Page 12
Fortiani» (ftbseruer
January 29, 2014
Arts
ENTFD1
ENÏECTAINMENT
My Walk Has Never Been Average
On stage with black women in non-traditional jobs
W h at is it like to be a b la ck w o m an w o rk in g in
the c o n stru c tio n tra d e s in A m e ric a ? A n d if I ’m not
th a t w o m an , w hy sh o u ld I c a re ? H o w d o es h e r life
im p act m in e?
T h e a n sw e r to th at q u e stio n w ill b e co m e a p p a r
en t w hen y o u jo in the A u g u st W ilso n R ed D o o r
P ro je c t an d P o rtla n d P la y h o u s e , w h o are c o
h o stin g M y W alk H as N e v e r B een A v erag e, a
m u ltim e d ia p re s e n ta tio n b ased on the liv e s o f
w o m en w hose sto ries are rarely told.
A d a p te d fo r th e sta g e fro m in -d e p th , first-
p e rso n in te rv ie w s w ith b la ck w o m en in all asp e c ts
o f c o n stru ctio n , the p ro d u c tio n w ill tak e p la ce as
p art o f P o rtla n d ’s F ertile G ro u n d festiv al, o n S a t
u rd ay , F eb. 1 at 7 :3 0 p.m . at P o rtla n d P la y h o u se,
6 0 2 N E P resc o tt St. T h e sto ries re v e al g re a t in n e r
stre n g th an d a cc o m p lish m e n t in the face o f the
m u ltip le o p p re ssio n s fa c in g b lack w o rk in g class
w o m en in A m e ric a. T h e se are sto ries o f fa m ilie s
an d c o m m u n itie s , o f fig h tin g fo r su rv iv a l a n d
a c h ie v in g su cc e ss, and o f re la tio n sh ip d y n a m ic s
w h en w o m e n m o v e o u t o f n o n tra d itio n a l roles.
T h e in te rv ie w s w ere c o n d u c te d b y R o b erta S.
H u n te, w h o te ac h e s B lack S tu d ies an d W o m en ,
G e n d er, an d S e x u a lity S tu d ie s at P o rtla n d S tate.
W alk is d ire c te d by C a th e rin e M in g T ’ien D u ffly ,
w h o te ac h e s th e a te r an d p e rfo rm a n c e stu d ie s at
R eed C o lleg e.
W h e n a s k e d w h y s h e w a s d r a w n to th e
p ro je c t, P r o fe s s o r D u ffly s a id , “ W h a t I lo v e
a b o u t th e in te r s e c tio n o f th e a tr e a n d s o c ia l
c h a n g e w o rk is th a t it a llo w s a u d ie n c e s to
e x p e r ie n c e a g iv e n is s u e in a n e w w a y , a n d to
o f f e r n e w in s ig h t a n d n e w s o lu tio n s to lo n g -
e s ta b lis h e d p r o b le m s .”
B o n n ie R atn er, w h o a d a p te d th e m a te ria l in to a
stag e p ie ce , is a lso th e e x e c u tiv e d ire c to r o f the
A u g u st W ilso n R ed D o o r P ro ject. T h e R ed D o o r’s
m issio n is to use the arts a n d d ia lo g u e to c h a n g e th e
ra cial e co lo g y o f P o rtlan d .
M y W a lk H as N e v e r B een A v e rag e stars R o sly n
F a rrin g to n , S h e lle y M a tth e w s, A n g e la B o n illa ,
W a n d a A b io to , A n g e la F re e m a n , S k e e te r G re en e ,
A iy a n n a C u n n in g h a m a n d Jo sie S eid. T ic k e ts are
$5 an d are a v ailab le th ro u g h b o x o ffic e tic k e ts.c o m
o r c a llin g 5 0 3 -4 4 5 -6 6 5 8 .
T h e A u g u st W ilso n R ed D o o r P ro je c t w ill h o st
a ta lk b a c k fo llo w in g the p e rfo rm a n c e . T h e p e rfo r
m a n c e is sp o n so re d by O re g o n T ra d e s w o m e n ,
In c .
My Walk Has Never Been Average, a multimedia presentation
based on the oppressions black working class women face, will
take place Saturday, Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m. at Portland Playhouse,
602 N.E. Prescott St. The event is co-hosted by the local
theater group and the August Wilson Red Door Project as part of
Portland’s Fertile Ground Festival.
Ex-Chef Rapperin Portland
E x -C h e f A ctio n B ro n so n , a ra p p e r fro m Q u een s, N ew Y ork,
w h o h a s g a in e d fa m e f o r le a d in g th e c i t y ’ s h ip - h o p
re a w a k e n in g , is c o m in g to P e te ’s R o o m at the R o se la n d T h e
a te r on M o n d ay , F eb. 3.
A h e fty e x -c h e f, h e ’s g o t a sty le lik e G h o stfa c e K illah . H e
is sig n ed to V ice R ec o rd s and A tla n tic R ec o rd s an d is c u r
re n tly w o rk in g on his first m a jo r lab el stu d io alb u m .
B ro n so n 's fa th e r is an A lb a n ia n im m ig ra n t an d h is m o th e r
is a Je w ish N ew Y o rk er. B efo re e n te rin g the rap sce n e , he w as
a re sp e c te d fire -fla m e g o u rm e t c h e f in N ew Y o rk C ity . H e
fre q u e n tly rap s a b o u t fo o d in his so n g s an d h o ste d h is ow n
o n lin e c o o k in g sh o w e n title d "A ctio n in the K itc h en ."
Action Bronson
Upholstery Cleaning • Sofa/Loveseat • Pet Stains • Flood Restorations
High school musicians perform af the annual Clark College Jazz
Festival.
Line Up for Clark College Jazz
I rooms $10
I each with
^coupon.
We Also Do Janitorial Services
Licensed • Bonded • Insured
.C o m p lete H ouse
I
I Up to
I lOOOsq feet
with coupon.
I
I
With Free
Deoderizer |
J
Carpet Cleaning
Spot/Stain R em oval • 24 H our Flood Service
U pholstery C leaning • A rea R ug C leaning
D ry Tim e 2-4 H ours • Free E stim ates • A vailable W eekends
T he com m unity is invited to e n
jo y three days o f exciting big band
ja z z at the 52nd A nnual C lark C o l
lege Jazz Festival, T h ursday Jan. 30
through Saturday, Feb. 1 in G aiser
H all on the co lle g e ’s V ancouver
cam pus.
Sixty m iddle and high school jazz
ensem bles are scheduled to perform
with trophies presented to the top
three jazz ensem bles for all divisions.
In d iv id u al o u tstan d in g m u sician
aw ards will also be presented at the
end o f each day ’ s preliminary com pe
titions. The Dale Beacock M em orial
Sweepstakes Award will be presented
to one outstanding band selected
from the entire festival.
Prelim inary com petitions will run
from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Finals
co m p etitio n s w ill begin at 7 p.m . all
three evenings w ith trophies p re
sented at the end o f the evening.
T he C lark C ollege Jazz Ensem ble
will p erform at 8:30 p.m . on T h u rs
day, noon and 8:30 p.m . on Friday,
a n d n o o n o n S a tu r d a y . T h e
festiv al’s 2013 Sw eepstakes B and,
R oosevelt H igh School Jazz I from
Seattle w ill hold the spotlight on
S aturday at 8:30 p.m.
A dm ission is $5 p er day.