the truth about me...

plans changed for me immediately after graduation. what was supposed to be a move back to Baltimore ended up being a move to Phoenix, Arizona instead. "I need you, sis" is what my sister told me. it wasn't even a thought. i came.

my brilliantly beautiful sister shattered her back in fourteen places at the tender age of 32 back in 2000. long story short, she needed a caregiver that wouldn't neglect her physically, or abuse her mentally, emotionally or financially. last June, my sister came to the conclusion that the relationship that she had with the two live-in "caregivers" was "no longer working for her," and asked them to leave by August 1st. it's been real peaceful around these parts since. i have been my sister's caregiver since i moved here nearly three years ago. i love my sister, but i'm still an artist...it's in my blood.

breaking into the arts community here in Phoenix has been more than a notion. i did all of the things that actors are supposed to do when looking for work, but the work just hasn't been happening despite the fact that every single one of my auditors say that i audition well.

last September, after a two-year drought, i had the opportunity to do a stage reading of a new play by up and coming playwright. it was humbling to go back to stage readings when i've been trained to be a professional actor, but hey, someone in Phoenix needed to know that i was here. afterwards, other auditions...more "thank you, we'll keep in touch," and nothing. 

this same playwright posted on a local theatre network that she was casting for a new play to be presented at a major theatre. during that time, i was also asked to assist writing for a one-man show for a dear thespian "son" of mine, Robert Lee Hardy. his show, I Carry My Own Spotlight debuted to critical acclaim in Baltimore the night before our show premiered here in Phoenix. no tea or shade to the sista, but i spent more in carfare than i made on the project. "at least it's something, right?" nah, you can't tell that to someone whose got a taste of professional theatre in her mouth. it just doesn't jive.

fortunately, i have friends who get that, and get me. currently, i'm a contributing writer to a production that is to be held in Baltimore that visits the history of African-American dance music from the Great Migration forward. i also get to hit the stage. Jah willing, we will see what becomes of that, i've also been revising two scripts, one of them being my own one-woman show. 

what i'm saying is, i can't wait for people to know my worth if i don't show my worth...so in the words of my baby, Robert Lee, it's time i carry my own spotlight. what's beautiful is that i go with my sister's blessings. don't get it twisted, i'll still live in Phoenix because my sister still needs me; but today, i am reminded of the words of Mama Zora Neale Hurston, "the Universe is my oyster, and i'm already sharpening my knife."

'sup world? y'all ready?

jaki

i've been quiet long enough, dontcha think?

it's been a minute since i've blogged; nevertheless, i feel compelled to in lieu of the fact that i'm in the midst of research in order to create new work. the last show i did here in Phoenix has made me hungry for the craft again, and i must say, working again with Troy Burton after a twelve year hiatus is long overdue.

i never thought i'd read my master's thesis again after i confirmed my degree, but it's proving to be quite a reference for this new piece (details to follow, so stay tuned).  i recently assisted a friend with the composition of his one-person show, and word around the water cooler is that it was received with critical acclaim. i know that it was due to the fact that the brother is a stellar actor, but i must say, it is an honor in being a contributor to his evolution...and he's remounting it again in May! hopefully, i'll get to see this one.

to paraphrase from the title of his work, sometimes, one has to carry their own spotlight. time to pick up mine.but first, a moment to give thanks to the city that made me. Baltimore. here i come!


jaki

(S/O to Robert Lee Hardy...luh u, hear?)

Rest in Love, Robert Chew

i got a call about thirty minutes ago. it was my theater baby, Robert Hardy. while on his way to a funeral, he shared that his mentor and my brother from Arena Players, Inc., Robert Chew passed away last night in his sleep. i immediately called Troy Burton - another brother from Arena Players - to confirm. it has not hit me yet...i'm numb, but my mind is racing.

Robert Chew. that name equates fierceness if you know the brother. y'all may know him as Proposition Joe from The Wire. i know him as Oedipus from Gospel at Colonus...i was Evangelist Antigone. it was my third professional play early in my acting career. it was the first time him and i shared stage. he played a host of characters in an original play called The Drum about thirteen years ago...different voices, different textures, all of them done to perfection because Robert ain't coming short. that just wasn't who he was. fierceness, i tell you! i shared stage with him again..i played The Ancestor with a local all-star Arena Players cast that included people like Eric Burton (not related), Sandra Meekins, Robert Lee Hardy and the members of the YouthTheater. it was the first time in the history of Arena Players that Adult Theater and YouthTheater  shared the same stage. it was the first time he heard me sing...said i sounded like a young Roberta Flack. that's high praise...i LOVE Roberta Flack. i love Robert Chew.

i just realized today while talking to Troy, who, by the way, work shopped and directed The Drum, that this was the last time Chew and i shared stage...but it wasn't the last time i would see or work with him. during the early part of the millennium, i shadowed his classes at Arena Players. he was the musical director of the YouthTheater, and he took NO PRISONERS! ask any kid from Baltimore who studied under him. he sat in on all of my rehearsals when i was prepping for my one-woman show, and i always looked forward to his notes.

Troy directed another play around this time...just before The Wire dropped called A Real Nigga Show (pump ya breaks, fam...this ain't about political-correctness right now, so stay with me). Chew's most memorable role for me was The Linguist who, with dictionary in tow, gave the textbook definition to urban dialect (SLANG. SLANG...i can still hear it!) if Lon Chaney, Jr. was known as the man with a thousand faces, then Chew should go down in history as the man with a thousand voices. by the way, did i mention that the brother could sang? i said SANG, children...you don't study under Nathan Carter (Morgan State University) and not be able to sang, baby...ask Maysa Leak...ask Navasha Daya.
Chew came from THAT stock. FIERCENESS, children...FIERCENESS!

but it was the fifth season of The Wire that made me realize Chew's impact on the Baltimore community. during this season, as in season's past, but this one especially, there were huge numbers of his students from Arena Players that were cast in the series...Charmaine McPhee and Rashad Orange sit at the front of my mind right now. there were others...so many others. when Chew "made it" he didn't forget to reach back and bring his babies along with him. if he was gonna eat, they were gonna eat. now THAT'S what's up!

i know i'm rambling...it still hasn't sunk in that he's an ancestor now. 801 McCulloh Street will never be the same, but the charge to those who were touched by him is to pick up the torch and continue his work. Robert is finished. he came to do what he came to do. may the Most High smile upon him, his life, and his legacy.

imma miss you posting up on my page, Chew. rest in love, my thespian brother. *pouring libations*

love,

jaki-terry

now that school's over, class is in session

i'm back in the gym...back to basics. time to refine myself with the tools i've been blessed to learn the last three years. my sister is my gym partner. we work out at the Virginia G. Piper Sports & Fitness Center here in Phoenix.

the Piper Sports & Fitness Center - or SpoFit - has three swimming pools: a lap pool, a therapy pool and a spa, all equipped with handicap access. the lap and therapy pools come with an elevator lift, a hydraulic lift and transfer access, while the spa comes with hydraulic lift and transfer access only. they have wheelchair accessible gym equipment, courts, tracks, a climbing wall, you name it. they have people on staff to assist people with special needs

SpoFit is one of the many community programs offered by the Arizona Bridge to Independent Living (ABIL).ABILs mission is to address the needs of people living with disabilities by advocating and encouraging personal responsibility as a means to independence and self-sufficiency...says so on the web page, http://www.abil.org/about-abil.

it's cool to have someone to workout with, and my sister likes to go hard like i do. in case you haven't figured it out, my sister lives with a disability...she refers to herself as "handi-capable." i respect that.

this is our first week. starting this past Tuesday, my sister and i have been to the site four times, and had at least a ninety day session each time. Gabe, her trainer - who is also "handi-capable - told the both of us that he didn't want to see either of us anymore this week.

he gets it. we're serious. Monday's just a day away.

reflection time (2012 in review)

started off the year with getting ready for my two-part MFA defense, both written and performance.actually, i started my research for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom last year around this time. i wore multiple hats in my last year of grad school...teaching assistant for my last Theatre for Cultural and Social Awareness (TCSA) class...rehearsals for what would be unbeknownst to me the role of a lifetime as Ma Rainey...director for two First Wave solo productions, and then off to St. Louis, Missouri to do Ma Rainey all over again, only this time for the St. Louis Black Rep! Antonio Fargus, Erik Kilpatrick, Ron Connor, Chad Morris, Tom Wethington, Maurice Demus, Evann DuBose as the main cast. how many people can say that they got their butts kicked in Tonk by Antonio Fargus and Erik Kilpatrick?

then there was my oral defense on May 7th...highly stressful, but i must say, i looked GOOD that day! after that, the whirlwind of a week that included marathon writing assignments that were due before commencement on May 18th. and although my degree wasn't confirmed until a month later, my MFA wasn't real for me until i held the degree in my hands...(deep breath)!

i taught my last summer school class with the PEOPLE Program this year. three days after the program closed i moved...not back to Baltimore like i had originally thought and planned, but to Phoenix, Arizona. it took my sister and i thirty-six hours to drive from Madison to Phoenix. never saw so much corn in my life!

it's been four months now. business cards made, website built (still some final touches, but will be ready to launch in a few days) and a new city to take on. if someone told me three years ago that i would be living less than an hour away by air from LA, i would have looked at you like you've lost your mind...but here i am. and i'm curious...am i ready for LA? shoot, is LA ready for me? in less than four days it will be 2013. trust and believe, i'm about to find out...

one luv!

marketing 101 - now that i've graduated, what's next?

to hire or not to hire - an agent. that is the question.

i'm from back East. Baltimore, MD. been in the performing arts since 1992...got my first acting gig three years after. community theater...Arena Players. there has to be a rule written somewhere that if you're a Black actor in Baltimore, you MUST touch the stage at 801 McCulloh Street at least once on your journey. i've been a member since 1994.

not long after that i did two TV episodes and a movie...i was an extra, but hey! i made my "Hollywood debut" without ever leaving Baltimore. how many people get to say that?

fast forward...i went back to school in 2004. finished undergrad in 2009 with a bachelor's degree in Urban Arts Production from Coppin State University, and almost immediately was in grad school by the fall of the same year. The University of Wisconsin - Madison. up until that point, i had been active in theater for close to two decades; nevertheless, tossing my hat into the ring for my MFA was the most grueling experience of my life as an actor.

from my intro into performance until my graduation this past May, i have performed at least two plays a season. i'm accustomed to being totally immersed in culture - either teaching, acting, directing or writing. even in Madison, a thousand miles from home, i was able to find people who shared my passion.

it's now December. i'm in a new city where i know no one. i'm starving for art, but where do i begin? where are the venues? how do i get my name out? how do i build my brand, especially being this close to LA? do i hire an agent or no? there has to be an arts community here in Phoenix...