APRIL 21–25
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In 2007, Marc Bamuthi Joseph’s spring UW Arts Institute residency (OMAI & Afro-American Studies) created a major groundswell of support on campus to more systematically integrate spoken word and hip-hop aesthetics and activities into the fabric of university life. The Line Breaks performance & lecture series, then curated by Joseph & coordinated by OMAI, educated and electrified hundreds of students, faculty, and community members each week about the history, politics, and performance of hip-hop theater. The following year, Line Breaks returned to UW Madison as a week festival, Showcasing some of the top performers around the country in the realms of hip hop-theatre and poetics. This spring, we are proud to bring the 3rd Annual Line Breaks series to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, with an all-star lineup of hip-hop artists and poets for 5 amazing days of performances, panels, and workshops. Presented by the Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives & curated by Creative Director Rafael Casal & Artistic Director Chris Walker.
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TUESDAY, APRIL 21
MCSC Presents: HIP HOP ON THE FRONT LINES Live on the Terrace
featuring Wale, UCB, Colin Munroe & the First Wave Music Ensemble
8:00pm • Memorial Union Terrace
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22
Panel Discussion: “Religion & Hip Hop”
with Amir Sulaiman & MC K Swift
5:00pm • Wisconsin Historical Society
Dangerous Concepts: A New Works Series featuring HBO Def Poet Amir Sulaiman Performance
9:00pm • Wisconsin Historical Society
THURSDAY, APRIL 23
First Wave 1st Cohort Hip Hop Theatre Ensemble presents
Silent March & For the Record
7:00pm • Wisconsin Historical Society
Silent March - A theatrical tribute to the music of Ella Fitzgerald, told through the narratives and eulogies of those in attendance at her wake.
For The Record - a look into the turning points of cultures under oppressive forces, from feud to freedom, sacrifice to liberation, from silence to the march.
FRIDAY, APRIL 24
Kamilah Forbes presents & discusses
Russell Simmons’ HBO’s Def Poetry Special: Brave New Voices
5:00pm • Wisconsin Historical Society
Kamilah Forbes is at the forefront of the Hip Hop Theatre movement, directing and showcasing some of the newest works in Hip Hop theatre from around the country through the HHTF in NYC. Airing on HBO this spring is her newest production Def Poetry Presents: BRAVE NEW VOICES, a documentary series about the national youth poetry slam.
HBO Broadway Def Poet Lemon presents
“County of Kings “ Hip Hop Theater Piece
7:00pm • Wisconsin Historical Society
Tony award-winning 8-time HBO Def Poet Lemon brings his of his off-Broadway Hip Hop theatre production COUNTY OF KINGS to the Wisconsin Historical Society – Friday night at Line Breaks.
SATURDAY, APRIL 25br>
HBO Broadway Def Poet Beau Sia Workshop
12:00pm • B137 Lathrop Hall
First Wave Hip Hop Theatre Ensemble presents
BOOMBOXED: THE REMIX +
Featured performance by HBO Broadway Def Poet Beau Sia
7:00pm • Memorial Union Theater
BOOMBOXED is a Hip Hop theater production that plunges into the world within radio, an escape into music, story, fiction and non-fiction. The First Wave Freshman Cohort tackles topics of urgency within a story of self-discovery when a local radio station undergoes new sponsorship. Our characters investigate the controversial and complex through the fusion of mediums like dance, song, metaphor and contemporary theater. Written and performed by the 2nd cohort of the First Wave Hip Hop Theatre Ensemble.
Beau Sia has appeared on all seasons of HBO's "Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry," and has also performed on ESPN's 2000 Winter X-Games, Showtime! at The Apollo, and the 2003 Tony Awards. He is one of the original cast members in Def Poetry Jam on Broadway, a 2003 Special Event Tony Award Winner, and has recently toured with Declare Yourself, a project dedicated to increasing the
number of young voters in this past 2004 election. His one man show, "Fish Out of Water" won the 2004 Jury Prize for Best Alternative Show at the HBO Comedy Festival in Aspen, Colorado.
Events held in conjunction with MCSC'S Hip-Hop as a Movement Week
Line Breaks CoSponsors Include:
MCSC’s Hip-Hop as a Movement Week
the Anonymous Fund
Social Justice Conference
Center for the Humanities
CeO
AAP
