“Swing Low Sweet Chariot”
Portrayal of Harriet Tubman
Sunday, February 28, 2021
10:30 AM
Performed by Lorraine Stone
Lorraine Stone, performance artist, is a native of Asbury Park, N.J, currently residing in Eatontown. Lorraine got her start on stage as a child at the Bethel A.M.E. Church in Asbury, reciting poetry for church functions. There she discovered the works of Paul Laurence Dunbar, as recited by a church member, who knew all of Dunbar’s poems written in dialect. By 16 she was on her way to becoming a “Performance Poet, performing at many local churches.
Those early days laid the groundwork for the creation of her one-woman show, “Words, Rhythms and Love”, first presented in Asbury Park, in 1998. She has been featured in many productions of the Dunbar Repertory Company, including her role as Bessie Delany in “Having Our Say; the Delany Sisters First 100 Years”. She has also portrayed matriarch Lena Younger, in three productions of “Raisin in the Sun.” Most recently she appeared in Sassy Mamas and also Butterfly Confessions, both with Dunbar Repertory Company, Middletown. Her next role is in Shakin the Mess Outta Misery, at Middletown Arts Center.
Lorraine portrays African American “sheroes” such as, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Turman, Rosa Parks and Ida B. Wells Barnett with her performance company. LlplWISDOMKEEPER. She brings these and others to life in schools, libraries, churches, historical societies and various local stages. As a Performance Poet and Storyteller, Lorraine presents the works of such African American poets as James Weldon Johnson, Paul Laurence Dunbar and Langston Hughes.
