Founding members of Alternate ROOTS. Photo by: Melisa Cardona By Ashley Sparks | September 19, 2016 The late seventies and early 80s were seminal for U.S. theater history – especially southern theater history. In June 1976, a dynamic mix of…
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in the Arts: It Is Possible
By Keryl McCord, Operations Director, Alternate ROOTS | June 17, 2016 A few weeks ago Alternate ROOTS published my article, and its follow-up piece, Why We Must Have Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Arts: A Response to the National…
Tagged with: ArtSpot Productions, Azule, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Junebug Productions, Mondo Bizarro, ROOTS Culture, Transformation
Archival Revival | A Call for Cultural Development
By Dudley Cocke and Ruby Lerner Originally published: 1989 | Republished: April 11, 2016 The Archival Revival Series looks back at articles by ROOTers, about ROOTS, in celebration of our 40th anniversary. This series, and the field of arts activism, owes…
Tagged with: Archive, community and culture, cultural organizing, Dudley Cocke, Roadside Theatre, The South
Who Counts?
Audience attending Roadside’s Appalachian Tent Tour By Dudley Cocke This article was originally on Roadside Theater’s blog and is used here with permission. Andy Horwitz’s Jan. 31, 2016 Atlantic article about the National Endowment for the Arts is telling: “The current state of…
Archival Revival | Cheerleader for the Revolution: Thoughts on Carpetbag Theater Company
By Ann Kilkelly Originally published: November 2002 | Republished: March 7, 2016 The Archival Revival Series looks back at articles by ROOTers, about ROOTS, in celebration of our 40th anniversary. This series and the field of arts activism, owes an…
Community Artist Partnership: Building Community Power, A Conversation with Linda Parris-Bailey and Cristal Chanelle Truscott
Progress Theatre performs The Burnin’ at ROOTS Week 2014. Photo: Melisa Cardona. By Joe Tolbert This article is an edited transcript of a conversation that was facilitated by Joe Tolbert on February 8, 2016 with Linda Parris-Bailey, Executive/Artistic Director of…
From Script to Screen: Documenting the Free Southern Theater
Early Free Southern Theater promotional image, circa 1970. Jason Foster & Kiyoko McCrae (New Orleans, LA) | February 2, 2016 “Through theater, we think to open a new area of protest. One that permits the development of playwrights and actors,…
The Places We Call Home: ROOTS Weekend at Zora Fest
(L-R) Ausettua AmorAmenkum and Jarrell Hamilton perform in Junebug Productions’ Gomela/to return: Movement of Our Mother Tongue. Photo credit: Melisa Cardona, 2014. Article by Tamiko Ambrose Murray (Asheville, NC) | January 4, 2016 Interested in attending ROOTS Weekend-Eatonville? Click here…
Resistance as Legacy
David Montana, Big Chief of the Ouachita Nation Mardi Gras Indians. Photo: Rebecca Mwase, 2015. Article by Rebecca Mwase (New Orleans, LA) | October 2, 2015 New Orleans is ten years post-Katrina. The landscape of the city has been ravaged…
Tassels and Transgressions on the Third Rail: Shaking It Up for Social Justice through Burlesque
Article by S.T. Shimi | October 7, 2015 Editor’s Note: We’re thrilled to publish this article by one of our Barbeque, Burlesque, and Bourbon headliners and longtime members, S.T. Shimi aka Black Orchid. Come on out to see Black Orchid,…
“Lord knows we’ll never be the same again, but at least we started telling the truth.”* A Report Back from Environment & Economy Day at ROOTS Week 2015
Land, Water, Food, Story altar installed by Clear Creek folks, created from copies of deeds to the land and rusty farm implements found on the land over the years. Photo: Nicole Garneau, 2015. Article by Nicole Garneau (Chicago, IL) Editor’s Note: This…
Using Art to Undo Imperialism
Dora Arreola in “Telares (o el Olvido),” with Mujeres en Ritual Danza-Teatro at ROOTS Week. Photo: Melisa Cardona, 2015. Article by Anu Yadav (Washington D.C.) A woman silently gestures to me in the cafeteria, her face partially obscured by…
ROOTS Week 2015: A Preview
We are pleased, proud, and excited to announce the incredible artists, culture-bearers, organizers, activists, and scholars who will share their work with us at ROOTS Week under the banner, A Call to Action: Transformation. Within this theme, we’ll be focusing…
Tagged with: ROOTS Week
Symbols of Struggle: Black Lives Matter
Chen Lo in Soundtrack ’63 by Soul Science Lab. Originally commissioned and produced by 651 ARTS, Soundtrack ’63 will be presented by Junebug Productions and Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans in January 2016. Photo: Xy-Fy Fotography. Article by Kiyoko…
Artability Artist Spotlight: Amanda Levesque
This is the fourth and final installment of our Artability Artist Spotlight series, which highlights artists who are differently-abled, and runs throughout Alternate ROOTS’ Artability campaign. Artability provides scholarships for artists with disabilities to attend ROOTS Week. You can read…
Indigenous Artists Gathering 2015 – Minneapolis, Minnesota
Lumhe “Micco” Sampson presenting his workshop, “Hoop Dance Teaching: Indigenous Circles of Leadership” at the Indigenous Artists Gathering. Photo: Ashley Minner, 2015. Article by: Ashley Minner, Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina Alternate ROOTS Executive Committee Member (Baltimore, MD) Way back…
Mujeres en Ritual Danza-Teatro
Mujeres en Ritual Danza-Teatro will be performing at this years ROOTS Week, August 4-9 2015! Telares (o el olvido) / Looms (or, the forgetting) By Fabiola Ruiz A work-in-progress performance in Spanish Directed by: Dora Arreola Performed by: Gisela…
Artability Artist Spotlight: Samuel Valdez
This is the second of our four-part Artability Artist Spotlight series that highlights differently-abled artists and runs throughout Alternate ROOTS’ Artability campaign. Artability provides scholarships for artists with disabilities to attend ROOTS Week. To read the first spotlight, featuring Camille…
The Land Man & A Love For
Article by Carrie Brunk, Clear Creek Creative (Clear Creek, Rockcastle County, KY) Photos by Melisa Cardona (New Orleans, LA) Clear Creek Creative is a member of Alternate ROOTS’ 2014-15 Partners in Action cohort. It’s a bold move to drive off a rural…
A Terrifying Liberation: The Opportunity in Appalachia’s Uncertain Future
Article by Ben Spangler, Appalshop (Whitesburg, KY) Appalshop is a member of Alternate ROOTS’ 2014-15 Partners in Action cohort. Central Appalachia is presently in a strange place as the collapse of the coal industry leaves the region in an historical moment…