The Weight of Words: Heard, Felt, Contemplated
Thank you for joining us Friday, April 3 at 7:30 p.m. for an evening with interdisciplinary performance artist Dahlak Brathwaite. We were thrilled to gather with you for a program that brought together theatre, music, and spoken word.
Dahlak Brathwaite brought MacDowell Downtown attendees to their feet with a performance from a work in progress he's currently developing during his residency.
Set in a world where “Kyla” offers users and companions a form of higher intelligence, the piece follows Brathwaite as he embodies an actor, performer, and activist navigating the pressures of being an artist in the public eye. The narrative takes a sharp and emotional turn when he is confronted with a devastating reality: a friend—a Black police officer—shoots and kills a Black teenager from his hometown. This moment fractures his sense of self, leaving him torn between personal loyalty and the weight of systemic injustice. Blending humor with a powerful reckoning of what it means to be Black in America, Brathwaite’s interdisciplinary performance immersed the audience in the layered presence of his characters and the vivid world he created within Bass Hall.
Raised in the traditions of hip-hop and storytelling, Brathwaite is a writer, composer, and performer moving fluidly between and within creative disciplines. Driven by a potent desire to understand himself and to be understood, Brathwaite harnesses the power of words to engage, enlighten, provoke, and inspire. He believes that through practice and awareness, we can learn to more fully express our truths. For this program, he will screen excerpts from one of his solo plays as well as archival footage from past performances.
Since gaining national recognition through appearances on Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry Jam, Brathwaite has been featured on stages across the United States and Europe, including The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and The Apollo Theater. His solo play Spiritrials—which he wrote, performed, and scored—has toured nationally since its 2015 premiere, reaching audiences in more than 20 cities. Brathwaite’s recent projects continue to push the boundaries of form, from collaborations to new solo work in development.
Thank you for joining us for this special evening of performance and conversation.