ABOUT ONI

ONI LASANA was born and nurtured with an intuitive love of music, poetry, and storytelling

in the Strawberry Mansion section of Philadelphia.

FATHER: WILLIAM H. MORRIS : master mason, community activist, raconteur and people person.

MOTHER: MARIA I. ANDERSON : Co-owner of Mel-Mar Creations and Peter Pan Children's Shop on 52nd Street in West Philly. Performed as a 1st soprano with the Negro Opera Ensemble of Philadelphia. Miss Anderson was often mistaken for Lena Horne and had dreams of becoming an actress. Oni was her fifth and youngest child who inherited her mothers talents for public speaking, and insisted Oni tells everyone in interviews!

CHILDHOOD : Culturally and creatively grew up in a beautiful tree lined neighborhood at 24th & Huntingdon Street. She fun-lovingly kept younger children safe and out of trouble in what her mother called her "basement & backyard school." From the time she could read, she was teaching, directing talent shows, and making up street games with talented friends, from foster care to special need playmates.

At 8 her mother enrolled her in the Ms. Hall Dance Troupe at Connie Mack Recreation Center (now Cecil B. Moore). The all girls dance troupe won city wide competitions performing jazz, tap and ballet to the music of the hit movie, South Pacific.

TEEN YEARS: Performed with "Crazy Armand" McKissick, as one of the intermission dancers for the legendary WDAS RADIO'S Rock & Rolls shows & Motown Revue's at the Uptown Theater. Backstage, she often marveled at the before and after transformations of the glamorous Supremes, Temptations, Stevie Wonder and her all time favorites, Smokey Robinson and James Brown. In 2006 Oni's biographical short-story of her memories, "Rock & Rollin' at the Uptown Theater" was a winning story for the Benjamin Franklin Autobiography Project of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

YOUNG ADULT : Graduated from West Catholic Girls High School of Philadelphia and certified in business, and employed by Fidelity Bank. On vacation she flew to Los Angeles with a another young lady and fell in love with the sunshine and palm trees.

LOS ANGELES : Stayed in Los Angeles (for the weather - in those days, it was little opportunity in the performing arts, for people of color) and was employed in the fashion industry, as a window dresser, sales consultant and customer stylist for the Sy Amber Family of Hollywood, California.

WES FARRELL ORGANIZATION : Receptionist, Assistant to David Mook, head of the Music Publishing Department of the Partridge Family TV Show's, Every Little Tune Publishing Division and the K-Tell Oldies but Goodies Music catalogue. Wes Farrell Organization, Recording and Music Publishing Co. aka Chelsea Records in Los Angeles, was also home to British artist Lulu, R&B group, New York City of the R & B hit, "I'm Doing Fine Now"...without you baby" among other artists and "The Singing Cowboy" TV production.

CHELSEA RECORDS : A natural instinct and a gifted ear for music, led to the discovery of a submitted demo "Be Thankful For What You Got" by William De Vaughn. The song hit the charts and became Billboard's #1 R&B hit of 1974. This led to a promotion in Artist & Repertoire Department. It was while employed at Chelsea Records, Oni was invited to Jamaica to assist reggae artists retain publishing rights and mechanical royalties.

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA 1975 : Returned to US to pursue a degree in Communications at Laney College in Oakland, California. While attending Laney she volunteered and was later employed by Pacifica Foundation at KPFA-FM radio station, Berkeley, California.

BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA : KPFA-FM : Produced and hosted "Your Space" a weekly in-studio live showcase for local artists and "Bay Leaf" a over-night jazz program . Interim-Director of the Third World Department where civil rights activist, Professor Angela Davis also hosted a radio show in this department.
Producer and writer of audio documentaries on the Rastafarian Movement in Jamaica, the Soweto Uprisings of South Africa, Who Killed Steve Biko?, and the Wailers of Jamaica.
First female in the USA to host a national weekly radio show exclusively featuring Reggae and African music.

COATESVILLE, PA 1986 : Married Don, and together they raised 3 children. "Blooming where planted" in the countryside of Chester County, Pennsylvania. With her youth by her side she served in Chester County as a creative cultural ARTivist and youth mentor in the performing arts.

Freedom Valley Girl Scout Leader: 1987 of the first integrated troupe in Chester County. 1990 Creative Director, Event Planner and Manager of an African-American performing arts Girl Scout troupe.
Chair of Freedom Valley Girl Scout's Minority Task Force, developed a diversity handbook for Girl Scout Leaders in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

Coatesville Kwanzaa Committee, Founding Member : Annual community event. Hosted the Fihankra Project, (Uniting the Divided House) Chief Naumapau II, his sister Nana Kente with a delegations of Chiefs from Kumasi, Ghana visited the USA on tour of conscious communities to apologize for ancestral involvement in the slave trade.
Kwanzaa Committee extended Black History Month to year round. Facilitated the Empak "Say Yes! To Black History" program at the Coatesville Community Center.

YOUNG WOMAN & CHILDREN SERVICES : Board Member : Youth activities and wellness exercise programs for community and the welfare of woman and children in transition

COATESVILLE CULTURAL SOCIETY 1993 : Founding & Performing Member : Theatre, Cafe & Art Gallery : Studied and performed Paul Laurence Dunbar’s works with the Bob Jones Dance Troupe.

ONI LASANA PRODUCTIONS1994 : Owner / Artist: Developing & producing theatrical storytelling programs, children and historical characters, performances and workshops. As a "Dunbarian", Oni's presentations of Paul Laurence Dunbar's spoken word poetry has taken her to audiences throughout the USA, Europe, African & the Caribbean.

MUSIC ARRANGEMENTS: Prose of Paul Laurence Dunbar, over a dozen of his poems to jazz, calypso, rap, and south African instrumental music for various programs and published Brother Dunbar Performance Workshop in Literacy Development in the Storytelling Classroom on Libraries Unlimited. Featured artist on the Definitive Paul Laurence Dunbar DVD box set.

COMMUNITY& INTERNET RADIO : Producer & Host: CARIBBEAN NITES music program on WCOJ-FM Radio, "The voice of Chester County." Spoken Word and Storytelling program: WORD UP! on WCHE-FM radio of West Chester, PA. Online docu-radio show, "Voices of The Diaspora" on Harambee Radio.com, interviewing and promoting cultural icons, storytellers, poets, community artists and activists to international audiences.

PUBLICATIONS CD & BOOKS: Independent spoken word productions : Oni Lasana Doin' Dunbar as 'Lias' Mother, Sister Wings, Spoken Word Songs Bass & Beat! and I Dreamt, MLK Jr. the single, available for download on all digital music platforms.
Bio-poetic published titles; A Soul Sister From Cool World Valley, Real Tales of Rhymes & Reason, and Gardenia's & Gumbeaux.

TOHO PUBLISHING CO. : Author : "Philly Scam or Pay It Forward?" - The Best Short Stories of Philadelphia 2019 and Hindsight 2020 - "Baptized By The Blues."

ASCAP: American Society of Composers and Publishers. Songwriter and music publisher member

PERFORMANCE POET: 1995 Chester County Women's Prison Workshops with Dagmar Holl. Founding member & Story Poet; In The Company of Poets, "Philly's First and Finest Female Spoken Word Ensemble." 2000-2005 - ITCOP presented original poetry on personal and international woman's issues. Together, they produced FEMALE FIRE! a spoken word CD. Presented at Caribbean Festival, Woman Woman Of Color Conference, Sinclair College in Dayton, OH, and many universities and festivals in Philadelphia area.

CREATIVE DIRECTOR & PERFORMER: The West Chester Community Performers. A benevolent theater group of professional women, who's mission is to present African-American Literature from full length plays to readers theater. WCCP has donated over 30,000 in scholarship book awards to college bound students in Chester County, Pennsylvania

IMPERFECTION ART WEAR Collection : Jewelry artisan of precious stones, one of a kind elegant statement necklaces and earrings. Featured on the Pretty Imperfection Artwear Facebook page and for private showings.

PODCAST VOICE TALENT & PRODUCER : 2021 : Aunti Oni Story Village - Webby award-winning voice talent, on African Folktales, Episodes : 7, 8 & 9

HISTORICAL RE-ENACTING : Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (abolitionist poet) and Ona Judge, George & Martha Washington's (1st president of USA) enslaved African-American servant).

LAUGHTER YOGA WELLNESS : Certified Laughter Yoga Leader, guiding sessions on the holistic benefits of Laughter Yoga. LOL4Rea! breaks down barriers and encourages wellness.

WORKS IN PROGRESS : Children's books, "How The Storyman Found A Story" - "King Lions' Dance" based on a Paul Laurence Dunbar poem, and "The Palm & The Poui, a Tobago Tale."

Oni Lasana Constantly Celebrates Creativity in the spirit of Ubuntu focusing on what connects us as human's rather than what separates us. Oni enjoys reading and researching "ah ha!" stories, rehearsing for presentations, practicing bass guitar, and cooking Creole & Caribbean cuisine.

*!* CATCH ONI LIVE or VIRTUALLY *!*

Traveling with her husband or solo, collaborating with storytelling friends or drama mama's Oni got it going on!

Since April 2021 she has produced Aunti Oni Story Village, a podcast and Story Village Live! a virtual monthly storytelling program for youth, with her favorite international storytellers.

Thanks and praises to clients, supporters, family & friends, while treasuring every moment.

Ya like to read or edit?

Scroll down to read Oni's personal diary of poems & short stories ~

MUSINGS : Considering something thoughtfully

~ REPRESENTING ~

Storytellers of Canada

Lehigh Valley Storytelling Guild

National Storytelling Network

NEST North East Storytelling

West Chester Community Performers

National Association of Black Storytellers

ASALH