A Busboys and Poets in-house series! Rise + Rhyme is a weekly morning storytelling and performance series for children ages 5 and under, stay-at-home parents, and early rising families of all kinds. Jessica “Culture Queen” Smith is a Master Teaching & Performance Artist who creates fun and cultural experiences for your royal children! She has produced innovative and highly engaging theatrical performances, workshops, and professional development programs for diverse audiences from primary school to Yale University, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, community centers, festivals, and museums, including the Smithsonian, the National Children’s Museum, Reginald F. Lewis Museum and the Prince George’s African American Museum. A former Drama and English teacher, with expertise in curriculum development, Jessica founded Culture Kingdom Kids (CKK) in 2010. Her fresh, passionate approach to teaching includes a mixture of social innovation themed social studies and applied theater arts integration methods. Jessica has received several awards for her work such as the African Studies Association’s Africa Showcase Award for Excellence In Children’s Cultural Programs and the Community Leadership Award from Jack and Jill of America, Inc. Her much-sought after expertise has even taken her to Ghana with the L.E.A.P (Literacy, Empowerment and Action Project).to provide culturally rich, literacy-building workshops for teachers and students globally. She has appeared numerous times on Fox 5 News and NBC, as well as the national show “NewsOne Now” with Roland Martin. Additionally, Jessica’s work has been profiled in The Washington Post, The Prince George's Gazette, The Washington Informer, The Patch, Baltimore’s Child, Richmond Family Magazine, and PG Suite Magazine. Jessica Smith holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre Education and African-American Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University. She has just had her first children’s play “Bone Soup” published by Pioneer Drama Service and will be releasing her first children’s album entitled “Culture Kingdom Kids” in 2015. For more information on her work with Culture Kingdom Kids, please visit: www.culturekingdomkids.com $5 suggesteddonations performer are much appreciated.
Rise + Rhyme is held every Wednesday morning at 9:30 AM at Busboys and Poets in Shirlington and every Monday morning in Hyattsville.
