Shariffa Ali is an international creative leader committed to advancing radical change through the power of art & activism. She works across disciplines directing and producing plays, virtual reality experiences & film. In academic year 2024-2025 Shariffa Ali directed performances, incubated new works, and led master classes and workshops. Click for full bio.

Vatic Astahili Tayari Kuumba [V.A.T.K] (he/him) is an artist, writer, popular educator, and father of three children. Based in Providence, Rhode Island, Vatic aligns his artistic practice and facilitation skills to catalyze movement building for racial and climate justice. During his residency Vatic Kuumba workshopped four plays in progress. Click for full bio.

An immersive workshop that bridges the power of movement with the art of theatre-making, designed to cultivate creativity, collaboration, and community. Drawing from South African theatre practices and principles of grassroots organizing, this workshop invited participants of all backgrounds and experience levels to explore the dynamic relationship between body, space, and storytelling.

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.

This one-time intergenerational workshop delved 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.

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

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. Click for info and digital playbill.

The 2025 program featured Uncover and Discover Self, a constellation of new short plays created and performed by students in AFRI 0990 - Black Lavender: Black Gay/Lesbian Plays/Dramatic Constructions in the American Theatre, instructed by Stacey Karen Robinson. Installation design by renowned costume designer Qween Jean.

Written by George Houston Bass and reimagined by Dr. Lisa Biggs

Part of the Brown Arts Institute IGNITE series, and in conjunction with year long events celebrating the reopening of Churchill House, the Department of Africana Studies/Rites and Reason Theatre developed a reimagined version of The Providence Garden Blues.

A developmental workshop and sharing of a new play
Created by Shariffa Ali and Vuyo Sotashe.
In the face of deep-seated fear and uncertainty, Vuyo and their choir-mates embark on a journey of self-discovery, forging an unbreakable bond that carries them all through the highs and lows of the competition and life in newly post-apartheid South Africa.

The Department of Africana Studies/Rites and Reason Theatre presents the annual Black Lavender Experience, a celebration of theatre and conversations sparked by queer artists.
Black (Lavender) Angels Fest: A Ritual Performance featured yaTande Whitney V. Hunter, PhD with Kei Soares Cobb, Assi Coulibaly, Ronald K. Lewis, Mekbul Tahir, Shaffany P. Terrell
With student showcase Ocean by Marcus Waller ’26

May 23, 2024
Written by George Houston Bass and reimagined by Dr. Lisa Biggs
Directed by Eunice Ferreira
Musical Supervision: Akua Naru
Musical Direction: Becky Bass’13

Building upon the November 2023 Salon, Rites and Reason Theatre shall present a reading of the script in its entirety along with sharing newly composed music.

Written by Jason Tristan Brown'23, Co-Directed by Elmo Terry-Morgan'74 and Connie Crawford
Iyanu embarks on a dangerous journey to find the gourd of wisdom to save the planet Afrofantasia from the marauding Oyinbo.

Songs of a Caged Bird, a new play by Christopher Lindsay MFA’22 tells the story of Lee Berry, a member of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. As part of the New York 21, Berry and 20 other party members were charged with conspiracy to commit crimes across New York City and jailed. Amid the pain of incarceration, his failing health, and the erosion of hope, Berry finds a way through.

Within Africanist frameworks, art is not a thing, but a doing. Art is a verb. Art causes things to happen. During this time of pain and tumult, art provides us an outlet to process, rage, and heal. Students and artist from Las Vegas to Lagos submitted their Responses In Our Time, using spoken word, rap, performance art, and silence to affirm artmaking as an activist practice.

The first in a slate of many, this event commemorates Rites and Reason Theatre’s 50th Anniversary as the oldest, continuously producing Black Theatre in New England, and the phenomenal contributions to its legacy made by Karen Allen Baxter, the Theatre’s Senior Managing Director. After leading Rites and Reason through an astonishing 250 events, Karen retired in December 2020.

The Black Lavender Experience is a project of the course, Black Lavender: A Study of Plays with Black LGBTQ+ Content. Established as a platform for Queer Artists of Color, it has presented the works of professional and student artists for over a decade.

During Commencement/Reunion Weekend, Africana Studies presents He Rises in Spirit and Power, a memorial event honoring the late Professor Anani Dzidzienyo. The telecast assembles tributes from Gilberto Gil, Olodum, and the scores of scholars inspired by Anani's encouragement. The global network of friends touched by his kindness is immeasurable, and we are grateful to have loved him.