Using live music, dance, capoeira and puppetry, ‘Solo Una Banana’ reveals a universal story about the search for “home.”
I received a small grant in 2015 from Patricia Pinckney and Rivertown Artists Workshop to create a show in Spring 2016. The story that emerged was a tale of immigration, of searching for a place to belong and the struggles associated with leaving one’s home and beginning a new life.
I asked the RSHM Life Center, which serves the Latino immigrant community of Sleepy Hollow, if I could conduct workshops with their students, and then the children would be invited to perform with me at the Warner Library in June. I felt that this story was their story. It is my story too.
I created about ten, two and a half hour workshops and stage rehearsals for the RSHM Life Center. Through a dance and theater laboratory approach, the first graders and I created a ‘Monkey Dance,’ the second graders became ‘Busy New Yorkers’ in a New York City dance and theater scene, and the third graders built scenery with me. The children are so creative and delightful to work with, and I was very in synch with their creativity as I codified the material that would be included in the show.
Along the way, I gathered a beautiful team of professionals to collaborate with for “Solo Una Banana”: Contre Mestre Cabecao Teixeira- a capoeira master, Fredi Meli- a consummate upright bass player, and Cirkus Fiasco-a troupe of professional puppeteers. My friends from Cai Na Capoeira are playing percussion, storytelling, and translating the show from English into Spanish.
The show has become a family affair, and it translates into the energy and passion that is generated when we work together. I have always dreamed about creating this kind of show. I feel immersed in something much larger than myself; A story that needs to be told.
The show is staged in the library so that EVERYONE who wants to can attend; There will be not be tickets. That way our whole community can participate, not just those with means. But I need your help.
Art brings us all together. It changes our connections and influences our world-views. Please consider donating to fund this wonderful initiative which is bringing the Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown community together. The office of the Mayor of Sleepy Hollow just announced that they will be contributing funds to hire a professional costumer, Stewart Lee.
Your contribution will go towards: Paying the artists and the team of professionals that will make this event a success, and allowing me to continue making high-quality, meaningful, fun and relevant art that benefits our community.
If any of you have attended my shows, you know that I “GO HARD!” I put my heart and soul out there on the line and I give the audience every ounce of my being. Every performer in “Solo Una Banana/Just One Banana” is part of this story. You are too.
Thank you for your support! I hope to see you at the Warner Library in Tarrytown on June 11 at 3 pm.
There are no risks involved for you in contributing to this project! The show will go on at the Warner Library, June 11 3pm, rain or shine.