Hip Hop Theatre

Hip hop theatre is a genre that emerged in the 1990s and blends hip hop aesthetics and sociopolitical content. Dive in with this conversation between Clyde Valentin and Will Power on hip hop culture, or Kamilah Forbes’ essay on the Hip-Hop Theatre Festival, which has the mission of “present[ing] live, professionally executed theater written by, and about the Hip-Hop generation.”

The Latest

Shakespeare Against the Canon in Our Verse in Time to Come

Essay

Shakespeare Against the Canon in Our Verse in Time to Come

by Melissa Lin Sturges, Karen Ann Daniels, Malik Work, John Ray Proctor III

22 August 2023

Writing Detroit: Dominique Morisseau’s Practice of the Possible

Podcast

Writing Detroit: Dominique Morisseau’s Practice of the Possible

by Jordan Ealey, Leticia Ridley, Dominique Morisseau

10 August 2022

Imagining a Way Forward

Essay

Imagining a Way Forward

Discussions on Theatre and Race

by Kamilah Forbes, P. Carl, Wes Jackson

30 March 2021

A tall Black man performs passionately while surrounded by audience members.

Shakespeare Against the Canon in Our Verse in Time to Come

Essay

Shakespeare Against the Canon in Our Verse in Time to Come

22 August 2023

Karen Ann Daniels, Malik Work, and John “Ray” Proctor sit down with Melissa Lin Sturges to discuss their work on Our Verse in Time to Come, a Folger Theatre production that used Shakespeare as a jumping off point to become a testament to “the other bards”—the ones still living and the ones still to come.

Writing Detroit: Dominique Morisseau’s Practice of the Possible

Podcast

Writing Detroit: Dominique Morisseau’s Practice of the Possible

10 August 2022

Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley interview award-winning and acclaimed playwright Dominique Morisseau about her recent Broadway productions of Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations and Skeleton Crew; the future of Detroit theatre and performance; and reckoning with American history. Ealey and Ridley discuss Morisseau’s practice of reparative creativity and the ability for theatre to serve as a rehearsal for true change.

Imagining a Way Forward

Essay

Imagining a Way Forward

Discussions on Theatre and Race

30 March 2021

Kamilah Forbes, artistic director of the Apollo Theater, speaks with Wes Jackson and P. Carl about the American theatre being a very slow-moving ship, genre-crossing for artists and organizations, systemic racism in the field, and more.

Aaliyah in Underland (Virtual Reading)

University of Puget Sound

Video

Aaliyah in Underland (Virtual Reading)

A Hip Hop remix of Alice in Wonderland that explores the concepts of structural violence, anti-blackness, memory, and self-discovery.

Friday 8 May 2020

Takoma, Washington, USA

The University of Puget Sound’s Projects in Dramaturgy: “Politics & Praxis of Rememory” class presented the virtual reading of Aaliyah in Underland by Wind Dell Woods on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 8 May 2020 at 12 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 2 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 3 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4) / 20:00 BST (London, UTC+1) / 21:00 CEST (Berlin, UTC+2).

At the Core of Theatre for Young Audiences is Voicing Identity, Intersectionality, and Empathy

Kim Peter

Kovac

Essay

At the Core of Theatre for Young Audiences is Voicing Identity, Intersectionality, and Empathy

20 March 2019

Kim Peter Kovac looks at the way the theatre for young audiences field has changed over the last few years, where it’s at today, and what his hopes are for the future.

Theatre History Podcast #50

Podcast

Theatre History Podcast #50

Opening Up New Approaches to Acting with Dr. Sharrell D. Luckett

14 November 2017

Dr. Sharrell Luckett joins us to discuss her new book Black Acting Methods: Critical Approaches.

Ordinary Magic

Malesha

Taylor

Essay

Ordinary Magic

Where Hip-Hop Theatre Meets Opera

27 July 2017

Maelsha Taylor talks with Ise Lyfe and Gill Sotu about their spoken-word opera Ordinary Magic.

Vietgone, Hamilton, and the Decolonization of American Theatre

Arlene

Martínez-Vázquez

Essay

Vietgone, Hamilton, and the Decolonization of American Theatre

15 March 2017

Arlene Martínez-Vázquez looks at how colonization impacts her view of Hamilton and Vietgone.

Interview with Shaun Neblett, Playwright and Founder of Changing Perceptions Theater

Amy

Brady

Essay

Interview with Shaun Neblett, Playwright and Founder of Changing Perceptions Theater

15 June 2016

Amy Brady interviews Shaun Neblett about hip-hop inspired theatre, Black Lives Matter, and getting young audiences excited about theatre.

From Page to Stage

Jasminne

Mendez

Essay

From Page to Stage

Teaching Slam Poetry in the High School Classroom

7 March 2016

Jasminne Méndez writes about being a teaching artist with the Alley Theatre and introducing student to spoken word poetry.

Complex Movements’ Beware of the Dandelions

Jeff

Chang

Essay

Complex Movements’ Beware of the Dandelions

19 November 2015

Jeff Chang on Detroit-based Complex Movements’ Beware of the Dandelions, a narrative, concert, visual installation, architectural piece, and convening space to distribute revolutionary ideas and activate creative ecosystems and economies of change.

Hip-Hop Theatre Explosion Curated and Emceed by Zell Miller III

The VORTEX

Video

Hip-Hop Theatre Explosion Curated and Emceed by Zell Miller III

Friday 6 November 2015

Austin, TX, United States

The VORTEX in Austin, Texas presented Hip-Hop Theatre Explosion livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 6 November at 8 p.m. CST (Austin) / 6 p.m. PST (San Francisco) / 9 p.m. EST (Washington, DC). In Twitter, use #howlround and follow @HowlRoundTV.

Hands Up Hoodies Down by Zell Miller III and Chelsea Manasseri

The VORTEX

Video

Hands Up Hoodies Down by Zell Miller III and Chelsea Manasseri

Saturday 19 September 2015

Austin, TX, United States

The VORTEX in Austin, Texas presented Hands Up Hoodies Down—the return of this critically-acclaimed hip hop theatre and dance piece for our times—livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Saturday 19 September at 8 p.m. CDT (Austin) / 6 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 9 p.m. EDT (New York).

Respecting Hip Hop in Rising Youth Theatre’s production of antonia

Jose

Casas

Essay

Respecting Hip Hop in Rising Youth Theatre’s production of antonia

a latina hip-hop Antigone

7 September 2015

Playwright José Casas discusses Rising Youth Theatre’s process for incorporating hip-hop in its upcoming project for theatre for young audiences.

A Call for Solidarity: A Real-Time Networked Performance Linking Hawaii, Alaska, and NYC

CultureHub

Video

A Call for Solidarity: A Real-Time Networked Performance Linking Hawaii, Alaska, and NYC

Wednesday 15 April 2015

Alaska, Hawaii, & New York City; United States

A Call for Solidarity—a real-time networked performance linking Hawaii, Alaska, and New York City—livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 15 April at 8 p.m. EDT (New York) / 7 p.m. CDT (Chicago) / 5 p.m. PDT (Los Angeles) / 4 p.m. AKDT (Alaska) / 2 p.m. HAST (Hawaii).

Hamilton

Jonathan

Mandell

Essay

Hamilton

Five Ways Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hip-Hopped History Musical Breaks New Ground

5 March 2015

There is a sense that this piece somehow transcends theatre even as it embodies it—or, as Hamilton puts it: “This is not a moment, it’s a movement.”

Forum Theatre’s How We Got On

Patricia

Davis

Essay

Forum Theatre’s How We Got On

9 December 2014

Though set in 1988, the play’s insistence on the power of words, creativity, and voice as a means of self-assertion, growth, and transformation is of timeless importance and is especially relevant now.

Where Broadway At?

Idris

Goodwin

Essay

Where Broadway At?

Meditations On the Closing of the Tupac Musical.

23 July 2014

Idris Goodwin investigates the potential financial and critical success of Hip-Hop-oriented theatre.

Hip Hop Culture Conversation with Clyde Valentin & Will Power at Double Edge Theatre

Double Edge Theatre

Video

Hip Hop Culture Conversation with Clyde Valentin & Will Power at Double Edge Theatre

Sunday 16 March 2014

Ashfield, MA, United States

Double Edge Theatre in Ashfield, Massachusetts presents The Power of Hip Hop Culture: A Conversation with Clyde Valentin and Will Power livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Sunday 16 March at 8 a.m. PDT/ 10 a.m. CDT/ 11 a.m. EDT/ 15:00 GMT. In Twitter, use #howlround.

Holiday Hip-Hop Theatre Explosion at The VORTEX

The VORTEX

Video

Holiday Hip-Hop Theatre Explosion at The VORTEX

Saturday 21 December 2013

Austin, TX, United States

The VORTEX in Austin, Texas presented The Holiday Hip-Hop Theatre Explosion livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Saturday 21 December 2013 at 6 p.m. CDT (San Francisco)/ 8 p.m. CST (Austin)/ 9 p.m. EST (New York). Use Twitter hashtag #howlround & direct comments @VORTEXonManor.

Donnie Welch's Leaving Dynamite Workshop Performance

DCW3

Video

Donnie Welch's Leaving Dynamite Workshop Performance

Saturday 10 August 2013

New Orleans, LA, United States

Slam poet Donnie Welch presented a workshop performance of Leaving Dynamite livestreamed on the global, commons-based peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Saturday 10 August 2013 at 5 p.m. PDT (San Francisco) / 7 p.m. CDT (New Orleans) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York). Expected run time: 45 minutes.

All the Hip-Hop World’s a Stage, and the Critic Is a Player

Rebecca

Haithcoat

Essay

All the Hip-Hop World’s a Stage, and the Critic Is a Player

4 April 2013

Rebecca Haithcoat draws parallels between Hip-hop and theatre and why the public finds hip-hop more accessible

Ciphers, Freestyles, and Posse Cuts

Clyde

Valentin

Essay

Ciphers, Freestyles, and Posse Cuts

The Parallels of Ensemble/Devised Theatre and Hip-Hop

20 October 2012

Clyde Valentin explores the similarities between hip-hop and devised theatre, and what large-scale theatre companies can learn from hip-hop's culture.

Hip-Hop Theater Festival

Kamilah

Forbes

Essay

Hip-Hop Theater Festival

Making Space in Harlem

29 June 2012

The mission is to bring stories by and about the hiphop generation. Now Hip-hop Theatre Festival is finished with the nomadic lifestyle and have a space to call our own.

Harlem Lab on My Mind