THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 17, 1996 TAG: 9603160060
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARSHA GILBERT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
FROM BATTERED to inspired, the extensive topic of women with their diverse emotions and experiences will be presented tonight, in ``Womanistically So'' at the Chrysler Museum Theater in Norfolk. Tickets are $10 and proceeds benefit the YWCA Women in Crisis Program.
Francine Coward-Reid, a Norfolk educator and actress, and A'Vese, a Virginia Beach poet, teamed up to form the duo Savory Blend. They will provide two hours of humorous, motivational, original works about eight very different women.
``We decided to make a donation to the battered women's shelter to help with the work they do with the men, women and children who have suffered emotional, physical and psychological abuse,'' said Coward-Reid.
Since 1983, the YWCA Women in Crisis Program has helped an average of 600 to 800 women and children annually, through their hotline, 30-day shelter and counseling sessions, according to Cheryl Bonneville, the YWCA executive director.
``Our annual budget is $300,000,'' Bonneville said. ``Government funding is iffy. The United Way decreased our budget by $8,000 in 1992, and it has not increased it since then. It's always a struggle to reach our budget. We never know if we'll get a grant. We have to apply every year and wait. We really need and depend on community support.''
When women come to the shelter, which is in an undisclosed house in Norfolk, they often have left everything they own at home with their abuser.
``They need everything,'' Bonneville said. ``We provide them with clothing, deodorant, soap and pajamas. We've clothed about 10,000 women and children on donations and generosity from the community.''
The two African-American women who are producing this benefit performance decided to work together when they met in August, after a friend, noticing similarities in their work, introduced them.
Their works range from a rap about an abused wife of a doctor, who is encouraged to stay in the marriage by her mother for status' sake, to the poem ``Miss Thang,'' about a young woman who doesn't look back after she rises up the social ladder.
``The works are about people recognizing their inner strength and not letting situations take over,'' said A'Vese. ``This is necessary in all experiences, not just in relationships.''
A'Vese, a motivational speaker, will sample from the inspirational poetry that she has been writing for the last four years.
``There is a segment on pain, hypocrisy and the loss of freedom,'' explained Coward-Reid. ``A section on going back in the day to the '60s. Then there's the man thing about relationships, but not man bashing. And last, there is the inspirational part to try to help the audience feel uplifted. No matter what type of hype they are in, they can go forward and be whatever they want to be.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
HUY NGUYEN/The Virginian-Pilot
Francine Coward-Reid is one-half of the duo Savory Blend.
by CNB