MWALIM *7)

The Voices of A Black Wampanoag Warrior & Artist
Storyteller, Playwright & Folklorist

Considered by critics and peers alike to be one of the true modern masters of the oral tradition, Mwalim is a multifaceted, Black Wampanoag performing artist, writer, filmmaker and educator. Once asked what he considers to be his main art form, his answer is “communication”. When asked what his most challenging project to date has been, he responds, “Balancing being a single parent and working arts educator,” as his almost-three year-old son could be heard in the background playing a drum and singing to himself.

Born in Bronx New York and raised in Bronx, New York and Mashpee, Massachusetts, Mwalim (aka Morgan James Peters, I) grew up immersed in the oral traditions of his Bajan (Barbados) and Wampanoag cultural heritage. He is a keeper of both the New World Griot and Ahanaeenun (Wampanoag ‘Medicine Clown’) traditions. While the Black Indian experience remains a taboo for many eastern people, it is a reality that Mwalim embraces in his daily life, as well as explores and celebrates through much of his artistic work.

Mwalim first emerged to public attention in the mid 1990’s in the east-coasts growing spoken-word and storytelling scene, appearing in coffeehouses, lounges and various poetry venues. In 1998, as a means of generating an income in these venues, Talking Drum Press published A Mixed Medicine Bag, a collection of his original Black Wampanoag folk-tales. The book quickly became a sought after piece of literature by multicultural studies and native literature courses and enthusiasts worldwide.

In theatre, he has distinguished himself as a playwright, director, actor and teacher. Receiving his formal training from New African Company in Boston, Mwalim's work has been presented throughout the United States and Canada. An award-winning filmmaker, Mwalim received his MS in Film from Boston University. Much of his work has been producing experimental shorts for museum and gallery installations, combining music and spoken-word with visual images, as well as his freelance work as an editor for various production companies throughout the country.

He was recently named “Filmmaker-In-Residence” by WGBH, Boston’s PBS television station. He will be the residency programs first narrative filmmaker, where he will be producing a film adaptation of “Look At My Shorts”, a collection of Mwalim’s short plays exploring contemporary Black Indian experiences in Massachusetts. “Look At My Shorts” earned him the 2003 “Outstanding New Playwright” award from the New York Theatre Forum.

His award-winning one-man show “A Party at the Crossroads” is subtitled the tales and adventures of a Black Indian growing up in a Jewish neighborhood, has been presented at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum in Connecticut and as a part of the Indian Summer series at the American Indian Community House in New York City. His performance piece, based on memories of Mashpee of the past, "Backwoods People" was presented at the 1999 National Black Theatre Festival in Winston Salem, NC.

His romantic comedy, “Working Things Out” was a hit at the 2005 festival. Mwalim is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Oversoul Theatre Collective, a professional Black and Native American arts and education organization formed in 1994. Currently he is completing his MFA in Playwriting at Goddard College where he studies under Leslie Lee. His thesis project is entitled “Wetu In The City” the story of a tribe of Waquasiq Indians, whose territory was once the entire Bronx, now reduced to a triple-square block in the South Bronx which a real estate develop is now trying to take out from under them.

In 2000 he released a solo CD-Single “Thief in the Night” (Midnight Groove/OTC Records) which became an underground hit, followed by a limited edition E.P. called “Jazzy-Soul Club Grooves” in 2001, which became a favorite among dance music DJs in the USA, Canada, the U.K., Germany, and France.

His album “Bronx Jazz” is due for release in late 2006. Mwalim is a published author of several poems and short stories appearing in numerous anthologies; a recipient of the MLK, Jr. Cultural Arts Fellowship, New England Broadcasting Association Fellowship, NAACP Media Artists Grant, Longwood Cyber Arts Fellowship, and a three-time recipient of the Ira Aldridge Fellowship.

He has served as an Artist-In-Residence at Cape Cod Community College (1997 - 1999); The Frederick Douglass Unity House at U Mass Dartmouth (1998-1999); Harlem Theatre Company (1999 - 2001); and The Point CDC Theatre (2001 - 2003). He is a member of the Lincoln Center Theatre Director's Lab, and a playwright-in-residence with New African Company in Boston. Currently, he is a full-time Assistant Professor of English and African/ African American Studies at UMass Dartmouth, teaching Drama, Oral Traditions, and Digital Filmmaking.

 mwalim@gmail.com  / http://www.mwalim.com / http://www.myspace.com/mwalim7

posted 23 May 2006