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Paige in Full a b-girl’s visual Welcome! 2

PaigePaige inin FullFull

The State Theatre in New Brunswick, welcomes you to the performance of Paige in Full: a B-girl’s Visual Mixtape, a Keynotes are produced by the Education Department of the State multimedia, autobiographical production that is sure to resonate Theatre, New Brunswick, NJ. with both teens and adults. Mark W. Jones, President & CEO These Keynotes provide information and activities to prepare for Lian Farrer, Vice President for Education Online at www.StateTheatreNJ.org/Keynotes the performance and then help you reflect afterward on what you Keynotes for Paige in Full created by Lian Farrer, edited by saw and heard in the show. We hope the experience will spark an Jennifer Cunha. interest in continuing to explore live theater. © 2013 State Theatre See you at the State Theatre! Excerpts from Paige in Full © 2010 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Find us at www.StateTheatreNJ.org Contents Contact: [email protected] State Theatre, a premier nonprofit venue for the performing arts Welcome!...... 2 and entertainment. About the Show ...... 3 The State Theatre’s education program is funded in part by Colgate- Palmolive, Cream-O-Land Dairy, E & G Foundation, Great-West Life & Meet Paige Hernandez...... 4 Annuity Insurance Company, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, History ...... 5 Ingredion, Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies, J. Seward Johnson, Sr. 1963 Charitable Trust, Karma Foundation, The Blanche and Irving Laurie & 90s Pop Culture: How Much Do You Know? ...... 8 Foundation, McCrane Foundation, MetLife Foundation, New Jersey State The Place You Come From ...... 9 Council on the Arts, The Provident Bank Foundation, PSE&G, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Their support is gratefully acknowledged What Are You?...... 10 Funding has been made Finding Real Love...... 11 possible in part by the New Resources ...... 12 Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a The Heldrich is the What’s Your Role at the Show?...... 13 partner agency of the National official hotel of the Endowment for the Arts. State Theatre. About the Show 3

I wanted a story that would help to reclaim the positive energy that hip hop was once known to create. I wanted a story that was all at once international, and “around the way.” Lastly, I wanted a story for little girls of color. I want them to know that no matter where they fall in the rainbow, their voice is interesting, unique and needs to be heard.

—Paige

Paige in Full: a B-girl’s Visual Mixtape blends poetry, , Short for ‘Break visual arts, and music to tell the autobiographical tale of a B-GIRL: multicultural girl growing up in Baltimore, MD. Written and Girl,’ a girl who to the ‘breaks,’ the parts of performed by Paige Hernandez, the show explores how her a song where there are no identity has been shaped by her ethnicity, the places she has words—just the beat. lived, and by popular culture. Paige tells her personal, yet The original b-girls universal story of love, pain, and triumph through the lens of hip and b-boys danced to the of DJ Kool hop: a backdrop of hip hop and R&B classics from the 1980s Herc, who is credited and 1990s. She presents her life as a mixtape, with the chapters with creating hip hop of her life combined and recorded like a series of memorable music in the songs copied onto a audiocassette. early in the Paige in Full explores love in its many forms: Bronx, in sweet, naive, abusive, and genuine. City. Personal identity—gender, race, class—is another recurring theme. THE TITLE: MIXTAPE: Paige credits a lot of the show’s Paige in of songs (originally recorded Full is a A homemade Playlist inspiration to her younger brother and on an audiocassette) play on the that contains all fellow performer, Nick tha 1da. “He gave 1987 hip your favorite me a CD of his beats and my creative hop classic tracks. you’d wheels started turning,” Paige says. Nick’s music “Paid in Full” by give a Eric B & . mixtape to inspired more than 20 characters, 18 poems, 7 DJ someone you sets, and 8 dance routines. like in the By incorporating and dance, Paige brings hope that it will help get them to theater to new audiences. “The hip hop experience has evolved like you, too. from records to cassettes; cds, to ipods; and now to the stage,” she says. “Enjoy the visual mixtape.” Meet Paige Hernandez 4

Paige Hernandez (writer, choreographer, performer) is a multifaceted artist known for her innovative fusion of poetry, hip hop, dance, and education. A graduate of the Baltimore School for the Arts, she received a BA in theater and broadcast journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park. Paige is a critically-acclaimed b-girl whose has been seen all over DC and recently in DC/NY’s Hip Hop Theatre Festival with Imagination Stage’s Zomo the Rabbit. As a performer and playwright, she has performed her children’s show Havana Hop and her one-woman show, Paige In Full: A B-girl’s Visual Mixtape at theaters, schools, and colleges throughout the country. With her company B-FLY ENTERTAINMENT, Paige has written and performed original works including Liner Notes, The Nayika Project, 7th Street Echo, and All the Way Live! As an actress, Paige has performed on many stages in the DC metro area including Arena Stage, Folger Theatre, Roundhouse, The Everyman Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Imagination Stage, GALA, Discovery Theatre, and Charter Theatre. A master teaching artist, Paige has taught throughout the country, to all ages, in all disciplines. To date, she has reached over 10,000 students through residencies, workshops, and performances. Her work as a teaching artist has been recognized by the Wolftrap Foundation for Early Learning and Arena Stage, where she received the Thomas Fichandler Award for exceptional promise in theater education. Paige was also named a “classroom hero” by the Huffington Post. Paige is also a hip hop education advocate. She has helped create workshops such as Props for Hip Hop at Arena Stage and Keep it Moving at Wolftrap. The workshops help teachers understand the fundamentals of hip hop as they incorporate the culture into their curriculum. www.paigeinfull.com www.bflyentertainment.com

How would you translate your life story from something personal to something to share with others? Would it be through music, dance, theater, art, writing, or something totally different? Hip Hop History 5

The thing about hip-hop today is it’s smart, it’s insightful. The way they can communicate a complex message in a very short space is remarkable.

—Barack Obama

Human struggle is often the breeding ground for creativity and art. In the 1970s, in New York was plagued by unemployment. Businesses and neighborhoods were rundown and abandoned. Young people from poor, sometimes abusive, homes turned to gangs for friendship and protection. Yet from this devastated town emerged a new cultural movement called hip-hop. Its high-energy and fast-beat music and dance helped to bring together communities torn apart by gang violence and poverty.

THE ROOTS DJ Kool Herc was one of the first pioneers of hip-hop in the Bronx. His popular parties stood for peace at a time when young people were being lured into gangs. No fighting—or the music would stop. The unique DJ techniques of the Jamaican-born Kool Herc (real name: Paige in Full Clive Campbell) formed the backbone of hip-hop. Herc noticed that the dance floor really came alive during the “breaks” in songs (the part where the music “breaks” to let the percussion section play solo). The DJ cued up two recordings of the same music, then “cut” back and forth to prolong the breaks—and the dancing. When people heard that Herc was spinning records at an event, they came in droves. The best dancers were dubbed “break boys” or “b-boys.” Herc formed his own group of b-boys, added MCs to the mix, and called his new crew the Herculords. Armed with breakbeats and a sound system that was crisper and louder than his competitors’, Kool Herc and the Herculords soon had to move their parties to a large public park to make room for all of their fans. DJ Kool Herc Many Bronx gang members turned away from the streets and headed to the hip-hop dance floor—and the stage. , from a fearsome gang called the Black Spades, took off his gang colors and put on a variety of records. The music spanned , salsa, soca (a modern form of calypso music from the Caribbean), and rock. Fans could expect to groove to the Rolling Stones, a tune from The Pink Panther, and the electronic sounds of German group Kraftwerk—all in one set. In 1975, Bambaataa founded the Zulu Nation, an organization that promoted hip- hop awareness and peace. Afrika Bambaataa 6

Meanwhile, Joseph Saddler was drawing crowds to abandoned buildings in rough neighborhoods. Saddler introduced a technological innovation to hip-hop music. By constructing a cue monitor for his mixer, Saddler was able to listen to one record through headphones while another was playing. This discovery, and his ability to mix music swiftly, earned him the nickname Flash, and later, . Grandmaster Flash and his five MCs, the Furious Fives, did not just stick to music and to entertain audiences. The group added choreographed moves, rhymes performed back and forth between two MCs, a manual called a beat box, and DJ tricks like using an elbow. In the culture of hip- hop, Grandmaster Flash was a pioneer of style. Grandmaster Flash WILDSTYLE As DJs, MCs, and breakers tried to draw the largest crowds during performances, writers operated in secret, away from the eyes of the police. Out of rebellion and a desire for recognition in their communities, graffiti writers disregarded the law and jumped over fences at 2 am, packing spray paints affixed with hair spray, deodorant, and insecticide nozzles, each used for different effects. The first graffiti “tags” were simple, often a scrawl of a writer’s nickname, such as “Taki 183.” The tags became more visually sophisticated and abstract as writers clamored for attention—and space—on the outside of New York subway trains. In the early 1970s, writers’ colorful “pieces” (from masterpieces) covered the trains in “top-to-bottoms.” The new tags included arrows, clouds, and other graphics, and seemed to bounce off the trains with their artistic movement and depth. Writers PHASE 2, KASE 2, and others designed pieces with complicated interlocking letters and numbers in multiple colors. The result? “Wildstyle,” made up PHASE 2 graffiti tag of letters that looked more like abstract shapes than consonants or vowels. Public expression was cut short when the city of New York cleaned up the trains and posted tighter security. A number of graffiti writers looked for new—and legal—homes for their pieces and found success and recognition in fine art galleries. They followed the footsteps of graffiti-inspired artists Keith Haring and Jean- Michel Basquiat. 7

BREAKING IT DOWN Whether MCing, DJing, graffiti writing, or breakdancing, hip-hop artists continually pushed themselves to work harder and harder. The major motivator? Competition. B-boys and b-girls competed in “break battles,” and early b-boys would compare their “battle scars” from dancing on concrete littered with broken glass. B-boy competitions had roots in gang warfare, with break battles used as lead-ups to rumbles. But for some in the late 1970s, hours of breaking with other b-boys and b-girls in their crew took the place of gang violence. Soul singer James Brown inspired the fast-paced moves in breakdancing. Rock Steady Crew His 1972 song, “Get on the Good Foot,” showcased his energetic footwork. B- boys and b-girls took their cues from Brown and danced upright while top- rocking and up-rocking. By the late 1970s, breakers were dropping to the floor in freezes inspired by kung fu movies. The fiercer the competition, the more the dancers invented moves to out-do each other. A group of dancers who formed the Rock Steady Crew is credited with bringing headspins, handspins, Hip-hop is what makes and flips to the dance. In a two-minute cameo in the 1983 movie Flashdance, members of the Rock the world go around. Steady Crew brought breakdancing to a national audience. Soon other b-boys and b-girls were featured in films and even appeared on The David Letterman —Snoop Dogg Show and 20/20. National stardom also came true for several MCs and DJs from the Bronx (like Grandmaster Flash) who released hip-hop records that climbed the pop charts. The first rap record to gain national attention was “Rapper’s Delight,” by . “Rapper’s Delight” introduced the hip-hop sound to listeners across the country, paving the way for the hip-hop movement to spread around the globe.

© Copyright John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Used with permission. 1980s & 90s Pop Culture: 8 How Much Do You Know?

Match the artist with the song. 1. Big Daddy Kane a. “Keep Ya Head Up” 2. Beastie Boys b. “U.N.I.T.Y.” FLY GIRLS: As 3. A Tribe Called Quest c. “Ain’t No Half Steppin’” a young girl, one of Paige’s favorite tv 4. d. “Sweet Love” shows was In Living 5. Sheila E e. “Paid in Full” Color. a comedy show 6. Anita Baker f. “Check the Rhime” that ran from 1990 7. Queen Latifah g. “Fight for Your Right (to Party)” to 1994. Featuring a Mostly African 8. Monie Love h. “It’s a Shame (My Sister)” American cast, it 9. Eric B and Rakim i. “Big Daddy” launched the careers 10. Heavy D j. “The Glamorous Life” of Jamie Foxx, Jim Carrey, and David Alan Grier. The show was known for its hip hop , the Fly Girls. The original choreographer was Rosie Perez; among the dancers were and Carrie Ann Inaba.

Can you identify these pop-culture references from Paige in Full?

1. Soul Train is: 4. Pleather is: a. another name for the Underground Railroad. a. a rapper known for the song “Bad Boy for Life.” b. a tv show where people danced to live music by b. a synthetic leather-like material made out of plastic. popular R&B, soul, and hip hop artists. c. a style of breakdancing popular on the West Coast. c. a brand of dog food. d. a brand of furniture polish. d. a hip hop . 5. Saved By the Bell is: 2. Walkman is: a. a phrase from a comedy show called Laugh-In. a. a professional dog walker. b. a hit song by the singer Patti LaBelle. b. a superhero from a 1970s television show. c. a biography of heavyweight boxer . c. a portable audiocassette player. d. a tv sitcom about a group of friends and their d. a nightclub bouncer. principal at a high school in California.

3. Sally Struthers is: 6. Billy Ocean is: a. an actress who first became famous on a tv sitcom a. a chain of seafood restaurants. called All in the Family. b. the main character in the movie Ocean’s Eleven. b. a brand of cupcakes popular in the 1970s and 80s. c. 1980s slang for “body odor” (B.O.) c. a cartoon character. d. an R&B singer best known for his 1985 Grammy-

d. a singer famous for the song “Bad Girls.” winning song, “Caribbean Queen.” Match the Artist: 1-c; 2-g; 3-f; 4-a; 5-j; 6-d; 7-b; 8-h; 9-e; 10-i Pop-culture Multiple Choice: 1-b; 2-c; 3-a; 4-b; 5-d; 6-d 5-d; 4-b; 3-a; 2-c; 1-b; Choice: Multiple Pop-culture 10-i 9-e; 8-h; 7-b; 6-d; 5-j; 4-a; 3-f; 2-g; 1-c; Artist: the Match The Place You 9 Come From

Paige in Full is about the people, places, and things that shaped Paige Hernandez as she was growing up. I Am From... Some of the recurring themes in the show are music, In this activity, you will create an identity poem using the relationships, and cultural identity. You’ll also hear lots people, places, and experiences you have encountered during of references to her hometown, Baltimore, Maryland your lifetime. Each line of your poem will begin with the phrase (nicknamed “Charm City”)—from the neighborhoods “I am from.” The second half of the line will be your answer to geography to the food and the famous people who question. For example: came from there. One section of the play is entitled “Baltimore: The I am from spaghetti and meatballs. Haiku Series.” (A haiku is a three-line poem, with five I am from Red Rover, Red Rover. syllables in the first and third line, and seven syllables What is your favorite meal? ______in the second line.) Can you create a Haiku for your town? What are What is a game you played as a child? ______some of the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells that What is your favorite movie? ______come to you when you think about your town? What are your parents’ names? ______

BAWLMORE What is an object you will find in your room?______

What town were you born in? ______

What is your favorite memory from childhood?______

What song do you feel best describes your life? ______BALTIMORE STREET Freak to club music What is a saying or phrase you heard as a child? ______Loud and fast heart rate BODYMOREI feel Bal-di-more keeps still Don’t worry if your sentences aren’t grammatically correct, or even logical; poetry doesn’t always have to follow the rules! Once your class has finished your poems, work in groups of 4 BAL-DI-MORE or 5 to create a performance piece combining all your poems. You can read them one right after another, or mix up the lines NORTH AVE B-MORE I speak like crab cake from different poems: whatever you agree sounds best. Chicken box with half and half Work on staging your performance piece. Decide whether Baltimore feeds me you want to speak your poems as a group, or have each line spoken by the person who wrote it. Create your choreography; will you stand in a line, in clumps, or scattered around? Will you HARM CITY remain in one place or move around the space? Do you want to SMALLTIMORE create movements to accompany each line? As a group, practice your piece until you can do it the same way each time. Share your poetry performance with the rest of your class. Check out Sharon MacBride Riley’s NJ Haiku blog: http://njhaiku.blogspot.com What Are You? 10

Growing up as a girl of mixed African American, Cuban, and Chinese heritage, Paige is often questioned about her identity. People ask her, “What are you?” She explores this phenomenon in the play by posing three questions: “Am I Black Enough?” “Am I Latin Enough?” and “Are You Chinese?” The Circles activity explores identity: how you see yourself, and also how others see you. Here’s how it works:

1. On the diagram below, write your name in the center 4. As a class, discuss some of the stories you heard from your circle. In each of the four satellite circles, put something partners that made a particularly strong impression. (First that you consider most important in how you define make sure you have their permission to share it with the yourself (for example: female, athlete, Indian American, rest of the class.) brother, Jewish, tall, etc.). 5. Next, each person in the class should share their “I am” 2. Working with a partner, share two stories with each other. statement. It is important that everyone pay attention and First, share a story about when you felt especially proud to be respectful of each other’s statements. belong to one of the categories you listed on your 6. With your class, discuss these questions: diagram. Then share a story about a time when it was • How do the aspects of your identity that you chose as especially painful to be associated with one of those important differ from the aspects other people use to categories. make judgments about you? 3. Think about a stereotype you have heard about one of the • How did it feel to be able to stand up and challenge your groups you listed in your circles that does not accurately stereotype? describe you. Then complete the sentence in the box, • Did anybody hear somebody challenge a stereotype that below right: you once bought into? If so, what? “I am [category from one of your circles], BUT I am not___.” • Where do stereotypes come from? Why do so many of us believe them, or fail to challenge them when we know they aren’t true?

I am ______, BUT I am not ______.

adapted from an EdChange project © Paul C. Gorski, 1995-2012 Finding Real Love 11

Young love was a new feeling of curiosity and lust.

Dumb love was test of my ability, strength, and trust.

Tough love is where it was clear that I deserved more.

Real love is where I blossomed. Real love made me whole.

Paige in Full includes a section titled “Love,” where Paige reminisces about the different types of love she experienced from middle school through adulthood. She gushes about her first crush. Then things get serious when she tells about a dangerous, abusive relationship she stayed in far too long. Finally, by practicing a little tough love on herself, she gets out of it; she is free to find real love. It takes hard work and self-respect to build a healthy relationship. The three essential components of any good relationship are: • OPEN AND CLEAR COMMUNICATION DATING ABUSE STATISTICS: • MUTUAL TRUST • 1 in 3 teenagers reports knowing a • MUTUAL RESPECT friend or peer who has been hit, punched, kicked, slapped, choked or Unfortunately, abusive relationships are far too common. Some of physically hurt by their partner. the signs of an abusive relationship are: • If trapped in an abusive relationship, • PHYSICAL ABUSE - hitting, kicking, shoving, biting, choking, or 73% of teens said they would turn to a other physical violence meant to cause fear or injury. friend for help; but only 33% who have been in or known about an abusive • EMOTIONAL ABUSE - such as threats, insults, humiliation, relationship said they have told anyone intimidation, isolation, or stalking. about it. • SEXUAL ABUSE - any action that forces you to do anything • Nearly 80% of girls who have been sexually that you don’t want to do, including refusing to have physically abused in their intimate safe sex, aggressively pressuring you to go further than you relationships continue to date their abuser. want to, or making you feel bad about yourself sexually. • DATING ABUSE VIA TECHNOLOGY - Spreading rumors and • 1 in 4 teenage girls who have been in relationships reveal they have been posting private or embarrassing pictures and videos via pressured to perform oral sex or engage cellphones and social networking sites. Constantly texting or in intercourse. emailing a partner to check on where they are, what they’re • 71% of teens regard boyfriends/ doing, or who they’re with. girlfriends spreading rumors about them on cellphones and social networking sites as a serious problem. National Dating Abuse Helpline: 1-866-331-9474 or text “loveis” to 77054 Liz Claiborne Inc. study conducted by Teenage Research Unlimited; February 2005. Resources 12

RACE, CULTURE, AND DIVERSITY

What Are You?: Voices of Mixed-Race Young People, edited by Pearl Fuyo Gaskins. Henry Holt and Co., 1999. In essay, interview, and poetry, 45 mixed-race young people speak about growing up in contemporary American society.

Black? White? Asian? More Young Americans Choose All of the Above. New York Times article from January 29, 2011, discusses changing demographics and perceptions of multiracial people. www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/us/30mixed.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

HIP HOP

Beats & Rhymes: Hip-Hop Of The ‘90s. Rhino Records, 1997. A three-volume survey of rap music from the 1990s.

Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip hop Generation, by . St. Martin’s Press, 2005. Hip hop journalist Chang looks back on 30 years of the cultural landscape, with a particular focus on the African-American street scene.

“Manifesto for the Hip-Hop Arts Movement,” by Danny Hoch. Hoch, founder of the Hip-Hop Theater Festival, authored this article about hip hop arts and the its cultural aesthetic. www.dannyhoch.com/pdf/TowardsAHip-HopAesthetic.pdf

“Recognize! Hip Hop and Contemporary Portraiture,” National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institute. The six artists and one poet whose work is included this exhibit have approached hip hop culture through the lens of portraiture. www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/recognize/index.html

HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS

In Love and In Danger: A Teen’s Guide to Breaking Free of Abusive Relationships, by Barrie Levy. Seal Press, 2006. This guide is designed to help teens help themselves. The book includes personal narratives from young women caught in unhealthy, addictive relationships; profiles of dating abusers; ways to identify whether a relationship is abusive, and suggestions for coping.

TeensHealth is a website for teens that covers, among other subjects, relationship issues such as what makes a healthy relationship, the warning signs when a relationship is becoming unhealthy, improving self esteem, getting over a breakup, and date rape. http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/#cat20126 What’s Your Role at the Show? 13

Live theater is a collaboration between the performers and the audience. The artists have spent weeks, months—even years—creating a show to inspire and engage you. Your role in this artistic collaboration is very important to the success of the performance. Make sure you understand your part and follow these simple rules.

1 When the performance begins, focus your full attention on the stage.

2 Turn off all electronic devices.

Keep them off for SHOWʼS ABOUT TO START. the entire show. TURN ME OFF!

3 No texting or checking messages.

4 No photography or recording of any kind.