Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
August 6th
The TST Literary Performance of KINDRED by Octavia E. Butler was a huge success!
Over 120 people attended this event at the Museum of African-American Art
on Sunday August 6, 2017.
Pictured are the Advisory Board, Special Guest Speaker, Cast and Director.
Q&A After
Towne Street Theatre’s Literary Series Returns with a Staged Reading of excerpts from
“Kindred” by Octavia E. Butler
August 6, 2017 at the Museum of African American Art
“Butler is among the best of contemporary [science fiction] writers, blessed with a mind capable of conceiving complicated futuristic situations that shed considerable light on our current affairs. Her prose is lean and literate, her ideas expansive and elegant.” - Houston Post
Opening their 2017 Literary Reading Series, Towne Street Theatre, LA’s Premiere African American Theatre Company, presents a Staged Reading of excerpts from Octavia E. Butler’s “Kindred” at the Museum of African American Art, August 6th at 2:00 p.m.
The best-selling novel “Kindred” (written in 1979) is described as part time-travel tale and part slave narrative. Dana, an African American woman, is transported from 1976 Los Angeles to early nineteenth century Maryland. She meets her ancestors: Rufus, a spoiled, self-destructive white slave holder, and Alice, a proud black freewoman forced into slavery later in life. “Kindred” examines the dynamics and dilemmas of antebellum slavery and its legacy in present American society. The novel also explores the intersection of power, gender, and race issues and speculates on the prospects of future egalitarianism.
Immediately following the reading is a talkback led by Ayana Jamieson, Ph.D, founder of the Octavia E. Butler Legacy Network and the scholar most familiar with Butler’s work. For those attendees interested in reading the full-length novel, Eso Won Books will be in attendance with Butler’s novels available for purchase.
This special event takes place at the Museum of African American Art on the 3rd floor of Macy’s, inside the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza. Attendees are encouraged to take the time to view their current exhibit “Evolving Art Practice: Rags to the Revival Series,” showcasing the works of internationally renowned artist Bernard Stanley Hoyes.
The Museum of African American Art is located at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza - Macy's 3rd Floor at 4005 Crenshaw Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90008. The mall offers ample free parking and plenty of options for food and drink.
Author Octavia E. Butler (June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006) is known for blending science fiction with African-American spiritualism. Her novels include “Patternmaster,” “Kindred,” “Dawn,” and “Parable of the Sower.” A multiple recipient of both the Hugo and Nebula awards, in 1995 she became the first science fiction writer to receive the MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant. Butler, often referred to as the “grand dame of science fiction,” was born in Pasadena, California. During her last years, She continued writing and taught at Clarion's Science Fiction Writers' Workshop regularly. In 2005, she was inducted into Chicago State University's International Black Writers Hall of Fame. Butler died outside of her home in Lake Forest Park, Washington at the age of only 58. Butler bequeathed her papers including manuscripts, correspondence, school papers, notebooks, and photographs to the Huntington Library.
Towne Street Theatre, L.A.’s Premiere African American Theatre Company, was founded in 1993 in the aftermath of the LA 1992 riots. Its mission is to create positive social impact by producing and developing original works reflective of the African American experience. Towne Street continues to be an oasis for creativity and imagination; a theatre that helps to bridge the cultural divide by bringing artists and audiences of all colors and ethnicities together. Towne Street has been in residence at the Stella Adler Theatre in Hollywood, since 2004. Towne Street Theatre Literary Series ...Bringing Books To Life!
