Brava and BACCE present
Brain Like Berkeley
An evening of satire, short stories, & free-trade tea!
August 25 - 26, 2023
Fri & Sat at 7:00pm
in Brava's Studio
There will be a reception in the Lobby following Friday’s show.
Kulwa Apara makes her theatrical debut performance under the directorial precision of acclaimed actor and writer Kehinde Koyejo.
In this one woman show, Kulwa performs excerpts from her soon to be released memoir of short stories entitled Brain Like Berkeley. A third generation UC Berkeley alum, Kulwa dishes the tea on the chaotic pressures of being raised in a radical Pan-African family, coming of age at the precipice of food stamps and EBT, and the nuances of being grown in the Bay Area. The evening will be riddled with humor, dance, short stories, and a lovely Q&A with wine, cookies, and of course free-trade tea!
Come out and support Black womyn staying sane through the arts, and fellowship with community members looking to build belonging despite these crazy and isolated times.
Produced by Kehinde Koyejo, N'soroma James, Noble Dwarika, BACCE and Brava for Women in the Arts.
tickets
$25 plus fees
about the artists
Photo by Senay Alkebu-lan
KULWA APARA | ARTIST
Kulwa Apara is a Spanish speaking Afro-Californiana born in Berkeley, CA, with African roots stretching across the Mississippi Delta and Bayous of Louisiana. Her Eastern Band Cherokee ancestors survived forced relocation to Oklahoma and the Trail of Tears, and her African ancestors survived the Middle Passage. Kulwa was born an Ibeji / twin to Pan African parents who raised her at the intersections of art and freedom. As a performing artist and health activist, Kulwa explores historical traumas and triumphs through an artistic lens. She is committed to using the legacy of cultural-arts as a tool to enhance and advance mental health outcomes in marginalized communities.
As an avid practitioner of the African Diasporic arts, Kulwa’s mediums of writing and performance are deeply shaped by the nuances of the African personality. She received training in Public Health from UC Berkeley, and a Masters in Biomedical Science from the University of Northern Colorado. Brain Like Berkeley is Kulwa’s dramatic debut, based on excerpts from her soon to be released memoir of the same title. Brain Like Berkeley explores the daily triumphs in every cycle of trauma, while also paying homage to her Bay Area hometown of Berkeley, California. Kulwa is honored and privileged to share her love for healing through dramatic storytelling, and hopes her work will encourage others to be the authors and distributors of their own stories.
Despite Kulwa’s natural optimism and stubborn cheer, she believes the current state of world affairs is an absolute sh#t show, and believes artistry is the only medicine that can save us. When not writing in front of a computer you can find her dancing at the foot of the tambor.
For connections or bookings visit kulwaapara.com or @blackhistoryenespanol
Photo by Artist SelfCare Guide
KEHINDE KOYEJO | DIRECTOR
Nigerian-American and Oakland Native, Kehinde Koyejo, is a performance arts vanguard dedicated to artistry and activism. An esteemed artist, healer, and entrepreneur, Kehinde directs and curates productions rooted in an ethos of liberation and examination. As an established performer, Kehinde has featured in numerous acclaimed theater productions throughout the SF Bay Area, New York, and abroad. Kehinde holds a BFA in Acting from Pace University, and a Master’s in Performance Studies from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Kehinde is a current company member of the Black Artist Cultural Contemporary Experience and an Artist Resident at Brava Theater for Women in the Arts.
Kehinde’s specialized focus is utilizing performance as a platform for Black womyn to emote their ready-to-be-told stories of restoration, reclamation, and rebirth. She guides artists through a co-creating process that highlights how they creatively shift from surviving to thriving as they travel on their healing journeys towards freedom.
Kehinde is the creator and owner of three established Oakland brands: The Artist SelfCare Guide, a boutique coaching company committed to helping creatives heal through their power to create, Kalm Korner, and Oakland’s very own Choc’late Mama Cookies.
Learn more |@Kehinde.thebrand| |@kalmkorner| |@chocolatemamacookies|