GEMS SPARKLE AGAIN!

2011 Winner

Board Chair T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh (In Living Color / Cosby / That’s So Raven) warmly invites you to the CHARM 2nd Annual Precious G.E.M.S.S. Scholarship Ball ~ 12 Noon to 3PM, Saturday, July 21, 2012 ~ Double Tree/Alsip, IL.  The G.E.M.S. (Growing Emotionally, Maturing Socially) program is designed to promote community outreach, respect, service and education in social skills and friendship among college bound high school seniors.  Our lovely young gems have been working hard for many weeks and four finalists, Whitney Granger, Cleontra Jones, Tytianna Nailon, and  Cyairra Smith-Clark, will now compete to share $10,000 in scholarships based on criteria that includes a written essay and community service.  

CHARM (which stands for: Challenge yourself; Honor yourself; Arm yourself with knowledge; Restore what's been broken and Motivate others) is a faith-based organization created by and for women to transform lives.  

2011 GEMS

We exist to assist women of all ages build self-esteem and to empower, encourage, and inspire them to passionately pursue God's purpose for their lives.  Our  motto, "Meeting You Where You Are", means that no matter where you are spiritually, socially, mentally, or emotionally, we will be there to meet you.  We will use our vast experiences along with our professional partners to knock down barriers and build character and confidence.  CHARM Outreach and Mentoring Services was founded by community advocate Michele Traylor.  The ball will include performances by the gems and will feature a three boy YouTube sensation band. Tickets are $50 and include lunch.  There will be a cash bar as well as a raffle. The deadline for purchasing tickets is JULY 11, 2012!  Get your tickets now at www.mycharm.org!

 

Stay Tuned for the Next Exciting Issue of  Keymáh Presents!

 

Keymáh Leads Greeks for HBCU's Team for UNCF Walk L.A.

2012 UNCF Los Angeles
Walk for Education
Anniversary FUNDRAISER

Actress / Activist T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh serves again as Honorary Captain of the Greeks for HBCU's Team, one of dozens of teams walking in the 30th Anniversary UNCF Los Angeles Walk for Education, on Saturday, June 2, 2012. More than 2,500 walkers in the Greater Los Angeles area will participate with an additional 100 volunteers helping on that day.  The annual 5K UNCF Walk for Education helps raise critical funds to support UNCF’s 38 member Historically Black Colleges and Universities and 55,000 students. The event participants represent a variety of corporate teams, groups, organizations and individual walkers.  

Keymáh, a graduate of Florida A&M University, says "Membership in Black Greek letter organizations on college campuses is preparation for a lifetime of service. It is no wonder then, that we are eager to help today's students enjoy that uniquely wonderful experience that is matriculation at an HBCU." She encourages Greeks and Non-Greeks to participate in the walk, saying, "I hope to see many other teams again this year. If you attended an HBCU or wanted to, if your parents did, your child did or does, or if you just want to make sure the HBCUs are there for future generations to attend, please support UNCF, and this walk!" To support or join T'Keyah's Team, Greeks for HBCU's, to support, join or form another team, or to learn more about the 2012 UNCF Walk for Education, Click Here!

Keymáh with the 2011 Greeks for HBCU's Team

UNCF is America’s oldest, largest, most successful and most comprehensive minority higher education assistance organization. UNCF provides 400 different scholarships and supports students attending over 900 colleges and universities in the country. Today’s UNCF students are attending college at a time when higher education is becoming less affordable. More than 90% of UNCF students need some form of financial aid. Most UNCF students come from disadvantaged families; 60% have family incomes of less than $30,000 and 60% are the first in their families to attend college.

WHEN 

SATURDAY, June 2, 2012
7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. Registration
8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Walk
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Post Walk Festivities & Entertainment

WHERE

The walk site of the Walk for Education will be at Coliseum Dr. and Menlo Ave., behind the Natural History Museum. With its expanded, carnival-like setting in Exposition Park, the UNCF Walk for Education is a wonderful family-oriented event full of entertainment, celebrities, great food, recreation and important information about the value of UNCF’s historically black colleges and universities.

Parking is $10.00  (Carpool if you can!)

The Crystal News - http://thecrystalnews.blogspot.com/ 
T'Keyah Fights City Hall - http://tkeyahfightscityhall.blogspot.com/ 

Keymah Presents - http://keymahpresents.blogspot.com/ 

www.tkeyah.com - Where Crystal visions come to life!

Don't Get Me Started at TBAAL

T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh, will appear at The Black Academy of Art & Letters (TBAAL) in their DRESS PERFORMANCE THEATRE SERIES production of her brand new stage show, "DON'T GET ME STARTED" on Friday, November 11 and Saturday, November 12, 20111 @ 8:15pm. Clarence Muse Café Theatre, Dallas Convention Center Theater Complex, 650 South Griffin Street, Dallas, TX 75202 (At the corner of Canton and Akard Streets). Tickets are $15, and are available at TicketMaster, http://www.ticketmaster.com/Tbaal-Presents-Tkeyah-Crystal-Keymah-tickets/artist/1654021. Hosted by Jack and Jill, Inc. 

David Mills, while a staff writer for the Washington Post, called T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh's work "Comedy with a Conscience".  A social activist for many years, T'Keyah says about Don’t Get Me Started, "My friends are tired of hearing me rant and rave about social-political issues, so I decided to take my two cents to the stage." That's exactly what T'KEYAH CRYSTAL KEYMÁH does in this engaging and thought provoking, one-woman show. She’ll charm you, inspire you, and hit you over the head, and you'll love her for it. In her signature style, T'Keyah brings her messages to the stage through the voices of a host of lovable characters old and new.  “Scary things are happening all over the world,” the actress says.  “Sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying. I help people along with that." http://www.ticketmaster.com/Tbaal-Presents-Tkeyah-Crystal-Keymah-tickets/artist/1654021. (214) 743-2440

The Crystal News - http://thecrystalnews.blogspot.com/ 
T'Keyah Fights City Hall - http://tkeyahfightscityhall.blogspot.com/ 

Keymah Presents - http://keymahpresents.blogspot.com/ 

www.tkeyah.com - Where Crystal visions come to life!

 Lamman and Keymáh Take Stage as NC Rolls out the Purple Carpet for the NBTF!

Co-Chairs Lamman Rucker and T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh preside over the 'marvtastic' opening night festivities of the 2011 National Black Theatre Festival, August 1-6 in Winston-Salem, NC.  Founded in 1989 by Larry Leon Hamlin, and produced by the North Carolina Black Repertory Company, the National Black Theatre Festival attracts close to 60,000 people to Winston-Salem and the city welcomes festival visitors with open arms. 

The week long event features a wide array of theatrical productions from across the country and beyond, NBTF Fringe, National Black Film Fest, NBTF Poetry Jam,  Youth / Celebrity Project, National Youth Talent Showcase, TeenTastic, The Readers Theatre, Collegiate Play Reading Marathon, Larry Leon Hamlin Solo Performance Series, International Colloquium, NBTF Artists Networking Showcase, Workshops & Seminars, International Vendors Market, and Celebrity Receptions!  Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and The People’s Choice Award winner Lillias White’s solo musical show, “LILLIAS WHITE… LIVE!  AT BLACK THEATRE HOLY GROUND” is the opening night gala performance.   

 

Amun Ra Theatre in Nashville, TN boasts two productions in the festival: the international premiere of jeff obafemi carr’s “Route 66: Finding Nat King Cole” (directed by T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh) and “Before the People Came.”  "Route 66," which debuted last fall at Amun Ra to sold out houses and rave reviews, explores how an actor struggles to fill the dramatic role of the great Nat “King” Cole and how he comes to grips with a life-long calling to present the story of one of the greatest performers in American history. Written and performed by jeff obafemi carr. (Solo Performance - General Audience).  

"Route 66" is part of a festival double bill with "Dr. May Edward Chinn", based on the life of May Chinn, the first African-American woman doctor at Harlem Hospital, who landed on the ground floor of early cancer detection in the 1940’s; Written by Laurence Holder. (Historical - General Audience)  

 The shows take place at Wake Forest #2 - The Ring Theatre, 1834 Wake Forest Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27106, on Tuesday, August 2 at 3PM and 8PM, and Wednesday, August 3, at 3PM and 8PM.  

"Before the People Came," also written by jeff obafemi carr, returns after the big splash it made at the 2009 NBTF.  In this show, African animals rule the world.  But during a deadly drought the only salvation is a pear tree guarded by a fierce, rare liger.  Will the animals resolve their differences and unite for survival?  (Children’s Theatre).   

The show takes place at Wake Forest #2 - The Ring Theatre, 1834 Wake Forest Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27106, on Wednesday, August 3, at 10AM and 1PM.

Some of the many other festival highlights include:  a celebrity dramatic reading of Ifa Bayeza’s “A Charleston Olio” based on her new novel with her sister, Ntozake Shange; “ALL AMERICAN GIRLS: A NEGRO LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN,” The Layon Gray Experience & The Black Gents of Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA; “Da Kink in My Hair,” Trey Anthony Studios, Toronto, Canada; “Juneteenth Blues Cabaret,” Juneteenth Legacy Theatre in New York; 

“Knock Me A Kiss” starring Andre de Shields and directed by Chuck Smith, New Federal Theatre, New York and Legacy Creative Arts Company, Chicago; Samm Art Williams’ “The Waiting Room,” The Ensemble Theatre, Houston, TX; “Shakin the Mess Outta Misery,” the NC Central U, Durham, NC;  “Three Sistahs,” Black Theatre Troupe, Phoenix, AZ; “Those Sensational Soulful 60’s,” Black Ensemble Theatre, Chicago; 

Gus Edwards’ “Two Old Black Guys Just Sitting Around Talking,” Penumbra Theatre Company, St. Paul, MN; Poet Kwame Dawes’ VOICES OF HAITI: A POST-QUAKE ODYSSEY IN VERSE (photography by Andre Lamberston and music by Kevin Simmonds), Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, Washington, DC ;  “Soul on Fire: The Musical,”  Onyx Vizion Productions, Oklahoma City, OK; “Mother to Mother” starring Thembi Mtshali-Jones from FreeVoice Productions, Cape Town, South Africa.  Other celebrity performers/attendees include Dorien Wilson, BernNadette Stanis, Richard Lawson, Vanessa Williams, Bobb'e J. Thompson, Dawnn Lewis, Nathan Purdee, Barbara Montgomery, Count Stovall, Phylicia Rashad and Glynn Turman, whose incredible show "Moving Man" opened the 2009 NBTF.  Tickets are on sale now at http://www.nbtf.org/.  

 *  *  *  *  *  *  *

The Crystal News - http://thecrystalnews.blogspot.com/ 
T'Keyah Fights City Hall - http://tkeyahfightscityhall.blogspot.com/ 

Keymah Presents - http://keymahpresents.blogspot.com/ 

www.tkeyah.com - Where Crystal visions come to life!

 

Keymah Chairs Habitat WE Build May 14-15, 2011

Calling All Women:  
Grab a Hammer and Join the Fun!

Habitat For Humanity Helping Women And Families Build New Lives « CBS Los Angeles

Last summer Habitat for Humanity San Fernando / Santa Clarita Valleys (SF/SCV) held their first Women's Empowerment (WE) Build, in Pacoima, CA. Working on the Entertainment Industries Council's team, T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh helped to frame a house that is now inhabited by a deserving family. The actress was so moved by the experience that she is chairing the 2011 WE Build on May 14 and 15, 2011. WE Build supports and celebrates women who work in non-traditional careers and those at the tops of their professions who encourage others by example and by sharing their success while women from all paths gather to uplift a community.

Habitat for Humanity SF/SCV is strengthening communities through their pioneering Enriched Neighborhoods program, whose services include health and nutrition training, dental hygiene, teen empowerment, tutoring, and ESL classes. In Pacoima, only 43% of high school students graduate, but in Habitat's Enriched Neighborhoods, Every child has graduated high school and 92% are attending or have graduated from college or trade school. 

The 2011 build will continue construction at the Pacooima build site., this time plastering, painting and building a playground.    Teams include "Days of Our Lives," "Bold & Beautiful," 'Entertainment Industries Council," and of course "Team T'Keyah,"  which includes Alison Arngrim, Margaret Laurena Kemp, Angela Nesbitt, Kristie LaTray, Dawnn Lewis, and Anneliese van der Pol, Please donate one or two days of your time. To participate, you need to go to the Habitat website, From there you can: Sponsor T'Keyah, Join T'Keyah's Team, "Team T'Keyah" or Form a team of your own, under Upcoming Events at www.humanityca.org. The event takes place on Saturday, May 14 and Sunday, May 15, 2011 from 9AM - 3PM each day, at 12600 Carl Street, Pacoima, CA. and you can participate for either or both days.  Advance registration is required.  The suggested donation to participate in the build is $40 per day which covers the cost of your  shirt, hardhat , tools and lunch, but no donation is required! You can participate without a donation of any kind!  Or, if you can't make it and would like to sponsor T'Keyah in the build for as little as $5, Click Here!  Every bit helps! Really!     Sponsor anyone on Team T'Keyah by clicking here! 
Check out my interview with LaFern Cusack!

Supporting One Supports All

Please support the independent film, "I Will Follow."  If this one does well, more... will follow!  Currently, it is showing in five cities: New York, New Jersey, Atlanta, Santa Monica and Seattle.  For tickets, click here Hopefully more screens... will follow. 

Keymah Directs the World Premiere of "Route 66:Finding Nat King Cole"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Route 66: Finding Nat King Col

Amun Ra Theatre, 2805 Clifton Avenue

October 8 - 31, 2010

Some know him as the greatest pianist who ever lived, others as the King of ballads and love songs,still others as a trailblazing television idol.  Nashville will have the honor of meeting them all, and the actor who brings his music to life.  Following the success of his first one-man show, How Blak Kin Eye Bee, Dr. jeff obafemi carr will appear in the world premiere of Route 66: Finding Nat King Cole, at Amun Ra Theatre, 2508 Clifton Avenue October 8^th - October 31^st, 2010, Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. with a post-show discussion. Route 66: Finding Nat King Cole will be directed by writer, producer, and performer T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh, known world wide for her acclaimed television work on In Living Color, Cosby, and That's So Raven.   

Keymáh, who studied directing at Florida A & M and Florida State Universities, and has directed an episode of the Disney television show, That's So Raven and several stage productions including her own award-winning, Some of My Best Friends: A Collection of Characters.  Like Route 66, Some of My Best Friends is a one-person show with poetry and music.  Keymáh did celebrated runs of her show  in Los Angeles and New York and toured with it for more than ten years.  She and carr, who is also the Artistic Director of Amun Ra Theatre, had been discussing a collaboration since they first met at the National Black Theatre Festival in North Carolina many years ago.  For just as long, fans of carr's singing voice have been urging him to bring Cole to the theatrical stage.  So when carr finished polishing a draft of the show this summer,  it seemed to him that Keymáh was the perfect choice to direct the piece. 

Route 66: Finding Nat King Cole, explores the struggle of one performer to find his own voice while fighting to embody one of the greatest entertainers of all times. Full of storytelling,  characters, poetry and of course the music you know and love, audiences will laugh, cry, and be moved by the music of one of the greatest and most beloved singers of all time.   

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

or call  1-800-838-3006    24/7

Group Rates (15 or More): (615) 329-iAct (4228)

The Crystal News - http://thecrystalnews.blogspot.com/

T'Keyah Fights City Hall - http://tkeyahfightscityhall.blogspot.com/ 

Keymah Presents - http://keymahpresents.blogspot.com/ 

www.tkeyah.com - Where Crystal visions come to life!