Category: Special Events

The last time I had to memorize lines for a stage production was nearly 15 years ago–around the same time I’d seen “Vagina Monologues” in Denver.  I’d just barely found out about the auditions the night before they occurred.  Despite being the last one to find out. I was among the first to audition since I had to dash off to host the Austin Writers Roulette.

Unlike other stage productions I’d been a part of, this show was a fundraiser for Safe Place, which provides services for survivors of domestic violence and/or sexual assault as well as preventive, educational services. In addition to volunteering in this production, I wanted the opportunity to meet other creative, confident women. I was delighted to land the role of “The Little Coochie-Snorcher That Could” and started memorizing my lines as soon as the script was emailed to me, back in late November. I didn’t know what the acting expectations were for VM. I figured since I’d received the script so early, I had to memorize my lines. Plus, there were only two scheduled rehearsals for the Monday cast, wonderfully nicknamed “Cast Badass.”

In mid January, I met the other women for the first time at a photo shoot.  That’s where I learned we didn’t have to memorize our lines. I also learned we could deliver our lines standing or sitting.  Up until that point, I’d rehearsed my lines while seated. After the photo shoot, I started rehearsing at home with more animation, movement and a folding chair. My claim to fame was doing a mini burlesque routine with the chair while reciting lines about a positive sexual encounter–complete with falling out of it on cue.

At our first rehearsal, I feared my acting was too over the top. Yet, I stayed true to my interpretation. Afterwards, other VM actresses complimented my performance and said I’d raised the bar.

On the night of the performance, we opened to a sold out crowd. Four former coworkers and a fellow rouletter were among the audience members. Just before the show began, an American Sign Language interpreter, who signed for my part, came to the dressing room and gushed about how she loved my interpretation of my VM role. Although I thanked her, a small part of me worried if she’d just jinxed me.

Turns out, once I hit the stage, a welcoming wall of darkness cloaked the audience from me and the lines along with the movements flowed out of me. I didn’t flub or forget a single line. The audience response sealed the deal for me.

Afterwards, I only had one other part to play as a member of the orgasm choir who stood behind one woman who was seated in front of us. She recited about 2/3 of her monologue before we joined her on stage. I did the “black woman orgasm” by screaming “oh shit!” with three other black women. I also had the “tortured yogi orgasm,” where I made a protracted scream, which ended with a drawn out “om.”

With such a large cast, we had to come out on stage in several groups of four and then take individual bows when the director said our names. I did a full curtsey and enjoyed another fabulous applause.

Last year, I began teaching Adult Basic Education (ABE) classes in the evening, Monday through Thursday on January 5th. At the time, my nonprofit employer had just merged with an alternative, year-long adult education center.  As a result, my first day ended with a champagne toast. Of course, this had nothing to do with the fact I’d just completed my first day of work. Just terrific timing on my part.

So it’s rather fitting my last day of work dovetailed with another celebration: graduation. How wonderful I had the opportunity to mark my yearlong service in this way.

My last day at work also coincided with my second day of work at my new job, tutoring math full-time at a middle school. So, while my body still adjusted to working during the day, I had to rush home, eat, shower and dress up. I believe I pulled it off.

My only real duty prior to graduation was making sure the photographer knew which shots we wanted him to take. I relished the opportunity to “help the photographer.” After all, how often do I get this gussied up on a Tuesday?

Of course, he arrived at the venue before me and had already received instructions on the shots we wanted. Nonetheless, I helped him get the exposure correct.

Although we had a total of 55 students who’d successfully completed at least one of the four different educational courses we offer, I was especially proud of this particular student since she had originally been in my Chemistry class when I taught at an AISD high school.

Back then, she’d “disappeared.” In 2015, she enrolled into our ABE program, followed by the computer skills course, Job Readiness Program (JRP), and completed all the requirements of the GED (General Education Diploma) program, which consisted of four rigorous exams that some college graduates would fail. All that accomplishment along with giving birth to her son!

Throughout the school year, which goes year-round, the students formed friendships and celebrated one another’s achievements. So, this graduation provided a wonderful sense of closure as they moved forward with the rest of their lives.

Our key note speaker was Dr. Patricia Pickles, who I’d met at a free women’s empowerment conference, sponsored at a local community college. She was one of three women who I’d invited to speak to my students. Her moving talk brought both tears and newfound motivation to my class. In my email, where I thanked her for speaking to my students, I attached the volunteer documents since I wanted her to tutor at least once a week since my students liked her so much.

I was highly surprised a few weeks later when I discovered that she’d joined the organization as an Americorps volunteer–a much bigger commitment than the one I’d previously hope for.

So, I was not at all surprised that she accepted the opportunity to speak to the graduates. As per her usual heart-warming style, Dr. Pickles related some of the struggles from her life with what the graduates were going through.

Although a handful of my students had advanced through another course, I had the opportunity to hand one of my students his certificate for ABE. He was my symbolic good bye to all my evening adult students. My colleagues respected my request not tell the students I was leaving. As a matter of fact, I’d written all my ABE students, in a personalized collaged card, a note of encouragement for them to continue working toward their educational goal, which was delivered the next night.

For a second year in a row, I’ve started the new year with a new job.  Let the games begin!

I wasn’t part of the hoopla of moviegoers for Star Wars, but I jumped on the opportunity to attend a Star Wars fine arts opening. This art gallery swooped up two of the officially-commissioned Star Wars artists for this event and, most important, invited attendees to dress up.  Oh, boy! I shopped at my favorite costume place, Goodwill, in order to hook up my Princess Leia look. I couldn’t find a futuristic-looking white skirt; so I bought a white curtain and wore it upside down.

The second most challenging thing was transforming my dreads into Princess Leia buns. Once I made two braids, I curled them into buns, which I pinned with one mighty bobbie pin. Hardly anyone else dressed up for the occasion. Yet the quality of the art was amazing.

First, I spoke with Rob Kaz. He was busily painting in acrylic on a flat canvas. He agreed with me that practicing on pressed cardboard, such as cereal boxes, is an excellent way to go. I even told him how I cut up my crappy cardboard paintings to make greeting cards out of them.

Allison Lefcort shared a little of her process, showing us her sketches, which she goes by when making the final masterpiece.

Another Princess Leia posed with me. I love that we were both drinking gimlets, thanks to the alcohol sponsor. Of course, I left my card with some of the women who worked with the sponsor. Perhaps one day, they’ll come to my show. Or better yet, sponsor it.

The vividness of this painting made it look like an aquarium. Of course, the first clue was Yoda standing there.

I didn’t want to burden my friend with being my personal photographer, but I had to capture as much art as possible. The exhibit almost made me want to see the movie, but knowing me, I’ll wait for it to come on Netflix.

Of course, I had to pose with the guy who brought a light saber. He was happy to cooperate.

I’d rigged up my wrap; so I could cover my head when I wanted and it wouldn’t fall off my shoulders when uncovered. Worked well while posing with the dark lords.

Here’s my favorite Yoda picture.

I liked this poster since it shows the universality of Star Wars.

One of the best things about having an outgoing personality is my ability to make friends wherever I show up. I’d arrived at the venue relatively early just to get a good parking space. I ended up getting a good table as well. However, none of the friends I’d hoped to invite to sit with me showed up.  All was not a loss. I simply made new friends.

We’d all taken dance lessons at Esquina at one point or another. So, we all had that much in common. Beyond that, most of us worked for nonprofits. Most importantly, they all came set with plenty of red wine to share.  How could we not become fast friends–at least for the night?

Beyond wine-induced happiness, we all were surrounded by a festive mood, good live and recorded music and lots of dancing. We warmed up with a little tango, but the party really came alive when the salsa/cumbia band started playing.

I’ve often regarded tango as a high-brow dance whereas salsa and cumbia were more for the ordinary folk. Plus, the rules change. Women don’t have to wait to be asked to dance like tango. I readily pounced on the opportunity to ask male friends to dance and made new dance partner friends as well.

Since “free” continues to be my favorite price, I visited three museums for Austin’s annual free museum day. Initially, I was disappointed a temporary installation had not arrived at the first museum. Nonetheless, I went upstairs and this sign rewarded my efforts.  A few months ago, I declared myself an adult fairy tale writer. Since then, I’ve been reading several critical works about the fairy tale structure, including my current thick book, which is Maria Tatar’s annotated collection of the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tales. My “discovery” of this haunting collection felt like the fairies rewarding me for faithfully climbing all those stairs despite my initial disappointment.

I was the resident expert, giving a brief summary of some of the lesser known fairy tales that were represented such as “Six Swans.” Catacorner to the first museum I’d visited was my second stop. One vendor’s table had an interactive artists’ board. They invited the public to write our favorite Austin thing on a rectangular swatch of cloth with a fabric pen and/or permanent marker. I used a silvery pen on my chosen swatch, adding my creation to the board. Then I toured the temporary exhibit about a failed French colony off the Texas Gulf coast.

Even though I enjoyed hearing the story of the La Belle via the short video lesson, my perfectionist thoughts about the unreadable Austin Writers Roulette sign preoccupied me. I finished viewing the special exhibits room then added more to my AWR sign. I’ll just see if that increases my audience.

At my third and final museum visit, I’d just missed the drumming, but still enjoyed the installation, which consisted mostly of broken tile mosaics on a box with some intact square tiles that had been painted on. The artist’s other works were wall-sized pieces, depicting racially charged scenes, involving law enforcement, minority males and white supremacy.

In another part of the museum, teens who had entered or who were at high-risk of entering the system were given the opportunity to write poetry, create songs, take pictures and make paintings to bring their narrative to the public. Juxtaposed with those creative works were annotated statistical facts about marginalized youth who had a higher probability of entering the system rather than a wraparound service during their school years.

All in all, I felt the day just reconfirmed my chosen path of combining my art with teaching.

Very early in the morning on Labor Day 1970 in Okinawa, Japan, Velma Roberson woke up and alerted her husband, Karl, that their third (and who turned out to be last) baby was coming. Rushing to the hospital, they saw the MPs (military police) and stopped to ask them for an escort to the hospital. 

Sirens blaring, they arrived at the military hospital in record time where nurses waited with a wheelchair for Velma. About 30 minutes later at 5:56 AM, Velma birthed Teresa Yvonne, three days before her own 30th birthday.And the adventure continues!

Saturday: Dinner & A Play

My mother sent me a small package with a long black dress and a fancy colorful top a few days before my 45th birthday. Wonderful! Now I didn’t have to decide what to wear for two out of three days of my long weekend birthday celebration.  Of course, I wore my tiara all three days. On the first night of celebration, I invited friends to meet me at a small theatre/bar complex, which rented space to a most delicious Italian food trailer.  

Don’t let the paper plate and plastic cutlery fool you: this food was ridiculous!  I braved the “coddled” egg. The creaminess of a raw egg made risking salmonella worth it.

Two friends met for dinner and of all things we could have talked about during this festive occasion, I chose to regale them with some factoids I learned from Orlando Patterson’s Slavery and Social Death. Perhaps the greatest unknown fact to me was that the British carried over 15,000 American slaves back with them when they lost the revolution since they’d promised them freedom for fighting with the red coats.

Another friend showed up, but only for the one-women show. Even though she’d missed dinner, she bought me a second goblet of Malbec.  I’m not sure if the venue always pour that much or we were fortunate to have a heavy-handed bartender that particular night, but I had no complaints!

We waited after the show, to congratulate the one-woman performer herself, who’d blown us all away. Granted, she’s the three time national female slam poet. I informed my friends this would be the last time we’d be lucky to see her perform for a mere $10.

Of course, I had to take a picture with the artist herself. I want the world to know I knew her before they did! I congratulated her for much deserved success. It’s challenging enough to live through what she had and another thing to invite family, friends and strangers in to witness a poetic summary of it.

Sunday: Open Mic Night

Several of my poet friends participate in a Sunday open mic from 7:30 to 10 PM. One friend in particular, carries a small bag of reading glasses. I told him I was officially ready for my first pair of “cheater readers,” as my latest eye doctor called them.

Although both pairs made the print world easier to read, I thought these were less birth control looking than the other pair. The best part was these fit comfortably over my regular glasses when my eyes tire at home.

I certainly didn’t need corrective lenses to see this gorgeous meat trio pizza and glass of Malbec. Yet another Italian dish for the second celebration of my birthday.

This young singer dedicated a Beyonce song to me.

Then another poet friend and the open mic hosts led the room in singing “Happy Birthday” to me. The hilarious part came when only 5 people knew my name.  The hosts had been referring to me as “Birthday Princess” the whole time up to that point.

Another friend split the infamous “ying-yang” cake with me, which was a chocolate-rich and creamy dessert one should only eat once a year.

Wearing my princess tiara and mother-gifted girlie top, I read one of my infamous classics: “How Men Blow Fellatio.”

Afterwards, I back led another poet through a slow dance while a saxophonist played.

Monday: Detox & Retox

I only had three brave friends who said they’d detox with me on Labor Day at the free 10 AM bikram yoga class prior to brunch. Merely one friend had arrived by the time we posed with the instructor for a “before” picture.

However, everyone was present for the “after” picture.

Joined by two more friends, a fabulous all-you-care-to eat buffet and the most impressive collection of tequilas, we had a terrific time retoxing.

We started with a mimosa, two of which, came with our buffet. I’d eaten brunch here several times before, but I’d never known there was an option of three fruity flavors: orange, cranberry and pineapple. I started out with pineapple and followed up with cranberry.

One friend, who arrived by bus so she could fully enjoy the whole retox experience, ordered a tequila flight.

I’d saved a tiny bit of room for dessert: a churro, ice cream and cherry cobbler.

After dessert, our server asked me if I liked “sweet” and “chocolate.” Of course I answered “yes” to both questions. Moments later, she brought out a chocolate infused tequila. At that point, my friends sang “Happy Birthday.”

One friend followed up with Stevie Wonder’s version of “Happy Birthday;” so I chair danced to it.

Finally, I got to sip my drink. That’s right, sip! I’d lived in Mexico for three years and never once saw a Mexican shoot tequila. They sipped and enjoyed their drink like cultured people. (I love how the guy in the background does not look the least impressed.)

The Aftermath

I’d written this message on my white board, alerting my Adult Basic Education students to the fact that school was closed on Monday. Although most people assumed Labor Day had given us the long weekend, my students were privy to the real deal. When I returned to school on Tuesday, I had a post birthday wish. As much as I love having a day off, the rest of the week was thrown off.  Thank goodness the weekend wasn’t too far away.