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Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom : Enthusiasm, Struggles, & Taboos

The Two River Theater in Red Bank, NJ kicked off the 2016 – 2017 season with August Wilson’s 1920s inspired play entitled Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

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Ma Rainey's Black Bottom : Enthusiasm, Struggles, & Taboos
Photo courtesy of Two River Theater

The Two River Theater in Red Bank, NJ kicked off the 2016 – 2017 season with August Wilson’s 1920s inspired play Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson.

About Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Set in Chicago in 1927, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom follows the 1920s musicial life of legendary singer Ma Rainey (the real-life “Mother of the Blues”) as she lays down tracks with her band in a recording studio.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom TRTC 9-16 225 Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, by August Wilson Two River Theatre Company 9/9/16 Directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson Scenic Design: Charlie Corcoran Costume Designer: Karen Perry Lighting Designer: Burke Brown © T Charles Erickson Photography tcepix@comcast.net


Brandon Dirden, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom 
© T Charles Erickson Photography

Ma Rainey was one of the top selling artists during that time who signed with Paramount Records and was the first blues singer to be signed to a major label.

Within a matter of a few years, the top selling artists who performed with Louis Armstrong and Fletcher Henderson were pulling in $200 per recording while white performers who performed in black face earned $10,000 within the same week. This particular story is not told in the play, but the undertone of unfairness and racial discrimination is played out very well throughout this production.

The premise

Much to the dismay of producer Sturdyvant (Peter Van Wagner) and Irvin (Michael Cumperty), Ma Rainey is late. But the rest of the band has arrived and led the audience in a very intellectual dialogue on the racial realities during the 1920s.

The band

The band consists of Levee (Brandon Dirden) an ambitious trumpet player who is eager to bring a new style of music to his generation.

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An intellectual and wise old piano player Toledo (Brian D. Coats), bassist Slow Drag (Harvy Blanks).

Trombone player Culter (James A. Willaims) who is very modest in the midst of the disagreements.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom TRTC 9-16 249 Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, by August Wilson Two River Theatre Company 9/9/16 Directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson Scenic Design: Charlie Corcoran Costume Designer: Karen Perry Lighting Designer: Burke Brown © T Charles Erickson Photography tcepix@comcast.net

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
© T Charles Erickson Photography
tcepix@comcast.net

The players in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

The youngest of the quartet is Levee (Dirden), who is an enthusiastic eager musician ready to change the world with his music.

As the band is waiting for Ma Rainey (Arnetia Walker), Levee and Toledo wait in the rehearsal room, exchanging dialogue which is sometimes very intense.

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Irvin and Sturdy are at the top level of the recording studio getting things ready as they wait for Ma Rainey.

When Ma Rainey finally arrives with a female friend Dussie Mae (Chante Adams) and her nephew Sylvester (Marcel Spears), they burst in as they were being chased by a police officer who says they were in an altercation with unaccommodating cab driver. The police officer wants to charge them with assault but Ma Rainey’s doesn’t back down. Her manager, Irvin, eventually manages to get everything taken care of.

During the course of this play, you will realize that though Ma Rainey is a highly respected singer, she can only push her influence but so far; a tale that Leveee would also learn as well.

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Lessons in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom takes you on a journey through a keen lenses on life, the struggles African Americans faced during those times, to a glimpse of “taboos” of same-sex couple lifestyle. Ma Rainey was powerful and she had a girlfriend with her to stand in her prowess.

I will not go into much detail as I want to encourage you all to see this dynamic play and feel August Wilson’s captivating, versatile style of writing with Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

Not only is the writing style impressive, but as you walk into The Two River’s quaint theater, you will instantly feel you are in a recording studio during the 1920s with its impeccable set and stage design.

I was very pleased to be a part of the opening night festivities. I encourage everyone to see this play, especially if you want a true lesson on rich African American history.

In my opinion, August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is the best of Wilson’s culturally rich authentic playwrights.

Two River Theater nails it again.

The play is running until October 9th. Visit tworivertheater.org for ticket information.


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Culture

New Wu-Tang Clan concert film returns to Wilmington before PBS release

Screening as part of Wu-Tang Wednesday series by 3 Chambers and DJ RizzyBeats

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Wu-Tang Clan concert film
Still from the documentary A WU-TANG EXPERIENCE: LIVE AT RED ROCKS AMPHITHEATRE

On November 6th, 3 Chambers and DJ RizzyBeats will bring the highly anticipated concert film documentary A WU-TANG EXPERIENCE: LIVE AT RED ROCKS AMPHITHEATRE back to Wilmington, North Carolina for a free community screening at Waterline Brewing Company as part of their Wu-Tang Wednesday series. The North Carolina Black Film Festival had the Southern premiere of the film in Wilmington back in May.

Wu-Tang Clan concert film

Combining performances and revealing interviews with group members and associates, classical musicians, and concertgoers, the Wu-Tang Clan concert film documents the extraordinary concert at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre where the Wu-Tang Clan, backed by the 60-piece Colorado Symphony Orchestra, weaved together songs from their vast discography of group and solo albums. Their setlist created a live score to a real-time screening of the seminal martial arts film The 36th Chamber of Shaolin—the movie that largely inspired the Clan’s aesthetic and the title of their groundbreaking debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).

The documentary deconstructs stereotypes that limit classical music and Hip-Hop as mutually exclusive musical genres, dismantles these imposed limitations, and collapses boundaries and artistic mediums to amplify the ways classical music, Hip-Hop, and film can coalesce in a beautiful, innovative union.

The film is co-directed by Wu-Tang Clan’s The RZA and Gerald K. Barclay.

How to watch

Wu-Tang Wednesday will start at 5pm at Waterline Brewing Company with a Wu-Tang set by DJ RizzyBeats. A WU-TANG EXPERIENCE: LIVE AT RED ROCKS AMPHITHEATRE will screen at 7pm.

Rude Bwoys Food Truck will be on-site and Gravity Records will have vinyl records for sale.

Attendees will also be able to learn more about the upcoming 3 Chambers Fest, which happens on December 4th – 7th in Wilmington, North Carolina. Festival passes and tickets are currently on sale at www.3chambers.com.

This event is free and open to the public. This will be the only public screening in the South before the streaming premiere on PBS on November 11th.


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Entertainment

Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA) is accepting entries for 2025 Baltimore Screenwriters Competition

This is an opportunity to craft winning screenplay that highlights Baltimore. The competition awards prizes in both the feature and shorts categories for scripts that are set or able to be filmed in Baltimore.

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Baltimore Screenwriters Competition
Photo by RF._.studio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-writing-on-her-notebook-3059747/

The Baltimore Film Office at the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA) is accepting entries for the 20th annual Baltimore Screenwriters Competition.

About Baltimore Screenwriters Competition

This is an opportunity to craft winning screenplay that highlights Baltimore. The competition awards prizes in both the feature and shorts categories for scripts that are set or able to be filmed in Baltimore.

The Baltimore Screenwriters Competition is a project of the Baltimore Film Office in conjunction with film programs at Johns Hopkins University and Morgan State University.

Baltimore Screenwriters Competition Application Info

The deadline for submissions is 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, January 8, 2025. The application and full
guidelines are available online at promotionnandarts.org.

Submitted scripts receive coverage from students in the Johns Hopkins University and Morgan State University
screenwriting programs and by local screenwriters and producers. The final screenplays are judged by
industry professionals in film and television, including producers and writers working on projects for HBO
and other studios.

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All screenwriters are encouraged to apply.

“The Baltimore Screenwriters Competition nurtures writers of all levels by providing opportunities for screenwriters to have their scripts read, receive valuable feedback, and gain confidence in their storytelling,” says Debbie Donaldson Dorsey, Director of the Baltimore Film Office.

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The top entries in each category will win cash prizes and are scheduled to be announced during the 2025 Maryland Film Festival in May 2025.

Previous Winners

In 2024, the 19th annual Baltimore Screenwriter Competition judges — Nina Noble, Ken LaZebink, Dale
Beran, and Annette Porter — awarded “A Better Chance” by L.T. Woody, “Car BNB” by Lee Connah, and
“Champion” by Peter Kimball in the features category, and “Shipping and Handling” by Harrison Demchick,
“Orchestra” by Felix Abeson, and “An Incredibly Stupid Idea (That Just Might Work)” by Evan Balkan in the
shorts category.

Previous Baltimore Screenwriters Competition winners have also received Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund
Fellowships, including 2020 Baltimore Screenwriter Competition winners Stephen Schuyler for “Like You
Think You Know Me” and “Stealing Cars,” and Chung-Wei Huang for “Squeegee Boys,” who both shot their
films in Baltimore.


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Entertainment

DISNEY+ shares brand-new trailer & poster for Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew”

“Star Wars: Skeleton Crew” follows the journey of four kids who make a mysterious discovery on their seemingly safe home planet, then get lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy. Finding their way home—and meeting unlikely allies and enemies—will be a greater adventure than they ever imagined.

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Star Wars Skeleton Crew
Walt Disney Studios

Disney+ released a brand-new trailer and poster for Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew,” a fun and exciting, original, live-action series starring Jude Law as a mysterious character (“Jod”) whose true motives are shrouded in mystery.

About Star Wars: Skeleton Crew

The Disney+ series follows the journey of four kids who make a mysterious discovery on their seemingly safe home planet, then get lost in a strange and dangerous galaxy. Finding their way home—and meeting unlikely allies and enemies—will be a greater adventure than they ever imagined.

Star Wars Skeleton Crew

Walt Disney Studios

Actors

The series stars Jude Law, Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Kyriana Kratter, Robert Timothy Smith, Tunde Adebimpe, Kerry Condon and Nick Frost. Episodes are directed by Jon Watts, David Lowery, the Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), Jake Schreier, Bryce Dallas Howard and Lee Isaac Chung.

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Writers

Jon Watts and Christopher Ford are the head writers and also serve as executive producers along with Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Kathleen Kennedy and Colin Wilson. Chris Buongiorno, Karen Gilchrist and Carrie Beck are the co-executive producers, and Susan McNamara and John Bartnicki are the producers.

How to watch Star Wars: Skeleton Crew

The series launches on December 3 with the first two episodes, exclusively on Disney+.

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