2012-2013 Fellows--The August Wilson Center is proud to include Nathan James, Bridgette Perdue, Marlana Vassar, Josh Wilder and Nikki Young in the 2012-13 Fellowship program.  This week, learn about their current projects as they prepare for their First Voice Festival debut May 17 – 25.

BRIDGETTE PERDUE
"Wake Up And Dream"
May 17 | 8 pm | $10
Wake Up And Dream
If there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that everyone dreams – and not just the sleepy story kind. I’m talking about the “idea-I-can’t-get-out-of-my-mind” type dream.
That persistent thought, that either makes you smile every time you think it, or grimace in frustration of the long journey ahead to accomplish it. That one thing that drives your days and keeps you up at night.
It’s time to Wake Up And Dream.
“Wake Up And Dream”, my project for the AWC First Voice Festival, is a world premier music concert. This high-energy show will have music, backup dancers, a full band, visual art, flame-throwing— okay, maybe not flame throwing, but it’s gonna be pretty exciting!
I created this dynamic show for one purpose: Inspiration. I wanted to produce something that inspires others to no longer sleep on their potential or allow circumstances to stop them from pursuing what they really want out of life.
In the beginning we set out with so much hope and courage, but then… life happens. Sometimes, if you’re like me, you get so caught up in the day-to-day, that you forget about your deepest passion. It’s time to remember. It’s time to wake up.
It has been my dream to sing and dance to my own music. It has been my dream to do a performance with a baby grand piano. It has been my dream to do what I love for a living. The August Wilson Center Fellows Program has been a dream come true. And it is my desire that after Wake Up And Dream on Friday May 17, you feel inspired to make your own dreams reality.
P.S. For inspiration and to stay updated on the Wake Up And Dream concert, find #WUAD2013 on Twitter. You can also visit my website at www.BridgettePerdue.com.

JOSHUA WILDER
"Still" and "Township Safari"
May 18 | 8 pm | $10
Still
Another black man is about to be born. In the safe warm crevice that is his womb, he is able to move freely, as he corresponds with his creator. The world which he once knew dries up before him as he is thrust out into the throngs of a different, colder world. Here, he will learn to fight against the raging winds of prejudice and misfortune before he ultimately learns that in order to find peace, he must be still. Using the body as the primary medium of storytelling, as well as personal narrative of director and performer, this performance examines issues of perception identity in contemporary society.
Township Safari
Luthando, a poor South African boy, signs up to be part of an international cultural awareness program called Township Safari. In order to provide for his sick mother and his education, he opens up his home and his life for the world to explore.

MARLANA ADELE VASSAR
Exhibition Opening
May 17 | 7 pm | Free and open to the public
Gallery Talk
May 23 | 7 pm | Free and open to the public
My body of work was developed from observing various performances within the Cultural Trust. Using performance art as my source, I felt inspired to create visual narratives that focused on movement. During the process I concentrated on using all of the elements within the paintings to express movement not only through the figures, but also through color, shapes and design.
The one consistent element vibrating throughout the images and theme was that of call and response, I felt that a body of work deeply rooted in the African diaspora should, therefore, express that same dynamic within it.
Exhibition will be on display through August.

NIKKI YOUNG
"Things Not Seen" staged reading and theatrical trailer premiere
May 24 | 8 pm | Free and open to the public
Nikki Young is writing a screenplay for a feature film called "Things Not Seen". She will present a staged reading of the script along with a preview trailer.
"Things Not Seen” will be a suspenseful drama that revolves around one woman’s discovery of devastating secrets, intertwined with a larger exploration of societal issues facing the African American community.
The film will explore a number of issues such as: cycle of poverty and violence, systematic racism and lack of access, disproportionate incarceration rates and struggling inner city school systems. The goal is to develop a suspenseful storyline that explores these social issues by weaving them throughout a compelling character driven narrative.
Learn more about Nikkiyo Films online:
Facebook: facebook.com/nikkiyofilms
Twitter: twitter.com/nikkiyo
www.nikkiyofilms.com
Watch Nikkiyo Films: vimeo.com/nikkiyofilms

NATHAN JAMES
"Growing Pains"
May 25 | 8 pm | $10
As a kid growing up in Pittsburgh in the 1990’s, Nathan often found himself living in two completely different worlds. On one end, he grew up in a neighborhood heavily induced with poverty, drug activity, and gang violence. On the other end, he was fortunate enough to have parents who scraped together what little money they had to involve him in acting classes and conservatories to distract him from the allure of street life (in which most of his childhood friends fell into). This gave him a unique opportunity to gain a social education by becoming an observer of the two different ways of life (especially since he’s never been able to completely fit in to either environment because of his affiliation with the other). He wasn’t “Hood” enough” to be completely “Hood” because of his interest in the arts, yet he was too much of a product of his upbringing to be completely accepted among the “Privileged” in his acting classes. The reclusion from both worlds transitioned from childhood resentment to a sociological advantage in his artistic endeavors.
Through spoken word poetry, monologues, movement and multi-media imagery; Nathan James’ one-man show, Growing Pains, illuminates the voice of the true authentic culture of the Hip Hop generation. It takes a first-hand look at the births of the mentalities of urban African-American males, as opposed to the constant highlighting of stereotypical behaviors found in music videos, social media, and nightly news.
Growing Pains explores how we end up where we are in life based on our personal experiences. It examines the influence of media and upbringing over the way we view politics, beauty, each other, and most importantly ourselves. It taps into the part of the human spirit that enables us to empathize with one another as individuals, even if we can’t always relate to each other’s life experiences.

Originally published April 15, 2012

The August Wilson Center for African American Culture has announced its 2012-2013 August Wilson Center Fellows. Established in 2009, the annual cash awards support the needs of African-American artists and artists of African descent living and working in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

This year’s August Wilson Center Fellows are: Nikki Young, Media Arts; Joshua Wilder, Theatre; Bridgette Perdue, Music and Interdisciplinary Performance; Nathan James, Theatre; and Marlana Vassar, Visual Arts. 
Through the fellowships, local artists will have new venues to create and present their own works of art, pursue individualized career advancement, participate in collaborative creative and marketing projects, strengthen community connections, acquire financial services and collect a regular stipend.

“The mission of the AWC is to preserve and present experiences of African-American culture, articulated through the media of theater, dance, music and visual arts. The primary audience of our presentations is the African-American community of Western Pa. But within this large population, our most important constituency is African-American youth. Our Fellows program serves as a two-way portal of information from the AWC to this youth population and for cultural information from this population, back to the AWC. The Fellows program helps us to fulfill our mission as it also provides us with cultural raw material from which to create additional cultural artifacts” explains co-executive director of the Center Sala Udin.

The fellowships are awarded for approximately one year. The stipends provide artists with an economic freedom to focus on their individual practices over the year exploring, experimenting and developing their work more fully.

The selections were made through a two-phase peer review process involving preliminary and final selection panels comprised of regional arts professionals and August Wilson Center Artistic Directors. Fellowships may be awarded at any stage of the artist’s career—from early to mature.

Eligible artists may work in any of the following disciplines: music, dance, theatre, visual arts, literary arts and interdisciplinary mediums. An average of five fellowships are awarded annually.

SOSSENA WOOD

The University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of  Engineering chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers  was well-represented at the national organization’s 39th annual convention in Indianapolis, March 27-31. Leading off the recognition was the election of doctoral candidate Sossena Wood to National Chairperson of the organization.
Wood, a native of Laurel, Md., who earned her bachelor of science in electrical engineering from Pitt in 2010, is currently  a graduate student researcher and PhD candidate in bioengineering. She previously served as Region 2 Chair from May 2011 to April 2012, and National Vice Chair from June 2012 to present. She will serve a one-year term as National Chairperson and will work with the national Executive Director Carl B. Mack, PhD, to coordinate NSBE operations. Wood is the sixth woman to serve as National Chairperson since NSBE’s founding in 1975.
“I am extremely honored to have been selected by my peers to help to lead this incredible organization,” Wood said. “Pitt has held a strong relationship with NSBE and I am excited that both the University and our City will be representing one of the most dedicated engineering societies in the U.S.  As Chairperson, I plan to help the organization give back to our communities and assist in making the new role models of our communities’ individuals with careers in STEM.  Athletes are great role models, but STEM majors are the ones that save our lives every day.”
In addition to Wood’s election, Ashley McCray, a Pitt sophomore with a major in chemical engineering, was elected as Region II Programs Chair, which includes Pittsburgh. McCray, who is from Matteson, Ill., also received a NSBE General Mills Scholarship at the conference. Other recognition included the “Retention Chapter of the Year” Award for Pitt’s NSBE Chapter, as well as a NSBE Board of Corporate Affiliates Scholarship for engineering first-year student Casey Tompkins-Rhoades.
Sylvanus N. Wosu, PhD and Associate Dean of Diversity and Alaine Allen, M.Ed., Director of Pitt EXCEL and INVESTING NOW, attended the first all-African American Deans forum held at the conference. Both contributed to the discussion with other deans and minority engineering program directors to solve the issues of retention of Blacks in engineering nationally. The Engineering Office of Diversity could potentially be a strategic partner on the national level for NSBE’s $11 million proposal for a 5 year Retention Program submitted to Exxon Mobil. Through this proposal NSBE will attempt to be the premier organization to graduate Blacks in engineering and technology on at all levels of education.
“For several years, Pitt’s NSBE chapter has excelled to be very visible at the regional and national levels. They are exemplary representatives of Pitt and the Swanson School, as well as of NSBE itself,” noted Sylvanus N. Wosu, PhD, associate dean for diversity at the Swanson School. “I especially want to thank the administration, faculty and staff at the Swanson School for helping our students to achieve this national recognition.”

Sometimes, you have a good nose for trouble.
One deep breath and you can practically smell mayhem. It’s almost like a perfume you can’t resist, a whiff of rebellion, and when that happens—when danger floats in the air—well, what can you do? You have to give in. You must follow it.
But what if that smell is something else? What if it’s smoke or the scent of blood? In the new book “Sweet 16 to Life” by Kimberly Reid, somebody needs to pay attention and keep her nose clean.
With just days to go, amateur detective Chanti Evans hoped her 16th birthday would be memorable. She dreamed of holding the arm of Special Someone while wearing the gorgeous dress that hung on the back of her bedroom door.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t anywhere near reality. Marcus, her briefly-boyfriend, had recently broken up with Chanti because his parents thought she was dangerous.
Chanti never looked for crimes to solve; they found her instead. Case in point, the night her friend MJ’s house caught fire. Thankfully, nobody was home and the blaze was easily extinguished but Chanti was suspicious: MJ was more worried about the contents of the basement than the rest of the house. Add in the creepy hoodie-wearing dude who stood smiling as he watched the house burn, and something wasn’t right.
Neither was the fact that MJ seemed to be awfully close to Hoodie Dude. She said it was nothing, that she was just creeping on her boyfriend, but Chanti thought it was more than that. And if there was trouble, it could jeopardize MJ’s parole.
But watching her friend’s back wasn’t the only drama in Chanti’s life. It seemed, for instance, that Marcus was always nearby, and he was too tempting. Plus, there was the stress of keeping her mother’s job under wraps, It wouldn’t do for everybody in the ‘hood to know that Lana was an undercover cop.
No, that would mean more danger, as if Chanti wasn’t up to her nose in it already: it turned out that Hoodie Dude was a second-man gangster from L.A. and until he disappeared, leaving behind a pool of blood, he had his mind set on controlling Denver. Was this the one case Chanti couldn’t solve?
Don’t bet on it. In fact, don’t bet on anything but enjoyment from this sharp, sassy mystery series.
Author Kimberly Reid’s main character, Chanti, is like Nancy Drew in the ’hood: same savvy sleuthing, but with the bite of modern realism and a good amount of humor. There’s keen danger depicted here, but no profanity. Teen PIs will find a fun, not-so-easily-solved mystery but no hard-core violence. That makes this a perfect whodunit for readers ages 12-to-17.
This book is part of a series, so you’ll probably be happier if you get up-to-speed by grabbing one of the earlier installments first.
(“Sweet 16 to Life” by Kimberly Reid, c.2013, Dafina Teen, $9.95/$10.95 Canada, 256 pages.)

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by Lucie Zhang

(CNN) -- Our nation is experiencing a Crisis of Sheer Bottoms. Lululemon recently had to recall its popular yoga pants for being see-through, and now schools across the country are banning leggings from the classroom.