Somewhere & Elsewhere

Coming up on Somewhere and Elsewhere.

Around the country, traditional regional theater companies are struggling. 

A recent report says shares that theater companies stil of various sizes are in deep financial trouble, in what is rapidly turning into the most severe crisis in the 70-year history of the regional theater movemen.

But a new refrain is being heard. Small Means All. 

Theater companies are finding new ways and new audiences.

What does this all mean for the coastal region’s arts? And what does it mean for these community theater companies that hold a  mirror to their communities, reflecting their stories, struggles, and triumphs?

In an upcoming report, we will explore what Smalls Means All for the coastal region theater scene. 

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We are following Techmoja Dance and Theater Company as they create a new work on sexual trauma in rural Black communities in the South.  In this episode founder Kevin Lee-Y Green talks developing work informed by the place he lives - coastal North Carolina.

Kevin has a conversation with Thomas F. DeFrantz who is a scholar, dancer,  choreographer, and the author of Dancing Revelations: Alvin Ailey's Embodiment of African American Culture.  DeFrantz speaks to strategies for touring, as well as the process of creating new work.  (note this interview was done while DeFrantz was based in North Carolina / please check link to his site for updated bio information) 

Quiet As It's Kept follows choreographer Kevin Lee-Y Green as he creates a new dance work addressing sexual trauma through  the lens of Blackness and southern culture.  While there are a few tough stories in this podcast series this is a story about the power of dance and culture to build resilience in ourselves and communities. 

Love what you hear? Help us keep these stories flowing: https://givebutter.com/to7as6

We are following Techmoja Dance and Theater Company as they create a new work on sexual trauma in rural Black communities in the South.  In this episode founder Kevin Lee-Y Green talks about what informed his decision to return home to Bolivia, North Carolina to create dance.  He describes the act of creating Techmoja, in the face of white dominated arts ecology in coastal Carolina, as an act of rebellion.   Kevin introduces us to company member Terrill Williams as we learn about the context for Black artists making work in small southern towns.  We learn that many art spaces were built by enslaved people and ironically Black artists have difficulty accessing those spaces as their whole selves.   

Quiet As It's Kept follows choreographer Kevin Lee-Y Green as he creates a new dance work addressing sexual trauma through  the lens of Blackness and southern culture.  While there are a few tough stories in this podcast series this is a story about the power of dance and culture to build resilience in ourselves and communities. 

Love what you hear? Help us keep these stories flowing: https://givebutter.com/to7as6

This episode starts with our host Kevin sharing a traumatic experience from his teenage years.  He shares this with you, the listener, so that you can better understand the context for his effort to create a new dance work addressing sexual trauma.  Some listeners might find this story upsetting, so please take care of your needs.  Kevin shares a little more about the Techmoja company and their mission and brings his friend therapist Franchon Francees into the conversation.  Francees talks about the role racial identity plays in understand sexual trauma and the steps to take for healing .  

Quiet As It's Kept follows choreographer Kevin Lee-Y Green as he creates a new dance work addressing sexual trauma through  the lens of Blackness and southern culture.  While there are a few tough stories in this podcast series this is a story about the power of dance and culture to build resilience in ourselves and communities. 

Love what you hear? Help us keep these stories flowing: https://givebutter.com/to7as6

Quiet As It's Kept follows choreographer Kevin Lee-Y Green as he creates a new dance work addressing sexual trauma through  the lens of Blackness and southern culture.  Green works from his rural community in the coastal Carolina where he directs Techmoja Dance and Theater Company. Using his own story of sexual trauma as point of departure we learn about the power of dance in his life.  While there are a few tough stories in this podcast series this is a story about the power of dance and culture to build resilience in ourselves and communities. 

In this episode Green starts us off sharing a little about his life growing up  in Bolivia, North Carolina and introduces us to family friend, Reverend Dierdre Parker as a way of taking us along with him on his artistic journey. 

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Greenville, North Carolina based acrylic, gouache, and digital artist Rakîa Jackson (Black Peace Art) speaks with host Brittani Smith about the challenges of being an artist and how she incorporates self-healing into her practice.

Broadcast from the Shoresides studio, Somewhere & Elsewhere  uncovers stories from artists across the coastal Carolina region.

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Art teachers and professors do much more for their students than just teaching art. However, their ability to engage and inspire students beyond the scope of artistic endeavors often goes unnoticed beyond the realm of their school or institution. Host Antoine Williams talks with Cornell D. Jones, a mixed media artist who teaches art at Fayetteville State University as well as at the elementary level, about collaboration, the role of arts educators for students, and how identity influences his artistic endeavors. 

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Art is a powerful tool for personal growth and shaping one's identity. With the growing accessibility of digital art and graphic design, more and more artists have the opportunity to use art for change, and represent their identity through that art. Host Antoine Williams talks with Jacinda Aytch, a graphic designer and illustrator residing in Greenville, North Carolina. She discusses her inspirations, how she finds identity through her art, and the representation of women of color in media.

This episode was produced by Dana Rossi.

Broadcast from the Shoresides studio, Somewhere & Elsewhere  uncovers stories from artists across the coastal Carolina region.

Love what you hear? Help us keep these stories flowing: https://givebutter.com/to7as6

Want to vote early in coastal North Carolina? Here's how.

¿Quieres votar temprano en la costa de Carolina del Norte? Escucha este anuncio. 

Shane Fernando has a long history as a member of the arts community in Wilmington, NC. In his current role as the Vice President of Advancement and Arts for the Wilson Center at Cape Fear Community College, he shares some of the ways that he and his team are working to provide more access to the performing arts through work programs for students, stage and technology access for local performance groups, free tickets for nonprofit groups, and new technology being developed for the differently-abled.

Broadcast from the Shoresides studio, Somewhere & Elsewhere uncovers stories from artists across the coastal Carolina region.

Photo courtesy of the Wilson Center. 

Love what you hear? Help us keep these stories flowing: https://givebutter.com/to7as6