Halloween Mayhem A Virtual Variety Show
KST Presents
Saturday, October 31, 3:00pm
Join us on crowdcast Free with RSVP!
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Halloween Mayhem is a Virtual Variety Show featuring performances from and for young folks! Hosted by KST’s Drag Queen in Residence Akasha L. Van Cartier, the program will feature a performance from Van Cartier herself, along with performances from Alumni Theater Company, puppeteer Dave English, choreographer and performer Trevor Miles, and more! The event will be live broadcast on Crowdcast (link coming soon) and will include an on camera dance party to show off your costume! Join us on Zoom to participate on screen for the dance party!
In addition KST staff will be stationed and masked right outside Kelly Strayhorn Theater at 5941 Penn Avenue for candy pick up from 11:00am – 2:00pm. Feel free to come by and practice social distancing as you pick up some candy!
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Akasha L. Van Cartier, Pittsburgh’s foremost Drag Queen has been entertaining audiences for 21 years. She first started raising money performing in benefit events. Akasha has also competed and performed nationally, gaining experience, recognition, and starting Drag Queen Story Hour with Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. You can see Akasha throughout the Tri-State area, reading to children, raising money for the Humane Animal League and now starring in Kelly Strayhorn Theater’s new KST Global Stream series Drag Queen Story Time.
Alumni Theater Company (ATC) operates a year-round program providing talented Black youth in grades 6-12 with high quality performing arts training and a platform to express their ideas. We are in our 13th season of creating bold theatrical work that gives fresh voice to the experience of young Black artists and highlights their rich contribution to our community. Addressing racism is integral to the work of ATC. Our members are passionate about using their art to be heard. They have strong opinions – about our country and its embedded racism, about the inequities they experience in their schools, about the heavy policing in many of their communities. They speak boldly, confronting this racism and injustice. They share their vulnerable journey through adolescence, resonating with their peers and challenging adults to listen deeply. They inspire their audience to take deliberate action and make a change. For them, ATC is a space free from stereotypes and otherism, where they can openly share their experiences growing up as Black teens in our city, and in turn create art that speaks to their peers and the community at large.
Alumni Theater Company Presents…
I Put A Spell On You featuring Mikayla Keyes, Katherine Bruce, Crystal Anderson
The Walking Dead (Spoken Word) featuring Ke-Vaughn Organ
Undead (Spoken Word) featuring Mikayla Keyes
Comfortably Numb featuring Mark Conner
What Are You Afraid Of? (Spoken Word) featuring Ryann Johnson
Halloween Mayhem Dance Mix featuring Ke-Vaughn Organ, Boaz Bey, Jordyn Mikele, Ryann Johnson performing choreography by Cherish Morgan
Darkness (Spoken Word) featuring Katherine Bruce
Trevor C. Miles is a powerhouse teaching artist and performer hailing from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A teaching artist and choreographer, Trevor has worked for more than a decade across Pittsburgh, focusing his work on underrepresented youth and their stories. In 2014, Trevor formed his own hand-selected group of dancers to take his storytelling to the next level: Trevor C. Dance Collective. During its first four years, he and his performing arts troupe completed five tours, composed of innovative festival performances, community drop-ins and specialty masterclasses, evening-length stage works, and even a documentary. Trevor Miles debuted his masterful XYLO (Parts 1 and 2) in 2018. XYLO 3, Trevor Miles’ magnum opus, premiered in 2019, and served as the launch of the #TMSoloStageSeries, a collection of one-man stage shows. Trevor has participated in Kelly Strayhorn’s newMoves Festival twice, has had a KST Freshworks Residency, and presented work across the country at stages like the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. He looks forward to continuing his solo performances in 2021, and creating more virtual art for the masses.
Trevor C. Dance Collective Performers: Trevor Miles, Jaumair Garland, Niylah C., Marzhae R., Savannah M, Savayah M., Savarah M., Christopher M., Zera M. and Zena M.
Dave English graduated from West Virginia University with a degree in Puppetry, holds Pennsylvania and Federal Clearances to work with children, and has extensive experience as an artist educator, museum educator, and education program manager. With a puppetry and studio art background Dave was an early participant in the Maker Movement and STEAM philosophies of hands-on project based education. Dave has worked for Pittsburgh Public Schools, Homeless Children’s Education Fund, The Andy Warhol Museum Education Department, The Sprout Fund, The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, helped to found the Remake Learning Network and Pittsburgh Hive Learning Network, attended the National Puppetry Conference twice, was a Fine Resident Artist at Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, A Distillery Resident Artist at Brewhouse Association, A Flight School Fellow, served as President of the Puppetry Guild of Pittsburgh, and is a Carnegie Libraries of Pittsburgh Friends of Music Fellow.