The Returns of Brittany & Roberto

This week, we kick off 2011 with some of the best work from 2010! For the first reading of the year, we've invited back two incredible young writers who graced the Tongue Lashing stage in 2010: Brittany Maldonado and Roberto F. Santiago. Here's a little more background on these amazing readers, who made a mark on all of us with their stellar work:

BRITTANY MALDONADO


Born and raised in the Bronx, NY, Brittany Maldonado has just recently discovered her love for writing. Her writing is soley driving by extreme emotion, hence why she can only write when shes heartbroken, furious, or horny. She doesn't consider herself a poet. As she puts it, "I don't use fancy words, or clever phrases. I write what I feel. Things people can relate to, and sometimes that kind of looks like poetry." Originally an actress and dancer, Brittany has always used performance art as a vehicle for expression since as far back as she can remember, dancing in front of a room full of relatives at 4 years old, or just being a natural born DIVA. Whether it be choreographing an original 15 minute hip-hop piece, or starring as Oscard Wilde in Gross Indecency, Brittany has always left her heart on the stage, still beating. Since recently graduating with a BA in theatre from Sarah Lawrence College where she taught theater to youth and Hip-Hop to her fellow peers, Brittany has been on a mission to incorperate art, in any form, into her daily routine. Whether it be painting pieces that correspond to poems shes written, or working on her one woman show that she hopes to finish by the end of winter, Brittany is doing all that she can to get where she wants to be. Brittany, along with two fellow SLC grads, recently started a dramatic improv Theater Company, D.I.C.E, that rehearses weekly. She's extremely excited to share the stage with all of these talented poets, and looks forward to tuning and improving her writing skills. Oh, and references to Salvador Dali make her hot.

ROBERTO F. SANTIAGO


Roberto F. Santiago writes placing pen to paper and fingertips to QWERTY as an act of translation. Within poetry, he has discovered a booming collective of voices and a rickety soapbox for his multiple identities whereupon he can shout obscenities and prayers at the same time. Since receiving his BA from Sarah Lawrence College (2009) in Poetry and Performance Studies, Roberto has worked with the Asian Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS (APICHA) as a community health educator and intergroup dialogue facilitator, it is in this position that he has come to understand the healing power of words. He is currently working on his MFA at Rutgers University, where he teaches English Composition. Travel has also greatly influenced Roberto as a poet. Be it sitting on the grass at and staring into the sun at Dauchau or the smell of rain in rural Québec, he has begun to rewrite his own passport. Roberto also writes and produces music, and has been known to dance until he rips his pants. He is a New Yorican Bronx-native who has accumulated over twenty addresses to date.


Both Brittany and Roberto have rocked our audience, left people in tears and truly changed us with the power of their words. We can't wait to see them this Thursday at Phoenix!

Remember:
This Thursday! January 6!
TONGUE LASHING
PHOENIX BAR
447 East 13th between 1st and A
8 pm. FREE!

Can't wait to see you there!