RootsUprising RootsUprising will perform “Reconsidering” at the New Rep Theatre.
New Repertory Theatre (New Rep) is proud to present Reconsidering, a new dance/theater work, on Friday, September 30 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday October 1 at 3:00 p.m., in the Black Box Theater at the Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown.
Reconsidering, presented in partnership with RootsUprising and Theater for the People, is an embodied discussion of the intersectional experience of women of color through both their spatial and temporal circumstances. The evening of sharing includes six dancing texts from RootsUprising’s repertoire, including the premier of three new works, Entangled Gaze, So Noted and Rooted We Are.
RootsUprising’s Artistic Director Nailah Randall-Bellinger describes her work as “text in motion.” She says: “Reconsidering is the process of dismantling fed beliefs, truths and distorted images of who we really are as women of color in an oppressive social construct.”
Founded in 1998, RootsUprising is an intergenerational motion art collective, composed of = dancers and wordsmiths, with its core ensemble comprised of six women of color. The company reflects upon the dynamics of the human condition through the lens of movement, music, poetry and song. RootsUprising is grounded in the belief that there is healing in the act of storytelling– stories that are housed in the body that become understood through the body in motion. The company will be the artists-in-residence at the Cambridge Arts Council later this year.
About RootsUprising, Theater for the People Executive Director Najee Brown says: “These women bare their souls, they open up your mind, body and soul, and leave audiences forever changed.”
Theater for the People is a BIPOC-produced, touring theater company based in New England. Its mission is to build community “through the pursuit of oneness and diversity,” to connect people of all races, ages, cultural backgrounds and socio-economic groups, and to provide artists of color the opportunity to produce and present work to diverse audiences, “uplifting voices of true nobility in the midst of adversity.”
Tickets for each show are $25 on sale now at: https://secure.newrep.org/events
GroovaLottos
GroovaLottos The GroovaLottos will perform in Watertown in October.
Also coming up at New Rep: The GroovaLottos on Saturday, October 1 at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday October 2 at 4:00 p.m. as part of its Saturday Stories/Sunday Celebration series. Both events will take place in the Main Stage Theater at the Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown.
With 8 Grammy nominations between them, the GroovaLottos’ Saturday, October 1 show, “Straight Outta Mama’s Hamper” recreates the best of a summer Saturday in the life of a 1970s Black American family. The GroovaLottos take us from morning cartoons to Soul Train afternoons and family cookouts that go till dawn.
On Sunday, October 2, New Rep presents its Sunday Celebration with The GroovaLottos’ “Bronx Jazz,” a musical conversation between father and son about hip hop, jazz and oral tradition from the souls of Black folks. This Sunday Celebration also features Abilities Dance Boston, whose vision is to “disrupt antiquated ableist beliefs and disseminate the value of inclusion through dance.”
The GroovaLottos are a multi-Grammy nominated soul-funk jam band and musical production team created by veteran touring and studio session players and singers. They are the progenitive force behind the Thump & Soul sound, a regional, cross-genre music movement of primarily Black and Brown musical artists creating a space for themselves in the New England music scene.
New Rep’s Saturday Stories/Sunday Celebration series offer an extended creative experience in a sort of revival tent meets jazz club: two days, same artist, two very different stories.
Tickets for the Saturday show are $35, and $25 for Sunday, or $50 for both shows. They are on sale now and can be purchased online at: https://secure.newrep.org/events
New Repertory Theatre (New Rep) has been an award-winning professional theatre company for 38 years, staging productions and events that speak to the vital ideas of our time. New Rep has emerged from the pandemic with a renewed commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, accessibility, and accountability (IDEAA) infusing every aspect of the company’s work as it seeks to build community collaborations and give voice to the diverse interests of our communities.
More information on New Repertory Theatre at www.newrep.org.