January 8-14, 2004

artpicks

Sisterstage

festival

Stunning poetry, drumming, performance art and music marked the first installment of Sisterstage in 2002 at the First Unitarian Church. Now, Sisterstage is back with a vengeance. Daughters of the Diaspora -- Felicia Webster and Na Tanya' Davina' Stewart -- tore the house down at last year's Black Women's Arts Festival with drama, hip-hop, song and "informance art" and will likely do the same here. Poets Ellen Mason and Susan Windle will dish spoken word and melody, while Janet Mason will recite her verse alongside drummer Barbara McPherson. Then there's another Sisterstage alum, the multi-talented singer/songwriter Cassendre Xavier (a.k.a. Amethyste Rah). Perhaps you've witnessed her on one of Philadelphia's many small stages, or maybe it was in the Suburban Station concourse that the gentle strum of the guitar and the voice of an angel floated through the hustle and bustle. Standup comic Kelli Dunham plays emcee. Partial proceeds benefit the wonderful and recently saved Germantown Women's Y. Members of the opposite sex are welcome; boy bashing doesn't exist at Sisterstage.

Sisterstage, Sat., Jan. 10, 7-10 p.m., $12-$15, Germantown Women’s Y, 5820 Germantown Ave., 215-438-6166.

—Ain Ardron-Doley

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