And Stilj l_ Rise
Angelou exposes the soul
By SHERIDAN HILL
Managing Editor
Make no excuses that would
allow you to miss Maya Angelou's
musical which is world-prcm iering
this week in Winston-Salem. Get
put of a meeting, send the kids to
the neighbor's (take them if they're
teenagers or older) hock your jew
airy if you must, but get yourself
$own to the Arts Council Theatre
fxiighl
> Precious few performances
?Sept. 10-15 only) remain of
Angelou's production, which
explores and celebrates the soul in
a rare combination of song, poetry,
dance and theatre.
; And Still I Rise will satisfy the
ftiqst demanding appetite for enter
tainment and touch the heart with
its profundity.
It's about being human. It's
about looking back on your life,
remembering your childhood; days
when you were small and the world
feas large "and the sky was dark
and sweet like licorice, and the
?ars were marshmallows."
: The central characters, who are
about to meet their maker, are
flayed by Ja'net DuBois o( Good
Times fame, Clifton Davis, star of
television's Amen , and Larry Leon
Hamlin, who plays the gatekeeper.
The three, along with ten high
ly talented performers including
members of the North Carolina
Black Repertory Theatre, boldly
expose the pain and the glory of
being African-American, Pow,
I I /TV, Liiyc tsucari I
Frighten Me At All;
Now Ain't We Bad;
reminisce romantic
passion, Oh, To Be
Young and Happy,
Memory of Love,
and, before it's all
over, they Get Right
With God.
Hamlin, founder
of both the North
Carolina Black
Repertory Theatre
and the National
Black Theatre Festi
val, has once again
successfully
stretched his energy
and talent: he serves
as production man
ager and assistant
casting director as
well as a key figure
in the production.
the stage presence of the seasoned
professional she is. She has also
developed her abilities as a singer
and dancer for this part
Davis proves himself a talented
dancer and singer as well as a first
class actor. As the young Zebediah,
To be a member of this audi
ence is to join the cast in a celebra
tion of life, and a triumphant state
ment of individuality, which
Angelou puts forth with clarity and
power "people see one small side
of me, and thfey think they know
(L-R) Larry Lson Hamlin, Ja'nst DuBois, and Clifton Davis, tha principal p)ayars
In tha musical, wars axhubarant as thsy took a curtain call Sunday.
? I2iifcoisj>lays the 70-year-old
Annabelle with a powerful sense of
the character's inner direction, and
Davis is sensuous and vivacious,
moving with tremendous grace; as
the elderly man, he is cranky and
numorous.
The statements
about women are
powerful: "Nature
can turn a baby to a
female . . . But only
a woman can make
herself a woman.
And once she's a
woman, the whole
world knows who
she is."
And Still I Rise
was derived from
Angelou's now
famous poem of the
same name.
You may write
me down in history
with your bit
ter, twisted lies
You may trod
me in the very dirt
But still, like
dust, I'll rise.
me: they don't know me.M
Hamlin says he hopes to clear
$20,000 from the production: pro
ceeds will benefit the 1993 Nation
al Black Theatre Festival.
Other members of this tremen
dously talented cast and crew
include: Dauna L. Brown of
Greensboro; Michael A. Coward of
Washington, N.C; Robin Stamps
Doby of Greensboro; Lawrence
Evans of Mississippi; Matema Hadi
of Oakland, California; John Henry
Heath of Winston-Salem; Junious
"Lenny" Leak of Greensboro,
Robin Littlejohn of Winston
Salem; Carlotta of Winston-Salem,
and Kenneth Mallette.
Defoy Glenn of Michigan is
the assistant director, Laurin de
Teige Poydras of Louisiana is the
music director, Mabel Robinson of
Savannah, Ga. is the choreogra
pher, Angela Simpson Holloway of
Hampton, Virginia is the stage
manager, John L. Bright is the
sound engineer, and Arthur M.
Reese is the sceneographer.
I? -LJMMM?? ? ?L-JHJLJ
(i--R) Cartotta, Dauna L. Brown, and Larry Laon Hamlin |oln tha raat of the cast
tp sing God*a pralae In tha closing song, Thank You Lord.
Angelou on play: 'I'm over the moon'
Yesterday, Maya Angelou
took time out of a busy week to
answer questions about the world
premiere of And Still 1 Rise .
*
Chronicle: Are you pleased
with the show?
?
Angelou: I "m over the moon.
Jt's a sell-out: that's exciting. It's
Wonderful to see people trying to
git tickets and being turned away.
That's thrilling.
It means a lot to me, just what
people get from the play. I talked
tp my own pastor, who said that
tte felt that every couple ought to
aee And Still I Rise , just to see
ttow they have to go through cer
tain experiences together and
gome experiences alone. Certain
spiritual people say this is a gift
from God.
! The president of the universi
ty (Wake Forest) and my col
leagues feel it's a gift to the city
and to this state. It means a lot to
t
i i
me to feel that everybody, black
and white, see a connection for
themselves in the play. I couldn't
ask for more. I wouldn't know
how to ask for more.
Chronicle: How is it that And
Still I Rise became the one poem
you developed into a full play?
Angelou: The poem for years
has had its own life. It's amazing.
I hear it in some of the strangest
places. There's a mostly men's
college in Indiana, and 90 percent
of student body is white, and a
few years ago the senior class
took as their motto for the year,
And Still I Rise. So there were
these huge chaps (athletes) walk
ing around with bulging pectorals,
and across their chests were the
words And Still I Rise.
In airports, little black chil
dren come up to me and say, "Hi,
Maya," and quote it, "you can trod
me in the very dirt, but still, like
dust, HI rise."
That's the essence of the
human spirit; no matter what hap
pens to us, somehow miraculously
we rise.
Chronicle: The songs in the
production are a big hit. Had you
written songs before?
Angelou: I have written songs
for B.B.King, with Quincy Jones,
and I had a song performed by
Roberta Flack, And So It Goes,
that was number seven on the
charts.
, Chronicle: Did you have dif
ficulty getting this script into pro
duction on Broadway?
Angelou: I had the avenue
open to produce it on Broadway
12 years ago, but didn't agree with
the terms and put the script way in
a dresser drawer. I did another
version of it off-Broadway, but it
has just sat in a drawer for 12
years.
I can't speak to the difficulties
of getting work performed,
because I have earned and been
given a name which will open
doors, but to be young and black
? to be young, gifted and black
? is very hard. All of us, black
white, native American, Hispanic,
Asian, should reach into the com
munity and help the young person
realize the dream, once we've
made a litde bit of an indentation.
O, 1W2
(3/21 - 4/19)1
Focus on friends, hop?, wishes, money
and love. You'd got ju?t about every
thing you wont. Assume position of
if asked.
TAURUS (4/20 - S/20):
Bo coreful not lo try ond oocomplish too
much at onco. Do ono project ot o Irm.
Don't stretch yourself loo thin whon it
comes lo attention ond Him ipftod
bttWMn homo ond work.
(ft/31 ? 6/20)1
Treat gravely serious situation wHhoirof
humor, lighMwortodnoss Your altitude
WiH break the
iooond<
tense nature
ouwn (4/31 - 7/23):
Someone doit lo you looks for ap
proval. Offer proiso and reinforce
efforts lo continue m forward motion.
Gain inspiration through other s oooom*
plishments
HO (7/23 ? 4/22)1
Good laugh coming your way Don't
hold amotions bode. Carry hoppinosi
A | guJ - * fl
irpo omr s Hrli. rftrionoi i vwurn win
coma from inside
(ft/23 - 9/22)1
tyevs on communicotion with thoso in
lri>onthsnssi ond
M^cilt wii bo notioed ond co Bod lo
olsniun, Pisces play* role In necognix
Rtnowrwd Psychic Elizabeth Msffao
and associates... are now on the line for your
personal readings. Prominent
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educator, Elizabeth and her
associates take an individual
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You wi readily feel comfortable
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UNA (9/23 - 10/22):
Trod* mogozinos off or holpful hints to
foce and overcome competition through
technology. Rood carefully, talc* notes,
and request additional information.
SCOKPIO (10/23 ? 11/21):
Persistence will pay off in job pursuit.
Interviews will go well Bo conservative
in dress and mannerisms. Surprise
mate ond family with good news.
SAGITTARIUS (11/22 ? 12/21):
An Aquorion will try to interfere, slow
down your pace Stand up for what you
believe in and you will triumph. Run
don't walk.
CAPRICORN (12/22 ? 1/19):
Take core of affairs of the heort Either
see way to resolve conflicts or sever ties
ond seek new companion Keep emo
tions ot bay when making decision.
AQUARIUS (I /-HI - 2/1 ?)
Will begin to see significant other in
reolistic light What friends ond family
hod professed earlier will start to come
true Capricorn involved
PIS as (2/19 ? 3/20):
Emphasis on mode rot ion, family har
mony Too much push and lock of sleep
will result in irritability, illness Take
vitamins and precautionary methods
30th Anniversary Sale
1 Dozen Boxed
Red Roses
Cash & Carry
1 Dozen Boxed
Carnations
Only Only $ 799
Cash & Carry
Offers Are Good at Both Locations
George K. Walker Florist, Inc.
"Florist with the Personal Tbuch "
823 S. Marshall Street \ 546 S. Stratford Road
723-2938 724-1666
8:00 - 5:00 9:00 - 6:30
Craft and Art Classes begin
September 16.
Sign up for a class with a friend, and save 10%
Call 723-7395 today for a class catalog.
SPfcNTOOTH CENTER
FOR
VISUAL
ART
T& TwO* Pl*CL to CaUCU Winston-Salem. NC 23
27101 919-723-7395
Faust
By Charles Gounod
Sung in French (with English supertitles)
September 2St, 27, 29, 1 992
FOR TICKET INFORMATION CALL
PIEDMONT OPERA THEATRE: 725-2022
The September 25th performance is sponsored by Decision Point Marketing, Inc.
Performance talk by Lesley Hunt 15 minutes before curtain.
I Admission -- SFrv*A rpomh^rs *,t* iri^ntr nprl ?^nlor odi ilts
$<1 ( ??<;. W- '! f - !? M
Purchase a film ticket and see the Annie Lelbovltz 1 970- 1990 and Joyce Scott
exhibitions for free. Galleries will be open prior to the film's screening.
Southeastern Center (or Contemporary Art
750 Marguerite Drive
Winston-Salem, NC 27106 I
(919)725-1904 SECCA J
n
The Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA) continues Its film/video series entitled See for
Yourself. The series generates questions about dominant culture values. Blood In the Face Is a
compelling, darkly humorous look at the radical right In America. Wake Forest Professor of Sociology,
Dr. Ian Taplln will lead the question and answer session afterwards. Recommended for mature
audiences.
Blood in the Face - Tuesday, September 15 - 7:30 p.m.