Joan Kane: Speaking Truth
I had to tell my story. I needed to be able to say, 'Look, I grew up in a time period in Brooklyn where racism was horrific and it was rampant.' I needed to talk about sexual assault. I needed to talk about survival; how you can have horrible things happen to you. . . And I think it's relevant today . . . I wanted to give some hope to folks: Look! Yeah, you can do it! You can go, you can push ahead. Tell your stories. Make sure that your truth is out there. For me, it's very important that my truth is out there because, I believe, it's truth that sets us free. https://content.blubrry.com/firstonlinewithfran/Joan_Kane_Podcast.mp3 Joan Kane (writer/actor/producer) is the founding Artistic Director of Ego Actus. The theatre is my church and I am a true believer. I see shows, I write plays. I produce, direct and perform. I love to see stories brought to life and I love making them. Almost 13 by Joan Kane will be presented by Ego Actus in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at Greenside Venues, 6 Infirmary St in August 2022. The play dramatizes the memories of a young girl’s violent summer in Brooklyn. Emotionally broken from witnessing a murder and ore, she finds herself dancing with a ghost. Can she survive being caught between a disintegrating family and racial violence? This is a solo adaptation of the memories of a young girl’s hot, sweaty summer in Brooklyn. Can she survive being caught between a disintegrating family at home and racial violence … [Read More...]
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Emma Palzere-Rae: Raising Representation Awareness
Theatre is a way to bring people together in a non-confrontational way. You could do theatre as a political act and say it’s a political act; you can do theatre as an art and bring people together in the room to have that experience while people are being entertained and reacting emotionally; that they react […]
Dani Martineck: Pronouns Matter
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Nicky Beer: Real Phonies & Genuine Fakes, an exploration of our divided selves
Persona poetry is taking on a voice that isn’t yours and finding a way to speak your truths through that voice….to pursue a voice that isn’t necessarily heroic or very nice; it allows you to be transgressive in ways that you don’t feel comfortable speaking as yourself. It’s an incredible vehicle for play in poetry […]
Erika L. Ewing: Fashioning Change
When we’re talking about the power of The Arts — the healing, the transformative powers — we’re really talking about the fact that we’re human. We’re humanizing the experience of others. So, we lead with empathy, and we lead in such a way that we put ourselves in someone else’s shoes. It’s more than meeting […]
Moise Morancy: Returning the Favor
Artists have a responsibility to reflect the times . . . my experience as a young Black male looks through the experiences of an African-American male, but I’m a Haitian-American, so then there’s all those different dynamics that I’m taking from my Haitian culture, and I’m bringing these things in, and I’m taking from my […]
The First 100 Stories Campaign
First Online With Fran: The First 100 Stories Campaign National Arts in Education Week, September 8 -14. In July 2010, Congress designated the second week of September as National Arts In Education Week to promote and showcase the immense role arts education has in producing engaged, successful, and college and career-ready students. To that end, First Online with Fran is launching The First 100 Stories Campaign. The Arts continue to be cut from school curriculums across the nation. Despite arts advocacy groups’ efforts to prevent the decline of arts inclusion, the budgetary solution remains to be that the arts are perceived as extra-curricular and disposable. In Chris Cleave’s novel Little Bee, the central character decided to right a wrong by collecting stories: “One story makes you weak. But as soon as we have one-hundred stories, you will be strong.” Similarly, we can do the same for the Arts. Here’s how: Let’s hear it from you: Teachers! Students! Graduates! Parents! … Submit Your Testimonial...
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