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Confronting
stigmas of
homelessness
and addiction
June 3, 2015
Theatre for Real Life
Participants in Living Stages ‘
Theatre for Real Life’ artist res-
idency at Bud Clark Commons
will present “Hurry Up and Wait”
a performance of two original in-
teractive forum plays reflecting
the challenges low-income com-
munity members face in accessing
healthcare services, and dealing
with the stigmas of former home-
lessness and addiction.
The event will be held Thursday,
June 4 at 4 p.m. in the Bud Clark
Commons Day Center Multipur-
pose Room, 655 N.W. Irving, and
is open to the public free of charge.
The performance will feature
theatre created and performed by
formerly homeless community
photo by J oseph G lode
members, and offer the chance for
Theatre
for
Real
Life
offers
low-income
participants
the
chance
to
step
from
the
streets onto the
audience members to actively en-
stage,
and
offers
audiences
the
chance
to
take
action
–
on
the
stage
and
in
real
life – to counteract
gage with the issues presented in
injustice
wherever
it
happens.
Participating
on
stage
are
DeWanna
Harris,
Transition
Projects out-
the play by stepping onto the stage
reach specialist, and Michael Brunner and Kepha Israel, both mentors for Transition Projects.
to suggest ideas and possible ac-
tions.
Since September, over 60
low-income participants engaged
in Living Stages’ Theatre for Real
Life program, with the majority of
participants in transitional housing
or formerly homeless.
The two plays created, “Take
a Number” and “Inequities in
Healthcare: the Haves, Have-Nots,
and the Story of Brittany Pumper-
nickle” were created during the
workshop process and reflect the
cumulative experiences and stories
of a wide number of program par-
ticipants.
Living Stages is a Port-
land-based 501c3 arts organiza-
tion committed to the practice of
interactive theatre as a process for
community engagement, action
and transformation. This public
presentation culminates Living
Stages’ year-long artist residency
at Bud Clark Commons, funded
by the City of Portland, Percent for
Art, in partnership with Home For-
ward and Transitions Projects, and
administered by the Regional Arts
and Culture Council.
Living Stages was selected out
of 9 community-based arts orga-
nizations in a competitive process
for this artist residency, with the
goal of engaging the communi-
ty at Bud Clark Commons in the
art of theatre creation and perfor-
mance.
“Ours is an unfinished theatre”
says Living Stages Creative Direc-
tor, Tamara Lynne. “As long as so-
cial injustice exists, we present our
questions and our struggles— and
then rely on our audiences to come
up with ideas to transform the out-
come of our play. Our hope is that
the theatre inspires action not only
on the stage— but also in real life.”
For more information, contact
Living Stages at teatrocambio.org
or email tamara@livingstages.org.
Baccalaureate
for Hope and Pride
The Portland Black Baccalau-
reate is back. In a commitment
to honor local graduating seniors
and held in the African tradition
of inviting the entire village and
community to the celebration,
members of the Portland African
American Leadership Forum’s Af-
rican American Leadership Acad-
emy, are bringing back the annual
ceremony.
The Black Baccalaureate ex-
emplifies the importance of rec-
ognizing people of the rich, di-
verse cultures that make up the
African Diasporas for attaining a
high school diploma. This recog-
nition also offers an opportunity,
for some, to graduate in preferred
surroundings.
The Black Baccalaureate takes
place Sunday, June 14 at 4 p.m. at
Portland Bible College, 9150 N.E.
Fremont St. The graduation recep-
tion begins at 3 p.m. and both the
ceremony and the reception are
open to the public free of charge.
All graduates must arrive by 2
p.m. To register or learn more,
email BlackBaccOregon@gmail.
com or visit BlackStudentSuc-
cess.org.
Obama Makes it Right
C ontinued from P age 2
pened to too many soldiers like him,
who went uncelebrated because our
nation judged them by the color
of their skin and not the content of
their character. But we can do our
best to make it right.”
Obama described how Johnson
and a fellow soldier came under
attack by at least a dozen German
soldiers while on night sentry duty
on May 15, 1918. Both were in-
jured, but Johnson single-handed-
ly beat back the invading party and
rescued his unconscious brother
in arms, armed with just his Bolo
knife after his rifle jammed.
Obama said it similarly took too
long for America to properly hon-
or Shemin, who served at a time
when the contributions in heroism
of Jewish Americans in uniform
were too often overlooked.