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03.30.06

Contact: Nancy Condon, 404-727-1687, ncondon@emory.edu

Universes Brings Urban Theater and Riffs on Words to Emory

Theater Emory and Emory University present Universes, an ensemble of multi-disciplined writers and performers who fuse poetry, theater, jazz, hip-hop, politics, down home blues and Spanish boleros to create moving, challenging and entertaining theatrical works. This boundary-breaking, urban troupe of five performers will present two of their original productions on the Emory campus. “Live from the Edge,” a free performance, takes place on April 17, 2006, at 7 p.m. on Emory University’s McDonough Field. “Eyewitness Blues” takes place on April 19, 2006, at 7 p.m. in Emerson Concert Hall at the Schwartz Center (tickets: $15; Emory faculty, staff and discount groups $12; Emory students $6). “Theater Emory is very excited to bring this kind of original programming to the University. Universes is a young, hip, innovative company that will have a direct connection to Emory students because they speak the same language,” said Rosalind Staib, Theater Emory’s managing director. For tickets or information, call 404-727-5050 or go to www.arts.emory.edu.

To make Universes more accessible to students, “Live from the Edge” takes place in the open, on McDonough Field, with no admission price. “The format is going to be interesting and enticing,” said Staib. “and the performance isn’t a traditional story. Rather, it blends different performance areas into one, speaking to enthusiasts of the written word, of the spoken word, of song, of dance and of acting —and to those who just enjoy listening to urban pop music.” “Live from the Edge” showcases elements of Universes’ critically acclaimed hit show “Slanguage.” It is a "best of" evening that tracks the evolution of Universes’ poetic language from childhood rhymes and community rituals, to poetry and theater, hip-hop and gospel — complete with references to the Spanish revolutionary poet Federico Garcia Lorca, the Beat poets and even Dr. Seuss. Of the performers and the performance, Variety.com says: “The well-honed individual talents of five New York-based spoken-word virtuosos have been molded … into a seamless, undulating force of razor-edged big-city social commentary.”

“Eyewitness Blues,” written and performed by two of the troupe’s original members, Mildred Ruiz and Steven Sapp and directed by Tavin Wilks, is the story of Junior McCullough (played by Sapp), a hard-luck horn player from the ghetto, and the creative life of artists everywhere. As Junior takes a breath, his muse (played by Ruiz) materializes to give him inspiration, and in that single instant his life unfolds in a series of provocative vignettes told through a stirring mix of jazz, flamenco, blues and poetry, intended to create a jazz-infused portrait of artists and the vibrant culture, traditions and personal experience they bring to their work.

Formed in 1996 by the Nuyorican Poets Café in New York City, Universes currently consists of founders Sapp, Ruiz and Gamal Abdel Chasten, with the newest members, the one-name Ninja and Marlyn Matias. Varying in age, ethnic background and experience, each member brings a different style to create five collaborating “universes.” The ensemble has two bases, one at the New World Theater and the other at their own UniverseCity Theater Network in the Bronx. Recent work includes “Slanguage,” on which “Live from the Edge” is based, “Rhythmicity: Flipping the Script,” featured at Actors Theater of Louisville’s 2003 Humana Festival, and “Eyewitness Blues, commissioned by Dance Theater Workshop and New York Theatre Workshop. The ensemble will be premiering their new work, “Ameriville,” this spring.

Universes’ performances are made possible by the Flora Glenn Candler Fund and Emory Coca-Cola Artist-in-Residence Series.

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