by DELIA TOMINO NAKAYAMA

Greetings all! I hope you are enjoying the summer as it seems to be whizzing by this year... Before we know it, fall will be turning the leaves different colors. We’ve still got more than a month left of sun, so there is still time for the beach! Say hello to the Pacific for me ~

Our first weekend of performances at Ashe Cultural Arts Center of “The 13 Lessons,” a play about adult literacy written by Leonard Sloan, produced by Carole Bebelle and Dollie Rivas and directed by Sh’rrif Hasan went well... It was a relief to finally have an audience, especially because the play is a bit interactive.

I am happy to say that I “really opened up,” on opening night last Thursday, according to Lloyd Daly, who plays Mr. Henry and put music to Sloan’s song lyrics.

I had to be a bit tougher, I realized, to appropriately represent Tang. A layer of toughness allowed me more range when performing my monologue, and let the audience see Tang’s softer side as it progressed, giving contrast to her character. Tang’s monologue will be posted on the website along with this week’s column... I am interested in getting your feedback re: its content!

All 11 of us (the script calls for 13 actors but was modified to accommodate fewer actors) wore black, but were allowed a few nuances. Dolores/Pia, played by Kesha McKey, wore a flower in her hair and Lillian, played by Dina Roudeze, wore pearls... I painted my nails a bright Day-Glo orange, as a sarcastic tip of the hat to the orange breakfast drink Tang. (Luckily, the director has a sense of humor and let me indulge... ;)

I became curious about the drink that I remember from childhood so I googled it and discovered that indeed, it is still being produced by Kraft Foods! I’ll have to buy a can of it, just for kicks!

...I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be, and I think that is because I was prepared. Mais oui, there is almost always anticipation-energy before performing, that rush of adrenaline that gets your blood pumping and fuels the fire of being onstage...

But my heart started beating faster on Saturday night, when I saw Kiyoko McCrae in the audience, the Japanese/Scottish Hapa actor that referred me to the play! What if I didn’t live up to the role? Would she regret recommending me? And, she was the only Asian in the audience...!

But this is an example of nervousness working for a performance artist: once I got over my self-doubt, I was further charged to give a good performance, which I delivered. Afterwards, I asked her what she thought and she liked what I did with the role, although she had varying interpretations that were interesting to compare to mine...

So, phew, I made it past a respected fellow actor’s radar without flubbing. I was glad she was in the audience, too, because otherwise there would have been zero Asians in the audience all weekend long!

Our efforts were duly recorded on video this morning at a local community access television station... We performed three songs from the play and Mr. Hasan and Ms. Bebelle (executive director of Ashe Cultural Arts Center) were interviewed by Reverend “Skip” Alexander about the play and discussed the grave issue of adult illiteracy in our country.

Before coming into “13 Lessons,” I wasn’t aware that the illiteracy rate in the U.S. is as high as it is.

I haven’t seen the half-hour TV show in its entirety yet, but I’ll let you know how it came out once I see it..!

So, indeed, it has been an exciting week and I look forward to our second and final weekend of performances ... Please wish us continued luck and success as we theatrically communicate the surprisingly great need for literacy in our communities though “The 13 Lessons.”

Thanks for tuning in again and please feel free to write me as usual: at poetryprocess@gmail.com or 834 Ursulines Ave. #8 New Orleans, LA 70116. You can view this column (as well as Tang’s monologue) at www.hokubei.com/en/columns/Tomi-Talk.