Poetry Electric: Langston Hughes in Harlem
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Langston Hughes in Harlem
Music by Neal Kirkwood & Harry Mann
Directed by Tom Marion
Join us for this Black History Month celebration! The Poetry Electric fuses music, movement, sound, and dance with the spoken word and presents artists working in a wide range of styles including beatboxing, jazz and hip-hop theatre. This series has presented over 200 emerging poets from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Support for this project was provided by a PSC-CUNY Award, jointly funded by The Professional Staff Congress and The City University of New York.
Danielle Aziza is a performance artist and actress from the Caribbean. She also directs the after-school program at Theater for the New City. Check out her experimental work: Instagram @atheatregenesis
Noel Boone is a third grade student who discovered her love for acting while performing at PS176 out of School Program. Her dream is to become a famous actress.
Shakeerah Fredericks is a recent graduate of CUNY York College. College credits include Intimate Apparel, Our Lady of 121st Street, Midsummer Night’s Dream, La Bourgeois Gentilhomme, Dreamgirls and subUrbia.
Neal Kirkwood [vibes] is a composer and bandleader who has performed and recorded with Pony Poindexter, Bobby Previte, Lindsey Horner, and Mike Clark. He has toured with vocalists Michel Hermon, Chris Connor, Abby Lincoln and Bobby McFerrin, and performed and composed for many of New York’s most creative and experimental theater ensembles, including the Talking Band, Anne Bogart, and Joseph Chaiken.
Adrian Kiser is from Pike Road, Alabama and is a recent Masters graduate from Rutgers Theater Company. Giving thanks to God, family, friends. What an enriching opportunity.
Phil John is a 2011 Manhattan Monologue Slam Champion. He has appeared on ABC’s What Would You Do, and the TVOne original movie For The of Ruth with Loretta Devine.
Russell Jordan is a two-time Planet Connections Theatre Festivity Award Winner. Currently writing full-length play recounting his experience escaping World Trade Center’s North Tower on September 11, 2001. www.russelljordan.com
Harry Mann [woodwinds] is a theater musician who has composed and performed with music artists: Ray Charles, Cecil Taylor, Butch Morris; theater innovators: Sam Shepard, Joe Chaiken, Ann Bogart, the Talking Band; puppeteers: Ralph Lee, and Janie Geiser; choreographers: Eva Dean, Ann Hammel, Wendy Osserman, and the Dance Theatre of Toronto. He is the co-leader of the jazz duo Gorilla My Love, with Neal Kirkwood; and performance duo Micro Stories, with actress Clea Rivera.
Solomon Peck is a graduate of York College and is ecstatic to be part of this show, as he feels Langston Hughes is a major artistic inspiration.
Poetry Electric
The Poetry Electric fuses music, movement, sound, and dance with the spoken word and presents artists working in a wide range of styles including beatboxing, jazz and hip-hop theatre. This series has presented over 200 emerging poets from diverse cultural backgrounds.