Nate’s Northcoast Notes • Teaching Black Children | The Business of Art | Verb Ballets | 'Psycho' | Pop Up

What's on Tap?

By Nate Paige

Verb Ballets presents a virtual program of neoclassical ballets on Friday, October 9.

Verb Ballets presents ACCESS/Verb Neoclassical Lines (October 9)

Join Verb Ballets Friday, October 9 at 7PM for an evening of virtual neoclassical ballet performances including Royce Zackery’s “Grace” and Heinz Poll’s “Adagio for Two Dancers.” Also, on the program will be a new work choreographed by Associate Artistic Director, Richard Dickinson, MFA. Tickets are available through Eventbrite; suggested ticket price is $25. Any donation over $10 is tax deductible.

‘Turning Your Art Into A Business’ Workshop (October 10)

Saturday, Oct. 10 marks the kickoff of the Third Annual Cleveland Public Library Lecture Series, "Turning Your Art Into a Business."  In collaboration with Three Butterflies Entertainment & Press, LLC, this free series offers online workshops “designed to empower creative artists in fashion, fine arts, and music to monetize their artistic pursuits.”  The first lecturer will be animator Marcia G. Jones, a 20-year veteran of the animation film industry, and line producer.

10:30AM - Noon. Open to the public. Register here.

The Virtual Pop Up Market will feature a panel discussion with entrepreneurs examining "The Art of the Pivot."

GLO Pop Up Virtual Market (October 10)

On Saturday, October 10 from 11AM – 2PM log on to buy, sell and learn in this FREE, interactive virtual marketplace of products, people and ideas.  Also, hear from Ohio and New York entrepreneurs and creatives in a panel discussion including Jay Clouse, creator of the Freelancing School in Columbus, Ohio, and Johanne Brierre, Head of Growth at BKLYN Commons as they discuss “The Art of the Pivot.” Moderated by Shelly Gracon of GLO Cleveland.   Click here for registration information.

Fathom Events presents a two-day re-release of the classic thriller, "Psycho," in conjunction with the film's 60th anniversary.

Fathom Events: Re-release of classic thriller, ‘Psycho’ (October 11-12)

Just in time for Halloween, TCM Screen Classics presents a two-day re-release of the genre-changing Alfred Hitchcock thriller, “Psycho,” starring Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh.  Adding to the celebration of the film’s 60^th anniversary, the screenings will include exclusive insights from Turner Classic Movies. Locally, the film can be seen at a number of theaters, including Cedar Lee Theater, Regal Crocker Park and Richmond Town Center, Atlas Eastgate Movies 10, Cinemark South Park Mall and Valley View. Click here for showtimes via ZIP code.

Join Twelve Arts Literary for a timely discussion on the education of black children in the age of COVID-19.

Our Bodies Know When the Sun is Coming: Teaching Black Children in the Age of COVID-19  (October 15)

On Thursday, October 15^th at 7PM, join Twelve Literary Arts for a virtual poetry reading by former Barbara Smith Poet-in-Residence and CMSD public school teacher, Quartez Harris. Harris is also the author of the collection of poetry “We Made It To School Alive” (Twelve Arts Press, 2020). Quartez will be joined by DJ Cleveland Browne, who will spin house, soul, and more. Cleveland Browne also currently teaches K-8 students in Washington, D.C. remotely from Cleveland. There will also be a featured discussion on “Teaching black children in the age of COVID-19,” moderated by TLA founder Daniel Gray-Kontar.                                  

Visit https://www.facebook.com/twelvearts for links to the live streaming platforms.

Is there an upcoming event you’d like included in this column? Please send the details, along with a high-resolution photo/graphic, to northcoastnotes@therealdealpress.com at least two weeks prior to the event.

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Karamu’s 'Juneteenth' is a winner!

50,000 viewers see Karamu artists channel black sentiment in response to public health crises of race and COVID

Mariama Whyte, center, sings with cast members in an opening scene in Karamu House's "Freedom on Juneteenth."

By R. T. Andrews

I’m not a theater critic. This is not a review. But it is a hearty and unqualified recommendation of Karamu’s tight, professional, educational and emotionally thrilling production of Freedom on Juneteenth that debuted last Friday across a variety of platforms.

The sixty minute production, brilliantly conceived and extraordinarily well-executed, used the arts to yoke the long and complicated history of black people in America to the unprecedented times our nation and the world are experiencing today. 'Freedom' employed music, dance, and the spoken word in a seamless march across centuries before an aggregated audience of more than 50,000 people, who saw the program from a variety of modern day platforms — including Roku, YouTube, Vimeo, Fire TV and Facebook — projecting images and sounds from the small but mighty historic Karamu stage.

Gabrielle Shipley, center, and Soursop dance company perform in "Freedom on Juneteenth."

The unique production — conceived, written and produced within 10 days as a response to the murder of George Floyd — gained pre-performance attention from the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Boston Globe, which no doubt contributed to the nationwide audience that made this Karamu’s most successful production from a viewership standpoint. 

The show was taken down from its original platforms after 24 hours. It will be re-broadcast, along with the pre-recorded panel discussion that followed, on Monday, June 29 at 8PM EST/5PM PST and Sunday, July 5 at 3PM EST / 12PM PST. The entire 90 minutes will be available on Vimeo, YouTube, Facebook, Fire TV and Roku.

Prophet Seay performs as a griot, or storyteller,
in Karamu House's "Freedom on Juneteenth."

Karamu president, CEO and artistic director Tony Sias and his entire team deserve major kudos for this effort. Remarkably, the production was filmed over two days and produced within the following two days to air on Friday, June 19. 

One of the many high points for this viewer was the recitation of Claude McKay’s defiant poem, If We Must Die, by Karamu veteran Ananias Dixon. Other poetic works were from Karamu pioneer and Harlem Renaissance wunderkind Langston Hughes, the playwright Mary E. Weems, and the multi-talented Daniel Gray-Kontar of Twelve Literary Arts.

The show will be re-broadcast on Monday, June 29 and Sunday, July 5.

The performance was produced at breakneck pace under the press not only of the calendar but also an ongoing health pandemic. Karamu’s management implemented numerous measures to ensure compliance with CDC regulations and recommendations. All individuals were double-screened with symptom questionnaires and temperature checks. Masks were worn at all times when social distancing was not completely guaranteed. Only certain numbers of people were allowed in the theatre at any given time. Additionally, the entire facility was used for dressing rooms to ensure that every performer could maintain ample distance.

The production was followed by  a panel of community leaders who reacted to the production. Panelists included Edward M. Barksdale, Jr., Surgeon-in-Chief, University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital; Judge Patricia Ann Blackmon, Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals; and Chenoa Miller, Youth Activist/Organizer, and Brand Ambassador, EmpowerCLE. Each brought unique insights to bear in responding to the production. 

Dr. Barksdale, for example, noted that "it does not take a  halo or a set of wings to move things forward. It takes resolve."

Judge Blackmon expressed her love for General Order No. 3, the declaration that informed the slaves in Galveston Texas, that they were free, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation. She observed that the order didn't speak merely of freedom; it spoke of equality. "That's what Black Lives Matter is saying!"

The judge had an excellent suggestion about how technology could operate to counter police officers who turn off their police cameras; central police headquarters should turn them back on automatically. 

It was especially welcome to have Ms Miller's voice; too often we give lip service to the next generation in lieu of having them participate and speak their own truth.

The program was the first in Karamu's new monthly Social Justice series. The next program will be July 23, 2020 at 7PM and will focus on policing and criminal justice. 

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Photo Credit: Kayla Lupean