ONLINE: Another Evening with James Baldwin
Fermat's Last Theater Co.
Gwyn Gilliss
A close-up of Quanda Johnson.
Quanda Johnson
There are few poets and essayists who have captured the essence of the American race problem better than James Baldwin, who once wrote: "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." Local thespians from Fermat's Last Theater are putting together an online reprise of an event featuring poetry, prose and music. The cast includes Madison's Melvin Hinton, who spent time with Baldwin in Paris and Madrid; Broadway veteran and Fulbright Scholar Quanda Johnson; dancer Akiwele Burayidi and bassist Oliver Gomez. The event will be livestreamed by Cafe Coda. It's free but donations are accepted. See Catherine Capellaro’s Q&A with Quanda Johnson.
https://www.facebook.com/events/619199532358979/
press release: Fermat’s Last Theater presents - Another Evening with James Baldwin (Live Stream Only, free event)!
The program includes three songs and reading of several of Baldwin's poems, Melvin Hinton reading prose and recalling his meetings with Baldwin in Paris and Madrid, dancing by Akiwele Burayidi, and on the string bass, Oliver Gomez.
"Letter to My Nephew" and a passage from Giovanni’s Room and other prose, read by Melvin Hinton
Poems read by Quanda Johnson
Recollections of my meetings with James Baldwin in Madrid and Paris by Melvin Hinton
Three slave songs/spirituals sung by Quanda Johnson
Dance by Akiwele Burayidi
Bass by Oliver Gomez
Cast information:
Quanda Johnson is a Fulbright Scholar and a current doctoral student in Interdisciplinary Theatre Studies at UW-Madison. A performer from Broadway to grand opera, she seeks ways to utilize performance to disrupt and consequently alter entrenched, cyclical conversations about Blackness and the African Diaspora. An AUDELCO Award nominee for her portrayal of Marian Anderson, she appeared in Broadway's Tony award-winning Ragtime and made her New York City Opera debut in The Mother of Us All with Lauren Flanigan. Her work is dedicated to the memory of the first artist in her life, her mother, Vernetta. Her full biography is here: https://dept.english.wisc.edu/intertheatrestudies/people/its-students/
Melvin Hinton produces and hosts Radio Literature on WORT and Between You and Me on Madison College’s Clarion Radio. He completed a paid internship--and turned down a full-time job offer--at The New York Times News Service before going on to Stanford University as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow. Two years in France as a Fulbright Scholar and teaching assistant in a secondary school were followed by a long residence in Spain. Other honors include a Martin Luther King Scholarship at New York University, a University Fellowship at Texas A&M, and a doctoral fellowship at the UW-Madison.
Besides acting with The Madrid Players, and with Kathy Seley in Murray Schisgal’s The Typists, Melvin toured Spain with Donna Hightower’s gospel music ensemble. He has directed students in theater at the U. S. Cultural Center in Madrid, at Tennessee State University, and at The University of the South. He directed a Queer Short at the Bartell, and at the Overture Center, he was Rev. Sykes in CTM’s production of To Kill a Mockingbird. He has taught Spanish and French at several universities, among them Texas A&M and The University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Oliver Gomez will attend Eastman School of Music this fall and says his favorite bassist is Ray Brown, and he is currently studying with John Christensen.
Akiwele Burayidi will be a third-year student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison pursuing degrees in Dance and Health Promotion and Health Equity. She has received several scholarships to train at summer programs such as the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, Paris Summer Academy, and most recently Perry Mansfield Performing Arts School where she worked with Shannon Gillen and Vim Vigor Dance Company.
This event is free for live streaming. Donations are graciously accepted. Thank you to all who contributed financially to make this evening possible.
Fermat’s Last Theater Company
fermatstheatermadison@gmail.com
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