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Oakland Entertainment Veterans Emerge from COVID-19 with New Mission

Their ongoing mission is to explore, identify and make strategic investments and create foundational opportunities that promote job creation and sustainable, generational wealth-building in Oakland’s African American community.

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Photo courtesy of NMG Network via Unsplash

Oakland, like many major U.S. cities, has been severely impacted by recent unprecedented events. The COVID-19 pandemic leads the procession of crises that have shaken the city’s economic foundation and uprooted individuals, communities and businesses.  Arguably, one of the industries hit hardest has been that of arts and entertainment as those venues have been shuttered for well over a year.

The Oakland Business Collective (OBC) is a newlyformed group of longtime friends, all arts and entertainment professionals who decided to join forces, combine resources and make a difference by revitalizing Oakland’s arts and entertainment scene.

Their ongoing mission is to explore, identify and make strategic investments and create foundational opportunities that promote job creation and sustainable, generational wealth-building in Oakland’s African American community.

The principals of OBC have logged well over 200 combined years of show-biz experience.  The six seasoned African American men “of a certain age” specialize in television and film production, theatre production, all aspects of the music business, concert promotion, venue management, tour management, artist representation, hospitality, transportation, staff training and management, food and beverage, marketing, advertising, promotions, sales, radio production and programming, youth mentorship, community services and more.

With the development of five-year and long-term strategic plans in the works and extraordinary relationships in the African American media, small business, sports and community sectors, OBC is not only positioned to pilot the return of arts and entertainment to the city but to restore it to the front and center placement it formerly enjoyed in Oakland.

“I could not be more excited to be part of OBC.  Working with five other distinguished professionals of this caliber is like being a part of the Bay Area entertainment dream team,” said OBC member and Oakland native Marcus King.  “I feel privileged to make history once again in the very place with the same people I started my entertainment career.  I’m humbled to have the opportunity to grow the Bay Area entertainment landscape while mentoring the next generation of entertainment producers and executives.”

King is a veteran film and TV executive producer of vehicles like “The Jamie Foxx Show,” “Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper,” “Ray,” “Redemption: The Stanley “Tookie” Williams Story,” and numerous television specials.  He’s the co-founder of the Laffapolooza Comedy Festival and Foxxhole Radio.  He’s the former manager of Academy Award- and Grammy Award-winning superstar Jamie Foxx and legendary R&B recording artists, the Isley Brothers.

Tony Phruishun Spires, is an executive producer of the TV show “Gimme Five,” former talent producer of BET’s “Comic View” and talent consultant on HBO’s “Def Comedy Jam.”  He’s a veteran filmmaker, theatre artist, poet/spoken-word artist.  He’s the longtime manager of comedian/actor Don “DC” Curry and served as the manager of DL Hughley, Laura Hayes and Faizon Love. He’s the founder of the legendary Bay Area Black Comedy Competition & Festival, which helped launch the careers of many notable artists.  He’s also co-founder and producing artistic director of the youth arts non-profit, Full Vision Arts Foundation.

Lionel Bea of Bay Area Productions, has been Oakland’s and the Bay Area’s leading African American concert promoter for more than three decades.  Producer of the famed Stone Soul concert series and the Black Comedy Explosion, he has promoted concerts and tours by A-list artists such as Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé, Stevie Wonder and Earth, Wind & Fire.

Henry Royal has been an entertainment executive for more than 30 years.  As the former proprietor of San Francisco’s DAS Club and general manager of Oakland’s Kimball’s Carnivale he hosted icons such as Eddie Murphy and Paula Abdul and helped launch the careers of legendary Oakland artists: Rap superstar MC Hammer, R&B Sensation group Tony! Toni! Toné! And comedian Mark Curry.  He’s managed tours for A-list artists including: Prince, Sheila E., Lionel Richie, Patti Labelle, and Santana.  He currently is the managing general partner of Royal Paramount Limousine.

Kyle Newport has been a strategic advertising and live event marketing professional for more than 30 years.  He has served as an artist manager, tour manager and promoter representative.  He has worked closely with artists such as: Frankie Beverly, Will Downing, Charlie Wilson and Cedric The Entertainer.

Geoffrey Pete owns Geoffrey’s Inner Circle, the famed entertainment venue and multipurpose banquet facility in downtown Oakland where he has hosted such greats as Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Congresswomen Barbara Lee and Maxine Waters, Beyoncé, Sean Penn, E-40, Too Short, Jay-Z, the late Congressman Ron Dellums, Alice Walker, former Senator Barbara Boxer, Johnny Cochran and Vice President Kamala Harris.

For several decades, Mr. Pete has been involved in direct political action to advance the cause of education and economic empowerment for African Americans.  On his OBC membership Mr. Pete comments, “One God, one aim, one destiny.”

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Activism

Alternative Outcome to Slayings by Police Explored in One-Man Play

BLACK MEN EVERYWHERE! is the explosive new one man play written, directed, and performed by Jinho “Piper” Ferreira. Set against the backdrop of a presidential election, the play explores how political and cultural leaders wield the myth of the dangerous Black man to manipulate the masses for personal gain. Piper penned the follow-up to his ground-breaking solo play, “Cops and Robbers,” after an impromptu cross-country Black history tour. 

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BLACK MEN EVERYWHERE! is the explosive new one man play written, directed, and performed by Jinho “Piper” Ferreira.
BLACK MEN EVERYWHERE! is the explosive new one man play written, directed, and performed by Jinho “Piper” Ferreira.

Special to The Post

What would happen if police officers who have gotten off for killing unarmed Black people started turning up dead?

BLACK MEN EVERYWHERE! is the explosive new one man play written, directed, and performed by Jinho “Piper” Ferreira. Set against the backdrop of a presidential election, the play explores how political and cultural leaders wield the myth of the dangerous Black man to manipulate the masses for personal gain.

Piper penned the follow-up to his ground-breaking solo play, “Cops and Robbers,” after an impromptu cross-country Black history tour.

“My wife and I had been talking about it for years,” Ferreira said. They had taken their three children to Brazil several times and West Africa but had yet to explore their history as Black people in this country. “It was Juneteenth last year and I realized we had a few weeks to make it happen, so we just jumped in the car and left” Piper said.

Three weeks later the family had seen everything from the African American Museum of History and Culture in Wash., D.C., to the phenomenally preserved Whitney Plantation in Louisiana. They’d stood outside of the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn., walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., and paid their respects at the Africa Town cemetery – where the passengers of the Clotilda (the last known U.S. slave ship to smuggle captured Africans into this country) were buried near Mobile, Ala.

“We had the kids keep a journal of the trip and my wife and I took notes, but once we got back home, I knew I had to make the pen move,” he said.

Ferreira plays 21 characters in the 60-minute emotional roller coaster ride; personalities we all know. While brilliantly weaving in themes of revolution, treachery, and revenge, “Black Men Everywhere!” is surprisingly — more than anything else — a love story.

“I wrote the play for Black men and everyone who loves us,” Ferreira said. “The play is narrated by a sistah and performed in front of the deeply spiritual artwork of Nedra T. Williams, an Oakland priestess of Olokun. It’s called ‘Black Men Everywhere!’ but we don’t exist without the Black woman.”

For tickets, please go to: http://tinyurl.com/5dm3mhra

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Art

City of Stockton Seeks Applications for Public Art Murals

The City of Stockton Arts Commission (SAC) has announced the opportunity for artist(s) and/or artist teams to apply to design and paint original artwork on City-owned property through a Public Art Mural Program. The deadline for applications is Friday, March 8, 2024, at 5 p.m. Applications and additional information are available online at www.stocktonca.gov/publicart.

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The Public Art Mural Program incentivizes mural installations by providing city funding and the means of curating the City’s collection of murals.
The Public Art Mural Program incentivizes mural installations by providing city funding and the means of curating the City’s collection of murals.

City of Stockton

The City of Stockton Arts Commission (SAC) has announced the opportunity for artist(s) and/or artist teams to apply to design and paint original artwork on City-owned property through a Public Art Mural Program.

The deadline for applications is Friday, March 8, 2024, at 5 p.m. Applications and additional information are available online at www.stocktonca.gov/publicart.

The Public Art Mural Program incentivizes mural installations by providing city funding and the means of curating the City’s collection of murals.

This program has $50,000 in available funds for artist(s) and is also available for those who have already identified funds and would like to complete a mural project on city-owned property. Applications will be reviewed on a competitive basis and selected by the SAC.

To learn more about the Stockton Arts Commission (SAC) or qualifications and eligibility for Public Art Mural Program, please visit www.stocktonca.gov/publicart or call the Community Services Department at (209) 937-8206.

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Art

Black Nativity: A Unique Adaptation of the Christmas Story

“Black Nativity” is a cultural adaptation that tells the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. Created by the poet, novelist, playwright and activist Langston Hughes, and performed by an all-Black cast, this unique musical production showcases traditional Christmas carols sung in a gospel style, along with some new songs specifically written for the show.

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Poet, novelist, playwright and activist Langston Hughes.
Poet, novelist, playwright and activist Langston Hughes.

By Tamara Shiloh

“Black Nativity” is a cultural adaptation that tells the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. Created by the poet, novelist, playwright and activist Langston Hughes, and performed by an all-Black cast, this unique musical production showcases traditional Christmas carols sung in a gospel style, along with some new songs specifically written for the show.

The show made its debut Off-Broadway on Dec. 11, 1961. It was a groundbreaking moment because it was one of the first plays written by an African American to be staged in New York City. The play gained popularity quickly and even toured Europe in 1962, with one notable performance at the Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds in Italy.

“Black Nativity” has become an annual tradition in Boston, since 1970. It has been performed at various locations, including the Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts, Boston Opera House, Tremont Temple, Roxbury Community College, Northeastern University’s Blackman Auditorium, and Emerson College’s Paramount Theater. This production is considered the longest-running rendition of the Langston Hughes’ classic.

The original cast included 160 singers, classified by age group and vocal range. They were accompanied by soloists, a narrator, and unique portrayals of Mary and Joseph, who communicated without speaking. Musicians and American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters added depth to the performance.

The show begins in complete darkness as barefoot singers, dressed in white robes and carrying electric candles, walk in while singing the classic hymn “Go Tell It on the Mountain.” This creates a captivating and atmospheric start to the performance.

One of the most dramatic moments in the play is the portrayal of Jesus’ birth. The stage transforms from orange and blue lights to a deep red hue. African drums and percussion are used to echo Mary’s contractions, adding a unique touch to the story. The Three Wise Men, often prominent members of the local Black community, play their roles without singing.

The show concludes with the chorus singing a reprise of “Go Tell It on the Mountain” as they exit in darkness. A final soliloquy delivered by a young child brings emotional closure to the performance.

Originally, the play was named “Wasn’t It a Mighty Day?”

Notably, Alvin Ailey, a renowned dancer and choreographer, was part of the original Off-Broadway cast. However, both he and Carmen de Lavallade left the production due to a dispute over changing the title to “Black Nativity.”

In 2004, a documentary film was made about the world premiere performance and the creation of the best-selling gospel Christmas album, “Black Nativity – In Concert: A Gospel Celebration.” This original cast performance took place at the Immanuel Baptist Church in Portland, ME.

A film adaptation of “Black Nativity” directed by Kasi Lemmons and starring Forest Whitaker and Angela Bassett was released on Nov. 27, 2013, bringing this remarkable Nativity story to a broader audience.

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