TOP 10
SINGLES
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
TOP 10
ALBUMS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
The Middle
Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey
Psycho
Post Malone Feat. Ty Dolla $ign
Nice For What
Drake
Never Be The Same
Camila Cabello
Delicate
Taylor Swift
No Tears Left To Cry
Ariana Grande
In My Blood
Shawn Mendes
Meant To Be
Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line
God’s Plan
Drake
Mine
Bazzi
EVERYTHING IS LOVE
The Carters
Nasir
Nas
Youngblood
5 Seconds Of Summer
Liberation
Christina Aguilera
Post Traumatic
Mike Shinoda
The Greatest Showman
Soundtrack
SQUARE UP (EP)
BLACKPINK
Redemption
Jay Rock
?
XXXTENTACION
KIDS SEE GHOSTS
KIDS SEE GHOSTS
Presented by
wireless
Theater Building relationships
and all the stories to come out
of the festival
“Every year we start with
a panel addressing a topic in
the theatre or the black theatre
Caribbean L 46 ife, Jan. 25–31, 2019
community, and the black
community and a variation of
all things,” said Girod. “This
year, our panel will be on the
retrospective and the past 10
years.”
The festival was birthed after
the election of former President
Barack Obama in 2009.
Now a decade later and a new
president, Girod said there are
many stories to reflect on and
analyze what hass changed
with the work that black writers
have created since.
“When we formed the festival,
Obama had just been
elected, and 10 years later we
have the Trump administration,”
she said. “So we’re going
to have some playwrights from
over the years speak about their
involvement with the festival
and also how the festival has
captured these critical past 10
years of the black experience.”
The discussion titled, “From
Obama to Trump: The Fire This
Time Festival and Ten Significant
Years of Telling Black Stories,”
will serve as a tool to look
back at how the festival has
acted as a megaphone of sorts,
detailing the course of issues
that were important during
that period.
“You’ll know what was going
on politically and socially at
that time and I feel like it’s a
great opportunity to talk about
the formation of the festival
having so much hope with one
administration, and fast forward
to the administration we
have now, which is actively trying
to rollback civil rights,”
said Girod.
She said exploring a timeline
of the festival will allow people
to see what shifted, and the
many ways playwrights opted
to stay current by acknowledging
national and global issues
in their work.
“The amazing thing in these
past 10 years is to see how all
of a sudden the writing got way
more urgent and we started
to see more plays about Black
Lives Matter, gun violence, and
white privilege,” said Girod.
“So it’s great to look at the catalog
because we really do see a
reflection of the times.”
Though the faces of these
singers are covered due to the
masks, Vendryes chose iconic
full figure images of the
women that are easily recognizable
in pop culture.
Her decision to mask them
is somewhat of an act of defiance,
and confronting gender
norms. She said since a majority
of African entertainers wearing
masks were always men —
she wanted to tackle that and
celebrate them in a way they
couldn’t.
“African women were not
part of performance, and
didn’t perform in mask,” she
said. “Here, they wear celebrated
African masks originally
carved for important
African men to wear during
rites of passage, judiciary proceedings,
and other formal
ceremonies.”
That is partly what inspired
the name of the project. She
says these women deserve accolades
for their cultural impact
— particularly the older singers
. “I want them to be celebrated
and that’s what a ‘Standing
O’ does — give these women
what they deserve,” said Vendryes.
Her work on display will be
up for sale at the end of the
exhibition to raise money for
the performing arts center,
according to Vendryes.
She said it was important
to her that people learn more
about these women, but more
so get a much needed exposure
to community art. She said
it was crucial that everyday
locals can access the exhibition
despite common misconceptions.
“I would love for the younger
crowd to see this because then
they can grow with it, and
Artist Margaret Rose Vendryes poses near cutouts of her
art, “Standing Ovation: The African Diva Project” at the Jamaica
Performing Arts Center. Jacqueline Herranz-Brooks
when they see an art exhibition
like this — they’ll appreciate
and feel like they belong there,”
she said. “But the bigger picture
is, I want the community
to know how much more
enriched life is when they’re
engaged with art.”
“Standing Ovation: The African
Diva Project” at Jamaica
Performing Arts Center lawn
153-10 Jamaica Ave. between
Jamaica and Archer avenues in
Jamaica, (718) 618-6170, www.
jamaicapac.org. On display
until March 24.
Continued from Page 45
Playwright Kendra Augustin’s
play, “Sisterhood in the
Time of the Apocalypse” will
be performed at the festival.
Continued from Page 45
woman, that’s what everybody
needs but not everyone has
learned to do it right. Maybe
early role models argued
loudly or behind closed doors,
leaving you with no template
for disagreement. Maybe one
parent slept around, imprinting
a sense of insecurity. Or
perhaps your childhood was
peppered with lessons that
just don’t work anymore.
Whatever you learned early
in life, the first rule to keep
now is to love yourself. You
can’t know what you want in
a partner unless you know
what you want for you. Loving
yourself is the basis of all good
relationships.
Treat your body like the
precious thing God intended.
Stop being promiscuous, and
don’t let your partner talk you
into anything that’s wrong for
you and what you want from a
relationship.
“Keep your standards,” says
Gaskins.
Pay close attention to
potential mates: they’ll show
you who they are and it’s up
to you to see it. If you’re still
falling in love, ask yourself
seriously if you can live with
their actions and ideals for
the next four or five decades.
Don’t put up with liars, namecallers,
Mama’s Babies, profanity
users, or anyone who
abuses substances.
“Be selfless” in your relationship
by putting your partner
first – and that means
no secret-spilling to friends.
Remember that both of you
will bear the blame for any rift
in the partnership. Learn how
to disagree. And finally, know
what’s worth breaking up over;
prayer and a little soul-searching
might surprise you.
“Make It Work” is absolutely
not a book for everyone.
Page after page after page
of it is filled with so many
overgeneralizations that it’s
almost laughable: the warning
tones in the abundance
of women-do-this, men-dothat
scenarios feel like a marriage
manual from the 1950s.
The “female” is painted as a
wily being, painfully desperate
for love, using her body
to “chase” a man; men are
portrayed as being unable to
think of anything but the bedroom.
Readers are cautioned
against having opposite-sex
friends, because, well, one of
you might not be able to maintain
control. Yes, Eisenhower-
Era readers, it’s that clichéd.
But then, just when you
think your eyes have rolled
plumb out of your head, author
Tony A. Gaskins Jr. surprises
readers with information that
is so useful and real that you’ll
gasp. It’s advice that makes
incredible sense. And yes, it
could help you do what the
title promises.
Continued from Page 45
AFRICAN DIVAS
/www.jamaicapac.org
/www.jamaicapac.org
/jamaicapac.org