2024-2025 Season
Mourning on the Weakened: an emergent performance ritual
Created by Artist-in-Residence Vatic Kuumba, Directed by Rodney Witherspoon II ’22 BT/MFA.
Utilizing poetry, storytelling, song and video, Mourning on the Weakened explores structural oppression and viral infection as parallel cruelties, juxtaposing the ways the world mourned George Floyd while Kuumba’s family struggled to mourn their father.
Save the Date!
The Black Lavender Experience: theatre and conversations sparked by queer artists of color
Uncover to Discover Self
April 25, 2025 at 7pm
A sharing of original new works from students in Africana course 0990, instructed by Stacey Robinson
Registration to open shortly.
Past Events
Kinesthetic Exploration for Theatre Making and Community Building: A Workshop with Shariffa Ali, Guest Director in Residence
Join us for an immersive workshop that bridges the power of movement with the art of theatre-making, designed to cultivate creativity, collaboration, and community. Drawing from training in South African theatre practices and principles of grassroots organizing, this workshop invites participants of all backgrounds and experience levels to explore the dynamic relationship between body, space, and storytelling.
September 19, 2024 | 5:30pm
Free and open to the public ages 6+
Sweet Chariot: A play in development at the Department of Africana Studies/Rites and Reason Theatre
Written by Eric Lockley and Directed by Shariffa Ali, Sweet Chariot is a play in development at Rites and Reason Theatre.
In this Afrofuturist epic, a disconnected father and heroic daughter become caught up in a cosmic journey to discover salvation in a mythic place called Home.
Saturday, October 19, 2024 at 7pm and Sunday, October 20, 2024 at 2pm.
This performance is free and open to the public. Reservations are required.
Acting Against Apartheid: Lessons from the South African Anti-Apartheid Movement, a workshop with Shariffa Ali
This one-time intergenerational workshop delves into the powerful role that protest theatre played in the South African Anti-Apartheid movement. Participants will explore the historical context that led to the rise of Apartheid and the subsequent mass resistance against this system of racial segregation. Through a mix of discussion and hands-on activities, participants will examine how the performing arts became a formidable tool for dismantling oppression.
November 7, 2024 | 5:30pm
Hero
In a small, traditional South African town where gender norms are strictly adhered to, Vuyo and their choir-mates find themselves at the center of an unspoken pact.
Back for a second residency with the Department of Africana Studies/Rites and Reason Theatre, Hero is a tale of courage, unity, and the extraordinary power of music to challenge societal norms.
Directed by Shariffa Ali, the Department’s Guest Director-in-Residence.
January 24+25, 2025 | 7pm