SPOTLIGHT | Jua Amir | Actor

When you first saw the annoucement for the show, what caught your eye?
what first caught my eye was the subject matter of the play. It has been some time since I had seen the words "gay", "black", and "church" in the same description. That made me pay attention, and when I understood the story, it was even more powerful to me, as I believe that every person has a moment when they are face to face with GOD, they either leave that encounter enlightened and start on the path to raising their vibration, or they allow their old programming to interpret the encounter, and return to a stuck way of thinking, sometimes more dangerous than they how they thought before.

How has homophobia in the black church impacted your or other life of folks around you?
I look at the black community in this country and sometimes just shake my head and sigh when I think about all of the people who are impacted by the "homophobia" of the church. The thing is that you really can't even call it homophobia..they are not frightened of homosexuals...they are accepted as long as the choir is singing well, or the spirit is moving when they are preaching...but let someone dare to talk about his or her personal life...or let their be a scandal in which someone is caught in the act...all hell breaks loose. Those homosexuals who want to have a relationship with GOD and share a church community often have to make sacrifices to their happiness, and sometimes even live a lie so that the conscious' of those around them is coddled. Gay men court and marry straight women, all the time engaging in homosexual activity, gay women forced to accept the affections of a man and give up the sexual satisfaction they long for because of what people think.

How can performing this story create change?
Thoughts contain the power necessary to manifest a hearts desire into this physical reality. Words are the manifestations of thoughts, and actions are these manifestations put into use...it is the energy already moving, interacting and changing the world around it. A play is an amazing tool for raising energetic vibration because its is an ideal, in this case, a highest ideal, made into reality. Those who take part in this adventure will find themselves more comfortable in their realities simply by sharing the energy associated with this project. We will leave every rehearsal, meeting and performance just a little more assured that a life lived with GOD is a life lived in LOVE. The more we are able to access this feeling, bring it back to our churches and communities and spread it, not even in a preachy manner, just simply meditating on how GOD's love channels through us and our life situation (whatever that may be), we will projecting this love straight back to the source....when you project love onto GOD, he sends it all right back to you. We cannot contain all of GOD's love, force ably it will spill out onto others, in fact everyone who takes part in this story, everyone who comes to see it, and all of those around them. Love and Light is all there is!

Jua Amir was born on The Holy Cross of the United States Fair Maidens. Bounced around like a pinball, when the time came to make some conscious decisions, he ended up in NYC. Experimental theatre, crazy dayz of Love, War and poverty led him to move to Israel, Paris, back to NYC, back to Paris and back to NYC. Jua just finished singing with LD Section II, is working an album of his original songs, and toying with the idea of signing a year or two of his creativity to Disney....if light and love is all there is, and all there is is love and light...what makes you think that GOD wants fear? And who said life is supposed to be a fight?