Another step of Blues..

..beyond the averages; Blues has had three important iterations in a twelve month period, and for a 'new work', that is remarkable. Such a swift journey has also afforded opportunity for me to whittle in on specific changes that I feel the need to engage in with this piece, as it is new, and as every time there is the chance to see it 'standing', I get to view a further shading in its stance. Blues has a very far reach into a layered presentation of narrative; it requires fierce musicians - fearless actors - and visual artists of a unique coalition -all of whom play in a rhythm of words and music, through image and a prism of history. With this last iteration of the work, presented for Stanford in Washington's winter Arts Track students and guests, I was able to excise a 'full thought' of exchange, creating fodder for a potential Education plank, in that much of the material in the back half of Blues resonates with racial, social, and ideological conflicts that were manifesting in the late 60's. Clearly etching this, is the opportunity presented for characters of the play, at the time of Billy Strayhorn's death, which occurred in 1967 - two years after the assassination  of Malcolm X, and a year before the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr... This specific moment in time is the ledge separating activism from rage; a breath, at the fulcrum, where civil disobedience was tenuously balanced against the unthinkable of chaos; that breath, shortly venting in confrontation and violence that would not only engulf U Street in flames, but would inform a new dynamic to the cry of "Black Power". ..this is the texture that articulates in the play's timeline and is resonant in every moment of exchange in Act II. With Greg Watkins, Scott Patterson, and Bina Malhotra reprising their roles of BILLY STRAYHORN, DUKE ELLINGTON and LENA HORNE, respectively, and Joy Jones - who was originally ELLA in Act I - now informing the character of the REPORTER - rehearsals began with a base line of familiarity that allowed for deeper investigations into the 'temperature' of the dialogue and exchanges between the characters. ..this is the fullest measure of the gift - not only being able to have successive iterations of the work in a short amount of time, but also to have a troupe of professionals who bring with each iteration the discoveries of content and character, and commit to the endeavor which allows for deeper mining of nuance. This particular presentation was given in the Langston Hughes Room, in the 14th Street Busboys & Poets - whose location, just beyond U Street, NW, is literally less than a block from the very history that is epilogue of the play; it was at 14th & U streets NW, in the wake of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., on April 4th 1968, that flames, ignited by members of its own community, ravaged the area. But DC was not the isolated event; between 1965 and 1967, endemic frustrations had already lit firebombs, leaving engulfing beacons of outrage to cross the states (Los Angeles; Chicago; Newark; Detroit) .. -and it is in each edifying chance of presentation, that Blues For A Royal Flush gains its fluency to speak to context; it strides into a fissure of opportunities that were exceptional, significant, and as dynamic as any seismic shift of chord.  

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[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"214","attributes":{"class":"media-image size-medium wp-image-800","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"300","height":"200","alt":"Greg Watkins as BILLY\/BLUES at Busboys and Poets - Feb 9, 2015\/Kristen Stipanov, photographer"}}]] Greg Watkins as BILLY/BLUES at Busboys and Poets - Feb 9, 2015/Kristen Stipanov, photographer

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"215","attributes":{"class":"media-image size-medium wp-image-801","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"300","height":"200","alt":"Bina Malhotra as LENA, and Joy Jones as REPORTER\/BLUES at Busboys and Poets - Feb 9, 2015\/Kristen Stipanov, photographer"}}]] Bina Malhotra as LENA, and Joy Jones as REPORTER/BLUES at Busboys and Poets - Feb 9, 2015/Kristen Stipanov, photographer

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"216","attributes":{"class":"media-image size-medium wp-image-802","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"300","height":"200","alt":"Scott Patterson as DUKE, and Bina Malhotra as LENA\/BLUES at Busboys and Poets - Feb 9, 2015\/Kristen Stipanov, photographer"}}]] Scott Patterson as DUKE, and Bina Malhotra as LENA/BLUES at Busboys and Poets - Feb 9, 2015/Kristen Stipanov, photographer

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"217","attributes":{"class":"media-image size-medium wp-image-803","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"300","height":"200","alt":"Scott Patterson as DUKE, and Joy Jones as REPORTER\/BLUES at Busboys and Poets - Feb 9, 2015\/Kristen Stipanov, photographer"}}]] Scott Patterson as DUKE, and Joy Jones as REPORTER/BLUES at Busboys and Poets - Feb 9, 2015/Kristen Stipanov, photographer