This was a special UGT titled “Herstory” for Women’s History Month hosted by Tenesha Smith (but of course Mojavi was there too). In fact, in addition to the usual performances of spoken word, music & comedy, there was a fashion show by Shekihah Beauty with 4 gorgeous (of course) models, & a presentation of awards to women for community service. I didn’t catch every act, but those I did were well worth the admission price.
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| MC: Tenesha Smith |
Among the performers were Poetyc Visionz, comedienne Carlisle Carey, Midori (?) with a poem to a strong black woman, her mother, & Tenesha Smith wondering “Where My Sisters At?” Jentri did a hip-hop piece “Herstory as the Event,” then some songs from CJ, Kat-so Poetic first did a double positive piece praising women as queens, then on what’s it like to be normal after being molested, & Rainmaker did one of the best pieces of the night, a tribute to his great mother with a great flow of images from the islands.
Jess Listen to my Words wove a love poem into a poem about waiting for the results of a biopsy (“Yesterday”), ILLiptical did a couple pieces with a beat behind him, “Invisible Woman” & “Sentence Complete” (to his wife), & Leslie Michelle read a tender poem that she had read to her mother just before she died.
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| Rainmaker |
Bklyn Shay was back with a piece on unity, Shatieka Ross included “Rest in Peace” from her 2009 CD, & Alessia (?) Ortiz, with her stunning voice sang & read a couple of journal entries, one on the strength of women, the other on love gone bad.
Among the women getting awards for their work in the community were Payton Johnson Harrison, Leslie Michelle, Bklyn Shay, Jessica (aka Jess Listen to my Words), & tonight’s MC Tenesha Smith.
This is where you need to be on the third Friday: the Linda, 339 Central Ave., Albany, NY for Urban Guerilla Theatre.
