Pioneering Playwright Kathleen Collins Celebrated in Oakland Theater Project’s ‘Begin the Beguine’

KQED's Forum

KQED

News Commentary, News, Politics

4.2 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 2 July 2021

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When film director, poet and playwright Kathleen Collins passed away in 1988, her work had yet to fully receive its due. Following the efforts of her daughter Nina Lorez Collins, her 1982 film “Losing Ground,” one of the first feature films directed by a Black American woman, received a theatrical release in 2015 — and is presently streaming for free on Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive’s website through July 6. Her books “Whatever Happened to Interracial Love?” and “Notes From a Black Woman’s Diary” were published in the past five years, and her collection of four one-act plays, entitled “Begin the Beguine,” is being performed by Oakland Theater Project via livestream and drive-in through July 3. We’ll talk with Oakland Theater Project co-directors Michael Socrates Moran and Dawn L. Troupe, who also stars in each of the four plays, about “Begin the Beguine” and Collins’ artistic legacy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Support for Forum comes from Rancho La Puerta, a wellness resort in Baja, California, just an hour from San Diego.
0:07.6	Three, four, and seven-night summer packages include fitness classes, hiking, live music, mindfulness, and culinary adventures, featuring fruits and veggies straight off the vine.
0:18.9	Special rates and offers are available for summer stays and first-time guests.
0:23.8	Saver summer at Rancho LaPuerta.com.
0:28.3	Greetings, Boomtown.
0:29.7	The Xfinity Wi-Fi is booming!
0:32.0	Xfinity combines the power of internet and mobile.
0:35.2	So we've all got lightning fast speeds at home and on the go.
0:38.5	Learn more at Xfinity.com. Restrictions apply. Xfinity internet required. Actual speeds vary.
0:44.6	From KQED. Welcome back to Forum. I'm Alexis Madrigal. When film director, poet, and playwright
0:52.2	Kathleen Collins passed away in 1988, her work had yet to
0:55.8	fully receive its due. Following the efforts of her daughter, Nina Lores Collins, her 1982 film
1:01.3	Losing Ground, one of the first feature films directed by Black American Woman, received a theatrical
1:06.2	release in 2015, and is presently streaming for free on the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archives
1:12.2	website through July 6th. Her books, whatever happened to interracial love and notes from a
1:17.0	black woman's diary were published in the past five years, and her collection of four one-act
1:21.3	plays entitled Begin to Begin is being performed by Oakland Theater Project via live stream and drive-in
1:27.0	through tomorrow, July 3rd.
1:29.2	And it's also available on demand on their website.
1:33.3	We'll talk with Oakland Theater Project directors Michael Socrates Moran and Don Troop, who also stars in each of the four plays.
1:43.6	Welcome to the show, Don and Michael.
1:47.7	Thank you for having us.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from KQED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of KQED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.