Music
The best kept secret in music
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Laughs audiences enjoy, relationship truisms with which they connect, sterling performances they applaud, and deep messages that move their emotions and provoke thought would be enough but there’s a significant part of the new play, “Sonnets for My Sistahs,” that reaches far beyond theatre.
The event is being staged as a kick off for a new grassroots collaboration of educators, media professionals, and business leaders in an effort to improve communication skills among urban youth.
“Sonnets for My Sistahs” will open a two-night stand at The Walker Theatre 7 p.m. Saturday, July 29 and 4 p.m. Sunday, July 30.
During a recent press conference, educator, playwright and author Vernon A. Williams announced that the production is the first fundraiser for the newly-formed non-profit organization called word of mouth, inc. – a program designed to excite students about becoming more proficient at reading, writing and speaking.
“A glance at statistics that describe alarming drop-out rates and abhorrent test scores in the area of language arts beg for creative and diverse approaches to tackling the learning woes we face in our schools,” said Williams, a former Gary teacher and administrator now serving as Career Technical Supervisor with Indianapolis Public Schools.
“The play is predominantly about men stepping up to encourage women with caring affirmations,” Williams continued. “There is candid revelation and a great deal of healing in the message. The play features male-female dialogue without preconceived notions, without judgment, without the need for a winner or loser in the exchange.”
“Sonnets for My Sistahs” is directed by Charla Booth Thomas, a 25-year drama teacher at the Gary Emerson School for Visual and Performing Arts. Ms. Thomas explains, “This play has men speaking to women as sisters – members of their family – rather than objects of their affection. Everyone knows that males speak a different language to a baby sister about relationships than they would women that they meet and try to date.”
The veteran drama teacher describes “Sonnets for My Sistahs” as an odyssey through intricate seldom-expressed thoughts and feelings of men about women as well as themselves. “This is modern-day Shakespearean theatre, in that the entire script consists of poems. The language is earthy but profound and everyone will be able to relate.”
Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Group rates are available. For tickets, order online at www.sonnetsformysistahs.com.
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- Contact: Carolyn Mosby-Williams
Discography
Vernon A. Williams has written more than a dozen plays, five of which have been produced. He is also the author of two other books, "That Black Men Might Live" and "The African American Guide to Hepatitis C".
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Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Sonnets for my Sistahs is a new play, based on a book of the same title written by Gary native Vernon A. Williams. The play features the song, dance, comedy and drama of todays relationships with honest dialogue men share with women, speaking to them as sisters rather than mere objects of affection.
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