Black
Radio Days is the first African American Radio Drama to air nationwide.
Originally aired on WMAQ in Chicago from 1948 to 1950, the radio
program features live dramas that highlight the men and women who helped
shape African American history in this nation. Rekindled by No Credits
Productions and producer donnie l. betts, the show lives on with
new scripts, but the same spirit to educate and entertain. This is the
fifteenth year of existence for Destination Freedom: Black Radio Days.
An
exciting theatrical event in itself, the broadcast features actors
performing a short play complete with live musical accompaniment and
sound effects created onstage by a Foley artist. After the radio play,
the musicians perform more musical numbers, and actors and special
guests participate in an audience question and answer period.
betts hosts the broadcast, which will feature Theo Wilson (left)
in the role of Jesse Owens. Known to some by his stage name, Lucifury,
Wilson has taken the slam poetry world by storm both as an individual
poet and as a part of the group Slam Nuba. Wilson was recently a
featured speaker at TED Denver.
betts
is an Emmy Award winning filmmaker, four-time CABJ award winning radio
journalist and a Broadway performer. He is a founding member of two
theatre companies in Denver, City Stage Ensemble and Denver Black Arts
Company. He attended the Yale School of Drama. betts is also an
artist-in-residence for the State of Colorado.
Also featured in this broadcast are Kurt Soderstrom, featured in all of Destination Freedom Shows; Kim Dawson, member of the a cappella group Urban Method, members of Highlands Ranch HS Choir. Musical effects are offered by Carlton Bacon and piano accompaniment will be provided by Brenda Steel.
A
key figure not only as an Olympic athlete, but as a symbol of African
American advancement, Jesse Owens is a fascinating subject for this
broadcast. The first black athlete to receive a sponsorship, Owens broke
barriers both on the track and off. In his time at Ohio State
University, Owens was known as the “Buckeye Bullet” after winning a
record eight individual NCAA championships. While he was a star on the
track, because of his race, Owens was forced to live off campus and when
he traveled with the team, he had to eat and stay at different places
than the white athletes. Having no scholarship, Owens worked part-time
to pay for school.
Jesse
Owens died from complications due to lung cancer on March 31, 1980 in
Tucson, Arizona. Although words of sorrow, sympathy and admiration
poured in from all over the world, President Carter summed up the
thoughts of the nation when he stated, "Perhaps no athlete better symbolized the human struggle against tyranny, poverty and racial bigotry.”
Tickets are $15 and can be purchased through the LTAC box office in person or over the phone at 720-509-1000 Monday-Friday, 10:00am-4:00pm. Tickets are also available online at www.LoneTreeArtsCenter.org.
