A brand-new creation by the Mixing Texts Collective (playwright Aaron Jafferis, breaking pioneers Kwikstep + Rokafella, beatboxers Adam Matta + Yako 440, indie rocker Rebecca Hart, director Christopher Edwards) and a dynamite team of actors and designers, HOW TO BREAK will bring its sick self to NYC this October 18 – November 4 with HERE and the Hip-Hop Theater Festival, in association with Collective Consciousness Theatre.
Check out the feature “Writing on the Paper of Hip Hop” on TDF.org.
In the spirit of the beloved hit The Black Rider, A.C.T. is thrilled to continue the tradition of introducing eclectic, unforgettable musical projects to the stage with the world premiere of Stuck Elevator (April 4–28). A powerful and poignant hip-hop opera, Stuck Elevator is based on the true story of a Chinese restaurant deliveryman who was trapped in a Bronx elevator for 81 hours. Sounding the alarm will open the doors to freedom, but calling for help also means calling for attention—with dire consequences for this illegal immigrant. Stuck in limbo, he launches into poignant and hilarious hallucinations about his past, present, and future. Inventively staged by OBIE Award winner and internationally acclaimed artist Chay Yew, Stuck Elevator unleashes an evocative collision of stories, sounds, instruments, and ideas, from immigration and labor to familial obligation and fortune cookies.
HOW TO BREAK is being produced by two great NYC theatres – HERE and the Hip Hop Theater Festival – this fall. Auditions June 18-19. Workshop at the Hip Hop Theater Festival August 6-19. Limited engagement at HERE October 18-November 4, 2012. Check back here for times and tickets.
2012 Sundance Institute / Time Warner Foundation Fellow, with Byron Au Yong, for STUCK ELEVATOR.
2012 Thomas Barbour Playwright’s Award (thanks to HERE and the Episcopal Actor’s Guild) for HOW TO BREAK.
2011 Arts Award from The Arts Council of Greater New Haven. Because they said such nice things about me, I made a speech about making art like our lives depend on it.
The Rock-to-Rock bike ride raises money for these great environmental nonprofits helping New Haven and the earth. Here’s a little hip-hop scene to inspire you, featuring me, Joel Perez, Ian Williams’ beat, and yo mama.
STUCK ELEVATOR world premiere April 4-28, 2013
Stuck Elevator is a new music-theater work based on the true story of a Chinese food deliveryman trapped in a Bronx elevator for 81 hours. Byron Au Yong (composer) and I (librettist) have wrestled with 5 bicycles, 4 musicians (including 1 who plays a bicycle), 3 languages, 2 human smuggling debts and 1 General Tso (of Homeland Security) to bring this show, staged by Obie Award-winning director Chay Yew, to its world premiere at American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, April 4-28.