Oregon Shakespeare Festival mixes Shakespeare with hip hop theatre artists Rokafella, Rickerby Hinds, the Q brothers, Joe Hernandez-Kolski, Audra Polk, Christopher Edwards, and Aaron at their Mixing Texts workshop in October.

The Old Globe presents a reading of Aaron and composer Ian Williams’ new hip hop musical BLOOD MAGIC (formerly THE WEIRD SISTERS), thanks to a 2009 National Alliance for Musical Theatre Development Grant.

STUCK ELEVATOR excerpts performed at Hand2Mouth’s Risk/Reward New Performance Festival (Portland, OR) and On the Boards’ NW New Works Festival (Seattle) in June.

ReVision Theatre’s production of KINGDOM (Asbury Park, NJ) named Best Musical, Best Book of 2008-09 by Newark Star-Ledger.

World Premiere of KINGDOM – Aaron and Ian Williams’ hip hop / rock musical – at the Tony Award-winning Old Globe in San Diego. KINGDOM is also performed for student and community audiences at Lincoln High School in southeastern San Diego as the centerpiece of a residency in which students work with Aaron to create hip hop theatre connecting the themes of KINGDOM to their community. http://www.theoldglobe.org/tickets/production.aspx?PID=7095.

STUCK ELEVATOR receives a 2009 Creative Capital Award.

Aaron wins the 2009 James Marshall Memorial Poetry Slam at Quinnipiac University.

SHAKESPEARE: THE REMIX produced and toured by the Zachary Scott Theatre (Austin, TX).

Collective Consciousness Theatre in New Haven, CT produces and tours NO LIE and SHAKESPEARE: THE REMIX.

KINGDOM receives 7 staged readings at the Public Theater and Queens Theatre in the Park thanks to a 2008 Richard Rodgers Award from the American Academy of Arts & Letters.

Mixing Texts / Hip Hop Boot Camp. Oregon Shakespeare Festival hosts Aaron and six other hip hop theatre artists for a week-long artist residency and collaboration with members of OSF’s acting ensemble exploring connections between hip hop and Shakespeare.

Aaron and friends create “November 4,” a hip hop video about the election, hip hop, and America: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrsB97nUscw.

KINGDOM named a 2008 NEA Distinguished New Play Development Project Finalist.

KINGDOM selected by the American Academy of Arts & Letters as the winner of a 2008 Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theatre.

KINGDOM in Europe. The Bregamos Community Theatre production of KINGDOM represents the United States at the 2008 International Community Arts Festival in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Performed in English with Dutch subtitles. Really.

SHAKESPEARE: THE REMIX at Capital Rep. THE REMIX produced and toured by Capital Repertory Theatre (Albany, NY). Aaron in residence at Capital Rep, leading workshops on Shakespeare, hip hop theatre, and the creation of new student work.

THE WEIRD SISTERS at the Educational Center for the Arts. New Haven’s extraordinary arts high school ECA commissions Aaron to write a new hip hop opera, performed by ECA students before moving out into the world.

Weston Playhouse Artist Residency. Aaron and Ian crank out a draft of THE WEIRD SISTERS while in residence at Weston Playhouse in Vermont, then share some raps and songs from the show-in-progress at a salon with Weston board members and supporters.

Aaron named one of “50 to Watch” in The Dramatist.

Collective Consciousness Theatre’s touring production of Shakespeare: The Remix, directed by Dexter J. Singleton, is presented by The Arts Farm in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in association with Jane Boyd Community House, Urban Theater Project of Iowa, and Theatre Cedar Rapids.

A workshop performance of Stuck Elevator is presented at Theatre Off Jackson in Seattle. Directed by Tom Milewski and starring Xike Xin, the performance is followed by a community dialogue about the show sponsored by the Wing Luke Asian Museum.

Aaron performs his hip hop poetry at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas in New Haven, CT.

Kingdom is produced by Bregamos Community Theater in New Haven, CT. The six performances, directed by Dexter J. Singleton, culminate in community dialogues about violence and conflict resolution facilitated by Community Mediation, Inc.