FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Kelly Strayhorn Theater Announces Winter/Spring 2024 Season

Published: December 19, 2023

Give me a lifetime of promises / and a world of dreams /Speak a language of love / like you know what it means

– Tina Turner

EAST LIBERTY, PA— The Winter/Spring 2024 KST Presents season promises to bring you simply the best! From a Tina Turner tribute concert to Abolitionist Expressions, a visual art exhibition showcasing incarcerated artists, KST continues to celebrate the Brave Actions and Bold Voices in our community.

The season features exciting offerings from Mutual Aid Residents Dreams of Hope and PearlArts, a visual art exhibition in the KST Gallery, two Freshworks performances-in-progress, and two week-long series of Local and Global Performances from new and returning faces.

We begin the year with Youth & Family Programming. Justice in Action: A Celebration of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gathers performances and family activities centering social justice on MLK Day, followed by the Let Freedom Sing concert in the evening. Later in February, The Alloy School returns with new recreational classes for all ages.

Our partnerships with Mutual Aid Residents PearlArts and Dreams of Hope continue throughout the Winter/Spring. We encourage you to partake in PearlArts’ Adult Ballet and Adult Jazz/Heels classes, as well as Dreams of Hope’s theatriQ Creative Sessions tailored to nurture the creativity of Queer and Trans youth.

Drawn from the Let’s Get Free permanent collection made by people in prison as well as artists in solidarity from outside of prison, art exhibition Abolitionist Expressions at our gallery space explores personal stories that express political yearnings and aspirations for the future.

In March, we have Simply the Best, A Tina Turner Tribute Concert with Dwayne Fulton, a highly anticipated concert that brings the explosive energy and unforgettable classics of the legendary artist. We welcome you to wear comfortable shoes for this one — you’ll be spending little time in your seat!

Our Winter/Spring Freshworks Residencies support new performance in process from three local artists. First, Caroline Yoo and Davine Byon present Prophecies & Soy Sauce Shots, an experiment in storytelling that spans from the past, present to future. They move through three vignettes, using projections, sculpture, music, and the exchange of dreams, to piece together a precious home in the diaspora.

Then, Anna King Skeels brings unstitch, taking us on a journey through the experiences of a fat queer person. This new performance examines our relationship to our bodies through movement and fiber arts.

The Local & Global Performance series welcomes two weeks of programming from multi-disciplinary artists Edisa Weeks and Mita Ghosal. After a movement workshop, welcome dinner & artist talk, Edisa’s April engagement culminates in the Pittsburgh premiere of 3 RITES: Liberty. Edisa alternates between blackface, whiteface, storytelling, and visceral dance to dig into the pathologizing of African Americans and the foundations of Liberty in America.

Mita Ghosal’s weeklong May programming brings Lost on a Loom to KST’s Alloy Studios, examining lost South Asian histories through Indian textiles and movement. Weaving together a Bengali protagonist with the stories of fabric from Bengal, the dance piece draws parallels to the movement of material, the movement(s) of people and economic and social disparities that continue to remain in modern history.

We can’t wait to journey through the winter into the spring with you, feeling warm, inspired, and part of a brave, bold community.

Download the .pdf HERE.

YOUTH & FAMILY | MUSIC | DANCE | THEATER
Justice in Action
A Celebration of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Monday, January 15
12:00pm – 3:00pm

Kelly Strayhorn Theater | 5941 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $0 – $25

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Kelly Strayhorn Theater Announces Winter/Spring 2024 Season

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