Portland Observer, July 4, 1984 Page 5
ENTERTAINMENT
NETWORK
Passin Art outstanding
Joe "Ren*" Keller. Enirnainmeni Editor
" K Black Magic Variety Show " could be a description of Spell 97. a short
theater piece by Ntozake Shange, author of F o r Colored G irls Who Have
Considered Suicide When the R a m b o * Is E n n f The theme was expressed
by Nathaniel Haynes, the magician, as "don't nobody own history .. .can't
nobody make ours but u s."
Grand Opening Celebration
Jazz, Gospel, Break Dancing and Theatrical performances will highlight
tha Grand Opening celebration of the new Union Square Mall, located on
N.E. Union Awe. and Morris St. Friday, July 8th, at 7 p .m .. they will begin
the celebration with a break dancing exhibition featuring some o f Portland's
finest: the KM JK Breakers, the Floormasters, the Vrtamix Breakers. Clarkie
Thompson end more. On Saturday, July 7th, from 12 noon, live entertain­
ment will feature Sojourner Truth Theatre, gospel music by M ai Able and
Ray Tallis and family, Jazz by Lyndee M ah and band, and Calvin W alker
and Sandra Sim m ons Tha Union Square Mall consists of five different
merchants: C onvenient Food M art, Ronaldo's Ice Cream S to re, N ike's
Shoe Shop, Sunshine Pizza and the Flow er King Florist. Entertainm ent
provided by B . E. A . N . The public is invited to attend.
Summer Youth Festival
On July 15th, at East Delta Park, you are invited to attend the Uhuru
Youth Summer Festival This festival has been designed to educate the
child and parent and to give them a broader outlook on the importance of
child education and development. "A Human Being is a Terrible Thing to
W a s te ," is the them e of this year's festival. It will consist of seminars,
group discussions, and problam awareness on such subjects as drugs, a
major problem, delinquency, unemployment, being parents of problem chil­
dren; along with other topics The seminar takea place from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m .,
followed by live entertainm ent by Vision, First Light, Sojourner Truth and
more W e encourage your family to attend this worthwhile event; it will be
to your advantage. "U huru" means freedoml
Religion Lecture: "W om en Saints in Judaism ft Islam," Harris Lenowrtz,
Middle East Studies Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City. 7:30 p.m ., 12.
Dr. Helen Caldicott's speech to the City Club o f Portland on M ay 11th,
will be shown at a meeting of W om en's Action for Nuclear Disarmament
(W A N D ), Thursday, July 12th, at 7:30 p.m . in the First Presbyterian Church,
S .W . 13th and Alder, dow ntow n Portland. Childcare available.
Jazz on the S /S Norway
by G ina Wood
Join author Carolan Gladden for the first out of Portland Departure
Oct. 20.1984 JAZZ CRUISE
Author of "The First Book Oregon Jazz, Rock ft All Sorts of Music"
Editor of "O ut-N About with Carolan Gladden"
The setting, designed by Michael Grant, was a ghetto bar. with a special
lighting giving the audience a warm glow of affection
In lyrical expressions of Afro-A m erican experience. Shange celebrates
th e ex u b e ran ce and v ita lity of Black life, w h ile c o n fro n tin g th e dark
hypocrisy of racial discrimination, by means of a distinctive, non traditional
idiom.
Under the direction of Clarice Bailey, the Passin Art Theater cast did not
dramatize or recreate the characters - only feelings. Shange's feelings They
in to xicated them selves w ith Black brad language, m ain tain in g a good
rhythm and language flow.
The script was based on lengthy poetry - monologues dominate, charac­
ters fu n c tio n ch ie fly as b rie f, sp ec tra l-v o ice d am b o d im an ts o f Black
strength and Black pain Shange explores history of the paradoxical role of
the Black performers in American show business the vices of exploitation
end stereotyping vs. the virtues of opportunity and public visibility — with an
anti-w hite anger that's offset by w it and vulnerability M argaret Marshall
imagines herself waking up white one day, '...I wanted to try it cuz so many
men like white girls .. .white men. Black men, latin men, jewish men, asians,
everybody So I thought if I waz a white girl for a day, I might understand
this bettar: A fte r all, G artrud a S tein w an ted to know ab o ut the Black
w om en Alice Adam s w rote Think A b o u t Billie. Joyce Carol Oates has
three different Black characters with the same name ."
And perhaps, strongest of all, was Constance Carley, portraying another
woman's sharply visual metaphor for the double bind of Black success:
"I commenced to buying pieces of gold, 14-carat gold, every time some
Black person did something that was beneath him as a Black person and
more like a w hite person ...if my mind is not respected, my body toyed
with, I buy gold, and weep "
As revealed in her introduction, Shange's style is the product of political
struggle, "T o attack, deform and maim tha language that I was taught to
hate myself in ...I havo ta fix my tool to my needs " But unlike most writers
who take on language itself. Shange is shrewd and aware enough to know
just how much to maim; just how much to b o r ro w -a n d the results con­
tinue to be. if somewhat repetitive, vivid and accessible and musically alive
with recognitions for both Black and white audiences
The Passin Art Theater Company will be visible again by the end of the
sum m er. Asked to perform again by popular dem and, the cast will an ­
nounce the dates at a later time.
Passin A rt T h e a te r C o m p an y: C larice B ailey. M ich ae l G ran t, Rita
Bankhead, Rubin Hudson, Vicki Hudson, Nathaniel Haynes, Marvin John
son, Shirley Peck, Henry Melson, Margaret Marshall, Anne Alvarez, Duane
Grant, Elizabeth Sato and Constance Carley
AN EVENING
WITH
A fre e sto p s m o k in g class for women, sponsored by BreatheFree, will
be held on Monday, July 16th, at either 10 a.m . or 6 p .m ., in Room 420 of
the Galleria (S .W . 9th & Alder) Feel free to bring your cigarettes.
A rtis t an d a n v iro n m a n ta lls t A lan G usso w will present a slide lecture
dealing w ith contemporary art that expiasses socio-political change. Cur­
rently president of Fnends of the Earth Foundation, his interesta in current laaues
have led to an exploration of the role of the artist in the nuclear age. Lecture:
Inner Freedom and Ritual Action, the Function of Art in the Nuclear Age.
M onday, July 16, 1984, 7:30 p .m .. Portland State University, Sm ith M e ­
morial Center, Room 338 For information call, 229-3515.
H ere We Are
1,216
and up
Per Person Free Air to Miami
S aturday O ct 20 19B4
O n ly Gtllaapra
W tx x ly K arm an and the
Thundering Hard
S cott H am ilton
Clark Tarry
Jonah Jonaa Q uartet
Joe W illiam »
H annibal Pataraon
M a i n e Sullivan
Q uintet
Dave M cK en n a
Zoot S tm t
Al Cohn
Banny Carter
Ruby BraW
Bucky P u ia re lli
•Addies
You and I Travel Service”
8383 N.E. Sandy Blvd.. Suite 259
Portland. Oregon 97220
256-1280
Ray Edwards
Presents
J
:
MIGHTY CLOUDS OF JOY
*
I
Saturday, July 14, 1984 • 7:00 p.m.
Advance tickets $6.00 • Tickets at Door $6 50
Northwest Service Center
A lvy Ray S m ith , director of computer graphics research, Lucasfilm Ltd.,
will address "Computers, the Influence on A rt", July 19th, at 7:30 p.m . in
the Oregon M useum of Science and Industry's M cEachern Auditorium .
Admission will be $2 for O M S I members and $3 50 for the general public,
payable at the door. For information, call 222-2828.
1819 N.W. Everett
T ic ke ts on sale at: S tev en s & S o n 's J e w e le rs , 1020 Lloyd C e n te r,
284 2101 • House of Sound, 3634 N Williams, 287 1960
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