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Fire Side Chat: The Audacity of Being Yourself

Panel Discussion

How can one be unapologetic in a time when you are being villainized for your very identity?

The answer is simple:  live, create, sleep, and repeat. 

For artists living at the margins, the ability to create is often filled with many systems of oppression constantly appearing and reappearing, and for some, it leads them to succumb to these forces and cease their innovation. Thus, depriving us of a world shaped by their artistic voice.

These three artists have defied convention and all odds and share their truth bravely and boldly, while inspiring many others to do the same. 

As the Queer RePublic Festival, comes to a close, join Grammy nominees Durand Bernarr and Diovanna Frazier, and TTO Level II Artist, Victoria Awkward, in a raw and inspiring conversation on their respective and collective journeys of creating their own canvas to paint upon.

Sunday, June 29th @ 1:00pm

Theatre of Union

Play, Lecture/Speaker

Annalise "River" Guidry is offering a three-fold sharing of Theater of Union:

a devised performance starring the first ever Theater of Union company of

artists; an open table talk presentation of the work in praxis & pedagogy; and a community.

Thursday, June 26th @ 8:00pm *opening words begin at 7:30pm

Theater of Union Presents: Remembrance

This devised performance implements Theater of Union in sustained practice with a cohort of artists. In this originally devised theatrical jazz performance, the Theater of Union cohort explores the intricacies of our ancestries in conversation with our selves and each other in an offering where collectively we find how our stories bring us together. How do our ancestors show us the way to our collective liberation, and how can we bring them with us towards our liberated futures? How do we find healing in the present moment with each other that transcends forced separations of time, place and interpersonal divisions? 

The performance will close with a second line, leading us into our Opening Night Reception in the lobby, where we invite our community to celebrate the kick off of the Festival with our artists with snacks and drinks!

Saturday, June 28th @ 1:00pm

Theater of Union: Open Table Talk & Workshop

Description: In this talk, River invites audiences into a presentation and open discussion of Theater of Union in praxis and pedagogy. The first half of this offering is a presentation of the work that transitions into an open discussion of the intricacies of a love ethic as cultural transformation: what are the stakes and costs of choosing love in a culture of domination? How do we choose love, again and again, especially when we don't have to?

The following offering is a workshop that invites audiences to immerse themselves in the practice of a love ethic and performance. In workshop with audiences, Theater of Union creates short-term community building where we find how our stories, in union, bring us towards collective liberation. This offerings invites audiences into the direct practice of Theater of Union: knowing, creation and assemblage. With this workshop, audiences discover in what ways our stories bring us together as we enter and begin with a commitment to love and in loving- we return to love and to each other (human and nonhuman). 

In The Space Between

Dance

In The Space Between is a river towards care and liberation. Expansive movement, breath, and tactile fabric textures guide Victoria Lynn Awkward and collaborators as they carve space and transcend into joy, beauty, and pleasure, wading through the rifts and tangles of their efforts along the way. Crafted in collaboration with the dancers, Victoria’s choreography conjures new and ancient rituals of flight, weaving, and enacting love in community. Victoria invites audiences to stretch into the erotic as defined by Audre Lorde, a necessity for the realization of liberation in an often-vicious world.

In The Space Between builds on previous collaborations between Victoria and music director Desiré Graham, as well as dancer and rehearsal director Sasha Peterson. The project also features a new original score by multi-instrumentalist Eden Girma (also known as aden), vibrating across a lush world shaped by director Ian Andrew Askew, scenic designer Cheyanne Williams, lighting designer  Itohan Edoloyi, and costume designer James Gibbel. In The Space Between is performed by an ensemble of seven dancers including Victoria and Sasha Peterson, alongside Dava Huesca, Diovanna Obafunmilayo, Dominica Greene, Justin Daniels, and Maxi Hawkeye Canion.

Friday, June 27th @ 7:30pm with Panel Discussion

Emerging: On Making Liberatory Art -  Following this performance of In The Space Between, join TTO’s Resident Artists and Queer (Re)Public Programs Manager as they reflect on their journey through the Emergent Artist Residency Program, and their learnings making liberatory art in a world that needs it more than ever.

Saturday, June 28th @ 3:00pm

Saturday, June 28th @ 8:00pm

Sunday, June 29th @ 3:00pm

The Messenger

Play

A staged reading of Cheyenne Wyzzard-Jones' play with music, The Messenger

THE MESSENGER is a play with music that shares an intimate “coming of age” story about a young femme, Zanyah, who has been chosen to become the next Messenger for her nation, The In-Between. As Zanyah goes on a spiritual journey with her elders, she meets people that each share a lesson about what Zanyah needs to know about her past, present, and future. The Messenger shares with the audience the complexities, sacredness, and love of what it means to take on the role of a Messenger within a community.

Saturday, June 28th @ 5:00pm

Sunday, June 29th @ 5:00pm