asia rainey

I am the mother of a brilliant 21 year old son, and part-time mama to many New Orleans youth whom I love dearly. I am an educator, mentor, and activist. I am not concerned with the volume of my actions or my words. I endeavor to make them count.

As an artist, I have always been a dreamer, easily closing my eyes as a child and transporting myself to mystical lands or high ambitions. It has taken years to understand that what I saw in my mind was not always to be left to fantasy. I have never proclaimed to be an expert at anything, but I give my all to what I love to do. I am a poet, a performance artist, a down-low visual artist, and I have bravely begun to translate the music in my head into sound. Ever since I dreamed of replacing Janet Jackson as Penny on Good Times, I have loved acting – that journey has begun in theater and continues to spread to film. I am simply having a ball finding out what I can do when I put my mind to it; a creative person’s journey is discovering all the ways that we can make those dreams manifest into something beautiful.

As an activist, I have a deep respect for the universe I am a part of. With this reverence comes a sense of reciprocity. I work to do nothing to the universe that I do not want done to me. This carries me into giving a damn about everything from homelessness to hunger, senseless war to governmental failures, fighting broken systems to a responsibility to our children. I know that I cannot save the world singlehandedly, but I can definitely make a dent in the process. My art is often my hammer.

As an educator, I have gained the most through two realizations: being cool with the fact that I do not/will not know everything, and never neglecting what I can learn from those I teach. There are few greater rewards than knowing a young person has truly learned with you…and the gift is to then sit back and watch them bloom.

Theatre:

Sister Psalms

Purlie (Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre - directed by Tommye Myrick)

The Vagina Monologues (Ashe CAC for Eve Ensler, VDAY)

The Unacquainted (2009 - asst. director, Pamela Nolan-Davis)

A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant, and a Prayer (Ashe CAC)

The Origins of Life on Earth (Ashe CAC)

Television/Film:

Treat You Right Commercial (written/performed by Asia Rainey)

American Pie Video (Madonna)

Flood Streets – Feature Film, "Georgia" (www.thehatcherymedia.com, www.floodstreetsmovie.com)

Spoken Word/Music Recording:

No Rainbows for the Colored (2007)

Shine (Release 2010)

Published Books:

Soul Chant (2005, out of print)

Awards:

2007 Big Easy Award for Purlie

2009 National ADDY & Telly Awards for Treat You Right Commercial

2010 Honoree – The Essence of New Orleans Women

2010 Asante Festival Award – Poetry

Special Performances Include:

International Arts Festival (2005)

Tom Dent Literary Festival (2008, 2009, 2010)

Jazz Festival (2009)

Essence Music Festival (2009)

Asante Festival (2008, 2009)

Sister Summer JAM (2010)

Amnesty International 2010 Annual General Meeting

Collaborations: