Donate Now

mixed roots

Theatre Review: Closely Related Keys

Closely Related Keys_6Complications and celebrations of the Mixed Experience are in abundance in playwright Wendy Graf’s new play Closely Related Keys. The opening scene features Julia (played with endless energy by Diarra Kilpatrick) mid-orgasm with her boyfriend Ron (Ted Mattison). Julia is African American, Ted is not. Later we meet Julia’s father, Charlie (played by Brent Jennings), who informs Julia that she has a half sister, Neyla – who is Iraqi. Neyla (the impressive Yvonne Huff) needs a place to stay while in New York for an audition at Juilliard, and Charlie announces to Julia – at the worst time possible in her life – that Neyla will stay with her. The playwright is a white Jewish woman, and the director, Shirley Jo Finney, is African American.

Though the opening sex scene feels somewhat gratuitous, what follows is a balanced and provoking representation of cultures, races and intimate relationships colliding and evolving. Graf is not afraid to tackle race, privilege and stereotypes head-on. And while Graf may not have direct experience living within the cultures she represents, her play displays research and caring for those cultures, and for our contemporary struggle with judgement of those we don’t understand (you can hear more about this HERE in my podcast interview with Yvonne Huff). Through light, witty moments, well-developed characters, and touching monologues by Kilpatrick and Huff, Closely Related Keys leaves the audience cautiously hopeful for the future.

find out more about Yvonne Huff’s theatre company here: Lower Depth Ensemble
follow actress Diarra Kilpatrick on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/DiarraOni
follow actor Ted Mattison here: https://twitter.com/tedmattison

Fri, Feb 28 – Sun, Mar 30
Thursday, Friday and Saturday @ 8pm
Sundays @ 4pm

Show Calendar

BUY TICKETS
Previews: $15
General Admission: $25
Saturdays: $30
Opening night: $30 (with opening night party)

Special Show Info
Running time: 120 minutes.
There will be an intermission.

Lounge Theatre 1
6201 Santa Monica Blvd
Los angeles, CA  90038
Street Parking
Area Map

Reservations
(323) 960-7774

Cast: Diarra Kilpatrick, Yvonne Huff, Brent Jennings, Ted Mattison, Adam Meir
Director: Shirley Jo Finney
Playwright: Wendy Graf
Set & projection designer: Hana Sooyeon Kim
Lighting designer: Donny Jackson
Music & sound designer: Peter Bayne
Costume designer: Naila Aladdin Sanders
Producer: Racquel Lehrman
Associate producer: Victoria Watson
Presented by Hatikva Productions

Storytelling Website: Narrative.ly

We love the concept behind the website Narrative.ly (voted by TIME magazine one of the 50 best websites of 2013). Take a look, and get motivated to share your own story. Then click our ‘PROMOTE YOUR STORY‘ link and tell us more about you – or perhaps you’d like to become a Guest Blogger for Mixed Roots Stories?

Here’s a little more about Narrative.ly from their About page:

Narratively slows down the news cycle. We avoid the breaking news and the next big headline, instead focusing exclusively on untold, human-interest stories—the rich, intricate narratives that get at the heart of what a place and its people are all about. 

Each week, we explore a different theme and publish a series of stories—just one a day—told in the most appropriate medium for each piece. We might feature a longform article on a Monday, followed by an animated documentary on Tuesday, then a photo essay, an audio piece or a short documentary film. Every story gets the space and time it needs to have an impact—an approach we call “slow storytelling” or “slow journalism.” (Stay up to date on our latest stories by signing up for our weekly and weekender emails.)

Our community of writers, editors, photographers, filmmakers, illustrators, and designers have worked extensively for top media outlets like the New York Times, New York magazine, CNN, NPR, MediaStorm, the New Yorker and the BBC, among other innovative and experimental publications. And we’ve subsequently gotten press from leading outlets like Forbes, PBS, Yahoo! Finance and others.

http://narrative.ly/

Raised White

Storyteller Melissa Horton shared her personal account of her battle with race as a biracial, adopted child. Read her 3 part story recently published on the Elephant Journal.

Part I

black sheep

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2014/03/raised-white-an-identity-crisis-part-i-melissa-horton/

Part II

black sheep 2

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2014/03/raised-white-an-identity-crisis-melissa-horton/

Part III

black sheep 3

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2014/03/raised-white-struggles-with-abandonment-melissa-horton/

Part IV

solo black sheep

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2014/03/raised-white-worthy-of-more-melissa-horton/

You can visit Melissa on Facebook  and find her on Twitter and IG @nerburglar7.

Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis

I’ve always wanted to see a show at the Mixed Blood Theatre – whose mission is to invite the global village into its audience and onto its stage for provocative, inclusive, predictably unpredictable and award-winning theater.

Perusing their website, I just noticed that they are currently showing The Sun Serpent, by José Cruz Gonzalez (he was my nurturing and motivating playwriting teacher when I wrote One Drop of Love at Cal State LA). The play runs through March 22, 2014.

Here’s a little more information on the theater from their About page:

With programming in its historic firehouse in Minneapolis, in satellite venues throughout the Upper Midwest, and in the national workplace, Mixed Blood leads audiences to a much larger world, using relevant and entertaining theater to spawn a ripple effect of social change. Winner of numerous awards for its human rights and artistic accomplishments, Mixed Blood pays positive attention to differences and champions access. The company annually serves 75,000 people through its mainstage season of new plays, a regional tour of 5–7 shows, and a series of customized productions addressing workplace inclusion. In 2011, Mixed Blood launched Radical Hospitality, providing no-cost access to mainstage productions.

 

Velina Hasu Houston’s “Cinnamon Girl” Opens 3/15/14

We are enamored by the plays of Velina Hasu Houston – whose work consistently addresses the mixed experience in new and exciting ways, and whose characters are sensitively portrayed with depth and caring. We can’t wait to see her new play Cinnamon Girl.

Let us know if you go, and if you’d like to add a review to our site. More info on show dates and times here: Cinnamon Girl – a new play by Velina Hasu Houston

Here’s more on Velina Hasu Houston: Official Website and an informative Wikipedia page

Paul Robeson Theatre Festival Taking Submissions – until 3/15/14

The deadline has been extended! They are looking for 20 minute plays that address Robeson’s passions: dignity, intelligence, artistry, scholarship in law and music, social consciousness in the arts, his creativity, values, his fierce resistance to inequality and defense of freedom for all, his recognition of the brotherhood of man, his constant struggle against the status quo, all that he stood for, and the price he eventually paid is the stuff of dramatic tension, and it leaves ample room for a myriad of theatrical scenarios. Please note the play need not be about Paul per se but simply inspired by and reflect some of the above mentioned attributes his life and career contained (from the Robey Theatre Company website). Keep us posted if your piece is accepted – we will help promote it! Click here for more info: Paul Robeson Theatre Festival

Ethnic Man!

Entertaining Diversity’s flagship one-man show – a fast paced, humorous and dramatic autobiographical multimedia performance. Arboleda’s story has been a particularly influential and entertaining choice of colleges and theaters around the country. Arboleda is African-American/Native-American/Filipino-Chinese & German-Danish, and he grew up in Japan. Funny, intelligent, serious, thought-provoking. Countless standing ovations, unforgettable powerful messages about race, culture, ethnicity, class, gender and religion. 900 performance around the US, in 48 states.

Find out more about Teja Arboleda’s Ethnic Man! availability for keynote speaking events, conventions, colleges…

http://www.entertainingdiversity.com/shows.html

Ungrateful Daughter in Los Angeles!

“Ungrateful Daughter: One Black Girl’s Story of Being Adopted into a White Family…that aren’t Celebrities” in the Los Angeles Women’s Theater Festival March 29th at 3pm.

ABOUT THE SHOW
“Angelina Jolie, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and Madonna have adopted black children. How could it not be good? Should you go pick one up? Especially after you see their faces on TV looking so sad? “Ungrateful Daughter”, Lisa Marie’s riveting solo show, examines being a black girl adopted into a white family and how all that relates to these celebrity crazes, the Haitian and Ethiopian ‘orphans’ and the myth of colorblind love.

In the early 1970’s Lisa Marie is adopted by a couple seeking an “Asian-mix” baby and end up with a little black girl whose racial identity is hidden by the adoption agency. Funny and sharp, it is a story that thrusts us into the complicated racial knots of being a transracial adoptee that are so hard to untangle. Especially when your family doesn’t see you as black.

In a rush of electrifying story-telling, spoken word poetry and hilarious, unexpected characterizations, Lisa Marie reveals a sometimes disturbing story that makes clear what it’s like to attend an almost exclusively white, private elementary school; expresses her fierce love for her conservative, Republican, Christian, organic farmer parents and her clashes with the new group of liberal, well- meaning, white adoptive parents that strain her patience–over and over again. Infused with a gentle sense of humor as well as a seething rage, Lisa Marie wonders if she will ever heal from the secrets, stolen histories and unknowns she and so many other adoptees share.”
http://birthproject.wordpress.com/ungrateful-daughter/