Universal Self - Fall 2012 Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Purchase advanced tickets here -->  http://t.co/POcxqUWh

November 2 and 3, 2012 @ 8PM, Kilusan Bautista will present UNIVERSAL SELF at the new state of the art Actors Fund Arts Center 160 Schermerhorn St., Brooklyn 11201.  The new and improved production of UNIVERSAL SELF includes multi-media, animation and a stage set designed by the well-known Xmental Inc. Kilusan Bautista is also excited to announce that the November 2 production of UNIVERSAL SELF will include an opening performance by the renowned King of Latin Soul Music, Joe Bataan.

Through personal experiences we can find the most honest and vulnerable wounds that are waiting to be treated in the racial emergency room of the American consciousness. Take a moment to slow down and feel the pulse known as UNIVERSAL SELF, an emerging solo theater production whose time has come. When we are able to gain deeper insight into the complex processes of how American youth make sense of the world and how childhood experiences shape our racial identity, we inevitably come closer to achieving racial unity and progress for multicultural America in the 21st century.

Set within the 1980’s and 90’s, Bay Area, California, UNIVERSAL SELF takes audiences on a journey of struggle and redemption. The challenge for American youth is not just black and white. The stories for Americanized children of immigrant parents are continuing to surface as a reminder of the need to balance, validate and make sense of all the cultural world’s represented in one’s identity. Written and performed by Kilusan Bautista, UNIVERSAL SELF is a nationally toured solo theater production formerly known as Universal Filipino. During his youth, Kilusan is haunted by a historic hater who wishes to destroy his self-esteem by influencing him into a helpless, violent and psychologically troubled state of existence. Malakas is an ancestral guardian spirit who exists to guide Kilusan in remembering his true self worth and connection to his people. It is now up to Kilusan to make the right choices as a youth in urban, working class America. Shall he fall victim to the statistics of growing up in a “high risk” environment, polluted with drugs, violence and crime? Or shall Kilusan find his destiny and live a life that possesses knowledge of self?

Are you ready to experience a thought provoking, Edu’tainment reality that brings you deeper into the universal family living room, a visionary space that embodies compassion and understanding? UNIVERSAL SELF will take you to a doorway into the future of multicultural America one story at a time.

For booking and inquiries of UNIVERSAL SELF please contact Lia McPherson, Booking Manager, via email at bookkilusan@gmail.com.  More information can be found at www.kilusan1898.blogspot.com

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Joe Bataan Biography:

Bataan Nitollano, 1942, New York City, New York, USA. Although he became noted in the world of Latin music, Bataan’s mother was African American and his father Filipino. Bataan started singing in informal doo-wop groups in the streets of Spanish Harlem but fell in with bad elements. At the age of 15 he was sent to a correctional facility following charges connected with car theft. While in prison he began to learn more about music and when he was released in the early 60s turned to music as a career. He had taught himself to play piano and in the mid-60s formed his own band, in which he was lead singer. Unusually, Bataan did not follow the current patterns in pop but chose instead to develop a distinctive variation on boogaloo, a style that blended orthodox Latin pop with R&B and had been labelled as Latin soul. Previous performers in this vein included Héctor Rivera and early Tito Puente. Bataan enjoyed success with records such as ‘Gypsy Woman’ for which he rewrote his original Spanish lyrics in an English variation. Among other successful records were ‘Ordinary Guy’, ‘Poor Boy’ and ‘Riot!’, while ‘Rap-O-Clap-O’, recorded with Arthur Baker in 1979 and which sold well in Europe, has been sold by some as an early example of rap. In addition to his performing career, Bataan also produced a few albums by others for Ghetto Records, while some of his own recordings were released on his own Salsoul Records.

In the mid-80s, Bataan dropped out of music to work as a counsellor among juvenile offenders. In 1995, he performed at a benefit concert held at Hostos Community College in the Bronx and shortly after that he made other appearances at New York colleges. Bataan began reissuing his early material and also released new albums showing that he had lost little of his singing ability and was still a vibrant performer of Latin soul.

Kilusan Bautista Biography:

Performance Artist, Humanitarian & Entrepreneur, Kilusan Bautista is an emerging voice for Diasporic communities raised within the Hip Hop Generation. Kilusan means movement in the Philippines and he was given this name in 1999 as a reminder to live as a conscious and caring global citizen. Originally from San Francisco, CA, and currently based in New York City, Kilusan combines the performance elements of theater, spoken word poetry, martial arts and interpretive movement. 

He has appeared on Showtime as the opening act for Top Rank Boxing Light Weight Champion Nonito Donaire (2008). Kilusan was published in the Philippine News after winning the Grand prize for a State-wide letter writing contest sponsored by the California Council for the Humanities (2005). He was awarded the Congressional Community Service Award -Kabataan Komemorative- in 2006 by CA Senator Tom Lantos. Kilusan Bautista's new work, Universal Self (formerly known as Universal Filipino), has toured throughout the United States of North America with the purpose of building cross cultural unity and empowerment through the performance arts.