saturday, december 16th
abigail jean-baptiste and Sam Morrealle:
in search of (black) comfort
in search of (black) comfort asks: what is the labor required to craft black comfort and black ease? how can we collect, archive, and retrieve modes of being that prioritize black comfort? is black comfort merely a distraction from revolution or a radical necessity? are there ways to cultivate environments where black comfort and ease are unwavering constants? Part performance piece, part gathering, audiences are invited to join us in a comfort continuum emanating from a lone figure’s pursuit of both articulating AND embodying black comfort through ongoing acts of transcription, research, and ease. how might we embody black comfort and calm while laboring in pursuit of it?
About the artists
abigail jean-baptiste (any/we/he/they/she) is a theater maker, director, and writer born & based in New York City with roots in Haiti and the American South. guided by questions of blackness and feminization and kinship, their work uses fragmented language, repeatable gestures, and found objects in a search to build nonsensical ways of being and to reimagine understandings of the past. currently: I Am Soul Directing Residency at National Black Theater, The Audrey Residency at New Georges and BOLD Resident Director at Northern Stage. previously: Project Number One Artist at Soho Repertory Theater, Bushwick Starr Reading Series, Resident Lead Artist at Mercury Store. abigailjeanbaptiste.org @abigailrosejb
Sam Morreale (they/them) is currently the Associate Producer at Soho Rep. With facilitation at the core of their practice, Sam is nurturing their craft in rehearsal rooms as a dramaturg, director, and culture shaper constantly seeking to break down dissonance between artist and institution. They've had a blossoming career as a creative producer working with many companies including Baltimore Center Stage, Long Wharf Theater, New York Stage and Film/Powerhouse, The Prelude Festival, Mixed Blood Theater, Penumbra Theater, and Theater Communications Group. In addition, Sam has developed a portfolio of consulting work in strategy planning, institutional alignment, and cultural change with arts organizations such as Center Theater Group, The New Harmony Project, HERE Arts Center, Ars Nova, Breaking the Binary Theater Festival, Boston Court Pasadena, ART/NY, New Georges, and The Acting Company.
maleek rae, mars, 88x:
ghetto alchemy
Ghetto Alchemy is a musical/spoken word offering of communal release. This is a radical ritual made to drop your shoulders, bless your ears, and tap in your mind. What is it that you’ve been grieving and the time has come to release? Release your fears/ your doubts/yourinhibitions/RELEASE|Join us in this radical ritual of featuring Maleek Rae, Mars, and 88X aka Antonio Jeffries .
About the artists
Maleek Rae (They/Them) is an actor/writer/rapper from the eastside of Detroit, MI. In addition to the release of their debut mixtape, Ghetto Alchemy Volume 1, and developing their rap/hip-hop based play, GUTTAH, Maleek can also be seen on networks such as NBC, CBS, HBO, Peacock, and on stages all around NYC. IG:iammaleekrae
Mars, Mari, Imari (She/Her) (or anything said with love), is an artist from Detroit, MI who has always had a love for music and was singing before she could talk. Music is so special to her as it feeds her soul like no other being.
IG: moonside.mari
88X aka Antonio Jeffries (He/They): Rising Actor,Connector, and Leader based in Brooklyn NY, hailing from Detroit, MI. I’m here for love, light and the Divine Mission. Graduate of Carnegie Mellon School of Drama IG:88xNIO