Preview: the break/s: a mixtape for stage, June 17 – July 12, 2009
‘Hip-Hop Renaissance Man’ and GOLDIE Award-winner Marc Bamuthi Joseph comes to ACT to perform his electrifying, powerhouse performance, the break/s: a mixtape for stage.
“Rarely do word and movement mesh so seamlessly and elegantly that the audience is left with the thought that drives them. But such is the case with Marc Bamuthi Joseph whose stories put sound and gesture on a single continuum of expression…” – The Washington Post
Marc Bamuthi Joseph, one of America’s Top Young Innovators in the arts and sciences according to Smithsonian Magazine, brings his Hip-Hop art to ACT in the break/s, an 80-minute multimedia excursion, complete with movement, music, percussion, and spoken word. the break/s dramatically realizes the living history of the Hip-Hop generation through the performed personal narrative of poet Joseph, who is also the artistic director of the seven-part HBO documentary Russell Simmons presents Brave New Voices.
Joseph drew inspiration for the break/s from Jef Chang’s 2005 American Book Award winning publication, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, which definitively captures the birth of Hip-Hop as a local movement inspired by a generation’s longing to make culture that impacts the world.
In the break/s, the medium is also the message. In this “mixtape for stage,” Joseph performs in a call-and-response format with turntablist DJ Excess and beatboxer and percussionist Tommy Shepherd (aka Soulati). The multiple layers of meaning in their exchange are intensified by video projections, created by filmmaker Eli Jacobs Fantauzzi, composed of interviews and documentary footage of Hip-Hop culture throughout the world.
A remarkable team of artists and creative advisors contributed to the break/s, led by director Michael John Garcés, and including dramaturg Brian Freeman, choreographer Stacy Printz, video and set designer David Szlaza, lighting designer James Clotfelter, and composer Ajayi Lumumba.
Tickets for the break/s start at just $37.50 and tickets for people 25 and under are just $15. For more information and tickets, visit www.acttheatre.org.
Also, don’t miss “Tastings” at ACT on June 19 at 6:30pm. ACT unveils a delicious new tradition: beers, wines, and beverages from around the world, paired with local artisan foods—all matched to fit the theme of our mainstage productions! This event is free with your ticket to the break/s.
Here is a preview of the show:
