Mattilyn in HER PORTMANTEAU in its last week at the George Street Playhouse
“Extraordinary”
20% discount with code PORT20
“Mattilyn Rochester Kravitz runs a vast gamut of sentiments as Abasiama exudes everything from joy to guilt…she can be warmly maternal then become diamond-hard.”
FIRST LOOK! Her Portmanteau is NOW onstage-in its last week- at The New Brunswick Performing Arts Center! Portmanteau (𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘯) a large trunk or suitcase. What literal and metaphorical baggage will a mother and her daughters, one raised in America, one raised in Nigeria, unpack when they reunite for the first time in two decades?
Freedom Riders!
Days of summer are almost upon us!
But even bigger news than that - I am thrilled to announce that I will be performing in the play Freedom Rider at the Crossroads Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ from June 10-June 26th!!!
Why is that such a big deal? Let me back up.
March 9th of this year I ventured out from the pandemic cocoon that has kept Josh and me safe and moved to Montgomery, Alabama for two months to rehearse and perform the premiere run of Freedom Rider at the prestigious Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
I was grateful to have a job, a gig, a contract doing a real show in a real theatre with real people in the audience. As an artist, so much of the work that we do is just that, a job that we are more than happy to have. But this ‘gig’ was more than that - it was a life changing experience. On rare occasions the work marries artistry with activism. Creativity with service and purpose. Freedom Rider is one of those shows.
Freedom Rider deals with the young civil rights activists who bravely went on a mission in 1961 to desegregate bus terminals in the South. They traveled to countless towns throughout the region and faced endless resistance. Though they had a staunch non-violent approach, they were often met with physical attacks, truly putting their lives on the line for their cause.
The play was directed by the legendary Ricardo Khan (Artistic Director, Crossroads Theatre Company), who co-wrote it with a diverse group of playwrights meant to reflect the diversity of the Freedom Riders themselves.
It was an honor to perform in such an important work, but the experience went much deeper than that. The cast also got to visit the museums and historical locations of Montgomery, a city perhaps more crucial than any other to the civil rights struggles of the 1950s-60s. Everywhere you stepped there was history. Even more incredibly, the cast got to meet and talk with actual Freedom Riders, as well as the family of the late Freedom Rider and U.S. Representative John Lewis, a civil rights icon.
Cassandra Ogbozor plays a Freedom Rider from Philadelphia.
Perhaps the highlight was a visit from the great Dr. Bernard Lafayette, an original Freedom Rider (and college roommate of Congressman Lewis). Dr. Lafayette attended one of our performances and then, on the same stage, sat for a fascinating interview about his life. Afterwards, the cast got to meet and talk with him. What a treat. A real Freedom Fighter!
Mugshot of Freedom Rider, Bernard Lafayette in 1961
Dr. Lafayette told many stories from his Freedom Rider days, including one about when he was beaten by an angry mob in Birmingham. Though he practiced passive resistance – attempting to bond with rather than assault his attackers - the other side was not so gracious and he was left with three broken ribs.
Dr. Lafayette also told the story of another time he was confronted while with friend and fellow Freedom Rider James Lawson. A bunch of angry young white men in black leather jackets came up to them, yelling and hurling insults. Then one of the men spat right in Lawson’s face. But instead of reacting with anger, Lawson calmly paused and then asked the man for a handkerchief. Amazingly, the man reached in his pocket and gave him one. Lawson wiped off his face and gave him back the handkerchief. Then, noticing the hot rod the man had been driving, Lawson started asking him how many cylinders the engine had. Soon they were talking back forth about cars. Eventually the young men lost their anger, got back in their cars, and left. Lawson had succeeded by finding the common ground that the Freedom Riders were always taught to pursue.
Mugshot of James Lawson 1961
Dr. Lafayette’s story left me with chills running throughout my body. The discipline and the spiritual fortitude it takes to hold someone’s humanity while they are denying yours left an indelible impression on my psyche. I was inspired and left wondering what impact such an approach would have had on the protests of today. Or on our tribalistic society as a whole. When was the last time one side really tried to understand the other rather than react with despondency or rage? What would happen if today’s hate was met with the universal love and understanding of yesterday’s freedom fighters?
“Please tell the attorney general that we have been cooling off for 350 years. If we call off anymore, we will be in a deep freeze. The freedom ride will go on.”
The Freedom Riders were ordinary heroes. Most of them never got famous, never went into politics, never had a flashy career. They were everyday people that believed in change. And even though you can learn about them in books and museums, they still are not as well-known and respected as they deserve.
Which is why one of the best parts of performing the show in Alabama was seeing young people in the audience who were likely learning about the Freedom Riders for the first time – and were affected by the fact that the main characters were as young or not much older than they were.
But really the show appeals to people of any generation, full of enough humor and music to keep it from being just a stoic history lesson. It’s heavy but uplifting, sad but hilarious. It’s entertaining, while still giving the Freedom Riders’ story the respect it deserves.
It was an honor being able to spread the message of the Freedom Riders in Alabama and it is an honor now to be able to do it again. If you are anywhere near New Brunswick, NJ (home of Rutgers University) between June 10-26, get a ticket, come and be inspired by one of the most powerful and under-acknowledged movements of non-violent protest in the entire world.
Cast of Freedom Rider with Tony award winning director Ricardo Khan.
Come be a part of history!
Tasty Words Presents!
“True love waits...and waits”
ATTENTION L.A. PEOPLE — THIS SATURDAY NIGHT!!!
Come see Josh and I take part in THE WHEN HARRY MET SALLY SHOW!!!
In honor of Valentine’s Day, we and six other couples will get on stage to talk about how we met. There will be lots of LAUGHS, maybe some TEARS (the good kind) and perhaps some SURPRISES (also the good kind)!!!
And no this is NOT streaming - you have to buy a ticket and physically come sit in a theater like the olden days of 2019.
So come enjoy the only event in L.A. this weekend not related to the Super Bowl!!! YAY!!!!!
What the %$#! is up with MATTilyn?
My entire year was planned out…
In January and February I’d had successful preview performances of my one woman show The Long Goodbye! The rest of the year was going to build on that momentum…
March On the 16th I was to start rehearsals at the prestigious Crossroads Theatre for a month-long role in the play Freedom Rider
May Mother’s Day performance of The Long Goodbye in Chicago
June The Long Goodbye at the Hollywood Fringe Festival
July The Long Goodbye in Atlanta, Georgia
August The Long Goodbye at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland
It is the largest arts festival in the world. Before becoming a Netflix sensation, Phoebe Waller-Bridge first premiered her one woman show Fleabag at Scotland’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. I was honored that my show was at Edinburgh status.
November The Long Goodbye was an official selection of the International United Solo Festival and I was to perform the show for them both in London and New York City. Theatre Row NYC BABY! What a way to close out 2020.
I was set to soar!
In March I was one day away from flying to the east coast for Freedom Rider rehearsals…
“And then, Covid-19 happened.”
This reminded me of my wedding weekend.
“A year of planning
- and our quaint castle wedding venue in Agoura Hills -
went up in flames in the deadliest blaze in California wildfire history.”
While friends and family were in the air flying from the east coast to California, instead of prepping for the wedding I was scrambling with my fiancé and cousins to find a wedding venue two days before the wedding, as well as new hotel rooms for our 40+ out of town guests.
We found magic amid the chaos. We also found perspective. While some lost their homes, others lost their lives. A sobering, humbled feeling of gratitude surrounded my wedding day. Despite all the mishaps, we were the lucky ones.
“ We had an opportunity to focus on what’s most important with a ceremony symbolizing the union of two souls, love. ”
Looking at our wedding video, you wouldn’t know that my mother was missing from the first half of the ceremony, that we were one bridesmaid short, or that our ceremony and reception were at a venue we were seeing at about the same time as our guests.
Quarantined with my new husband I reflected on the lessons learned from my wedding. How can I apply that to the Pandemic?
Although plans change, we are given an opportunity
to see the larger picture.
I was healthy, I was safe, had food and shelter and I was alive.
So, I slept.
April. Slept some more. Wake up. Cook. Watch the news. Talk on the phone.
“Remember cousin so and so? They got it. They got the virus.”
I go back to sleep.
May. Wake up. Watch the news. Talk on the phone. Cook. Sketch. Sleep. Rinse Repeat. Going to bed late. Oh. And I start sketching. Check out my artwork on RedBubble!
June. Wake up. Watch - the world burn - the news.
Birthday parties on Zoom.
“ Is this real?
What day is today?
He said what?”
I can’t sleep. I sketch. I cook. I post and sketch again. I start sewing on my $20 Goodwill sewing machine, creating some very questionable clothing.
Started The Artist’s Way again with a dear friend.
Sketch some more.
I’ve eaten too much. Need to excercise. I take African Dance online.
Josh and I do puzzles…….and Tik Tok dance offs…
July. Wake up. Stopped watching the news. What am I so mad about? Tired of talking. Start writing again. Cook dinner almost every night. Still can’t sleep. Sketch until the sun comes up. My husband gets me a much-better. sewing machine for my birthday. My sewing creations improve. Things I might actually wear outside.
“Interviewed with VoyageLA”
Check out Interview click here!
August. I go to sleep when it’s time to wake up and am wide awake when my side of the world is asleep. I sketch. I sew. I read. I take workshops. I start dreaming again.
September. End of this mess is nowhere in sight. Bits of news. Small doses.
There is something happening on the planet and we are all experiencing some part of the consequence all at the same time. We are faced with choices.
My days are filled with creating and learning. Whatever suits my fancy or my rage. Unable to act or sing in front of a live audience until this COVID craziness is over (and having gone through everything on Netflix), I was forced to find new outlets. So thanks to the pandemic I am now a visual artist, a chef and costume designer!…skills I just needed some time to explore.
I wanted to say hello and I hope you are fine? Please share how you are doing in the comments below.
FEAR
A lot of people are surprised when they hear me say I’m afraid or nervous. I am afraid and nervous a lot of the time. I’m human! Lol! There is an assumption that if you are on a stage or in front of a camera that fear somehow eludes you. Not true!
What is true is that in spite of the fear and the nerves I step in front of the camera or on stage anyway. Fear never stops me in that regard. But, where my fear has, in the past, expressed itself is me promoting, informing or asking people to come and have an artistic experience of my own creation with me.
It is my intention in 2020 and beyond to trust that my creative expression is a gift to anyone lucky enough to know about the where, when and how of it all. I’m going to do the same as I do when I step into the spotlight, “feel the fear and do it anyway “!
A lot of people are surprised when they hear me say I’m afraid or nervous. I am afraid and nervous a lot of the time. I’m human! Lol! There is an assumption that if you are on a stage or in front of a camera that fear somehow eludes you. Not true!
What is true is that in spite of the fear and the nerves I step in front of the camera or on stage anyway. Fear never stops me in that regard. But, where my fear has, in the past, expressed itself is me promoting, informing or asking people to come and have an artistic experience of my own creation with me.
It is my intention in 2020 and beyond to trust that my creative expression is a gift to anyone lucky enough to know about the where, when and how of it all. I’m going to do the same as I do when I step into the spotlight, “feel the fear and do it anyway “!
Fear can stop you or move you forward!