Hot Off the Press.

• October 6, 2005
Smokin Word recieves Starving Artist Award

Studio 42 and Honorary Artistic Chair & Keynote Speaker John Patrick Shanley
cordially invite you to attend the
fourth annual
Starving Artists Ball

Celebrating New York City's emerging artists and
the presentation of the 2005 Starving Artists Award

Thursday, October 6th, 2005

The Angel Orensanz Foundation
172 Norfolk Street at Houston

8:00 pm Buffet Dinner
8:30 pm Performance Program
9:00 pm Keynote Speech and Presentation
of the 2005 Starving Artists Award to Claudia Alick

Downtown Formal Attire

Tickets may also be purchased in person at The
Ticket Central
Box Office(416 West 42nd Street), by calling 212-
279-4200,
or online at www.ticketcentral.com.

*USE CODE SA02 FOR $25 STARVING ARTIST
TICKETS*

$2,000 A premium table of 10 at the Ball,
entrance
for 10 to the VIP cocktail
reception, recognition
in the Program as a Vice Chair !
and ten, 46 issue
subscriptions to New York
Magazine.
($1,650 is tax-deductible)

$250 Reserved seating for 1 at the
Ball, entrance for 1
to the VIP cocktail reception,
recognition in the
Program as a Benefactor and a 46
issue subscription
to New York Magazine. ($215 is
tax-deductible)

$100 Entrance for 1 to the Ball and
the VIP cocktail
reception, and a 46 issue
subscription to New York
Magazine. ($65 is tax-deductible)

Entrance includes open bar, light dinner, silent
auction and raffle,
and of course, music, entertainment and dancing.

- Special Performance by -
DJ Rekha

- Starving Artist Award Committee -
Robert LuPone
Emma McLaughlin
Asha Thomas
Kevin Zucker

- 2005 Starving Artist Award Recipient-
Claudia Alick

- Invitation Committee -
Norena Barbella
Rene Beaumont
Joel Gibson & Emma McLaughlin
Nicola Kraus
Pa! mela Lloyd & Christian Pimsner
Mark Schneider
David & Amanda Steinberg

- Honorary Vice-Chairs -
Gale Brewer, Council Member
Alan Gerson, Council Member
Margarita Lopez, Council Member
Domenic Recchia, Council Member
Richard Gottfried, Assembly Member

- Vice-Chairs -
William & Barbara Dahl
Fred Iseman
Alexandra Shiva

- Board of Directors -
Dan Golub, President
Linda Argo
Devon Berkshire
Bradford Louryk
Jen Wineman
Yasmine Falk, Ex-Officio

- Studio 42 Executive Staff -
Susan Dahl
Yasmine Falk
Eve Gibson
Demos Tsilikoudis
Laura von Holt

The 2005 Starving Artists Ball and Starving Artist Award are proudly supported by:

- am New York - Boru Vodka - Ensig Printing -
Gotham Sound -
- Pickle Press - Ticket Central -

The Starving Artists Award is a cash grant of up to
$7500 awarded annually to an up-and-coming, New York City-based artist or artsorganization.

All proceeds from this evening go to support Studio 42 and The Starving Artists Award Fund.

The Starving Artists Award Fund is a division of The
Emerging Artists Fund, an arts community endowment under the stewardship of Fractured
Atlas. Studio 42 is a sponsored project of Fractured
Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions in behalf of Studio 42
and The Starving Artist Award Fund may be made payable to Fractured Atlas.

The value of goods and services received is $35. Any
contribution above that amount is tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

Studio 42 is a not-for-profit production company that is dedicated to
supporting emerging artists of all disciplines, creating ! new work and producing theatrical experiences for the next generation of theatergoers.

• October 3 , 2005
Learnin Word teaches hip-hop and spoken word teacher training workshops in Milwaukee

Claudia Alick taught teacher training workshop for Milwaukee Scores.

• September 27-29, 2005
Learnin Word teaches hip-hop and spoken word teacher training workshops in Denver

Dyalekt and Claudia Alick taught teacher training workshops and student performance workshops for Denver Scores.

• September 21, 2005
Laff Off Postponed

• September 18, 2005
WordShop: Hip-hop Spoken Word Playwriting Workshop
Workshops facilitated by Claudia Alick
Since 2003 over 1 hundred WordShop workshops have aided in the
playwriting process of hip-hop and spoken word writers who's plays
have gone on to be produced at LaMama ETC, Primary Stages, Nuyorican
Poets Cafe, The DownTown Urban Theatre Festival, PS122 in The Hip-
hop Theatre Festival and The Cherry Lane Theatre to name a few.

When: July 24, Aug 21, Sept 18, Oct 23, Nov 20, Dec 18

Doors open at 1:30
Workshop begins and doors close at 2pm
Workshop ends at 5pm

Where: Art NY
520 8th Avenue (off 37st) 3rd floor

How Much: $20

RSVP: dyalekt@smokinword.com

What you get: Networking with talented New Genre playwrights,
integration of 4 elements, visual art and writing exercises that
cover dialogue, action, structure, conflict, poetry devices, special
guest instructors, and the exclusive instructional WordShop booklet
complied by veteran hip-hop playwrights.

Workshops will also cover topics such as balancing your art and
work, writers block, professional formatting, submitting your work
to contests, how to apply for grants, and how to get your play
produced.

RSVP soon space is limited!

August 22, 2005
Smokin Word and Comedy Village Present…
LAFF OFF SLAM!

$50 Prize Every Night!
$500 Final Prize!

5 week tournament. Premliminary rounds Sept 11, 18, 25 and October 2. Finals October 9. Top Comedians and Spoken Word Artists compete for cash prizes and the title of NYC's top funny poet. Like Def Poetry Jam on Broadway meets the Aristocrats: Hilarious, Brilliant, come see something you've never seen before.

Sundays @ 8 doors open at 7:00pm
The Comedy Village
82 West 3rd Street
(Between Thompson and Sullivan)
$10
2 Drink minimum

• August 21, 2005
WordShop: Hip-hop Spoken Word Playwriting Workshop
Workshops facilitated by Claudia Alick
Since 2003 over 1 hundred WordShop workshops have aided in the
playwriting process of hip-hop and spoken word writers who's plays
have gone on to be produced at LaMama ETC, Primary Stages, Nuyorican
Poets Cafe, The DownTown Urban Theatre Festival, PS122 in The Hip-
hop Theatre Festival and The Cherry Lane Theatre to name a few.

When: July 24, Aug 21, Sept 18, Oct 23, Nov 20, Dec 18

Doors open at 1:30
Workshop begins and doors close at 2pm
Workshop ends at 5pm

Where: Art NY
520 8th Avenue (off 37st) 3rd floor

How Much: $20

RSVP: dyalekt@smokinword.com

What you get: Networking with talented New Genre playwrights,
integration of 4 elements, visual art and writing exercises that
cover dialogue, action, structure, conflict, poetry devices, special
guest instructors, and the exclusive instructional WordShop booklet
complied by veteran hip-hop playwrights.

Workshops will also cover topics such as balancing your art and
work, writers block, professional formatting, submitting your work
to contests, how to apply for grants, and how to get your play
produced.

RSVP soon space is limited!

• June 25, 2005
First a big thank you to our audience for your support. The show was
SOLD OUT and a large number of people were unable to get in. We've
learned our lesson and will encourage you to buy your tickets in an
advance!

The play by Jesse Alick was very well received and there is already
interest from several companies to expand the piece and produce a full
run.(so y'all will get a second chance to catch the show) A secind
run of Jesse's book NO WIND was on sale in the lobby of the theatre
and thanks to those who purchased a copy.

Big ups to stage manager Jeff Whitted who was consistent and
conscientious. He not only kept the trains running on time, he also
did some essential sound editing. Thanks Jeff!

Belief's score which included original music was appropriate and
beautiful. Belief worked with us on BodyWork at LaMama. He makes
great beats. Thanks Belief!

Our cast John Rankin, Kyana Brindle, David King, Sameerah Luqmaan-
Harris, and Susan Stewart went beyond the call of duty in more ways
than one. They were immensely generous with their time and talent.
Thanks cast! Pics and bios of the cast will be available on the Smokin
Word website soon.

I had a great time directing Come Back to Me. It is always a pleasure
to bring talented people together and present their work in a good
theater.

A final thank you to Dyalekt and Jesse for producing work, Jack for
filming the play, and The Downtown Urban Theatre Festival for
accepting COME BACK TO ME into their festival and providing access to
The Cherry Lane.

peace
claudia alick
artistic director
smokin word production

• June 17, 2005
SMOKIN WORD PRODUCTION IS PROUD TO PRESENT THE PREMIER OF
Come Back to Me
By Jesse Cameron Alick
Limited Engagement at:THE CHERRY LANE THEATRE

38 Commerce Street (off of Seventh Avenue)
In the 2005 Downtown Urban Theatre Festival!
Thursday, June 23rd, 2005
Show at 8:00pm
Ticket Price: $20 in advance, $25 dollars at the door
FOR RESERVATIONS www.theatermania.com (212) 352-3101

• Tue Jun 14, 2005
Hey people! Smokin Word's new divsion LEARNIN WORD is going
strong. We recently had two teachers, Dyalekt and Claudia Alick,
flown to Wisconsin to teach over 70 teachers to integrate hip-hop
and spoken word into thier curriculum. We've worked with both
America Scores and NY Scores, Brooklyn Restoration, and The Hip-hop
Theatre Festival. Currently we running 3 saturday spoken word
performance workshops for kids and Tha Jump Off workshop this
saturday. Below is some great info for an event you should attend
if you are a teacher and down with the hip-hop and spoken word
teaching tools. We'll be there!

PASE invites you to the first
HIP-HOP AFFINITY GROUP Meeting
Tues. June 21, 11-1:30pm
Welcome Speech by Toni Blackman
US Ambassador of Hip-Hop, Educator, Emcee, Author, & founder of
Freestyle Union –developing female emcees

· Join a community of educators who use Hip-Hop as a teaching
tool.
· Open to any agency or individual interested in increasing
capacity, sharing resources, collaborating through projects,
strengthening the visibility of hip-hop literacy techniques, and
advocating for increased resources for the field of Hip-Hop and
Education.
· The Hip-Hop Affinity Group will serve as a think-tank:
identifying immediate and long-term needs of the field, providing
strategic direction and developing innovative solutions.
· The first meeting is also a celebration of PASE's new training
series: Teaching Literacy, Media Literacy & Critical Thinking
Through Hip-Hop Culture. Thank you to the great trainers: Urban
Word, Deepa Fernandes and Angelika Peacock

PLEASE RSVP TO www.pasesetter.org UNDER TRAINING CODE AG6. Lunch
will be provided, please arrive at 11am to participate.
For questions, contact Tricia Wang, tricia@pasesetter.org
120 Broadway, Suite 3048, NY, NY 10271 | 212.571.2664 |
4/5/2/3 to Wall St., A/C/E to Broadway Nassau, N/R to Rector St.

--

tricia wang | Education, Media and Youth Development Specialist
_____________________________________________________
CURRENT PROJECTS:
www.pasesetter.org
www.cabny.org
www.thepoint.org
www.justthink.org
www.communityofunity.org
www.livingbeyondbelief.org
www.apicha.org/ymsm

• Jun 13, 2005
Smokin Word Productions and The Hip-hop Theatre Festival Present

THA JUMP OFF!
Hip-hop Playwriting Workshop involving group exercises and active
writing for those who'd like to start a new play or find new
material for a play in progress. Facilitated by Claudia Alick

June 18 1-4pm
NYU Tisch $10
721 Broadway 2nd Floor Studio 3
N, R, to 8th Street/NYU or 6 to Astor

RSVP: smokin@smokinword.com
You MUST RSVP before the 18th to attend

• Feb 18, 2005.
Congrats on a great 2004! We are looking forward to seeing you on Feburary 27. We hope you
take the opportunity to check in with us and say hi! There will be drinks and food and we have so much to catch up on. Smokin Word has big plans for 2005.

SMOKIN' WORD's 2004 season was one of growth, change, and
recognition. We published 3 books and our film was in the Reel
Sisters Film Festival. We produced a live show that went with the CD
and toured to clubs and colleges, a reading where more than 100
people attended, and won the DUTF audience award. We had the
exciting opportunity to work with Ma-yi and produce a show at LaMama
ETC. We strengthed our relationship with Nuyorican Poets Cafe
participating in the fundraisers for Pedro Pietri and producing a
one woman show in thier space. In the theatre community we worked
more closely with The Community Dish and our Artistic Director
joined thier board. We also worked with TheatreMania and had a booth
in thier 2nd Ave Street Fair. The presidential election inspired us
to become more politically active and we created an exciting new
form of hip-hop spoken word performance with the Smokin D'bate, to
get people registered to vote and discussing the issues. We ended
the year on a high note producing a hot poetry show while
simultaniously helping poets submit thier work to HBO's Def Poetry
Jam.

•Poetry Demo Taping and submission for HBO Def Poetry Jam
•Smokin' D'bate produced at The New School
•Claudia Alick's "BodyWork" produced at LaMama
•Smokin D'bate produced at Free Sense
•Yolanda Wilkinsons "A Musing" published
•"Between Spaces" published
•"Between Spaces" one woman show produced at Nuyorican Poets Cafe
•Smokin Word represents hip-hop theatre in the 2nd Ave Street Fair
•"Disingenious" published
•"6 Hits" in DownTown Urban Theatre Festival
winner of audience award!
•"Upward Movement Live" at Hampshire College
•"Script This!" WordShop playreading at Manhattan Theatre Club
•"Upward Movement Live" at Nightingales
•"Tracks: Sub-level" in Reel Sisters Film Festival
•Participation in fundraising benefit for Pedro Pietri

• Feb 10, 2005
Script This!
Theatre/Mixtape

Wordshop's sampling reading where you get a taste of some of the hot
spoken word and hip-hop plays in development for 2005, mingle with
industry and enjoy yourself before the Oscars.

Feb 27th 3:00 pm
The Actor's Institute: Studio 1
159 West 25th Street
Free admission
Gift Bags for first 75 at door
Drinks and Food
Plays from Kyana Brindle, Claudia Alick, Glenn Gordon, Maximina
Juson, Jesse Alick, Yolanda Kay Wilkenson, and Dyalekt
Produced by Smokin Word Production

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Dec 25, 2004
An urban greeting from SMOKIN WORD PRODUCTIONS

• Nov 5, 2004
Theaters Against War calls for "Spontaneous Response Saturday:
November
6th at Noon"

This Saturday come out to Union Square Park from 12 noon to 1 pm.

We will slowly encircle the Park as we walk together in defiance of
the foreign and domestic policies of our president past and future.

THAW will have signs for people to carry if they like with brief
straightforward statements like: "Peace" "Not My President" "100,000
Iraqi dead". Feel free to bring your own as well. We will encircle
the park for the full hour. Please join us. Please let others know.

Peace,
Theaters Against War

• Nov 2, 2004
Smokin'D'bate raises funds for NYScores:

Novemeber 1st election eve the Smokin' D'bate rocked the house at the
New School with DJ MilkMoney spinning and Amanada Diva, DX21, RL tha
Gifted One, Glen Gordon and Utkarsh Ambudkar spitting and Dylekt
Novemeber 1st election eve the Smokin' D'bate rocked the house at the
New School in The Electoral Extravaganza with DJ MilkMoney spinning
and Amanda Diva, DX21, RL tha Gifted One, Glen Gordon and Utkarsh
Ambudkar spitting and Dyalekt Moderating. It was crazy and funny and
actually pretty darn smart.

Jesse Alick, poet and resident debate coach, kicked us off schooling
everyone on the Lincoln Douglass debate format and our hip-hop twist
on the form. Utkarsh then acted as a sacrificial goat of sorts
demonstrating the form by debating WITH HIMSELF! He discussed the
pros and cons of voting and had the audience in stitches. The next
round was Amanda Diva and DX21 discussing the artists responsibility
to the community and themselves. Amanda Diva and DX21 both did some
amazing poetry combining beauty with raw power and the freestyle
section was intense! The final round was a head to head bout with RL
tha Gifted One and Glen Gordon discussing the United States response
to terrorism. Glen used the character of an old man to get his point
across which was not only effective but hilarious when he started
freestyling in the old man voice. RL used rhetorical devises that had
the audience reeling and ended up arguing so passionately he lost his
voice. Luckily ItsRealLight came in to back him up with some tag
team beatboxing and he won to applause. During it all Dyalekt kept
the form flowing and clear with his freestyling and hosting
techniques. I'm telling y'all it was a SHOW.

The profits from the show are going to NYScores for the kids poetry
slam at the end of the month. It's all well and good to talk about
helping people, but it's even better to actually be able to do
something positive. Thanks to all the performers and organizers who
donated their time, talent and energy to help out the kids. Big
thanks in particular to our board of directors Bob Holman, Rosa
Clemente, Jackie Sheeler and Ram Devineni, Naomi Santos from
NYScores, Jive Poetic, DX21 and K.O.N.C.E.P.T. who helped test the
format out at Free Sense, The New School and S.O.U.L., Brook
Stephenson and Christopher Smith who helped get the word out, the
other great performers that rocked the mic Hill Factor, Diane Roy,
S.T.E.P. and a BIG BIG thanks is due to Tanika Williams who helped us
find out final space and get the kids that cash money. Tanika- you
rock!

We will continue to produce the Smokin' D'bate because getting
involved politically is not a once every four years event. We need
to ask ourselves the big questions, d'bate the issues and vote vote
vote! Vote for councilman, comptroller, school board president,
sheriff, whatever! Cause if we don't decide who's in charge of the
little things we'll never get to decide who's in charge of the big
uns. Congrats to everyone who voted and everyone who promoted
voting. Contact us if you'd like to get the people around you
d'bating.

Peace
Claudia Alick

• September 16, 2004.
BodyWork in Performing Ethnicity International Conference and Arts Festival, organized by Ma-Yi Theater

• Sep 13, 2004
Hey Y'all. Last weekends Smokin D'bate debut with C.O.N.C.E.P.T.,
Jive Poetic, and DX21 was super. Free Sense is a cool hip-hop crowd
and space with sheets on the wall for graf art, freestyling, live djs
and bands, poetry, and this time-the debut of the new hip-hop spoken
word debating form. Thanks to Ish for allowing us to grace his
space. This was a great big experiment and we were nervous that it
might flop, but turns out-Smokin D'bate works! It was tough staging
a debate with 3 people who pretty much have the same political point
of view-BUSH SUCKS!- but Jive Poetic was kind enough to debate the
opposition which got the audience all riled up. The freestyle
rebuttle was CRAZY. Dyalekt was moderating and he just had to cut
that cat off, C.O.N.C.E.P.T can freestyle for days. In a grand
finale DX21 tore up his piece, the DJ came up with this fabulouse
hook and we were all feeling it. Afterwards folks was on the street
just speaking about politics. Yeah.

We'll be producing the full thang end of October to raise funds for
the NYScores kids poetry slam and get folks politically aware and
whatnot. Y'all better attend and y'all better vote.

smokin word burning it up!

• August 13, 2004.
Smokin' Word published Yolanda kae Wilkenson's hilarious play "A Musing". The books will be sold at the performance produced by Black Catylst and Urbintel at Primary Stages Starring: Brooke Peterson*, Dyalekt, Kyana Brindle, Lynnette Rivera, Maximina Juson, and Yolanda kae Wilkinson* Directed by: Kamilah Forbes A.D: ButtafLy SouL

• June 16, 2004.
Smokin Word had the pleasure of producing the world premier of "Between Spaces" Kyana Brindle's One Person Show at The Legendary Nuyorican Poets Cafe this week. The house was full and the art was on point. Kyana's chap book/script sold close to half it's first run. Jamaul Roots did a beautiful job directing the text, creating simple and effective stage pictures. Thanks to Tanisha Brady Christie for Production Managing. Thanks to everyone in WordShop for workshopping the piece. Thanks to Artistic Director Claudia for editing and helping to build the book. Thanks to George Reddick for handling the finances and finally Thanks to our fabulous audience! We couldn't do it without you.

please continue to support this show!
3 evening performances at
Vamos A Sembrar Garden
June 25th-27th, 7 pm
Avenue B @ 13th street
Produced by Movement in Motion Artists Collective <-- super dope crew!
$10 suggested donation

• June 6, 2004.
Hey everybody! Thanks for coming by to support us in the 2nd Avenue Street
Fair. It was an exciting and hectic day which included A hip-hop poetry
contest, kareoke, free tickets to shows and musical events and a small rain
storm. The debut of DISENGENIOUS our new chap book had people reading poetry in
the streets. Thanks to OYL-One Year Lease, for letting us share thier tent.
Y'all Rock! Also thanks to Creative Stages for hanging out with us all day. We wish
the great success with thier URBAN POP theatre festival. (They are still accepting
submissions by the way) And of course a big thanks to THEATREMANIA for including
us in the theatre community and allowing us to REPRESENT hip-op and spoken word theatre!

• May 22, 2004.
6 Hits was a big success in the DownTown Urban Theatre Festival!
Some amazing hip-hop theatre took place on saturday thanks to...

Director: Chad Boseman ; Playwright/producer: Claudia Alick
Stage Manager: Marva Gibbs; Production Manager: Tanisha Christie

Cast Members: Dyalect, Hasani Issa, Angela Lewis Novel Idea, Tia
Jennings, and Glen Gordon

Thanks also to JC Otero, T.Marc Newell, and Reg E. Gaines, all of
Arcos Productions, the Abrons Arts Center and our groovy groovy
audience who gave us a standing ovation!

Winner of audience award with Mayde Valle "Urban Creed"

• May 7, 2004.
Smokin Word has created a new show based on material created for the
CD. Upward Movement Live! last weekend we had the pleasure to
perform the material at Hampshire College and were well recieved (and
well compensated!). It was a long very fun drive but we finanly
found the Massachusettes campus. The show began with a short film by
Jen-I and then came the poetry and the music set on a subway train
and the tracks of the inner mind. Shout out's go to the performers
(who created brand new original material for the show)Jen-I Costosa,
George Reddick, Novel Idea, Trini, Kyana Brindle, Claudia; and Abeni
who filmed the show. Thanks to our boy Jesse and Jon K. from The
Dish who was kind enough to help us out with rehearsal space, Tanisha
who helped with press, Ando's music and the rest of the Smokin Word Crew.
Congratulations to everyone involved with the project.

• April 7, 2004.
Smokin Word is pleased to announce it's new Bridges initiative!

We will now be posting TOOLS OF WAR NEWSLETTER each month

visit it on the site http://www.smokinword.com/toolsofwarnewsletter

• March 13, 2004.
Smokin Word's first short film "Tracks: SUB-LEVEL" directed by Novel Idea,
filmed by Abeni Garrett, edited by Phoenix Soleil and starring TRENDS and
INDIGO MELENDEZ will be presented in The Reel Sisters Film Festival
this Saturday March 13 7:40 in the Spike Lee Screening Room of LIU in
Brooklyn. get your tickets ASAP cause it'll be hard to get seats.

• March 4, 2004.
This message was sent to us by El Extreme nee Luis Chalusian. Thanks to all
Smokin Word members, friends and associate artists that participated in the
fundraising efforts. A great poet has left us. Pietri Passes

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• February 17, 2004.
Smokin' Word will tour NYC promoting our CD
"Brooklyn to Harlem: Upward Movement" at different spots.
Our first event to kick off the tour is at Nightingales
on Thurs. Feb 26th. Smokin Word Members Kyana Brindle,
Phoenix Soleil, Novel Idea, Indigo, and Jen-I perform songs
from the Album in a twenty minute set that is part of a larger show.

Date- February 26, 2004
Nightingales Bar
213 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10003-2702
Phone: (212) 473-9398

Also interviewed for television show "Street Vizion".

• February 10, 2004.
Smokin WORDSHOP presents
SCRiPT THIS!
New Works for the New Genre

Reading excerpts of plays from Yolanda Wilkinson, Dyalekt,
Jesse Alick Phoenix Soleil, Kyana Brindle, and Claudia Alick.

Date- February 29, 2004
Time- 5:00 pm
Price- FREE
DJ and Reception with food and drink

MTC - Manhattan Theatre Club
311 West 43rd
(bewteen 8th and 9th Avenue)
8th Floor, Studio 1
www.mtc-nyc.org
Read the full press release below.

PRESS RELEASE

• February 7, 2004.
The playreading Party at Danny Simmons Gallery with Sydney Stewart, Tanisha Brady Christie,
Karen Gibson Roc, and Kendra Ware

• January 30, 2004.
Smoking Word newsletter January 2004

• January 6, 2004.

This tuesday @7 Smokin Word will be helping out with this show and Artistic Director Claudia Alick will be performing in 3 Kings For Pietri ...A Poetic Celebration & Benefit for Rev Pedro Pietri at Nuyorican Poets Cafe $6

"Woke up this morning / feeling excellent! / Picked up the telephone / dialed the
number / Of my equal opportunity / employer to inform him / I will not be in / to
work today! / Are you feeling sick? / the Boss asked me, / "No Sir" I repli ed, / I am
feeling too good / to report to work today! / If I feel sick tomorrow / I will come in early."
from "TELEPHONE BOOTH NUMBER 905," by El Reverendo Pedro Pietri

Pedro Pietri Health Benefit Fund
C/O Nuyorican Poets Cafe PO Box 20794 NY, NY 10009

HELP SAVE THE LIFE OF THIS TREASURED
MEMBER OF OUR COMMUNITY!

Dear Friends

If you have ever laughed, reveled in, or enjoyed one of Pedro's poems or if you can recall a line from any one of his countless poems then this letter is of utmost urgency to you. It is with great pain that we report publicly that renowned Puerto Rican/Nuyorican poet, Rev.Pedro Pietri, is seriously ill. Recently he has had surgery at Bronx Lebanon Hospital to treat his ailments. However, the medical prognosis is dismal. El Rev Pedro Pietri the author of Puerto Rican Obituary, in its tenth printing is a classic in the Puerto Rican literature=97his entire life is poetry. He is an outspoken advocate for the Puerto Rican Diaspora.

The life of this eminent poet is a reflection of the circumstances of our age from the Puerto Rican migrations, through the disintegration of the New York neighborhoods, to the Vietnam War era and the aftermath of environmental pollution, El Rev Pedro Pietri has been the creative voice to the madness that surrounds us. The life of a poet has never been easy. Pedro was victimized by the war as a result of Agent Orange exposure and ignored by the parties responsible for his condition. Now he is succumbing to an ever increasing number of illnesses related to this and the attendant stress that has slowly ravaged his body. These include glaucoma, a compromised circulatory system from high blood pressure; his skin tissue affected by advanced vitiligo; stomach ulcers; and now, a cancerous tumor.

This is a Mission Critical Appeal. Especially since there is hope.

Again reflecting our times, the treatments that could be his saving mechanisms are not available nor recognized by the medical establishment in the U.S.A.

His friends, his fellow poets, and his family have organized this effort. Our hope entails treatment at the Oasis of Hope Hospital in Mexico. Results from their treatment indicate a high degree of recovery and nonrecurrence in many of their patients. It is expensive beyond Pedro and his family's financial means. Expenses include treatment, travel expenses, lodging, posttreatment, health management, and
a healthy return home.

The cost of treatment at minimum is about $30,000. An individual contribution of a $1,000 (tax deductible) would be most helpful. However, any contribution will be deeply appreciated. Please make checks payable to:
Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Inc., with memo: Pedro Pietri Health Benefit Fund
c/o Nuyorican Poets Cafe
P.O. Box 20794
New York, New York 10009

We are seeking your support and contributions for Pedro's treatment in Mexico by January 2004. We pray that you will:

Sincerely,
Friends and Family of Pedro Pietri

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• December 21, 2004.
As part of our mission to help build community in the hip-hop/spoken word scene, Smokin Word held it's first Dinner Party. So much time is spent in this business struggling and competing. We tried to create a space where some communication and connection could happen and it turned out to be a lot of fun!

We gathered in the beautiful home of Yolanda Wilkenson, poet, playwright, actress, and SW Associated Artist. In attendance were Kamilah Forbes (Hip-hop Theatre Festival, HBO Def Poetry Jam) ButtaFlySoul (Spoken Works) Kyana Brindle (Smokin Word) Richard L Willard (Rule7Media, working on poetry documentary for PBS) and Steven and Stephanie Donaldson (Spoken Works).

We look forward to creating more art and positive relationships in the hip-hop spoken word community. We'll let y'all know about the rest of our efforts in the continuing year. Also we send thanks to the Off-off Broadway Community Dish for it's inspiration and support. .

• December 6, 2003.
Our REPRESENT! event is heating up. So far we've confirmed some HOT HOT HOT
performers! Plus the raffle is gonna be off the hook. Prizes include tickets to the
amazing off-broadway show "The Exonerated", A $50 gift bag from Ricky's, 5 hours
of free studio time with Smokin' Word's Music Supervisor, and free tickets to a hip-hop
show at The Bowery Poetry Club. Wow! Raffle tickets are just $1 a piece at the event.

• December 1, 2003.
Monday December 15 , Smokin Word will be hosting a very special fundraising
event featuring the debut of our newest venture, the Smokin Word album,
From Brooklyn to Harlem: Upward Movement. The evening will also feature
exciting performances from poets and musicians--performers you’ve seen on
Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam, at venues like The Nuyorican Poets Café,
the Bowery Poetry Bar, Jimmy’s Uptown, and more! The event will be held at
Laila Lounge. Read the full press release below.

PRESS RELEASE

• November 8, 2003.
So Smokin Word is out there doing stuff and I thought it might be nice
if I gave y'all a heads up on what we've been up to.

Our latest consultation project has been with The Nuyorican Poets Cafe
and Arcos Communications helping out with this benefit they were throwing
at Town Hall last Saturday.

First a big shout out to our Managing Director Kyana Brindle for attending
meetings at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe and helping us to set up all the
preliminary relationships.

Next a big shout out to all the fabulous Smokin Word volunteers that gave
their time and energy to the event: Marcus aka TrDMrC (trademark), Novel
Idea, George Reddick, Kendra Ware, Jesse Alick, Abeni Garrett, Kyana Brindle,
Jen-I Costosa, and Murkin Martinez.

The show was great! (at least that's what I heard since I was running
around backstage and didn't see much of it) Awards were given to Ray
Barretto, Benjamin Bratt, John Leguizamo, Rosie Perez, and Russe
l Simmons Def Poetry Jam. Smokin Word Associated Artists Felice Belle
and Vanessa Hidary performed. Reg E. Gaines and Savion Glover were off the
hook! (the one thing I took a break to see) There were too many amazing
performers to mention them all, just know it was a hot show.

Smokin Word represented well. Looking all spiffy in our own take on black tie.
Hopefully we'll get some photos and post them on the website cause baby we
looked GOOD. Thanks to all who supported with donations and attended the
event. It was successful and fun. Here's hoping the Nuyorican Poets Cafe
raised enough funds to do it's thang! Congratulations on 30 Years!!

• Open Auditions!! August 16th from 12-5pm

We're building a database of performers both
for our own productions as well as others. You have a need, we can
help you fill it.

447 Broadway between Howard and Grand, 5th Floor.
To get there you can take the N,R,Q,W to Canal St. and
walk up Broadway about 2 blocks and it's on the West
side of the street. Or take the N,R to Prince and walk
down a few blocks.

• SmokinWord.com is undergoing a major overhaul. We hope you all
appreciate the added content. Please be patient as we get out all the
bugs. We'd love to hear from you! Send feedback (positive or negative)
to bugs@smokinword.com. Thanks for your continuing help and support.

• Thanks to all who came out and made Sick Rhymes a success. Read
the review of Sick Rhymes at the Hip Hop Theater Festival 2003.

• Smokin Word Productions is pleased to invite you to "Sick Rhymes" a
short play by Claudia Alick, Directed by Jammie Patton and Starring
E.J. Seranno and Dennis "Da Menace" White with original music from
Andy Caulfield and Stream of Concious. 9 p.m. June 7 and 10 at PS122
(150 First Ave) in The NYC Hip Hop Theatre Festival.
Tickets: $20
Call the box office at 212.477.5288 or order online at
www.theatermania.com
General Info & Group Tickets: 718.782.2621
Press Info: The Karpel Group 212.989.0300

• FRIDAY MAY 30 SMOKIN WORD releases "How to reach a stae of no wind
in just under a year: a zen manual" by company member Jesse Alick.

• BIG NEWS!! In Smokin Word's new spirit of collaboration we will be
partnering with KahjahKool Entertainment, run by Kool Breeze, poet
and producer as well as Arch Productions. We will soon be setting up
web pages.

• Due to unavoidable scheduling conflicts the workshop performances
of "Six Hits" have been scaled back to a reading to be held Monday
March 31 at 8 pm. There will be a talk back and recepection
following 45 minutes of material.

• Audra Polk our Managing Director is transtioning away from her
current postion in Smokin Word in order to concentrate more on
her acting career. She is currently enganged in the daunting
task of finding someone to replace her. That will be very hard.
If you know of anyone interested in Arts Administration have
them email audra at smokin_word@hotmail.com. We all wish Audra
luck in this big change in her life and thank her for all of the hard
work she has done in the past year. We however will not be saying
good-bye, because she's not leaving, just switching jobs!

• Six Hits is now being co-produced by New Perspectives Theatre
www.newperspectivestheatre.org It's got a great mid-town
location and focuses on emerging works like ours. It's great news!
The dates of our perfomances have changed. March 27, 28, and 29 at
10pm and March 31, April 1, and 2 at 8pm. These performances of Six Hits
will be workshop performances to get investors, cause Our fundraiser
was a success but it didn't raise the thousands of dollars neccessary
to make great theatre happen. Let us know what you can do to help us
make these shows a success!

• And last but not least. Claudia Alick, our Artistic Director, just got
booked on Def Poetry Jam! She'll be taping on March 4. The segment may
even be aired on HBO. So, Congratulations Claudia! We'll let you know
more about it as the information becomes available.