FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Kelly Strayhorn Theater’s Freshworks program welcomes artists Ty Greenwood & Cherish Morgan in Death Dream
EAST LIBERTY, PA, SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 – Kelly Strayhorn Theater is proud to present the first Freshworks residency showing of the 2021-2022 season, Death Dream by Ty Greenwood and Cherish Morgan, October 1-2, 2021 at KST’s Alloy Studios.
Originally from Pittsburgh and now residing in Seattle, Washington, Ty Greenwood is a playwright whose work addresses community, diversity, and togetherness. Cherish Morgan is a Pittsburgh-based choreographer and performing artist who works across dance forms with an emphasis on hip-hop and musical theater practices. The artists’ collaboration, Death Dream, explores the choreopoem form to delve into the power of spoken word and political performance art that is unapologetically Black and radical.
Choreopoems are defined as a nontraditional artistic expression combining music, art, dance, and poetry, first coined by artist Ntozake Shange in describing her work For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf. “Death Dream explores the mental experience of Black men and serves as a public service announcement that America doesn’t value their Black bodies. When this piece was first conceived, it was rooted in a lot of anger and frustration. Throughout the last year, the focus of the choreopoem has shifted from solely being rooted in Black pain & anger to now showing elements of Black joy & hope,” said Death Dream co-creator/writer Ty Greenwood.
The piece is also inspired by W. E. B. DuBois’s writings on the idea of double consciousness, defined as the “internal conflict experienced by subordinated or colonized groups in an oppressive society” in his 1903 work The Souls of Black Folk.
Freshworks is KST’s creative residency for Pittsburgh based artists and collaborators. The program provides artists with financial resources, studio space, production staff, lighting and sound design, professional development, and encouragement for creative risk taking. through interdisciplinary collaborations in contemporary dance, theater, music, and multimedia.
This work-in-progress preview of Death Dream will premiere at KST’s Alloy Studios, located at 5530 Penn Avenue, on Friday, October 1 and Saturday, October 2 at 8:00pm.
Tickets for Death Dream are now on sale at kelly-strayhorn.org or can be purchased in person at the event. Pricing is Pay What Makes You Happy!, a sliding scale of accessible price points in order to truly welcome all to enjoy the arts.
For full season details, COVID policy updates, and tickets, go to kelly-strayhorn.org.