So I applied to Cave Canem‘s fall poetry workshops and was accepted to both! For the past few weeks, I have been attending poetry workshops on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I have been writing a lot. I have to say that it feels good to immerse myself in verse.

Both workshops are culminating poetry readings that are open to the public. See details below:

November 10, 6:30 pm
Breaking Line, Building Lyric: A Reading
Participants in Cave Canem’s Fall New York City Workshop share poems honed in class. Instructor Linda Susan Jackson hosts. Reception to follow. Wheelchair accessible.

November 15, 6:30 pm
Poetry Conversations: A Reading
Participants in Cave Canem’s Fall Poetry Conversations share poems honed in class. Instructor Bakar Wilson hosts. Reception to follow. Wheelchair accessible.

Cave Canem
20 Jay Street, Suite 310-A
Brooklyn, NY

In August, I participated in Ana-Maurine Lara’s online art/performance project, 36daysweeksmonthsyearsliftetimes (36 for short). Dozens of artists from all over contributed to 36, and I’m happy to say that my poem “Homeland” was included in the project. Check out my poem here, or better yet, explore all of 36.

In other news, I am honored to say that in September, I was selected as a finalist for the Soho Rep’s Writer/Director Lab. Also in September, Roots and River Productions kicked of the Emerging Artist Mentorship Program. Pictures from the welcome dinner can be found on our facebook page. If you haven’t been keeping up with Roots and River, you are missing out!

All in all, it has been a time of immense beauty, change, and productivity for me. I look forward to seeing what the near future holds.

Photo by Azure D. Osborne-Lee

I am pleased to announce the formation of the new Brooklyn-based company Roots and River Productions. Roots and River’s mission is to cultivate and support creative work grounded in the community. The company serves as a home for artists of color in the New York City metropolitan area. Roots and River is an incubator for new work, a site of artistic exploration, and an agency for community outreach.

Roots and River’s primary programming includes a mentorship program designed to pair emerging black queer artists, especially those just coming out of college, with established artists in their field. Roots and River also produces the Voicebox Writing Workshops, which were originally developed in London, UK by Artistic Director Azure D. Osborne-Lee in collaboration with New Shoes Theatre and Central School of Speech & Drama. Look for the Voicebox Workshops and the Voicebox method of creating new work this summer in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas and this fall in New York City!

Roots and River Productions has a particular interest in supporting the work of emerging interdisciplinary and performing artists. In 2012 Roots and River will kick off an artist residency program. Find out more about Roots and River Productions at our website or on facebook

Roots and River is currently completely funded by contributions from the community. Please consider supporting us by making a donation via our fiscal sponsor, Fractured Atlas.

Roots and River Productions is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of Roots and River Productions must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Artwork by Autumn Mackey

In other news, I am now serving as editor for an exciting new piece of theatre by Mingyu Lin called AWAKE. This production about space, grief, guilt, and how we negotiate them will open in London in July. Stay tuned for more details about AWAKE.

Additionally, the writing workshop series that I’ve been leading at Central School of Speech & Drama is coming along quite nicely. We’re now meeting every week to write, share, and support one another. This series will culminate in a by invitation only reading at the school at the end of June.

And now without further ado, I give you the Voicebox Playwriting Workshop.

A three-Saturday workshop on characterisation and dialogue designed for new
playwrights as well as people looking to find their voices or reinvigorate their writing practices.  The workshop is led by Azure D. Osborne-Lee (2010 resident playwright at Freedom Train Productions in Brooklyn, NY) who has a particular interest in the way women are represented in theatre.

This is an excellent opportunity for writers of all experience levels.

The playwriting workshop will take place over three Saturdays in London.

Dates: 18th & 25th June & 2nd July 2011.
Time: 2pm – 6pm
Cost: £100
Where: The first two sessions will be held in Pimlico, London. Full address will be supplied once booking is confirmed. The final session will be in London, venue TBA.

Limited places available on a booking only basis.

For more information and to book contact New Shoes Theatre
T: 07972 395634
E: bookings@newshoestheatre.org.uk
http://www.newshoestheatre.org.uk/Workshop.html

Mauricio Both, Jacqueline Coombs, and Yukiko Kato: a Few Founding Members of Monkey Tomorrow

Here in London I’ve come to the end of my second term of postgraduate study at Central School of Speech & Drama. It’s been a challenging term full of collaboration, experimentation, agitation, and documentation. And in a little under a week’s time I’ll be flying out of Heathrow to be reunited with my beloved New York City and Texas. But before I get into my return to the USA, let me tell you what I’ve been up to.

As part of my course, I became a founding member of an 11 person performance group. We called ourselves Monkey Tomorrow. For nine weeks we worked together, experimenting with company structure and theatrical conventions. Our aim was to tell old stories in new ways. This involved the use of lots of projection and giant sheets of paper. (See above for photographic evidence of  the epic nature of our paper.) My role in the group was member of the playwriting team (there were three of us) and editor of the script. And let me tell you something. I learned a lot.

I learned that collaboratively writing dialogue for a play can be excruciating! (Seriously, just run a google search looking for tips for collaboratively writing a play. There are none!) I also learned that although we may not always be aware of them, most artists have set working methods. And folding other people into those working methods can be a real challenge.

The members of Monkey Tomorrow represent no fewer than 8 separate nations. We speak no fewer than 7 different languages. And of course our artistic backgrounds are as diverse as we are. In our company we had to learn how to build bridges to span innumerable communication gaps. We were not always successful.

But I will say this: through our company we were able to create new worlds through explorations of text, movement, and technology. I think it’s accurate to say that none of will ever forget the time when we were known as Monkey Tomorrow, when we struggled to understand one another and the art that we long to create. We’re all hardworking, talented artists. Every member has my utmost respect. And as we move on to other projects, I am grateful to each and every cheeky monkey.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

So what’s next?

Well, as I mentioned before, I’ll be coming back to the United States. (For a visit! I’m not done with this program just yet.) I’ll be spending a few days in Texas visiting family and just over two weeks in New York City relaxing and renewing contacts. I’m looking forward to seeing some of my old and new collaborators back in the States! And let’s be real. I’m also looking forward to pizza, enchiladas, and Blue Bell Ice Cream.

There’s a lot on the horizon. Stay tuned for news about the Postgraduate Research Conference at Central School of Speech & Drama, the continued development of my writing workshop series, and work that will take me South of the Border. It’s an exciting world, y’all! I’m ready to see more of it.

Photo by Azure D. Osborne-Lee

Since my arrival in London in October I’ve seen lots of shows, good and bad, and I’ve started working on some exciting new projects. What projects? Well, I’m glad you asked!

As many of you may know, I am an interdisciplinary artist and educator. What you may not know is that I’m also a workshop facilitator. That’s right! I’m currently leading a writing workshop series for my MA program. The participants of this series will be led in writing exercises and feedback sessions by myself and special guest artists. This series will culminate in a writer’s showcase in the early summer. I’m very excited about this endeavor, and I plan to start offering a workshop series outside of Central School of Speech & Drama in the spring, so be on the lookout for information on how to enroll!

Additionally, I’m now offering my services as a script development consultant for new work. Right now I’m consulting on two exciting productions on different sides of the globe. Yours could be next. If you’re interested in working with me, shoot me a message. I’m sure we can work something out.

As if that weren’t enough, I’m also serving as the Development Manager & Deputy Stage Manager for the British Premiere of Wajdi Mouawad’s SHORE, which will be directed by Anne Khazam and opens at Riverside Studios here in London in March.

All in all, it’s been quite a busy and productive winter for me. I hope it’s been good for you, too.

Photo by flickr user New York Public Library

For those of you who don’t remember or weren’t subscribed when it was announced, I’ve just begun a Master of Arts program in Advanced Theatre Practice at Central School of Speech & Drama, University of London. There are 36 people in my program, which I believe officially makes us the largest postgraduate program at Central.

Overall things are going well here in London. I’m learning my way around the city (which occasionally includes getting very, very lost) and I’m going to be witnessing and taking part in some amazing theatre. So stay tuned! I’m considering creating an area of this website where you can go to read my reviews of the theatre I see here.

Before I go, I’ll leave you with a recommendation to go see Winter’s Bone if you can. It’s an American independent film that won some pretty major awards at Sundance Film Festival. I just saw it at The Phoenix Cinema this past Wednesday, and it was amazing, at once heartbreaking and beautiful.

That’s all for now! My love to all my friends, family, and colleagues on both sides of the pond.

CROOKED PARTS
by Azure D. Osborne-Lee

One girl must decide which parts of herself to hold onto and which to leave behind.

Directed by Feliz Dia McDonald
Assistant Directed by LeRoy Beck

Featuring: Avery Ferguson, Chanise Littlefield, Carole Metellus,  and Cedrick Slaughter

September 17th & 18th at 8pm
The Utopia Theatre in the School of Social Work
The University of Texas Campus
1925 San Jacinto Blvd
Austin, TX 78712

A moderated talkback will follow the show each night. On September 17th the talkback will be led by Dr. Tiffany Gill. On September 18th the talkback will be led by Dr. Jennifer Wilks.

Ample parking is available close by in the following garages on the UT Campus: Manor Garage, Trinity Garage, and Brazos Garage. Additionally, the #7 bus and the West Campus and Forty Acres campus shuttle busses stop very near the School of Social Work.

General Admission for Crooked Parts is $10.
Student tickets are available for $8 (with ID). Tickets are on sale now and available for purchase online at Brown Paper Tickets.
Cash only at the door.

This production of Crooked Parts is generously co-sponsored by the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies, the Gender and Sexuality Center, the John L. Warfield Center for African and African American Studies,  ProArts Collective, and Austin Community College Department of Drama.

Artwork by Autumn Mackey

CROOKED PARTS is the coming of age story of a 12-year-old African American girl named Winifred. As wildly imaginative Winifred starts the school year off at a brand new school, she begins to explore how her hair affects the way that her peers see her and the way that she sees herself. Ultimately, Winifred must decide what she’s willing to give up in order to fit in.

CROOKED PARTS by Azure D. Osborne-Lee
Directed by Feliz Dia McDonald

September 17th and 18th at 8pm
Utopia Theatre in the School of Social Work, UT  Campus
1925 San Jacinto Boulevard
Austin, TX 78712

Tickets: General Admission $10, Students $8 (with ID)

Not going to be in town, but still want to take part? Not to worry! You can make a contribution. I’m accepting donations to help with the cost of producing CROOKED PARTS.

As some of you may remember, an excerpt of CROOKED PARTS was featured at Brooklyn Arts Exchange (BAX) as part of Black and White: Performing the Personal/Political back in January. I’m thrilled that the world premiere of CP will take place in a city so close to my heart. Advance tickets are available now online. We’ll not charge you a penny more for admission at the door, but we will be accepting cash only. I’ll see you there!

Summer is flying by and things are heating up here in Brooklyn, NY. I happily returned to New York City on July 4th to a city in the middle of a heat wave and intense revelry. Here I’ve been writing and collaborating with brilliant artistic minds, not to mention enjoying some satisfying NYC take out.

Next week my newest play, MIRRORS, will receive a staged reading as part of Freedom Train Productions’ FIRE! New Play Festival and in culmination of my playwriting residency. I became really inspired to write about the world of MIRRORS when I went with a friend to see a photography exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art this winter. One photograph in particular really grabbed me. It was an image of a hair salon in the front room of a shotgun house somewhere down South. The photographer captured the house from the outside of the screen door, and you could see the photographer’s reflection in the door as well as the sprawling contents of the house. The layers drew me in. As I stood gazing at this photograph, the sights and sounds of a childhood spent in the South came back to me. I could feel the relentless summer heat and hear the tree insects calling. I felt like I knew who these people were and what story they needed to tell.

Here’s a super succinct synopsis of what MIRRORS is all about: Two women mourn the loss of a loved one while sifting through the secrets of their shared past.  If you’re anywhere in the New York City area on Friday, July 23rd, you should most definitely come on down to Fort Greene, Brooklyn and check it out. I hope to see many of you there!

MIRRORS  by Azure D. Osborne-Lee
Directed by Mekeva McNeil
Featuring Suzanne Darrell, Treasure Davidson, Shereen Macklin, Tish Mann, Mekeva McNeil, and Lori Parquet

Friday, July 23rd @ 7:30pm
South Oxford Space
138 South Oxford Street
Fort Greene, Brooklyn
Tickets $5-10, available in advance at Brown Paper Tickets.

Photo of roses by flickr user Beverly & Pack

My time with the Weird Sisters Collective in Austin, TX was a good one. In the sweltering Texas heat I took on the role of a lifetime. For those of you who didn’t get a chance to see the show, I played both Sycorax, healer of Algiers, and her son Caliban. The sometimes suave, sometimes gruff Caliban made appearances in both the pre-show performance of an excerpt of the Tempest and in the epilogue of SYCORAX.

Working collaboratively together, we built SYCORAX from a lean script and some bolts of fabric into a dynamic peformance experience. The process of moving from rehearsal to opening was documented by a visiting scholar, Ann Pleiss Morris, who will be including an account of the show in a chapter of her forthcoming dissertation. I think that I can speak for all of us when I say that the more time that we spent working with the collective, the more we felt invested and (dare I say it?) loved.

Each of the performances, with their audiences of varying sizes, was unique, each show having its own energy, its own life. SYCORAX was a truly engaging and thought-provoking performance experience, not just for me, but for the critics as well. If you want to know what the reviewers had to say about SYCORAX and the Weird Sisters Collective, check out the links at the bottom of this post.

Overall, I have to share with you all that I am not sad to be leaving Sycorax behind, because something tells me that this will not the last that I see of her. Stay tuned, folks. Sycorax will live on, and I’ll let you know more about it just as soon as I get the details myself. In the meanwhile, my people, stay cool.

The Austinist’s review.
The Examiner’s review.
Austin Live Theatre’s review.

Photo by Ann Pleiss Morris