Pardon the poor sound quality.  My students we having a hard time finding their voice, so we did this exercise.  I played their voices back to them, and for once they wanted to do it over!  The second time came out like this.  They were so proud, and my students have overcome/are overcoming struggle, so this was a really big deal.

Students Reading Maya Angelou

Rachel Corrie died in Gaza at the age of 23, in the act of blocking an Israeli bulldozer from destroying homes in Rafah.  "My Name is Rachel Corrie" is a very powerful one woman play that pulls directly from her writing.  (Pardon the poor sound quality, I was working under inspiration and not with much patience.) This recording is my tribute to her, and to Ali, and to every other child who has fallen to this awful awful violence.  

from "My Name is Rachel Corrie"

Written by Alexander Dial and performed with love by Melinda Cooper.

Wolven

In 1986, Allen Ginsberg wrote a poem for Bernie Sanders called "Burlington Snow" & it goes like this:

Socialist snow on the streets

Socialist talk in the Maverick bookstore

Socialist kids sucking socialist lollipops

Socialist poetry in socialist mouths

—aren't the birds frozen socialists?

Aren't the snowclouds blocking the airfield

Social Democratic Appeasement?

Isn't the socialist sky owned by

the socialist sun?

Earth itself socialist, forests, rivers, lakes

furry mountains, socialist salt

in oceans?

Isn't this poem socialist? It doesn't

belong to me anymore.

Source: http://www.openculture.com/2015/07/allen-ginsbergs-handwritten-poem-for-bernie-sanders-burlington-snow-1986.html

Allen Ginsberg Wrote a Poem for Bernie Sanders in 1986

I wrote this piece a few days after having the mother of all panic attacks. Anxiety sucks but talking about it, satirizing it, is therapeutic for me.

PANIC REPORT: 2016


OUR DAILY PANIC REPORT IS SPONSORED IN PART BY THE KOCH FAMILY – CORRUPTING AMERICAN CAPITALISM FOR MORE THAN 100 YEARS:

ASTOUNDINGLY, THERE ARE ZERO PANIC ATTACKS TO REPORT TODAY, WITH ONE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED AND TWENTY NEAR PANIC ATTACKS BEING CLAIMED SO FAR THIS YEAR. THOUGH ECONOMISTS ARE SKEPTICAL. 

PANIC MARKETS HAVE SEEN A MASSIVE SURGE IN RECENT MONTHS, APPROACHING RATES SIMILAR TO THOSE WE EXPERIENCED LAST YEAR WHILE PRODUCING RECORD-BREAKING PANIC MARKET HIGHS. INVESTORS ARE HOPEFUL!

NOW FOR OUR MOURNING TRAFFIC REPORT, BROUGHT TO YOU BY MISS APATHY’S GOLDEN BEE HONEY – “BEE ALIVE WHILE YOU CAN BEE”:

[COUGH]

THE FREEWAYS, INTERSECTIONS, & UNDERPASSES ARE ALL CLOGGED, AS USUAL, BY & WITH MANS’ GENERAL DISCONTENT & IT’S A NASTY JAM OUT THERE FOLKS. DO DRIVE WITH CAUTION. 

REGARDING TRAFFIC INCIDENTS, AMERICANS EXPERIENCED SIXTY SIX THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED & THIRTY THREE SCREECHING HALTS THIS WEEK. BUT ON THE BRIGHT SIDE, THERE ARE NO DEATHS TO REPORT! EXCUSE ME, THAT’S, UH, NO REPORTABLE DEATHS. 

[COUGH AGAIN]

MEANWHILE, IN NATIONAL NEWS, THE APPROPRIATED PRESS IS ELATED TO ANNOUNCE A DECREASE IN THE DECREASING OF AVERAGE DAILY VETERAN SUICIDES. 

PAY INEQUALITY IS STILL THRIVING & CULTURAL APPROPRIATION HAS KNOWN HUGE BOOMS IN RECENT MONTHS. 

WELL, THAT’S IT FOR ME AMERICA! THANK YOU FOR NOT SUPPORTING LOCAL RADIO. WE ARE WNSA.

NOW HERE’S SENATOR WHATSHISNAME WITH THE “WHETHER IT’S WEATHER” FORECAST:

SENATOR?


PANIC REPORT 2016

Word document with links to sources available upon request: melindacaseycooper@gmail.com

Never Mind & Wait

Coretta Scott King in 1986 regarding the nomination of Jeff Session for a federal judgeship in the state of Alabama.

Coretta King

Romeo shows up late to meet his homie, Mercutio, and tells him about a powerful dream of love he's only just had.  Mercutio scoffs at this, and all dreams, calling them "vain fantasy."  Mercutio is much more interested in keeping his best friend grounded, living firmly yet playfully in reality, and this speech serves to introduce the audience to his wit, wisdom, and jovial personality - all of which make his tragic and valiant death even more painful and heartfelt

I first performed this part in 2007, and it continues to be one of my fondest memories from the stage.  Actresses are rarely afforded the opportunity to portray such classic Shakespearean male characters, and I truly relished the part.  I hope you all enjoy Mercutio's dream-talk as much as I always have.

Mercutio's Queen Mab Speech

This short recording is inspired by my Kundalini practice and the truly awesome sound experiences I have had of late.  As my spirituality evolves, so does my understanding of sound and vibration~~~ magical stuff!  Enjoy!

The Nature Of Sound by Yogi Bhajan

Reading the work of Hunter S. Thompson was the idea of a good friend, and I must admit I put it off for a few months.  I often read narration by men, on myriad subjects and sorts.  But Thompson's voice is uniquely his own - to try and emulate that could be blasphemous!  

Finally, however, I came across this passage.  Of course, San Francisco in the 60's was an unfathomably magical era; yet, I am inclined to liken it to any setting of profound Transformation.  Only inclined, mind you.  Not completely reckoned with.

I would go so far as to claim that the great movement of the Soul, the shift in consciousness that was beginning to unfold with the hippies, beatniks, and bohemians of the 1960's, has recently been coming to a head.  The unfolding has given way to a pealing back of consciousness, a condition in which modern society is fervently struggling - a great human expansion known to all mystics and yogis as the Aquarian Age has dawned around us, within us,  and is well underway.

Thusly I am inspired by Thompson's dated vigor, inspired enough to identify my own social roots with his metaphors.  Waves finally crashing, finally...... what imagery indeed.  

from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson

This is a new adventure for me, my first into sound editing.  The reading and mixing of Siddhartha's awakening was inspired by my treasured friendship with a true homie, Philly Be.  Happy birthday brother, you are loved!

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