Usman's thoughts

We are now in our last weekend of American Ethnic, and the fact that we have 4 sold out shows is an amazing testament to the beautiful artistic work, and excellent marketing of this production! I could not be happier with how things have turned out for us…the work is slick, meaningful and diverse. The production values are excellent, the talk backs with academics and civic leaders brilliant. I think this is the first year that thinkTank has really been what was first envisioned- a month of powerful eclectic and socially conscisous work.

As an actor and an artist its been a great growth process for me as well, giving me the opportunity to hone some of my writing, figuring out what works for me and what doesn’t, and what do I need to be able to tell a story clearly, AND stylistically. Its been dope, its been real, and I am excited to see where we can take this show- around the country, festivals…the sky is the limit.

Kelly reflects....

I can’t believe we’re already on the last weekend of our run for “American Ethnic” -- I’d have to say that I’m incredibly proud of our work. The fact that critics, theater fans, spoken word folks, hip hop heads, activist types, and people who just kinda stumbled into the show have all had a deep connection with the work emotionally and intellectually, means a lot to me. I feel like it’s a real testament to the beauty of this collaboration. This show is as good an example as any of what is possible when people from diverse backgrounds (experience-wise and artistically) listen to each other, respect each other’s talents, and are open enough to being inspired by bringing out the best in ourselves.

So yes, it is absolutely living the dream in so many different ways, and thank you so much to everybody who’s come out to support the show – it means so so much! We’re having convo’s right now about the future life of the show, so hopefully it will be in a city near you – and if you are a presenting organization or school that would like to bring us out – most definitely let us know! I know the words, thoughts, experiences, and post-show discussions evoked by the show will be staying with me and my art for a very long time

A note from an Audience Member

American Ethnic deals with ethnicity, race, gender and class issues from the perspective of three artists: Usman Ally, Idris Goodwin, and Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai. Usman Ally is a Pakistani man, Idris Goodwin is an African-American man, and Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai is a Taiwanese woman. At times performing together and usually performing apart, the three artists, confront us with their experiences and thoughts in America and abroad as minorities. To understand the show it is also helpful to know the mission of thinkTank: “thinkTank features dramatic works with a focus on provoking timely conversation about a social, political or economic issue in which Chicago citizens have a stake.” Further, they provide this opportunity for conversation immediately following the production of their shows. ...

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The Reviews are In!

"a funny and powerful mash-up of three vibrant young voices raised in defiance of the status quo." - Leon Hilton, Chicago Reader

"this is one helluva show. Three writer-performers occupy the stage like they're standing on the ledge of a building...it is entirely about the here and now." - New City Stage

"a new, unexpected and inspiring experience...It's very smart. It's very moving." - Annabel Armour, Actress and Remy Bumppo Artistic Associate

"The writer-performers ... are clearly aware of the complexities involved in viewing modern media through this lens..." - Brian Nemtusak, TimeOut Chicago

"The profound sketches...did cause me to reflect on some of my own ideas about the topics ... It was enlightening." - Katheryne Lumous, Remy Bumppo patron"It's Cheap. It's Unexpected. It's Great. Go." - Karen Aldridge, Actress



Did you know you can listen to all American Ethnic post-show discussions from your home?
Log on to ChicagoPublicRadio.org and search "Chicago Amplified Archives" for all of Remy Bumppo's programs.

TECH WEEKEND

Well the weekend was grueling. A ten hour tech on Saturday and another 5 hours on Sunday, but it was well worth it. The show is in great shape, the lights and sound adding a great deal of color, vibrancy and immediacy to the production. It’s great working with sound expert Nick Keenan, and lighting wizz Stephanette. Under the guiding eye of stage manager Amy Bertacini and director Nick Sandys, tech weekend was unusually relaxed but efficient at the same time.
As for the performers, we are getting a little antsy, ready to put this show up in front of an audience! I can’t believe opening is so soon, and the nervous energy is getting the better of me! I am ready!
Shameless plug: Sunday evening Kelly and I will be at the Green Mill’s Uptown Poetry Slam this Sunday the 15th of March.

Then catch us at Café Mestizo Wednesday 18th March.

Nick Sandys: On Tech Rehearsal

The past weekend was full, full, full, as we added all the other elements of the production to the rehearsal text and went through a lengthy technical process. Not surprisingly, the sound score to the show is another character—which we are rehearsing in just two days, basically. Nick Keenan has a great feeling for the rhythms of the show, and thanks to places like Youtube, soundbites are now available for so many different historical and cultural moments—eg. from 2005 Amman bombings, to Elmer Fudd’s chuckle, to “Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane”—all of which appear at some point in the show. The performers were terrific at quickly adapting and welcoming their new scene partner, sometimes seamlessly. They seemed a little less used to adapting to finding their light, since that plot element is equally detailed to create the different looks and movement for all 21 pieces in the show. It is going to be a lot of fun, over the next few days, watching them get comfortable again.

And all Samantha’s costumes are very relaxed and unobtrusive, but characterful. I was torn over Kelly’s silver ankle sneakers but they would prove to be a little too Vegas for this particular version of the show, I think.

The hardest decisions have been about the set, where Tim Morrison is coming up with some amazing stencil images for the walls, but each one leads to an important debate about the connotations of the images, and why they are present or not. Once you use a media image but change its context, especially by putting into a show about racial issues, the echoes of meaning start to become deafening. Even the placement on the walls becomes thematic, about who is in and who is left out of the frame. This whole rehearsal process, and working with these three thinking artists, has been a wonderful debate about the issues we are staging—much of it essentially stemming from the central paradoxical problem of mixing hip-hop and classical theatre aesthetics. Hip-hop culture is all about specificity and individuality, speaking only for the different self and personal experience—but all conventional theatre is built around the idea of representation, that everything on the stage is a symbol or represents something in the real world, therefore always speaking for others, erasing difference. It is a conundrum that I hope will yield some very interesting talkbacks.

Emotions...

What's up RB family? 10 days until opening night, and I'm SO excited. I'm really proud of the work that we're doing and seeing the possibilities, the borders and boundaries of the work and how to collaboratively and collectively lift text and performance from these humble pages in the 3-dimensional space of the theater. Something that Nick told us in rehearsal last week really resonates with me -- He mentioned how in the UK -- actors are trained to explore what emotion the character is going through and then hide it, since that's what most people do in real life. For me, as a spoken word artist, this totally flies in the face of what I think we usually do as spoken word artists.

Nick and I were talking how poetry (and particularly spoken word) is more often like music -- The performance is written into the musicality of the work -- you become the instrument through which the emotion is played as opposed to the ways that text and performance and emotion play out in theater. It's been a good exploration for me through the poetry and monologue work and rudimentary character development. I'm looking forward to fleshing out more and more the layers of what we've written into the work. Making all those discoveries that we maybe did not even know ourselves about race, gender, and media in America today...

Kelly

A Cricket fan's nightmare

For a Pakistani seeing images of gunman firing at cricket players in a bus is one of the saddest sights ever. Cricket is a more than a national pastime for my people. Its something that binds us all together, and is in fact an obsession. Pakistani treat cricketers from all over the world like royalty, amazed at the talent, aggression and intelligence they show on the field. It is hard for an American to fully understand how the term "aggression" can be used in the same sentence as cricket, and because of the terrorist attack today, the word term has found a new, completely disgusting connection with our sport.

Pakistanis love aggressive bombastic cricket, but we love to see it on the field. We love to see a batsmen thrash a quick bowler who has been sending the ball down at him at over 99 Miles/hour.
We love to see the wickets smash when that bowler has got his revenge, chest thumping and being mobbed by his teammates. We blow horns in the crowd, we dance, we sing, we taunt the opposition. The andrenaline is so powerful.
As someone who played the game competitively for many years, there was no better feeling than winning a trying, tiring test match.

We love cricket. We love cricketers. We even love cricketers from other countries. We huddle around televisions and watch, and for a moment all the rest of the hardships of life, the suicide bombings, the taliban, the political instability, all of it doesnt matter anymore.



So, when cricketers are the targets of attacks by fanatical idiots, we feel outraged, ashamed and at total despair. This attack will kill cricket in Pakistan, and the biggest step to the death of our people. I am thankful that our friends the Sri Lankan cricket team were saved from serious harm. But now, no teams will tour Pakistan, and the stadiums will remain empty.

Its interesting watching these images on the screen from here in the states, so far away from the devastation, and then hearing my fathers voice on the phone lamenting the death of all civilization in Pakistan. He has a tendency to be melodramatic, but I have heard him say this over and over again this year and the last. This coming from a man who only a few years ago would never have said something like this about his own country. Pakistan is being slowly overrun but a small minority of nutjobs, who are unfortunately misrepresenting the entire population. How much can I really blame the media representations of me, when I see this violence by my people against my own people. How often can we shift the blame, pass the buck.

Over there bombs are going off, over here I'm writing a show about how unfair it is to be an actor of color. Sometimes, our perspective is so out of whack.
But, I know that just because things are worse somewhere else doesnt meant our own country should be immune from criticism. Voices of dissent, and outrage are what separate us from crazy nutjobs....both the Taliban types, and the ultra nationalists here in America.

-Usman

Flexing the Writing Muscles

When I moved to Chicago, I was filled with ambition, both as an actor but particularly as a writer/spoken word artist. I had been doing the whole SLAM and Hiop Hop Theatre scene in both Portland, OR as a student, and in Florida during my MFA, but i was now moving to the self proclaimed "birth-place of spoken word!"

I had told myself to immerse myself in the writing scene, and hit up all the spots regularly performing my style of spoken word....but that didnt quite happen. Instead I've hit up the Green Mill a few times, been a featured performer, and done Public Enemy last year for thinkTank. The focus for the last two years in this city has been on acting...only. And thats been great! just fine with me, since thats what my degree is in...so I've worked with Victory Gardens, Steppenwolf and Lookingglass to name a few, and been gaining really important professional experience.

So as you can imagine, its taken me a bit to flex that writing muscle and get back into the writing, while during the rehearsals so much of my energy has been in the actions, the motivations for each piece. I hunger to find specificity in choices on stage, how to enliven a piece, but thankfully with the editting and conversational help of my co-horts, the writing has come along grandly! as well!

Its an amazing feeling when it feels like things are chugging along, and you are artistically connecting to a piece both as a writer and hip hop kid, but also as an actor.

So for me, we are in that place right now, where the writing is all coming together, we are more and more satisfied with what is on the page, and now its time to build, create, make choices, make more choices, and bring it all onto the stage. That great, nitty gritty stuff that all actors love.

I was reading Hanif Kureishi's Strangers When We Meet, and he has a great thought in there. He says "The depth and passion Florence has on stage is clear to me. But, I know what an artist finds interesting about their own work, the part they consider original and penetrating, will not necessarily compel an audience, who might not even notice it, but only attend to the story."

Very well put.

Usman

Director's Take- HipHopHopeLand

Today the show started to really take shape and find its direction--which is good for me, as director! As we began to put sections together and see how they fit, I realised that the initial sections that we had created early on were not quite making sense--which makes sense! As our three intrepid writers are still writing, and have responded to their recent experiences and feelings (Usman's return to his Pakistani homeland, Kelly's response to current hiphop music), the shows pieces begin to change tone and to crossfade/mix with each other in different combinations. Now a section on television can be divided into two, one half on role models and creation myths, a second on news and its censorship of experience. This devlopment then changes the section before, and changes where the comedy and lightness needs to be. So this process, so alive and so exciting, just took another step into scary territory, since I am far more comfortable, or expereinced at least, in carving up Shakespeare's text, than I am in analyzing Idris', Kelly's, and Usman's soft rhymes, riffs, ragings--but I love their passion, their opinions, and their words. This is a wild ride into hiphophopeland, and today the show just grew another super power!

Nick

Global Media

For this week's blog entry, we borrow a post from Usman Ally's own personal blog.
Usman recently returned from Pakistan, where he was fascinated by what he calls the "creeping Americanisation of Pakistani Media."

Here's his excerpt: (for more of his blog check out http://usmanally.blogspot.com

PAKISTANI FOX NEWS

I’ve been here just about a week now, and I have to admit there has been quite a bit to take in. Everything from uncovering of old family stories that make us laugh and ache deep in our hearts, to the unavoidable reopening of old wounds that never fully healed and become part of our unspoken family history.

Life is strange: I finally become used to sitting next to my mother, watching Pakistani dramas and Indian movies when the world outside all of a sudden rudely interrupts our awkwardly beautiful moments of reconnection. The news on the telly has been flooded with images of death and destruction in Gaza, and the perception of the Arab-Israeli conflict is presented in a completely different light than it is in Chicago, Illinois.
However the media here uses much of the same tools. There is a FOX News here too, and it features radical perspectives calling for an armed military intervention by Pakistan in Gaza to “teach Israel a lesson” much in the same way Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity wanted America to “bomb them to bits” a few years ago. Thankfully the sane, sober news stations far outnumber the crazy ones, but it still leaves an impression in your mind when you see how different yet similar things are here.
As the conflict in Gaza grows many Arab nations and peoples have been looking to Pakistan as a muslim force that might be able to halt Israel. I say hogwash to that. Pakistan has plenty of its own problems to deal with what with inner turmoil of terror organizations, the Afghan border and India. And besides Arab nations love to beckon Pakistan to do something because this country has armed nuclear power, but Arabs still treat Pakistani people in a very pejorative way. But, I think I have mentioned this in a previous post already so I won’t waffle on now. I’ll just say that hopefully the armed offensive will end soon before more Palestinians are killed.

Back to war time terminology though…here terrorist organizations that lurk in the shadows of the northern areas of Pakistan feel galvanized and find justification of their actions because of the United States’ inaction, and seemingly pro-Israeli standpoint. Today 2 bombs went off in a part of Punjab that is not too far off from where we live. Far enough that it doesn’t affect us here in Islamabad at all, but still eerily close. I wonder if Americans back in Chicago realize that the terror organizations that plant these bombs that kill women and children use the same language as the US armed forces. When innocents are killed they call it “collateral damage” and those that have been killed are “casualties of war.” When more Pakistanis die than those who are targeted they say that it is due to “friendly fire.” They justify their war in exactly the same way that the US Armed Forces justify their own military actions in the Middle East. Interesting huh?"

Remy Bumppo's thinkTank "American Ethnic"

This spring, Remy Bumppo's thinkTank returns for its third year. thinkTank features dramatic works with a focus on provoking timely conversation about a social, political or economic issue in which Chicago citizens have a stake.

We are pleased to announce the cast and topic of American Ethnic - the third annual production of thinkTank. This year's presentation features three nationally recognized spoken word artists - Idris Goodwin, Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai, and Usman Ally - who will collaborate on an original work combining hip-hop, spoken word and theater aesthetics to examine the mass media's role in perpetuating cultural norms surrounding race and gender. This world premiere production will be directed by Nick Sandys.

Tickets go on sale in January. http://www.remybumppo.org/

Click here for videos, podcasts, and more.

Idris Goodwin is an award winning hip hop playwright, break beat poet, recording artist and teacher committed to making work that incites, inspires, and engages. The National Endowment for the Arts awarded Idris a Playwright-in-Residence grant to explore hip-hop aesthetics in theater. Idris' break beat poetry was featured on HBO's "Def Poetry Jam" as well as the Spoken Word Revolution Redux Anthology. Idris frequently teaches and lectures at institutions across the country on themes of art and activism.

Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai is a Chicago-born, Brooklyn-based, Chinese Taiwanese American spoken word artist who has given over 275 performances worldwide in notable venues like the Nuyorican Poets Café, House of Blues, Apollo Theater in Harlem, Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and three seasons on HBO's "Def Poetry Jam." Current projects include her recently released CD "Infinity Breaks" and her solo show "The Grieving Room."

Usman Ally A Pakistani national who was born and raised in Southern and Eastern Africa for 18 years, Usman made his Chicago theatre debut in Tranquility Woods at Steppenwolf Theater Company. His one man show Public Enemy was featured in Remy Bumppo's thinkTank last season. He has appeared in productions at Victory Gardens Theater, Lookingglass Theatre, and A Red Orchid Theatre. He is founder of One Nation, the first Hip Hop Theatre troupe at University of Florida.

Spoken Word: "Black White Whatever" Kelly Tsai (Def Poetry)

From Kelly Tsai's website http://www.yellowgurl.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNU_Abkqryc

In a dynamic collaboration between spoken word artist Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai, director Jazzmen Lee-Johnson, and producer Alli Maxwell, Moving Earth Productions has produced a spoken word video version of Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai’s “Black, White, Whatever… a witty spoken word poetry call to arms for politicians everywhere to stand up for underrepresented communities, like the Asian Pacific Islander American community and all those who fight to have their voices and lives heard OUT LOUD! For more information on “Black, White, Whatever”’s online viral distribution campaign, click here.

“Black, White, Whatever” Artist Statement:

The real genesis for “Black, White, Whatever” came to me one day while listening to Kelly Rowland of Destiny’s Child gushing on the radio about how Destiny’s Child loves ALL people, “black, white, whatever you are!”

Although it was probably the millionth time that I’d heard that phrase, it was the last time I could stomach its flippant, simultaneous embrace and dismissal of the complexities of American diversity today. I filed away my annoyance and hoped for a more fully formed poem to come to me eventually.

Lo and behold, as the presidential campaigns for the 2008 election began, I found myself rapt and rabid in front of the television screen and the radio speaker hoping, praying, begging that somebody, anybody would even mention the word, “Asian,” in ANY of their speeches.
I found myself making touchdown victory-like dances at the rare mention of “Asian” or just muttering, “Damn,” on the more likely occasion of its omission. My standards for politicans were sinking to new lows: “Just SAY Asian pleeeeease!”

In the midst of all the media spin, mud-slinging, and rare dialogue on real policy issues, I wondered shouldn’t we expect and want more from our candidates? Our candidates need to not only acknowledge us, but also take on the charge to advocate for the rights and freedoms of every single one of us.

Alli Maxwell (Producer) and Jazzmen Lee-Johnson (Director) passionately took on the task of translating this crowd-pleaser to video capitalizing on Jazz’s background in animation and the able talents of still photographers Sona Z, Matt Weiss, and Michelle Woo.

“Black, White, Whatever” was shot over two days in Brooklyn at the DUMBO Arts Center and the Brooklyn Navy Yards to provide a stripped-down authenticity as a backdrop for our beautifully unique and dynamic crew of over 20 extras representing the fluidity and complexity of this generation with clarity and impact.

“Black, White, Whatever”

Artist Bios:

KELLY ZEN-YIE TSAI (Spoken Word Poet, Producer “Black, White, Whatever”) is a Chicago-born, Brooklyn-based Chinese Taiwanese American spoken word artist who has featured at over 300 performances worldwide including 3 seasons of “HBO Def Poetry.” She constantly strives push the boundaries of spoken word poetry and innovate it for the stage, page, and screen. “Black, White, Whatever” is her third spoken word video and the first produced by her production company, Moving Earth Productions. Her previous spoken word videos include “By-Standing: The Beginning of An American Lifetime” (Dir. Karen Lin) which won special recognition at the Media That Matters & VIBE UrbanWorld Film Festivals. Her second spoken word video “Weapons of Mass Creation” (Dir. Kamilah Forbes) was commissioned by San Francisco not-for-profit Youth Noise’s nationwide Youth Summit Tour. For more info, www.yellowgurl.com or www.youtube.com/kztsai.

ALLI MAXWELL (Producer, “Black, White, Whatever”) is a director/producer working in theater and film. Of her most recent theater works, she has directed multiple productions as a director and company member of At Play Productions, an NYC based theater company & the resident company of The 24 Hour Plays Off-Broadway. At Play and its 40 emerging actors, directors, writers and producers came together through a project created by Kevin Spacey and The 24 Hour Play. Her current film projects include production coordinator for “The Black List,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and has since been bought by and currently airs on HBO. She is also in various stages of production as Producer on projects with spoken word artist Kelly Tsai, people’s poet Kahlil Almustafa and music videos for The Lost Crusaders.

JAZZMEN JOY-LEE JOHNSON (Director, “Black, White, Whatever”) is a film & video artist, animator, multi-medium designer, dancer, musician and activist from Baltimore currently residing in Johannesburg, South Africa. A graduate from Rhode Island School of Design, her work as a director, editor and producer has been recognized in a range of outlets including her award winning work in the ’05 Hip-Hop Odyssey International Film Festival & as a Thomas Watson Fellowship winner. Her work has taken her to Benin, Mail, South Africa, India and Brasil.

Additional Credits:

Camera Operator: Mike TynerMake-up & Hair: Myrian ToumaStylist: Michelle WooPhotographers: Matt Weiss, Sona Z, Michelle WooSound: Darren Golda, Harlo HolmesSong: Taiyo Na (www.taiyona.com)Clothing & Jewelry: Artist’s & Stylist’s Own, MADE Jewelry www.madejewelry.com