St NE on a Friday night, and discovering Souk, Sam, myself, and several friend made our way to the Atlas Performing Arts Center, to catch one of a multitude of offering during Intersections, a New America Arts Festival.The one we were attending tonight was a SpeakeasyDC performance titled Wetbacks, Aliens & Towelheads: Stories from the First Generation.
I really can't sum it up any better than SpeakeasyDC does on their own website:
"Poet Regie Cabico tells the story of trying to fulfill the American Dream for his Filipino mother in “My H’Oprah”; TV News Reporter Delia Perry tells her story about negotiating the New and Old World rules of her Cape Verdean parents in “Tough Love”; activist Claire Nelson tells her story about changing her plans to become Jamaica’s first female prime minister in “Counting Myself American”‘; video artist and graphic designer Ayo Okunseinde tells his story about being a Nigerian transplant trying to be cool in suburban New Jersey high school in “International Day”; and comedian and solo performer, Vijai Nathan tells her story of trying to balance life as an Indian girl in Potomac, MD in “Beware”."
Now SpeakeasyDC is a storytelling organization. They have monthly nights where they have a series of "tellers" sharing stories based around a particular topic. The first one I attended was Line in the Sand. The stories were based about making a point, taking a stand, or breaking a pattern. And all it is is each individual at the mic, telling their tale. It's a really great cultivation of what is probably one of the oldest performing arts, storytelling. Check out this site/page on the history of storytelling, if you're interested.Anyway, Sam was really looking forward to the performance particularly because of our Pinoy connection with Kuya Regie, and I showed him some of Regie's stand-up and spoken word.
But each storyteller was wonderful. It was interesting to see some of the themes which occurred in various stories, especially with regards to parents and grade school being people and places where issues of identity, culturally, ethnically, and nationality really come to a head.
Although, in striking contrast, Claire Nelson's tale is not one of growing up with these issues as a child, but facing them as an adult. The pivotal point in her story happens after years of believing she would only be passing through the U.S. and never quite letting roots dig into American soil. But then 9/11 happened, and (even though she was overseas) Claire thought something to the effect of "why would they do that to us"...
And it was the realization that the "them" became an "us" which catalyzed some reflection on what her cultural and national identity had become without even knowing it.
Anyway, that's about it...not much to say this time. We got to meet the performers and say hi. Definitely intend on catching the next SpeakeasyDC event, when possible (2nd Tuesdays of every month). Maybe we'll see you there :-)
