So my beloved birthday month of March has come and gone, I loved every minute of it. As I’ve been heard to say, “I just can’t say no to Alonzo during my birthday month.” Translation: I do what I want. (within reason!) And so, it was a VERY good month. I can’t quite explain the euphoria behind the month of March. So I won’t!

But new projects are now on my plate, and so we’re off and running. I was asked to re-interpret an Edgar Allen Poe poem, “City In The Sea,” for an experiential exhibit at the Baltimore National Aquarium titled “The Ocean We Inhabit.” This is the area we’ll be using.

   I’m coordinating with 2 other readers and we won’t be utilizing a traditional stage, we’ll each be about 30-40 feet from one another, right in the midst of the audience, using microphones. Sort of a “call and response” vibe. This will be a very interactive exhibition featuring video art projections by Joan Jonas a narrative performance by Pablo Helguera, sound art by Bernardo Demony Rosa and installation by David Brooks. There will also be workshops by Martha Raquel Herrera where the children from Baltimore will create their own extemporaneous dance. My contact, the woman who’s putting this together is Manuela Reyes, a well-known artist in her own right, and it’s an ambitious project that I think will work extremely well. It’s all happening April 28th. “City In The Sea” will be “re-imagined from the perspective of all the Freddie Gray unrest. So much as there’s an eternal underwater sea-of-change, there’s also one currently happening in Baltimore. How did this all happen? My long-time buddy who head of the Curatorial Practice Department at the Maryland Institute College of Art, George Ciscle, recommended me. Waaaaaay long ago, George was my art teacher at Cardinal Gibbons High School. So we go back, my friends.    

Also, a one-act play of mine will be performed this fall by the Potomac Players in Hagerstown, MD. My play, “Monifa’s Kiss”  won 3rd place at the Frostburg One-Act Play Festival back in 2010. The play dates are September 9th, 10th and 11th. I haven’t had a full production of “Monifa’s,” but I think it has knockout capability.

The summer is off and running! And what’s also right around the corner is a ride through the city with bikemaryland.