Dahlak Braithwaite: Spiritrials
February, 2023
Written and performed by Dahlak Brathwaite
Musical accompaniment by Dion Decibels
Directed by Marc Bamuthi Joseph and Sean San José
Stage Manager/Production Manager: Brittany White
Lighting Designer: Darl Andrew Packard
Video Designer: Joan Osato
Sound Design: Dion Decibels and Dahlak Brathwaite
Produced by: The Living Word Project
For Booking and Touring:
The Living Word Project, Joan Osato, Producing Director
Addiction, religion and the law intersect in a timely and personal exploration of the criminal justice system. This multi-dimensional play takes its inspiration, as well as its name, from one of Dahlak’s most recent hip-hop albums, layering characters, poetic verse, and dialogue over the content of the songs to create a theatrical piece that blurs the lines between hip-hop and dramatic performance. A timely exploration of the criminal justice system, Spiritrials chronicles the journey of Dahlak’s own criminalization along with his struggle to be vindicated and decriminalized in the eyes of the law and society. The piece works through the personal shame of criminal stigmatization to examine the factors – both internal and external – that have misplaced him in what appears to be a cultural rite of passage.
Brent White Jazz Ensemble: Broken Toy
March, 2023
Broken Toy jazz suite expresses both the annihilation and the healing of traumatizing wounds. The music reveals Brent White’s constructive method in the madness that flows from the prison industry, from violence and from poverty into our families and our communities.
Broken Toy takes up the work of restoring what is precious in the life of a child who has witnessed the toll prisons impose on their families and their personal development. In that endeavor, Brent has assimilated many of his skills to the empathic call of children of incarcerated parents.
Out of a vision for curing what is broken, Brent White has composed a work that deserves recognition for its Restorative Justice qualities. Its music seeks to repair, to heal, and to convey hope.
Dr. Baz Dreisinger: Journeying to Justice in Global Prisons
March, 2023
博士
Read the full program!
Kristina Wong: Food Bank Influencer
Written and performed by Kristina Wong
This performance was a sneak preview of Pulitzer Finalist Kristina Wong’s newest work-in-process! During the historic joint labor strikes of SAG-AFTRA and the WGA in summer 2023, Kristina partnered with food bank World Harvest to provide free groceries to actors and writers until the end of the strike. In the new show, she will creatively intervene with the food bank as:
• An Immersive Experience,
• A functional food bank,
• A commentary on systems and distribution,
• A treatise on food insecurity,
• An illustration of how AI will impact humans, particularly those working in the arts.
Immediately following the performance, the audience engaged in discussion and feedback with Kristina Wong about this topic and her work in process. The world premiere of Kristina Wong: Food Bank Influencer takes place at ASU Gammage on April 5, 2025.
Kristina Wong is a Doris Duke Artist Award winner, Guggenheim Fellow, and a Pulitzer Prize finalist in Drama. Her visit to Drexel included artist residency activities for students on October 11.
April 18, 2024
Maimouna Youssef, also known as Mumu Fresh, is the critically acclaimed Afro-Indigenous singer, Emcee, songwriter, activist, workshop facilitator and audio engineer who’s been called a “quadruple threat” by The Roots’ Black Thought and “groundbreaking” by Oscar-winning artist, Common. With her expansive musical background ranging from Jazz, Gospel, Spirituals, traditional African & traditional Indigenous music, to Hip Hop, Soul, rock and experimental acapella fusion, this concert by Mumu Fresh and her phenomenal band was a multi-genre live music event not to miss.
Preshow Performances by Gavin Clarke and The Bul Bey.
Maimouna Youssef was the 23/24 artist-in-residence for ANTHEMS FOR THE ANTHROPOCENE, the climate change songwriting contest, presented by Drexel Climate & Sustainability and Music Industry Program in collaboration with Mandell Presents.