Leah Bonvissuto, Director of the on-stage program on April 11

Revolution: Tell us why you think this event is important, and why you decided to be a part of it.

Leah Bonvissuto: In the world as it is today, there are a lot of things people have a right to be unhappy about. And a lot of times we don't know how to make a change. This is a group of people coming together who are making their own changes in their own ways, whether it's through spoken word or music or art or themselves as revolutionaries. So it's incredibly inspiring to see the way that they're making a change forward and bringing that to the audience. So that's really why I was inspired to become involved.

Revolution: Had you heard about Bob Avakian before this?

Bonvissuto: I had heard about him and been vaguely familiar with his work. But not nearly as much as I have in the last weeks since I've become involved. Kind of amazed that I hadn't.

Revolution: Have you seen the BAsics book yet?

Bonvissuto: Yeah, I'm almost half way through.

Revolution: What do you think?

Bonvissuto: I'm really enjoying it, yeah. It's wonderful.

Revolution: You're directing the on-stage program. How is that going?

Bonvissuto: It's been good. It's always challenging with something like this, because there's a lot of people involved and you want everyone to have the part of it that they want to have. But that's really rewarding too because you're figuring out the build of the event, who's going to play off to [who] well, and making sure that the energy is right. I love events like this, because you're not focusing on one performer or one style. It's really a mish-mash and very exciting.

Revolution: What do you think the effect of the event will be?

Bonvissuto: I'm hoping that the energy of the event will build in a way that people will, at the end of it, want to make a difference. They'll be inspired. But there are so many different ways to make a difference. And also just being more aware of Avakian and his words and what he's been up to most of his life… And to see how many people he has affected. I think that's really inspiring for people too. From the prisoners, who are writing letters, to the artists we've known.

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