NIGHTQUEEN PERFORMANCE SUITE – IN PROCESS
My NightQueen Performance Suite is evolving into quite the undertaking! I’m so excited about what’s coming up.
When I started dreaming up this suite, I envisioned a triptych of new works that blend theater, music, new media and oral storytelling traditions to conjure a mythology reflecting the contemporary Black experience.
I wanted to create a platform to explore issues of climate anxiety, environmental justice and eco-grief, particularly from the perspectives of underserved communities of color.
And I wanted to activate a fantastical story-world, grounded by the vastness of the Black Speculative Imagination to explore possibilities we can co-create with a broader understanding of our past, present and potential.
Now, a few years into development, I’m finally at a place where some of the work will be shared with audiences. Coming up soon:
The MCA will present a sneak preview of Water Riot in Beta: a music-theater work that follows a troupe of water rights activists as they seek hope in a world transformed by global water crisis, unbridled network technologies, and resurgent fascism.
Water Riot in Beta draws on the under-acknowledged legacy of Black voices in Punk, Electronic, and experimental contemporary music.
Check out the MCA Series in Cultured Magazine!
ALSO IN DEVELOPMENT
Underdrown / Over Troubled Waters ( a play with drums) is also making moves. I’ve been developing the material with Chicago Dramatists, Prop Thtr, and Primary Stages. And if the stars align, there will be a presentation this fall.
Community Engagement Social Justice. Beyond audience talkbacks (which are wonderful) I’m looking for ways to partner the NightQueen experience with grass-roots climate justice organizations doing the work in any community that will present the show. These plans are still nascent, but are a critical element of the overall vision.
So there’s a lot in motion.
I’ve been pondering this project for years and years, and finally (with the help of Djerassi Residency and a Creative Capital Award) have put NightQueen on the front burner. I’m really grateful for the communities gathering around this endeavor and cannot wait to share more.
