Flipsyde's The Piper's Revolutionary Play
August 20, 2012
"Cops & Robbers" Theater Review
By Beli Sullivan
A mighty and brilliant work of art was unveiled on
June 23 at West Oakland's famous Soundwaves Studios. Although a
pre-show disclaimer noted that what we were about to see might seem all
too familiar from the six o’clock news, all the characters and stories
in the play are fictitious.
After the house lights went down, a stocky well-built performer began his first character's monologue. Before we knew what hit us the audience had been introduced to a dozen or more characters, each one as different and as riveting as the last and all bound together to tell a brutal tale of the ruthless mayhem of policemen and thugs.
After the house lights went down, a stocky well-built performer began his first character's monologue. Before we knew what hit us the audience had been introduced to a dozen or more characters, each one as different and as riveting as the last and all bound together to tell a brutal tale of the ruthless mayhem of policemen and thugs.
Jinho "The Piper" Ferreira in "Cops and Robbers," his revolutionary play directed
by Ami Zins and Lew Levinson
that looks at the relationship between Law Enforcement, the Media, and the Black community.
Opens September 8th at Malonga Casquelourd Center, 1428 Alice Street, Oakland, CA 94612.
(photo credit: Doniphan Blair)
"Cops & Robbers" is a new one-man show written and performed by The Piper (of the rap group Flipsyde). His first venture into theater, it is a revolutionary look into the relationship between law enforcement, the media, and the black community.Piper's performance was so honest and real and his story was so tight and cleverly interwoven that watching it was more like watching a film. We watched an African warrior exit stage left and moments later in came a female television news reporter each with a distinct voice and accent. Then came a spot on Rush Limbaugh–type radio talk show host, a police captain, a sagging inmate, and various other crucial supporting characters. Each monologue was so well written and each character so strong and convincing, the language so crisp and brilliantly textured, at times I found myself paralyzed by the last before I realized that a new character was now offering some new and hair-raising or scandalous detail.
When he was done, The Piper had led us through a tale so raw and hard-hitting that the audience seemed dazed, some even broke into tears.
Kudos to directors Ami Zins and her husband Lew Levinson for their superb and insightful work! Until recently the director of the Oakland Film Office, Zins is also an acting teacher and first met The Piper 20 years ago as one of her students. The play is so skillfully directed and the information that each character conveys are so well threaded together that the directors leave little room for improvement beyond adding the planned score by Flipsyde. Due to their expertise and guidance, this awe-inspiring work went from the page to the stage in only a few short months.
Heartbreaking, funny, discomforting and all too real, not one word or action wasted. Anyone who has lived in Oakland or is familiar with its history, knows of the contentious relationship between the citizens and the police department should be able to relate to this play, for every story is something we’ve already heard. Many of us living in Oakland walk in dual worlds, yet not all of us keep our eyes and ears open to the cold and harsh reality within that duality, and even fewer have the guts to be so bold as to open our mouths and shout about it.
Originally from West Oakland, with a Brazilian father and American mother, The Piper is a rapper, actor, screenwriter and playwright. He is one-third of Flipsyde, an alternative hip hop band that has toured internationally since 2005 with artists such as Snoop Dogg, The Black Eyed Peas, Busta Rhymes and more.
In fact, Flipsyde has written anthems for the 2006 Winter Olympics and the 2008 Summer Olympics and has had several song placed in television shows and films. They followed up their 2011 release "The Phoenix”, with a July 2012 release of "Tower of Hollywood” and are currently composing a score for Cops & Robbers. In 2009 Piper won the best screenwriter award at the Tribeca Film Festival for his CIA thriller: "Walter’s Boys".
In the spring of 2010, Piper paid his way through a Bay Area Law Enforcement Academy, eventually graduating in the top percentile of his class and delivering the commencement speech. The paradox of having strong ties to the black community and hip-hop while simultaneously working in law enforcement, served as the inspiration to write "Cops & Robbers."
Zins is a local director, producer and film industry consultant who was born in San Francisco but immigrated to Berkeley/Oakland as a teen and still resides there. She served as the director of the Oakland Film Office from 1998 to 2011, where she was responsible for bringing such productions as "Pursuit of Happyness", "Matrix Reloaded", "Matrix Revolutions" and other projects, including many indie films, as well as spearheading the creation of the Oakland Film Center, 25+ film businesses in West Oakland. She has received numerous awards for this work, most recently from the Directors’ Guild of America. Currently, she teaches at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, is the marketing director for the Reel Directory and is a consultant with 32TEN Studios in San Rafael.
Her associate director Levinson has produced and directed over 40 full-length college, community, and professional plays, the majority with black themes or written by black playwrights with working class sensibilities. These include "A Soldiers Story", "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf" and "Colored Museum" as well as "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest", "Homeland and The Dutchman". Also an actor, Lew won the 1979 Award for Best Actor in an Original Drama for his portrayal of Billy Bronco in "Sylvester the Cat vs Galloping Billy Bronco", has acted in many local theater productions and has appeared in seven films, playing major roles in most of them, the most recent starring in the award-winning feature "Less". He has also taught acting and chaired the Theater Arts Department at Laney College for over 30 years.
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The Piper is a rapper, actor, screenwriter, and playwright from Oakland, California. He is one-third of Flipsyde, an alternative hip hop band that has toured internationally since 2005, with artists such as Snoop Dogg, The Black Eyed Peas, Akon, The Game, Busta Rhymes, etc.
In 2009 Piper was awarded first prize in the screenwriting competition at the Tribeca Film Festival for his CIA thriller, Walter’s Boys. Cops & Robbers is Piper’s first venture into theater.
In the spring of 2010, Piper paid his way through a Bay Area Law Enforcement Academy, graduating in the top percentile and delivering the commencement speech. The paradox of having strong ties to the Black community and Hip Hop, while simultaneously working in Law Enforcement, served as Piper's inspiration to write Cops & Robbers.
Beli Sullivan is a highly versatile and motivated digital media artist seeking opportunities which allows her to be a part of a creative production team. She is available as a freelance artist to do digital video editing and motion graphics production. She has worked previously as a staff instructor and teaching artist at the University of California, Berkeley in the 21st Century After School Learning Centers as well as at the Ninth Street Independent Film Center in San Francisco with the TILT (Teaching Inter-media Literacy Tools) program, working with intergenerational students utilizing storytelling as a bridge to making good films.
In 2009 Piper was awarded first prize in the screenwriting competition at the Tribeca Film Festival for his CIA thriller, Walter’s Boys. Cops & Robbers is Piper’s first venture into theater.
In the spring of 2010, Piper paid his way through a Bay Area Law Enforcement Academy, graduating in the top percentile and delivering the commencement speech. The paradox of having strong ties to the Black community and Hip Hop, while simultaneously working in Law Enforcement, served as Piper's inspiration to write Cops & Robbers.
Beli Sullivan is a highly versatile and motivated digital media artist seeking opportunities which allows her to be a part of a creative production team. She is available as a freelance artist to do digital video editing and motion graphics production. She has worked previously as a staff instructor and teaching artist at the University of California, Berkeley in the 21st Century After School Learning Centers as well as at the Ninth Street Independent Film Center in San Francisco with the TILT (Teaching Inter-media Literacy Tools) program, working with intergenerational students utilizing storytelling as a bridge to making good films.
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