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FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE “ON MY OWN
TERMS One Actor’s Journey” Adilah Barnes’ frank and
unvarnished story about her life and its challenges from Oroville
to Oakland to L.A. Los Angeles, CA
– (May 18, 2009) – Adilah Barnes, award-winning stage,
television, film actor, literary retreat proprietor and education,
has been named Essence Magazine #3 Bestseller of non-fiction books
for her book, “ON MY OWN TERMS One Actor’s Journey.”
This rating is based on reporting from African American
bookstores throughout the country. Barnes’ national 2009 book
junket tour has included bookstores (Borders, Books A Million,
Malik’s Bookstore, UC Santa Cruz’s Bay Tree Bookstore and the
Underground Bookstore in Sacramento, California. Other venues
include colleges and universities, theatres, government agencies,
book clubs and private signings. . Barnes has come an incredibly
long way from the small town of Oroville California, has enjoyed
years of success and never compromised her integrity along the
way. She is a
testament to the truth that it is possible for an actor to have
success without the typical trappings of fame.
Her new book “ON MY OWN TERMS One Actor’s Journey”
released December 8, 2008, is a fascinating and deeply intimate
chronicle about her life, lessons learned, challenges faced and
victories won. Her
inspiring book will not only appeal to performers and those
wanting a glimpse into the world of performing arts, but will also
touch and motivate anyone who has struggled to create, reach
personal goals and overcome obstacles.
A deeply spiritual and trailblazing woman, Barnes speaks
from the heart in “ON MY OWN TERMS One Actor’s Journey.”
Aside from focusing on
Barnes’ multifaceted career, ON MY OWN TERMS brings to life the
historical backdrop including the Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam
War, Black Power Movement, assassinations of public figures and
the unrest of the 1960s during her coming of age. A review by A Gathering of the Tribe Magazine states,
“…this is a deeply intelligent, thoughtful, fearless read that
dares anyone to categorize it . . . encapsulates a journey,
lyrical, poetic and evocative; an uncharted river, challenging the
reader to step across.” To name a few, Adilah
Barnes’ acting achievements have included starring roles in
Universal Pictures’s Erin Brockovich and HBO’s Iron-Jawed Angels as well as five
seasons on the television sitcom, Roseanne.
She is co-found of the internationally known Los Angeles
Women’s Theatre Festival (now in it’s 16th year) and since
1990, she has toured her one-woman historical show, I Am That I
Am: Woman, Black to 41 states and in three continents including
North America, Africa and Europe and she is . Her many awards
include a 2009 Alpha X-Cellence Award and a Red
Carpet Award from Women in Theatre in 2007. ON MY OWN TERMS One
Actor’s Journey Publication Date: December 8,
2008 For more information, contact
Adilah Barnes Productions at abpro1@sbcglobal.net
To purchase an autographed copy of On My Own Terms One
Actor’s Journey online, go to www.adilahbarnes.com, ON MY
OWN TERMS may also be purchased online at www.amazoncom,
www.bn.com or www.xlibris.com.
###
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2008 On June 28-29, 2008
award-winning stage actor/writer Adilah Barnes will teach her first solo
writing workshop at the Tony Award-winning Alliance Theatre in Atlanta ,
Georgia . A week-end intensive, “From Thought to Pen” will be limited to
12 students and will take place from 10-6pm on both days at The Woodruff
Center located at 1280 Peachtree Street, NE , Atlanta , GA 30309 . The first
of its kind at the Alliance Theatre, this workshop will offer a safe,
nurturing and inspirational space for actors and writers to recall and
develop their personal stories for the stage. Barnes is no stranger to
solo shows having gotten her feet wet as she toured from 1986-89 with the
African American Drama Company in their nationally toured “Sister, Can I
Speak for You.” She later conceived her own historical solo show, “I Am
That I Am: Woman, Black” in 1990 and has since toured her seven-character
stage work to close to 40 states and three continents including North
America (the US and Caribbean) Africa (Nigeria) and Europe (Holland.) Even before she became an
actor at age sixteen in Project Upward Bound at California State University
at Chico , Barnes began her creative expression by picking up the pen as a
short story and poetry writer. She was born and raised in nearby Oroville ,
California , a rural community of dusty roads, busy bodies and indeed a
village that raised its own. Many of her early small town experiences and
community mentors have significantly shaded her work as an adult actor and
writer. Barnes gained her formal
college education and Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theatre Arts at the
University of California , Santa Cruz . She continued to connect her
creative dots in the Bay Area as she cut her teeth on professional theatre
and for the last nineteen years has resided in the Los Angeles area as an
actor, instructor, producer, writer and internet talk show host. Her latest
artistic calling has summoned her to Atlanta , Georgia , making her a
bicoastal artist. She now resides in both the Los Angeles and Atlanta areas. In addition to coming
aboard at the Alliance Theatre this summer, Barnes last year founded The
Writer’s Well, A Literary Retreat for Women, also located in the Atlanta
area. With the backdrop of 1.8 acres of sprawling Georgia pines, oaks and
maple trees, its woodsy and serene environment lends itself well to offering
a perfect setting to write without the distractions of the familiar. Also, Barnes is Co-Founder
and Executive Producer of the Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival. This
year in March marked its 15th Anniversary of producing over 400 solo artists
and since 2005 teaching over 3000 public school youth. Performers from India
, the Netherlands , New York , Chicago , Miami , Oklahoma and up and down
the state of California joined hands to celebrate this year’s banner
Festival year. The non-profit received much deserved commendations from
Mayor Villaraigosa, Senators Diane Watson and Alex Padilla, Assemblyman Paul
Krekorian, Councilman Tom La Bonge and Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. Said Barnes, “I have
always been a trailblazer, and it is part of my life’s work to give
creatively to every community I have been a part of. That certainly includes
Los Angeles , and now Atlanta .” To enroll in the Alliance
Theatre’s “From Thought to Pen” workshop visit alliancetheatre.org. or
call (404) 733-4700. Reservations for The
Writer’s Well may be made at www.WritersRetreat.com/Georgia.htm or abarnes@writersretreat.com.
Call (818) 679-2086 for more information. Barnes’ upcoming book, On My Own Terms: One Actor’s Journey chronicles her life as an artist from age sixteen. It will be released later this year. For more information, visit www.adilahbarnes.com. ADILAH
BARNES Barnes portrayed the recurring character of “Judge Randall” in Lifetime Television’s new series For the People. She recently premiered in HBO’s critically acclaimed Iron Jawed Angels. She can also be seen currently in a VISA national commercial. Barnes is the founder of the Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival (“LAWTF”) - an annual, multi-cultural festival for solo female performers throughout the country who gather each year in the month of March to perform in the disciplines of dance, theatre, story-telling, poetry, music, performance art and comedy. Danny Glover and Hattie Winston are co-chairs. Barnes is an acting teacher
to some of Hollywood’s finest, including Benjamin Bratt (for Law &
Order); Toni Braxton (for Play’d and Kingdom Come); Jada Pinkett-Smith
(for Set it Off); Don “DC” Curry (for Grace Under Fire) Kym Whitley and
many others. Barnes guest-stars on several sitcoms including CBS’ Family Law and The Agency, WB’s The Gilmore Girls, and UPN’s Roswell Barnes is writer and producer of her own historical one-woman, international touring show, I Am That I Am: Woman, Black, a captivating journey through the lives of seven African American women, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Mary McLeod Bethune, Zora Neale Hurston, Maya Angelou, Lorraine Hansberry and Angela Davis. Barnes was born in the small northern California town of Oroville, in the Sacramento Valley, the fifth of seven children. After receiving a B.A. in Theatre Arts at the University of California at Santa Cruz, Barnes moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and began stage training at the American Conservatory Theatre (ACT). At ACT, Barnes became the first African American female to teach full-time in their Advanced Training Program. In 1989 Barnes headed for Hollywood to pursue a career in television and film. As a mentor, Barnes was recently chosen by 16-year old New Jersey scholar, Sasha Pemberton who lived with and “shadowed” Barnes’ daily routines and show business aspects for 3 ½ weeks as part of a Summer Signature Program offered by the prestigious Peddie School in Heightstown, New Jersey. |
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