“The Movement” by Susan

Susan performs her spoken word piece “The Movement” at Heartstorms by Lady Basco at The Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles, CA. The piece was influenced by Chicago spoken word poet, Kevin Coval’s “nothing fight”.

Reflection: Heartstorms

A show about an open mic. The people that come. The stories they share. And the lady that hosts it. Lady Basco.

To be in heartstorms… WOW!  It was funny because the day it premiered the there was a literally storm going on outside… clouds and rain pouring like it was the end of times.

All together, it’s been an amazing experience to be a part of especially since Mark and I have never (that I know of… Mark?) been a part of a play before… well, except in grade school but I feel like that doesn’t count!  This project came about at the beginning of October when Tara and Lady Basco approached us about being a part of it.  The original plan was to write and produce it by the end of October but, as all things in life, some problems arose and things fell through.  There were definitely some scheduling conflicts and issues with finding a space but eventually everything came together and the show went on November 20, 2011 at the Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center thanks to Lyrical Rhythm (a weekly open mic on Sunday evenings) for providing the space.

[Q-nice of Lyrical Rhythm]

The show featured original works Lady Basco, Clive “Nothing is Impossible” Aiden, Will “Soulful” Hawkins, Jon “Mumbl” Lafferty, Kehinde Doxx Cunningham, Omar “He so funny” Nava, Tara “doodoodo” Malia, Mark Maza, and me.  Beside sound, all the behind the scenes help came from the amazing Maureen “Mo” Piquette.  Some of these nicknames were made up by me.  It was a really easy and fun experience working with the speakeasy fam because we were all familiar already and, often times, the work we put in didn’t feel like work at all.  The show came together really well, especially considering the time we had to work on it.

It opened up, as speakeasy typically does, with Lady Basco introducing what speakeasy’s about (you shine, I shine) and her wildhearts poem.  We went in with our individual pieces just like we would at speakeasy.  

Then it went into Lady Basco’s life through original songs, slide shows, and spoken word poems with the assistance of the cast.  

It ended as it began, back at speakeasy.  Omar was offended he wasn’t invited to participate (you shine, Omar doesn’t?!) and Lady Basco closed the show with her song.  

Final message of the night was something about how you really should reach out to the people you meet and connect with them because you never know who you’ll meet and how they’ll change your life.  Real talk.

Shout out to Eddy and Steph for the constant support, the cast (it has really been a pleasure working with you all), and Lady Basco and Tara Malia for thinking it up and throwing it together and inviting us along for the ride!

For more pics, check out www.facebook.com/forwordcollective! By the way, did you remember to like us on facebook?!  Oh no?  Well you should do so and follow us on our journey!

:)

-sd