Are you ready to get IN THE CUT? | A New Behind The Scenes Series Showcasing Unorthodox Media Life

Creative Media life is no joke, but somebody has to do it! Get to know the /CW Fam, from a behind-the-scenes lens of /CW HQ [/CW Creative Studio + Shop]. This TMZ, MTV, on the “porch”, in the “stu” style mash-up of hot takes, out outlandish game planning, creative advocacy, and unorthodox business practices, is a way to show a more intimate glance at the work we do “when nobody is watching”. The hyper-glamorization [fakkkkkkkkeeee] of content creation is a crucial element of the media landscape that we have avoided all too long. Here is an opportunity to do it our way, ten years in the game *wink wink*.

Stay tuned for the opportunity to see the raw and uncut content in our latest project, and invites to drop into the studio for conversations about Art, Fashion, Music, Community, Culture, and so much more. /CW is a collective of real people who experience real-ish on the daily. When it comes to running a business for those who look like us, having ambitious goals, and feeding that creative hunger, you never know what might happen with the /CW Fam. 

Meet The /CW Fam

Lexi S. brunson | owner/Active Editor-IN-CHIEF

CARLOS M. VERGARA | CREATIVE DIRECTOR + OPERATION MANAGER

VEDALE HILL | FACILITIES MANAGER 

IMANI ORTIZ | Specialized Content Journalist + HOST OF THE INTERSECTION PODCAST

PAM WILLIAMS | MEDIA + PRODUCTION

Jamai fisher | shop + studio assistant

Nkenge S. Roberson | In-House Visual Content Creator

Desriana Gilbert | Entertainment and Social Journalist

James Dean | Studio + social media assistant

Keep your eyes on the lookout for bi-weekly episodes on copywritemag.com/in-the-cut [Youtube, Instagram, & Tik Tok] because IN THE CUT is about to turn some stuff up! 

Create. Inspire. Repeat. - Meet AVRA

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE DESIGNERS OF

ISSUE 21: BACK TO BLACK?

Avra’s mission is to “provide our clients with the creative and professional edge to tell their brand story and reach their full potential. By fostering the visions of diverse Midwest-born creatives, AVRA provides an elite range of branding and strategic communication services tailored to deliver a dynamic impact.”

You're Invited to the opening Exhibition of CULTURE: BETWEEN SPACE & PLACE By Lexi S. Brunson

You're invited to experience a spatial art installation created by CopyWrite Magazine's Editor-in-Chief, Lexi S. Brunson. Also, get your copy of Issue 21 Back to Black at the exhibit [where the installation is featured].

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Through my professional practices as a writer, researcher, media maker, interior designer, and creative, I have noted that between Space & Place, we find Culture [Big C]. Since Culture is nuanced, it creates an opportunity to reimagine what space is through the multiplicity of mediums, contextualized via identity, locality, and temporality.

I have taken this concept, through a casual practice of interpersonal interviews, observation, and pursuing/inhabiting spaces where cultural dialogue [spoken & unspoken] occurs. By creating a series of “vignettes” that exist [& will exist] in multiple mediums, I share cultural narratives that reflect the internal perspective of the BIPOC community. Not as a monolithic lens but as a note of existence we often assign with diminutive importance. The nostalgia-induced conversations that transpired during installation with staff, visitors, and other people popping by, validated that these places [even when repurposed as art] are truly threads of understanding in a web of misinterpretation WE do not subscribe to.

AN ILLIAD - SnapShot Press Release

photos by Michael Brosilow

Humanity has a way of showing us its values. 

Our fate lies somewhere between the unknown and the unhinged [what a spectrum]. However, it is usually through reflection, anecdotal and historical, from a distant past to a very near present that we see the repetition of lore and find ourselves questioning the meaning of it all.

Sunday’s [September 22nd, 2024]  Milwaukee Chamber Theater’s performance of AN ILIAD, was an emotional display of genius, wrapped in the tradition of Grecian tragedy, smothered in the plight of modernism oblivion to the human condition, and how “WE” got here. Lisa Peterson & Denis O’hare’s interpretation of Homer’s The Iliad translated by Robert Fagles, bares us from the smoke and mirrors of social exchange, grounding us in the power of mono-interpretation storytelling. However, it is N'Jameh Camara (The Poet) and Kellen “Klassik” Abston (The Muse/ Composer) that brought the shores of Troy and the backdrop of the Aegean Sea into reach within the circular “void” of the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center.

IT’S GIVING DRAMAAAAAAA!

As N'Jameh drowned herself in a bottle of “spirits” she walks us through the tale of Hector and Achilles, the Trojan War, and the fate of their battle. Her monologue was striking. When & where are we? In the “now” of disruptive political turmoil, or in the “then” of disruptive political turmoil? In the “now” of men policing the body of women or in the “then” of men policing the body of women? In the “now” of socially induced hysteria or. . . It did not matter, N'Jameh as the poet reminded us that these fates could be our own and that we must not shrug lightly at the flaws of man, because we are MAN. 

With just a suitcase, a bench, and a few layers of clothing N'Jameh flings her head back and stairs into the eyes of the audience [the people] then rushes to gesture the interactions of warriors, lovers, enemies, friends, and family. She makes us grieve the death of Patroclus, the same way we grieve, the limp bodies of boys found slayed on street corners in rival “hoods”. She makes us speculate Helen [Helen of Troy or Helen of Sparta depending on who you ask] agency in her selection of suitors. Was Helen into Paris or nah? Does Helen even want Menelaus to defend her or does she just like to see men get all hot and bothered over her? [Is killing the highest or lowest form of flattery that can be offered]. 

All I know is that when N'Jameh reflects on what war this landscape of carnage reminds her of, she list every war that humanity has documented, and my eyes flooded with stinging tears as if the waves had crashed upon me and I was destined to drown.

The mantra of monikers. . .

Peloponnesian War

Crusades

Powhatan War

Mexican-American War

World War I

Arab-Israeli wars

Vietnam War

Israel–Hamas war

. . . It went on and on for what seemed like forever. How could we not see it? How could we not understand that we have failed to protect our species from butchery? How could we not plead for forgiveness when we have all let our egos slaughter our potential for collective peace? N'Jameh wailed in a dialect of pain and her voice carried through the room into some distant pit of sorrow. I have been to many performances, but I have never felt so soul-crushed in viewing the truth. 

I am guilty. We all are guilty.  

This ability to drag our senses into the thick of it was not an isolated win. Klassik’s arrival into the theater as The Muse allowed for an auditory awakening or a soundtrack to a collective soul cry. His layered vibrations made us hear waves on the battle beach, the clash of metal weapons against armor, and the vastness of hundreds of thousands of ships arriving. His musical composition was boisterous and delicate all at the same time. We needed his contribution, we needed the liquid “spirits” to release this auditory vision for The Poet to relive, what we all must rectify. 

AN ILIAD is an experience that humanity needs. It is a scream for repentance in public intimacy. As we find ourselves pinned into battles that may be sanctioned by the Gods [Yours, mine, theirs, ours, or no one's] and ask for conviction in our uncertainty [who deems our deeds good or evil?] We must remember that we are all villains in someone's story. 

[& the comedic relief was there. But only enough to make us say “Ohhhh boy we’re screwed.”

I invite you to approach your humanity and experience Milwaukee Chamber Theater’s AN ILIAD, for the sake of us all.

Lexi S. Brunson 

Editor-in-Chief /CW

PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY OF COPYWRITE MAGAZINE ISSUE 21 | BACK TO BLACK

n issue we take a deep dive into the nuances of Black Culture and the rhetoric that it parallels. This is one of the most intimate issues we have ever produced because many of the topics we will discuss have been fostered by conversions that our leadership, /CW Fam [our staff + collaborators], and our friends/family have grappled with in our personal lives. These topics have lived in barbershop debates, under dryers at the hair salon, at the kitchen table at Granny's house, and on the front steps before the age of social media. These are realities that are formed by resistance & resilience, topped with ingenuity and unapologetic joy in being the prototype for authentic exploration for survival [vs. conquest]. These are patterns of existence without erasure.

Featuring: Spill It Card Game, Jonah Denae, Ko-Thi Dance Company, Culture: Between Space & Place

Gallery Night @ /CW Creative Studios + Shop

ThriveOn King Ribbon Cutting Celebration | A local inspiration, a national model, and a dream come true

The ribbon cutting at thriveon king

“A local inspiration, a national model, and a dream come true.” - John R. Raymond, Sr., MD

At CopyWrite we respect a BOLD statement and we value an observed truth. So today when John R. Raymond, Sr., President and CEO of MCW, delivered remarks on his perspective of ThriveOn King collaboration, we could only agree that its fruition and active arrival has indeed been an inspiration, a layered blueprint, and a collective dream that has often been deferred. 

We were invited to attend the June 6th, 2024 ribbon cutting ceremony for the ThriveOn King Collaboration development [2153 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Drive. Milwaukee, WI 53212] as a neighbor [/CW Creative Studios + Shop is literally right across the street if you did not already know], Art Review Committee members [because the creative work must speak to US & for US], and community stakeholders [our investment into this community is apart of the collective fabric that turns these SPACES into PLACES]. With those many facets of stewardship as a guiding force for our communal labor, we have been quite critical of the goals and aspirations for the new soul of the old Schuster’s & Gimbels building.

An equitable approach to development must be anchored in reality. What are the issues? Why do they persist? What are viable solutions and the resources needed to sustain them? These are the questions that are never easy to answer. However, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation (GMF), the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), and Royal Capital’s “joint vision for Milwaukee '' have created a physical manifestation of what that vision can become. 

“We all share a vision where neighbors are healthy. . .opportunities are equitable. . . a better Milwaukee”, said Ellen M. Gilligan, current President & CEO of Greater Milwaukee Foundation. The idea of a “Better Milwaukee”, can always be neutralized by the historical divide that most tend to harp on as a sign of stagnation in our cities’ complex infrastructure but in the case of the ThriveOn King development, “better” is collaborative truth. Where community is engaged, philanthropy can serve, and that service becomes mutually beneficial in building a place where we all thrive holistically. 

Ken Robertson, Executive VP, CEO & CFO of GMF, also shared his appreciation to his collaborators [including the community] and commitment to the project beyond the near completion of the commercial building component. “We could do better, we could live better . . . projects like this enable us to get there”. The momentum is an absolute must to propel a high-profile partnership into something that retains a positive legacy and lasting impact in the microcosm that is Milwaukee. 

The stipulation of communal progress treads upon counter acts to gentrification and welcomed entry into a community that already holds historical and cultural value. Alderwoman Milele Coggs, made it known in her speech that the site we all were currently inhabiting was not just a happenstance of real estate availability. She listed an FBI facility, the welfare building [even as her familial namesake], and NO studios as other inquired possibilities. “It could have been but we fought against it”, she said. And those possibilities change the trajectory of so much more. 

artist vedale hill /w pops [art installation]

As always when we approach these historical moments of ribbon cutting and “professional hobnobbery”, we report back to our readers as active advocates of the arts, culture, and to local elevation. We watched as Vedale Hill, one of the artists selected for ThriveOn's permanent collection [and an intimate supporter and partner of our work at /CW], created his art installation slated for the historic display windows on the north side of the building. We discussed the importance of having his work be seen as “a cultural relevance of “Play” for the African American Community in Milwaukee. . . These pieces are meant to depict a physical manifestation of hope for young Black kids while elevating this nuance of culture to high art. This notes that while the practice of play may be the dream there are other professional routes that may encapsulate that passion”, as stated in his concept description. 

artist whose art was selected to be a part of thriveon king: vedale hill, Isaic Pulliam, Brad Anthony Bernard, Reynaldo Hernandez

“This is more of a homecoming than an arrival for me. Having this art here at ThriveOn reaches back to why I became an artist in the first place. It's already there. I’m just encapsulating it and reframing it so that our realities are validated not as just historical asides but as impacting proponents of the here & now. How I view myself as an artist is more akin to a diamond cutter than an inventor.  I’m just making a value and beauty association that is already a part of the natural folds of the community I am a part of”, Vedale reminded us.

And these narratives run deep.

/cw on the job | Editor-in-chief Lexi S. Brunson

I am keeping a few subtleties close to my chest to preserve them for future conversations about the ThriveOn King, collaborative community development, and the art that will show who we are on walls that are professed to be a part of generational progress. As I sit in my studio & look out the window I can see the new era of progressive proliferation and I will be keeping a close [and neighborly] eye on how we THRIVE together.

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

the Not-So-Accidental Conviction of Eleven Milwaukee "Anarchists" - SnapShot Press Release

photos by Michael Brosilow

“LET’S JUST BLOW THE WHOLE THING UP!”

Ahht, Ahht, Ahht! Don’t you dare snark at the thought. 

We all have said it. If not out loud, it has definitely crossed your mind. And if it hasn’t, are you even human?

The true question is what is the “thing” that would actually make you do it?

The Not-So-Accidental Conviction of Eleven Milwaukee "Anarchists" defines that moment by taking a comedic aside into history, local history, in a Milwaukee that seems so distant from our present society but is in fact, the foundation of what we now bear witness to. The trial of “The Milwaukee Eleven” and the police station bombing of 1917 is dismantled through planned improv [if it's not a term I'm coining it now], a black box theatre with a trunk full of doodads, and a chair [Yup, just one chair]. 

Why? Because many of us have forgotten that empathy is civility. . . but just hold that thought. We will get there. 

Saturday's [May 4th, 2024] 4:00 pm production was quite interesting. It's not just because playwright Martín Zimmerman intended it to be [as he allowed his burning questions of the story to reveal themselves on the stage. Questions like, How do you make sense of people about whom we have such fragmented, contradictory information?] but also because the longing to wrap ideas [in the form of art] in a nice shiny bow, instead, creating a knot of complexities with tattered ends is uncomfortable. In the opening scene it seemed like we were all slated for 90 minutes of a four-person recall of historical facts [I mean cool I guess if you're into that]. But then the bomb exploded, the butter was squashed, and chaos ensued. 

That chaos took the form of two-syllable curse words, catty disagreements, and a baby blow horn. What part of the story should come next and what is the best way to depict it? Actors Elyse Edelman, King Hang, Dimonte Henning, and Kelsey Elyse Rodriguez were charged with playing several roles, embodying the people and the police, the righteous and the ridiculed, the holy and the sinful [& these characters are not juxtaposing beings but multiplicities of humanity]. 

That’s where it gets tough. 

It was strategically unhinged and while much of the audience laughed, there were many who winced at the potty language but did not bat an eye at the reminder of people's lives, livelihoods, and freedom being taken from them. Who made the bomb? There is no one name or evidence to support one intended target. Why did they make it? If it was indeed an act of anarchy then it must be an act against the systems that were “ruling” Milwaukee at the time which allowed for bad working conditions, bigotry, discrimination [ethnic is a loaded term around these parts], and poverty to persist.  If it's an act against religion then what god allows for a 4-year-old child to be taken into custody by the police? This little midwest town in the free world is starting to look tragic but it's not like 1917 was an isolated occurrence. Just last week students calling for a ceasefire in Gaza were met with police batons and monkey noises [but y'all ain't hearing me though]. 

And that for me was more disturbing. 

That type of discomfort reverberates through every life choice and decision made [or avoided]. It sets the tone for the future and the narratives we uphold from the past. Zimmerman was smart to let us grapple with analysis as the actors analyzed. The actors were bold in allowing us to see their range as they unpacked and then reboxed how to approach historical narrative in its grandiose and in its pretentious posturing of justice.

At the end of it, I couldn't care less who Clarence Darrow or Augusto Giuliani was. All I wanted to know is why we keep letting others write and archive our history. When will we realize that the archive does not have to be documented through the lens of our oppressors? When will we realize that the most vulnerable populations have always been bastardized by the systems that self-assign themselves as protectors?

It's ugly and society is a mirror of that ugliness. 

The Not-So-Accidental Conviction of Eleven Milwaukee "Anarchists" is rhetoric for self-assessment. If you are not terrified of the possibilities of what can happen when we disregard the needs of our fellow human [as terrified as I was to watch that slow-mo fight scene where unarmed cops were in a shoot-out with civilians] or if you don’t question your sanity when you become desensitized to violence [physical, mental, or emotional] then wtf are we actually doing here?

I don’t know if I liked what I saw but I do know that more people need to be confronted with narratives that make them cringe. If you know someone who needs to light a fire under their complacent a**, then send them to see this Milwaukee Chamber Theater production. 

Something has got to change.

Lexi S. Brunson 

Editor-in-Chief /CW

The Mountaintop

We’ve all seen the different narratives and adaptations of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. throughout our lives; “Our Friend Martin,” “Selma,” “Selma, Lord Selma,” season 1 ep. 9 of “The Boondocks,” etc... All of these have been historically critical to the importance of passing down his legacy (or in the case of Aaron McGruder, a dramatized and comical take on what could've been his realistic response to the world as it is today), but no story has captured the nature of King as a man like “The Mountaintop.” The legacy of Dr. King is one of the most impactful pieces of America’s history without saying; nearly 60 years after his death, men like County Executive David Crowley are able to be recognized on opening night with the “Mountaintop Legacy Award” for perpetuating the very character and vision that compelled Dr. King to carry on in his mission, in our very own city. However, only a fresh perspective can provoke new respect for the journey of a leader; A human journey. Prior to making a special appearance on their “Legacy Night” showcase later on in this month, Milwaukee Chamber Theater saved us some seats for opening night as well where I sat a row or two in front of Director Dimonte Henning who was finally able to marvel at the fruition of this vision for the first time after taking on the script. I caught up with him right after the show..

CW: “What I really want to know is how you came to get your hands on a script like that, because when I came into the theater, I didn't expect the story to be told that way. So what made you wanna take on that narrative?”

DH: “You know what, I'm at a point where I like to tell stories that mean something to me. If it doesn't mean anything to me-, I can't put myself and my creativity into a space where it doesn't mean anything. So, Dr. King's story-, it means so much to have it told in this way; this reimagined depiction of the last night that he was alive. I felt like I needed to tell this story and I needed to find the right actors, the right designer team to help uplift this story. And so, Bryant [Bentley], he reached out to me. He [asked me] do I wanna direct this? I said ‘absolutely, yes.’ It's been a long time coming. Bryant first approached me about this show 2 years ago, so to be here on opening night with the audience, to see the vision come to life, is a gift, it's a treat, it's a gift from God and I don't take that for granted. It's because the story means something to me.”

With the deliberate use of only the 2 actors on stage for the entirety of the story in a single setting, a Memphis motel room, and the size of Milwaukee Chamber’s theater room contributing to the intimate atmosphere, there was no escaping the raw humanity and chaotic rollercoaster of morale in the writing and its display in the genius and dedication of the actors, on and off stage. Henning shares as a lover of history that the details of this depiction were taken from fact and research, bringing real life to this dramatization. 

DH: … I'm sure that he didn't interact with the maid how he does in this play, but there are a lot of historical moments and facts brought into the play… One thing that really impacted me was the night that he did the “I Have a Dream” speech, the FBI listed him as the ‘Most Dangerous Man in America,’ and I was just like, wow! How is that possible? This man who just brought all of these people together is now listed as a dangerous man in America..and we all know why that is, but just understanding who he ws as a man and, giving it to Bryant Bentley who played Dr. King, we had a lot of conversations. We spent our first week of rehearsal-, we have 3 weeks of rehearsal-, We spent our first week just talking about ‘what is this play about? What story do we want to tell? What is the relationship between Dr. King and Camae? Who are these people?’... “The foundation of all of my work is authenticity. If it's not authentic, then the audience is gonna see right through it, so it has to be authentic:..:  finding the truth in these characters. And then we did intimacy work. Our intimacy director, KaiLee Evans, came in and she worked with both of our actors. They go through a process every night. They have an opening process as soon as they get here. Then, they have a close out where they just connect and talk with each other and make sure that they are on the same page. There's some intimate moments where they get physical with each other, and it's important because you wanna keep the actors safe…because it's just them two on stage… If you mess up that relationship off stage, it may bleed on stage. So we just wanna be sure that they're safe, so that's where that came from.”

The Mountaintop by Katori Hall will be showing at the Milwaukee Chamber Theater until March 24th. The CopyWrite fam will be present on March 22nd as guest hosts for one of the last showings of this marvelous story in celebration of black excellence. We hope to see some of you there!

/CW Naomi-Re’a 

SnapShot Press Release: Laughs in Spanish [Gallery Life Off The Wall]

Nobodies documenting the Telenovela that is gallery life. 

You know the pretentious acting curators, the thirsty for stardom gallery assistants, and the notably irrational and irresponsible artist who would prefer to be on some remote island with a stiff drink, conjuring inspiration for their next big thing.

Ashley Oviedo, Isa Condo-Olvera, Jenna Bonofiglio, Arash Fakhrabadi, and Rána Roman [All Images provided by milwaukee chamber theater via Michael Brosilow]

Okay well maybe somebody is, but these idiosyncrasies void that this performance of art culture is an overtone of whiteness that fills gallery white walls, with white washed economics, and white narratives that are positioned to be “profound”. 

*Did she really just go there?*

Ohhhh, yes! I did!

The scene I just “painted” [See what I did there? Lol]  is one that can be drastically altered when considering how non-white bodies navigate these spaces. These bodies start to resemble people whose characteristics feel familiar, feel like friends, feel like family, and feel like voices I intimately knew existed but seldom get to hear.

Saturday's [September 23rd, 2023] opening night of Laughs In Spanish, by Alexis Scheer took me there. Giving the audience Miami realness with the complexities of the modern human experience including motherhood, divorce, pregnancy, abandonment issues, high off THC conversations, same-sex relationships, immigration, and a monologue by Rána Roman that had me totally reanalyzing my own journey into motherhood. Its scenic set design of gallery aesthetic with Miami glam by Em Allen, had my critical “interior designer by trade” mind fangirling on that vibey beach air balcony hidden behind those opaque white rolling walls. With DJ Palante giving the music vibes in the lobby, to a Latinx artist installation curated by Katie Avila Loughmiller, the tone was set before the show even began.  It truly brought me back to my last visit to Art Basel. [If you have never been, this play will inspire you to book that trip].

Labeled as a “crime comedy” [Yes, because stealing art from galleries is definitely a trope the world needs more of. Art is valuable, monetarily and culturally!] It cleverly uses its title as the punchline in an exchange of wisdom and remorse that is easy to share between strangers, when it should be saved for the people you love.  

How do you “laugh in Spanish”? 

¡JAJAJA! 

I died at the subtlety of that hilarious cultural exchange and felt warmth in knowing my upbringing had allowed me to understand [and have access] to the inside joke.

This again is a familiarity that Isa Condo-Olvera [Mariana] , Arash Fakhrabadi [Juan], Ashley Oviedo [Carolina], Rána Roman [Estella] and Jenna Bonofiglio [Jenny] provided by pulling at emotions through their characters that went beyond the surface.

Mariana reminded me of my mother; guarded and jaded by the world. But of course there is a reason why.

Juan was ready to risk it all for Carolina. [Love me like that or not at all] 

Jenny, is that voice of annoying reason that you really should listen to. [Don’t you hate it when they’re right?]

Carolina questioning her career for motherhood echoed by Estella’s choice to be ambitious to inspire her daughter but failing to hit the mark in Mariana's eyes is. . . me. 

Can I escape the narrative that a woman can’t do it all? Only time will tell.

Laughs In Spanish is a think piece. It’s “profound” without pretentiousness. It's relatable without stunting the growth and impact of Latinx culture. It is palatable because it is plausible. If you know you know and if you don’t, Alexa will understand you want to change the song the first time you ask. 

So if you need a little art in your life, consider looking away from the walls and feeling up a seat at the Milwaukee Chamber Theater.

Lexi S. Brunson for /CW