Girl Be Heard (girlbeheard.org), a nonprofit theatre company that develops and amplifies the stories of young women (ages 12-21), is pleased to celebrate budding young talents from their first-ever Girl Be Heard program in the Tremont section of the Bronx. The ensemble of fifteen young women call themselves A Tribe Called Mess and will present an exhibition of spoken word, song, and storytelling that explores the experiences of teen girls in Rage Against the Machine at Pregones Theatre (575 Walton Avenue, Bronx, NY 10451) Friday, July 21, 2017 - open dress - and Saturday July 22, 2017 - performance. Tickets are $10 donation at the door.
Girl Be Heard's weekend girl power program has been so popular that a second site was launched this year thanks to a generous Cultural Immigrant Initiative Grant provided by Council Member
Ritchie Torres, District 15. Tremont United Methodist Church, home of this new Bronx program, is also home to a large immigrant population from West African and the Caribbean. Girl Be Heard's weekend programs (often referred to as "feminist church" since they meet 2pm-5pm every Sunday) is being held in a church for the first time.
"We are indebted to City Council Member Torres for his support of our girls," said Rev. Arletha Miles, Girl Be Heard board member and preacher at Tremont church who has taken the program under her wing. "His Cultural Immigrant Initiative Grant allowed us to reach girls who previously were not able to travel to Manhattan and Brooklyn to participate in Girl Be Heard program. "
"Immigrant experiences are central to the fabric and history of New York City and today, over three million foreign-born New Yorkers from all over the world call this city home," said City Council Speaker Mark-Viverito. "Cultural expression through art, music, dance and more celebrates this vibrant diversity of experiences and stories and allows us to share and appreciate that diversity together."
A Tribe Called Mess questions and challenges norms in Rage Against the Machine. They investigate the notion that raising certain issues in particular places is taboo, especially around the questions of what does it means to be black. The participants wanted to explore how the educational system can unwittingly censor key points in our collective histories which ultimately skew burgeoning senses of identity and in turn come across as critical of self-expression.
Jessica Dean Turner is an actor and teaching artist from Chicago. She received her BFA in acting from the University of Illinois and her MA from NYU. She has performed and taught nationally, is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA, and has had the pleasure of working with Girl Be Heard since 2016. She is incredibly proud of the growth and commitment of A Tribe Called Mess.
Aya Aziz is a writer, composer, and performance artist. She's brought original, award-winning, productions to the Fringe, PCTF and the New York Musical Festival in addition to theatres in Beirut and Sarajevo. She began working with Girl Be Heard as a company member in 2011 and returned as a teaching artist in 2015. Working with A Tribe Called Mess has been the highlight of her last six GBH years.
About Girl Be Heard:
Girl Be Heard develops, amplifies, and celebrates the voices of young women through socially conscious theatre-making. What began in 2008 with twelve girls is now a renowned theatre company of over 170 girls and a global movement that engages audiences at the White House, United Nations, State Department, and TED, and in underserved communities locally and globally. The collective's performances of original work educate, empower, and engage audiences about issues ranging from bullying and body image to gun violence and sexual trafficking, and aim to create a global girl power movement.
