Text Box:  Urban Voices International Theatre Programme BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!!!  Email: info@artsexchange.co.za / zee@artsexchange.co.za Media enquiries only: 011 726 6916 / 082 344 3798  Theatre Performance of Female Inmates: Free Entrance Venue and date: 31st Saturday October 2009 at 10am: Joburg Correctional Services, Meredale (Popularly known as ‘ Sun City ’) Entrance Free: ID must be produced and rsvp by 29th October 2009.  Programme Subject to change.  Free Transport available from Newtown –Metro bus leaves from parking lot of Market Theatre, Newtown at 9.30am. RSVP to zee@artsexchange.co.za Light snacks will be served. Talk on Prison Project, Q&A session after the show: All welcome International Theatre Exchange with Cultural Odyssey: The Medea Project: Theatre for Incarcerated Women.  SA/USA   After the astounding success of the Urban Voices Theatre prison project of 2008 we once again bring you the 2009  “Serious Fun at Sun City”,  a  prison theater project . This is a continuation of the collaborative   project with the female prisoners of “Sun City Prison” –  formerly known as Jo’burg Correctional Centre and the  the award winning director and performer, Rhodessa Jones, from the Medea Project in San Francisco .  The production “Serious Fun in Sun City 2009 ”  is produced  in partnership with the Jo’burg Correctional Services , Cultural Odyssey’s The Medea Project (Theatre for incarcerated Women with Idris Ackamoor and Rhodessa Jones ) and Urban Voices. It promises once again to be a unique and moving experience  that will give out mates a reason to experience the intricate lives of female inmates.  In 2008 a full length workshopped theatre production was staged  with female inmates of Jo’burg Correctional Services (popularly known as “Sun City prison”), this was the first time an international and local prison  theatre collaboration was staged in South Africa .  Having worked with incarcerated women for over 20 years in the prisons of San Francisco and various places across the world, director Rhodessa  Jones plans to develop and sustain the work she did with the  prison group last year,  in a workshop that uses theatre to develop life skills to deal with prison life  and beyond.   Text Box: Staceyann Chin – Jamaica: Staceyann Chin is no stranger to South African poetry lovers – she graced the Urban Voices Stage in 2003 to sold-out audiences. Staceyann Chin never disappoints – always fresh, provocative and original. Stacyeann has performed across the globe and was an original performer co-writer in the Tony Award winning Russel Simmons Def Poetry Jam on Broadway. Staceyann is recipient of several international poetry awards and is widely published. Recipient of the 2007 Power of the Voice Award from Human Right Campaign, the 2008 Safe Haven Award from Immigration Equality, and 2008 Honors from the Lesbian AIDS Project, she identifies as Caribbean and Black, Asian and lesbian, woman and resident of New York City.  Links: www.staceyannchin.com           www.myspace.com/staceyannchin                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Text Box: Ameera Patel, Mbali  Kgosidintsi & Naima Mclean

 

Text Box: Abena Koomson: Ghana/USA: Abena Koomson is of Ghanaian origin currently living in New York. She is a writer, singer, performer, educator and graduate. Her poetry has been set to music and performed with her a cappella trio Saheli. Abena Koomson is known for her strong and soulful voice. Abena Koomsons’ recent artistic pursuits include playing Fela Kutis’ mother in a run Off-Broadway in FELA!, directed by Tony Award winner choreographer Bill T. Jones. Links: www.myspace.com/abenakoomson www.louderarts.com/poets/koomson www.monkella.blogspot.com   Text Box: Marc Bamuthi Joseph- USA: National Poetry Slam champion, Broadway veteran, GOLDIE award winner, featured artist on Russell Simmons' Def Poetry on HBO and inaugural recipient of the United States Artists Rockefeller Fellowship, Marc Bamuthi Joseph. Originally from New York City (USA) in 2007, Bamuthi graced the cover of Smithsonian Magazine after being named one of America’s Top Young Innovators in the Arts and Sciences. Marc Bamuthi Joseph is one of an emerging class of hip hop theater artists who combines a variety of art forms in his work. Bamuthi uses theater, West African and tap dance, spoken word, poetry, and live music to stretch the bounds of traditional hip hop and create a new forum for expressive performance art. Links: http://mappinternational.org/artists/view/1/        http://www.kqed.org/arts/programs/spark/profile.jsp?essid=4628        http://livingwordproject.org/lwp_mbj.html   Text Box: Willie Perdomo: USA: Willie Perdomo is a poet, writer, publisher and educator.   Living in New York, of Puerto Rican heritage, he is a recipient of several prestigious literary awards including the PEN America Beyond Margins Award for his book Where a Nickel Costs a Dime and Smoking Lovely. He has also been published in The New York Times Magazine and Bomb and his children's book, Visiting Langston, received a Coretta Scott King Honor.   http://aalbc.com/authors/willie.htm www.willieperdomo.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Perdomo http://www.mipoesias.com/2004/interview.htm http://www.exeter.edu/news_and_events/news_events_14803.aspx http://artists.refuseandresist.org/eventsIcore/perdomo.html