Newspapers / Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) / July 30, 2015, edition 1 / Page 89
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From Orange, N.JIs Diversity Youth Theater comes "The Movement," an uplifting musical inspired by one of the most tumultuous chapters in American history. Kathy D. Harrison is the writer/director and founder/ managing artistic director of DYT. The Children's Crusade against segregation in Birmingham, Ala. inspired the production, in which a cast of contemporary youths depict the courageous struggles of youngsters of yesterday. Hundreds participated in the Children's Crusade, some as young as 7, from May 2-5, 1963. Many of them walked out of their classrooms to march to City Hall in downtown Birmingham to implore the mayor to end segregation. Their youth did not spare them from the tyrannical Bull Connor, Birmingham's commissioner of public safety, who released the same dogs and water hoses he regularly used on adult civil rights protestors. More than 300 children were arrested. Connors heavy-handedness had a powerful effect. The treatment of the children, which was captured by television and still cameras, led many Americans, including, reportedly, President John F. Kennedy, to fully support the Civil Rights Movement. By May 10,1963, Birmingham city officials had agreed to end segregation at lunch counters, drinking fountains, fitting rooms and other public facilities. The powerful songs in "The Movement" are performed a cappella, making them especially soul-stirring. The production has been performed throughout the Tri State area and beyond. Young performers have made the Diversity Youth Theater their home away from home. Instruction and practice in acting, music, movement, songwriting, playwriting and directing is offered for those from ages 7 to 23. Harrison founded DYT in 2006 but has an artistic resume that stretches back much further. In addition to being a playwright, Harrison is a singer and songwriter who has served as a teaching artist and developed arts programs for schools, social service agencies and nonprofits. In 2014, she started Performing Artists United, in partnership with select DYT alumni, to develop original works for the purpose of touring. In May, she was selected for a two-year Jubilation Foundation Artist Fellowship Grant. ? ^ The Movement Salem College's Shirley Recital Hall Fri, Aug. 7 3 p.m. Fri, Aug. 7 8 p.m. Sat. Aug. 8 3 p.m. Sat. Aug. 8 8 p.m. $27 A cast of young performers will present "The Movement." The Carpetbag Theatre Inc. of Knoxville, M Tenn. was founded in 1969 and hasB been dedicated to the production offl new works ever since. It has a powerful B mission - "to give artistic voice to the V issues and dreams of people who have * been silenced by racism, classism, sexism, ageism, homophobia and other forms of oppression" - and is celebrated by the community for presenting high-caliber productions that depict stories of dignity, strength and resilience. Linda Parris-Bailey, who just won one of the very lucrative Doris Duke Artist Awards, serves as the theatre's executive and artistic director. Her play "Speed Killed My Cousin," which the CBT recently staged, won the 2014 New England Foundation for the Arts' National Theater Project Award. The production, the story of how a black female military vet copes with PTSD and MST (Military Sexual Trauma ), is now touring the nation, as is the CBTs "Between a Ballad and a Blues," which chronicles the life and work of black country music legend Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong. Karamu House of Cleveland, Ohio, the oldest African American theater company in the nation, is celebrating its 100th anniversary It was founded in Augusr 1915 as the Dumas Drama Club. In 1923, it became the Gilpin Players, after actor Charles Gilpin paid a visit. It has been known as Karamu (a Swahili word meaning "a place of feasting and enjoyment in the center of the community") since the 1940s. Playwrighting legends like Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston and Lorraine Hansberry have presented their works at Karamu House, and performers like Bill Cobbs and Robert Guillaume got their start there. Today, there are three areas of focus: the Early Childhood Development Center, the Center of Arts and Education and the Karamu Performing Arts Theatre. Terrence Spivey is the longtime artistic director. II KARAMU 100 YEARS IN THE HOUSE
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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July 30, 2015, edition 1
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