Tag Archives: Spoken Word

Ase Academy Presents…. The Butterfly Effect

Posted on November 20, 2009 by thinkvisionary

by Juna Dawson-Murray, Guest Writer

When asked to describe Ase’s fundraising event, The Butterfly Effect, Tracee Thomas director of Ase and mentor to countless students at Penn and in the Greater Philadelphia community simply said, “The power of youth to effect change is amazing. Ase is a grass roots organization, the Butterfly effect was grass roots organizing.” Ase Academy is a nonprofit, academic and cultural enrichment program on Saturdays. Ase’s main focus is to help Philadelphia middle and high school students become leaders within their individual communities.

Recently, Facebook held a fundraising competition in which the group that received the most donations would receive an additional cash prize. In an effort to raise donations, Ase hosted The Butterfly Effect, which featured a variety of performing and visual arts from Penn students and artists from other universities and the Philadelphia community. The impressive list of artists included: Excelano Project, Lyrical Playground (a spoken word group based in Philadelphia), Freaks of the Beat, Destination Hip Hop, live painting by Ana Nunez, and music provided by DJ Huevos. Joshua Bennet, Vision Staff Writer and member of Excelano spoke highly of the arts saying, “The Butterfly Effect was a remarkable and perhaps unprecedented collision of hip-hop, personal narrative, the theater, and community activism. Featuring an ensemble of stage performers par excellence, there were moments where I felt as if my heart were going to abdicate its throne and frenetically run elsewhere.”

Though the Ase Saturday Academy did not win the overall competition, we did raise $15,000 on our own in only three weeks. Ase ranked third among all educational organizations participating in the competition. The competition itself and the Butterfly Event were both amazing experiences that participants are sure to remember for some time to come. ASE!

Ase is always excited to have new members in our family. If you are interested in getting involved with Ase Saturday Academy, please feel free to email our director Tracee Thomas at sankofachild@gmail.com , if you have an interest in urban education, or have a particular skill that you would like to teach to 6th-8th graders. Also, feel free to continue to support Ase by donating to us through Facebook causes.

Groove Phi Groove S.F.I Presents…Open Mic Groove

Posted on November 3, 2009 by thinkvisionary

By Darryll Oliver

Cortney Charleston '12

“Minds making excuses for broken glass hearts/Left in pieces on the streets of Roseland/Crystal shards of a sincere smile named Derrion Albert that/Never made it home from school”

Lines like these, performed by spoken-word artist Cortney Charleston, are what best embodied the mood of the evening. The Open Mic Groove, hosted by Groove Phi Groove Social Fellowship, Incorporated, gave an opportunity to young, independent rising student artists to broadcast their talents. As an open mike event, it allows for many artistic expressions, whether poetry, song, comedy, or any other such piece. Those who attended the event were presented with all those art forms in the cool, intimate atmosphere of The Bubble Tea House.

Steven Allen, a talented, singer and songwriter, kicked off the evening with two of his originals “Never,” and “No, It Can’t Be True.” The songs took an introspective look into relationships and characterized the emotions that emanate from them. Freshman, Amber Scott delivered a poem, titled “This Is For You,” about her affection for her mom and dad, which wrapped up her unique family experiences and growth over the years. Another freshman and member of the Penn Track & Field team, Aderinola stepped up to the mike and performed a poem titled “Addicted”, surrounding the difficulty of trying to leave something to which you are addicted. The artist quoted earlier, Cortney Charleston, was able to re-package current events, such as the memory of the murder of Derrion Albert, and present it in a more personal, poetic form. The Young Broke Romantics, a duo of Dan Higgins (who plays the harmonica and guitar), and Alec Bleday (the emcee) animated the audience by writing ad-lib songs about a random topic of the audience’s choice. Bleday’s rhapsody about passion fruit bubble tea kept the audience off their seats with laughter, while Higgins was amazingly able to keep his composure, holding the beat without cracking a smile. The Open Mic Groove is one of many events which represent the community organization of the social fellowship, dedicated to celebrating the artist and his/her craft. The next show will be in the Dubois Multi-Purpose Room, on Friday, November 13th, and there are still many slots available for any artists who would like to perform.

Amber Scott '13

If you’re interested in being a part of the upcoming Groove Open Mic on November 13th, please contact Darryll Oliver at darryllo@sas.upenn.edu. For more information about Groove Phi Groove, please visit http://www.gphig.org/.

Darryll Oliver '11, President of Groove Phi Groove S.F.I Quaker Chapter

Groove Phi Groove Social Fellowship was first started in 1962 at Morgan State College (now Morgan State University) by fourteen Black American men who felt the need to create an innovative organization to change the way we think about brotherhood. Driven by the monumental Civil Rights and Black Power movements, they felt it was necessary to provide brothers on and off campus with a fellowship that was proactive in taking action in the community. The aim is to push black males toward positive initiatives, and promoting unity, intelligence and effective leadership, to study and help alleviate the many social and economic problems concerning society in order to improve the status of mankind. Today, Groove Phi Groove Social Fellowship Incorporated has over 30,000 members nationwide.

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Excelano Underground

Posted on October 23, 2009 by thinkvisionary

By Petal Samuel

“So…I date black girls.”

Justin Reilly

Justin Reilly, senior in the Wharton School of Business, member of Penn’s basketball team, and veteran poet of The Excelano Project, Penn’s spoken word collective, had hardly completed the first sentence of one of his most recognizable pieces before the entire room erupted in recognition, excitement, and scattered affirmations. If this alone isn’t testament to the devotion of the multi-campus fanbase of The Excelano Project, and the packed room of students standing and sitting on the floor, stairs, and sidetables of the LGBT center still does little to convince you—then we’re assuming you’re either blind, or just haters.

Illana

Foregoing chairs in order to make as much room as possible for their fans, the Excelano project’s second underground show last Thursday evening garnered a strong turnout of students and as per usual, boded well for the group’s success this year. However, Excelano (or “EP”, a nickname given to it by its members and echoed by the group’s fans) has always shown a vigorous commitment to not only its own success, but to the craft in a wider sense—often paying particular attention to the voices of non-EP members. The group opened their Thursday night show, as is custom, with an open mic, for people who had signed up to perform prior to the show as well as anyone else in the crowd who felt moved to perform. The open mic this time ranged from non-EP spoken word artists to musicians, all of whom received the room’s vigorous support. It’s an understatement to say that the love in the room was palpable. The welcoming, familial environment where everyone in the room is invited to be moved, to be honest, and particularly to be inspired may be part of what makes the Excelano movement on campus so powerful. “Excelano”, the latin word for “march forth” signifies EP’s dedication to this sort of free-thinking, free-feeling atmosphere.

Josh & Alysia

Having recently lost funding from the Penn Student Activities Council (hence the term “underground”), student support this year has become especially important for the group. Regardless of this fact, The Excelano Project has managed to continue to fund its own shows—in part through donations given during their underground performances—and have continued to hold two shows per semester, with seemingly an even better turnout now than before they lost funding. Student interest in the group also remains strong: at the underground performance, the new recruits to the group made their debut to the community of EP fans. However, don’t confuse their status as newbies with their poetic prowess—all four of the newbies (Ilana Millner, Lauren Yates, Marion Smallwood, and Miles Hodges) performed brave, heartfelt poems that touched and awed the fans. I even heard a girl behind me exclaim in shock: “These newbies are good!” A sure sign that despite whatever struggles the group has endured, their standards for excellence surely haven’t changed.

Marion Smallwood

Interested in knowing more about The Excelano Project? Don’t forget to visit their website, www.excelanoproject.com and keep yourself up to date with their newest work and upcoming events. If you haven’t had an opportunity to go out and see an EP show, waste no time—join the movement.

“I am the voice of self-doubt masked as the voice of reason.” – EP newbie Lauren Yates

Chloe Wayne (right) and Garret Carey (left), EP’s director and associate director respectively.

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Tag Archives: Spoken Word

Ase Academy Presents…. The Butterfly Effect

Groove Phi Groove S.F.I Presents…Open Mic Groove

Excelano Underground

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