# data[].attributes.body
https://wwnorton.com/books/The-Black-Unicorn/

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.knarrative.com/

# data[].attributes.body
InClassWithCarr is my Church

Knarrative.com Largest Africana. Studies in the world

You Are Your Best thing Tarana Burkee

Toni Morrison

James Baldwin

Zora Neal Hurston

Audre Lord

# data[].attributes.body
I think conversations about who represents what stories particularly around nationality are so tricky (Black Americans v Black Brits v Caribbean actors v African actors)...I'm curious about how scarcity of roles for all black women plays into this tension and where there is room for an expansive ancestral knowledge...

# data[].attributes.headline
Black Motherhood and Parenting New Play Festival

# data[].attributes.subject
Black Motherhood and Parenting New Play Festival

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The livestream concert platform for the music industry.

# data[].attributes.headline
Kansas City’s premier African American theater company 

# data[].attributes.subject
Kansas City’s premier African American theater company 

# data[].attributes.body
www.kcmeltingpot.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
KCMPT creates thought provoking, professional productions that reveal the rich contributions that African Americans have made to the theatrical tradition in the United States. As the premier African American theater company in Kansas City, our primary goal is to explore theatrical works, old and new, that feature complex stories of African American life as a lens through which we realize our shared humanity. We seek to build coalitions and partnerships across the diversity spectrum that can create bridges that facilitate opportunities to understand and celebrate our similarities and our differences.

MeltingPot Theatre, PO Box 413867, Kansas City, MO 64141

I was blown away by the acting in Sunset Baby last night! Really powerful! Diane Capps (patron)

A Raisin in the Sun was absolutely marvelous! The actors were phenomenal! And the set was amazing. I've enjoyed theater for many years now and one thing that I always pay close attention to are the sets. I love sets...I love to go see how the directors are going to 'set' the stage. Well, in my opinion, this was one of the best that I've seen in a long time. Perfect for the time and reminded me so much of the actual movie. I loved, enjoyed, was thrilled every minute. Congratulations on a very successful production with many more to follow. Barbara Jewell

It (Radio Golf) was one of the best productions I've seen from KCMPT. You and your team really nailed it. Congratulations Marilyn Monroe

There's this family atmosphere that Harvey and Linda create, and you know it's genuine.. along with the respect that they give to the actors and crew.. I literally have separation issues for awhile after a KC Melting Pot show that I'm in closes. Sherri Roulette-Mosley

I love speaking and acting, but never had the opportunity to show my speaking ability until I auditioned for a part in the play Rachel at KCMPT. Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Williams, Ms. Nicole and KCMPT for believing in me and my talents, and I look forward to my next performance! Arianna Craig

I wanted to express my support for Nicole Hodges Persley's appointment as Artistic Director for KC Melting Pot Theatre. Nicole's experience, vision and commitment to the mission of KCMPT in this capacity will help expand the artistic direction and platform for amazing works of theatre in Kansas City. Leticia Zarate-Garcia, Board Member, KCMPT

Please visit our You Tube page to check out the past episodes of the "What's Going On?" and "The Black Performance Project"

KCMPT Film, TV & New Media Division - Stay tuned into our IG, Twitter, and FB pages for two new web series from KCMPT. Project Onyx created by Nicole Hodges Persley and a new untitled series featuring hot new plays and performers from around the country starting soon.

KCMPT Black Playwright Festival - We received over 50 submissions from across the country for the 2021 Black Playwright's Festival. The 3 finalists have been selected. Finalist are receiving notifications this week and tickets will be available next week. The New Play Festival will take place July 9 - 11, 2021

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
premier african american theater company

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
As the premier African American theater company in Kansas City, our primary goal is to explore theatrical works, old and new, that feature complex stories of African American life as a lens through which we realize our shared humanity.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A non-profit organization helping incorperate a broader range of cultural world views and experiences in theatre and performance across the world.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.hodgespersley.com/

# data[].attributes.body
Radha Blank: “It wasn’t easy to get a movie about a 40-year-old Black woman made”

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
For Radha Blank, turning 40 is just the beginning. The native New Yorker has already won plaudits writing for the stage, earned good money scribbling for TV and made a name for herself as a comedian and rapper. As careers go, many would be envious of the variety, let alone success she's enjoyed. Yet despite racking up awards and working alongside Spike Lee, Blank felt she wasn't living her best life.

Cue The Forty-Year-Old Version, a story largely based on her own experiences as a middle-aged NYC playwright struggling to get her latest work commissioned. She's teaching angry kids how to write at a rundown school while wondering is she's made the right life choices. Before long, she throws caution to the wind and sets about becoming a rap artist, much to the concern of her best friend - and agent - who is desperately trying to get Radha's career back on track.

Initially, the project was going to be a web series - and when the viewer got through all 10 episodes, they'd be rewarded with a mixtape of Blank's best music. But the more she thought about it, the more she realised the idea would be better served in film form.

Three years later and her gut feeling has paid off - Blank has written, directed and starred in a movie that has been met with numerous awards - most notably the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance earlier this year - and will this month find its way onto Netflix.

Partly serious, partly thoughtful and overwhelmingly funny, Radha was on top form when we jumped on a Zoom call to talk about the process of becoming a 40-year-old first-time director.

Hi Radha, what were you doing before you embarked on this movie?

"I was doing what the character was doing. I was mourning my mother. I was trying to figure out where my voice was. I needed to take my life and career into my own hands so that I couldn't get fired from another job."

Did you feel liberated or exposed playing a character so similar to yourself?

"Both. I feel very exposed, especially in that love scene, woo-hoo! It is my life on display - that's my apartment, my mother's artwork, my dad's jazz playing in the background and my failures. They're tweaked and amplified to suit the narrative but I am telling on myself. It's a little scary but also liberating because I got this film out of me, and I hope it sets the tone for a really cool career as an auteur."

What's different for you now you've made a mainstream film?

"There's something I have heard a lot in my play-writing career, people would read my plays and think they're wonderful and then say, 'What else you got?' and that question feels different now, it's less about the person at the gate, and more about my voice and connecting to my audience."

What advice do you have for someone looking to make a play or a film?

"Go where the love is. I was so busy trying to get the attention of gatekeepers and getting people in power to love my work. I wasted so much energy doing that, and like my character, I had an epiphany. I looked in a different direction, to see all these people who had always loved me and loved my work.

How hard is it to get a movie about a 40-year old Black woman made?

"It's not easy, that's for sure. I think even when people read and loved the script, the image of someone like me... they don't know me and I think Hollywood is trying to bank on what's familiar, a face or a name, that's what is gonna pull people in. I think it used to be the opposite."

How do you mean?

"A leading man and woman had a different look 30 years ago, they looked like real people and they all possessed their own beauty but they weren't immediately sexy or attractive. That's what I wanted to harken back to, a real person having a real journey. I'm trying to get back to casting ugly people in leads, messed-up teeth, eyes crooked. I wanna bring that back!"
'The Forty-Year-Old Version' is on Netflix from October 9

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Radha Blank became a first-time director at 40

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
For Radha Blank, turning 40 is just the beginning. The native New Yorker has already won plaudits writing for the stage, earned good money scribbling for TV and made a name for herself as a comedian and rapper. As careers go, many would be envious of the variety, let alone success she's enjoyed.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Black Performance Project- performance magazine show from and African diasporic creative perpective: 

# data[].attributes.subject
The Black Performance Project- performance magazine show from and African diasporic creative perpective: 

# data[].attributes.body
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_IrCTR3zpUb6Voth_FwwEEdYq5gFrpGH

# data[].attributes.headline
I have a good friend who is a wonderful actress. She is bi-racial. She is told "You're not Black enough to play this part or white enough play that part. She has done a lot of Shakespeare because they don't care about color when casting. We are looking for ways to change that; ways to encourage non-traditional casting and ways to encourage more stories that feature women of all shades.

# data[].attributes.subject
I have a good friend who is a wonderful actress. She is bi-racial. She is told "You're not Black enough to play this part or white enough play that part. She has done a lot of Shakespeare because they don't care about color when casting. We are looking for ways to change that; ways to encourage non-traditional casting and ways to encourage more stories that feature women of all shades.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
SYNOPSIS

The eve of the 2020 election, a posse of progressives ride into red country armed with heart humor and naiveté.

From the mind of Tony award-winning actress, Tonya Pinkins comes a progressive dystopia nightmare. Shot by cinematographer John Hudak Jr., Red Pill is a visually stunning metaphor for all our fears and a reminder that there are worse things than death.

Cassandra (Tonya Pinkins) is a black American woman fearful for the fate of her country in the next election. Election weekend 2020, she reluctantly accompanies her best friend Rocky, land preserver activist (Ruben Blades) and his wife Emelia (Luba Mason), her roommate Lily (Kathyrn Erbe), friend Nick (Jake O'Flaherty) and partner Bobby (Adesola Osakalumi) to canvas in newly blue Virginia.

As the friends arrive at their "Super-Host" housing, they encounter signs that point to possible trouble and before the weekend is over their fight for the country becomes a fight for their lives.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The eve of the 2020 election, a posse of progressives ride into red country armed with heart humor and naiveté. From the mind of Tony award-winning actress, Tonya Pinkins comes a progressive dystopia nightmare. Shot by cinematographer John Hudak Jr., Red Pill is a visually stunning metaphor for all our fears and a reminder that there are worse things than death.

# data[].attributes.headline
platform for creatives of the global majority

# data[].attributes.subject
platform for creatives of the global majority

# data[].attributes.body
allies and accomplices are on the site so please check us out while we are in beta phase

# data[].attributes.body
it is a falsehood that Black centered shows or shows with non-traditional casts, don't make money or have broad-based appeal- think of Black Panther and Hamilton. The Suzi Awards has a goal of creating a "safe space" for everyone, especially Black women, who are often marginalized. A study revealed that the representation of Black women was less than half of what it should be, given Atlanta's
demographics. With the use of intersectionality in our Suzi EDI Eligibility Standards for all theatres and all shows, Black women are the most heavily weighted group. If you want to know more: Toni.Rivers@thesuzis.org