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MISSION AND HISTORY
The Roots and Wing Project believes in the power of the past and future to ignite the present, standing strong in roots with vision in wings. The Roots and Wings Project is a politically charged, socially transformative theatre company that brings attention to truth and gives voice to the unnamed, unspoken and misunderstood through theatrical innovation and multi-media collaboration. Fusing traditional theatre with hip-hop, poetry, music and visual art, the company unites a wide range of artists and audiences from different communities around the world. Since its inception, The Roots and Wings Project has performed with such venues as Los Angeles’ CASA 0101 Theatre, Theater of Note, Lincoln Heights Jail, S.P.A.R.C. @ The Old Jail in Venice, UCLA’s Glorya Kaufman Dance Theatre, San Francisco’s Phoenix Theatre and Venue 9, New York City’s Surf Reality, and Scotland’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival as well as commissioned writing and performances for both incarcerated and public audiences. The Roots and Wings Project is a 501c3 Non-Profit Organization.
COMPANY BIOGRAPHIES
Jesse Bliss(Founder and Artistic Director)is an actress, writer, director, producer, poetess and MC whose works have been produced and performed around the world. Jesse’s writings for the stage include Diamonds,performed at UCLA in collaboration with dance legend Rennie Harris; Roots and Wings, The Play, performed in New York and San Francisco; Between Fingertips performed at Central Juvenile Hall and CASA 0101, and performance appearances at the United Nations on International Women’s Day and the Edinburgh Festival. The full-length play, Tree of Fire had a site-specific Reading @ Lincoln Heights Jail, an excerpt performance at Los Angeles's Theatre of Note, and a large-scale fundraiser(IGNITE)at S.P.A.R.C. @ The Old Jail in Venice. IGNITE featured 20 performers, an excerpt performance of the play, and an art gallery exhibition. Jesse has performed leading roles at CASA 0101 including You Don’t Know Me, Hoop Girls, Heart on a Wire and Between Fingertips as well as hosting the CASA 0101 Poetry Slam. She has also performed in The Vagina Monologues and countless other theatrical productions, with extensive work in radio and lead roles in independent film, most recetly a featured artist in Kate Crash's documentary LA Woman. Jesse is an Arts Education veteran, with extensive experience writing curriculum and teaching Theater and Creative Writing to all ages and backgrounds including underserved and incarcerated youth with some of the most prestigious organizations in the nation including Center Theatre Group. She was awarded a Flourish Foundation grant for partnership with J.U.I.C.E. for the Roots and Wings Project Theater Program. Miss Bliss has recently written a site-specific play, A Record of Light, which just had a highly successful run The Last Bookstore in downtown Los Angeles. Jesse and The Roots and Wings Project will be hosting the 99 poet event Occupy This! in collaboration with Josefina Lopez and Casa 0101 January 7, 2012.
Judith Bowman (Producer) was educated at the University of Illinois and Spelman College where she was awarded a BA in English. She holds a JD degree from UCLA School of Law. Ms. Bowman has also studied at the University of Ghana as a graduate exchange student and at Cal State Dominguez Hills in their MA Humanities program.
Edward Espinoza(Associate Producer for "Tree of Fire")was born and raised in Boyle Heights. He established A La Brava Producciones Rev., Inc. (ALB) as a liason group for arts and education, and cultural events in Los Angeles and throughout California. Currently, ALB hosts the annual Cine Sin Fin film festival, which showcases Chicano/Latino cinema that portrays the positive experiences of the underrepresented Chicano/Latino community.
Ramona Pilar Gonzales (Social Media Manager)is a writer/performer and native Californian. She has performed with the Bilingual Foundation for the Arts, Casa 0101, Cornerstone Theater Company, The Denver Center Theater, and East Los Angeles Repertory Theater Company. Her dramatizad essay, Del Plato a la Boca, El Ritmo te Toca, received a grant from La Plaza de Cultura y Artes Foundation. She is a founding member of the theater performance group Tongue in Chíc*ana. She has also written , produced and directed several short plays and films. When not making prose or performing, she edits the literary blog CNFNation.com, and works as Social Media Manager for The Roots and Wings Project. Ramona has a B.A. in Film and Cultural Representation from UC Davis and an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University, Los Angeles.
"I hope to be remembered for being of service"
Dennis Stafford is the founder of Organiksol Marketing, a boutique firm serving professionals in the arts community and co-founder of Oneness.org, a non-profit whose mission is "To bring diverse people together for community building programs which inspire racial and cultural harmony through the arts." Dennis Stafford is a Baha'i, father, family-man passionate supporter of the arts. Born in Columbus,OH, a chance meeting soon after his graduation from college (with a degree in marketing) led to a job with MTV Networks in Chicago. Subsequent marketing positions (BET, A&M Records, House Of Blues) followed, but what they all had in common was a connection with music and/or the arts. Quotes Dennis, "Gil Dellinger once said that 'Art is important. We tend to think it is a luxury, but it gives people deep pleasure because beauty is the personification of hope that something grander is at work.' I believe that I have created a body of professional work that serves as a testimony to my passion and belief in the power and value of the arts"
ASSOCIATE ARTISTS
Peter Woods (Executive Producer for A Record of Light), an L.A. native, heads the grassroots organization Quality Collective. QC is a virtual history book of independent and underground art and music. Hardly a week has gone by in the past ten years that Los Angeles has gone without a Quality Collective sponsored event. They are consummate purveyors or things unknown. Modern day culture hunters providing free art and music to the masses.
Geoff “Double G” Gallegos(Music Supervisor for TREE OF FIRE and IG*NITE)has a unique and influential voice in the L.A. music scene. His most identifiable role is the co-founder, conductor, composer and musical director of the 70-person daKAH Hip Hop Orchestra.Over the past eleven years, daKAH has successfully integrated elements of hip hop, symphonic, jazz, R&B and Afro-Cuban styles into one cohesivemusical statement.Most recently, daKAH collaborated with the L.A. Opera as part of the Ring Festival L.A. The piece “Gangsta Wagner” combined the sinister elements of Wagner’s RING with West Coast gangsta rap, and was well-received by fans of both styles. GG also leads, composes for, and plays baritone sax in NineNet, a 9-person jazz ensemble that sounds like Mingus’ band playing Stravinsky’s music.In 2009, Montalvo Arts Center presented four of his string quartets,performed by Sonus Quartet.GG has conducted orchestras in major venues around the USA, and has performed in major venues in North America and Europe. As well as the “fine arts” scene, he has also collaborated with commercially successful artists on major recordings, films, TV specials and stage performances.There are many more elements of this career to share, but space does not permit. GG holds a degree in Jazz Composition from Berklee College of Music, and has continued his composition & counterpoint studies independently. Participating in “Tree Of Fire” supports his belief that music can open the hardest of hearts in the darkest of places.
Leon Martell (Script Advisor) is an multiple award winning director, actor, playwright and teacher, having taught playwriting for UCLA Extension for the past 16 years. He was a writer with the Padua Hills Festival for fifteen years and currently writes for the Youth Concert Series for the Los Angeles Philharmonic at The Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. He was a co- founder of the Duck's Breath Mystery Theater, performing with them live on National Public Radio, PBS and a series on FOX television. As a director he has worked everywhere from Carnegie Hall to the Sahara Casino in Las Vegas. He continues to teach playwriting for UCLA Extension, Idyllwild Arts, and WORDSPACE in Los Angeles.
Roger Q. Mason,(Casting and Production Consultant for Tree of Fire) is a Los Angeles-based writer, director, and producer. He is a graduate of Princeton University, where he majored in English and earned Certificates in Theatre and African American Studies. While at the University, he served as the Producer/Artistic Director of Black Arts Company: Drama, Princeton’s premier black theatre company. Currently, he serves as Producing Director of The Roots and Wings Project and Literary Associate of Ensemble Studio Theatre – LA. Producing credits include August Wilson’sFences, Suzan-Lori Parks The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World, Annie the Musical, Tree of Fire by actress/writer/poetess Jesse Bliss, numerous play festivals for Ensemble Studio Theatre – LA, and the world premiere of Still Standing by actress/writer Shyla Marlin.
THE ROOTS AND WINGS PROJECT EDUCATION The Roots and Wings Project is dedicated to cultivating unique creative expression in all people. We offer workshops for a range of audiences including children, young adults, women and professional artists. Workshops allow participants to identify and-or express their voice, recognize any obstacles to growth, and uncover untold stories using the power of writing and acting. Seasoned educator Jesse Bliss has extensive experience teaching in public schools, jails, universities, homeless shelters and community arts institutions. For workshops please contact The Roots and Wings Project at therootsandwingsproject@gmail.com.
Jesse facilitates a writing workshop for women with various intentions and goals for their work. Writers illuminate their vision and identify any obstacles. Participants each develop a creative and logistical plan to nurture their project or seed idea. Jesse’s background as a playwright, actress, poet, director, educator and child of hip-hop, lends itself to an unparalleled atmosphere of support, encouragement, and respect. Writers have the opportunity to share in each other’s work and leave the workshop prepared to take on the next stages of their projects and ideas with confidence, clarity and inspiration.
SUPPORT All donations to The Roots and Wings Project are tax deductable. We are in position to move forward with a site-specific production of Tree of Fire in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Our production team is currently developing collaborations with theaters, arts organizations, prison reform groups and others who are passionate about bringing this innovative performance to the public. Our preliminary costs include items ranging from office supplies to website maintenance. We are also in need of funding for actors, musicians to finish creating the original score, visual artists, and a publicist. We need to raise a bare minimum of $15,000 to cover the production costs of Tree of Fire. Your in-kind donations will help defray the costs of production. We are seeking rehearsal and site-specific performance space, printing, and publicity. Your donations will allow us to bring this vision to life. |
