Blog

Behind the Scene with Kyle Abraham

KST spoke to Kyle Abraham of  Abraham.In.Motion about his upcoming performance “Live! The Realest MC“, inspired by Pinocchio’s plight to be a “real boy,” Live follows one MC on his journey to be “real,” raising many questions along the way. With a backdrop of hip-hop celebrity, this darkly humorous and abstract narrative explores gender roles in the black community, societal perspectives on acceptance, and leads us to question the current state of our humanity – our very human “realness”.

KST: How long have you been working on Live! The Realest MC?

KA: I’ve been working on it for just about a year and a half.

KST: What is the length of the performance?

KA: The length right now is just under an hour, depending on the intermission

KST: Are you working with any other artists/collaborators?

KA: I’m working with Carrie Schneider. We met while working together at the Warhol Museum. Carrie is working on video aspects of the performance. And Dan Scully, who worked with me on The Radio Show, is working on lighting.

(Carrie is currently showing in the 2011 Pittsburgh Biennial at the Warhol Museum)

 http://biennial.pittsburgharts.org/?p=116

KST: How does this piece vary from other works you’ve made?

KA: In my mind it’s more aggressive and coming from an angrier and darker place. This piece takes me back to High School and how my mannerisms changed depending on situations. There were times on the bus where I felt like I didn’t want to draw attention to myself; I would talk deeper, walk differently to fit in. This made me think about the Pinocchio Story and becoming a “real boy” and what that means.

KST: We’ve had a lot of questions about this performance being appropriate for children because of the Pinocchio Story. Is it based on the Pinocchio Story and is it appropriate for kids?

KA: The Pinocchio story is just a “jumping off point,” it was my inspiration. I was inspired by the movement in the film, specifically some of the robotic movements. Some of the material is not appropriate for young children but it should be okay for high school students.

Kyle Abraham performs “Live! The Realest MC” on November 18 &19 at 8pm.

TICKETS | $20 Advance | $25 Door | $15 Zip Code 15206 | $10 Artists & Students

Leave a Reply