Who Yo People Is

As a long time fan of Diane Rodriquez's work, grace, tenacity, generosity and passion driven service/I am thrilled to share our conversation. During our conversation Diane shares some of her experiences growing up in San Jose - during which she learned early on/from her parents how to serve in community...she talks about her history with Teatro Campesino, her experiences as a Chicana actress in Hollywood, her more than twenty years of work on artistic staff at Center Theatre Group, and much more! Be sure and listen to the end, so you can receive the gold that drops throughout our conversation.

Diane Rodriguez is an anthologized writer, regional theatre director, and Off-Broadway Obie Award winning performer. For over twenty years, she was on artistic staff of one of the largest regional theatres in the country, Center Theatre Group, where most recently she served as Associate Artistic Director. Under her tenure, she commissioned and developed over one hundred theatre artists to create new work for the theatre. Currently, she helms her own company, Rodriguez Projects, in which she directs, writes and produces artistic endeavors and projects for and with other companies. In 2016 President Obama appointed her to the National Council on the Arts, a body to which she still serves. This season she directs productions in Los Angeles, Provincetown, R.I. and San Francisco.

Special thanks to Alex Meda and Teatro Luna West (in Boyle Heights) who was kind enough to open their space to us. And shout outs to Minerva Jazmin Zapata for connecting me to Tatiana Gutierrez who edited out some of the background happenings that lovingly surrounded us during our talk (thanks Tatiana).

More about Diane Rodriguez at: https://www.diane-rodriguez.com

More about Diane and all dem Guests at: https://www.whoyopeopleis.com/season-2

More about Alex Meda & Teatro Luna West at: https://www.teatrolunawest.org/about

#whoyopeopleis #dianerodriguez

Ananya Chatterjea is Ananya Dance Theatre founder, artistic director, choreographer, dancer. She is a 2011 Guggenheim Choreography Fellow, 2012 McKnight Choreography Fellow, 2016 Joyce Award recipient, 2019-2020 Urban Bush Women Choreographic Fellow, and a 2019 Dance/USA Artist Fellow.

In this interview Ananya speaks of growing up in Kolkata, India learning about transnational feminist & women's movements, urban beats, social justice and the drum beat of women's daily life in dance. She speaks of coming to the US to study at Columbia university (NY), and later temple University where she received her (Ph.D). Ananya shares her Journey with what it means to make a dance and the how her commitment to social justice taught her to choreograph. With Social Justice roots learned in India Ananya speaks of balancing the weight of loneliness and work as a young working single mother by building her own company - teaching dance to women of color, making work, and building community - while creating space for WOC to share their stories and histories of colonialism, violence and resilience through dance.

More about Ananya at: http://www.ananyadancetheatre.org/bios/ananya-chatterjea

More about Ananya and all dem Guests at: https://www.whoyopeopleis.com/season-2

Alexis De Veaux, Ph.D, is one of a stellar list of American writers highlighted by LIT CITY, a public art initiative of banners bearing their names and images in downtown Buffalo, New York, in recognition of the city's renowned literary legacy. Co-Founder of The Center for Poetic Healing, a project of Lyrical Democracies (with Kathy Engel), and of the Flamboyant Ladies Theatre Company (with Gwendolen Hardwick), Alexis De Veaux is an activist and writer whose work in multiple genres is nationally and internationally known.

In this interview Alexis talks about: reaching back to bring it forward; Black Diasporic ways of being; and growing up with elders deeply steeped in re-imagining while making due. Alexis talks about being from New York, and her recent return to a family home place - New Orleans. She says that she learned early on that if you are going to survive, you have to be creative... and that if you tap that source/you'll be tapping back and you'll be tapping forward. She names some of her mentors and speaks about her RedBone Press book Yabo and Warrior Poet, A Biography of Audre Lorde.

http://www.alexisdeveaux.com http://whoyopeopleis.com

A critically acclaimed, award winning artist, Daniel Alexander Jones is a 2019 Guggenheim Fellow. In this interview Daniel speaks about: some of his mentors; his gender being a constant unfolding/and revelation; becoming a vessel for Jomama Jones; everyday acts of family making/being in community and more.

Daniel exemplifies the artist as energy worker. Daniel's wildflower body of original work includes plays, performance pieces, recorded music, concerts, music theatre events, essays, and long-form improvisations. Energy is his true medium. The Herb Alpert Foundation wrote that he "creates multi-dimensional experiences where bodies, minds, emotions, voices, and spirits conjoin, shimmer, and heal."

This is part 2 of a two part interview. https://www.whoyopeopleis.com/season-2 http://www.danielalexanderjones.com

Daniel Alexander Jones exemplifies the artist as energy worker. Daniel's wildflower body of original work includes plays, performance pieces, recorded music, concerts, music theatre events, essays, and long-form improvisations. Energy is his true medium. The Herb Alpert Foundation wrote that he "creates multi-dimensional experiences where bodies, minds, emotions, voices, and spirits conjoin, shimmer, and heal."

This is part 1 of a two part interview. https://www.whoyopeopleis.com/season-2 http://www.danielalexanderjones.com

Hosted by Sharon Bridgforth, Who Yo People Is features conversations with artists whose Work and artistic practices are rooted in serving our communities through healing/creative/Spiritual and cultural traditions - centered in Love.

Season 2 of Who Yo People Is drops December 16!! Meanwhile check out this BONUS TRACK in which Leigh Gaymon-Jones takes the seat as guest host and interviews me. We talk bout family, art, Divine service and Love.

Leigh Gaymon-Jones is a people-centered creative -- she is a mover, a maker and a grower. She is committed to ecology and land-based movements, and has worked in farming and sustainable food systems for a decade AND she is my daughter YAYYYYYY!! More about Leigh at: leighgaymonjones.com The podcast that I mentioned loving is Jesus and Jollof Stay tuned for more/and please subscribe and share whoyopeopleis.com

Hosted by Sharon Bridgforth, "Who Yo People Is" features conversations with artists whose Work and artistic practices are rooted in serving our communities through healing/creative/Spiritual and cultural traditions - centered in Love.

This episode introduces our NEW podcast jingle! Lyrics: Sharon Bridgforth Composer & Musician: Renita Martin Singer: Sonja Perryman Engineer: Owen Modamwen, Beyond Studios DC Copyright (c) 2019 Geeched Out Productions

http://whoyopeopleis.com

In this conversation Marjani speaks about revolutionary Blackness; taping into the prayers that have been prayed for us; the alchemy of Black folks finding our spiritual fortitude and power through our creative energies; the vulnerability of imagining that you can do something; and getting Sun'd in the dance. Crowned a Prayer Warrior early in life by her elders . . . Marjani encourages us to be courageous - to "fail and frolic dopely." (#fail and frolic dopely::)).

Marjani Forté-Saunders is a Mother, choreographer, performer, a collaborative artist, community organizer and most recently a 3 time Bessie award winning choreographer. Anchored in a steady collaboration with partner and composer Everett Asis Saunders the duo have produced seven award-winning works over the last 10 yrs. Marjani is an Inaugural recipient of the Jerome Artist Fellowship, the UBW Choreographic Center Fellowship and a two-time Princess Grace Foundation awardee. Humbly, she defines her work by its lineage stemming from culturally rich, vibrant, historic, loving, irreverent conjurers!

More about Marjani and all dem Guests: https://www.whoyopeopleis.com/guest-artists

Links for work that we mentioned during our conversation: MEMOIRS OF A…UNICORN (Marjani's website): http://marjaniforte.org

The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond: https://www.pisab.org

In this conversation Virginia Grise & Shayok Misha Chowdhury talk about longing, Love and the Moon…migration histories…shared lineages…real time collaborations/and just doing the work.

Virginia Grise is a recipient of the Whiting Writers' Award, Princess Grace Award in Theatre Directing and the Yale Drama Series Award. Publications include: Your Healing is Killing Me (Plays Inverse Press), blu (Yale University Press) and The Panza Monologues co-written with Irma Mayorga (University of Texas Press). More at: http://virginiagrise.com

Shayok Misha Chowdhury is a queer Bengali director, writer, and theater-maker based in Brooklyn. Misha is currently in residence at Ars Nova, Soho Rep, the Drama League, and The Flea, and was recently a Directing Fellow at New York Theater Workshop. Misha was featured on the Grammy-winning album Calling All Dawns. More at: shayokmishachowdhury.com

In this episode Ebony Noelle Golden speaks of being from People who fight for justice and practice Love as action . . . Love in the DNA, and Seeing at the Cross Roads.

Ebony is an artist, scholar, and culture strategist. Her creative work consists of site-specific performance rituals and live art installations that explore relationships between creativity and liberation. She is the founder of Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative, LLC a culture consultancy and arts accelerator based in NYC.

More about Ebony and all dem Guests HERE.

Ebony's Website HERE.

Ebony on YouTube HERE.