CopyWrite Magazine is a PROUD Community Partner of Milwaukee Film Fest 2024

It’s about that time!

We are gearing up to indulge in visual narratives on the big screen [& you know we love a good film at /CW]! This years for MFF we chose to be a community partner for screenings that touched on some of our core interest as media makers/lovers, BIPOC representation, and creative flyness. We kept it short & sweet [but you know we won’t be leaving any crumbs].

Check out the films on CopyWrite Magazine hit list [& follow us on Instagram @copywritemag for a chance to win tickets to watch the films with us!]:

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4/13/2024 | 3:45:00 PM | Avalon

OUT OF THE PICTURE | DIR: MARY LOUISE SCHUMACKER

OUT OF THE PICTURE takes us inside the lives of some of the most relevant writers on art today, thinkers who are making sense of a period of unprecedented change to art, media, and society. Director Mary Louise Schumacher led a national survey of more than 300 arts writers across the country, unearthing revelations that are poised to prompt a national conversation about the nature of art, modern life, and how meaning gets made in the 21st century.

PREVIEW

4/22/2024 | 5:00 PM | Downer

SEEKING MAVIS BEACON | DIR: JAZMIN RENEE JONES

One of the most influential Black women in technology is a figment of our collective imagination. Mavis Beacon was invented by the co-founder of Myspace to sell the world’s most popular typing software, but the real woman she was modeled after disappeared in 1995. SEEKING MAVIS BEACON poses critical questions regarding anthropomorphism and the consumption of marginalized bodies in the tech industry, while reimagining the afro-futurist legacy of a missing historical figure.

4/16/2024 | 3:30:00 PM | ORIENTAL THEATRE (Lubar)

YOUNG. WILD. FREE. | DIR: THEMBI L. BANKS

Being a teenager is rough, and Brandon (Algee Smith, 2017 African-American Film Critics Association Best Ensemble Cast winner for Kathryn Bigelow’s Detroit) is no different. Between struggling in school, caring for his two younger siblings, and having just been let go from his job, Brandon often uses his art as an escape from the confines of his subdued day-to-day life. Enter Cassidy (Sierra Capri, On My Block), a bedazzled bad girl dripping in confidence, freedom, and danger. Lured in by her whimsy, Brandon teams up with Cassidy, seamlessly slipping into the role of Clyde to her Bonnie as they make their way down an increasingly perilous path.

Carvd N Stone Loren Martin Hintz Travel Writing Scholarship Continues for Third Year to Award $1,000

*Info provided by Carvd N Stone

Carvd N Stone (CNS), a positive news company and marketing agency, announces the third annual CNS Loren Martin Hintz Travel Writing Scholarship. CNS will award $1,000 to a Milwaukee writer based on the 2024 essay theme: “What lessons have you learned while traveling that you’ve implemented in your everyday life and why?”

Applications open on April 17, 2024, at 9 a.m. CST and will close on May 17, 2024, at noon CST.

To apply, applicants must fit all requirements:

● Reside in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

● 17-29 years old.

● Submit an 800-word essay that fits the 2024 theme.

Loren Martin Hintz was an award-winning journalist for the Milwaukee Sentinel. Throughout his career, Hintz traveled around the world capturing unique people and moments in words and photographs. The CNS Travel Writing Scholarship promotes and encourages the next generation of writers. Whether you're an aspiring journalist or just have a passion for travel and writing, the Loren Martin Hintz Scholarship is an amazing opportunity to showcase your skills, thoughts, and dreams with the chance of winning.

You are invited to LEGACY NIGHT @ The Milwaukee Chamber Theater | Hosted by CopyWrite Mag

BLACK PEOPLE IT IS TIME TO TAKE UP SPACE!

INFO FROM OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS AT MCT

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We invite Black and African American community members to join us for Legacy Night on March 22 at 7:30 pm, a special performance of THE MOUNTAINTOP by Katori Hall hosted by CopyWrite Magazine [THATS US!] dedicated to and celebrating the Black community.

What is Legacy Night?

The intention behind this event is to purposefully create an environment in which a Black audience can experience and discuss this play about a Black leader, created and performed by Black artists, in a space that celebrates the Black Community and centers their perspectives.

Legacy Night is inspired by a similar event created in 2019 by actor and playwright Jeremy O. Harris, where for the first time ever, every seat in Broadway’s Golden Theatre was occupied by Black audience members. We're calling this special performance Legacy Night not only because legacy is one of the major themes within THE MOUNTAINTOP but also to honor and celebrate our Black and African American community and the legacy we hope to create together in Milwaukee. 

What if I'm not Black or African American?

We encourage our non-Black audience members to join us in honoring this initiative by choosing to experience the play at another performance.

We thank you in advance for supporting these artists and MCT as we facilitate an opportunity for a community to come together to enjoy this special event. 

Ticket Options

Legacy Night Tickets are $20 (plus sales tax and box office fees).

Purchase Online

You can purchase tickets online by clicking the button below and using the code LEGACY. You will need to enter the code in the "Promo Code" box at the top right corner of the Broadway Theatre Center ticketing page and click submit before you try to select the date. The Legacy Night performance will not show up until you have submitted code LEGACY.

What Vaule We Share: MKE Film Back History Month Programming | Shorts: TREASURED HEIRLOOMS

Happy Black History Month!

Happy being Black, living in Black bodies, and living Black truths!

As a Community Partner for Milwaukee Films 2024 Black History Month Programming, the /CW Fam selected screenings that we thought would speak to our audience and our specific cultural nuances. 

My experience watching the collection of Treasured Heirlooms shorts, was one that absolutely filled my culture cup reminding me that what we value in the Black community [with all its intersectionality] should be shared and celebrated. I note this as I am in the infancy of producing one of my own art installations that discuss culture as a proponent of space, thus creating a place [stay tuned]. Marquese May's curation of six short films of treasures, was dynamic and telling of voices we may know but reluctantly share outside of our community. I applaud programming like this because it allows the African diaspora to be seen in the light it deserves. Here are the values I would like to share from each film.

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WILD MAGNOLIAS |  Dir. Alexandra Kern

We don't get to talk about culture that has been cultivated in appreciation and in proximity to other cultures. Wild Magnolias shows an appreciation between Native American practices and African Americans in Louisiana. The link of these people is due to colonization and enslavement but it is a link that is vital to the survival of both peoples heritage and history. The bead work and visual storytelling in the garbs the Wild Magnolia Men [and young men] created were breathtaking, showed true skill, and showed historical narratives that the white gaze [don’t try to tussle with me] has tried to erase. Not only have the bloodlines mixed genetically [I would know from my own lineage] but also the archive of survival can not be told without mentioning the other.

This is the value of ancestry we share.

MORE THAN HAIR | Dir. Fitch Jean

Hair is sacred. How we manage our crown is how we manage the world. I have never been able to truly describe why or how but the complexity of Black hair [All Black hair] should be considered a world wonder. More Than Hair, is a heart moving peace because it pulls at the fragility of the Black hair experience. Not knowing, experimentation, acceptance, and revelation. I teared up when he sat down in that barber shop with his adopted mother [blessings to her for seeking the help he needed]. When he turned the pages of the hair catalog I smiled with excitement for the endless possibilities. When he picked cornrows I knew he had discovered that his hair was worth keeping.

This is the value of hair we share. 

GLITTER AIN'T GOLD | Dirs. Christian Nolan Jones and Dominick Cormier

Ornamentation is our birthright! The value that the Black community places on aesthetics should be looked at as an obligatory reflection of existence. From historical narratives, we know that our adornments were stripped from us during the conquest of our land and the enslavement of our people. Our markings, garb, and emblems were always signs of our identity and status. So when baby boy worked hard to get that money for that chain to impress that little girl I was proud of him. But when he discovered that material things won't always suffice I empathize with his longing to be seen and admired by those he admires. We carry our worth. We want to be recognized for our worth. 

This is the value of adornment we share. 

Other films shown during the screening included, QUILTED EDUCATION  [Dir. Kayla Robinson], OVER THE WALL [ Dir. Krystal Tingle] and AMPE: LEAP INTO THE SKY, BLACK GIRL [Dirs. Ife Oluwamuyide and Claudia Owusu]. These films too showed the value of archiving our history, representation in spaces less traveled for our community, and how the practices of our youth may help build the skills needed for strong futures. 

I value my Blackness in its performance, its lineage, and its legacy. 

Thank you for the reminder that it is all to be treasured and shared. 

Lexi S. Brunson | Editor-in-Chief /CW

/CW is a Proud Community Partner of Milwaukee Film's Black History Month Programming

Art by liv burks

We are going “BLACK to BLACK” with Black History Month Celebrations. /CW is a Proud Community Partner of Milwaukee Film's Black History Month Programming. Check out the last of films we cant wait to see!

FOLLOW US ON INSTIGRAM FOR YOU CHANCE TO WIN 2 TICKETS TO SEE ONE OF OUR COMMUNITY PARTNER FILM SCREENINGS.

@copywritemag

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GAINING GROUND: THE FIGHT FOR BLACK LAND | 2/29/24 | THUR. 7:00PM

In just a few decades after the end of enslavement, Black Americans were able to amass millions of acres of farmland. Today approximately 90% of that land is no longer in Black hands. Various factors have been employed to take Black land, including violence, eminent domain and government discrimination. But it is a little-known issue — heirs’ property — that has had a devastating effect on Black land ownership. Gaining Ground: The Fight for Black Land is a timely and stirring documentary from Emmy-nominated producer/director Eternal Polk and Al Roker Entertainment that examines the causes, effects what is being done to fight the exploitation of these issues, and how landowners are reclaiming their agricultural legacy and creating paths to generational wealth.

INVISIBLE BEAUTY | 2/17/24 | SAT. 12:00PM

Fashion revolutionary Bethann Hardison looks back on her journey as a pioneering Black model, modeling agent, and activist, shining a light on an untold chapter in the fight for racial diversity. From walking runway shows alongside Iman to discovering supermodels like Tyson Beckford and mentoring icons like Naomi Campbell, Hardison has been at the epicenter of major representational shifts in fashion. Catalyzing change requires continuous championing, and as the next generation takes the reins, Hardison reflects on her personal journey and the cost of being a pioneer.

In tandem with Frédéric Tcheng (Halston, Dior and I), Bethann Hardison and her co-director trace her impact on fashion from runway shows in New York and Paris in the ’70s to roundtables about lack of racial diversity in the early 2000s. Interviews with industry players speak to the state of fashion, while friends and family attest to Hardison’s rebellious and ambitious spirit. The film is an absorbing record of Hardison’s accomplishments and a rare contemplation on the life of a radical thinker.

TREASURED HEIRLOOMS - Black Lens Shorts Program | 2/10/24  | SAT. 12:00PM

From the tingling sensation of the alcohol spray following a haircut to the quick-paced hand games of our youth that occupied us for hours, the essence of Blackness has continuously worked as a dynamic archive of rites of passage and traditions that hold a special place in defining who we are. "TREASURED HEIRLOOMS" is a short film program delving into how Black folks globally are actively engaged in preserving, archiving, and creating approaches to ensure the endurance of our cherished traditions. This reflective cinematic offering aims to encourage us to embrace our traditions intimately, connecting us with both our past and future selves. - Marquise Mays, Black Lens Programmer

Shorts: Treasured Heirlooms featuring:

WILD MAGNOLIAS Dir. Alexandra Kern

MORE THAN HAIR Dir. Fitch Jean

GLITTER AIN'T GOLD Dirs. Christian Nolan Jones and Dominick Cormier

QUILTED EDUCATION Dir. Kayla Robinson

OVER THE WALL Dir. Krystal Tingle

AMPE: LEAP INTO THE SKY, BLACK GIRL Dirs. Ife Oluwamuyide and Claudia Owusu

The Mountaintop Legacy Award | Honoring Milwaukee Change-Makers

Art by Mikal Floyd-Pruitt

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre is thrilled to share with its community Pulitzer Prize-winner Katori Hall’s celebrated stage play THE MOUNTAINTOP, an inspiring reimagining of the final night of the life of legendary Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On April 3rd, 1968, after delivering one of his most memorable speeches, Dr. King retires to his room at the Lorraine Motel, where a mysterious stranger forces him to confront his destiny and legacy. A classic of the modern theater that in humanizing Dr. King suggests that we all have within us the power to be the change we wish to see in the world, THE MOUNTAINTOP will be directed by acclaimed Milwaukee theater artist Dimonte Henning. 

In keeping with its larger mission of bringing its community closer together while celebrating what makes Milwaukee great, and in partnership with CopyWrite Magazine, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center, and Zao MKE Church, MCT will highlight Black excellence in Milwaukee during the run of THE MOUNTAINTOP through the Mountaintop Legacy Award. MCT will recognize at each MOUNTAINTOP performance one Milwaukee difference-maker who exemplifies the ideals of unity, equity, and locally led movements highlighted by Dr. King in his final speech, commonly referred to as “The Mountaintop Speech.”

Mountaintop Legacy Award recipients will be selected by a panel of MCT artists and community partners from nominations by the public of individuals who best exemplify Dr. King’s ideals across sectors including but not limited to political, nonprofit, business, educational, art, and tech.  

[INFO PROVIDED BY /CW COMMUNITY PARTNERS AT MCT]

Happy Black History [everyday] Month from your /CW Fam!

History is made daily.

Active practice is true performance.

Advocacy should be ambitious.

Challenges should never stop progressive change.

We are Black.

We are proud.

& you know why it matters.

Happy Black History Month from your /CW Fam

A Moon for the Misbegotten | Snap Shot Press Release

“I don’t know what to think!”

It’s not a phrase I utter often [nor do I appreciate sentiments of equivocalness as a posture of perspective]. However, the phrase was the only thing that could come to my mind as the Sunday, January 21st, 2024 showing of Eugen O’Neill’s, A Moon for the Misbegotten, ended at the Milwaukee Chamber Theater.

In an effort to unpack my thoughts I had to confront my entry point into the play [the casting of La Shawn Banks as James Tyrone, Jr] and the thematic subtleties that would allow me to see past the rickety porch and vastness of “desolate Connecticut”. 

All images provided by MCT shot by Micheal Brosilow

The intimate glimpse into the periphery of society as a note of unideal existence is something that this revival of A Moon for the Misbegotten does well. A father whose drunkenness drives his sons away [Phil Hogan played by James Pickering], a daughter who uses her sharp tongue to avoid the pain of her insecurities while picking up the slack for her patriarch [Josie Hogan played by Kelly Doherty], and the thorn of socioeconomics in its human form as T. Steadman Harder [played by Zach Thomas Woods] gripes about his fence and ice pond when his neighbors live in subpar conditions. But Mike Hogan [played by A.J. Magoon] escaping without confronting his father is something I wish O’Niell had the foresight to correct. It denotes the subservience of a woman in society, as a nurturer of those who don't deserve to be nurtured. As sure as she robbed her father to free her brother of his suffering she does not enact her own freedom.

 [I hated that for her]

But that nuance of perspective coming from this 21st century feminist [YES I AM!] was minimal, noting that her love interest as a “foul” mouthed Irish woman was with a Black man. Now as plausible as it would have been for James Tyrone, Jr. to be an African American landowner and actor in the 1920’s, there would obviously be social scrutiny for Josie and James to be together no matter how many demons they both have collectively. Where the role was not originally written to cast a person of color, I applaud the selection because Bank’s portrayal was quite believable. His cityslicker slyness with overly emotional tendencies [it was giving an actor playing a person who is definitely an actor] was spot on. But I could only predict it would never work out. I could never really see even the alcoholc-ist of alcoholics encouraging their daughter to be with someone he knows could never maintain her publicly. Not even the ploy to get his money seemed reasonable because once they were seen together would that not be a social provision for violence in that time? It's rough because as a multiracial Black woman with Irish roots, I know how I got here [and it wasn't cute]. 

Similarly the whisky wagon never left the stage! The highs and lows of an alcoholic binge is always unsettling. The way Phil and James were throwing them back you couldn't be sure where their thoughts were coming from and if they had any control over their narcissistic behavior. And why should they when the bosom of Josie will be there waiting to care for them [Again, I hate that for her]? Even in her hope for something more with James, her agency was taken when he chastises her for saying she had been “around the way” with other men, and him so certain that it was fib [So men can do it but women can’t? Tuh! It’s given misogyny]. To then turn around and be all out of sorts for doing up a sex worker [repeatedly] on the train while bringing home is mothers dead body!?! If Mr. Tyrone was looking for sympathy, he could definitely look past me [If you like “city girls” just say that!] But again, as I analyzed what I had experienced take place on that stage, I could only imagine my father who suffered from alcoholism throughout his life and his womanizing tendencies. Could he have ever showed up to some ladies doorstep begging for comfort as an illusion of humility? Unfortunately, I will never know. 

The highs and lows of James’ drunken lust for Josie, cloaked with his attempt to “maintain” her chastity was too much for me. Make up your mind sir! Push her away from you one more time and its borderline domestic violence. The way her belligerent father was trying to get her in the bed with his drinking buddy and landlord for a few coins is wild [Pickering made me despise Phil Hogan]. I mean here is a man with no shame whatsoever. And yikes Josie! Grow a backbone! That self-deprivation got her nowhere but loveless, sexless, and moneyless [forget a drama, that makes it a tragedy]. She talks down on herself, she lets everyone in her life take advantage of her, and she is stuck. Stuck on that porch looking for something that you can only find inside of yourself. The way Doherty invited torture to her existence in this role showed commitment. There was no ego to bear and no diva to deliver in the shell of a woman that was left of Josie at the end.

What does this say about humanity? What does this say about a society that still feels O’Neill’s narrative should be shared?

I think it says we are flawed. I think it is a reminder that comfort is a luxury many can not afford. It says we have more to learn about why we break and what breaks us. I also think it says that the theater is a place to feel discomfort as long as it interrogates the boundaries of societal niceties. 

I did not love A Moon for the Misbegotten. But I respected it. It challenged my empathy and sometimes you need that from art.

Sometimes you need to know what uncertainty feels like.  

Lexi S. Brunson 

Editor-in-Chief /CW

New Programming Alert! Yoga & Modeling clases at /CW Creative Studios

REGISTER HERE

REGISTER HERE

For info please contact program manager, Carlos Vargara [copywrite.vato@gmail.com]

Ex Fabula | StoryStretch Workshop 11/18 [At /CW Creative Studios]

/CW is hosting one of our fav community partners … Ex Fabula!

Looking to sharpen your storytelling skills? This workshop is for you!

Stretch your storytelling muscles with this guided, interactive training covering the nuance of the craft; led by our experienced coaches! Refine, shape, and share your stories with confidence. Space is limited. Reserve a spot today!

This workshop gives you…

• Ways to improve your personal branding story

• Tips on how to avoid common storytelling mistakes

• A great professional development opportunity

• The tools to become a superb storyteller or public speaker