PAINTED BRIDE ART CENTER Locally Grown. World Renowned.
photo credit: Chris Charles
Friday - Sunday, March 14-16, 2014
THE CLOTHESLINE MUSE Conceived by: Kariamu Welsh Written by: Kariamu Welsh, Nnenna Freelon and Maya Freelon Asante *With contributions from cited source materials Book edited and arranged by: Serena Ebhardt Music & Musical Direction by: Nnenna Freelon Choreography by: Kariamu Welsh Assistant to Choreographer: Shaness Kemp Directed by: Serena Ebhardt Set Design: Maya Freelon Asante Projection Design: Maya Freelon Asante & Chris Charles Costume Design: Andrea Carter Sound Design: Joseph ‘Sloe’ Slawinski Lighting Design: Jimena Alviar Production Management/Projection Consultant: Gabrieal Griego Technical Director, The Painted Bride: Blake Didonato Company Manager: Tejuan Perry Production Assistant: Elliette Johnson Photography: Chris Charles & Malaika Clements Music Production: Stephen Levitin ‘Apple Juice Kid’ Percussionist: Beverly Botsford Documentary Filmmaker: Lana Garland/Insibah NPN Creation Partners: Painted Bride Art Center Philadelphia, PA and Hayti Hertiage Center, Durham, NC Representation by: Ed Keane Associates, PMG Arts Management pam@pmgartsmgt.com ed@edkeane.com More info: www.clotheslinemuse.com The Clothesline Muse was made possible with funding by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Theater Project, with lead funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Painted bride art center presents
The Clothesline Muse HISTORY OF THE CLOTHESLINE MUSE My memory of the clothesline and its role in my family’s life in my Bedford Stuyvesant community are strong. I choreographed a work entitled The Clothesline Muse in 2006 in collaboration with my daughter-in-law Maya Freelon Asante, a visual artist. Maya works with tissue paper and intricate staining patterns. Her tissue quilts reminded me of clothes dried on the line. Maya’s inspired by the fragility and impermanence of both tissue paper and life. I integrated my memories of the clothesline as the center of news, gossip and information in the tenement backyards of Brooklyn; these lines were a metaphor for continuity, work and family. Together, we created first Clothesline Muse, a dance performance with Maya’s tissue paper art as scenery, backdrop and prop. We dreamed of expanding the piece into an evening length theatrical work. In late 2011, I asked Nnenna Freelon, a jazz singer, composer and Maya’s mother about collaborating. Together, we began to talk and share memories of my childhood in Brooklyn, NY, her upbringing in Cambridge, MA, and Maya’s memories of her close relationship with her Grandmother - we found a commonality, the clothesline. We named our family collaboration Aion Productions, for the tie that binds the three of us: Aion Freelon Asante, MK and Maya’s son and Nnenna’s and my grandson. As the concept grew into a devised theatrical work, we incorporated the dance with interviews, historical research, first voice stories, projections, historical images and elements of modern popular culture. Nnenna’s artistic talents wove original music, work song and spoken word into the fabric of the piece. Our intergenerational collaboration stimulated the idea that the Internet and being “online” in many ways represents our present day Clothesline. The term Muse is both a remembrance of times past and a line to the future. The Clothesline Muse began as an idea based on powerful memories that lay dormant for decades. The smell, feel and sense of community have helped to inform my life’s work as a choreographer. We recognize the blessing of this work being a family affair and are thankful to all who have helped to make this leg of the journey possible. Ashe, Mama Kariamu
CAST Grandma Blu / The Clothesline Muse: Nnenna Freelon Mary Mack Douglass: Baset Sat-Ra Muse Attendants/The Washerwomen Dancer 1: Shaness Kemp Dancer 2: Adrienne Abus-Salaam Dancer 3: Jessica Featherson Dancer 4: Stephanie Padilla Dancer 5/Ancient Washer Woman: Sakarah Hall-Edge Dancer/Understudy: Leila Anglin Setting Grandma Blu and Mary Mack Douglass’s home, a small southern town Time Past, Present & Future ACT 1
ACT 2
Scene 1 TOTIN’ THE WASH Early in the Morning
Scene 1 CLOTHESLINE AT PLAY Shake it Senorita
Scene 2 MISS ANNE’S CLEAN WHITE SHEET Clean White Sheets
Scene 2
Balm in Gilead
Scene 3
GRANDMA BLU’S SECRET
Scene 4
WHAT’S ON YOUR LINE?
Scene 5
Pinned to the Line
Scene 3 BURNING STORY Folding Love Scene 4 MR.DOUGLASS/MCH KNOLLAGE How to Iron a Man’s Shirt Online, Online Scene 5 1881 WASHER WOMAN STRIKE Dear Sir ~ 10 minute intermission ~
Scene 6 FINALE I Am the Clothesline Muse Pin it Up! Sun Up to Sun Down
PRODUCTION TEAM BIOS Kariamu Welsh (Choreographer) is a choreographer and professor in the dance department in the Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She received her Doctor’s of Arts from New York University and her MA.H. from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Widely published in both scholarly journals and book length studies, Kariamu is a scholar of cultural studies including African and African Diaspora performance and culture. She is the founding artistic director of the National Dance Company of Zimbabwe in southern Africa. Dr. Welsh is the artistic director of Kariamu & Co.: Traditions. Kariamu is the recipient of numerous fellowships, grants and awards including a National Endowment for the Arts Choreography Fellowship, the Creative Public Service Award of NY, a Pew Fellowship, a Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts grant, and a Senior Fulbright Scholar Award. Mama Kariamu thanks her family, the dancers, and her fellow Muses Nnenna and Maya for all of their love and support. Nnenna Freelon (Grandma Blu/The Clothesline Muse, Composer, Producer) Nnenna is an award-winning, six-time Grammy nominated vocalist, educator, and producer (www.nnenna.com). She tours internationally and her appearances on stage, film, and television include Langston Hughes’ Ask Your Mama (opposite Jessye Norman and The Roots), the film What Women Want, The Charlie Rose Show, Mad Men, Weekend Today and many more. She is a teaching artist with The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. Nnenna is an inductee of the YWCA’s Academy of Women, a member of SAG/AFTRA, and of NARAS. Nnenna is married to her best friend and soul mate Phil Freelon. Maya Freelon Asante (Producer, Set Designer, Projection Design) is an award-winning artist whose artwork was praised by the International Review of African American Art as a “vibrant, beating assemblage of color.” She was selected by Modern Luxury Magazine as Best of the City 2013 and by the Huffington Post’s “Black Artists: 30 Contemporary Art Makers Under 40 You Should Know”. Maya has exhibited her work nationally and internationally including Paris, Ghana, and US Embassies in Madagascar, Italy, Jamaica, and Swaziland. Maya has attended numerous residencies including Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, the Korobitey Institute and Brandywine Workshop. She wishes to thank her 2 Muse Mamas: Nnenna & Mama K for making this dream a reality, her son Aion, and husband MK. Check out her website: www.mayafreelon.com
Serena Ebhardt (Director) Serena is the co-founder and Artistic Director of EbzB Productions (www.ebzb.org). Her direction includes world premieres and national tours of War Bonds: The Songs and Letters of World War II, The Night Before Christmas Carol, The Wrights of Passage, Anne Frank, Blood Done Sign My Name, Brown v. Board of Education, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, ‘Life Is So Good’ by George Dawson, and Dar He: The Lynching of Emmet Till. An award-winning actress, director, playwright and teaching artist, she holds her B.A. in Dramatic Art from the University of North Carolina, where she was a Paul Green Scholar. Serena trained as a Teaching Artist with The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The Lincoln Center Institute, and The National Center for Creative Aging. Serena is a charter inductee of the YWCA’s Academy of Women, a member of Actors’ Equity Association, and a member of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association. Gabrieal Griego (Production Manager/Projection Consultant) Producing credits include Ovation Recommended The Ugly One (dir. Gates McFadden w/EST/LA) multi award winner The Beat Goes On! (dir. Cate Caplin w/Senior Star Power), Ovation Recommended Synesthesia (dir. Cate Caplin w/Athena Productions), multi award nominated Sweet Charity (dir. Robert Marra w/Secondline Productions), and multi award nominated Head! The Brain That Wouldn’t Die(dir. F. Esquerra w/Paul Koslo) Theatre directing credits include Ovation Recommended & LA Pick of the Week Gidion’s Knot (Asst. Dir. with Darin Anthony, for Furious Theatre Co.), Down in Front, Gayby’s Playdate, A Few Good PB&Js, Shoofly & The Woman in Black, nominated for best play revival by VADA. For film; The Great Fantastic Episode –8, This is How We Roll and Ain’t Whistling Dixie. Gabrieal is an award winning theatre actress. Gabrieal is proud to be part of this amazing production. She thanks her family for their love & support & a very special thank you to Sloe, I love you with all my heart. Andrea Carter (Costume Design) Owner of Ngozi Design Group, LLC, a custom jewelry and clothing company. Over 35 years in fashion production and sourcing - Sourcing Director for Vanity Fair Intimates/Fruit of the Loom, Inc. - Sept 2009, Andrea looks to God for her good health and strength and considers it a blessing to be doing this work at this time in her life. She has created garments and jewelry for Nnenna Freelon (Carolina Theatre) Shana Tucker (Our State Magazine), Terese Sydonna (NY Fashion Week), Pierce Freelon (The Beast) and currently creates pieces for Exotique Boutique in Durham, and for private clients all over the country. The Clothesline Muse is Andrea’s first foray into theatre costuming. She would like to thank her family, friends and clients for their
love and support. She wants to thank Leon, her husband of 33 years who, after God, is her everything. I love you!
great production.
Joseph “Sloe” Slawinski (Sound Designer) Sloe is a multi-award winning Los Angeles based sound designer who has designed over 200 plays. He is also the resident sound designer for The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles. Although he is has been spoiled by the Californian endless summer, he is a Pennsylvanian at heart having grown up in the Scranton area. He is very excited to be around people that make sense again. He would like to thank the incredible and amazing Gabrieal Griego for her continuous support during all of his creative endeavors. He is proud to be part of this
Jimena Alviar (Lighting Designer), originally from Bogotá, Colombia, holds a MFA in Dance Choreography from Temple University, and a Bachelor in Performing Arts with emphasis on Contemporary Dance from the Universidad Distrital-ASAB in Colombia. Jimena Alviar has been awarded with the Fulbright Scholarship (2006-2008), the Rose Vernick Choreographic Achievement Award (2009), and IDARTES grants (2011). She has studied lighting design with Nanette H. Joyce and John Hoey. Since 2006, she has designed the lighting for Kariamu & Company, Merián Soto, Philly Fringe Festival, MFA Thesis Concerts at Temple University, Beau Hancock, Festival de Danza Contemporánea UMNG (20112013), and Human Landscape Dance among others as well as for her own choreography. Jimena Alviar is founder and artistic director of JA Dance Company. Jimena would like to thank The Clothesline Muse collaborators for inviting her to be part of this project, and her family for their unconditional love and support. Chris Charles (Video/Graphic Designer, Photographer) Visual development / branding credits include The Foreign Exchange Music (album cover design, world tour marketing graphics), The Art Therapy Institute of North Carolina (website development), Bellan Contemporary Dance Theater (branding, website design, photography), Jazz musician Brian Horton (Brand New Day, cover art and layout), Nnenna Freelon+John Brown Big Band (Christmas photography / creative direction), Recording artist Zo (Man Made, cover art, photography + design). 9th Wonder / Jamla Records (Photography + brand development). Rachel Stewart Jewelry (Website design+photography, brand development.) Chris’ work has been published in Vogue Italia, Rolling Stone, Billboard Magazine, and Essence Magazine. He also serves as the North Carolina Ambassador and featured visual artist for 50 Shades of Black.
Tejuan Perry (Company Manager) is founder of Hospitality of the South Catering and Party Planning. He has worked in hospitality services for over 16 years and finds great joy in serving others with a smile and a laugh. He wishes to thank his family for supporting him and his two dogs.
Malaika Aminata Clements (Photographer/Videographer/Crew) is a student of the world whose ultimate purpose is to promote understanding through creative expression. She has served as documentarian in a plethora of creative projects and is excited to be adding The Clothesline Muse to her repertoire. She holds a BS in Journalism from Morgan State University and has studied at Richmond the American University of London. She would like to thank life for its many opportunities to witness beauty and the inspiring people she has encountered along the way. Elliette Johnson (Production Assistant) has a passion for percussion, travel, and the arts. She values the creative process and the impact creative work has on individuals and communities. She holds a BA in Human Services from The George Washington University and resides in Washington, D.C. for now. She’s grateful for Karen, Maya, and Nnenna for their inspiration and continued support.
Blake Felix DiDonato (Technical Supervisor, Painted Bride Art Center). Blake has worked on a myriad of musical, theater and dance projects including Zakir Hussain, Yemen Blues, The Cookers (Painted Bride Art Center), Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Moody Blues, B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, The Ojays, Tom Joyner, (Electric Factory Concerts) and many more. Blake is also the Executive Producer/Founder at Hiyagroundsound Productions, www.hiyagroundsound.com. Blake would like to thank The Most High, his beautiful wife Natalie, his family and friends.Â
CAST BIOS Baset Sat-Ra (Mary Mack Douglass) Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Baset has been involved in numerous theatrical productions to include: Black Mass, No Child…, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, blood pudding, As Bees in Honey Drown, The Waiting Room, The Colored Museum, and Cabin in the Sky. Baset’s involvement in this production is one of great appreciation and fulfillment. She is confident that this collaborative work sets the benchmark on what she expects in her involvement in future productions. She is most thankful for the Ancestors, family and especially uncle Chuck for their mer (love) and support. Shaness Kemp (Rehearsal Director and Dancer) is a native of Nassau, Bahamas, a certified Umfundalai teacher and received both her M.F.A and B.F.A degrees from Temple University. Her teaching credits include Penn State, Temple, Southern Illinois and West Chester Universities, Muhlenberg and Dean College, Booker T. Washington High School, Katherine Dunham Seminar, The National High School and American College Dance Festivals and Freedom Theater. Professional Affiliation and Training include Kariamu & Company, Kun-Yang Lin/ Dancers, Eleone Dance Theatre, Rennie Harris Puremovement, Philadanco, Urban Bush Women, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, The Dunham Company, ADF and Danse4Nia Repertory Ensemble. She most recently was a part of the theatre production “Countdown to Boom: We All Fall Down” (Dancer and Assistant to Choreographer Dr. Kariamu Welsh). Her work has been presented at various venues, most notably, The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC and she is always grateful for the support of her loving family and friends. Adrienne Abdus-Salaam (Dancer) has been performing for 20 years and teaching professionally for 15. Adrienne has studied and performed in China, West Africa, South Africa, Cuba, Brazil, Holland and London. In her native Atlanta she has performed and studied with Total Dance/Dancicial Prod., the Freddie Hendricks Youth Ensemble of Atlanta, and Jomandi Prod. Adrienne received her BFA in Modern Dance/Dance Education from the University of the Arts, her Masters in Education, concentrated in dance, and her PA certification to teach grades 7-12 from Temple University. In 2008 she received certification in Contemporary African Dance from the University of Ghana in Accra. In 2011 Adrienne was nominated for the Pew Fellowship Award. She was employed as an Adjunct Professor in the dance department at Temple University for 3 years, and employed by the New Jersey State Council for the Arts in Education, as in Instructor at University of the Arts.
Jessica Featherson (Dancer) graduate of Temple University with a BFA in dance and minor in Latin American Studies. She is currently working as a freelance performance artist in NYC and has most recently served as Development Assistant to the New York Dance and Performance Awards, aka “The Bessies.” She is excited to be dancing with Mama Kariamu again and honored to have been a part of The Clothesline Muse from the very beginning. Huge thanks to all of her family and friends for their continued love, support, and encouragement. Stephanie Padilla (Dancer) is from a cloth woven in Long Island, NY and has been fortunate to be patterned with a myriad of life experiences. Her most recent work being a dancer/aerialist for Royal Caribbean Productions aboard the Legend of the Seas. She’s also performed in the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad with Elizabeth Streb’s Extreme Action Company in ‘One Extraordinary Day,’ and ‘Symphony for the Dance Floor’ as part of BAMs Next Wave Festival, choreography by Millicent Johnnie. She has returned to dance in Philly where her professional journey began and is thrilled to be a part of this moving, breathing, dancing portrait of resilience and beauty. Stephanie thanks her family and friends for always showing tremendous support and interest in all her projects and to Mama Kariamu for inviting me back to the clothesline as a part of this creative process alongside the cast and production team. Sakarah Hall-Edge (Ancient Washer Woman/Dancer) began her training as a child in traditional West African Dance Styles. Since then she has trained and performed with Bellan Contemporary Dance Theatre (Birth of Existence), Mark Dendy and Dancers (Opening of the Museum of Art in Raleigh site specific work) Collage Dance Company (Opening of Exploris Museum, opening of Streets of Southpoint), Ballethnic Dance Company (The Leopard Tale), Tania Isaacs Dance Company, VCU Dance (Edgeless) and the American Dance Festival (Roger Belman-The Duke Gardens Project, Mark Dendy and Dancers- DPAC and Golden Belt Site Specific Works, ADF MFA Showcases). Her education and additional training was done at the Durham School of the Arts as well as 2 years at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she majored in Dance and Choreography. Leila Anglin (Dancer/Understudy) A Philadelphia native and graduate of Temple University, Leila is a grant writer for a local dance company and freelance arts administrator. She has studied under a variety of educators and artists who have inspired her comprehensive approach to movement, much thanks goes to Victoria McGuigan, Ann Moser Trenka, Jessica Bender, Kun-Yung Lin, Dr. Kariamu Welsh and Portsha Jefferson. Leila’s passion for the preservation of art in the African Diaspora and her desire to see quality reproductive healthcare available to all women, has led her to concurrently pursue her certification as a home-birth midwife while working on her MFA at Hollins University. If not for a God who has remained faithful to His promises and the support of loved ones, Leila knows she would not be here today.
SPECIAL THANKS National Endowment for the Arts, National Performance Network, New England Foundation for the Arts, Painted Bride Art Center, Lisa Nelson- Haynes, Kariamu & Company, Dr. Maya Angelou, Temple University, The Hayti Heritage Center, Angela Lee, The Brandywine Workshop, Allan Edmunds, Reginald F. Lewis Museum, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, National Archives, Dr. Tera Hunter, Cici Stevens, Beverly Bostford, MK Asante, Michael Bowles, John Brown, Carlton Turner, Beverly Meek, Harry Drummond, Phil Freelon, Pierce & Katye Freelon, Tim & Karen Proctor, Deen Freelon, Kate Sheppard, The Freelon Group, John Plymale, Overdub Lane Recording Studio, Randy Hester, Marcia McNally, Quita Sullivan, Deborah Richardson, Center for Civil and Human Rights, John Jung, Kamilah Carter, John & Karen Franklin, Lana Garland, Ekua Holmes, Alan Mercer, Tina Morton, NaOme Rich, Les Rivera, Roxana Walker-Canton, Chaunesti, Webb, Gail Jennings, Bobbiette Palmer, Lorraine Smith, Frances J. Pierce, Cheryl Lagay, Robin Anderson, Malaika Clements, Steve Whitsitt, Russ Corvey, Hampton University Archives, Juliette Harris, Oseola McCarty, 1881 Striking Washer Women, Ellen Elgin, Gladys Jones, Durham Arts Council, Lois Deloatch, Kim Arrington, Lenora Helm-Hammonds, Deborah Pierce, Aya Shabu, Aya Wallace, Kristin Taylor, Baba Chuck Davis, Saleana Pettaway, Melvin and Pat Pierce, Randi Vega, Baltimore Office of Promotion and Arts, Ekua Holmes, Iris Ellerbe, Iris Gottlieb, Carrack Gallery, John Brown, Man Bites Dog Theater, Roberta Cantow, Rachel Stewart, Livvy Cunningham, Dan Ellison, Sharon Davis, Jodee Nimerichter, Cicely Mitchell, James Wallace, Jesse Belsky, Kevin Timmons, Brandon McCune, Zelda Lockhart, Clarenda Anderson, Sarah Winslow, Paula Ramsey, Coralie Barksdale, Clarenda Anderson, Miki, Hayama, USA Projects supporters, our Ancestors and The Clothesline.
Aion Productions is proud to announce Clothesline Musings | Art Inspired by The Clothesline an accomanying art exhibition at the Painted Bride on view March 7th – April 12th, 2014 Gallery Hours: 12pm - 6pm | Tues. - Sat.
Clothesline Musings | Art Inspired by The Clothesline Visual artists have long found inspiration in the grind and grace of domestic life. Exploring historical and contemporary visual artists’ relationship to the Clothesline through more than 100 works of art from over 50 artists, including Allan Freelon, Sr. (1895-1960), Earl Horter (1881-1940), Beverly McIver, Howardena Pindell, Maya Freelon Asante, and artwork selected from a national call for artists. This multimedia, interactive exhibition is inspired by the grind and grace of domestic life. A diverse range of visual media is presented: fine art, photography, prints, sculptures, video, installations and digital art created by artists’ interpretations– literal, figurative, and abstract– of the clothesline, hand washing and line drying, clothesline games and memories, and the environmental impact of taking in the wash. Clothesline Musings | Art Inspired by The Clothesline will run in tandem with the world premiere of The Clothesline Muse and will also take a closer look at the set and stories behind the production– showcasing archival images, artifacts from hand washing, visual projections and music from the production.
UPCOMING @ THE BRIDE THIS SPRING FRI March 21| 8 pm Celebrating Ornette Coleman
Still the New Thing! Festival Denardo Coleman Group and Jamaaladeen Tacuma Band
$20 in advance/$25 day of | Members: $15/$18.75
SAT April 5 | 4 pm & 8 pm Tamagawa Taiko Drum & Dance Troupe Thundering Taiko percussion and visually stunning movements. $25 in advance/ $30 day of | $10 children Members: $18.75/$22.50
FRI-SAT April 11th-12th| 8 pm Camille Brown Dancers Mr. TOL E. RAncE
Dance theater piece examining the Black performer throughout history. $25 in advance/$30 day of | Members: $18.75/$22.50
SAT April 19| 8pm Celebrating Sun Ra
Still the New Thing! Festival Warriors of the Wonderful Sound & the Sun Ra Arkestra celebrate Cecil, Ornette and Sun Ra
$20 in advance, $25 day of| Members $15/$18.75
SAT, May 3| 8pm Fresh Cut Orchestra CD Release Concert
Release of their debut CD “From the Vine� complete with pieces commissioned by the Bride. $25 - includes CD
SUN June 15| 7pm Klezmerson
Just Added! Fusion of Klezmer melodies and rhythms with Gypsy, Middle Eastern, and Latin American influences
$25 in advance, $30 day of| Members $18.75/$22.50
visit paintedbride.org for the full line-up of shows