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July 26, 1992 - Image 12

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
Michigan Citizen, 1992-07-26

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

I'
By C ROLYN ARFl LD
Att.Corre
�eventeen years of production
tage management put Jerry
Crawford in good tead for
dvancement to artistic director and
capturing the young t heart in "The
Dancing Spider," an daptation of
Maril yn 0 terman and MarH yn
Kluge' version of the pider legend
originating among the Ashanti
people of Ghana, West Africa.
Generations of oral tradition and
storytelling mantain the continuity
of the legend while many folktales
personify "Ananse" the wily and
wi tty folk hero characterized
trickster. His tales have enormous
appeal to children and adults in West
Africa, the West Indies and other
parts of the e World.
"Folklore prepares human beings
for dul thood,· Crawford ays.
"Mythology makes the ordinary
magical."
Crawford' choral adaptation
reflects the .flow of Africa through
elaborate ritual and spectacle.
Artistic collaboration utilized
traditional West African rhythms.
Master drummer King Sundiata
Kei ta and son provide the'
ceremonial for the tale to begin. A
proces ional and closing bl .ng
done in Yorub add authenticity and
completenesa to the story, as the
favorl te creature in all or Africa
subtly applies virtues of family and
communi ty working in a
cooperative work ethic.
,
" DCGPID"
peak directly to children
invite their comment nd
expressions hile the vibrant and
full- pirited play instru on moral
and ocial values. "Little creatures
can do big things if e all wo
together," the animal ing. "Have
heart and do your part."
Instrumen and ongs enhance
the tory nd Linda Simmon '
original choreography give the
animal nim tion. Explicit
dialogue, gesture and plendid
costumes enable the tortoise, rabbit,
leopard, birds, lion, ants and spiders
to convey warm and loving
characterizatioDS.
Crawford' belief in
non-traditional ca ting prove
harmoniou in "The Dancing
Spider" with enthnically diverse
actors vivaciously en cting bush
(jungle) creatures. Ananse's clever
and fancy tricks beguile the animals.
Speaking candidly of a theatrical
career that has been qui magical,
Crawford reminisces. During
1970-1971 he studied at the
University of Nigeria in Ibadan.
After graduating from Kalamazoo
College be landed a production stage
management posi tion with the Negro
Ensemble Company.
Crawford worked with five
Broadway shows and manapd
many national and international
productions in Australia, New
Guinea and Europe. His most recent
New York credit is three years with
the South fric n the trlc 1
production "Sarafina. "
D ire for grad te degree and
"need for more creativity" brought
Cr ford home to Detroit nd
enrollment in W yne St te
Univer ity' Bl c The tre
Program, where he' completing
requirem n for MF in �g.
BE premiered "Blade
Spirits" nd continue to bring
recognition to him elf and the
department. director of the Bl
The tre 's Touring Company, he
realizes that outIearch i the ultimate
mis ion of theatrical touring.
Cr ford dds, ·unification d
clarification of ell other hat
multicu1 turallsm is all about" In
April, the African-American and
Hispanic communities ere brought
closer together when Wayne Slate
presented "TM House of Ramon
Iglesia. "
At Wayne State Crawford can
take artistic .director credits for
"Playboy of,!he West India" aDd
"Zora Neal Hurston" by Laurence
Holder. He will direct "Life is tile
Dream" by Pedro Calderon De La
Barca for his 1993 MFA dissertation.
"The way of the future will be
non-traditional casting which will
help unify America," Crawford
concludes.
Performances
Spider" were p at III I
Rackham Auditorium from June 25
through July 11, with a reception
concluding the run at Your Heritage
House on July 11.
CAST AND ARTISTIC STAFF OF ·THE DANCING SPIDER· - (back row I-r) King Sund
K.lta, arvin J. Wardlow, Charlie Smith, Nycol. rrlt, David Ram. y, Fallah Sal m, Paul
cCaffrey. (front row l-r) Sow nd. K Ita, (director) J rry CI veland, Roxann W IIIngton,
Chrl. N.ewma ,L,��a Clev land Simmon & Th d S. Av .
'Infon1ultlon on' �ayne State 0# A dell Au In' An ers·��""'lrwrom Director Addell Aus'tln oM ..
University's Black Theatre and 577-3508.InformatioD on Wayne Anderson at 577-3508.
BlackTbeaueTouringProgramscan State University Black Theatre and
be obtained by calling Director Towing Progriuns can be obtained
GROVER continued from 81
the National Anthem at 76'ers games
in March, April and May; accept the
highly presffgious Philadelphia Art
Alliance award; headline a ·WDAS
benefit concert for Women Against
Domestic Violence, and a prison
benefit.
Music, charity, and love ,of bas­
k�tbalJ. ide, what reaUy motiva
Grover Washington, Jr. is devotion
to family. "I've been with [my wife]
Christine for 24 years," he ays
proudly. "My bome life makes me a
normal family man who just happens
to be in the music business. Being so
involved with family life, the way I
am, keeps me in touch with the real
world - and thi is integrated into
my m ic. " Grovcr and Christine
are especially proud their 16-year
old daughter Shana Bly and 23-ycar
old son Grover m.
NO MATTER BOW busy
Grover i with other projects, he al­
ways has time to wbrk with and en­
courage young people."1 got a lot of
help along the way," be says, ·and
the least I can do is to give up lOme
of my time to young people who
might have a question or want to play
some things for me or perhaps just
want a different point of view. " He
recalls the impact that other
musicians had on him: "I can still
remember when I w coming up, I
was Ii tening to a lot of different
music and reading liner notes to al­
bums. Anywhere there w music, I
was there.
Next Exit bring Grover
,,<ashington Jr.'s valuee into sharp.
focus, celebradng the imple aDd im·
portant tbfnp in life: home, famlly,
love, romance, roots. Tbcre is in­
herent sophistication beI'C, without
an ounce of pretcmc. As his 20th
anniversary is upon us, it is stUt too
carly to aay tbat Grover has come full
circle. "There 1Islill a lot of JD ie
out there I haven't played yet, " sayS
the man who e journey has just
begun. Who knows where his next
exit will take him?
ADVERTISE
UPCOMING EVENTS
"1\' JODECI CONCERT - JODECI
comes to Chene Park for one perfor­
mance only Juty 26 at 8pm. Special
g • to be .,nounced. Tlcketa $20
& $18 on sale ro«. Chene Park,
2800 Atwater. For Information
(3131393-0086). .
1\' FASHION CELEBRATION -
.Item will be auctioned off Md also
orders taken by the deaIgner8 for the
sale of their m«chandee. St R
Hotel Ballroom 5-1Opm W Grand
Blvd. T1ck 15-20 at the door. For
further Into oont at HOPES Inc.
(3131368-2400). Zipper. LOU'lge will
adm everyone hoking ticket Itube,
FREE for a nIgt4 of good mualo and
dancing. LDcetIon: Davison and Mt
Eliott. .
1\' SUMMER CAMP - Summ r
camp registrations for children who
have completed grad two thru
twelve we noN being accepted by
Camp Sarah Grindley nd the
HON I Conference and N we C«l­
ter, located In central livingston
County In ew Mlchlg� July
28 thru Aug. 16. Colt range from
$100 to $200 per camp eeeeIon. For
Information can (3131345-8555 or
617/548-024a,.
MONDAY, JULY 27
1\' PAJNT THE TOWN - Durtng the
run of 'Caaaablanca' at the Fox
TheIItre, July 'Z1 thru Aug 2, p8trona
can help Detroit'. Fourth Annu
'P rt the TONn' event by dropping
off wdoor latex palrt brushes at the
box ofIIoe. In exchange, petrona will
rec,lv. buy-one-get-one-fr e
ooupone for lawn .... to teet
�.M�B�M�F.
tIwIl. "aIR the Tcwrt, eoheduIed tor
SIll. Aug 15, Ie an Imm ... void .
proJect which ..ch year _or •.
dIfteren o.trolt neighborhood com­
mitted to oommLl'llty Ience. For
void Info (313/8Z1-�
err ge group vts�S, call (952-5422).
I WEDNESDAY, JULY 29 I
1\' ART WORKSHOPS - Center for
Creative Studies (CCS) Alumni & the
Considine Recreation Center are of­
fertng a one-day Adventures I�rt
For Children workshops for chlldr
gee 7 and 8. The workshops are
FREE and will be held from 1 Oem to
3pm at the Considine Recreation
Center, 8904 Woodward. Call to
reg er (878-0131 or 876-0130) for
Info (872..a118 ext 221).
1\' SUBSTANCE AWARENESS -
The subetance abu8e awareness
street fair I aet to start at 11 am and
wi end at 5pm on Col ngwood btwn
Martindale and Petoskey Avenues.
The community Ie Invtted to enjoy
gam_, performances, prizes and
FREE refr hmert. Several egan­
cle which work with youth or In sub­
stance abuse prevention activities
win distribute educational materials.
The pubUc Is Invtted to attend. For
mOl' Information (834-8677).
RIVERFRONT
FESTIVAI.,.S
1\' Latin American F ivai - Juty
24-26 - Chili-rib Fest - Juty 31 -
Aug 1-2 - Mextcan Festlval- Aug
7-9 - African World F�lval- Aug
21-23 - Montreux Jazz F ivai -
Sept 3-7.
1\' CHANDLER PK UBRARY - 7·'Z1
Story llme 108m. 7-28 Poetry for
ChIldren 1 :30-3pm. 7-28 Story Tlme
1 Oem. 7-30 SlI1'lmer pre>
gram 1 :30-2:30 7-31 Children'.
Mo.1ea 2pm. (287-8558) _
1\' CHILDREN'S UBRARY. MaIn
Lbray. - 7-28 Tune Into Lingo
2:30pm gredea 8-8. 7·29 '92 Trtple
S'.: Summer reading program
2:30pm. 7-30 Poetry work hop
wtIh Htkta V 2:30pm gredee 4-8.
7-31 Preehool Storyhour lOam.
(833-1490)
1\' DOUGLASS UBRARY - 7-'Z1
Jr. Summ Reading program 1 pm.
7·28 Crafts 1pm. 7-29 Summer
R &dIng program 2pm. 7-30 Storl
for Tots 1 Oem. (833-9714).
1\' ELMWOOD PK UBRARY - 7·28
Stwe a Story: R 4pm.
7-28 Summer R ding program 2pm.
7-31 Punl and Game 2-4pm.
(224-0516)
1\' GRAY LIBRARY -7-28 Parent-
Ing 1-3pm (must register). 7-29
Rappln' Reader.' reports 1-5pm.
7-31 Summer reading program
flnale:· Ronnie Cee magic shaN 3Pm.
(267-6559)
� UNCOLN UBRARY - 7·'Zt Musi­
cal Mondays 2:30pm. 7·28. 7-30
Read Aloud 2:30pm. 7-29 'Craft:
Rocking Rabbit 2:30pm. 7-31 Reel
Thing 2:30pm. & Poet In r dence
3-5pm. (876-0135)
� MONTEITH LIBRARY - 7-28
CheSs Club 3:30pm 10-up.
7-29 Story TIme 1 :3Opm I agee.
7-30 Movies 1 :30pm I ag (287-
6558)
� PARKMAN UBRARY - 7-'Z1 •
7·29 Reading Club 1-2:30pm. 7-28 •
7-30 Puppet Club 1-2:3Opm & Crea­
tive Bingo 3-4pm. (876-0132)
� SHERNOOD UBRARY - 7·28
Summer Reading Club ActMty 1 pm.
7-29 Crats 1 pm. 7-30 MeMes 1pm.
(935-3435)
ANNOUNCEMENT
�. DHS HI or1c Church Tour •• e
available year round on the first Mon­
day of each month (on holiday
weekends the tours re postponed
until th following Monday). The HJ8.
torym obi I wtll provide transportation
to the church . A brown bag lunch
will be served at one of the churchea.
Prepald reservations are a must
(space Is limited) no phone reeerv.
tlons. Please call (313/833-7934) for
additional Information or send a large,.
self-addr888ed erN ope wtth double
po tage to the Detroit HI orlcal
Society, 5401 Woodward, Detrott, MI
48202 for a brochure listing many
Other tours and workshops. Colt Ie
$11 per per8OI'l, $9 for DHS m m­
ber.. Participant. return to the
m lMTI 3pm.
S mlnar for
home owner hlp
Standard Federal Bank will
hold a free Community Home
Buyer's Program Seminar on
Saturday, August 1, 1992,
from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00
noon at the Waterman Pre ton
United Methodist Church,
1270 Waterman, in Detroit.
To regi ter, or for inform -
tion about the program, call
313/643-9600, extension
6977.
SENIORS ON THE MOVE - War. a group of old mu cl n. who don't let gr grow und r
our fHl The old peraon I. M .... Ella Luc .. blowing the aaxophon at 75 Y ... young, next I. the
drummer Tom Whit ad 73, Doc Vau hn planlet 85. Joe Th�ma. 84, Horae Chili Ruth 83, J. I.
Ulmar 68 y ... old. W. k P bu.y by performing nu ... lng hOmH, hoapltal., adult nlor citizen.
recreation cent .... throughout the metropolitan area d dlffer.nt church function For more
Information contact Joe Thoma at 834-1728 or Doc V u hn 888-2434.
,
TUESDAY, JULY 28

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