Journey Home

Something magical is happening at Maricopa County Sherriff Office’s Estrella Jail in Phoenix; 22 women are digging deep and fine-tuning themselves in the Journey Home (JH) Program. From Ms. Brown and her down home wisdom straight across to the three Michelle's making sure that each one "gets it", the women on the inside are bringing something powerful to Estrella.

There are life defining moments as Imani from the JH team, speaks archetypal wisdom to their souls. They move in joy, grace and unity with JH teammate, Teniqua as they choreograph their final show; and they share their stories through their writings as I help them uncover their higher self. This is our 8th year doing the Journey Home program at Estrella and each year we learn something new from our sisters behind the wall.

Journey Home: an Arts Experience for Incarerated Women was initiated by ASU Gammage through the inspiration of Pat Graney's Keeping the Faith Program out of Seattle, Washington.

The program consists of creative writing, movement, storytelling, theater and visual arts that culminate in a final performance by the women to an invitation only audience. An anthology of their writings is produced as well as an exhibit of their visual arts projects.

The Journey Home team works with a core group of about 30 incarcerated women from all racial and socio-economic backgrounds. Three professional artists (a writer/storyteller, a dramatist/movement specialist, and a visual artist), instruct six weekly workshops. Workshops are designed to (a) help participants embrace change in order to shift their personal paradigm; and (b) provide a positive life-affirming environment in which inmates are encouraged to explore options that help to eliminate unhealthy patterns that lead to the revolving door of the penal system. The women learn how to stand outside the emotional self, take control of debilitating fears, and discover their higher self. It's a wonderful thing for all of us.

Thank you Arizona State University for another year of support because through you, the Journey Home team is blessed to meet another group of remarkable women. Visit blueprintforwomanhood.com for more information on Journey Home and other Life Paradigms, Inc. programs.

Fatimah Halim

Program Coordinator

Keo Has Arrived!

ASU Gammage welcomes Native Hawaiian artist Keo Woolford as an Artist in Residence this week! Keo will have a busy week working with ASU Gammage out in the community and on the ASU campus, and performing his autobiographical, solo show I Land at ASU Gammage on Saturday, March 27 at 7 p.m.

I Land weaves together Hula, Hip-Hop and Hawaiian talk story and spoken word and takes the audience on Keo’s funny and poignant journey to understanding his Hawaiian heritage and his own unique cultural identity. We follow Keo through high school days as a teenage football star, his brush with pop stardom as a singer in a popular Hawaiian boy band that toured with Christina Aguilera, to the discovery of his Kumu Hula Robert Cazimero and the sacred art of hula. In I Land, Keo not only tells his personal story, but breaks through the stereotypes associated with Hula and speaks out about the marginalization of Hawaiian culture and the sacred rituals of Hula. Immediately following the performance Keo will participate in a talkback with the audience. This powerful show is not to be missed!

During the week Keo will be leading Hula workshops for the community, working on campus with the ASU School of Dance and Asian Pacific Islander Studies program, teaching a movement class with refugee youth from the International Rescue Committee and performing an adapted version of I Land for more than 1,000 fifth to eighth grade students as part of the Scottsdale Insurance/Nationwide Foundation Performances for Students series at ASU Gammage. Click here if you are interested in participating in one of Keo’s free Hula workshops.

For a sneak peek at I Land, check out the FREE Open Rehearsal on Friday, March 26 at ASU Gammage from 12 -1 pm. Keep in mind that no parking is available at ASU Gammage at that time, so please plan accordingly.

Kristen Markus
Cultural Participation Manager

News From The Road ...Ave Q Company Manager Kate Egan

There are a few venues around the country that could be considered among the legends, and all for different reasons, whether it’s their design, their history or for specific events in the annals of American entertainment – The Hollywood Bowl, the Colonial in Boston, the Fox Theatres in St. Louis and Atlanta, Madison Square Garden ... ASU Gammage in Tempe is among those legends.

Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and referred to by road crews generally as "the upside down wedding cake", it's one of those buildings that a career in the arts just isn't complete until you've played. I’ve been at this for a while now, and I still get cross-eyed looks from other road managers when I say that I've never played ASU Gammage. We're rolling in this week with AVENUE Q, and I can't wait. I'm finally playing Gammage!

I've had degrees of knowing I'd successfully landed a career in show business - my first settlement on the promoting side was a Tina Turner engagement in 1997, which was a nice moment, and I’ve had a few others over the years where I’ve met my heroes or held company meetings in front of the stages where rock and roll, classical and Broadway stars have brought audiences screaming to their feet. It’s always exciting to get to play these incredible spaces, and Gammage is high on my list of to-play venues and “I’ve arrived” moments.

It’s been three years since I’ve been to the Tempe area. I worked as a promoter rep for a good while and spent about six weeks a year in the area between Broadway engagements at the Orpheum in Phoenix and the Mesa Arts Center. There are fond memories of my time in the desert and the envious phone calls from those enduring harsh winters as I basked in 70 degree Januaries. As I would drive the length of Apache Boulevard and pass Gammage, or sit in the audience at Gammage for other shows, I knew there would be a day that I would eventually be able to play this legendary venue. And that day has finally arrived!

I can’t wait to return to the area. I made a lot of friends over my time there, and miss my favorite nightspots. There will be dinner at Trader Vic’s in Scottsdale and lunch at the Arizona Biltmore. There will be late nights at Alice Cooperstown in Phoenix, and I’m sure late nights in new Tempe Marketplace. But best of all, there will be the opportunity to stand on the stage and look out over those 3017 seats, knowing that my return to the area has me in the place I dreamed of playing.