Vol. 3 No. 2 May 6, 2009
 


Rhodessa Jones - Trinidadian Diary, 2009

Arriving in Trinidad . . . after boarding American Airlines in Atlanta . . . we are flying back home to this verdant Eden! I am delighted to be returning to this land of calypso, pork Guerra, roti, Carib beer and Eldorodo Rum! We arrive to the sweet welcome and loving arms of our host, Professor Rawle Gibbons. Accompanied by his friend Phillips, we pile our bags into two cars and drive to the apartment complex where we will be for the next three weeks. This is the end of our "winter in cold grey America tour" which began in New York City! Our apartment here is a two- storied domicile with individual large bedrooms for Idris and myself. Inside this tropical complex we are a part of a community made up of Hindu, Arabic, Chinese and black Trinidian families. There are children everywhere- their laughter, cries, games and squabbles create a sense of place in this southern Caribbean country. The fan whirrs and turns constantly in the heat. We go out and buy food, fruits, water, rum and smoke coils- to fend off the night raids of the mosquitoes!

We are here to teach, lecture, and perform in residency at UWI (The University of The West Indies, St. Augustine in Trinidad). Very soon after we arrive we meet with key persons at UWI. The schedule is a bit heavy! Together we weed out some of the appearances and lectures and cut back on our performance schedule with the drama department. We are in the Caribbean! We must find time for a swim! We leave the campus and continue the meeting at Wings, our favorite Roti Shop, where we work out a leaner schedule and catch up on the past two years.

Telling the Truth and Teaching Goodness . . .
Week One:

Idris conducts lectures on Business for the Arts and Enterprise Internships in the Arts. I conduct classes and workshops including one in Playwriting in Contemporary Theatre.

We both visit the Women's Prison at Golden Grove, leading a highly energetic interactive performance for two hundred incarcerated women!

Rhodessa Lecture (YouTube - click to view)
In the evening we co-lecture, Theatre for the 21Century, emphasizing creating our performance The Love Project. The students enjoy my fierce and raucous "Forest in the Ghetto", an excerpt from the show. Idris wows them with his Sax Tap routine! They are eager to hear more as we take them inside a discussion of the creativity surrounding modern love in a world gone mad!

Idris Lecture UWI (YouTube - click to view)
On Friday we are meeting with Louis Mc Williams and Marvin George finalizing our participation in the production of "Fragments" a performance collage, celebrating the writings of Derek Walcott. In the early afternoon Idris leads a Contemporary Music workshop with students playing his compositions.

UWI Music workshop Plays music of Ackamoor (YouTube - click to view)
Saturday, we catch the ferry for the beautiful island of Tobago. Tobago, emerald isle of a thousand hummingbirds, multicolored parrots, delicious Crab and Dumplings on the golden sands of Pigeon Point, the beach of all beaches! We meet Glenda Rose, our sponsor and host. Ms. Rose takes us to our hotel Arthur On The Beach. Glenda has organized a drama workshop in Tobago with art teachers and performers. It is an exhilarating day of cultural exploration. We workshop, Derek Walcott's The Sea is History, with this group of Tobagans.

Tobago Workshop (YouTube - click to view)

On this island- the drumming alone- reminds us all of our African heritage! Incredible! Glenda is excited. We discuss returning in July to create a celebration in honor of Eric Roach, Tobago's leading poet.

Tuesday, we return to Trinidad. I lead a workshop in developmental drama. This course included students working for a certification in Public Service. They were already interning in daycare, orphanages (abandoned children, Aids, the physically disabled), elder care (dementia, abused, Alzheimer's) and prison work. How to use the arts effectively? What is working? Why did you choose a particular community? How to encourage the sharing of stories? What is healing in the arts? How to share with elders?

Art as social change permeates contemporary life at the UWI!

Wednesday was dress rehearsal for "Fragments". The air conditioning in the auditorium has gone berserk! It is freezing! The dressing room is crowded. Fragments has a cast of more than thirty students. Every surface is covered with costumes, hats, scripts, and food! Face paintings, costume fittings, changes, laughter, music, and the smell of hair frying! Idris and I miraculously find space for our costumes, shoes, make up and instruments. The stage manager rules! She is on top of it . . . Blessings all around!!

Thursday's opening is magical. It all flows. The Derek Walcott Festival is under way and Cultural Odyssey is in the house! Idris and I performed "The Sea is History", as a jazz tonal poem with Khadija Glasgow, a brilliant young dancer! It was a great success. It was a moment of great pride for me as an African American performing with these Trinidadian youth- a poem by a St. Lucian who has won a Nobel Prize . . . WOW.

Friday I teach Performance I. We peruse creating autobiographical theatre. The actor as a mythical character. Can theatre heal? Who gets to participate? What is theatre of inclusion? How is Contemporary theatre different than Traditional theatre? Why? Great discussions and rich insights into art in a changing world.

Saturday was a day for young poets. Examining spoken word I lead exercises in writing from first memory. We look at the things that pain us. Music and performance was exercised. Idris came in and advised the young guitarist and saxophonist. The words tumbled, jumped, floated, hung in the warm air- tears threatening to spill everywhere . . . a memorable day on this Caribbean campus.

Sunday we had to fly to the scintillating island of St. Lucia! This is such a wonderful way to end our residency! The air is bright and soft. The mountains are majestic overlooking the dazzling sea (here the Caribbean and Atlantic embrace). Tyrone, who works for our host The Cultural Development Foundation on Barnard Hill, meets us. We have been invited to work with local artists, teachers and interested students. Our challenge here is to speak to the validity of arts education. Is art necessary? Is it vital? I am behooved: on this island that gave the world Derek Walcott!!!

Tyrone takes us to our guesthouse, Chez Marie Alise, in the community of Groslet. We drop our bags and go shopping for basics in Rodney Bay. We have dinner after a ride by the sea.

Monday we meet our group and proceed to build a work utilizing voice, text, music and dance. Again, we use Walcotts's "The Sea is History" as a literacy tool inside the process. The group works hard. We have been graced with very talented participants who are seeking ways to embrace the arts as a way of life.

St. Lucia Workshop (YouTube - click to view)
After the workshop we go to the designated performance space for our presentation of The Love Project. We arrive in the early evening to find a large dome- like structure; part tent and part wood. We are adamant: This is not acceptable for our show!! It feels somewhat like a barn that passes as a rehearsal hall. In truth it is a calypso dance hall sitting on a hill in the countryside. Tyrone assures us that the tech crew will make it beautiful. We need only tell them what is needed.

Long story short: the space IS transformed beautifully - right down to a dressing room tent outside situated near stage left out of view of the audience. The team laid a nice marly floor and built a giant screen for projections and the sound was perfect! We came. We saw. We conquered! All had a lovely evening; The Love Project lives . . . . . . . . . yes even on a hill overlooking the sea in St. Lucia! The community warmly received the show. The students came and brought family. The officials were in attendance. There was much laughter and participation from the folks. The talk back was one of the best we had on the tour of 2009.

Thursday we return to The University of the West Indies. This gives Idris time to finish his pet project, "Women of Calypso" a proposed cultural exchange through the National Performance Network's Performing America's Project that will feature some of the best women calypso singers in a tour to three American cities.

WOMEN OF CALYPSO (YouTube - click to view)
It is a time to meet and give closure to the residency. Professor Gibbons greets us at the airport. It has been good. Friday we go to the countryside with Rawle. He takes us into the forest to give offerings to the goddess, Oshun, the mother of civilization. There in the cool green glade of the forest we offer fruits of papaya, watermelon, bananas and farm fresh honey as thanks for the success of our residency in Trinidad. Rawle reads the Kola nuts. Yes, Oshun has accepted our offering!

OSHUN'S RIVER (YouTube - click to view)
Saturday we fly home by way of Atlanta . . . . . . . . .