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Taking Mahogany Ensemble Theatre to the Next Level

Page 4

“Thank you” is not just good manners, it’s good for your health

Feeling down? Having trouble sleeping? Catch colds easily? You might be surprised at the sim-ple habit researchers now say keeps you hap-pier, healthier and better rested: Gratitude.

In studies by researchers at the University of

California – Davis, those who write down three blessings every day were compared to those who do not. The more grateful group had stronger immune systems, caught fewer colds, had less trouble falling asleep and staying asleep, and felt better about their lives. They were even more likely to exercise. Interestingly, it’s not enough to simply say what you are grateful for. You must write it down, according to researchers. Apparently, there is power in the written word.

To start your gratitude habit, keep a notebook at your bedside. When you get up, ask yourself a simple question that evokes gratitude, such as, “What three things do I most look forward to today?” or “What three things am I most grateful for today?” Or write in your gratitude journal before going to sleep – a practice that has been shown to improve sleep habits. Rather than counting sheep to cure insomnia, try counting your blessings. Ask, “What are the three best things that happened to me today?” or “What did I most appreciate today?”

Other benefits to keeping a gratitude journal, according to the research, including feeling more alert and energized, and being more will-ing to give emotional support to others.

I am grateful to our new sponsor, my friend and soror, Attorney Reshonda L. Bradford. Be sure to give her a call her when you are in need of law advice.

She can handle anything! I am also thankful for my sisterfriend, Angelique Feaster. Angelique is the Founding Artisitic Di-rector for Mahogany Ensemble Theatre. Read more about her story on page 5. And I am grateful that you have taken time out of your busy day to support Urban Faith Maga-zine. Be sure to visit our website at www.urbanfaithmagazine.com to subscribe. You will get the magazine directly in your mail-box. On our website you may also join our online community and interact with me and other readers. This Month’s Challenge::

Grab a notebook or journal this week, and start making note of what you are grateful for.

Until Next Time Be Grateful Alynetta Beck

Just a few pics from Mahogany Ensemble Theatre’s productions from the past 5 years: 1. The Wiz 2. Roll of Thunder 3. The Bluest Eye 4. Shakin the Mess Out of Misery 5. Amazing Grace

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2

5

3 4

Recently I had the opportunity to attend Ma-

hogany Ensemble Theatre’s production of a Rai-

sin in the Sun. The cast was awesome! After-

wards, I and a few other patrons of the arts dis-

cussed how Mahogany Ensemble Theatre was

Shreveport’s best kept secret. If you want to

theatre experience, stay on the look out for An-

gelique Feaster and Mahogany Ensemble Thea-

tre (MET).

No longer a secret, Mahogany Ensemble Thea-

tre productions are fast becoming THE place to

be in Northwest Louisiana. Led by Founding

Artisitc Director Angelique Feaster, MET is has

grown from a one-woman operation to a staff of

five, which includes a resident choreographer,

production manager, ticket manager, and techni-

cal director.

In the past five years, the company has pro-

duced such plays as “The Wiz,” “Shakin’ the

Mess Out of Misery,” “ The Bluest Eye,” and

“Roll of Thunder.” Now, MET is poised to take

its efforts to the next level. Theatre enthusiasts

are invited to purchase season tickets or to be-

come members of MET.

In addition to producing plays, Ms. Feaster is

busy in the community bringing theatre to

schools, holding summer camp, and preparing

for the Southern Black Theatre Festival.

Inspired by the efforts of the National Black

Theatre Festival, the Festival’s mission is to

celebrate the rich tradition of African American

theatre in the south while forging a regional

collective of culture bearers committed to sus-

taining this theatri-

cal genre.

Mark your calendar for the 2nd biennial festival

celebration! This year’s festival will take place

from Saturday, September 18, 2010 thru Satur-

day, September 25, 2010.

This week-long festival spotlights African

American theatres, filmmakers, performing art-

ists, scholars, and arts organizations . This

year’s festival will honor the memory of inau-

gural national chair, Judi Ann Mason as well as

highlight three areas of her life’s work: The

Arts, academia, and activism.

The public is also invited to participate by pre-

senting a play, spoken word, or staged reading,

be a guest artist, scholar, or panelist, conduct a

workshop, exhibit your creative work., or per-

form in the college showcase.

When success is meas-

ured by how rich, fa-

mous, or important

you are, life soon rings

hollow.

In Uncommon, Tony Dungy reveals a

better way. From wisdom learned in

childhood to his years of coaching and

mentoring in the NFL, Coach Dungy’s

personal stories and valuable life les-

sons map out the less traveled path to

real significance. Turn your life into

something truly meaningful.

7 AWESOME Steps to Turning Your Dreams

into Your Reality The idea of setting goals is nothing new. God has given us everything

we need to accomplish our goals. It is up to us to prepare and use

those tools to accomplish our goals and to sustain ourselves in this

life.

In reality, we set goals and set goals, but often we never seem to get

any closer to where we want to be. Our goals must be specific. We

must know exactly what we want. Our goals must be measurable. As

we act to achieve our goals, we must be able to gauge how far we

have gone in achieving our goals. Our goals must be achievable. We

must set goals that are possible to achieve. Our goals must be realis-

tic. We must honestly look at the realness of our goals. Our goals

must be timely. We must establish a time line to achieve our goals.

Be AWESOME in setting and achieving your goals. Here are a few

steps to keep you on task.

A –Actualize and define your need or desire! By visualizing what

you want your end result to be and seeing yourself living that result, it

becomes more real and thus your brain views it as being attainable.

When you take the time to make your dreams reality in your mind’s

eye: seeing it, touching it, tasting it, savoring it, your success in

achieving that goal becomes more do-able.

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the

law, happy is he. (Proverbs 29:18)

W – Write it down! I tell this to people all the time. Write down your

goals. What do you want to accomplish? What is your heart’s desire?

Write it down. Write it in a journal or a diary, write it on a sticky note

and put it on the bathroom mirror, write it on a white board, write it in

magnets on the fridge. Whatever you do, keep it where you can see it

all the time.

Then the LORD replied: "Write down the revelation and make it

plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. (Habakkuk 2:2)

E – Energize it! Your dreams, desires and goals mean nothing if

you don’t act on them. Continual movement toward your goals is es-

sential to reaching them. Take action now. It doesn’t have to be a big

action, it just has to be something. Small steps are easy to make and

require little effort. Take action now.

Jesus said, "According to your faith, let it be done unto you" (Matt

9:29). How can anything "be done unto you" if you are not exercis-

ing your faith in what you desire?

S – See your success! Make your goals more real and attainable by

visualizing yourself living them. How do you look once your goal is

reached? How do you feel? What new direction can your life take

once your current goals are met? How can that lead to new goals?

Continued on page 9.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Join us for the 2nd biennial festival celebrating the rich tradition of black theatre in the south. This week-long festival spotlights African American theatres, filmmakers, performing artists, scholars, and arts organizations dedicated to preserving & ad-vancing the artistic legacy of the African American experience. This year’s festival

will honor the memory of our beloved, inaugural national chair, Judi Ann Mason and will highlight three areas of her life’s work: the arts, academia, and activism.

Produced by Mahogany Ensemble Theatre

Call for Participants Play a leading role in this year’s festival

For More Information

Visit www.southernblacktheatrefest.org

Or Call 318-745-ARTS (2787)

Present a play, spoken word, staged reading Conduct a workshop Be a volunteer, intern, partner Exhibit creative work Be a festival collaborator Perform in the college showcase And much more!

Singing background can be an awesome opportunity to share God’s word with peo-

ple, travel, and meet new people. That is, if you can land a gig with Christian re-

cording artists, groups, or choirs that are on the move.

International, award-winning singer Donnie McClurkin just announce that he is

searching for background vocalists to minister and travel with him. Who knows?!

This could be your opportunity!

If your schedule and lifestyle allows, here’s how you can pursue this exciting chance

to operate in your gift and calling:

Make a YouTube video of yourself singing

Email the video link using the form on the website: http://donnieradio.com

Make sure to include in your email: Your name, where you’re from, and a valid

return email address, so you can be contacted if selected.

Singer/songwriter Deitrick Haddon is preparing to make his motion picture debut in the new

movie Blessed and Cursed. Written by the artist, the movie serves as a modern day adaptation of

the Biblical account of Saul and David.

Joining Haddon in the film are actors Sheryl Lee Ralph and Drew Sidora. In addition, the film

features guest appearances by Kierra Sheard, Karen Clark Sheard, Damita Haddon, Dr.

Bobby Jones, J. Moss, Jor'el Quinn of 21:03, Mali Music, and Rance Allen.

The movie is set to release to DVD on July 27, 2010. Haddon, along with his choir Voices of

Unity, will release an accompanying soundtrack to the movie, featuring the lead single "Judah",

on June 29, 2010.

Fences stars Denzel Washington and Viola Davis took home the Tony for the Best

Performance by a Leading Actor and Actress in a Play award both thanking God

for their wins.

“I don’t believe in luck or happenstance,” said Davis. “I absolutely believe in the

presence of God in my life.” She also thanked the people in her life "who held me

up when I couldn't hold myself up" and thanked her husband. "I still think God sent

his blessings to the wrong house, but I'm gonna take him!" Davis previously won a

Tony Award in 2001 for August Wilson's King Hedley.

“My mother always said man gives you the award and God gives you the reward,”

first-time winner Washington shared in his speech. “I guess I got both tonight.”

Washington also thanked his longtime wife Paulette in the audience and his children

watching from home, adding, “Go to bed!”

Continued from page 6

7 Steps to Your Dreams

O – Open your mind! Accept all options as possible. In

order to move forward with your goals, you need to leave

negative thoughts behind. Establish a daily routine of

positive self-talk and choose to work through fear and

adversity. The key to success is belief in yourself.

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the

desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)

M – Measure your success! Don’t think you have to wait

until you’ve reached your goals to consider it a success.

Each and every step along the way that moves you closer

to the end result is a success and a reason to celebrate. If

there are ten, five, or even one thing you must do to reach

your goal, each thing accomplished is a success.

E – Every day! You need to review your goals each and

every day so you never lose site of them. Don’t get caught

up in day to day activities and forget your goals. Review

them each day and take one small step toward reaching

them. Step by step, one day at a time. By practicing to

reach your goals every day, you develop new habits that

bring you closer to those goals.

Make your mantra AWESOME and you’’ll see more

dreams realized. Goal-setting is important, but by choos-

ing to be AWESOME, you will find it easier to determine

which goals to work towards, and make it easier to take

the steps necessary to reach them.

Each of these AWESOME directives will aid you in tak-

ing the steps necessary to set, move towards and reach

your goals. You have the ability to live your dreams. Take

small steps, make little, easy to follow changes, do some-

thing positive every day and your dreams will become

your reality.

You have The Power to change. You have The Power to

choose. Choose to be AWESOME. Choose to be The

Power.

The prerequisite to receiving God's guidance is the will-

ingness to accept it. "Commit your works to the Lord,

and your plans will be established" (Proverbs 16:3).

(BlackDoctor.org) -- There is a myth that dark skin doesn't burn, and there-

fore doesn’t need sunscreen. The reality is that all com-

plexions can burn. Darker skin does provide some protec-

tion from the sun's UV rays – it has more melanin for

natural protection -- but you can’t count on that alone.

The extra melanin doesn't guard against the UV damage

that accelerates aging or causes cancer. The best thing for

darker complexions to do is to begin each day by apply-

ing a sunscreen or moisturizer with an SPF of 15 to 30 --

reapplying often while in direct sunlight.

Following are common skin problems caused by sun exposure and tips on

how to rescue your skin from the damage.

For Darkened Facial Skin

Changes in the skin’s pigmentation occur as we age and are very prominent

in African American skin. Exposure to both ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultra-

violet B (UVB) light stimulates the production of melanin which most

likely accounts for darkening of the skin. There are 4 commonly occurring

types of darkening.

• Localized areas on the face and neck

• More generalized areas on the face and neck

• Dark under eye circles

• Uneven skin tone

A way to treat the problem is to adopt the daily regimen of applying a SPF

15 or 30 sunscreen. For those who are experiencing pigmentary changes, a

SPF 30 combined with a glycolic acid cream or lotion are recommended.

Microdermabrasion and chemical peels are a great solution for African-

Americans with this problem. It is recommended to undergo glycolic peels

and, for sensitive skin, gentler salicylic peels.

For Hyperpigmentation

Hyperpigmentation -- dark spots or splotches from UV-ray exposure --

needs to be treated with a prescription for 4 percent hydroquinone, which is

faster-acting and more effective than the over-the-counter variety. But

make sure you don't use a hydroquinone fader longer than six months, be-

cause a rare condition of permanently darkened skin tone could happen. If

this occurs, take a break for a month or two and then resume treatment. The

widely held idea among women of color that tanning will solve hyperpig-

mentation, by enabling the darker areas to blend in, is purely a myth.

For Dark Freckles

Another pigmentary problem caused by the sun is dermatosis papulosa ni-

gra, or DPNs – a benign cutaneous condition common among blacks. It is

usually characterized by small, brown or black bumps that are sometimes

mistaken for moles. It is felt that a combination of heredity, aging and ex-

posure to the sun are factors in the development of DPNs.

While not dangerous, they can easily be removed in a doctor's office. Since

there is no cream that has the ability to remove DPNs, treatment involves

either excising (cutting) the lesions with as special surgical instrument,

called a gradle scissor, or desiccating (burning) them with an electric nee-

dle. These procedures are well generally tolerated and healing generally

occurs within one week. Side effects of removal may include light or dark

skin discolorations which usually fade rapidly.

By Felicia Vance, BDO Staff

11-Jun-2010 , Copyright © 2005-2010, BlackDoctor.org. All rights re-

served.

Author

Sheila L. Jackson