Pauline Adamek
From the press release:
Greenway Arts Alliance (Whitney Weston and Pierson Blaetz, Co-Founders and Co-Artistic Directors), in association with Da Poetry Lounge (DPL), presents THE 7th ANNUAL LA GET DOWN FESTIVAL, celebrating hip-hop and spoken word. DPL Co-Founder Shihan Van Clief (Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry Jam International Tour) and Arianna Lady Basco (The Fabulous Filipino Brothers) returns as Festival Directors. The festival, which takes place during U.S. National Poetry Month, opens April 1, 2023, with the closing ceremony on April 29 at Greenway Court Theatre (544 N. Fairfax Avenue). Tickets are now on sale at GreenwayCourtTheatre.org.
Greenway Arts Alliance will present a plethora of programming at the 7th Annual LA Get Down Festival. Highlighting the Latinx Voices of World Stage and Palms Up Academy’s Asian diaspora in The Gold Standard. The festival will feature two poetry slams brought to you by Da Poetry Lounge and two fantastic theatrical experiences of original work from the Celebration Theatre with a production by trans and GNC artists. In addition to a piece from the all-women lead Breaking Ground Theatre Company, I Sell Windows. Festivalgoers can also participate in stimulating workshops all month long. The festival opening features the prolific Ruby Ibarra and notable guests representing Greenway’s 2023 LA Get Down Festival.
“Every April we look forward to being a part of U.S. National Poetry month with Greenway’s LA Get Down Festival by celebrating hip-hop and spoken word,” said Whitney Weston, Greenway Arts Alliance Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director. “This year marks our seventh annual festival, and we are grateful to Shihan Van Clief, Arianna Basco, and all of our artists for their continuing support in making our month-long celebration an event you do not want to miss!”
Greenway Arts Alliance Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director Pierson Blaetz added, “Greenway is once again blown away by Shihan and Arianna’s exciting and engaging programming for the festival from new works to the high-energy, annual competition inkSlam. And we continue to serve the community with poetry workshops conducted by many of the top hip-hop and spoken word artists in the community. Greenway’s LA Get Down Festival has something for everyone.”
The 2023 LA Get Down Festival Directors Shihan Van Clief and Arianna Basco said in a joint statement, “We are honored to be Co-Festival Directors of the LA Get Down Festival housed at Greenway Court Theatre. Shining a light on the wordsmiths of our generation is our passion as seen by their work at Palms Up Academy and Da Poetry Lounge. We are excited to welcome in the creatives and their audiences to this year’s prolific diverse line-up.”
THE 7TH ANNUAL LA GET DOWN FESTIVAL is presented with the support of an arts grant from the City of West Hollywood. Additional support provided by the City of LA Department of Cultural Affairs and the LA County Department of Arts and Culture.
THE 7th ANNUAL LA GET DOWN FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
APRIL 1– 29, 2023
WEEKEND 1
Saturday, April 1
8:00 pm
at Greenway Court Theatre
LOCAL LEGENDS – OPENING NIGHT
Hosted by Arianna Lady Basco and Dionysio
Headliner: Ruby Ibarra
An introduction of acts for the entire 7th Annual LA Get Down Festival.
Sunday, April 2
2:00 pm
at Greenway Court Theatre
GOOD EARTH WORKSHOP I
Hosted by Sheila Sadhr
An ongoing humanity/writing workshop.
WEEKEND 2 – WORLD STAGE PRESS WEEKEND
Friday, April 14
8:00 pm
at Greenway Court Theatre
WORLD STAGE PRESS WORKSHOP
Hosted by Ravina Wadhwani
An immersive, generative poetry workshop.
Saturday, April 15
8:00 pm
at Greenway Court Theatre
THE LATINX POETS OF WORLD STAGE PRESS
Hosted by Poet Astrid
The Latinx Poets of World Stage
Sunday, April 16
2:00 pm
at Greenway Court Theatre
GOOD EARTH WORKSHOP II
Hosted by Sheila Sadhr
An ongoing humanity/writing workshop.
WEEKEND 3 –BREAKING GROUND THEATRE COMPANY | CELEBRATION THEATRE | PALMS UP WEEKEND
Friday, April 21
8:00 pm
at Greenway Court Theatre
I SELL WINDOWS – THEATRE PERFORMANCE
Written and performed by Kacie Rogers
Directed and produced by Jaquita Ta’le
Produced by Chelsea Boyd
Saturday, April 22
2:00 pm
at Greenway Court Theatre
HEAR THEM LOUD – THEATRE PERFORMANCE
Hosted by Shaan Dasani
An LGBTQIA – Celebration Theatre performance with original work by trans & GNC artists. Directed by Shaan Dasani
8:00 pm
at Greenway Court Theatre
GOLD STANDARD EVENING – MUSICAL PERFORMANCE
Hosted by Arianna Lady Basco
Sunday, April 23
2:00 pm
at Melrose Trading Post Outdoor Stage
YOUTH DAY
Hosted by Alyessha Wise and Matthew Cuban Hernandez
2:00 pm
at Greenway Court Theatre
GOOD EARTH WORKSHOP III
Hosted by Sheila Sadhr
WEEKEND 4 – DA POETRY LOUNGE WEEKEND
Friday, April 28
8:00 pm
at Greenway Court Theatre
WOMEN/FEMME’S NIGHT
Hosted by Bay Davis and DJ Faucet
Produced by Jasmine Williams
Saturday, April 29
8:00 pm
at Greenway Court Theatre
INKSLAM INVITATIONAL
Hosted by Matthew Cuban Hernandez and Shihan Van Clief
The 7th ANNUAL LA GET DOWN FESTIVAL will take place at Greenway Court Theatre, 544 North Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90036 from April 1 – 29, 2023. Note: Youth Day, which takes place on April 23, will be held at the Melrose Trading Post Outdoor Stage. Tickets are available at GreenwayCourtTheatre.org. All events are $10, unless stated otherwise. For more information call 323-673-0544 or visit GreenwayCourtTheatre.org. Free parking is available in the Fairfax High School parking lot on Fairfax and Clinton, directly adjacent to the theatre.
LA GET DOWN FESTIVAL BIOS:
Shihan Van Clief (LA Get Down Festival – Festival Director) Along with being the first and only poet to have a poem named ‘download of the week’ on iTunes; this National Poetry Slam Champion and 4X National Poetry Slam Finalist has been featured on a variety of media outlets including 7 appearances on 6 seasons of HBO’s Def Poetry, NBC, Oxygen Network, Current TV, Nike Battlegrounds, Reebok, Adidas, NBA, CNN, ESPN, Complex and Billboard Magazine, several national commercial spots, 5 National Tours including the Tony Award Winning Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry Jam International Tour and 2 Spoken Word documentaries, SP!T and the sequel to 1997’s cult doc Slam Nation, Slam Planet. Shihan was also the 1st ‘Poet’ to sign an exclusive Sponsorship deal with Sports Giant, adidas and he is the current voice for The Sprite Street Mix, a radio program broadcasted in over 14 countries in Africa. His abilities to transcend cultural and generational boundaries have made Shihan a much sought-after talent.
Arianna Lady Basco (LA Get Down Festival – Festival Director)is a single mom, curator of words, and believer of dreams. Author of Palms Up, poet, and filmmaker. She is the director and lead of the short film Glimmer with Rosario Dawson, co-wrote and co-starred in The Fabulous Filipino Brothers out now on HULU, producer and actress of the upcoming My First Horror Film, and currently in post-production for Heartstorm as a co-producer, co-writer, and lead inspired by the work she does at her arts organization Palms Up Academy. Arianna and her family have been recognized by the State of California, City of Artesia and Cerritos, and named “The First Filipino Entertainment Family” by the City of Los Angeles. She has been spotted at the intersection strumming the six string and singing a tune or two.
Ruby Ibarra (Headliner) is a rapper and spoken word artist from the Bay Area, CA who released her debut album, CIRCA91, at the end of 2017 and has since toured across the United States and the Philippines, including universities, empowerment conferences, music venues, and spaces such as – the National Mall in DC, the Getty Center, and the De Young Museum. Ruby has been featured on notable publications such as NPR, Huffington Post, Paper Mag, Buzzfeed, XXL Magazine, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and in a Grammys/MasterCard TV commercial and billboard campaign with R&B singer SZA. In 2022, Ruby was featured in additional billboard campaigns by Amazon Music and Spotify and was a songwriter for Season 1 and 2 of the FOX Network’s hit TV show, The Cleaning Lady. Ruby’s song, “Us,” is currently featured in the widely popular video game, NBA2K23, and her music is available on all digital platforms and can be heard in several museum exhibits, films, and television features.
Greenway Arts Alliance (GAA) was Co-Founded in 1997 by artists-activists Whitney Weston and Pierson Blaetz, both of whom serve as Co-Artistic Directors for the organization. The organization is a community-based nonprofit, whose mission is to unite communities through its art (Greenway Court Theatre), education (Greenway Institute for the Arts) and enterprise (Melrose Trading Post) programs. GAA is based on the campus of Fairfax High School. Greenway Institute for the Arts (GIA) fosters education through creativity by offering both in-school and after-school multidisciplinary arts programs. Classes and workshops are offered at no cost to Fairfax High School students. Presented with opportunities to engage with professional artists, young people can discover their individual voices and passions. Through Greenway’s unique partnership with Fairfax High, students are exposed to a myriad of opportunities for creative collaboration through Greenway Court Theatre and at the Melrose Trading Post.
Greenway Court Theatre was initially built by Fairfax High School students in 1939 as a class project and used as a Social Hall by both students and faculty. It sat virtually unused for many years until it was finally renovated into a professional 99-seat theatre by Greenway Arts Alliance in 2000, to benefit both the school and the surrounding community. Greenway Court Theatre has a rich history of presenting and producing diverse bodies of work. Greenway has opened its door to many main-stage productions, weekly open mic poetry, festivals and world premieres that have moved to larger venues and toured across the country. Mohammed Ali Ojarigi serves as Producing Director of the Greenway Court Theatre.
Brian Sonia-Wallace
