Emma's Revolution

"Bold, profound, moving,
hilarious and transformative."

Dancing on the edge of folk and pop there's a revolution: emma's revolution. "Bold, profound, moving, hilarious and transformative." The sound of passion in "deftly-turned phrases," songs imbured with hope, warmth and the "power and drive" to turn tears into laughter, cynicism into action.

A motivating force in intimate concerts and mass demonstrations, infused with inspiration from the legacy of music for social change, Pat Humphries and Sandy O's dynamic harmonies are multiplied by hundreds of thousands. Emma Goldman stood for everybody's right to beautiful, radiant things. Join the revolution!

emma's revolution is the duo of award-winning, activist musicians, Pat Humphries & Sandy O, who write songs that become traditions. Their song, "If I Give Your Name" won Grand Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest and their music has been featured on NPR's "All Things Considered" and Pacifica's "Democracy Now!". "Peace, Salaam, Shalom" is sung around the world and has been called the "anthem of the anti-war movement." "Keep On Moving Forward" opened the NGO Forum at the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Bejiing, becoming the unofficial theme of the Conference.

emma's revolution's latest cd, "roots, rock & revolution" has been called "Inspiring, gutsy and rockin'!" and includes, "Silence & Lies" which is featured in the new documentary, "Finding Our Voices".

In the spirit of Emma Goldman's famous attribution, "If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution", emma's revolution brings their uprising of truth, hope and a dash of healthy irreverance to concerts and peace & justice events across the US (including Camp Casey with Cindy Sheehan and the School of the Americas Watch at Fort Benning, GA). They have performed by invitation at the World Culture Open in Seoul, Korea, the Scottish Parliament's Festival of Politics, Palestine & Israel, and, in December 2007, in Santiago, Chile with Holly Near.

For more info, see their website.

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Carmea

Carmea (Rachel Alexander, Catherine Ellis and Alma Muxlow) has been making a splash in the acoustic music scene in southern Michigan since its debut at Lansing’s Women in the Arts Festival last November.  The three are well-established musicians who have been performing longer than they care to admit.  Rachel, at home on cello, fiddle, recorder, Melodica and bass, was the founder and for 15+ years the director of Sistrum, the Lansing Women’s Chorus, and is now in her 14th year as Director of Music at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lansing.  Catherine’s solid guitar work and sensitive songwriting were showcased on earlier recording projects, including one with her band Counterpoint, and a solo CD, Time Again.  Alma joined her for her solo project in 2000; her mandola and intricate vocal harmonies now round out the trio’s performances.  Join them for a dash of humor mixed with social activism, peaceful protest and lots of just plain good music.  www.catherineellis.com     www.rachelalexandermusic.com 

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Comedic Readings produced and directed by Maria Danielle Casinelli



(L-R) Brenda Nelson, Miriam Danu, Xíqíao "Katie" Chen, Maria Danielle Casinelli, Carrie Anna Courtad, Amanda Dubey, Christine Pereira

Maria Danielle Casinelli

This is Maria-Danielle's fourth experience in directing and acting in a show. Previous experiences include "Vagina Monologues", and "A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant & A Prayer", benefits for the Women's Center of Greater Lansing and "Birth", a benefit for the Capital Area Birth Network. She sends a big thank you to her cast for their patience, flexibility and so many big, needed laughs!! Lots of thanks also to Priscilla for inviting her to direct this show and for all the women who organize and support this event each year.

Comedic Readers

Carrie Anna Courtad Carrie Anna is happy to be given this opportunity to be back on stage...something she hasn't done in 15+ years. Currently, she is a doctoral candidate in Special Education at Michigan State University and is planning to graduate May 09. She would like to thank Maria Danielle and the rest of the wonderful women in the cast for this opportunity to be a part of the Women in the Arts festival. Special loving thanks to her husband Jim and sons, JC and Jack who have been and continue to be, extremely supportive of any endeavor mommy takes on and thanks to DMB for urging her to do this....."The most wasted of all days is one without laughter."-- e.e. cummings

Christine Pereira Chris is a sassy sagittarian originally from New Hampshire. While in Michigan the journey of life has included school, school, and oh more school. Chris is a passionate activist for multicultural issues and is currently concluding her PhD work in MSU's College of Education. Words of advice: be yourself, take risks, laugh a lot, and create the peace, love and joy that you seek. 

Amanda Dubey Amanda is a lovely Libra who is very excited to be at WITA this year!!  Amanda graduated with her Masters Degree in Social Work from MSU and is currently working to end violence against women.  Amanda's acting experience includes being part of the MSU Vagina Monologues (going on her 4th year this year) and this is her first acting experience outside of that show.  Amanda loves love, life, and being a strong, energetic woman! 

more coming soon.

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Linda Abar

"Linda Abar sings and plays piano in a style evocative of Joni Mitchell or Tori Amos. Her lyrics are both personal and opaque but it is her melodies and vocal purity that will bring you back again and again to her music."

-Mike Stratton, WLNZ, Lansing

Bringing passion and innovation to her career as a singer, songwriter and teacher, Linda Abar has found expression in a uniquely individual, stylized melding of her varied musical background.
           
In her first CD, Once Upon A Time, Linda demonstrates her soaring vocal talent. Through the intricate woven melodies and incandescent lyrics of her original compositions, she conveys both daring ingenuity and dedication to her craft. Influenced by a multitude of genres, some of her songs on this recording have been compared to the jazz piano compositions of Vince Guaraldi, to the smooth vocal expression of Sade, and to the rich string arrangements of chamber music. What is most evident about this recording, however, is the fascinating feeling it evokes—at once relaxing and energizing.

Linda agilely performs folk, jazz and classical, drawing imaginatively on elements of Celtic and New Age. The result is an intuitive blend of the varied music she has followed in her lifetime of study and performance.

For more info, see her website.

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Stolen Moments

Stolen Moments is a dynamic group from the Ann Arbor area specializing in a unique blend of music.  Marsha Mumm and Jean Lieverman have been playing music throughout the state for the last three decades and many may remember hearing them when they played together in the well-known local band, Herizon.  Jean and Marsha are now joined by Tamara Perkuhn who is a spectacular drummer.   Together, they will grab you with their special renditions of old jazz standards  as well as their jazz flavored rock.  Come prepared to enjoy yourself as they will knock your socks off!

For more info, see their website or myspace.