Wanda's Picks

Today we have an opportunity to speak to playwright, Julie Hébert, and cast members: Susi Damilano and Carl Lumbly. TREE, directed by Jon Tracy, has its Regional Premiere at the San Francisco Playhouse, January 20th to March 7th, opens January 24, 2015.

Winner of the Pen Award for Drama and Backstage Garland Award, Tree is the story of three generations divided by race, culture, and time. The play has contemporary resonance, posing questions about family and what it means to “be related.” “I set out to write a play about race and ended up writing a play about family,” said playwright Julie Hébert about Tree. “About the inescapability of family, of being known over time, of recognizing yourself in others, of continuing relationships after betrayal and suffering. We keep each other honest. Sometimes it’s funny, sometimes painful – and so it is with this play.”

The story explored in Tree unfolds when a southern white woman shows up at the home of an African-American man in Chicago and claims to be his half-sister, impelling them to confront a shared past. In their search for the truth, they must navigate the fragmented memories of the man’s aged mother to discover where their roots intersect.

Today we have an opportunity to speak to playwright, Julie Hébert, and cast members: Susi Damilano and Carl Lumbly. TREE, directed by Jon Tracy, has its Regional Premiere at the San Francisco Playhouse, January 20th to March 7th, opens January 24, 2015.

Winner of the Pen Award for Drama and Backstage Garland Award, Tree is the story of three generations divided by race, culture, and time. The play has contemporary resonance, posing questions about family and what it means to “be related.” “I set out to write a play about race and ended up writing a play about family,” said playwright Julie Hébert about Tree. “About the inescapability of family, of being known over time, of recognizing yourself in others, of continuing relationships after betrayal and suffering. We keep each other honest. Sometimes it’s funny, sometimes painful – and so it is with this play.”

The story explored in Tree unfolds when a southern white woman shows up at the home of an African-American man in Chicago and claims to be his half-sister, impelling them to confront a shared past. In their search for the truth, they must navigate the fragmented memories of the man’s aged mother to discover where their roots intersect.

This is a black arts and culture site. We will be exploring the African Diaspora via the writing, performance, both musical and theatrical (film and stage), as well as the visual arts of Africans in the Diaspora and those influenced by these aesthetic forms of expression. I am interested in the political and social ramifications of art on society, specifically movements supported by these artists and their forebearers. It is my claim that the artists are the true revolutionaries, their work honest and filled with raw unedited passion. They are our true heroes. Ashay!

This is a black arts and culture site. We will be exploring the African Diaspora via the writing, performance, both musical and theatrical (film and stage), as well as the visual arts of Africans in the Diaspora and those influenced by these aesthetic forms of expression. I am interested in the political and social ramifications of art on society, specifically movements supported by these artists and their forebearers. It is my claim that the artists are the true revolutionaries, their work honest and filled with raw unedited passion. They are our true heroes. Ashay!

This is a black arts and culture site. We will be exploring the African Diaspora via the writing, performance, both musical and theatrical (film and stage), as well as the visual arts of Africans in the Diaspora and those influenced by these aesthetic forms of expression. I am interested in the political and social ramifications of art on society, specifically movements supported by these artists and their forebearers. It is my claim that the artists are the true revolutionaries, their work honest and filled with raw unedited passion. They are our true heroes. Ashay!

This is a black arts and culture site. We will be exploring the African Diaspora via the writing, performance, both musical and theatrical (film and stage), as well as the visual arts of Africans in the Diaspora and those influenced by these aesthetic forms of expression. I am interested in the political and social ramifications of art on society, specifically movements supported by these artists and their forebearers. It is my claim that the artists are the true revolutionaries, their work honest and filled with raw unedited passion. They are our true heroes. Ashay!

This is a black arts and culture site. We will be exploring the African Diaspora via the writing, performance, both musical and theatrical (film and stage), as well as the visual arts of Africans in the Diaspora and those influenced by these aesthetic forms of expression. I am interested in the political and social ramifications of art on society, specifically movements supported by these artists and their forebearers. It is my claim that the artists are the true revolutionaries, their work honest and filled with raw unedited passion. They are our true heroes. Ashay!

This is a black arts and culture site. We will be exploring the African Diaspora via the writing, performance, both musical and theatrical (film and stage), as well as the visual arts of Africans in the Diaspora and those influenced by these aesthetic forms of expression. I am interested in the political and social ramifications of art on society, specifically movements supported by these artists and their forebearers. It is my claim that the artists are the true revolutionaries, their work honest and filled with raw unedited passion. They are our true heroes. Ashay!

Guests: Sriram Shamasunder completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Harbor UCLA Medical Center in June 2008. As a physician who trained at a public hospital and has provided medical care abroad, Sri is interested in the delivery of comprehensive health care in resource poor settings. In addition to his clinical work training medical students and residents on the medical service at UCSF in San Francisco, he spends much of his time abroad. In 2009, Sri spent five months in rural Burundi and Rwanda with the organization Village Health Works and Partners in Health providing comprehensive primary and HIV care as well as designing innovative clinical programs. Following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, he led a group of Harvard surgeons in Western Haiti providing medical and surgical care in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. In 2012, he was a Fulbright-Nehru scholar to India studying innovations of care among tribal health organizations throughout rural India. In the last several years, he has split his time between UCSF, Liberia, Haiti and India. Currently, he is co-founder of HEAL initiative, which aims to support workforce capacity in limited resource settings, both in the United States and internationally. Clementine Ntshaykolo – Program Coordinator Clementine is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). She is fluent in English, French and Lingala. Ms. Clementine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and a Minor in Sociology from UCSC. She most recently worked as an Event and Outreach Researcher for the Center on Contemporary Conflict (CCC) at the Naval Postgraduate School. Clementine Coordinates AAN’s activities including fundraising, grant writing, outreach and communication and direct assistance to clients. Clementine is in her last year of a Masters in Public Administration at San Francisco State University

Guests: Sriram Shamasunder completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Harbor UCLA Medical Center in June 2008. As a physician who trained at a public hospital and has provided medical care abroad, Sri is interested in the delivery of comprehensive health care in resource poor settings. In addition to his clinical work training medical students and residents on the medical service at UCSF in San Francisco, he spends much of his time abroad. In 2009, Sri spent five months in rural Burundi and Rwanda with the organization Village Health Works and Partners in Health providing comprehensive primary and HIV care as well as designing innovative clinical programs. Following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, he led a group of Harvard surgeons in Western Haiti providing medical and surgical care in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. In 2012, he was a Fulbright-Nehru scholar to India studying innovations of care among tribal health organizations throughout rural India. In the last several years, he has split his time between UCSF, Liberia, Haiti and India. Currently, he is co-founder of HEAL initiative, which aims to support workforce capacity in limited resource settings, both in the United States and internationally. Clementine Ntshaykolo – Program Coordinator Clementine is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). She is fluent in English, French and Lingala. Ms. Clementine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and a Minor in Sociology from UCSC. She most recently worked as an Event and Outreach Researcher for the Center on Contemporary Conflict (CCC) at the Naval Postgraduate School. Clementine Coordinates AAN’s activities including fundraising, grant writing, outreach and communication and direct assistance to clients. Clementine is in her last year of a Masters in Public Administration at San Francisco State University