Actor, activist, director, dancer, teacher, singer, and writer, Rhodessa Jones, will present an evening of explorations, excavations, and celebrations of memory of growing up in America entitled, “The Living Memory: Second Phase” on Thursday, October 20, at 7:30 p.m., in the Balch Auditorium, Scripps College. The performance, featuring students and Ms. Jones is a culmination of Gender and Women’s Studies 195: Internship in Feminist Activism: Creative Survival, Creative Performance. The event is free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. Ms. Jones’ visit to The Claremont College community is sponsored by a grant from the Mellon Foundation to Scripps College in support of gender and women’s studies programming. For more information, please contact the Intercollegiate Women’s Studies of The Claremont Colleges (909) 621-8274.
Rhodessa Jones is a celebrated performer and co-artistic director of the San Francisco performance company, Cultural Odyssey. Since its founding in 1979, Cultural Odyssey has worked to develop original and creative performances by artists of all cultures. As one of the premier performance troupes of the San Francisco Bay Area, Cultural Odyssey has showcased its talent both nationally and internationally, and planted interactive, artistic roots within the local community. The reciprocal relationship between Cultural Odyssey and the community has provided an influential medium for reflection and discussion.
As the founder and director of the award-winning, “Medea Project: Theatre for Incarcerated Women,” Ms. Jones has incepted a unique and powerfully innovative outlet for incarcerated women and ex-offenders. Ms. Jones helps the women, who have been silenced, to find a voice and mode of expression. By capitalizing on the therapeutic elements of art, Ms. Jones has helped to transform the lives of over 300 women. Many of the participants of the Medea Project have made successful returns to society and nearly all of the women report positive life changes following their involvement with Ms. Jones’s visionary program. The San Francisco Examiner hailed the Medea Project “a fascinating project that clearly illustrates how artistic endeavors are a major force in the process of recovery.”
The multi-talented Rhodessa Jones has earned critical acclaim for her involvement in various creative endeavors including Cultural Odyssey and The Medea Project. In 2003, she was awarded a Non-Profit Arts Excellence Award by the San Francisco Business Arts Council and received an Otto Rene Castillo Award for Political Theatre.