Also this issue: Blair Brown -Interview by Toby Zinman First Friday Focus -Lori Hill Signs of the Times -Susan Hagen Rising to the Challenge -Robin Rice James Wyeth -Interview by Lewis Whittington Artsbeat -Debra Auspitz Doug Varone and Dancers -Janet Anderson The Flaming Idiots -Deni Kasrel

February 6-12, 2003

artpicks

Trapeta B. Mayson

In what¹s become a First Friday tradition, The Painted Bride¹s Day of The Poet has hosted an incredible roster of talent for eight seasons running. From Ursula Rucker to The Twin Poets, DOTP curator Kevin O¹Neill has single-handedly launched a platform for the socio-political artistry of the poet. Wrenching the spoken word artist from the grimy, smoky, glass-clinking depths of the bar scene, O¹Neill gives the poet a claim to a place reserved for so-called "high art.! What is high art? Ask February¹s featured wordsmith, Trapeta B. Mayson. The 2002 Pew Arts Fellow fits the bill to a T, with countless artist residencies, readings, awards and published works under her belt. Giving a voice to the voiceless, delving deeply into the intricate stories of child-to-womanhood and economic hardship, Mayson¹s words are unforgettable. Mayson has an undergrad degree from Temple and a Masters of Social Service from Bryn Mawr, but most impressive is her ability to deliver her message in the flesh. Behold the power of the spoken word as the curtain rises for Mayson.

Trapeta B. Mayson, Fri., Feb. 7, 9 p.m., $10, The Painted Bride, 230 Vine St., 215-925-9914.

—Ainé Ardron-Doley