WISDOM LINES
Cast
WISDOM LINES is inspired by interviews with community elders Carlos Castañeda, Beverly Grant, and Debora Montoya.
Movement Makers: Lisa Engelken, Kid Astronaut, Franklin Cruz
Original Poetry: Franklin Cruz
Original Music: Elias Garcia
Collaborator: Soul Stories
Special Thanks: Jeff Fard of Brother Jeff’s Cultural Center and Cafe and Jeff Campbell of Emancipation Theater Company
Soul Stories
To create Wisdom Lines, Franklin Cruz and the Artibus core cooks collaborated with Soul Stories to create an online series RECIPE for Community: Stories From Denver's Past. Soul Stories’ mission is to provide opportunities to have challenging conversations within and between communities.
Franklin invited three of their community elders, Carlos Castañeda, Beverly Grant, and Deborah Montoya, to speak candidly about their recipes for life in an online session. Next, Lisa Engelken, Kid Astronaut, and Franklin created a movement piece inspired by the interviews and Elias Garcia created an original musical score that he played live during the recording. The piece was filmed at Brother Jeff’s Cultural Center, a long-standing community hub located in Five Points, Denver.
To dive deeper into the “Stories from Denver’s Past” series, each conversation is available below:
Soul Stories Founder Danny Mazur and Creative Director Shelsea Ochoa interview Frank Smith, legendary Denver hairstylist, and his daughter Cherie Robison-Shaw, who carries on the family legacy of hair-care within the Black community of Denver. Since this interview, Frank has passed away due to Covid-19.
Soul Stories founder Danny Mazur and Creative Director Shelsea Ochoa interview Jim Cronin , a science teacher and science fiction author who taught in Denver middle schools for thirty years. David, his son, joins the conversation for an intergenerational discussion about growing up in Denver.