FIPPP and the BAS Student Writers' Performance

Powerful Stories From FIPPP performers Pharaoh and Tony, and the students of the BAS Narrative Nonfiction Workshop in Berkeley on 10/20. Come see powerful stories from the Formerly Incarcerated People’s Performance Project (FIPPP) performers Pharaoh Brooks and Tony Cyprien, and some of the students from FIPPP and Berkeley Adult School's recent Narrative Nonfiction Storytelling Workshop in Berkeley on 10/20. The event is free and open ot the public, but donations to support FIPPP's educational outreach work are welcome. "FIPPP has brought beautiful energy to our students. The writing workshops have inspired us to love ourselves, reflect on our stories, and believe in our next chapter!" - Brigitte Luna, Principal, Berkeley Adult School FIPPP launched a pilot Narrative Nonfiction Storytelling Workshop at Berkeley Adult School that has brought together one of its directors, Wayne Harris, its Co-Executive Director, Dylan Russell, and one of its talented performers, Anthony Michael Jefferson "AJ," expanding their impact by bringing their storytelling skills into the classroom. About Pharaoh Brooks Pharaoh was fortunate enough to return to society on November 13, 2023. Pharaoh is a musician, author, writer, and has done several plays with Marin Shakespeare. Pharaoh likes to add music and poetry to his storytelling. He is the Director for the Alcohol & Drug Treatment Project at Dream Center Transitional Home and is enthused about the opportunity to live his amends by helping his Community. Pharaoh has performed at FIPPP's Solo Sunday Salon, Tell It On Tuesday, and with FIPPP at the Discover Community Cafe. About Tony Cyprien Tony was born and raised in Watts, South Central Los Angeles, by his mother, grandmother, and neighborhood gang members. He matriculated through Los Angeles County’s juvenile halls and county camps, the California Youth Authority, and ultimately state prison. After spending 26 years and eight days incarcerated, he was released 14 years ago and lived to tell about it. Released in 2011, he discovered improv in 2012, and a world opened up to him in performance art. To hone his craft, he took improv classes at Berkeley Repertory School of Theater from Rebecca Stockley and a class at the American Conservatory Theater. The first time out on stage, he won a MOTH StorySlam, and from there it was the MOTH GrandSlam, two MOTH Mainstage Performances directed by Jenifer Hixson, and two MOTH Radio broadcasts on NPR. About FIPPP FIPPP features formerly incarcerated performers telling stories about their life experiences. Hearing stories from those who have been incarcerated fosters compassion and understanding about the circumstances and choices that led them to incarceration, what they endured and learned inside, and the hard-won success of their lives after incarceration. Their stories give hope for the human condition and our ability to reform and reinvent ourselves, as well as giving us the opportunity as a society to reconsider the inhumane conditions that prisoners often endure. Each of them brings to this project previous experience as a performer, writer, and/or public speaker, in addition to their inspiring work of now helping others deal with issues of reentry, substance abuse, housing, and homelessness.