Brenton Weyi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Brenton Weyi
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| Personal details | |
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Brenton Zola Weyi
January 16, 1990 Dallas, Texas |
| Alma mater | Whitman College |
| Profession | Writer and Multidisciplinary Artist |
Brenton Weyi (born January 16, 1990) is an American writer and artist. He creates essays, plays, and poetry. He is also known for his musical, My Country, My Country.
Brenton is a Playwright Fellow at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. He also helps organize TEDxBoulder, which is a very large TEDx event. He is known for combining different art forms in his creative work.
He comes from a family with a rich history. His great-great-grandfather was Simon Kimbangu, a religious leader from Congo. He is also a descendant of Kimpa Vita, a prophet from the Kongo Empire.
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Brenton Weyi's Early Life and School
Brenton Weyi was born in Dallas, Texas. He grew up in Denver, Colorado. His parents were immigrants. He learned to speak French and Lingala when he was young. Later, he also learned Japanese.
He went to George Washington High School. There, he helped lead the school's first mock trial team. They were the first team from Denver Public Schools to win a State Championship. They also placed in the top five nationally.
After high school, Brenton attended Whitman College. He studied both philosophy and history. While in college, he acted in plays. He also started a hip-hop group. He co-founded a poetry team that won awards. Brenton also enjoyed improvisation, music, and danced professionally for a time.
Brenton Weyi's Creative Career
After college, Brenton Weyi lived and worked in Thailand. He stayed at a school that taught meditation and martial arts. He has written for many online and print publications. He is known for his poetic essays. These essays often discuss topics about what it means to be human. He has also traveled to over 60 countries.
Brenton is known for telling stories in many different ways. He creates immersive art experiences. He has worked with places like the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. He also partnered with the Norman Rockwell Museum and the Denver Art Museum.
In 2015, Brenton joined Playback Theatre West. This is Colorado's oldest improvisational theater company. They use theater to help people understand each other better. That same year, he also helped start Storytellers Acapella. This is an all-male singing group. Their goal is to bring communities together through music and stories. In 2016, he began creating art about Central Africa. He showed both the challenges and the beauty of the region.
In 2019, Brenton was a featured storyteller for the Empathy Museum in Denver. This museum is a traveling exhibit. It encourages people to imagine what it's like to be someone else. The project was started by artist Clare Patey. The Denver version featured stories from people like Suzi Q. Smith and Mayor Michael B Hancock.
My Country, My Country Musical
In 2016, Brenton Weyi started working on a musical play. It is called My Country, My Country. The musical is about Congo gaining independence. This happened during the Cold War. The story focuses on Patrice Lumumba and Baudouin I of Belgium. It shows the difficult time of nationalism and Communism. This period eventually led to Lumumba's death.
Brenton first presented a reading of his musical in 2018. This took place at the Denver Art Museum. Later in 2018, he hosted a "Massivemuse." This is a large arts event. It featured a reading of My Country, My Country. It also included music by Fanny Mendelssohn.
Brenton was chosen as an inaugural Playwright Fellow. This is a new year-long writing program. It is for promising playwrights in Colorado. In 2019, Brenton presented My Country, My Country two more times.
Brenton Weyi's Achievements
- 2017: He gave a TEDxBoulder talk called "I've Always Wanted to Tell You..."
- 2018: He won the Grand Slam champion title at the Boulder Storytelling Series, Truth Be Told.
- 2019: The City of Denver and Denver Public Library nominated him for the Juanita Gray award. This award recognizes excellent service to the city by an African-American.
- 2019: He was featured as a 'Colorado Creative.' This is a yearly series that highlights the top 100 creative people in Colorado.
- 2019: He was named an Inaugural Dramatic Writing Fellow. This was at Lighthouse Writer's Workshop's 'Writing in Color' retreat.
