San Diego Virtual Cabaret

Rosa (1998) By Rita Dove How she sat there, the time right inside a place... so wrong it was ready. That trim name with its dream of a bench to rest on. Her sensible coat. Doing nothing was the doing: the clean flame of her gaze carved by a camera flash. How she stood up when they bent down to retrieve her purse. That courtesy. #RitaDove #buddha #candles #elstudiodelbj #goodmorning #meditation #morningprose #music #nature #patiotime #poetry #reflection #sage

After Zuko (2019) By Dave Harris Yes, I too have known fire. And yes, I too have wondered if I come from... a burnt people. A people who have always been ablaze. I have hated my own hands. I have been prince to a kingdom of folk and dishonored them. I have worn a white mask. I have cut my hair to look less like me. I too have sought to be anything other than the ashes of another man’s sin. I have tried to earn my existence in a nation that would not claim me. I have scorched the ones who care most. I have searched the countryside to find something I always had. And yes, I have been unworthy of my mother’s love. I have known the right thing to do and done otherwise. I too have been an exile and a product of my tribe. Yes, I am still running. I too am afraid of being a good man. I too have been beaten by water. Nearly drowned. Emerged. And still, I would burn a forest down just to feel the warmth against my skin #DaveHarris #buddha #candles #elstudiodelbj #goodmorning #meditation #morningprose #music #nature #patiotime #poetry #reflection #sage

MUSIC WHEN SOFT VOICES DIE (TO ) BY PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY Music, when soft voices die, Vibrates in the memory... Odours, when sweet violets sicken, Live within the sense they quicken. Rose leaves, when the rose is dead, Are heaped for the belovèd’s bed; And so thy thoughts, when thou art gone, Love itself shall slumber on. #PercyByssheShelley #buddha #candles #elstudiodelbj #goodmorning #meditation #morningprose #music #nature #patiotime #poetry #reflection #sage

My heart is weary of hypocrisy, by Omar Khayyam My heart is weary of hypocrisy, Cupbearer, bring some wine, I beg of thee! This hooded cowl and prayer-mat pawn for wine, Then will I boast me in security.... #OmarKhayyam #buddha #candles #elstudiodelbj #goodmorning #meditation #morningprose #music #nature #patiotime #poetry #reflection #sage

We continue discussing the topic of Boundaries as we read through the book Set Boundaries, Find Peace. Today's Focus: Doing the Work of Setting Boundaries

America By Zellie Rainey Orr I have believed in America though she has never believed in me;... she enslaved my ancestors in her Land of Liberty. She used me in building America but refused to give me pay; even manipulated justice to look the other way. She gave me an education second-rate at that; and blames me for illiteracy, poverty, and rats. She threw me in her crowded jails even beat me unmercifully; when I stood up for my civil rights and protested peacefully. She brainwashed my mind destroyed my self-esteem; denied me my God-given right to be the best, I can be. I see her flag of freedom flying majestically for all to see; but I know her stars and stripes do not wave to me. #ZellieRaineyOrr #buddha #candles #elstudiodelbj #goodmorning #meditation #morningprose #music #nature #patiotime #poetry #reflection #sage

Tonight, in Oakland BY DANEZ SMITH I did not come here to sing a blues.... Lately, I open my mouth & out comes marigolds, yellow plums. I came to make the sky a garden. Give me rain or give me honey, dear lord. The sky has given us no water this year. I ride my bike to a boy, when I get there what we make will not be beautiful or love at all, but it will be deserved. I’ve started seeking men to wet the harvest. Come, tonight I declare we must move instead of pray. Tonight, east of here, two boys, one dressed in what could be blood & one dressed in what could be blood before the wound, meet & mean mug & God, tonight, let them dance! Tonight, the bullet does not exist. Tonight, the police have turned to their God for forgiveness. Tonight, we bury nothing, we serve a God with no need for shovels, we serve a God with a bad hip & a brother in prison. Tonight, let every man be his own lord. Let wherever two people stand be a reunion of ancient lights. Let’s waste the moon’s marble glow shouting our names to the stars until we are the stars. O, precious God! O, sweet black town! I am drunk & I thirst. When I get to the boy who lets me practice hunger with him I will not give him the name of your newest ghost I will give him my body & what he does with it is none of my business, but I will say look, I made it a whole day, still, no rain still, I am without exit wound & he will say Tonight, I want to take you how the police do, unarmed & sudden & tonight, when we dream, we dream of dancing in a city slowly becoming ash. #DanezSmith #buddha #candles #elstudiodelbj #goodmorning #meditation #morningprose #music #nature #patiotime #reflection #sage

Currently in residence at Art Produce!!! Save the date for my showing and premier of my newest work!

UNTITLED (RED LIGHT) By Juliana Huxtable EXTATERRESTRIALS AMONG US... DISENFRANCHISED SO- CALLED CITIZENS ID PHOTOS, GAPS IN FACIAL RECOGNITION SOFTWARE HUMANOID VOGUING REPLICANT VOGUING DEITY PORNOGRAHIC POLYTHEISM IN 480 X 360 PIXELS IN PHANTOM BREAKBEAT FORMS SUMMONED IN COLORED GESTURES DANCING ACROSS RETINA DISPLAY SCREENS #JulianaHuxtable #buddha #candles #elstudiodelbj #goodmorning #meditation #morningprose #nature #patiotime #reflection #sage

The American middle class... Dawn Lundy Martin The American middle class is screwed again but they don’t know it. Politics is a gleaming nowhere. Žižek fantasizes about Capitalism’s inevitable end. Reviewers want these poems to be more hopeful. Love is obvious. She’s a tutu shelter leaning out! Love is miraculous. She’s twirling quite naturally! We dangle our feet in a July swimming pool. Shoots sparkles from our eyesto quiet to quiet all our little monsters. Street habits r...ear up. Any fire. Any quell. Who’s made it to well being? The television projects hysterical grief. Brown women wailing fall to knees draped over. We are only who we are supposed to be. No moon tonight, dear one. #DawnLundyMartin #buddha #candles #elstudiodelbj #goodmorning #meditation #morningprose #nature #patiotime #reflection #sage

A year later and this OnStage Blog reads JUST AS FRESH. The #TheaterArts have not moved the needle much. #SanDiego I'm especially talking to you. #SanDiegoArts

FOR MY OWN PROTECTION ESSEX HEMPHILL, FROM "CEREMONIES" I WANT TO START AN ORGANIZATION ... TO SAVE MY LIFE. IF WHALES, SNAILS, DOGS, CATS, CHRYSLER, AND NIXON CAN BE SAVED, THE LIVES OF BLACK MEN ARE PRICELESS AND CAN BE SAVED. WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO SAVE EACH OTHER. I DON'T WANT TO WAIT FOR THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION TO RELEASE A STUDY STATING BLACK MEN ARE ALMOST EXTINCT. I DON'T WANT TO BE THE LIVING DEAD PACIFIED WITH DRUGS AND SEX. IF A HUMAN CHAIN CAN BE FORMED AROUND MISSILE SITES, THEN SURLEY BLACK MEN CAN FORM HUMAN CHAINS AROUND ANACOSTIA, HARLEM, SOUTH AFRICA, WALL STREET, HOLLYWOOD, EACH OTHER. IF WE HAVE TO TAKE TOMORROW WITH OUR BLOOD ARE WE READY? DO OUR S CURLS, DREADLOCKS, AND PHILLIES MAKE US ANY MORE READY THAN A BUSH OR CONKALINE? I'M NOT CONCERNED ABOUT THE ATTIRE OF A SOLDIER. ALL I WANT TO KNOW FOR MY OWN PEOTECTION IS ARE WE CAPABLE OF WHATEVER, WHENEVER? #EssexHemphill #buddha #candles #elstudiodelbj #goodmorning #meditation #morningprose #music #nature #patiotime #poetry #reflection #sage

"The moment anyone tries to demean or degrade you in any way, you have to know how great you are. Nobody would bother to beat you down if you were not a threat." - Cicely Tyson #budda #candles #goodmorning #meditation #music #nature #patiotime #reflection #sage

Defining myself, as opposed to being defined by others, is one of the most difficult challenges I face. Carol Moseley-Braun #bubbles #buddha #candles #goodmorning #meditation #music #nature #patiotime #reflection #sage

The conversation continues this weekend reflecting on how Arts & Entertainment changed throughout 2020, as well as where it's going in 2021. Join us for Tough Talk 2021: Arts & Enterntainment Saturday at 4:05 PM PST. All are welcome, on and off camera, to listen, learn, share, and to gain understanding. DM for more info or to join our Zoom where it happens! #ToughTalk #ArtsandEntertainment #ToughTalk2020 #ToughTalk2021 #willbjrob #elstudiodelbj #AllAreWelcome #KeepOnKeepingOn #GettingComfortableWiththeUncomfortable #ActivateForOthers

With an influx of #WhiteArtists asking about how to be a better ally at this time...I can only offer from my perspective: First, thanks for asking. Next, here's a #ToughTruth: it will involve changing your actions, education, intentions, perceptions, practices, and priorities. Growth is hardly ever easy, and it should never actually end...... And, I recommend that you check out some recaps from my Tough Talk series. Most of you have not attended nor watched any of these. There have been many conversations on allyship and making changes in the arts: https://youtu.be/IZ1DaLQ1sak https://www.youtube.com/watch https://www.youtube.com/watch https://www.youtube.com/watch https://www.youtube.com/watch Then, I'd be very interested in having a conversation or two to tackle further questions, concerns, or ideas that you have in mind. Yes, this is asking a lot. Yes, this is complicated and difficult and uncomfortable. THAT is your "drop in the bucket" of the BIPOC artists' experiences in navigating the San Diego Arts scene. That's just another tough truth. And, this is ALL just a beginning. The real work is to keep on keeping on with changing and educating and prioritizing BIPOC artists. Let's get it done. #GetItDone2021 #BIPOCArtists #sandiegoarts #weseeyou

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed. Booker T. Washington #bubbles #buddha #candles #goodmorning #meditation #music #nature #reflection #sage

Join me for a night at the theatre, won't you? SWC Theatre Arts: "The desTROYers", followed by a talkback with the brilliant on the challenges and solutions for fighting systemic racism. Tickets are free, register at swctheatre.com for the webinar #thedestroyers #swctheatre #sdtheatre #systemicracism #theatrearts #sandiegoarts #southwesterncollege

This Monday, join the conversation led by the Theatre Alliance, San Diego and the SDTA Diversity & Inclusion Council as we focus on diversity and inclusion of the Black Community in the San Diego Arts scene. All are welcome, and we will be moderated by National Conflict Resolution Center - NCRC Sign up at https://sdpal.org/theatre-alliance-roundtables/ #sdtheatre #sandiegoarts #sandiegotheatre #sandiegotheatrealliance #diversityequityinclusion #TheZoomWhereitHappens

https://youtu.be/KjKX-4WOm_I

TONIGHT! Join Tough Talk & The Roustabouts Theatre Co. for a Roundtable discussion, hosted by Phil Johnson of The Roustabouts & the new SD Theatre Alliance, and KPBS personality and "Tough Talk" host William BJ Robinson. Today, September 21 at 7PM, Facebook Live on our page: https://www.facebook.com/theroustabouts.org We'll be talking about issues concerning you, whether you're a theatre patron or a theatre professional, as they directly affect changes in diversity, discussions, and empowerment in our performing world and beyond. #ToughTalk #willbjrob #theroustaboutstheatreco #sdtheatre #sdtheatrealliance #diversityequityinclusion

Join Tough Talk & The Roustabouts Theatre Co. for a Roundtable discussion, hosted by Phil Johnson of The Roustabouts & the new SD Theatre Alliance, and KPBS personality and "Tough Talk" host William BJ Robinson. September 21 at 7PM, Facebook Live on our page: https://www.facebook.com/theroustabouts.org We'll be talking about issues concerning you, whether you're a theatre patron or a theatre professional, as they directly affect changes in diversity, discussions, and empowerment in our performing world and beyond. #ToughTalk #willbjrob #theroustaboutstheatreco #sdtheatre #sdtheatrealliance #diversityequityinclusion

Kudos to The Old Globe for taking action in our community!