ayanacontreras
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Under the Spell of Red and Brown Water
Tarell Alvin McCraney’s “In the Red and Brown Water,” now playing at Steppenwolf’s Upstairs Theater, is an exercise in duality that lends itself to complete immersion, an exercise in which you’re left like a used bag of orange pekoe (feeling purposefully spent). Reality blends with chorus-driven fantasy, magic with carnality, and comedy with tragedy in this…
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The Turntable goes Minimalist
The little guy pictured above is a Linos Portable USB vinyl record player (never would have guessed it). How does it work, you ask? Hook the wire into your computer. The bar has two parts. Take out the bottom base, place the long play album or single on top, and then sandwich it with the overarching…
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Stand With Haiti!!
Stand with Haiti!! An Evening of Food, Poets (including Lady Terror), Musicians, and Dancers Gathered to Support Those Devastated by the Earthquake in Haiti. DJ Ayana on the tables. Thursday, Jan. 21, 6:00pm – 8:45pm Thorne Auditorium 357 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL Free admission, donations requested. Food/Drink: 6-7pm Program: 7:15-8:45pm ALL Proceeds will be donated…
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Tofu Chitlin Circuit presents: Black Thang
THE SYNOPSIS: “Black Thang” by Ato Essandoh is the story of Sam, a black man, and Mattie, a white woman, and what happens when their relationship progresses from merely a one-night stand to something more…but not without some controversy. Meanwhile, Keisha (Mattie’s best friend), struggles to hold onto her relationship with her long-time boyfriend Omar, and Jerome (Sam’s best…
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Ebony in the digital age
Chicago’s own Ebony Magazine has digitized its archives. Celebrate. Ebony was the premier photojournalism and news magazine of the Black Diaspora for decades. During its peak, Ebony featured groundbreaking work by photographers such as Gordon Parks (work seen below), as well as thought provoking articles that exposed sometimes obscure corners of the “black experience” (Mixed race children of WWII G.I.s…
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Passing Strange: a righteous afro-rock opera
“Passing Strange“, the Tony-nominated black rock-opera is righteous…. Amen. Passing Strange is the coming-of-age story of “Youth” (Daniel Breaker), a kid growing up somewhere in LA in the seventies. He is disillusioned because he doesn’t fit the common definition of blackness. Floating above the city, getting high in his choir director’s blue Volkswagen beetle, “Youth” decides to…
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Eunice Johnson: Wrought a Roadshow of Dreams
Eunice Johnson (1916-2010), widow of Ebony/Jet Publisher John H. Johnson, was more than Black Media’s First Lady. As Creator and Director of the Ebony Fashion Fair (an all black roadshow of haute couture), she paved the way for generations of black models from Beverly Johnson and Naomi Sims to Naomi Campbell. In fact, Richard Roundtree (“Shaft”) was a…
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WORD: Across Generations
WORD: Across Generations Sunday, January 17 2:00pm – 3:30pm Victory Gardens Biograph Theater 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. Chicago Join The Public Square and Chicago Public Radio for WORD: Across Generations with poets Carloyn Rodgers, John Murillo, and Aja Monet. •Carolyn Rodgers (see poem below) emerged from the Black Arts Movement in Chicago in the 1960s…
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