September | 2006 | Prescott-Joseph Center for Community Enhancement

The Sister Thea Theater Presents:

M a c b e t h

Mack, A Gangsta’s Tale

Opening September 30th

click the thumbnail image to see the full-size poster

Click here to see the promotional video for MACK: A Gangsta’s Tale (.mp4 format)

Back by popular demand, Prescott-Joseph Center for Community Enhancement and The Lower Bottom Playaz proudly present this year’s production of Shakespeare in the Yard: Mack, A Gangsta’s Tale. Directed by Ayodele Nzinga, MFA this retelling of Shakespeare’s Macbeth features an original jazz score and dancers, and a classic version and a hip-hop version.

Shakespeare in the Yard, in it’s fifth season at the Sister Thea Bowman Memorial Theater, presents the Lower Bottom Playaz in an adaptation of Macbeth. Mack, A Gangsta’s Tale is a mixture of classic Shakespeare, Beats, popular street music, and Spoken Word with an all-star cast. It will open on September 30th and runs weekends through the 9th of October in the outdoor theater in the backyard of the Prescott-Joseph Center For Community Enhancement at 920 Peralta St. Oakland CA.

The tragic-comic adaptation is written and directed by Ayodele ‘WordSlanger’ Nzinga and reflects the Lower Bottom Playaz focus on the lived life of the Oakland streets. This urban version of Macbeth features Spokenword Artist, A. Rush as Mack, Adimu Madyun lyricist and rhythm guitarist for Hairdoo, Spoken Word Artists Paradise and Prez, Master Drummer Keli Nitoto, members of Hi-Beats and the Turf Starz crew and WordSlanger in a cameo role as Hecate the Goddess of Evil.

Proceeds benefit the art and cultural programs at the Prescott-Joseph Center for Community Enhancement. Tickets range from $5.00 seniors 65 and older/students under 12, $10.00 general admission and $15.00 table side seating. House is open at 7:15. Concession stand. Dress comfortably for outdoor seating.

Additional information and tickets available at 510-208-1912 or 510-208-5651.

“Off the hook, done slipped the chain, aiming straight at your brain; Mack.”

Sponsored by – The Prescott-Joseph Center For Community Enhancement

History of Shakespeare in the yard:

Shakespeare in the Yard is offered annually at the Prescott-Joseph Center for Community Enhancement in October. In the last three years we did Notes from William, monologues and soliloquies from Shakespeare.

Our 2005 production of Shakespeare in the Yard was Macbeth. Ayodele Nzinga, MFA, Artistic director, of the Lower Bottom Playaz and the Sister Thea Theatre directed the production, which featured an original jazz score and dancers. A classic version was done for evening shows and a hip-hop version for matinees.

Shakespeare in the Yard was born in 2001 in with a production of Romeo and Juliet in response to a desire for local performances by local people. 60 percent of the multi-cultural cast came from West Oakland, all of whom had a strong interest in cultural participation, but had never before seen a Shakespearean play. The first annual Shakespeare in the Yard production featured the talents of West Oakland youth in a traditional rendering of Romeo and Juliet as well as Hip Hop interpretations.

From this troupe we have formed our own company, The Lower Bottom Playaz. Adaptations that include current events and the inclusion of issues confronting the neighborhood are a part of our evolving artistic signature.

Prescott-Joseph Center for Community Enhancement, located at 920 Peralta St. Oakland, a just a short walk from the West Oakland Bart station. For additional information on how you can help, please contact Ayodele Nzinga at (510) 208-1912 or (510) 981-1313 or email Wordslanger@yahoo.com.

You can also contact Prescott-Joseph Center for Community Enhancement to find out more about Shakespeare in the Yard, The Lower Bottom Playaz, and MACK: A Gangsta’s Tale

Thoughts about a recent participant in the HEARTs program
By instructor, Carmen Reyes

“Lady, as I know thy power,
I place my hopes in thee;
Thy shrine in Guadalupe’s tower,
My pilgrim’s steps shall see.

Thy welcome ever was most sweet
To those who come in care;
When from this prison I retreat,
I’ll seek thine image there.”

As I look at the portrait of Our Lady of Guadalupe, that is carve into a wood panel and painted in her glorious blues, white, red and outlined in gold, I am brought to tears as I think of the artist. Her name is Demeris and she started taking art class at HEARTs in January 2005. When she started she told me that she knew nothing about art and that she did not know what she was doing in the class. I have to admit that her presence and manner of expressing herself scared me a little. She had just recently come out of jail and drug abuse; she was trying to change her life so that her children would respect her and love her.

I told her to trust me and right there we had an understanding. She never missed classes unless it was an emergency and she put her heart into every project. She became driven and every project was better than the next. I showed her to meditate and see herself as a bright light that never had a chance to shine. One day she came to me and said “I never knew that I had talent and you have shown me that I am good at something. I have never finished a project before in my life and you expected me too.”

Reading the verse above honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe, I know how much it meant to Demeris to finish the Madonna project…the last verse says it all; “Thy welcome ever was most sweet to those who come in care; when from this prison I retreat, I’ll seek thine image there.

Today Demeris is drug free and is at home and her example has helped her daughter and her grand children. Demeris is enrolled in the Bridge Program at Laney College.

Web Editor’s Note: This true story is second in a series of personal stories centering around the Prescott-Joseph Center for Community Enhancement and how it helps individuals and families in West Oakland. To read them all, kindly click the “stories” category in the navigation to your right, and return soon to read more and see photographs and images associated with these stories.

Prescott-Joseph Center for Community Enhancement