Brownbox African American Theatre hosts the world premiere of Seattle poet Chad Goller-Sojourner's highly anticipated solo show, "Sitting in Circles with Rich White Girls: Memoirs of a Bulimic Black Boy." On the heels of a successful 40-minute workshop presented through the CD Forum's Creation Project in May, Goller-Sojourner has now completed his memoir and will premiere the full length production for 6 performances, at the Rainier Valley Cultural Center, Friday, July 11th through Sunday July 20th.
At times funny, biting and somber Sitting in Circles with Rich White Girls: Memoirs of a Bulimic Black Boy chronicles the performer's life-long affair with the scale and a ten plus year liaison with an eating disorder. Also an exploration into the process and pattern of identity construction, in this case how growing up fat, dark-skinned, gay, and adopted by white folks affected and shaped the performer's maturation Sitting in Circles with Rich White Girls: Memoirs of a Bulimic Black Boy is always crushingly honest, with the performer's greatest gift being the ability to find playfulness even in the midst of grief. Chad Goller-Sojourner has received overwhelming support from the Seattle arts community including organizations like Richard Hugo House, The Bent Writing Institute, CD Forum, The Shunpike and Seattle Poetry Slam.
The production is directed by BROWNBOX artistic director Tyrone Brown. Brown explains, " Chad 's writing is brilliant. He has this remarkable ability to transport the audience to a time and place showered in such vivid detail that you actually become a witness to his life. As a performer, Chad is so engaging that it's like you are the only other person in the room and he has personally invited you into his past to experience his life first hand."
Chad Goller-Sojourner is a Seattle-based poet, spoken word performance artist and 2007-2008, Seattle Poet Populist Nominee. His inaugural Chapbook entitled Born One Thousand Years Too Early: Fat, Dark-Skinned, Gay and Adopted by White Folks. A Fragmentary Journey Towards Alignment received accolades from Maya Angelou and has been described as poignant, chilling and prophetic. Recently he served as the creator, executive producer and artistic director for People of Color Against Aids Network Presents: Standing In The Gap- And Speaking Their Names - Black Gay Poets Honor Their Ancestors - A Spoken Word Requiem. In 2007 he was selected by the Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas to participate in their year-long new works Creation Project which is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and The Microsoft Corporation. To learn more about Chad Goller-Sojourner, visit
www.goller-sojourner.com.
Tickets are $12; $10 Students/Seniors and advance sales are available by calling 1-800-838-3006 or Brown Paper Tickets:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/26704.
BROWNBOX is a theatre company dedicated to "the creation, development, and production of contemporary and original African American theatre." Founded in 2001 by Tyrone Brown, BROWNBOX is currently a resident theatre company at the Rainier Valley Cultural Center in Columbia City . The company's initial success included the original production of Black To My Roots, which won a Fringe First Award at the 2002 Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Edinburgh , Scotland
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