AfroSolo Arts Festival 12

On Friday, August 12th I went to the Afro Arts Festival in the Fillmore district of San Francisco. I shot video of the space, interviews and introductions by the artistic director, Thomas Robert Simpson. Unfortunately I did not get approval to shoot the performances which were o exceptional and overall thrilling.

The artists were: Lawrence Beamen, a baritone singer who sang spirituals focusing on the works of Paul Robeson. The extraordinary soprano Rachelle Perry-Ward who sang from Mozart’s “Don Giovanni”, Bizet’s “Carmen”, Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci” and Verdi’s “Aida.” Mia Paschal performed a section from her one woman show, “some life”, on going to a barbecue in the Potrero Hill district of San Francisco. Shanique S. Scott performed her piece, “Prisons”, on a woman attaining personal freedom. And Robert Henry Johnson performed his “Othello Papers”, a fascinating combination of five Shakespearian characters interacting in the present day.