Arts and Culture

Storytellers Spin True Tales About Life Under Trump

Published

7 years ago

October 5, 2017

Beverly Miles

The tumultuous administration of President Donald Trump caught many people by surprise. Unfolding events have rattled their daily lives and certainties like a strong earthquake, revealing hidden fault lines in how they relate to friends and relatives and causing reflections and reappraisals of values and priorities.

Seeing a need for people to reach out to express themselves and share their stories with others, longtime storytelling artist and teacher Jeanne Haynes has organized a class about the issues, “America Untold,” to help participants create short monologues about how these national and global changes intersect with their personal lives.

Hosted by Stagebridge, the class began Sept. 29 and continues weekly until Dec. 8. At the end of the sessions, the Marsh Theatre in Berkeley will feature an evening of on-stage performances of the artists’ pieces.

Stagebridge has been conducting classes for older adults in the performing arts since 1978. Haynes, who had spent her life working in journalism and public relations, took her first Stagebridge class 21years ago and found her passion.

“A small group of all women talked about storytelling,” she said. “My heart was just beating. I thought this is what I want to do.”

Since then, she has appeared on San Francisco Bay Area stages and as a featured storyteller for major events. Working with Stagebridge, she has taught the art form to over 4,000 local school children and more than 300 adults, as well as working as a private coach for several dozen advanced tellers.
In her introduction to America Untold, Haynes laid out her vision for the class.

“We will work on personal stories, stories based on interviews with people who have opposing views, and stories of community efforts to build bridges among us,” she said.

“While emotions can be expected to run high in such discussions, this will not be a time for rants or insults,” she said. “Civil discourse will be observed for active listening to differing opinions and the development of artfully told stories.”

At the first session last Friday, the 12 participants brainstormed some of their ideas about the issues and situations that could be incorporated into their performance pieces.

Beverley Miles, a retired university administrator, explained that her professional role “has always been to bring people together.”

“Nobody ever sees the problem as the problem,” she said. “It doesn’t have to do with Trump. It has to do with the (social) climate that we refused to change. We don’t want to see the personal responsibility that we have.”

Theresa Nervis talked about how she began to pay attention to what was going on.

“My husband was upstairs, and he was yelling at the TV. He said: ‘You should see this,’” she said.

“It’s time for me now to really look at this thing and what’s happening, “Nervis said. “There were 24 tweets about the NFL and four about Puerto Rico,” referring to the president’s public statements about events in the last few weeks.

Jeff Hanson, a portfolio manager for private families around the country, views the national conflict “as a battle between the bicoastal bubbles and the rest of the country. And I wonder which side is going to win.”
Harry Santi, a lifelong Oakland resident, has always cared about animals. He works as a docent at the Oakland Zoo.

“If Trump had his way, he would do away with the Endangered Species Act, which would really be terrible, said Santi.

Santi said he wants people to understand the connections between the survival of humans and animals.

Sarah Strong, a psychologist, has a brother-in-law who plays golf with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, the president’s resort in Palm Beach, Fla. She also has a son who belongs to a gay synagogue and fears they might be attacked.

“The same consciousness that led to Hitler is alive and well in the United States,” she said.

Samir Saad, who came to the United States from Egypt at the age of 19, said he had a friend who told him there was “no way the establishment in Washington would let this guy be president.”

“After the election, I told him, ‘you lied to me,’” said Saad.

For more information about Stagebridge, go to www.stagebridge.org/

To learn more about storyteller Jeanne Haynes, visit http://jeannehaynes.com/

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Arts and Culture

Richmond Preps for Full Weekend of Cinco de Mayo Festivities

Cinco de Mayo festivities in Richmond and San Pablo are some of the bests in Bay, and organizers say that tradition will be alive and well at this weekend’s annual parade and festival. The action kicks off Saturday, May 4, with the 16th Annual Cinco de Mayo Richmond/San Pablo Peace & Unity Parade. The parade of floats, performances, and community organizations starts at 10 a.m. at 24th Street and Barrett Avenue and Richmond and ends at 12:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Church, 1845 Church Lane in San Pablo.

Published

21 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Scene from the 2023 Cinco de Mayo parade from Richmond to San Pablo. Photo courtesy The Richmond Standard.

By Mike Kinney

The Richmond Standard

Cinco de Mayo festivities in Richmond and San Pablo are some of the bests in Bay, and organizers say that tradition will be alive and well at this weekend’s annual parade and festival.

The action kicks off Saturday, May 4, with the 16th Annual Cinco de Mayo Richmond/San Pablo Peace & Unity Parade. The parade of floats, performances, and community organizations starts at 10 a.m. at 24th Street and Barrett Avenue and Richmond and ends at 12:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s Church, 1845 Church Lane in San Pablo.

The parade’s Grand Marshall this year will be community organizer Diego Garcia, owner of Leftside Printing.

The festivities continue Sunday with the Cinco de Mayo Festival along 23rd Street, which last year drew over 100,000 people, according to the 23rd Street Merchants Association. This year’s festival will again run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. between the intersections of Rheem Avenue and Clinton Avenue. It will feature two entertainment stages, one sponsored by La Raza 93.3 FM at 23rd and Rheem, and another sponsored by Radio Lazer FM at 23rd and Clinton.

Both events are important for the city and the region’s Latino community.

San Pablo Mayor Genoveva Calloway, who co-chairs the parade alongside John Marquez, president of the Contra Costa Community College District Board of Trustees, says Saturday’s festivities are about bringing the Richmond and San Pablo communities together in unity.

“This truly connects the spectators and people in the parade as one,” Calloway said. “The parade showcases the real communities of Richmond and San Pablo – our nonprofits, schools, horse riders, classic cars and trucks, our local businesses. All of these people represent the heartbeat of our community.”

Rigo Mendoza, vice president of the 23rd Street Merchants Association, said that at its heart, Richmond’s Cinco de Mayo Festival celebrates the date the Mexican army’s victory over France at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

But John Marquez started up the popular festival to bring the community together and also to exhibit the community’s businesses and culture to visitors, Mendoza said. The gathering was also a way to promote peace in the community.

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Art

Mario Van Peebles’ ‘Outlaw Posse’ Screened at Oakland’s Grand Lake Theatre

Published

22 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Film director Mario Van Peebles, who also stars in “Outlaw Posse,” appeared at a press conference held at RBA Creative on MacArthur Boulevard hosted by the Oakland International Film Festival. Photo By Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Oakland International Film Festival hosted a screening of “Outlaw Posse” at the Grand Lake Theatre on Monday. Special guests included director/actor Mario Van Peebles and his co-star, Oakland native Scytorya Rhodes. The film is Peebles’ second western, the first being ‘Posse,’ 13 years ago. Filmmaker Van Peebles shared his passion for independent artistry and producing projects with his son, Mandela, who also starred in the film, along with Whoopi Goldberg and Cedric the Entertainer. Next week, The Post will publish an in-depth interview featuring Peebles’ reflections on his work, future projects, and continuing his father’s legacy and Rhodes on her grandfather, a real-life cowboy.

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Arts and Culture

Kedrick Armstrong: New Music Director for the Oakland Symphony

The Oakland Symphony Announced Kedrick Armstrong as its Next Music Director. In addition to conducting the orchestra’s public concerts, Armstrong will also actively participate in the Oakland Symphony’s many education and community engagement programs, designed to inspire a love of music in people of all ages.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Kedrick Armstrong is the new music director for the Oakland Symphony. Photo credit Scott Chernis.

By Post Staff

The Oakland Symphony Announced Kedrick Armstrong as its Next Music Director.
In addition to conducting the orchestra’s public concerts, Armstrong will also actively participate in the Oakland Symphony’s many education and community engagement programs, designed to inspire a love of music in people of all ages.

Armstrong is the successor to previous music director and Conductor Michael Morgan, who passed away in 2021 after a 30-year tenure at the Symphony.

Armstrong will open the Oakland Symphony 2024-2025 season on October 18.

Armstrong, who is 29 and hails from Georgetown, South Carolina, is currently the creative partner and principal conductor of the Knox-Galesburg Symphony.

The Chicago Tribune has praised Armstrong for his ability to “simply let the score speak for itself.” He enjoys a wide range of repertoire, spanning early music to premiering new works, using his joy and curiosity for all music to cultivate understanding and collaboration within diverse communities.
“I am deeply honored and grateful for the opportunity to serve as the new music director of the Oakland Symphony,” Armstrong said. “As a Black conductor, I find it humbling to stand on the shoulders of both Michael Morgan and Calvin Simmons,” the most recent and the first African American music directors of the Symphony, respectively.

Armstrong led three programs at the Symphony between 2022 and early 2024, which showcased his broad knowledge of the classical repertoire and enthusiasm for spotlighting diverse voices.
On his Oakland Symphony subscription debut on Feb. 16, Armstrong led the world premiere of “Here I Stand: Paul Robeson,” an oratorio by Carlos Simon on a libretto by Dan Harder, commissioned by the Oakland Symphony.

Armstrong was selected unanimously by the Oakland Symphony’s board of directors and musicians after an extensive two-year search. “The search committee was overwhelmed by Kedrick’s scholarship and curiosity about all kinds of music, from classical and jazz to gospel and hip-hop,” said. Dr. Mieko Hatano, executive director of the Oakland Symphony. “We are thrilled to have him join us at the Oakland Symphony.”