SPIRIT MOVES - a new community opera
in partnership with DC Department of Parks and Recreation
with support from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
with special thanks to Ms. Brenda Richardson and the Friends of Oxon Run Park
Story and words by Jarrod Lee*
Music by Timothy Amukele
Direction and movement by Shawna Williams
Music direction by Elizabeth Hill
*Member of the Cardwell Dawson Artist Fellowship
Featuring:
Jihanna Davis as Gladys
Daniel J. Smith as Jerry
Darryl Lillian Johnson as Baby Girl
Dustin Praylow as Freddie
and Shawna J. Williams as Lisa
Na'Vaughn Martin, Bassoon
Jabari Exum, Djembe
Elizabeth Hill, Piano
Rachel Heney, Stage Manager
Corinne Hayes, Creative Producer
September 22 and 23, 2022 James E. Bunn Amphitheater at Oxon Run Park
11:00am and 1:30pm - Please inquire for ticket availability, email corinne@inseries.org
September 24, 2022
Fort Stanton Recreation Center
11:00am - free and open to the public!
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SPIRIT MOVES introduces a Black family navigating life’s struggles, finding solace and strength in their shared stories. SPIRIT MOVES engages audiences in the act of storytelling with artist-led call-and-response and shared movement, building community through theater, music, and dance. SPIRIT MOVES centers Black artists in all creative spaces - playwright, composer, performers. The piece honors and celebrates African American cultural traditions and seeks to utilize these and other storytelling traditions to create a space in which everyone has a voice. Audiences will be encouraged to engage with the performing artists as participants co-creating a shared experience, with time and space dedicated to learning the participatory elements and building trust and confidence between the performers and the audience. SPIRIT MOVES is a new work that seeks to build community in real time, speak directly to the assembled audience, and in turn, hear directly from them.
If you're interested in bringing your school or community group to experience SPIRIT MOVES, please reach out to corinne@inseries.org to make arrangements - we'd love to have you!
Consider supporting our 40th Anniversary Campaign by texting FORTY to (202) 849-7067 or by visiting our campaign page.
IN honor of our 40th Anniversary, we invite you to join us in supporting our bold vision and ensuring a future where we can continue to transform artists, audiences, and community by disrupting expectations, nourishing empathy, stimulating insight, and deepening the conversation for years to come.
