundation presents an evening of spoken word written by incarcerated and formerly incarcerated children and young adults, with music and performances by formerly detained teens and young adults Spirit Awakening Foundation.
HOPERA: CHRONICLES OF A FALLEN HERO
Sunday, August 27, 3 pm
Regency West Los Angeles
Written & Composed by: Adrian L. Dunn
Produced by: Byron Johns in partnership with HoperaWorld Entertainment
In Partnership with the Fernando Pullum Performing Arts Center (FPPAC)
Featuring: Adrian L. Dunn, Cristina Fentress, Darshea Odom and members of the FPPAC
Hopera: Chronicles a Fallen Hero is a story of a young man, Obadiah King, growing up on the south side of Chicago in a single-parent household and his encounters with love, drugs, sex, heartbreak, and violence as he comes of age.
A QUARTET OF ONE-ACT PLAYS
Thursday, August 31, 7 pm
The Vision Theatre
Part 1
CALAFIA
Researched and Directed by Ursaline Bryant
Produced by Theatre Perception Consortium
Featuring Jennifer Jones and Bobby Ellerbee
Calafia is a warrior queen who ruled over a kingdom of Black women living on the mythical Island of California. A definitive article by Diane Bailey Blackmon is the basis of this one-woman show that sheds light upon and uncovers what is known as the ‘Spirit of California’ through words, movement and sound. This Performance Art also honors the original founders and first people of the West.
Part 2
HORSE HAIR AND THE FROG
Written by Preston J. Arrow-weed
Produced by Preston J. Arrow-weed and Helena Q. Arrow-weed
Read by Preston J. Arrow-weed and Helena Q. Arrow-weed
This Kamya-Quechan playwright writes about his native culture as if he was there at that time long, long ago. Horse Hair was an actual person in history. He was a noted warrior, one of the last two warriors in the Quechan camp with whom the United States Army had to negotiate peace. History tells us that Horse Hair was not the chosen leader by the Army and died in obscurity because others betrayed him. In this play, Arrow-weed has brought Horse Hair back to life at the end of that heroic life. The play is a conversation he has with Frog, the daughter, and Kumat, the Creator.
Part 3
ABIKA, SHE RUNS
Written by James Bronson
Directed by Ursaline Bryant
Produced by Bronson Productions
Featuring C.J. Williams and Tu’Nook Alexander
Music by S.H.I.N.E Muwasi and Rene’ Mims
Abika, She Runs is a lyrical story written. The poetry tells of a young Bantu woman named Abika who has discovered that her king is scheming with Europeans to sell her village into slavery. Although Abika is eight months pregnant she takes it upon herself to warn her people and nearby villages what is taking place within the king’s palace. Running with two heartbeats, Abika races against time to save generations that are destined to be sold away across the sea. Original poetry, movement and music is also presented making it an exciting and adventurous performance art presentation.
Part 4
WHAT DEFINES YOUR BLACKNESS?
Written by Tu’Nook Alexander
Directed by Tu’Nook Alexander
Produced by Theatre Perception Consortium
Featuring Melanie Haymon, Larney Johnson, Keturah McClendon, Katherine Parker, Andrea Ross, and Adrian Zeigler
A one act play that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Each character takes you on a journey of laughter, drama, tragedy, and historical fact to reveal their feelings as to what Blackness means to them. Have you ever thought about “What Defines Your Blackness?” THINK ABOUT IT!
AARP… SILVER SNEAKERS… AND WE
Friday, September 1, 6 pm
Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center
Scenes Written and Presented by the Vision Theatre Elders Acting Workshop
Instructor, Ursaline Bryant
Featuring Lonnie Calvin, Melvin Hampton, Louise Knapper, Charlene Limenih, Francine Lyles and Gloria Vinson,
Based on the idea of the 1970 Broadway musical, “The Me Nobody Knows,” which gave voice to the lives, hopes, loves, and frustrations of inner-city youth, this version is told from the perspective of the silver sneakers….our Elders.
From observation of self and recollection of stories that stood out in their memory they committed them to the written word and the art of storytelling to share their experiences encountered over a lifetime, paying homage to the Age of Wisdom.
PAPA’S BATHTUB GIN
Friday, September 1, 8 pm
The Vision Theatre
Written by Teddy Hayes
Directed by Buddy Butler
Presented by Buddy Butler & Foxx Follies
This is a story about 1931 bootleggers hiding in plain sight in an African American community in Cleveland Ohio. It was inspired by true events that took place during the time of prohibition and the great depression in the USA.
THE TRIAL OF ONE SHORT-SIGHTED BLACK WOMAN VS. MAMMY LOUISE AND SAFREETA MAE
Friday, September 1, 8 pm
Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center
Written by Karani Marcia Leslie
Directed by Wendy Barnes-Farrell
Produced by Karani Marcia Leslie
A courtroom drama about racial stereotypes and their history, speaks to a neglected audience: black women. A struggling black businesswoman is suing the all-giving, malleable Mammy Louise and her sex-kitten daughter Safreeta Mae because their stereotypes hobble her progress.
CALMING THE MAN
Saturday, September 2, 8 pm
Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center
Written by Anthony Lamarr
Directed by Anthony Lamarr
Produced by Anthony Lamarr
Calming The Man is the story of two young men who are determined not to let their father’s anger break them, regardless of the cost.
WILD IN WICHITA/ LOCURAS EN WICHITA
Saturday, September 2, 6 pm
The Vision Theatre
Written and Directed by Lina Gallegos
Spanish Translation by Denise Blasor
Produced by Bilingual Foundation for the Arts
Featuring Denise Blasor* and Sal Lopez*
A bilingual romantic comedy that explores nursing homes, loneliness, mortality, cultural differences, Latin music and love at any age. *Actors appear courtesy of Actors Equity Association.
WHISKEY & POETRY
Sunday, September 3, 3 pm
The Vision Theatre
Directed by Billie King
Produced by King Films
Parking Industry Panels and Community Tours
THE STATE OF CULTURAL ENTERPRISES IN SOUTH LA
Saturday, July 26, 10 am
The Vision Theatre
Admission: Free
This panel is aimed at creatively minded planners and producers concerned with changing economic dynamics of the urban environment in South Los Angeles with the goal of aligning with concerns about urban planning, event planning and production, public engagement, and branding Leimert Park Village as the hub of African American cultures in Los Angeles. Our ultimate success will be rooted in our willingness to partner with neighborhoods, nonprofits, foundations, adjacent cities, cultural institutions, developers and designers to create public programs and events that highlight the unique character and untapped potential of the South Los Angeles and the surrounding community to activate and create unique experiences where arts, culture, economics, community and civic life collide.
THE STATE OF BLACK THEATRE IN LOS ANGELES
Saturday, July 26, 12 noon
The Vision Theatre
Admission: Free
Theater within the Black community has been on the demise. This panel will examine the important legacy of Black theater making in LA, and discuss appropriate ways to build for its future. What began four years ago with a program that represented shows from a diverse collection of former South Los Angeles Theater companies has taken on new life as we raise our ambition of launching the fully restored Vision Theatre. Panelists will include educators, historians and social scientists.
CULTURAL WALKING TOUR:
THE VISION THEATRE AND LEIMERT PARK VILLAGE
Sunday, August 27, 2pm
Sunday, September 3, 2pm
Meeting Point: Vision Theatre Lobby by 1:45pm
Admission: Free
Curated and hosted by James Burks, Manager the Vision Theatre, enjoy a historic tour of the Vision Theatre (soon closing for renovations), and surrounding Leimert Park Village theatres and businesses.
General Information
Festival Box Office: The Festival Box office is located at the Vision Theatre, 3341 West 43rd Place Los Angeles, CA 90008 (located between Leimert and Degnan Boulevards)
The box office is open Monday through Saturday from 12 noon until 6 p.m.
Tickets: $10 per ticket single admission; $35 Multiple Plan (4 individual tickets); $75 All Access Pass; $25 tickets for the August 24th opening and September 3rd closing followed by receptions. Advance tickets are available on Eventbrite.com.
Payment: Tickets are available at the Vision Theatre Box Office from 12 noon to 6 p.m. Cash or check preferred. Festival venues will accept walk-ups for cash only. Credit cards will be accepted for advance sales only.
Seating: All seating is general admission, seating to capacity.
Start Times: For each event, tickets will be available at the venue door 30 minutes prior. Cash preferred. Seating will occur 15 minute before the play begins.
Parking: Parking is available at the Vision Theatre Parking Lot (at the rear of the theatre, enter from Degnan Boulevard or 43rd Street)
Metered street parking is available on Degnan and Leimert Boulevard.
Residential street parking surrounding the theatre.
Leimert Park Village is accessible by bus and is six (6) city blocks south of the Crenshaw Station exit on Metro Exposition line.
Festival Eatery: Adassa’s Island Cafe & Entertainment and Acai Bamboo (Carribbean Food), 4305 Degnan Blvd, Suite 103, Los Angeles, CA 90008
Laid-back brunch destination offering breakfast burritos, sandwiches, salads, and smoothies. 323-295-0043
Other Nearby Restaurants: On Crenshaw: Taco Bell, Delicious (Soul Food), El Pollo Loco, and Happy Pizza. On Leimert Blvd: Pizza Hut, The Brooklyn Deli, Phillips BBQ, and Taco Mel.
Information Festival Venues and Contact Info
Contact Information for the Festival:
Vision Theatre 323-290-2386 or dca.visiontheatre@lacity.org
Vision Theatre
3341 West 43rd Place
Los Angeles, CA 90008
323-290-2386
dca.visiontheatre@lacity.org
www.culturela.org
Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center
4305 Degnan Boulevard, Suite 101
Los Angeles, CA 90008
310-462-1439
http://www.barbaramorrison.com/
Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center
3351 West 43rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90008
323-292-2700
http://pullumcenter.org/ |
