3rd Annual LA Get Down Festival at Greenway Court Theatre

April 5 - 27, 2019Greenway Arts AllianceIn association withDa Poetry Lounge (DPL)Presents3rd ANNUAL LA GET DOWN FESTIVALCelebrating Hip-Hop and Spoken Wordin celebration of National Poetry MonthTICKETS ($10 - $75): http://greenwaycourttheatre.org/lagetdown2019/WATCH: https://vimeo.com/287307632Greenway Arts Alliance (Whitney Weston and Pierson Blaetz, Co-Founders and Co-Artistic Directors), in association with Da Poetry Lounge, presents the 3rd ANNUAL LA GET DOWN FESTIVAL, celebrating hip-hop and spoken word. The festival, which takes place during National Poetry Month, takes place from April 5 27, 2019. Events will be held at the Greenway Court Theatre (544 N. Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles). Da Poetry Lounge Co-Founder Shihan Van Clief serves as Festival Artistic Director.The 3rdANNUAL LA GET DOWN FESTIVAL will play host to the 11th Anniversary of InkSlamL.A.s National Premiere Poetry Festival with awards sponsored by Greenway Arts. The festival also features: Atlanta based Poetry vs. Hip-Hop; invitational team and indie slams from all over the country from youths to adults; showcases; workshops; and other events.PERFORMANCE SCHEDULEFriday 4/5 @ 8 pmPOETRY VS. HIP HOP featuring Queen Sheba, DJ Knodat, G Yamazura, Kevin Sandbloom, Christopher Michael, and more Saturday 4/6 @ 8 pmPOEMS ARE GAY! Hosted Edwin BodneyFriday 4/12 @ 8 pmSALOME: TEN POEMS ABOUT ONE THINGWritten by Donny Jackson, Directed by Jasmine WilliamsSaturday 4/13 @ 8 pmNEW VOICES: The California Repertory Production of A LIVE MIXTAPE Written by Tahirih Moeller, Directed by Bruce A Lemon Jr.Friday 4/19 @ 8 pmHEARTSTORMS: AND THE HOOD CRIATURA IN TRANSIT. featuring few hernandez, created and directed by arianna lady bascoSaturday 4/20 @ 9 pmHEARTSTORMS: AND THE BOI WITH BLUE NAILS. featuring figgy baby, created and directed by arianna lady bascoFriday 4/26 @ 8pmINKSLAM INVITATIONAL TEAM SEMI-FINALSSaturday 4/27 @ 9 pmINKSLAM INVITATIONAL TEAM FINALS Hosted by Shihan Van Clief WORKSHOP SCHEDULESaturday 4/6 @ 12 pmWRITE BETTER with Donny JacksonSaturday 4/6 @ 1:30 pmYOUR VOICE IS AN INSTRUMENT WRITING WORKSHOPFacilitated by Alyesha Wise and Matthew Cuban Hernandez Saturday 4/20 @ 12 pmWRITE BETTER with Donny Jackson Saturday 4/20 @ 1:30 pmYOUR VOICE IS AN INSTRUMENT PERFORMANCE WORKSHOPFacilitated by Alyesha Wise and Matthew Cuban HernandezSaturday 4/27 @ 12 pmHOW TO BUILD A FEATURE/SET with Yesika Salgado NOTE: The above performances are subject to change.The 3rdANNUAL LA GET DOWN FESTIVALis presented with the support of the City of West Hollywoods WeHo Arts program. For more information, please visit www.weho.org/arts or follow via social media @WeHoArts. Additional support is provided by the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs; and by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.The 3rdANNUAL LA GET DOWN FESTIVAL will take place from April 5 27, 2019. All workshops and performances will be held at Greenway Court Theatre, 544 N. Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles.Free parking is available next door at the Fairfax High School parking lot. The full festival schedule, and tickets and passes are available online at GreenwayCourtTheatre.org/LAGetDown2019 or by phone 323-673-0544. Single ticket prices range from $10 $20. Full festival passes are also available for $75. Patrons 25 or younger can select five events for $25.For more information, call (323) 655-7679 or email boxoffice@greenwayartsalliance.org.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreenwayTheatre/Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/429454581126987/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GreenwayTheatre/Greenway Court Theatre544 N Fairfax AveLos Angeles, CA 900363rd ANNUAL LA GET DOWN FESTIVAL BIOGRAPHIES: Shihan Van Clief Along with being the first and only poet to have a poem named 'download of the week' on iTunes; this National Poetry Slam Champion and 4X National Poetry Slam Finalist has been featured on a variety of media outlets including 7 appearances on 6 seasons of HBO's Def Poetry, NBC, Oxygen Network, Current TV, Nike Battlegrounds, Reebok, Adidas, NBA, CNN, ESPN, Complex and Billboard Magazine, several national commercial spots, 5 National Tours including the Tony Award Winning Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry Jam International Tour and 2 Spoken Word documentaries, SP!T and the sequel to 1997's cult doc Slam Nation, Slam Planet. Shihan was also the 1st 'Poet' to sign an exclusive Sponsorship deal with Sports Giant, adidas and he is the current voice for The Sprite Street Mix, a radio program broadcasted in over 14 countries in Africa. His abilities to transcend cultural and generational boundaries have made Shihan a much sought-after talent.Arianna Lady Basco was recently recognized by the City of Los Angeles for her and her brothers contribution to the arts, they were named The First Filipino Entertainment Family. Author of Palms Up, she also serves on the board for 1888.center, and is the host of the downtown staple Speakeasy in The Last Bookstore. She is the co-writer/ producer of Work In Progress and was formerly of the band Swahili Blonde. She has lent her voice and time to various charities and organizations throughout the years reaching as far as The Philippines for the GMA series The Balikbayan Project w/ The Bascos hosted by Giselle Tongi. More information at ladybasco.com.Alyesha Wise The author of Carnival (NOT A CULT Media), Alyesha Wise is a poet, teaching artist & TEDx speaker from Camden, N.J. Alyesha currently resides in Los Angeles, and is the co-founder of S.L.A.M. (Spoken Literature Art Movement) - an organization providing poetry education and extensive programming for poets. Alyesha was the Los Angeles (Get Lit) Youth Slam Team co-coach from 2014-2017 and is currently the Hollywood (Da Poetry Lounge) Slam Team head coach - The team recently made it to final stage in the 2017 National Poetry Slam. A 2014 Hollywood grand slam champion, she is also a 4-time member of the Hollywood Slam Team & a 2-time Women of the World Poetry Slam finalist. Alyesha has been featured on different platforms and publications such as Huffington Post, Bustle, Afropunk, WHYY, POPSUGAR, Buzzfeed and more. Some relatively recent highlights include - an upcoming appearance on The Assemblyon Freespeech TV, an artistic collaboration with Codeblack Films and a feature in the Google Interstellar Project, in conjunction with the hit film Interstellar. Co-founder of Essence Magazine, Russell Goings, wrote to Alyesha, "In all, you are awesome." Matthew Cuban Hernandez is a poet, speaker, and performance coach from Jacksonville, Florida. He has toured as far as Abu Dhabi and nearly every major city in the United States and Europe, performing, teaching and coaching poetry. A teaching artist for nearly ten years, Matthew has spent the last four years working in youth detention centers across Los Angeles County. He has opened for artists such as Wu-Tang and has performed for platforms such as BuzzFeed and NPR. Matthew is also a three-time Southern Fried poetry slam champion and an award-winning poetry coach. Cubans favorite activity is making people feel great; sometimes he does this through poetry. GREENWAY ARTS ALLIANCE (GAA) Since its 1997 inception, the Greenway Arts Alliance has united communities through the arts, education and social enterprise. Through Greenway Court Theatres professional theatre productions, Greenway Institute for the Arts education programs and the Melrose Trading Posts weekly art-based open market, Greenway Arts Alliance builds a vibrant artistic community in the heart of Los Angeles. GAA has modeled an innovative partnership with the Fairfax High School campus to leverage community resources to connect the profession artistic and public education communities around a commitment to learning and creation in the arts. Greenway Arts Alliance was Co-Founded by artists-activists Whitney Weston and Pierson Blaetz, both of whom serve as Co-Artistic Directors for the organization. GREENWAY COURT THEATRE Greenway Court was initially built by Fairfax High School students in 1939 as a class project and used as a Social Hall by both students and faculty. It sat virtually unused for many years until it was finally renovated into a professional 99-seat theatre by Greenway Arts Alliance in 2000, to benefit both the school and the surrounding community. Greenway Court Theatre has a rich history of presenting and producing diverse bodies of work. Greenway has opened its door to many main-stage productions, weekly open mic poetry, festivals and world premieres that have moved to larger venues and toured across the country. Tiffany Moon serves as Greenway Court Theatres Producing Director. GREENWAY INSTITUTE FOR THE ARTS An arts education program in theatre, dance and film for students at the Fairfax High School, a Title 1 high school in the Los Angeles Unified School district. Greenway Institute for the Arts promotes arts education though both in-class and after-school programs in theatre, dance film. Through the generosity of our funders, classes and workshops are provided free of charge to Fairfax High School students. Presented with opportunities to engage with professional artists, young people are able to discover their individual voices and passions that can lead to careers in the arts. MELROSE TRADING POST A pioneering arts-based marketplace held every Sunday on the Fairfax High School campus. Every Sunday, the Melrose Trading Post offers a constantly evolving experience, with a curated selection of handcrafted artisan goods, eclectic art and craft, vintage fashion, antique furniture and one-of-a-kind treasures.Through admission and vendor fees, the Melrose Trading Post has grown to become the most successful ongoing social enterprise program in the history of Los Angeles Unified School District, awarding grants to Fairfax High School organizations for sports equipment, beautification projects, teacher programs, theatre productions, and more - totaling well over seven million dollars since the Melrose Trading Posts humble beginnings in 1997. Through Greenway Arts Alliance, the Melrose Trading Post provides formal job and life skills training to large numbers of paid and volunteer students from Fairfax High School the first real-world job experience for many. The market also serves as an incubator to promote small community businesses and budding entrepreneurs, many of them professional artists, by providing affordable retail opportunities in a prime, high-traffic location. Additionally, the popular weekly market has always featured local musicians. In 2014, the market expanded to include even more opportunities for local artists through an outdoor, year-long series of music, dance, theater and spoken word events via the MTP Main Stage.