#BARS Workshop - Week 2

To start off the second #BARS Workshop, instructor Rafael Casal interviewed the playwright and poet Lemon Anderson. The interview was livestreamed on The Public Theater's Facebook page and also filmed for a longer video series. During the interview, Lemon talked about how he brings a real hunger to all of his projects and insists on not doing anything half-assed or watered down. To illustrate this, he recalled collapsing during one of his one-man performances in part because he refused to drink water while he performed--to not show the audience that he's vulnerable when onstage. Lemon also talked about be 100% authentic with his work and not compromising to critics:

"I had to learn how to protect...how I am being criticized as an artist." - @LemonAndersen #BARSLAB @PublicTheaterNY pic.twitter.com/ZAYaBcZ6ux— #BARS @ The Public (@barsworkshopNYC) July 30, 2016

Casal expertly interviewed him asking questions ranging from how Lemon expresses his Puerto Rican heritage in his performances and also his upbringing during the golden age of hip hop to his work.


After the Lemon interview, we did a quick free write exercise where we got into groups and wrote scenes from famous movies, similar to what the first #BARS Workshop did for their final performance. We were given very limited time to write and perform as a group, and the goal was to get the creative juices flowing and rap in front of a group without inhibitions. Nobody's piece was going to be perfect given the time constraint, but the exercise was to get those who had never rapped before in front of an audience, a chance to do so in a low-stakes, supportive environment.

Looking forward to Week 3!