Who Yo People Is
38 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 3 years ago - ★★★★★ - 26 ratingsHosted by Sharon Bridgforth, this series features intimate conversations with artists whose work and artistic practices are rooted in serving our communities through healing/creative/Spiritual and cultural traditions - centered in Love.
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Episodes
Bonus Track - Florinda Bryant
April 26, 2021 07:00 - 50 minutes - 116 MBFlorinda is an interdisciplinary artist, activist and educator that I’ve been art-family with since 1998. Here she talks about tending not only to her art, and her communities, but to her own mental, physical, spiritual health. A Texas gurl who calls Austin home, Florinda has worked with Salvage Vanguard Theater, the Rude Mechs, the Vortex, Paper Chairs, Theater en Bloc and Teatro Vivo in Austin, TX and the Ensemble Theater in Houston.
Episode 36 - Mankwe Ndosi
April 19, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour - 165 MBInfluenced by nature, the earth, Spirit and early experiences with Douglas R. Ewart and Laurie Carlos. Mankwe says she found herself in Fred Anderson’s Velvet Lounge, which was filled with Black folk from all over the world. There she grew herself as a creative musician and composer - working to hear an expanded audio palette of color. https://www.whoyopeopleis.com/season-3
Episode 35 - Renita Martin
April 12, 2021 07:00 - 55 minutes - 128 MBIn this conversation Renita speaks about being from Terry Mississippi/feeling the Angels, Ancestors, animal Life and Trees playing “all up in my head.” Renita talks about learning how to navigate Spirit, and growing towards her mission of advancing social and economic development in our communities through the creation and promotion of world-class art. More at: whoyopeopleis.com/season-3
Episode 34 - Aimee K. Bryant
April 05, 2021 07:00 - 54 minutes - 124 MBAimee speaks of being from Detroit, raised southerners that migrated there. A founding company member of Congo Square Theatre Company in Chicago, Aimee encourages emerging artists to build a Life and career centered in being kind, empathic, compassionate and Loving. She says, “Take a leap of faith, move towards what you want, what feels good - even if it is scary.” https://www.whoyopeopleis.com/season-3
Episode 33 - Sonja Parks
March 29, 2021 07:00 - 53 minutes - 123 MBSonja Parks has stayed true to her spirit by staying free, curious and expansively true to who she is professionally and in Life. After being an outsider - as a Black person in prominently White spaces - Sonja is dedicating her work to decolonizing artistic spaces. She wants to make certain that the “entire artist” is taken care of and respected. https://www.whoyopeopleis.com/season-3
Episode 32 - Stacey Karen Robinson
March 22, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour - 182 MBStacey Karen Robinson shares that her work is “about the emotional and Spirit-Life of Black FOLX.” She speaks about walking with the Ancestors - being an improvisor, stewarding what is coming through - while creating time, space and containers for listening, vesseling, and allowing during the creative process. At the end of our conversation you will hear Stacey’s performance of the excerpt from “bull-jean & dem dey back/Dreaming”. Visit: whoyopeopleis.com
Announcing Season 3
March 11, 2021 00:30 - 4 minutes - 11.1 MBSeason 3 will drop soonsoon! Stay tuned for more...
Episode 31 - End of Season 2/Honoring Diane Rodriguez
April 13, 2020 07:00 - 3 minutes - 7.82 MBToday we honor anthologized writer, regional theatre director, and Off-Broadway Obie Award winning performer Diane Rodriguez. Diane transitioned April 10, 2020 from cancer. May God Bless her Soul in Flight. May all the Love Beauty and Divine Blessings that she so Brilliantly and generously gave the world/carry her in Light with Love. I am SO grateful to have received Diane's support/encouragement and generosity, and that she made time for a conversation with me. You can Listen to episode 18 ...
Episode 30 - Alexis Pauline Gumbs
April 06, 2020 07:00 - 1 hour - 193 MBAn academic guided by intellectual practices inspired by Black liberation and Love, Alexis is a 2020-21 National Humanities Center Fellow. She says she is a Marine Mammal Apprentice...one who is carrying on blood line traditions of listening to whales. Alexis says, "one foot in the water one foot in the sand is where I hear the best." Alexis speaks of coming from mental health and spiritual workers...shoreline people, oyster workers, church founders, freedom practicing people/and a grandm...
Episode 29 - Sangodare
March 30, 2020 07:00 - 1 hour - 156 MBSangodare speaks of learning how to sermonize, study, have critical analysis, deep thinking about sacred texts/and how to have integrity as a spiritual leader - from her preacher father, and other preachers in her family. Creating energy and vibrational fields to open space for people to be more of who they are, Sangodare makes connections between the vocality of Black preaching styles, and Ifa oriki traditions and tonalities. Sangodare and her partner, Alexis Pauline Gumbs are actively visi...
Episode 28 - Amara Tabor-Smith
March 23, 2020 07:00 - 1 hour - 208 MBAmara speaks of having family members who were Seers/that didn't talk about it - and how she learned to navigate her own Seeing. She names that we are living in present day traumatic stress syndrome as she talks about her walk with depression, learning to hold both grief and sorrow, and valuing what she has come to view as an opportunity to be bought into a space of darkness - darkness that holds possibility. Orisha traditions gave Amara a feeling of coming home and helped her move towards b...
Episode 27 - gina Breedlove
March 16, 2020 07:00 - 48 minutes - 112 MBgina talks about the grief work that she currently does as being rooted in her people's histories of keening and wailing/as a way to move grief...grief being sometimes distant, sometimes intimate, and sometimes lineages old. gina says sound has helped her turn, dive into and surrender to the waves of grief - feeling it - as a way to release it. gina says, "I am deeply and profoundly interested in your freedom." With that in mind, she asks herself what is the sound that will set you free, wh...
Episode 26 - Ron Ragin
March 09, 2020 07:00 - 59 minutes - 137 MBRon shares some of his Journey growing up in Perry, Georgia being from story telling historians who primed him to be a critical thinker with things like post school pre-homework sermon sessions with his grandfather - centered on questions like "what does it mean to be a man and how can you grow into that all areas of your life?" Growing up singing as part of congregational choirs, Ron speaks about time traveling through song/Shape Shifting imposed assumptions. Ron is co-shaper - with Rebec...
Episode 25 - Rebecca Mwase
March 02, 2020 08:00 - 1 hour - 167 MBRebecca speaks about: coming from deep connection to Spirit; growing up African in rural Arkansas; navigating belonging; finding fortitude through literature and the arts; and the work of crafting ritual in performance. Rebecca is Creator of "Vessels" a seven-woman harmonic meditation on the transcendental possibilities of song during the Middle Passage - that asks, “What does freedom sound like in a space of confinement?” Junebug Productions production of Vessels, co-shaped by Ron Ragin, op...
Episode 24 - Stephanie McKee
February 24, 2020 08:00 - 1 hour - 145 MBStephanie speaks about: being from singers and medicine people; growing through self-doubt imposed by the public school system; creating life-long friendships in art making spaces; her determination to make and hold space for Black creatives; and being part of a second generation of connection and partnerships between Junebug Productions and Urban Bush Women. Stephanie is a performer, choreographer, educator, facilitator and cultural organizer based in New Orleans, LA. She is the Artistic...
Episode 23 - E. Patrick Johnson
February 17, 2020 08:00 - 1 hour - 149 MBI am proud to share my conversation with one of the most Beloved artist/scholar/community members of our times - Dr. E. Patrick Johnson! Patrick talks about growing up in North Carolina in communities where everyone made sure everyone was taken care of. He says that he owes who he is/how he moves in the world/how he theorizes/and what is possible in his life to his mom, her side of the family, and the sacrifices they made. Patrick says that in these perilous times, he feels art is the thin...
Episode 22 - Nick Slie
February 10, 2020 08:00 - 59 minutes - 136 MBI am proud to offer this conversation with my Soul Brotha, Nick Slie. Here, Nick shares some of his Cajun family history as he speaks of being Spiritually rooted in his instincts and the ancestral connections therein. An artist that creates work that lives outside, Nick says "we are nature," so returning to being in the great mysteries and gentleness of outdoors returns him to his goal of being a better person. He speaks of harm done through lack of vulnerability, and not allowing people to ...
Episode 21 - Lisa C. Moore
February 03, 2020 08:30 - 1 hour - 142 MBIn this conversation Lisa speaks of growing up in a Louisiana based family with a long history of music and education traditions. She shares her Journey as someone with a life mission of creating synergy/serving connection . . . and the fruits of that, which include RedBone Press. One of the architects of the Fire & Ink writers festival for GLBT people of African decent, Lisa talks about the work and research that went into working with Joseph Beam's mother, Dorothy Beam, to re-print, Brothe...
Episode 20 - Alicia Bauman-Morales
January 27, 2020 08:30 - 53 minutes - 123 MBAlicia Bauman-Morales is an Oakland born Boricua tomboi, a queer woman, a dancer/organizer/performer/trouble maker. During our conversation Alicia brings the wealth of her Ancestry forward by calling the names of many in her blood lineage as she speaks of coming from fantastical storytellers, people committed to doing things on their own terms. Alicia shares a bit about her piece: huracán: storm medicine - a personal dance story, living altar and town hall about destruction, translation, and...
Episode 19 - Omi Osun Joni L. Jones
January 20, 2020 08:30 - 59 minutes - 137 MB"Who Yo People Is" jingle sanga, episode editor, season 2 producer - my daughter - Sonja Perryman is Guest Host for this episode!! Sonja interviews my wife/her other Mama - Omi Osun Joni L. Jones!!! Omi talks about growing up in Chicago's Southside suburbs - the youngest in a Black middle class family/raised by folks that migrated from the South - and their protocols. She shares about what initially moved her towards her long term/ongoing connection to Yoruba spiritual practices; she names...
Diane Rodriguez
January 13, 2020 08:30 - 1 hour - 144 MBAs a long time fan of Diane Rodriquez's work, grace, tenacity, generosity and passion driven service/I am thrilled to share our conversation. During our conversation Diane shares some of her experiences growing up in San Jose - during which she learned early on/from her parents how to serve in community...she talks about her history with Teatro Campesino, her experiences as a Chicana actress in Hollywood, her more than twenty years of work on artistic staff at Center Theatre Group, and much ...
Episode 17 - Ananya Chatterjea
January 06, 2020 08:30 - 47 minutes - 108 MBAnanya Chatterjea is Ananya Dance Theatre founder, artistic director, choreographer, dancer. She is a 2011 Guggenheim Choreography Fellow, 2012 McKnight Choreography Fellow, 2016 Joyce Award recipient, 2019-2020 Urban Bush Women Choreographic Fellow, and a 2019 Dance/USA Artist Fellow. In this interview Ananya speaks of growing up in Kolkata, India learning about transnational feminist & women’s movements, urban beats, social justice and the drum beat of women's daily life in dance. She sp...
Episode 16 - Alexis De Veaux
December 30, 2019 08:30 - 1 hour - 151 MBAlexis De Veaux, Ph.D, is one of a stellar list of American writers highlighted by LIT CITY, a public art initiative of banners bearing their names and images in downtown Buffalo, New York, in recognition of the city’s renowned literary legacy. Co-Founder of The Center for Poetic Healing, a project of Lyrical Democracies (with Kathy Engel), and of the Flamboyant Ladies Theatre Company (with Gwendolen Hardwick), Alexis De Veaux is an activist and writer whose work in multiple genres is nation...
Episode 15 - Daniel Alexander Jones, Pt. 2
December 23, 2019 08:30 - 49 minutes - 114 MBA critically acclaimed, award winning artist, Daniel Alexander Jones is a 2019 Guggenheim Fellow. In this interview Daniel speaks about: some of his mentors; his gender being a constant unfolding/and revelation; becoming a vessel for Jomama Jones; everyday acts of family making/being in community and more. Daniel exemplifies the artist as energy worker. Daniel’s wildflower body of original work includes plays, performance pieces, recorded music, concerts, music theatre events, essays, and ...
Episode 14 - Daniel Alexander Jones Pt. 1
December 16, 2019 08:30 - 45 minutes - 105 MBDaniel Alexander Jones exemplifies the artist as energy worker. Daniel’s wildflower body of original work includes plays, performance pieces, recorded music, concerts, music theatre events, essays, and long-form improvisations. Energy is his true medium. The Herb Alpert Foundation wrote that he “creates multi-dimensional experiences where bodies, minds, emotions, voices, and spirits conjoin, shimmer, and heal.” This is part 1 of a two part interview. https://www.whoyopeopleis.com/seaso...
Season 2/BONUS TRACK
December 09, 2019 08:30 - 1 hour - 133 MBHosted by Sharon Bridgforth, Who Yo People Is features conversations with artists whose Work and artistic practices are rooted in serving our communities through healing/creative/Spiritual and cultural traditions - centered in Love. Season 2 of Who Yo People Is drops December 16!! Meanwhile check out this BONUS TRACK in which Leigh Gaymon-Jones takes the seat as guest host and interviews me. We talk bout family, art, Divine service and Love. Leigh Gaymon-Jones is a people-centered cre...
NEW Podcast Jingle
December 02, 2019 08:30 - 2 minutes - 5.52 MBHosted by Sharon Bridgforth, "Who Yo People Is" features conversations with artists whose Work and artistic practices are rooted in serving our communities through healing/creative/Spiritual and cultural traditions - centered in Love. This episode introduces our NEW podcast jingle! Lyrics: Sharon Bridgforth Composer & Musician: Renita Martin Singer: Sonja Perryman Engineer: Owen Modamwen, Beyond Studios DC Copyright (c) 2019 Geeched Out Productions http://whoyopeopleis.com
Bonus Track With Rajasvini Bhansali
June 03, 2019 04:30 - 40 minutes - 75.4 MBIn 2003 I produced the Finding Voice Productions Radio Show in Austin, TX (aired on UT Austin’s KVRX FM's, Radio Caraco). This episode features an excerpt from an interview with Rajasvini Bhansali, recorded in 2003 for Finding Voice Productions. Rajasvini reads some of her poetry…shares a bit about how growing up in India shaped her sensibilities of the arts, and offers lessons she learned from June Jordan about “relentless imagination, political clarity and revoluntionary trust.” Currently...
Episode 10 With Marjani Forte-Saunders
May 27, 2019 04:30 - 1 hour - 143 MBIn this conversation Marjani speaks about revolutionary Blackness; taping into the prayers that have been prayed for us; the alchemy of Black folks finding our spiritual fortitude and power through our creative energies; the vulnerability of imagining that you can do something; and getting Sun’d in the dance. Crowned a Prayer Warrior early in life by her elders . . . Marjani encourages us to be courageous - to “fail and frolic dopely.” (#fail and frolic dopely::)). Marjani Forté-Saunders i...
Virginia Grise and Misha Chowdhury
May 20, 2019 04:30 - 1 hour - 124 MBIn this conversation Virginia Grise & Shayok Misha Chowdhury talk about longing, Love and the Moon…migration histories…shared lineages…real time collaborations/and just doing the work. Virginia Grise is a recipient of the Whiting Writers' Award, Princess Grace Award in Theatre Directing and the Yale Drama Series Award. Publications include: Your Healing is Killing Me (Plays Inverse Press), blu (Yale University Press) and The Panza Monologues co-written with Irma Mayorga (University of Tex...
Episode 08 - Ebony Noelle Golden
May 13, 2019 04:30 - 41 minutes - 75.8 MBIn this episode Ebony Noelle Golden speaks of being from People who fight for justice and practice Love as action . . . Love in the DNA, and Seeing at the Cross Roads. Ebony is an artist, scholar, and culture strategist. Her creative work consists of site-specific performance rituals and live art installations that explore relationships between creativity and liberation. She is the founder of Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative, LLC a culture consultancy and arts accelerator based in NYC....
NiJa Whitson Episode
May 06, 2019 04:30 - 1 hour - 119 MBIn this episode Ni'Ja talks about forgiveness, Love and healing…finding home on a cellular level…the functions of nomadism….and the work of exploring Ancestral stories - centralizing dark matter, dark energy and Blackness as everything. An interdisciplinary artist and writer - Ni’Ja is and Creative Capital, MAP Fund, Bessie-Award winning artist currently teaching experimental choreography at the University of California, Riverside. http://www.nijawhitson.com https://vimeo.com/nijawhitso...
Episode 06 - D'Lo
April 29, 2019 04:30 - 1 hour - 137 MBIn this episode, D’Lo and I are joined by Dr. Omi Osun Joni L. Jones (my wife). The three of us talk about shining light on queer narratives and the work of growing into our rolls as elders too soon. We revisit some of my back in the day craycray that D’Lo witnessed me grow through, and we speak on the power of staying in it with each other/finding our messy way forward with patience and kindness and Love. D’Lo is an actor/writer/comic who in addition to touring his own solo works, has bee...
Episode 05 - Adelina Anthony
April 22, 2019 04:30 - 1 hour - 143 MBOriginally from San Antonio, Tejas, Adelina is the eldest daughter of eight. She grounds her work in Indigenous tenets, especially the practice of story as medicine. Adelina is an award-winning and critically acclaimed artist working primarily in the areas of acting, writing, producing and directing in theater/television and film. In this raw, open conversation Adelina talks about Breaking cycles, healing trauma, and reclaiming medicine…by looking at the roots of wickedness and sacredne...
Episode 04 - Samia Abou-Samra
April 15, 2019 04:30 - 54 minutes - 99.7 MBSamia Abou-Samra creates music as Wailing - the cry, the longing prayer to inspire the deepest love. Samia os founder of Whale Wonder: a playspace that incubates incubators for the elevation of consciousness. Samia and is co-founder of Turtle Tank: an incubator for Radical Love and Freedom that supports radical creators, entrepreneurs and leaders in creating wealth and well-being. In this conversation Samia talks about civil unrest, Arabic Jazz, the evolution of consciousness, land and sto...
Episode 03 - Gabrielle Civil
April 08, 2019 04:30 - 53 minutes - 98.7 MBGABRIELLE CIVIL is a black feminist performance artist, originally from Detroit, MI. She has premiered fifty original performance art works around the world tackling race, body, politics, grief, and desire. She is the author of the performance memoirs Swallow the Fish and Experiments in Joy. She teaches Creative Writing & Critical Studies at the California Institute of the Arts. The child of Haitian and African American parents – in this episode Gabrielle speaks on education, revolutionary...
Episode 02 - Maria Bauman-Morales
April 01, 2019 04:30 - 42 minutes - 82 MBMaria Bauman-Morales is a NY-based “Bessie” award winning multi-disciplinary artist and community organizer. With her company, MBDance, Maria presents work that centers the non-linear and linear stories and bodies of queer people of color. She is a 2018 Urban Bush Women Choreographic Center Fellow and is currently Artist in Residence at Brooklyn Arts Exchange. In this episode Maria speaks of Florida Water people, and Works that tether...giving witness participants the opportunity to embody...
Episode 01 - Series Intro
March 27, 2019 16:26 - 5 minutes - 9.25 MBIn this episode, Sharon introduces the series and talks about how it came to be. Don't forget to subscribe. This podcast is supported by The Crossroads Leadership Lab at The University of Vermont's Leadership for Sustainability Masters Program in the Rubinstein School of Environment and Natural Resources. More deets at: http://whoyopeopleis.com