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unFRAMED: A Man in Progress
Event on 2011-09-22 00:00:00
The Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, in collaboration with Double Play Connections and Doing Life Productions, Jane Dubin, Executive Producer, presents Iyaba Ibo Mandingo’s unFRAMED: A Man in Progress, directed by Brent Buell, on Thursday, September 22 at 1:30pm, Friday, September 23 at 7:30pm and Saturday, September 24 at 7:30pm at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, 899 Tenth Avenue, NYC. Tickets are ( students) and are available at www.ticketcentral.com or by phone at 212-279-4200. All shows will be followed by a JUST-US Dialogue.

Winner of the 2011 Award for Excellence in Theatre from the DC Black Theatre Festival, “In unFRAMED writer and performer Iyaba Ibo Mandingo tells the story of his journey from Antigua to America. It wasn't without tribulations; navigating treacherous times without a father, Mandingo turned to art. unFRAMED puts the art front and center: Mandingo uses painting, poetry, prose and song to tell a story that echoes the lives of many.” – Times Herald Record.

At the age of eleven, Iyaba is plucked from the tropical comfort of his childhood and taken to a new life in a strange country. unFRAMED is his poetic tale of life as an immigrant – from boyhood in Antigua to manhood in America. Using canvas, paint, poetry, prose and song, Iyaba Ibo Mandingo tells a story of his transformation -from “Mommy Me No Wanna Go Merrica” – a prophetic piece that hints at the many trials he will face in a new land – to his powerful political poetry which leads to his arrest and attempted deportation in post 9/11 America, Iyaba shares his rage, his determination, and his hope while he paints his self-portrait and successfully struggles to redefine his humanity, rediscover his smile, and truly accept himself for the first time. Presented in conjunction with an exhibit of his original artwork, audiences are invited into the studio of the artist where painting and poetry create unframed art.

"Iyaba IS a true work of art — a powerful poet, painter and performer (among many other things); that raw/rare breed whose naked truth shatters long-held myths about life in America. Real deal."
– Forrest McClendon, 2011 Tony Award Nominee, The Scottsboro Boys

“One of the most powerful, sometimes funny, often angry but ultimately life-affirming shows I've ever seen! GO EXPERIENCE IT!!!” – Frank Lowell, WTBQ

“Everyone needs to know what a fantastic – simply great show this is. Humor, depth, artistry – it has it all and it is truly an engaging and wonderful evening of theater … Heart, heart, heart. GO to this show – it's one of the best evenings of theater you will experience and I can not recommend it highly enough!”
- M. Peters, Esq, Audience Member

IYABA IBO MANDINGO (Playwright, Performer) – painter, poet, writer, and playwright – is a native of Antigua, West Indies, who came to the United States in 1980 as a young boy. His earliest exposures to the arts were through his mother, a professional singer, and his grandparents, a tailor and a seamstress who first introduced him to colors and patterns, paving a path to his many ways of expression: drawing, painting, sculpting, writing and performing. Iyaba studied fine arts at Southern Connecticut State University and today teaches in and around the tri-state area as a Master Teaching Artist. He is a member of the Harlem Arts Alliance.

Iyaba is a two-time Connecticut Grand Slam champion and in January 2011 won Yale University’s Martin Luther King Birthday Invitational Slam, his third such win. He appears regularly as a performance poet in venues across the United States and abroad, including Nuyorican Poetry Café, Brooklyn Moon, and Next Door Café among others in the NY area and was the keynote performer at the 2011 Westchester, NY Poetry Festival. He will be a keynote performer this fall at the Montserrat National Festival of Words.
Iyaba was awarded a national Percent for the Arts Program artist grant, as well as grants from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts and multiple commendations from the Nassau County African American Museum. His artwork has been included in over a dozen group and individual shows in the tri-state area. He was recently seen at 59E59 as Henry in Deb Margolin’s The Expenses of Rain (Laura Barnett, director). He is the author of three chapbooks of poetry, 41 Times, Amerikkan Exile and his latest, 40 days & 40 nites of write. His new novel, Sins of My Fathers, will be released in early 2012. He is a New York Theatre Workshop Summer, 2011 Artist in Residence.

unFRAMED has been presented all over the east coast, including at the Railroad Playhouse in Newburgh, the Puffin Cultural Forum, as a Spotlight show at the DC Black Theatre Festival; at colleges and universities (York College, NY; Nichols College, MA; University of Baltimore, MD; Rider College, NJ); galleries (Casa Frela, Harlem; Gallery 1212, CT) and the Hudson Valley Writers’ Center.

at Gerald W. Lynch Theatre/John Jay College

New York, United States