Kwame Shaka Opare is a classically trained West African dancer with an MFA in Dance from the University of Maryland. At 14, he became a principal dancer with Kankouran West African Dance Company (Washington DC). As a young adult, Kwame Shaka moved to New York where he established himself as a dynamic instructor and choreographer. In the late 90s, he began touring with the Broadway show STOMP, in the lead role and as rehearsal director where he remained for 8 years.
Debra Mims has been a Performing Artist for over thirty years. She has a B.F. A in Theatre Performance from Marygrove College, in Detroit , Michigan. With training in Dance, She has performed at the Georgetown Theatre Company, the Children’s Theatre in Madison, Wisconsin, and the Detroit-Windsor Dance Company. Debra is the 2010 Individual Artist Award winner for solo performance She worked as an Arts producer for PBS in Detroit and Madison, Wisconsin and has produced arts programs nationally.
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and resident of the Greater Washington DC area, Yvette Spears is a performing artist who has numerous recognitions through her collaborations with many renowned Jazz artists. Yvette was introduced to performance at an early age growing up in NOLA as a Jazz Vocalist, in theatre, and also an opportunity as an "on-air" talent for former BETonJazz.
Mark Lohr New Vaudevillian Extraordinaire has trained in art of the Traditional American Circus Clown. He performs without makeup and the large shoes of his trade but with all the zany antics of the roots of his profession. His trade of silliness consists of some serious disciplines! Acting, slapstick comedy, pratfalls, comedic movement, and acrobatics, juggling, hat manipulation, spinning plates, fire juggling and manipulation, stilt walking... a veritable smorgasbord of theatre and circus skills!
Ms. Kim Poole is a Soul-Fusion Performing Artivist and Founding Fellow of the Teaching Artist Institute, providing an opportunity for artists to learn techniques for social transformation while fostering outlets for socially engaged art. Operating in the USA, Ghana, Liberia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and The Gambia through TAI Kim Poole and an international team of Teaching Artists are originating the Art for Social Transformation: Teaching Artistry in Action curriculum & workbook for change agents and universities interested in exploring the “Art of Possibility.”
Mark Phillips and Ryan Phillips are two snarky magicians, battling to become a self-proclaimed champion in "The Magic Duel Comedy Show." This show is full of seriously funny magic that will fool you. Badly. During the performance, audience members select the styles of magic the contestants must perform. The whole audience casts their votes electronically to determine the winner of the coveted 'Golden Wand.' Funny, amazing, and interactive from start to finish, The Magic Duel has earned 5-star rankings on Yelp and TripAdvisor every year since 2015.
Five Spoons
FIVE SPOONS is a uniquely interactive, community-building theatre piece for adults and children alike. Created by the “powerful” Maryland-based devising team of Natasha Mirny and Tia Shearer Bassett, the piece combines clowning, object puppetry, meditation, and physical theatre (thru Zoom!) to guide you through an experience based on a Hindu parable of the Powers of Life.
Join these two brilliant kooks as they make silly, beautiful magic (with the help of YOUR brilliance!) from their cozy homes. You are invited to sit around the table with them as, together, you cook up an experience that will leave everyone more connected to the self and to each other, like the best meals do.
Recommended for ages 7 to 117.
Join these two brilliant kooks as they make silly, beautiful magic (with the help of YOUR brilliance!) from their cozy homes. You are invited to sit around the table with them as, together, you cook up an experience that will leave everyone more connected to the self and to each other, like the best meals do.
Recommended for ages 7 to 117.
Medium: online live zoom performance
Year: 2021
Details: 1 hour long
AntiCone
Inspired by Sophocles’ Antigone, AntiCone is the largely wordless story of an immigrant who is put to work building a wall against her country of origin (and, therefore, her brothers), under the dangerous eye of new leader, Creon, and against the pull of her ancient namesake. Scored by the evocative and visceral original music of Alexander Nikitin, the play combines physical theatre, clowning, and audience interaction, with unique, powerful dances choreographed and performed by Moscow-trained Natasha Mirny as Antigone. Tia Shearer, who has been called one of DC’s “most versatile actors” (BroadwayWorld) and a “straight up chameleon” (DC Theatre Scene), plays the five characters surrounding Antigone, including Creon, her brother, and the Chorus. The team is rounded out by 25 bright orange traffic cones. AntiCone was awarded funding through the Montgomery County government and the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County for its premiere just outside Washington, DC in the fall 2017. It was also an official selection of FringeNYC festival in the fall 2018 and BorderLight International Festival in the summer 2019. The show is 50 minutes long and recommended for ages 13 and up.
Details: 50 minutes run time
Marc Marcel has been declared, “One of the most controversial and consciously aware spoken word artists ever,” by radio host Palmetto Star. Born and raised in Baltimore, MD, Marcel was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of 10.
“It took me over a decade into my profession for me to realize poetry isn’t my gift,” Marc reveals, “Poetry is just a tool I’ve been using, to spread my gift through.” With his many artistic outlets, it is difficult to restrict himself to the labels of the art form. If one were to categorize his efforts, a philosopher would be more fitting.
Femi Lawal or Femi the DriFish has been a professional spoken word artist and slam poet for more than 10 years. Best known as one half of the spoken word/Hip Hop-influenced duo, THE 5th L, and the frontman for the Hip-Hop Rock band the Out of Water eXperience, Femi uses his artistry to encourage his listeners to discover their own unique voices and identities in his writings, performances, and teachings.