In Darfur

The intriguing new play In Darfur begins performances tonight at Theater J. According to press notes, the play is based on true events and chronicles the unfolding genocide in Sudan through a searing story of humanitarian urgency and compromised journalistic ethics.  Playwright Winter Miller traveled with New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof to the Sudan border to interview genocide survivors. In Darfur runs through April 18.

pop ART!

The wildfire that is DC’s visual arts community continues to spread and in some cases pop up across the city. This week the  work of several contemporary artists will literally pop up on exhibition through the  pop-up project, a series of innovative art exhibitions and events that will “pop-up” at various locations throughout Washington, DC. I Dream Awake, the inaugural exhibition featuring nine artists from multiple platforms runs from March 26 through May 28 in the former Numark Gallery space located in Penn Quarter at 625-627 E St NW.

Martini Madness

Tuesday March 30 from 6pm – 8pm the Beacon Bar and Grill is hosting their “Best Martini in DC Contest” and for $15 you can be a very happy spectator. The cover gets you complimentary hors d’oeuvres and a tasting of all the featured martinis. Participating bartenders come from some of the most popular restaurants and bars in the District.  Cheers!

An Evening with Mr. Mosley

This Friday March 26, spend an evening with Walter Mosley at the Folger Shakespeare Theater as he reads from his new work The Long Fall, the first in his new series of mystery books.   Learn more here.     

Welcome to the Neighborhood

In 1959 when Lorraine Hansberry’s groundbreaking play A Raisin in the Sun debuted on Broadway the world was a different place. Or was it? The play which has become an American classic, explored the world of the Youngers family as it faced opposition becoming the first African American family to move into the mostly white Clybourne Park neighborhood in Chicago. In the new play, Clybourne Park now running at Woolly Mammoth Theater, a white family meets some fear, a crossroads of understanding and some laughter as they move into the Clybourne Park community of today, now an all African American. This new work, a DC premiere, picks up the conversation about race and gentrification where A Raisin in the Sun left off and audiences will continue to talk as they leave the theater. How much has really changed? Tickets are on sale now and the show runs through April 11.

Stylish for the Irish

 Are you wearing green today – St. Patrick’s Day? If you are being stylish for the Irish send your photo to substance.style.dc@gmail.com.

A. Wright, Owner of Wrap Masters Kustom Kanes

 

Princess of All things Policy

 

Mr. Substance & Style Himself

Green on the Screen

The 18^th Annual DC Environmental Film Festival has begun and this year it will present 155 films including a number of Washington, DC premieres. According to press notes the 2010 Festival explores the vital connections between food and the environment. The festival concludes March 28. See a complete listing of films  here.

Touchdown!

Women continue to make history.  It is only appropriate that during this Women’s History Month Natalie Randolph is expected to be named the first female head coach of a high school varsity football team at Coolidge High School in NW Washington, DC. The formal announcement will be made on Wednesday.  A collegiate athlete, former member of the DC Divas women’s football team and educator, Randolph has previously served as a wide receivers coach for HD Woodson High School.

Have a ball!

This is your opportunity to support a great organization and have a great time! Join DC SCORES for their annual Soccer Ball, March 24, 2010 | 7:00PM at Union Station (Hall East).  DC SCORES is a non-profit program that uses academics, athletics, arts and service-learning, to empower youth in low-income communities. DC SCORES works with over 700 students in 23 elementary and middle schools in Washington, DC each year. 

Soccer Ball, their premiere fundraising event is a cocktail party attended by more than 400 people including celebrities, athletes and members of the DC business community. Funds raised go directly to programming, touching the lives and futures of young people throughout Washington. You can purchase your ticket here. 

Unsung: Jubilee Singers

Join the Kuumba Players for the final three performances of Sing and Never Tire by Elizabeth Andrews Zitelli directed by Gregory James Ford March 12 and 13 at 8:00pm and March 14 at 3:00pm at 1500 Harvard Street, NW. Characters Ella Sheppard and Maggie Porter, a former accompanist and singer from the Jubilee singers of Fisk University, are brought together forty years after they first performed together. There reintroduction to each other “rekindles old rivalries and exposes wounds that stretch back to slavery.” It was the mighty voices of the Jubilee singers that helped to raise awareness of African American spirituals and money to keep Fisk University open early in its early days. A portion of the proceeds will go to support Fisk University.