Friday, September 16, 2016

OUT 277--STAGE BITZ (SEPT 16-23)

HEY OUTTOWNERS, OUTSTAGRS, AND

 COUTURIANS....

CHECK OUT THIS WEEK  

 WE

ARE STAGIN!!! 







OUTTOWN celebrates 11 years in existence! 
July 5 was our birthday. 
Thank you to our supporters for continuing to read us!
To read past blogs over the years go to 

http://maatspear.blogspot.com/

http://outtown.blogspot.com/

http://maatology.blogspot.com/


http://outstagin.blogspot.com/




Congrats goes out to Mr Couture 2017 winner and Philly native Thomas Lopez who won the 8th Annual Mista Couture Style Contest that was held Aug 21 at Winter Opera St Louis Studio. 
Check out our cover story on him at 

http://outstagin.blogspot.com/2016/09/special-stage-bitz-cover-story-on-2017.html






Maatology Productions is seeking gents of color who are fit, attractive and have a career for its debut issue of OBSDN The Blogzine, a quarterly body magazine featuring gents of color who are movers and shakers in their career.  If you are fit and are comfortable doing artistic nude shots (no frontal), email tomaat.atkins@gmail.com for sign up info. Deadline is Nov 1. Street date is Nov 15.

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HEY THEATERATI WE ARE NOW CASTING FOR THE NEXT STAGING OF THE SNAP HONEY STAGEPLAY SET FOR MARCH 2017.

HERE ARE THE BREAKDOWNS OF THE ROLES:

MAVIS--AN AFRICAN AMERICAN FEMALE, 30S TO 40S WHO CAN PLAY CARING AND NURTURING 

ALVIN KENWAY--AN AFRICAN AMERICAN MALE IN

  EARLY 20S TO 30 TO PLAT A  COCKY FOOTBALL JOCK

  WHO CAN PLAY A HIGH SCHOOL TEENAGER, MUST 

 BE TALL AND FIT AND COMFORTABLE WEARING A

  TOWEL ON STAGE AND EXPOSIG BUTTOCKS


LORRAINE- AFRICAN AMERICAN FEMALE  AGE 10 TO

  13 YEARS OF AGE TO PLAY A TOMBOY WHO BULLIES

  HER LITTLE BROTHER

IKEY--AFRICAN AMERICAN MALE AGE 8 TO 13 TO PLAY

  AN EFFEMINATE BOY WHO LOVES MUSIC

MISS FANTA SEE SAW--CAUCASIAN MALE AGE 40 TO

  50 TO PLAY A DRAG QUEEN. MUST BE A BIT PORTLY.


ROBERT SMITH--CAUCASIAN MALE 30S TO 40S TO

  PLAY A SUAVE AND DEBONAIR TYCOON WITH A DEEP

  VOICE. MUST BE TALL WITH DASHING GOOD LOOKS.

TO AUDITION FOR ONE OF THE ROLES  EMAIL TO

  SNAPHONEY2011@GMAIL.COM . DEADLINE IS OCT 16, 

 2016. 





UPDATE:Here is the link to the extended teaser with booking info. Go to 


TO DONATE TO THE RESTAGING PROJECT OF SNAP HONEY  GO TO 
https://www.gofundme.com/2a6x6p8











For all of your entertainment coverage in the St Louis area check out New Scene News. Go to http://www.newscenenews.com/




For all of your jewelry needs go to 
www.kilojoules4.com

BELOW ARE THE SPONSORS OF THE 8TH ANNUAL MISTA COUTURE CONTEST THAT TOOK PLACE AUG 21















HERRE's THIS WEEKS STAGE BITZ




Nelly's fans have rallied to try and bail out the rap superstar

from his tax debt to the I.R,S. From reports, he had been hit  with a federal tax lien that amounts to $2,412,283. The St. Louis native also reportedly owes $149,511 in state taxes.

 Even though it was reported that Nelly was working with the I.R.S. to handle the debt, his fans got the idea to stream his song "Hot In Herre" on Spotify. Nelly fans are streaming the 2002 hit about stripping down in the heat as a way to help the rapper make some extra money, and are encouraging others to do the same on social media. The idea originated with a SPIN magazine story about how many streams does it take for the debit to be paid. The Swedish company recently said that the payout for artists “per stream” lands between $0.006 and $0.0084. At the bare minimum, you’ll have to stream a Nelly joint 402,880,500 times to make a decent dent on his tax issues. If Nelly’s lucky enough to be on the $.0084 end of the royalty spectrum, the best case scenario sees you plugging through 287,176,547 streams but the revenue has to also be divided between labels and publishers.

 Who knew that Nelly was struggling like that? Not really. He continues to travel and touring so we are sure that will help on the debt  and not to mention he helped to write Hot In Herre so we are sure he gets royalty checks from that. So we think this was more of a viral story than a plea for help more than anything.  


Shaq and Allen Iverson headlined the 10-member Class of 2016 enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The event had taken place recently  Springfield Symphony Hall in Boston, Massachusetts.

 The class also featured international star Yao Ming, WNBA great Sheryl Swoopes, coach Tom Izzo, and owner Jerry Reinsdorf, an architect in the Michael Jordan-led Bulls championship teams of the 1990s. Posthumous honorees were: 27-year NBA referee Darell Garretson; John McLendon, the first African-American coach in a professional league; Zelmo Beaty, the former NBA and ABA star who led Prairie View to an NAIA title in 1962; and Cumberland Posey, who is also a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

 From reports, Shaq had the final speech of the night, a humorous dissertation that spanned his long journey in the sport.
But he also tossed in light moments. He thanked former Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant for helping him win three NBA titles, "but also for getting me pushed off the team and traded to Miami."
Before host Ahmad Rashad could even introduce Iverson, the first mention of his name started a roar of cheers throughout the assembled audience.
Dressed in all black, former MVP known as "A.I.," blew kisses has tears began to form in his eyes.
"Thank God for loving me and blessing me," Iverson said, "to be the man that I am and having no regrets for the man that I am. A man that my family loves, my teammates love and my fans love."
Fighting tears throughout, Iverson thanked former Georgetown coach John Thompson "for saving my life."
"(After) the incident happened in high school and all that was taken away...no other schools would recruit me anymore," Iverson recalled. "My mom went to Georgetown and begged him to give me a chance. And he did."
Iverson saved his final thank you for wife Tawanna.
"You're just the best to me," he said. "I want you to walk around and be proud of yourself that you are a Hall of Famer."

 We would like to congratulate everyone who was honored. Well deserved!


So who do you think will win Best Drama Series, Best Comedy Series, Best Actor and Actress in  a Drama and Comedy categories? Do you think Black-ish will win? We will see when the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards will be televised on ABC TV this Sunday at 7pm EST/6pm CST!

 Here are the nominees in the main categories: (OUR CHOICE IS IN BOLD)
Outstanding Comedy SeriesOutstanding Drama Series
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy SeriesOutstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama SeriesOutstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy SeriesOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama SeriesOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series



So who do you think will win in these categories? Choose your pick below in the comment box!




Grammy Award winning music producer Timbaland, who has headed the music team on the Fox music drama “Empire” since it began, has exited the series, Billboard reports. Timbaland and his team were responsible for taking the writing team’s plot points and creating songs based on the themes. He will be replaced by producer Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins and songwriter Ester Dean for the show’s third season.
“We were happy to work with Timbaland during the first two seasons,” Columbia Records senior VP of A&R Shawn Holiday told Billboard.  Ne-Yo and J.R. Rotem, who worked with Timbaland last season, will return for the third season.
In related Empire newz Recently, it was announced that Romeo Miller (fka Lil Romeo) will replace Kid Cudi on the show. Cudi was cast as a rival to rapper Hakeem back in July, but backed out due to “creative differences.” Other additions include new series regular Xzibit and guest stars Birdman, French Montana, and Biz Markie, among others. The third season of “Empire” will premiere September 21.




Pop superstar Beyonce brought her Formation Tour to St Louis last weekend to a packed house at The Dome at America's Center. But the highlight was when Beyoncé was performing "Single Ladies' with her dancers and stopped the show for her back-up dancer John Silver who proposed to his girlfriend and Beyoncé's dance captain Ashley Everett onstage.
According to reports, Silver got down on one knee in front of the crowd after saying, "She’s my queen, so I feel like it’s only right to come out here in my hometown." Everett immediately said yes and shared a sweet moment with her fiancé followed by congratulations from Beyoncé. The shocked dancer still managed to get back into the groove and perform "Single Ladies"  after Beyonce told her "Now let;s see if you can do the choreography for this song."
"Still wrapping my head around the incredible, magical moment that happened last night! It was an absolute dream come true," Everett posted on Instagram adding, "shocked is an understatement." Silver thanked Beyoncé in his own Instagram post saying, "thank you ... for making this moment a reality."

 How much you wanna bet that Bey will pay for the wedding , the reception and the honeymoon?


The Los Angeles Rams’ debut  at their new West Coast dwellings didnt fare well in Week 1 of teh NFL losing to the San Francisco 49ers 28-0. The Monday night game against the San Francisco 49ers, their old rivals, also drew fair ratings. Only 16.1 percent of homes in the Los Angeles market were tuned to the game, even though it was available on both cable (ESPN) and free TV (the local ABC affiliate) in the L.A. market, according to Nielsen ratings.

Compare that number to the 17.7 percent of homes in the St. Louis area that were tuned into the Rams’ season opener last year.
Additionally, only two games in the 21 seasons the Rams were in St. Louis did the TV ratings not surpass that 16.1 mark.
Nielsen  also reported that the Rams game was watched by 8 percent of homes in the St. Louis market, which was tied for 13th nationally, and not that far behind the 8.8 rating drawn by the Cardinals-Cubs baseball game (which ended around the the time Rams kicked off).
So our question is which was also asked by some reports, so which is worse, low ratings from Los Angeles fans or the goose egg that the Rams received? From some former St Louis Rams fans, they would take the egg.


R.I.P. BiTZ

 Two famous personalities in the LGBT community died this past week

 Alexis Arquette, sibling to Patricia and David Arquette, died at the age of 47 and Lady Chablis died at the age of 59.



I

 The St Louis Black Rep will be celebrating its 40th Anniversary when it debuts its new season with its season opener — Miss Julie, Clarissa and John, which stars Andrea Like, Eric Conners and Laurie McConnell, is an adaptation of Swedish playwright August Strindberg's drama Miss Julie.  Directed by Andrea Frye (from the TV soap Tyler Perry's If Loving You is Wrong), the three-person play is based on the 1888 drama by Strindberg and adapted by Pittsburgh playwright Mark Clayton Southers . 

In the play, Miss Julie (McConnell) has returned to take over her family’s plantation.  But her dangerous attraction to the top servant and former slave, John (Conners), creates a crisis with his wife, and cook of the house, Clarissa, (Like)that explodes through social class and racial lines. 

Miss Julie, Clarissa and John plays thru Sept 25, at Washington University's Edison Theatre (6445 Forsyth Boulevard;www.theblackrep.org) 

FIT BITZ






This week we feature comedian Jay Pharoah who posted pics on his Instagram recently of his body transformation and losing 40 pounds in a year (He;s currently 173 pounds) in his fitness plan, The former SNL cast member said his plan was working out in the gym everyday and no supplements. 









This week we feature new NBA Hall of Famer Allen Iverson who set the trend in urban men fashion wearing cornrolls on the court since his debut in the NBA in 1997 making it easier for other NBA players to show off their braided manes without being questioned or maligned. 




We feature St. Louis based musician/actor Tre'von Griffith who released a new EP called  “I’m Back” a seven song R&B smorgasbord of old and new stylings.
To download a copy go to 


WORDZ TO THE WHYZ


Why
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Wednesday, September 14, 2016

SPECIAL STAGE BITZ--COVER STORY ON 2017 MR COUTURE THOMAS LOPEZ

Photos by Jonathan





The 8th Annual Mista Couture Style Contest ,that was held Aug 21 at Winter St Louis' Studios, had two firsts. One, it was the first time  the contest was streamed live on Facebook and, two, the contestants who competed video called through Facebook Messenger Video. And the winner of the 2017 Mr Couture sash was Thomas Lopez from Philadelphia. We talked with him recently on his life and journey of becoming an established model in the entertainment industry.




OS:Are you originally from Philadelphia? If so how was it growing up in that city?

TL:Yes I am originally from Philadelphia; West Philadelphia born and raised. It was rough growing up in Philadelphia.  I lived in a single parent
household, my father had left when my twin brother and I were only 6 months. He left my mother in severe debt, so she and me and four of my sibling moved in with my grandparents. I actually recall a time when me and three  of my siblings used to sleep in one bed. My mother worked everyday as RN so that we could have better. Although we had little, because of the love of my family, I never felt like we had less. I was actually very sheltered growing up. By the time I was old enough to be allowed to leave the block, I only had a few friends, whom happened to be my neighbors. Often times, my friends and I would get into fights with the neighborhood bullies. It took us a while to earn our stripes, but eventually we earned the respect of our neighborhood. I really wasn't into the things most people my age were into so I felt kinda like an outcast. However I often found comfort in church, sports and my academics.






OS:When did you start to become into being stylish?

 TL:My junior year of high school I started getting more into fashion. I had a part time job, so started shopping at places like Express for Men, Urban outfitters and Armani Exchange. I fell in love with clothes and I started to pay attention to detail; layering clothes , accessorizing and etc. Soon after, I stopped spending money on expensive clothes and starting looking at the make of clothes as well as the detail as oppose to the name of them.


OS:Whats your favorite attire to wear and why? 

TL:My favorite attire is casual wear because that's  the attire I get most creative on. Casual attire for me can vary between and outfit such as, canvas shoes like Vans or low top Chuck Taylor's,  slim fit pants, V-necks, and cardigan to an outfit such as a pair of Oxfords, nice socks, slacks, a blazer,  a white button down shirt and some nice glasses. I can dress it up or dress it down depending on how I am feeling.


OS:Why did you decide to enter the Mr Couture Contest?

TL:Maatology Productions had contacted me on Model Mayhem and told me about the contest. I had never participated in a pageant  before and I thought it would be a great experience with good exposure.



                                                                                                                           



OS:Were you surprised when you won?

TL: I was really surprised I had won because this was my first pageant. I also took into the accountability that others had more preparation and time so I felt like the underdog.

OS:During the contest you elaborated on the fact when you were growing up you were teased by kids for being in their opinion being "ugly". How did you manage to cope with the teasing?

 TL:Growing up I was teased often. Between middle school up until my sophomore year in high school. I was often called "ugly" or referred to as "the ugly twin." Honestly, it was really hurtful, I felt very inferior.  It was the love of my mother and grandmother that helped me cope. My mother always said I was beautiful and encouraged me daily. My grandmother said I was beautiful and that I had features that resembled hers. With so much love and encouragement, I found courage and self worth in myself. We are all meant to shine just as children do so now in my adult life I try to shine the brightest.



OS:You also shown your great physique during the Undergear category of the contest. How often do you workout and what's your regimen?

TL: I love to work out and I love to be active. I was actually a jock in high school as well as college. I excelled in track and basketball so working out became a lifestyle. I currently work out with a herbal life group twice a week as well as my own personal workouts. I don't like weights so when I do lift, I lift smaller weights but longer reps. I have an evolution mask and I do high  intensity works, I prefer them better.


OS:So what are your hobbies?


TL:I love sports. I play basketball as often as I can. I still have b-ball ambitions. In my free time, I actually write poetry as well. I love to play chess, do crossword puzzles and anything that's challenging.







OS:.Talk a little bit about your social platform that you ran on during the contest?

TL:I am  a 6'2 , well built African-American male, so often times I get stopped by police officers. I have gotten stopped going to church , going to school , walking to a friend's house or walking to the corner store. Some experiences were OK and others were awful. Often times I feel like officers approaches were wrong  because they were fearful of the color of my skin and my size. However I feel how can police protect and serve a community that you are afraid of? Also in my community there is a lack of respect for those in authority so you believe it works both ways. I want to improve police and people's relations so we can end violence.



OS:So what's next for you? Any upcoming fashion shows or projects?

TL:I am always up to something, I like to get my hands on everything. I am participating in Philly fashion week as Mista Couture. I have a solo calendar shoot coming up in St. Louis.  I am participating in a short film that will later be entered in a film festival so everybody please stay tuned.



OS:What do you see yourself doing career wise in the next 10 years?

TL:My mother told me, "Before one door opens, you must close the other one." So I just graduated with my associate in Accounting and now I am focusing on my modeling career. In 10 years, I hope to be one of the faces of black male beauty; be involved in movies  and  fashion shows like for Calvin Klein.



OS:How can people contact you as far as booking you for modeling opportunities?

TL:To contact me, email is great especially for booking  thomaslopez143@gmail.com or reach me on Facebook at Thomas Lopez and Instagram at Tom_not_so_lopez. 

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