Tickets go on sale today for red, black & GREEN: a blues (rbGb), a multi-disciplinary performance piece created by Marc Bamuthi Joseph as part of The Living Word Project. The performances take place May 30 – Jun 2 at the Intiman Playhouse as part of The Next Fifty in partnership with Central District Forum for Arts and Ideas and Seattle Art Museum.
Joseph’s newest multi-disciplinary project layers poetic text, hip-hop dance, music, and film to jumpstart a conversation about environmental racism, social ecology, and collective responsibility in the climate change era. Designed by visual artist Theaster Gates, red, black & GREEN: a blues brings together Joseph with an ensemble cast directed by Cornerstone Theater’s Michael John Garcés. The piece, developed during a three-year community-based civic and creative process, strives to unite communities around a broader definition of sustainable living.
This interactive installation and performance piece re-imagines a green movement that is inclusive of black and brown voices, and posits that valuing life is the first step to valuing the planet. rbGb takes place within a modular set of row houses made from repurposed materials. These houses represent four American cities – Oakland, New York, Houston, and Chicago – where rbGb’s narrative grew out of the stories and energy cultivated at Joseph’s signature Life is Living Festivals. Within and among the houses, distinctive characters share personal stories through poetry, monologue, song, and movement that reflect on poverty, violence, racial consciousness – and how we, as a collective society, can invent and navigate sustainable survival practices in urban America.
Immersing audiences in a new mode of kinetic performance, rbGb strives to unite communities around a broader definition of sustainable living and to be a catalyst for cultural and creative engagement. The ensemble cast includes actor/dancer Traci Tolmaire, musician Tommy Shepherd, and vocalist/visual artist Theaster Gates. Additional collaborators include choreographer Stacey Printz, filmmaker Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi, lighting designer James Clotfelter, and media designer David Szlasa.
red, black & GREEN: a blues premiered at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in Oct 2011. It is presented in Seattle as part of The Next Fifty, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, Apr 21 – Oct 21, 2012. Spearheaded by Seattle Center Foundation, The Next Fifty brings together our community through varied events, activities and exhibits addressing the pressing issues of our day and future. Art, Culture and Design and history thematically unit the six months, and a focus on Sustainable Futures launches the celebration.
This presentation is made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, with additional funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.
Next 50 premier partners include: Bartell Drugs, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Seattle Center Monorail. Funding and promotional partners include: 206 Inc., 4Culture, City of Seattle, Global Health Nexus, Grousemont Foundation, Hill & Knowlton Strategies, KOMO 4 TV, KUOW 94.9 Public Radio, One to the World, Safeco Insurance: A Liberty Mutual Company, Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, Sheraton Seattle Hotel, TPN (The Production Network), Washington Economic Development Commission, and World Vision.
The organizers of the World’s Fair left the legacy of Seattle Center to allow for a place in the core of our region for the community to gather for celebration, contemplation and renewal. In keeping with their vision, The Next Fifty is challenging our rich and varied community to engage in the critical discussions of our day, essential gatherings, and inspiring presentations. For more information on red, black & GREEN: a blues and The Next Fifty at Seattle Center, visitwww.seattlecenter.com or call 206 684-7200.
