Publication of "Futuropolis"

My poems that focus on the search for extraterrestrials, technological advancements, imaginations of what the future may look like, fear or excitement of technologies, science fiction poetic storytellings, and science-related issues are finally published by Foothills Publishing. I shall thank Peter Haggerty for being my editor for this book. I thank Foothills Publishers for publishing my poems. 

Here is a book cover. I created the image, using Illustrator and some PhotoShop. 

Here are two excerpts of my poems to help you get an idea of what the poems are saying.


This book is available for $14.00. Although my "Futuropolis" is not posted on Foothills Publishing webpage yet and it will be there soon for online ordering.

Man of La Mancha at Multi-unity Cultural Community Center

From May 30th to June 2nd, 2019, I and the cast members performed Man of La Mancha at Multi-unity Cultural Community Center downtown Rochester, NY. I acted as the Governor, the Innkeeper, and an "Interpreter" for the Barber. The show went very well with standing ovations. I was indeed surprised to receive the ovations, which I did not expect. It was a great experience acting the 3 roles in that production. Luane Davis Haggerty was the director of this production, which she worked hard to make it look excellent as possible. It was hard work as it was the most complicated theatrical work for me and the rest of the actors. This show consisted of deaf and hard of hearing actors, who used American Sign Language (ASL). At the same time, hearing actors spoke the scripts and sang the songs out loud. Therefore, the show turned out accessible for all audiences. The interactions among the deaf/hard of hearing and the hearing people was a challenge that benefited both cultures: the deaf culture and the hearing culture working together. It was a tremendous experience for all of us as a group. 

The other thing I did was creating a social networking project regarding to this production, which I posted on Facebook, Twitter, SnapChat, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube, and it enhanced the promotion of the show very well. I uploaded some interviews of the actors, created wild videos of the rehearsals with special effects, and made still images that included unusual special effects. These kind of creative, out of the box computer graphic effects seemed to attract the people out in the community when I posted them. I believe that my social network of Man of La Mancha helped gain the audiences and community awareness. 

I shall thank Luane Davis Haggerty for supporting my acting careers and my social networking projects. I also would like to thank Multi-unity Cultural Community Center for providing us the theatre space. I'm indeed honored to be a part of this whole amazing unique theatrical production. We all shall dream the impossible dreams!

Man of La Mancha as the Governor and Inkeeper plus Social Networking

I am currently rehearsing in an ASL theatrical production titled Man of La Mancha, directed by Luane Davis Haggerty, in which I will act as the Governor and the Inkeeper. I also am going to do the social networking of this production that would promote the show out to the public through Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, SnapChat, Instagram, and so forth. Man of La Mancha will perform at MuCCC (Multi-use Community Cultural Center) in Rochesster, NY from May 30th to June 2nd. 

Here are some digital-manipulated photos of the rehearsal. 

Def Meets Deaf Poetry Jam 10th Anniversary Performances

On January 26th, Lovin' Cup had a show titled Def Meets Deaf Poetry Jam 10th Anniversary. Hearing poets or performers did their readings in English, and deaf/hard of hearing performers did theirs in American Sign Language (ASL). This 10th anniversary event celebrated the 10th year of the event. 

As for myself as a master of ceremony and also performing artist, I introduced the deaf/hard of hearing performers that I recruited. I also performed my poem Orange Monkey, an anti-Trump protest piece of work, in ASL. I then translated Patti Smith's "People Have the Power" song into ASL while playing the song. Lastly, I performed my short story about gay cats with humor titled "Felines Brawl", done in ASL. 

Again, the crowd turned out packed and the event was a success. John Roche, my master of ceremony partner (who recruited the hearing performers) and I were pleased with the results. We thank Lovin Cup for allowing us to present this unique performance show for 10 years. 

Here are photos you can rejoice looking at.

 Here is my performance of Patti Smith "People Have the Power" song

 John Roche and Myself as Maters of Ceremonies

Two great interpreters Sarah and Cindy did great job

Def Meets Deaf Poetry Jam 10th Anniversary

It's officially 10th anniversary of Def Meets Deaf Poetry Jam at Lovin Cup. Once again, deaf/hard of hearing and hearing poets/performers will take turns on stage throughout the hours, which will be ASL interpreted and English spoken interpreted for the deaf and hearing audience. Of course, it's free to the public. This interactive deaf and hearing world performance has been entertaining the public in unique ways that are rare to see: the presentation of both, deaf/hard of hearing's ASL and hearing's English work. Come down and see the one of the kind performance event from 2 PM to 5 PM. Please spread the words. It will take place at Lovin Cup in Rochester, NY.

"Proud and Gay" and "Rainbow Flag on My Back" Digital Photos Accepted for Exhibition

Two of my digital photos got accepted by the jurists to be exhibited at National Technical Institute for the Deaf's Dyer Arts Center. The exhibit titled "Cultivating Connections: Growing Communities in the Flower City" will start on November 2nd and will continue until December 15th. 

The two photos are LGBTQ pride related and deaf culture. "Proud and Gay" is a photo of my friend wearing a rainbow tie and he signed "Proud" and "Gay" at the same time when I took the picture. I then manipulated the image by removing the color of his body and only kept the rainbow tie in color (rainbow). I removed the background and added a light blue with textures on it around the person.

"Rainbow Flag on My Back" is a self-portrait of myself holding the rainbow flag on my back while leaning on the wall. I manipulated the work with tricks that enabled it to become more aesthetic: transparent white spray paint as light shining on me, softened the image, added little sharp edges, and adding subtle paint splashes on the wall around me. 

Here are the photos for you to look at. You can click on the to see the larger.

Dangerous Signs at Little Theatre, Fringe Festival 2018

On September 21st, 2018, I and the cast members as Dangerous Signs performed our "Beyond Words" show at the Little Theatre for Rochester's annual Fringe Festival. The poems, songs, and skits were very political and powerful: gun violence, Black Lives Matter, Me, Too, immigration issues, LGBTQ rights, and so on. The crowd turned out pretty much a full house and it was a success. 

Dangerous Signs is an ASL (American Sign Language) performance arts group. I performed several skits, poems, and songs with the group, using ASL, on stage. We did "Hold Fast to Dreams" by Langston Hughes, "Freeze" (anonymous about gun violence", U2 "Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way", and several more. The show was directed by Luane Davis Haggerty.

Here are the pictures. You can click on them in order to see them bigger.