91短视频

• April 24, 2015

Creative visionary and social justice theater artist Rhodessa Jones will give a performance workshop and speak at Cal State East Bay on Wednesday, April 29. The workshop will run from 2-4 p.m. and will be followed by the presentation "A Woman for the 21st Century" from 4-5:30 p.m. in the University Theatre.

Hosted by CSUEB's Department of Theatre and Dance, Jones' "Creative Survival, Creative Performance" workshop will use autobiographical history as a vehicle for a performance about social justice; The Medea Project: Theater for Incarcerated Women program will be the prime focus. Jones founded The Medea Project: Theater for Incarcerated Women program to engage women in prison in the process of developing and staging dramatic works based on their own stories as a way to tap into their creativity, confront the problems that landed them in prison, and ultimately take control of their lives.

In the CSUEB workshop, Jones and participants will use movement, text, text-writing, vocalizations, theater games, memory exercises, autobiographical musings, and storytelling to create theater that is mined from real-life experiences. Jones, known for her passionate, provocative oratory style, will assess the process of art, creativity, and creative/cultural survival in the 21st century.

"We will focus on content rather than what is considered to be ‘traditional' form," Jones said. "We will examine our relationships, both public (political) and private (personal)."

The workshop will also examine the use of theater as a healing tool that begins the process of creating a dialogue to examine the conditions that affect women's lives, such as racism, sexism, homophobia, addictions and fear.

This event is designed for artists interested in creating solo or autobiographical work, and teachers, activists, social workers, mentors, dancers, writers, and those engaged in some form of art as social change.

Following the workshop, Jones will read and demonstrate excerpts from her award-winning performances, including "Birthright," "Big Butt Girls," "Hard-Headed Women," "Deep In the Night," "Blues Stories: Black Erotica on Letting Go," and The Medea Project: Theater for Incarcerated Women.

Jones has lectured at the Getty Research Institute, Yale University, Haas Center for Public Service at Stanford University, San Francisco Academy of Art, and UC Berkeley.

For more information about the event, contact Ann Fajilan, associate professor in the Department of Theatre & Dance, at 510-885-2385 or email ann.fajilan@csueastbay.edu.