CHILDREN OF KILLERS by Katori HallAt The Castillo Theatre In New York City September 21st - Ocotber 28th, 2012 (Limited Engagement)

                         

Official Website: http://www.castillo.org/show-children-of-killers/

Castillo Theatre Presents The U.S. Premiere Of

CHILDREN OF KILLERS

by Katori Hall

Author of the Olivier Award-Winning Play THE MOUNTAIN TOP

Directed by Emily Mendelsohn

September 21 - October 28th, 2012

Synopsis:

Set 15 years after the Rwandan genocide, Children of Killers follows a group of teenage friends as many of their fathers are being released from prison where they have been serving time for their roles in the mass killings of their Tutsi neighbors. How are these innocents — young people who don’t even remember their fathers — going to live with their brutal legacy; is it possible to move beyond it, or will they be shaped by their tragic heritage?

"With its dedication to fierce, thought-provoking political theatre that forces audiences to look into the mirror and question and confront themselves, I knew this would be the perfect home for the first American incarnation of the play." - Katori Hall

Read more at: Off-Broadway World.com
   
Featuring:
Raphael Agbune, LaTonia Antoinette, Edgar Cancinos, Kimarra Cannonier, Franceli Chapman, Suzanne Darrell, Khadim Diop, Sidiki Fofana, Naja Jack, Rain Jack, Lorenzo Jackson, Lauryn Simone Jones, Melech Meir, Niara Nyabingi, Andrea Rachel, Mariel Reyes, Starshima Trent, Terrell Wheeler

Get your tickets online today at  www.castillo.org or call our box office at 212-941-1234
 

For group rates contact Gail Peck at 212-356-8449 or gpeck@allstars.org

Castillo Theatre

543 West 42nd Street

(between 10th & 11th Avenues)

New York, NY 10036

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PRESS RELEASE

The Castillo Theatre is opening its 29th season with the American premiere of Children of Killers by award-wining playwright, Katori Hall. Ms. Hall comes to Castillo fresh from the London and Broadway triumphs of The Mountaintop, her play about the last night of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and from the premiere at the Signature Theatre of Hurt Village, a play set in the projects of her hometown of Memphis. The Mountaintop won the Olivier Award for best play in 2010. Hurt Village won the 2011 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Ms. Hall is pleased that Children of Killers is being presented to Castillo’s diverse audience, and has said, “With its dedication to fierce, thought-provoking political theatre that forces audiences to look into the mirror and question and confront themselves, I knew this would be the perfect home for the first American incarnation of the play.” The production is directed by Emily Mendelsohn.

Set 15 years after the Rwandan genocide, Children of Killers follows a group of teenage friends as many of their fathers are being released from prison where they have been serving time for their roles in the mass killings of their Tutsi neighbors. How are these innocents — young people who don’t even remember their fathers — going to live with their brutal legacy; is it possible to move beyond it, or will they be shaped by their tragic heritage?

Originally commissioned by the National Theatre in London, Children of Killers was inspired by a trip to Rwanda in 2009 when Hall attended a genocide studies conference and spoke with victims and perpetrators of the genocide. The play was developed in part through a workshop conducted by Ms. Hall and National Theatre director, Anthony Banks with students in Castillo’s youth theatre program, Youth Onstage!, in the summer of 2010. It has received eight productions in Britain and 40 productions in Portugal.

Located at the All Stars Project’s performing arts and youth development center on West 42nd Street, the Castillo Theatre (Dan Friedman, artistic director; Diane Stiles, managing director) brings experimental political theatre, dealing with contemporary and historical social issues, to the heart of New York’s commercial theatre district for a diverse audience drawn from the many communities that make up NYC. Since 1983, Castillo has staged well over 100 productions — from multicultural and avant-garde plays, to musicals and improvisational
comedy.

Children of Killers is being presented in conjunction with Performing the World 2012, an international cross-disciplinary, experiential conference being held at the All Stars Project, October 4-7. Children of Killers opens on September 21 and runs through October 28th.

Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. at the Castillo Theatre, 543 West 42nd Street (between 10th & 11th Avenues). Tickets are $35 for adults, $10 for students and seniors. Group rates are available. Tickets can be purchased through the Castillo Box Office at 212-941-1234 or www.castillo.org.

Playwright Katori Hall is available for interviews.

Contact Gail Peck at 212-356-8449 or 917-371-5008; or via email: gpeck@allstars.org.

NYC Vigil to Remember SGL Activist David Kato (Thur, Feb. 3rd, 2011) David Kato's New York City Memorial Service (Mon, Feb. 7th, 2011)

On Thursday, February 3rd, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and other concerned organizations will hold a peaceful vigil near the Ugandan Mission to the United Nations in New York City to remember and honor David Kato’s life and his struggle for human rights for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Join us in mourning David and showing the Ugandan government that there must be no more violence and discrimination against LGBT Ugandans.

When: February 3, 2011 4:00 pm
Where: Location to be determined. Vigil will be followed by a procession to Uganda House – 336 E. 45th St.

(New York, February 1, 2011) US religious leaders have a moral responsibility to condemn and combat the murderous spread of homophobic hate in Uganda, said a coalition of thirty-five human rights organizations announcing a vigil in memory of slain Ugandan human rights activist David Kato. The candlelight vigil will be held at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza and followed by a silent procession to Uganda House, the Ugandan mission to the United Nations, on February 3 at 4 pm. (Co-sponsors are listed below.)

Kato, a prominent leader of the same gender loving movement in Uganda, was found murdered in his Kampala home on January 26. His photograph had been published in a Ugandan tabloid that called for hanging homosexual people; he had recently led a successful lawsuit forcing the publication to desist. The groups also voiced concern that homophobia may prevent Ugandan authorities from conducting a full and fair investigation of Kato’s murder.

READ MORE...

AND

Click Image To Enlarge


Stand In Solidarity with


Sexual Minorities Uganda
&
The Global Justice Institute

Please Join Us For
David Kato's
New York City Memorial Service

Monday, February 7th, 2011 @ 7:00PM
Abyssinian Baptist Church
132 Odell Clark Place
(West 138th Street
between Lenox Avenue & Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd)
Harlem, New York City

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HISTORIC HARLEM CHURCH TO HOLD SERVICE FOR UGANDAN SGL ADVOCATE

As same gender loving and transgender Ugandans and same-gender-loving faith leaders in the United States mourn the death of SGL leader David Kato, the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City is opening its doors to host a memorial service for Mr. Kato. The Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts III one of the leading African American ministers in the United States will preside over the service in a congregation known as the “cradle of the Black Church.”

Info: http://gaybygod.net/david-kato/


WHO: The Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts III, pastor Abyssinian Baptist Church

Pastor Joseph W. Tolton, pastor of Rehoboth Christ Consciousness

Pastor Michael Walrond Jr., pastor of First Corinthian Baptist Church

Bishop Yvette Flunder, presiding bishop of The Fellowship

Frank Mugisha, president of Sexual Minorities Uganda

Charles Radcliffe, Office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights


WHAT: Memorial Service and call for solidarity in remembrance of slain Ugandan SGL rights advocate, David Kato.

WHEN: Monday February 7, 2011. 7pm

WHERE: Abyssinian Baptist Church 132 Odell Clark Place, NY, NY (W 138th St)

For Directions: http://www.abyssinian.org/contact/contact/

WHY: On Wednesday January 26, 2011 David Kato, a Ugandan SGL rights advocate, was beaten to death in his home. His death comes just months after his name, picture and home address were published by the Ugandan newspaper, Rolling Stone, where Kato and 99 others were pictured in an article calling for their execution. Uganda came under scrutiny last year as its parliament proposed the death penalty for homosexual people. Many believe American Evangelicals who visited Uganda in 2009 helped create the bill and fomented a climate of fear leading to violence.


The memorial, will remember Kato's work, celebrate his life, and mourn his death while challenging lawmakers, foreign and domestic governments and citizens of this world to respond with action against anti-homosexual movements stoked by religion.

African Animation: The O Twins By Michael Tokunbo Akindele of Fusion Media (Nigeria, Africa)

I have this very intense interest in African animation (Kirikou, Zambezia, Khumba).

I found The O Twins through the pro-Africentric website Shadow & Act which I read religiously just about everyday.

Check out this trailer. this particular production is by Michael Tokunbo Akindele of Fusion Media from Nigeria, Africa.

Malawi President Pardons Same Gender Loving Male Couple

Steven Monjeza, Left, And Tiwonge Chimbalanga
After Being Sentenced To Prison In Malawi On May 20th, 2010.

Malawi President Pardons Gay Couple
By BARRY BEARAK
Published: May 29, 2010

JOHANNESBURG — A gay couple in Malawi sentenced to 14 years in prison for “unnatural acts” was pardoned Saturday shortly after Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations met with that country’s president.

“These boys committed a crime against our culture, our religion and our laws,” President Bingu wa Mutharika said at a news conference in Lilongwe, the capital, before adding that he nevertheless was ordering the couple’s unconditional release on “humanitarian grounds.”

The two men, Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 33, and Steven Monjeza, 26, were arrested Dec. 28, two days after holding an engagement party in Blantyre, the nation’s largest city. As a rule, gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people do not dare make any public show of affection in their deeply conservative country. The event made front-page headlines in a Malawian newspaper.

On May 18, the couple was convicted of sodomy, and while the harsh sentence was generally welcomed by the Malawian public, it drew international rebuke. The nation, one of the poorest in Africa, is heavily dependent on foreign aid, and several donors suggested they might have to reconsider their generosity.

Pop stars issued their own condemnations. Madonna, who has adopted two children from Malawi, said the nation had taken “a giant step backward.” Elton John wrote an appeal to Mr. Mutharika, asking him to release the couple and “expunge Malawi’s discriminatory laws against homosexuality.”

In announcing the pardon, the president emphasized that he was not condoning gay marriage. “It’s unheard of in Malawi, and it’s illegal,” he said.

Mr. Mutharika, an economist and the chairman of the African Union, is often praised for recent improvements in Malawi’s health and education systems. Mr. Ban arrived Saturday to begin a two-day visit.

“The secretary general told the president rather strongly that the current controversy was having a negative effect on Malawi’s reputation and obscuring the progress it had made in other spheres,” said a member of the United Nations delegation who said he was not authorized to comment and could only speak anonymously.

Mr. Ban then addressed Parliament, informing legislators that their president had made a “courageous decision” to grant the pardon. The legislators responded with dreary silence while foreign diplomats in the gallery above cheered and applauded.

The secretary general further told the lawmakers, “It is unfortunate that laws that criminalize people on the basis of their sexual orientation should still exist in some countries.”

A White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, greeted news of the pardon with approval, declaring that “these individuals were not criminals and their struggle is not unique.”

Late Saturday, Mr. Chimbalanga, who has said he considers himself a woman in a man’s body, and Mr. Monjeza were released from custody.

The police escorted Mr. Chimbalanga back to his home village in the remote hills of Thyolo District. He stayed for a reunion with family members, and planned to return to Blantyre early Sunday.

“I’ve been under so much emotional stress that I need to find somewhere to rest,” said Mr. Chimbalanga, speaking by cellphone through an interpreter. “I still want to marry Steven. But I don’t know what he is thinking any more. We’ve been through so much.”

He said: “I think it is going to be hard to stay in Malawi. I am afraid of what people might do to us. We probably need to seek asylum in some other country. Is there a place for us? I don’t know.”

Celia W. Dugger contributed reporting.

Malawi Male Couple Convicted Of Homosexuality With a 14-Year Hard Labor Jail Sentence

Steven Monjeza, Age 26 And Tiwonge Chimbalanga, Age 20

Excerpt From GBMNews.com:

Lilongwe, Malawi (AHN) - A gay couple has been convicted of gross indecency and unnatural acts by a court in Malawi.

The men, Steven Monjeza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, were arrested in December 2009 after getting engaged and making arrangements for their wedding this year, according to reports.

They have been locked up since then and could face up to 14 years in prison.

The couple’s arrest has been condemned worldwide, and sparked international talks about homosexuality in their country.

According to Judge Nyakwawa Usiwa-Usiwa, the men were convicted of participating in unnatural sex acts.

Homosexuality is illegal in Malawi, as it is in many African nations.

Attorneys for the men insist their constitutional rights have been violated. They hope to take the ruling to the country's high court.

READ MORE...

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Malawian SGL Rights Protest:
Free Steven & Tiwonge, Repeal Anti-homosexual Laws.
Commonwealth! Speak Out Against Homophobia!
London - Commonwealth HQ - March 22nd, 2010.
Organized by OutRage! and African SGL Activists.
Photos: Brett Lock, OutRage!

Dear Ralph and All,

Big thanks for your concern about the outrageous jail term handed down to Steven and Tiwonge in Malawi today.

There are three things you can do:

FIRST

Send a letter or postcard of support to Steven and Tiwonge. In this difficult time, they need to know that people around the world love and support them. Get all your friends to do the same. Write to:

Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza
Prisoners
Chichiri Prison
P.O.Box 30117
Blantyre 3,
Malawi (AFRICA)

SECOND

Email your Congressperson / Senator. Ask them to protest to the Malawian President and Ambassador.

THIRD

Make a donation by post or BACS electronic transfer to OutRage!'s Malawi Defence Campaign. OutRage! will use all money donated to support Tiwonge and Steven with food parcels, medicine, clothes, blankets etc. and to help fund the campaign for their release.

By BACS electronic transfer:
Account name: OutRage!
Bank: Alliance and Leicester Commercial Bank, Bootle, Merseyside, GIR
0AA, England, UK
Account number: 77809302
Sort code: 72-00-01

For electronic transfers from overseas (outside the UK), please
ADDITIONALLY quote this code:
IBAN: GB65ALEI72000177809302

By cheque:
Write a cheque payable to “OutRage!” and send to OutRage!, PO Box 17816, London SW14 8WT. Enclose a note giving your name and address and stating that your donation is for the Malawi Defence campaign.

Thanks for your concern and commitment to justice for Tiwonge and Steven.

See below the OutRage! statement and briefing about the 14 year sentence.

Solidarity! Peter

Dhani Tackles The Globe - Senegalese Loin Cloth Sensual Homoeroticism!! :-)

This was TOO PRICELESS not to post!!! LOL!

Special THANKS to Bernie T. for the heads up! THANK YOU BRO!!

SGL Africans Tortured Even After Death;ROD: MY DEEPEST SYMPATHIES TO THE AFRICAN SGL SISTAHS AND BRUTHAZ WHO HAVE NOT BEEN ALLOWED TO REST EASY

The Associated Press reports on the widespread homophobia across the continent of Africa that has reached an all time high with some Africans committing unconscionable crimes against gay men even after death.

The Associated Press reports:

Senegal- Madieye Diallo's body had only been in the ground for a few hours when the mob descended on the weedy cemetery with shovels. They yanked out the corpse, spit on its torso, dragged it away and dumped it in front of the home of his elderly parents.

A wave of intense homophobia is washing across Africa, where homosexuality is already illegal in at least 37 countries.

In the last year alone, gay men have been arrested in Kenya, Malawi, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. In Uganda, lawmakers are considering a bill that would sentence homosexuals to life in prison and include capital punishment for 'repeat offenders.' And in South Africa, the only country that recognizes gay rights, gangs have carried out so-called "corrective" rapes on lesbians.

Diallo was an activist and a leader of a gay organization called And Ligay, meaning "Working together," which he ran out of his parents' house.

He was HIV-positive and on medication.

When the tabloid published the photograph, Diallo went into hiding, according to a close friend who asked not to be named because he too is gay. Unable to go to the doctor, Diallo stopped taking his anti-retrovirals. By the spring of 2009, he was so ill that his family checked him into St. Jean de Dieu, a Catholic hospital in downtown Thies, says the friend.

He was in a coma when he died at 5:50 a.m. on May 2, 2009, according to the hospital's records. Although the hospital has a unit dedicated to treating HIV patients, the young man's family never disclosed his illness, according to the doctor in charge.

Several gay friends tried to see Diallo in the hospital but were told to stay away by his family, says the friend.




When the AP tried to speak to Diallo's elderly father at his shop on the main thoroughfare in Thies, his other children demanded the reporter leave. One sister covered her face and sobbed. Another said, "There are no homosexuals here."

Hours after he died, his family took Diallo's body to a nearby mosque, where custom holds the corpse should be bathed and wrapped in a white cloth. Before the family could bathe him, news reached the mosque that Diallo was gay and they were chased out, says the dead man's friend. His relatives hastily wrapped him in a sheet and headed to the cemetery, where they carried him past the home of Babacar Sene.

"A man that's known as being a homosexual can't be buried in a cemetery. His body needs to be thrown away like trash," says Sene. "His parents knew that he was gay and they did nothing about it. So when he died we wanted to make sure he was punished."

The BLOOM Spring Party 2010 Inspired ROD More Than Ever To Wanna "Face Paint" And Become A Wodaabe Nomad Warrior Through Cultural Expression

A TRIBUTE TO THE WODAABE TRIBE OF NOMADS


Beautifully Captured Image Of Wodaabe Male Getting Ready





ME (ROD) AT The ADODI Summer Retreat In 2003
At Ramblewood In Darlington, Maryland
(YEP! I HAD LOX AT THE TIME)

I don't what it is, but ever since I bought my copy of the African Ceremonies two volume book set years ago (now out-of-print), I have not been able to get the Wodaabe nomad tribe out of my head.

I think the Wodaabe tribe(s) has the freakin' qoolest face painting tradition. I lot of my favoritism has tho do with one particular tribe's color scheme of brown and yellow. Brown is my favorite color and so there's a natural allure that I have. Plus, the Wodaabe do the black paint around the lips which is off da chain to me and adds a nice stark contrast to the brown and yellow facial paint.

ME Working On My Pants Overalls
In An Arts & Crafts Workshop
At The ADODI Summer Retreat in 2003

The BLOOM Spring Party that I went to this past Sunday made me think of doing this particular blog entry and celebrating the Wodaabe nomads. At the 11th hour I had wanted to get my face painted at the party, but it was late and they were winding down. I actually felt like a little boy who was let down because I didn't get my face painted.

Although, I did get my face painted once at the ADODI summer retreat in 2003.

Another Wodabbe Warrior Getting His Face Painted




The Bororos (Or Wodaabes) Are Nomads
Belonging To The Peul Tribe.
The Men Look Very Feminine
When They Have Their Festivals And
Take Hours To Dress Up And Apply Their Make-up




Men From The Wodaabe Tribe Prepare For A Festival
Near Agadez, Niger, West Africa




Portrait Of Men Of Nomad Wodaabe
(Aka Peul, Bororo, Fulani)
Tribe,Dressed In Make-Up For
Geerewol Festival Near Agadez In Sahel Region.
Location: Agadez, Niger, West Africa




Putting On The Face Paint
-
It Is The Men Who Show Off Among The Wodaabe Nomads
The Yaake Dance Is A Magical Beauty Contest
Exhibiting Male Beauty, Attractiveness And Love.





The Yaake Resembles A Long Parade Of Men
Wearing Make-Up, Standing Side-By-Side.
Flashing The Whiteness Of Their Eyes And Teeth,
The Men Dance Like Reeds Swaying In The Wind.




Niger Republic Sahel Wodaabe Nomads
Blow On Each Others Faces
To Dry The Red Paint On Them.
They Are About To Dance The Gerewol
Which Is At Once The Tribes Supreme Male Beauty Contest




Wodaabe Tribesman Preparing For Charm Dance.
Such A Qool Look!
(Niger, West Africa)




The Wodaabes Tribe
Look Sooooooo Freakin' Qool!!!!

Ugandan Anti-homosexual BillThe Black Men's Xchange-New York (BMX-NY)e-Newsletter Editorial by John-Martin Green

Ugandan Anti-homosexual Bill
Editorial by John-Martin Green

In Uganda, legislation aimed at eradicating homosexuality is being considered by the government.

In her coverage of the story, MSNBC news analyst, Rachel Maddow has reported that a U.S. organization, "The Family" has conducted an anti-gay campaign in Uganda. Under the program, Ugandan President Museveni and lawmakers have been led to believe there is an "International Gay Agenda" at work in their country. In fact, as quiet as it's kept, there is. And, while we owe Maddow a profound debt of gratitude for her courageous coverage of this horrendous turn of events, I wonder that she doesn't realize that there is indeed such an agenda, and that she (inadvertently or otherwise) is a part of it.

Sylvia Tamale, a law professor at Makerere University in Uganda says it best: "Homosexuality or same-sex attractions have been part and parcel of African communities for time immemorial. But the terms 'homosexuality,' 'lesbian,' 'gay' - those are relatively new. And those are terms many Africans attracted to people of the same sex never use or never identify with."

Mind you, there is nothing sinister in the "International Gay Agenda." It is a natural extension of Gay Liberation, the homosexual self-determination movement started here in America. Part of the challenge for Africans is the gay liberation movement's advancement of gay identity, the cultural and political bearings of which are Eurocentric. Gay identity, as Professor Tamale reminds us, is not indigenous to Africa, but is a U.S. import. Even leftist NPR references the issue as one of "gay rights" in Uganda. While same-sex-attraction has been there from time immemorial, when did gay get into Uganda?

At the same time, and more importantly, there is an insidious International Anti-homosexual Agenda being advanced by reactionary American Evangelical Christians, including U.S. Senators and Congressmen with ties to Uganda (The Family) which has sparked this bill. It is in response to this neo-colonialist and potentially genocidal imperative that, as same gender loving African Americans, we are duty bound to reach out to our brethren and sisteren in Uganda in an effort to pull the wool from their eyes about their exploitation in this regard, and raise their consciousness about natural diversity among human kind.

The Black Men's Xchange-NY recognizes same gender loving experience as an intrinsic facet of everyday Black life and, as such, same gender loving people are deserving of the same respect and dignity as all other facets of human kind.