Posts Tagged ‘CFAC’
Saturday, December 14th, 2013
A Shout in Salty Water is a one man/one act play that serves up some answers to single fatherhood. But it also raises some questions as well.
The name of the play, which was conceived and performed by Ryan Johnson-Travis (directed by Joseph Trevino), was derived in part by the definition of Salina (as in Salina Street…think Landmark Theater, Rite Aid and the old Centro hub). Salina is defined as a salt pit or salt marsh. Many of the brothers portrayed in the show seem trapped in what seems like pockets of despair and closets of hopelessness.
Are the men dead-beats or just dead broke? Why are some voluntarily absent from their children? Why do they feel their pie in the sky has been reduced to crumbs?
These are some of the serious issues Johnson-Travis tackles on stage (and in the question and answer session). The performance takes you on an emotional roller coaster.
Maybe the most creative parts of the play are the actor/director vignettes (are they real or imagined) and the hilarious re-enactment of a dialogue with a Syracuse Post Standard reporter. But this is not about fun and games, which is evident when on opening night, Johnson-Travis fights through tears to sing about a slain 6-month old.
This complex experience is like being inside the head of a single father, yet inside the head of someone studying them/interviewing them as well.
The show concludes tonight. We look forward to a second act in the future.
Kudos again to CFAC and Johnson-Travis for collaborating on this must-see stage endeavor.
Tags:2013, A Shout in Salty Water, CFAC, Connective Corridor, PRPAC, Ryan Johnson-Travis, Syracuse, Theater
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Monday, December 9th, 2013
Maybe the most progressive programming (artistic and otherwise) we’ve covered this year was held at the Community Folk Art Center this year. Here is a short clip of media personality George Kilpatrick talking about his radio endeavors during the CNY Mocha Men event produced by Me’Shae Brooks-Rolling.
Tags:2013, African American Radio Personalities, CFAC, CNY Mocha Men, Connective Corridor, George Kilpatrick, Me'Shae Brooks-Rolling, Year in Review
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Saturday, November 23rd, 2013
Here are some of the photographs from Saturday’s CNY Mocha Men event at CFAC organized by Me’Shae Brooks-Rolling.
Ahmeed Turner, Scholarship Director, Say Yes (Syracuse) with his father Rev. Phil Turner.
Davine Bey, Manager of Talent Acquisition, Cornell University
Panelists Vincent Love (100 Black Men), Rev. Harry Patterson (Abundant Life Christian Center) and Dr. James Haywood Rolling (Syracuse University).
TV Host Vicki Brakens with panelist Rickey Brown (Home Headquarters, Inc.)
Tags:2013, Ahmeed Turner, CFAC, CNY Mocha Men, Connective Corridor, Davine Bey, Dr. James Haywood Rolling, George Kilpatrick, Harry Patterson, Me'Shae Brooks-Rolling, Rev. Phil Turner, Rickey T. Brown, Vicki Brackens, Vincent Love
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Saturday, November 23rd, 2013
Kirsten Tegtmeyer and Bill Horrace (Lemon Elefant) played a gig at the Community Folk Art Center on Thursday.
Lemon Elefant (Bill Horrace and Dave Solazzo) have become the de facto band for the Connective Corridor. They’ve played in nearly every venue and even on the street and aboard buses once or twice.
No matter who sits in with them lately, the sound and the fury of their interaction creates combustible tones. It’s like watching a modern version of Mingus and Monk.
For their latest gig, they welcomed in drummer Kinyatta King (the drummer an MBA) and singer Kirsten Tegtmeyer. The audible aroma they stirred up got caught in the coffered ceiling of the gallery and then slowly descended like a morning fog.
Lemon moved the crowd with cuts by Michael Jackson (Human Nature, Smooth Criminal) and some of their own compositions during the one hour show, but the audience was equally impressed by the strong vocal display of Tegtmeyer on Maroon5’s This Love.
The collective did an encore Friday night for Jazz @ Sitrus (Sheraton Hotel).
Tags:2013, Bill Horrace, CFAC, Connective Corridor, Dave Solazzo, Jazz, Kinyatta King, Kirsten Tegtmeyer, Lemon Elefant, Music, Th3
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Wednesday, November 20th, 2013
“Creating When We Were Wanderers required actors to excavate and mine their personal experiences…” Ryan Johnson-Travis, Director
Corcoran, Obeng and Jordan: Three of the seven ladies who took the stage to discuss race and gender at CFAC tonight.
Bravo to director and actor Ryan Johnson-Travis. The theater man continues to write, direct and produce some creative stage work along the Connective Corridor Arts District. His latest conception, “When We Were Wanderers” closed tonight to a packed house at the Community Folk Art Center’s Black Box Theater. The play touched on a plethora of emotions, and honestly explored race and gender from a female perspective.
Later this weekend brothers will grace the stage at CFAC for the CNY Mocha Men production by Me’Shae Brooks Rolling. The Mocha Men event will focus on financial literacy.
Tags:2013, Acting, Candienne Obeng, CFAC, Connective Corridor, Kierra Jordan, Nicole Corcoran, Ryan Johnson-Travis, Syracuse University, Theater, We Were Wanderers
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Thursday, October 24th, 2013
Composer Daniel Bernard Roumain, is part of a new collective of musicians (think DJ Spooky and Dr. Dre) who push the envelope and explore uncharted territory, forge historic collaborations, and basically are re-writing the rules of what it means to be a performer/producer and artist.
Roumain talked to us before his performance at the Community Folk Art Center’s series exploring music from the African Diaspora.
Tags:2013, Afro-Futurism, CFAC, Classical, Connective Corridor, Daniel Bernard Roumain, Jazz, JMAD, Music, SIF Conversations, Violin
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Saturday, October 19th, 2013
Composer and violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain at CFAC
You didn’t have to be a fan of classical music or chamber music to enjoy the performance by Haitian-American composer violinist and composer Daniel Bernard Roumain last night. His goal since age 5 has been to make the violin cool so it can be real; make it real so it can be relevant; and be relevant so he can build relationships.
Last night he made some new fans (from elementary school age to the upper decades) by interpreting everything from classic pieces, hip hop music, the national anthem of two countries and even the paintings on the gallery walls.
Roumain has worked with Luther Campbell, Bill T. Jones, Paul Miller (DJ Spooky) and many more.
His performance was part of the on-going series at the Community Folk Art Center (CFAC) exploring the music of the African Diaspora.
Stay tuned for an interview with Roumain, which will be published soon.
Yayoi Ikawa, Anthony McGriff, Dr. Kheli Willetts, Daniel Bernard Roumain and Eric McGriff after last night’s performance.
Tags:2013, CFAC, Connective Corridor, Daniel Bernard Roumain, DBR, DJ Spooky, Eric and Anthony McGriff, Haitian Artists, JMAD, Music, violinist
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Monday, June 24th, 2013
Fringe Technical Director Gabriel Pinto occupies Saturday night with a sax solo.
Finally a cross-town collaboration between Lemoyne and SU (well,sort of). Le Moyne alums Jacob Ellison and Justin Sullivan used creativity and crowd funding to pull together the inaugural Syracuse Fringe Festival last weekend, and it was held at the Community Folk Art Center along the Connective Corridor. The event featured three days of multi-disciplinary artistic endeavors. We checked out the final day of the program, which featured David Doyle, Ruth Arena and Anna Phillips. Fringe was very reminiscent of the THINC Sideshow parties from a decade or so ago (except the demographic for the Fringe was slightly older).
Live Art: Body Painting
What was most surprising on Saturday was to watch Phillips, who is the artistic equivalent of a love child between Missy Elliot (always ahead of the curve) and Steven Wright (wry humor), do a comedy show in the Black Box Theater and smoothly transition into a monologue about her life that was more compelling than a episode of HBO’s In Treatment.
Was it Something She Said? Anna Phillips kept it real for Spatial Profiling.
Not that it wasn’t good, just unexpected. We look forward to Anna’s upcoming gigs, where she will bring the noise again with jokes at two shows locally: Chicks are Funny and Guns n’ Syrup.
Tags:2013, Anna Phillips, Art, CFAC, Comedy, Connective Corridor, Fringe Festival, Gabriel Pinto, Kickstarter, Le Moyne College, Saxophone, Sideshow, Syracuse, THINC
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Friday, April 26th, 2013
CNS senior Kierrah Titus took her skills to the CFAC stage during the Cabaret & Conversation program last week. Titus sang a Beyonce song.
A rejuvenated Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company (PRPAC) took theater back to its roots when they collaborated with high school students and parents in the area to produce “Cabaret & Conversation” at The Community Folk Art Gallery (CFAC) last week. The show was developed with PRPAC following a controversy at CNS High when the school cast an all-white ensemble for “The Wiz.”
In the clip above, Dionna Owens and Justin Tanksley interpreted a duet by Rhianna and Mikkey Ekko.
Actress Karin Franklin King and PRPAC Artistic Director Ryan Johnson-Travis present artist Cheryl Wilkins-Mitchell with an award.
Tags:2013, Cabaret and Conversation, CFAC, CNS High School, Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company, PRPAC, Ryan Johnson-Travis, Syracuse, The Wiz, Theater
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Friday, March 15th, 2013
Tamar Smithers sang classics from the soul music songbook as well some contemporary favorites.
Bravo to the Community Folk Art Center (CFAC) for breathing some life into Third Thursdays and spicing up things along the Connective Corridor (Midtown section) during their Journey Through Music of the African Diaspora series. The most recent installment of the Journey, which was called a salute to Women in Music, featured local divas Erika Lovette and Tamar Smithers. These sophisticated ladies belted out sweet soul music (from original compositions to spirituals to Lena Horne to Beyonce and Mary J) and worked the capacity crowd like it was the Essence Music Festival.
This was the final installment of the JMAD for the season. The series previously included acts such as Samba Laranja and Akuma Roots.
Erika Lovette gave the crowd just enough divatude during her performance and she also gave a shout out to local musicians Charles “CJack” Jackson and Eddie “EJ” Dowdell.
Tags:2013, CFAC, Connective Corridor, Erika Lovette, JMAD, Journey Through Music of the African Diaspora: Women in Music, Midtown, Music, Syracuse, Tamar Smithers
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