ENTERTAINMENT
ENTERTAINMENT
. . . ”Our Voices Are Many” continued from page 5
James Griffin
sentiment.
The Griots expressively recited “Seven Women’s Blessed
Assurance” by Maya Angelou, one of the people to whose
JUNE 2015 OUT FRONT MAGAZINE
6
Mamie Webb Hixon, the show’s originator/writer and
compiler, said she’s no Shonda Rimes, but “I wrote and
compiled a script that captures the essence of black
women and honors them as DAUGHTERS OF AFRICA.”
The two-hour show was divided into three parts: Part I
– DEAR MOTHER AFRICA – created and re-created the
Julia Arnold & Mamie Hixon
Griot Brothas, who received a rousingly enthusiastic
response to their interpretation and recitation of the
poem “Powerful Sister,” were Ronnie Cole, Ralph
Goodman, Ray Bell, Sydney Pugh, and Carlton Charles
III.
The entire program was dedicated to mothers – all
mothers – since it was performed on MOTHER’S DAY at
4:00 p.m. at Pensacola State College’s (PSC’s) Jean &
Paul Amos Performance Studio.
The Our Voices Are Many: Daughters of Africa program
was sponsored by PSC’s Black History/Multicultural
Committee. Dr. Gael Frazer, Associate Vice President of
Institutional Diversity, said, “We were all very excited
about bringing the Our Voices cast back to PSC for
another sell-out event.”
The performers and other participants included but are
not limited to Musical Directors Cheryl Watson and Al
Martin; the MJJ Praise Dancers; dancers/choreographers
Eleanor Johnson, Gail Johnson, Nielah Spears, and Ferne
Guillebeaux; ballerinas Carlyn James and Megan CarthenJackson; singers Saundra Daggs, Vivian Lamont, Judy
Cook, Willie Owens, Jessica Owens-McMillan, Marilynn
Franklin, and James Gregory Griffin; poets who contributed their original poems Alicia Waters, Claudette
Chapman, and Willie Owens. Other dramatic readers
were Clorissti Mitchell, Millie Baldwin, Kay Mitchell,
Nacirfa, and the Sixth Avenue Baptist Church
WordSpeakers.
Each year since the show’s inception eighteen years ago,
Hixon has introduced a new element, a new feature to
Our Voices Are Many. In 2013, she created the Griot
Chorus, an ensemble of seven women who offer sideline
interpretations, singing, and poetic and prosaic commentary about the theme and the theatrical performance itself
in the manner of a classical Greek Chorus (combined with
the West African term for “storyteller” – Griot). In 2014, it
was the Sons of Africa Chorus directed by local musician
Cheryl Watson. This year, the audience was introduced to
two new features: the Daughters of Africa Chorus, also
directed by local musician Cheryl Watson, and the
“Extras.” “Extras” (non-cast members) were black women
whose faces were spotlighted in the Women’s History
issue of Out Front Magazine in an article titled “Black
Beauties: ‘Their Black Is Beautiful,’” an article written by
Hixon herself. The article, Hixon says, like “The
Daughters of Africa,” addresses black identity as it relates
to the expected standards of beauty in America by
spotlighting local women who represent what Hixon calls
the various subdivisions, or shades, of black beauty.
Mamie Webb Hixon calls herself a “Connector”: “I am
among the people Malcolm Gladwell describes in his
book The Tipping Point as those who have an uncanny
knack for bringing people, events, and ideas together and
making connections.” Using Our Voices Are Many as her
principal medium, Hixon says she connects the local
Cheryl Watson pictured with daughter - Christina Watson
community to the UWF literature courses she teaches,
one being Black Women Writers