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What a stellar night it was for Brown Girl Productions. The Lansing based production company put on quite the show at Lansing’s Urban Beat in Old Town. It was a true first of its kind, not only at Urban Beat’s popular event space, but for Lansing.
The boundaries of art are close to unlimited, especially when discussing the different styles of art. You have visual art, or art that can be directed and produced; spoken art can be displayed and enlighten its listeners; you also have your traditional artist who paint, draw, sculpt, and create in various manual styles. It is rare to have an event where all of these forms of art are showcased and displayed under one venue. This was the stage set for Dreamland: A Live Art Showcase. The brainchild of Chastity Brown and her hardworking Brown Girl Production Company.
DJ Wes led the night off at 7 p.m. with relaxing music, setting a graceful tone for the initial audience. The Kickback Podcast’s Angel B and Andrea Janae were the nights MC’s introducing the acts. The live painters were featured first and attendees stood alongside painters while they performed their best work and displaying their unique skills in craft. A beauty it was seeing the painters in their true comfort zone, expressing themselves in front of crowds of eyes.
As the night progressed and the event moved forward, attendees were ready to dive into the realm of producing, directing, and acting. The event host gathered the crowd, cued the lights, introduced each act, and the show begun. Short films of all sorts were on display covering various cultural appropriate topics, mainly focusing on black empowerment. Each actor, producer, and director sat proudly while watching the crowd clap and cheer the excellence on display, and the excellence that filled the room. Malachi Lee, a Detroit based actor, highlighted the night in a powerful performance in a short film depicting a pro-black leader caught in murderous pride. The film was produced and directed by the black-magic duo of Prestina Glover and Ashley K respectively, both Detroit-based as well.
Let’s take a moment to highlight the people and things that filled the intermissions between each act. Bartenders and there choice of December themed drinks brung holiday spirit. For those who had a sweet tooth, there were cheesecakes of all sorts getting passed around; original, red velvet, and strawberry slices handmade by none other than Everything’s Cheescake. The drinks and cheesecake were a pleasant compliment to an already amazing event. When paired with MC’s Angel and Andrea, intermissions felt just as part of the show as the acts.
The highlight of the night was saved for the closing act. Poetry and spoken word took over center stage, as some of Lansing’s finest got on stage to perform and give the city one of the best nights of the closing year. KT The Conscious Poet delivered eloquent rhymes in schematic poetry and Yanice Yvette gave passion in spoken word. However, the night belonged to Stephen Mccorry. You just had to be there. Already known for his amazing rhymes, he delivered some of the most well-spoken, articulate, crowd-resonating verbal literature that ever graced the building. It was a great way to end a already impressive event. If you consider yourself an art enthusiast, then you will surely want to be at the next showcase.
Brown Girl Productions, based in Lansing, put together possibly the future of how we now view live art showings. What a great presentation and way to represent Lansing’s art community. People from all across the Midwest came out and attended this event as Lansing’s art culture is starting to make a name for itself with outings like this. Stay tuned for future Brown Girl Production events.