Rhodessa Jones of The Medea Project and Cultural Odyssey joins us again for this sweet & potent Winter Solstice edition of Women Saving Our Own Lives. Uzo Nwankpa and Lisa Frias, who both performed in The Medea Project's When Did Your Hands Become A Weapon? join host Cat Petru live in the KPFA studios as well.

Please note that we discuss rape culture and violence against women in this #metoo moment. The sharing is often intimate. Please take exquisite care of yourself as you listen.

GUESTS
Rhodessa Jones is Co-Artistic Director of the acclaimed San Francisco performance company Cultural Odyssey. She is an actress, teacher, director, and writer. Ms. Jones is also the Director of the award winning Medea Project: Theater for Incarcerated Women and HIV Circle, which is a performance workshop designed to achieve personal and social transformation with incarcerated women and women living with HIV. During fall 2017 and winter 2018 Rhodessa was a Frank H. T. Rhodes Visiting Professor at CORNELL UNIVERSITY and a MONTGOMERY FELLOW at DARTMOUTH COLLEGE conducting lectures and workshops at these prestigious institutions. In December 2016 Rhodessa received a THEATRE BAY AREA LEGACY AWARD presented to individuals that have made “extraordinary contributions to the Bay Area theatre community.” In 2014 she received The Sui Generis Foundation Achievement Award for “one of a kind contributions which benefit society in unique ways.” More at https://themedeaproject.weebly.com/.

Lisa Frias started performing with The Medea Project in 1995. She’s a dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer, and teaches middle school dance in Daly City. She’s honored to be working with Medea for over 2 decades.

Uzoamaka (Uzo) Nwankpa (performer) is a fourth- generation descendant of women healers
from Enugu, Nigeria, West Africa. She is a first generation immigrant to the west and dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the Igbo culture. She is a performing artist, dance facilitator, choreographer, educator, researcher, registered nurse and an advocate for healing through the use of the arts. As an advocate for communities that use the arts to heal, Uzo is dedicated to creating and exploring diverse ways to combine ancient practices with innovation.

LINKS
www.culturalodyssey.org/
facebook & insta: @medeaproject
rhodessa@culturalodyssey.org
415.292.1850 Cultural Odyssey office