WHERE: U Street Music Hall – 1115 U Street NWDC
WHEN: Friday, May 31
TIME: 7pm; doors open at 6:30pm
TICKETS: $10 online, $15 at the door ($10 at the door with Youth Forum ID)
Limited pre-sale tickets are available!
18+ EVENT

This is also the end of ECAASU’s Youth Leadership Week. The week of May 28th to the 31st, ECAASU has numerous networking workshops, round-tables discussions and speakers, discussing a range of issues. Time to unwind and have fun after such an informative and professional week.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

With over 15 years of DJing experience, Les Talusan a.k.a. The Pinstriped Rebel spins an eclectic and fun mix of music, maintaining the highest quality control across a freeform blend of soul, funk, deep house & old school hip-hop, even throwing in some 80s freestyle & the occasionally obscure pop gem. Born and raised in Manila, Les fell in love with music at a young age, DJing at local clubs and playing in bands. Since moving to DC from the Philippines, she has continued to develop her talents, performing behind the decks throughout the U.S. and abroad.

+ Sarmust explores a mixture between Alt-Rock, Proto-punk, Dance-punk, Caribbean music, African polyrhythms, Classical & Folk music from South Asia, and Sufi musical traditions like Qawwali. In an attempt to create a new sound that is rooted in angst and mysticism but ultimately about universal love and activism.

+ From the Bronx, NY, Dale Andrew Batoon is a graduate of Georgetown University. While there, he delved into poetry, first performing his work at a Sulu DC showcase on campus. Since then, he has competed at numerous poetry slams, including the College Union Poetry Slam Invitational, and founded the Corpus Collective, Georgetown’s first poetry slam team.

Sulu DC’s first show on November 21, 2009 in the basement of St. Stephen’s Church.

Dear artists, supporters, and friends of Sulu DC:

I am immensely grateful for the love and support you have shown me over the years as a co-founder and Executive Director of Sulu DC, and most of all as a spoken word poet. Creating an organization from the ground up and sustaining it is no easy task but you fueled my spirit with your presence at shows, conversations on the role of art and artists in society, and faith in my vision and leadership. It’s been an incredible journey, laughing and crying with you and being inspired by the various artists showcased at our monthly program, The Sulu Series; working with Sulu DC’s volunteers and leaders; and getting to know our partner organizations. After four years, it is now time for me to get back to my own writing and performance, go to graduate school, and start other artistic projects. It is with a full heart that I step down as Executive Director at the end of April.

Sulu DC will continue to build on the foundation developed over the years thanks to Jackie Branscomb, Alex Cena, Peter DeCrescenzo, Thu Nguyen, Megan Pagado, and Joyce Yin—all are committed, talented individuals whom I trust to move Sulu DC forward and keep the light going. I hope you will show your support for them by coming to the upcoming installments of The Sulu Series: “First Drafts” on Thursday, April 25^th at Black Fox Lounge at 8 pm (tickets available here) and the AAPI Heritage Month Bash with ECAASU on Friday, May 31^st at U Street Music Hall. We are all excited about the next chapter in Sulu DC’s history and invite you to connect with the organization via Facebook, Twitter, and email at suludc@gmail.com.

I am looking forward to seeing what the universe has in store for me as I explore establishing my own arts social enterprise and apply to graduate schools across and outside of the US. No matter where I end up, I will always carry with me the friendships I’ve made and lessons I’ve learned during my time with Sulu DC. Thank you for your steadfast support and for filling the past four years with such meaning. I hope we will remain connected—drop me a line at jenny.c.lares@gmail.com, read up on my new adventures on my website, and follow me on Twitter for upcoming performances.

To say “see you soon”—not goodbye—and to ring in the new chapter of Sulu DC, we will be celebrating on H Street NE starting at the Biergarten Haus on Friday, May 3 at 10 pm. Hope to see you there!

Always,

jenny c. lares

WHERE: Black Fox Lounge (in the basement) – 1723 Connecticut Ave, NW
WHEN: Thursday, April 25th
TIME: 8pm; doors open at 7:30pm
TICKETS: $10 (cash & credit accepted at the door)
A limited number of pre-sale tickets are available online!

HOSTED BY:
+ SNRG – EyeSpk and BEAUcanLAST [http://snrgonline.com/]

FEATURED ARTISTS:
+ Anirudh ‘Eka’ Dhullipalla [http://anirudh-eka.tumblr.com/]
+ Tarfia Faizullah [http://tarfiafaizullah.posterous.com/]
+ Jessa Martinez
+ Including Pivotal Pieces by local community members!

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
+ SNRG or ‘Some Never Really Get’ is a North Virginia/DC based hip-hop collective.

“What is SNRG? -Passion. Passion shared through music, graphic design, photography, film and fashion. -The quintessential ‘Coalition of Creatives’ manifested. -A platform of self-expression ranging from active artists— all the way to the hidden artist that may reside within you.

SNRG. Some Never Really Get. . . those that Get it- Get us.”

+ Anirudh ‘Eka’ Dhullipalla is a poet born in Hyderabad, India and raised in Minnesota and North Carolina. Eka can’t remember when he really “started” writing poetry, but his affair with spoken word began in 2008. He joined Sacrificial Poets, the Chapel Hill Youth Slam Team, on their first trip to Brave New Voices in Washington, DC. It was an amazing and eye opening event and from then on he could not put down the pen. Since then he has performed and featured in North Carolina, Atlanta, London, and Washington, D.C. He is thankful for all the love and support he gets on and off the stage. He is humbled by every moment an ear has given him because words are just sounds coming out of throats until someone chooses to give them meaning. To him, the listener is the artist, the poet just brings the paint. http://anirudh-eka.tumblr.com/ and twitter is @anirudh_eka

+Tarfia Faizullah is the author of Seam (Southern Illinois University Press, 2014), winner of the 2012 Crab Orchard Series in Poetry First Book Award. Her poems appear in Ploughshares, The Missouri Review, The Southern Review, Massachusetts Review, Ninth Letter, and other journals, and are anthologized in Poems of Devotion: An Anthology of Recent Poets (Wipf & Stock, 2012). A Kundiman fellow, she received her MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University where she served as associate editor of Blackbird, and is the recipient of an AWP Intro Journals Project Award, a Ploughshares Cohen Award, a Fulbright Fellowship, a Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Prize, scholarships from Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Sewanee Writers’ Conference, the Kenyon Review Writers’ Workshop, and other honors. She lives in Washington, DC, where she teaches creative writing and is an editor for Asian American Literary Review and Organic Weapon Arts Chapbook Press.

+ Jessa Martinez is part of Asian American LEAD and will be performing for the first time in front of a live audience!

Check out the Facebook event for more information.

Emergence Community Arts Collective
733 Euclid St. NWDC

Tickets: $10 at the door only (cash & credit)

RSVP at the Facebook event and invite your friends!

Our next installment of The Sulu Series is a collaboration with the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF), the only national multi-issue advocacy organization for Asian and Pacific Islander women.

Hosted by jenny c. lares, the evening will feature performances by Gowri K. and Michelle Myers.

Gowri K’s performance is sponsored by Poets & Writers, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Company.

About the artists

Gowri K. is a Sri Lankan Tamil American poet and lawyer. Her advocacy has addressed animal welfare, the environment, and the rights of prisoners and the criminally accused. She has co-authored two peer-reviewed scientific journal articles and her poetry has been published in Beltway Poetry Quarterly, Bourgeon, and Lantern Review. Gowri was the first Asian American to represent DC on a poetry slam team and has performed at Lincoln Center Out of Doors, the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage, and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. She hosts open mics at Busboys and Poets and BloomBars, where she serves as poetry coordinator. Gowri is a communications consultant with Making It Slam and a poetry editor with Jaggery: A DesiLit Arts and Literature Journal. She tweets on-the-spot haiku @gowricurry.

Michelle Myers is a spoken word poet, community activist, and educator. She is a founding member of the spoken word poetry group Yellow Rage, a dynamic duo of Philly-based Asian American female spoken word poets; the group is best known for appearing on the first season of the critically-acclaimed HBO television series Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry and performing in the first-ever live Def Poetry Jam show at the 2001 HBO U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, CO. In the spring of 2011, she released her solo poetry book The SHE Book; all proceeds from the book support two projects: 1) Write the World, a program that seeks to connect children around the world to one another through the arts and letter-writing, and 2) Odanadi-U.S., an anti-trafficking organization that services women and children in India. Finally, Michelle was a featured performer in the First Person Arts’ RAW Festival; her show The SHE Project was presented at The Painted Bride Arts Center in November 2011.

“I write my jokes pretty much anywhere – wherever I find something amusing or interesting. I make sure to write down a lot of the personal stories, because I’ll forget it if I don’t do that. The observational humor, I’ll write anywhere: on the train, on a plane, wherever I’m witnessing the oddities of life.”

Read the rest of Where the Girls Go‘s interview with D’Lo here. Looking forward to seeing everyone at the show tonight!

Thursday, February 21, 2013 at 8:00 pm
Black Fox Lounge (basement), 1723 Connecticut Avenue NWDC
UPDATE: Tickets are $10; bypass the line and buy your ticket now! Tickets will also be sold at the door (cash and credit accepted).
RSVP at the Facebook event and invite your friends!

Ready for more after our 2013 Sulu DC series kick-off? We know you are! On Thursday, February 21st, Sulu DC presents a night filled with giggles, chuckles, and all-out laughter at the Black Fox Lounge featuring D’Lo, Elahe Izadi and Yash Purandare and hosted by the one and only Regie Cabico.

PRE-SALE TICKETS AND HAPPY HOUR SPECIALS: In anticipation of another fabulous Sulu Series show, Sulu DC has decided to release a limited number of pre-sale tickets. Get yours today and bypass the line! Also, with a minimum donation of $5 to Sulu DC, get Black Fox Lounge’s happy hour specials all night! Donations will be taken at the door.

About the artists

D’Lo is a queer/trans Tamil Sri L.A.nkan-American, political theatre artist/writer, poet, director, comedian and music producer. D’Lo has performed and/or facilitated performance and writing workshops extensively (US, Canada, UK, Germany, Sri Lanka and India). D’Lo is also the creator of the “Coming Out, Coming Home” writing workshop series which have taken place with South Asian and/or Immigrant Queer Organizations nationally. Aside from touring the university/college circuit with D’FaQTo Life (pr. defacto), D’Lo tours Ramble-Ations: A One D’Lo Show (dir. Adelina Anthony) which received the NPN Creation Fund Grant inclusive of residencies in 9 US cities and additional support from the Durfee Foundation Grant. Early this year, D’Lo worked as the sound designer for Cherrie Moraga’s new play New Fire which premiered at Brava Theater. He is also working on his latest solo show Minor D’Tales and touring his full-length stand-up storytelling show D’FunQT (pr. defunct) internationally (SF, NY, Manchester, UK and 7-city tour in India and Sri Lanka). Lastly, he is in workshop production for his 2nd full length play Boys that Pray (dir. Laurie Woolery) which received funding from the Astraea Foundation and is editing the anthology of coming out stories that have been compiled from his “Coming Out, Coming Home” workshop series.
dlocokid.com

Elahe Izadi is a D.C.-based standup comic. She grew up in rural Maryland and is the daughter of Iranian immigrants who own an Italian restaurant, so yeah, she has plenty to talk about. Elahe has performed at DC Improv Lounge, Riot Act and is a past BloomBars and Sulu DC feature performer. She is also a journalist covering politics for National Journal.
elaheizadi.com | @elaheizadi

Yash Purandare is a DC-based comedian, attorney, and wolf-boy. Although his standup career, beginning in 2012, has been relatively short, he has been packing rooms with his intelligent and, perhaps, scarring outlook on race, popular culture nerdism, and body hair. It is his great white hope to leave behind the legal profession and play in the NBA.
@ypurandare

Sulu DC presents: Sound Check
Thursday, January 31, 2013 at 8:00 pm
Black Fox Lounge, 1723 Connecticut Avenue NWDC
Tickets are $10 and will only be sold at the door (cash and credit accepted)
RSVP at the Facebook event and invite your friends!

At the beginning of anything big, a ‘sound check’ must be performed in order to establish the best possible sound and experience for performers and the audience. Join us for our 2013 kickoff show, which will be a melding of art and community collaboration, bringing together artists and organizers in the DC Asian American and Pacific Islander community.

Hosted by Azizah Ahmad, the show features Diana Bui and Vincent Lacsamana and guest performances by members of the DC AAPI community, including Bryan Lozano, Anirudh, DISE, Jo Quiambao and Pia, and Christian Oh. View more info at the Facebook event!

Happy New Year! From all of us here at Sulu DC, we hope your 2013 started off bright and full of love and merriment.

We’ve been hard at work since our inaugural show in November 2009, and we can’t wait to share our plans for the 4^th year of Sulu DC. But before jumping into the future, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on our journey thus far. We remain strong today because of the tireless energy of the volunteer staff from the past three years, the phenomenal artists who blessed the Sulu stage and inspire us all, and the community who supports us through rain and heat and ice (literally and figuratively).

2012 was a year of adjustment as we shifted into producing shows on a bimonthly basis and transitioned a relatively new Executive Team. Like any organization, we’ve had bumps along the road (sometimes procrastination gets the better of even the best of us). Yet we accomplished a lot, and we remain an entirely volunteer-run organization.

Notable highlights from 2012 include:

• We received the Community Service Award from the DC Mayor’s Office on API Affairs for our work of supporting and advocating for API artists in the District.
• We packed the Ballroom in Artisphere for “IGNITION: A Queer Asian American Performance Showcase,” our collaboration with the National Queer API Alliance in conjunction with their conference.
• 22 performance and visual artists from local, regional, and national scenes shared their stories with over 300 audience members.

It was an honor to receive the DC Mayor’s Award, especially as such a young organization. It certainly renewed our spirits and fueled our motivation to bring exceptional talent to the District and to carve a space for meaningful connections within and beyond the API community at-large.

We are looking forward to a smarter, gradual growth in 2013, as we:

• Continue to present diverse and engaging performance artists on a monthly basis at various venues across the District, primarily at Black Fox Lounge in Dupont Circle.
• Grow our relationship with artists and audiences through conducting interviews, organizing spaces to connect, and utilizing technology to experiment with the way we interact with art and artists.
• Forge partnerships with API- and arts-focused organizations.
• Explore innovative ways to sustain the future of Sulu DC.

On behalf of the Executive Team, I thank you for helping Sulu DC build a home for API artists. We hope to see you at “SOUNDCHECK,” our first show of the year on January 31^st, 8 PM at Black Fox Lounge, featuring all DC-based artists.

love & light,

jenny c. lares

co-founder & executive director

La-Ti-Do
Monday, November 26, 2012
Doors open at 7:50pm for an 8pm start
$10 admission at the door

Hosts: DonMike Mendoza & Regie Cabico
Guest performers: Tara Trinity, Mikey Cafarelli, Jenny Lares, Alex Cena… more to come!
Accompanist: Jonathan Tuzman
More info