Theatre for Transformation is drama designed to open eyes and instigate change. With a cast that is mostly black, their productions often touch on the history and present of USA's racism, seeking to reclaim history so it can be dealt with and its consequences resolved.
Interview with writer/producer Dr. Amanda Kemp, director Dave Eversole, and cast members Vanessa Ballard and Mary Ferrell.
Clips included from the intro to Show Me the Franklins! Remembering the Ancestors, Slavery and Benjamin Franklin and from Sister Friend Jam Session performed by Vanessa Ballard, Dr. Amanda Kemp, and Deborah Billups.
Other Theatre for Transformation productions include Hoodwinked and The Sweeter the Berry.
Anne Feeney went from 12 years as a lawyer to full-time as a social activist musician. With 8 CD's plus other recordings, she's given us a wealth of music and messages.
Patricia Morrison first trained as a classical vocalist, but a combination of factors, including her experience around 9-11 led her to a degree in Peace and Global Studies, peace activism, communal activist living and, eventually to her current life as a itinerant musician, wandering the American landscape.
Visit with Louise Knight, author of Jane Addams: Spirit In Action. Around a century ago Jane Addams stood at the head of the major peace & justice efforts of her day. Founder of Hull House in Chicago, she provided leadership for suffrage, work reforms, the NAACP, and peace organizations like the Womens International League for Peace & Freedom - and much more.
Music Featured:
Bread & Roses - Anne Feeney
A re-visit with singer/songwriter and activist Mary Shapiro, organizer and host of the Sounds of Hope Concert Series in Washington DC, and niece to the Dominican priest who founded the Friends of God Dominican Ashram.
Joseph Maizlish voluntarily relinquished his deferment during the Vietnam War and spent 2 1/2 years in jail. His work now includes mediation and activities with Southern California War Tax Resistance. Family counseling, civil rights, antinuclear work are all part of his path.
Music Featured:
Have You Been to Jail for Justice? - Anne Feeney
Travelers - Andy & Terry Murray
Karen Taylor-Good is from Nashville and over the years she's made important splashes in that sizeable music pool. Her songs have been nominated for Grammys and she's recorded with a number of well-known performers like Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson & Kenny Rogers. Deeper glimpses of the power of her life show through her work with The Planet Earth Project, Hospice organizations and through her Jewish and Unity roots.
Jerry Wilke, Executive Director of Bolton Refuge House for 22 years talks about the practical & spiritual aspects of domestic abuse.
Music Featured:
Love Is the Only Medicine - Peter Alsop
Barbara Stephan loves R&B and Jazz best, but performs powerfully across the musical spectrum. She hales from Millwaukee and teaches music at the Waukesha County Conservatory of Music. With a passion for spirituality, her songs combine beauty, fun and depth with a message. Barbara's talents also include photography and you'll find some of her amazing pictures of presences in wood on her site NatureSprites.com and look soon for the calendar of her pictures to be produced by OneHeartInc.org.
Philip Gulley is the author of 16 books to date, including the popular fictional series based in Harmony, Indiana. Phil's latest is If the Church Were Christian: Rediscovering the Values of Jesus, and it is a powerful challange to the anti-gay, pro-war, pro-wealth messages of Christians out of step with Jesus.
Music featured:
Follow Me - Bryan Sirchio
Who Would Jesus Bomb - David Rovics
When Jesus Was a Kid - Peter Alsop