simulacra

It doesn't surprise me in the least when I get tangled up in what is real and what is not. I get snowed by the representation of the thing rather than the thing. Swayed by the press. More bark than bite. This is where "TerminalTerminal" kicks off. Imagine someone trapped in an airport for 16 years and then a big holywood preoducer shows up and begins to make a movie about it. except it ain't about it! it about something, but not his story, to say "based on a true story" is so bogus.

I was intersted in the man stuck in an airport, but I must confess my own use of his story to benefit mine, or for the greater good, what is this greater good? stay tuned i'll speak on it some more..
please remember

the MAI November 26 27 28 th 2009

TERINAL TERMINAL

*photo Althea knight

I THINK I MENTIONED IT BEFORE, BUT IT IS GETTING REALLY CLOSE TO THE TIME I THOUGHT I MIGHT MENTION IT AGAIN. THE ONE MAN PLAY "TERMINAL TERMINAL" WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY BRYAN JAMES AND DIRECTED BY DEBORAH FORDE,, WILL BE at the MAI (Montreal arts interculture) on these dates
November 26, november 27 and November 28;

please come out and support.

But Bryan, whats this thing about?
well, imagine, a man stuck in an airport for , well, a long time. imagine, well don't. imagine come and see the representation of the representation of the almost real thing.

Terminal Terminal

I was watching the news the other day, yesterday, and there was a bit on the CIA and its use of torture. This is not new. They and others have always had the "men in darkk suits who do the work we don't want to know about". what has this to do with Merhan Nasseri, the real "terminal man" well it seemed as though the CIA have helped in creating torture and death squads all over the world. In the case of Merhan, the CIA helped create SAVAK the secret police, which helped to crush all opponents of the shah, and according to Sir Alfred Merhan's book "The Terminal Man" Torture and interrogation methods in SAVAK prisons include but are not limited to; electric shocks,whippings beatings,inserting broken glass into a persons body, the forced extraction of teeth, the forced extraction of fingernails, the forced extraction of toenails,tying weights to the testicles, and pouring boiling water into the rectum."

I am writing about his life WILL BE performing his days in the airport.

"Terminal Terminal"

Just a big heads up, to let you all know that Bryan James will be performing his wonderful funny ,insightful one person play"TERMINAL TERMINAL" in Montreal, it will be Directed By the wonderful Deborah Forde.

the production will take place at the MAI( Montreal Arts interculturels)
3630, rue Jeanne Mance. November 26,27,28. 2009

i will be posting all the latest on the project and all the wonderful rehearsal moments.

long time, no write.

Sorry i really mean it. I have been;(a) very busy, (b) very lazy,(c) apathetic, (d) a mixture of all the afore mentioned.

Yeah, thats it. i have been running around like a running thing. I was working on a production in Montreal "someone Between" Absolutely fantabulous, loved it! not only because I was allowed to participate on the production (thank you Milena Buziak,fab director,smart like firecracker, funnier than Stephen Harper at a rave, and the wonderful, talented-to be sure lovely writer performer Chantria Tram, for allowing me to sit and watch you create, awe inspiring.) at the same time I was doing the teaching begining acting thing. Which I very much love doing. So sorry all you who have been waiting and getting bored wondering if I fell off the face of the earth.

To be fair though,i was getting kinda miffed a bit,trying to find something interesting to write about, without being rude or snide-like. but its freaking hard to write about black canadian artist ,when we seem to be in such small numbers, or are we? can i hear from some o you out there? hell no!

ohhh, okay, its art, right?

I Just got through watching a show here in Montreal, "Le bruit des os qui craquent"... It is about child soldiers. First off i want to say my french sucks, so I can't say that I understood most of what was said. Heres the sticking point for me, and I'm willing to listen(and i did) to reasons for the theatre companies choices. In the advertising they talk of child soldiers in the congo, there are pictures in the front of the theatre, of children,African children, sad looking,with rifles,combat gear etc. So when the lights go down and the stage lights go up,,, why are there no african faces on the stage? yeah! I'm sitting there and the two actors playing the child soldiers are white, I'm sitting there thinking, interesting choices, (as i said, my French sucks.) The actors are wearing that camoflage makeup, so i can't really tell, but as it goes on, yep! So what's the deal? The writer took the words from a girl who was a child soldier, the work is good, but am I finicky about not seeing black faces on the stage ,when the text and theme is about black children, it reminds me of kevjumba In his "Asians just aren't cool". I asked others who saw the production about the choices and I heard; (a)They wanted to give a universal theme to the play;(b) They wanted to get away from the idea of child soldiers being only African As in this could be any child anywhere, So why then use the images of African children in the selling of the show. Why use African child soldier stories?
I have ruled out, the lack of French speaking Black actors. maybe Kevjumba is right (i'll paraphrase) "Black just aren't cool."

JUST A THOUGHT

I recently zipped through the net looking for thinks black and beautiful in the theatre and arts scene. Surprisingly there's not a ton of stuff out there. What does this mean? I think its a clear indication that we, and I mean all peoples of colour must write ourselves into the digital world. I was inspired by the blog uppitybrownwomen(I've added the link,) its systemic. Brian fawcett alluded to this in his book the disappearance of the world. The global village we keep hear about is making the world smaller ,but also whiter. oooppps! there,I said it. Even though we have instant communications, there is the idea that those who own the means of communication productions own the story. or, as M and M says "the medium is the message." Simply, if the people who have the access to the technology are the same as the ones who own the old technology(newspapers,books,economy.)the theme will remain the same.

The Disappearance of the World
Oral cultures took a back seat with the technological invention of writing. Writing made ideas permanent. unchanging. did not rely on memory. the printing press disseminated information. making one set of stories prevalent, while oral histories remained local. imperialism,capitalism spread its ideas through not only with force ,but his- stories lets move to the electric age. radio,television, NEWS,MOVIES,NOVELS,all spreading one story.
the global village makes the world smaller, because there is less diversity.

The WWW.

That being said, We have to write,post, print pictures, tell stories. make ourselves known, make the slight or large differences apparent. or we face disappearing, becoming an insignificant speck on the world wide web,
TRY THIS; Take a walk down your street, look at the amount of diversity you see, turn on your t.v (try CBC)is that diversity there? look at a newspaper?

Post. Write. Demand !