FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: KST Presents: Shamel Pitts | TRIBE

BLACK HOLE: Trilogy And Triathlon

EAST LIBERTY, PA — Kelly Strayhorn Theater is pleased to announce the return of 2020 Guggenheim Fellow in Choreography Shamel Pitts. Last seen at the newMoves dance festival in 2018, Pitts is back in the burgh with his arts collective TRIBE for a presentation of the artist’s evening-length multidisciplinary performance work BLACK HOLE: Trilogy And Triathlon on Friday & Saturday, April 14 – 15 at Kelly Strayhorn Theater, 5941 Penn Ave. KST will host a week of special events leading up to the performance, including a Welcome Dinner and Artist Talk at KST’s Alloy Studios on Tuesday, April 11 at 7:00pm, a GAGA movement session at KST’s Alloy Studios co-presented by KST mutual-aid partner PearlArts Wednesday, April 12 at 9:00am, and a special post-performance conversation with artist Alisha Wormsely at Kelly Strayhorn Theater on Friday, April 14 (performance to start at 8:00pm).

In BLACK HOLE, a trio of Black performers (all of African heritage) share the stage in a narrative of unity, vigor, and unrelenting advancement. Their journey originates in the darkness of the titular Black Hole, understood not as a cosmic void but a metaphorical place of transformation and potential. Engulfed in an evocative soundscape of original music, sound samples, and spoken word, the dancers embark on an hour-long, uninterrupted journey in movement in which their tenacity and grace are emphasized by cinematic video projections and stark, monochromatic lights.

“BLACK HOLE (…) is a stylish Afrofuturist vision featuring three Black dancers, in monochromatic light and video projections, finding connection in a movement language derived from Ohad Naharin’s Gaga.” — Brian Seibert, New Yorker

BLACK HOLE: Trilogy And Triathlon concludes the Black Trilogy, a series of deeply personal live performance pieces conceived and choreographed by Pitts since 2015. The first work of this collection, a solo BLACK BOX – Little Book of RED, introduced the recurring themes of this cycle: identity, search for the roots and community, and personal evolution of the artist, born “young, gifted and Black.”

2019 saw the New York premiere of BLACK VELVET – Architectures And Archetypes, “a haunting duet” (The New York Times) with Brazilian-born Mirelle Martins. Collaboration with her and other Black Series artists subsequently spurred the inception of TRIBE, a multidisciplinary collective of international creatives, united by Afrofuturistic ideals and shared goals.

“I’ve come from dance companies. I’ve loved them. But I had no interest or passion to re-create that. TRIBE is a collective of outliers. I think we relate more to a rock band, where each person has a different skill, a different instrument. We come together when we want to play and when we have ideas. I’m the artistic director, so I’m in a leadership role, but none of my collaborators are followers. We’re all walking with one another.” — Shamel Pitts, TRIBE artistic director

BLACK HOLE: Trilogy And Triathlon was developed with the kind support of Trust for Mutual Understanding (TMU), American Dance Abroad, gloATL, PearlArts Studios, CrossAward (Italy), Dock 11 / Eden (Germany), Derida Dance Center (Bulgaria), Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant, New York Live Arts, and 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center.

Additional commissioning, development and core operating support for TRIBE is provided by the Mellon Foundation; The New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project with funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; The Howard Gilman Foundation; Dance/NYC’s Dance Advancement Fund, made possible by the Howard Gilman Foundation and Ford Foundation; National Performance Network (NPN) Creation, Development & Artist Engagement Fund Project supported by the Doris Duke

Charitable Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency); and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

KST’s engagement of Shamel Pitts BLACK HOLE: Trilogy And Triathlon is made possible through the ArtsCONNECT program of Mid Atlantic Arts with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support is provided by the National Performance Network (NPN) Artist Engagement Fund. More information: www.npnweb.org.

Join KST and Shamel Pitts | TRIBE for BLACK HOLE: Trilogy And Triathlon on Friday & Saturday, April 14 – 15 at 8:00pm at Kelly Strayhorn Theater, 5941 Penn Ave. Tickets are Pay What Moves You: $15 – $35. For full season details, KST COVID policy updates, and tickets, go to kelly-strayhorn.org.

Access the PDF HERE

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

2020 Guggenheim Fellow Shamel Pitts is a performance artist, choreographer, conceptual artist, dancer, spoken word artist, and teacher. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Shamel began his dance training at LaGuardia High School for Music & Art and the Performing Arts and, simultaneously, at The Ailey School. He is 2003 YoungArts Finalist and a first prize winner of the YoungArts competition. Shamel then went on to receive his BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School and was awarded the Martha Hill Award for excellence in dance. He began his dance career in Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Hell’s Kitchen Dance and BJM_Danse Montreal. Shamel danced with Batsheva Dance Company for 7 years, under the artistic direction of Ohad Naharin and is a certified teacher of Gaga movement language. He is an adjunct professor at The Juilliard School and has been an artist in residence at Harvard University. He is the recipient of a 2018 Princess Grace Award in Choreography, a 2019 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship Award winner in Choreography, a 2020 Jacob’s Pillow artist in residence and a 2021 New York Dance Award winner (The Bessies). Shamel is the Founding Artistic Director of TRIBE, a Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary arts collective. TRIBE is a 92Y Harkness Dance Center’s Artist In Residence for the 2020-2021 season. Shamel Pitts | TRIBE is also a New York Live Arts Live Feed artist in residence.

Tushrik Fredricks (Performer) recipient of Princess Grace Award (Chris Helman dance honor), nominated by TRIBE in 2021 is originally from Johannesburg, South Africa. Growing up he found himself drawn towards the style ‘KRUMP‘. He graduated from the Peridance Certificate Program in NYC in June 2015 and has had the opportunity to work with Ate9 dANCEcOMPANY (Danielle Agami, Artistic Director), Sidra Bell Dance New York and UNA Productions. Tushrik was an assistant lecturer to Sidra Bell at The University of the Arts Philadelphia for Sophomore students (2016-2018). In May 2021 Tushrik received 3rd prize for dance at the SoloTanz Festival in Stuttgart for his self choreographed solo ‘(territory) of the heart’ and in November 2022 it will be presented at the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts. instagram.com/tushrik 

Marcella Lewis (Performer), recipient of the 2018 Princess Grace Award in Dance, hails from Los Angeles, CA, where she began her dance training at the Lula Washington Dance Theatre. She then continued her studies at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts(LACHSA). She later received her BFA from the Purchase Conservatory of Dance in 2016, where she was awarded the Adopt-A-Dancer Scholarship. She joined Abraham.In.Motion in fall 2016, as a dancer, soloist, and company liaison. Marcella was featured with Abraham.In.Motion in Dance Magazine in August 2017 and was mentioned in the New York Times for the Abraham.In.Motion Joyce season in May 2018. Marcella is currently a performer with TRIBE multidisciplinary visual performances and is a freelance artist exploring choreography  in Los Angeles and New York. instagram.com/marcellalewis_

Lucca Del Carlo (Video Lighting Designer) is a graphic designer and video artist from São Paulo, Brazil, currently based in LA/NYC. Lucca is a founding member of the Brooklyn/New York based multidisciplinary arts collective known as TRIBE. He has created the lighting and video mapping projections for numerous performance works and has toured and performed live with the collective in many countries all over the world. He specializes in transmedia, mixing cinema techniques, concepts of architecture, visual arts, light design, and technology, and integrating those into the direction and creation of scenography, immersive environments and visual live shows. In his view, all ways of visual communication have interlacing points, not only using technology but also using human cognition and its related censorial illusions. Del Carlo’s specialty is mixing it in new ways to inspire and break common patterns in visual expression. luccadelcarlo.com 

Sivan Jacobovitz (Composer) is a producer/musician living in NYC. Dance collaborations include: Kimberly Bartosik’s “I Hunger For You” (BAM Next Wave) and “Through The Mirror of Their Eyes” (NYLA – Bessie Outstanding Production Honoree); Shamel Pitts’ Black Hole (touring internationally), MENAGERIE (with Gibney Company) and Touch of RED (upcoming – Jacob’sPillow Lab); ASSEMBLY with GREYZONE. instagram.com/sivan_daniel

An Australian artist with a career continuing over 30years, Rus Snelling (Artistic Production Manager & Lighting Designer) has worked as a production, stage, site and tour manager, lighting and set designer, consultant, technical director and fire sculptor with arts organizations, institutions & freelancing on events and installations around the world ranging from intimate theatrical works, shows on and off Broadway in NYC and on London’s West End. His work includes large scale indoor and outdoor festivals, the Sydney Olympic Ceremonies, the Melbourne Commonwealth Games Ceremonies & Cultural Festival, Melbourne International Arts Festival, Montreal Just for Laughs, Edinburgh Fringe, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Vancouver Winter Olympics Cultural Festival, Centennial celebrations, river & street parades, tours & various music festivals. Some artists Rus has worked with are Merce Cunningham, Laurie Anderson, John Leguizamo, Philip Glass, Brian Eno, Tim Robbins & The Actors Gang, Taylor Mac, Patti Smith, Trisha Brown Dance Company, Bandaloop, Camille A Brown & Dancers, Abraham.In.Motion, Streb & Phantom Limb Company among many and on projects & tours in Australia, USA, Canada, Tunisia, Europe, Asia & South America. Rus worked at PS122 in NYC many moons ago and was the founding Production Manager & Resident Lighting Designer at Oz Arts Inc in Nashville TN for 6 years before moving to Miami to continue freelance work and is proudly working on the tour of And So We Walked featuring DeLanna Studi and is excited and honored to be part of the creation of Touch of Red with TRIBE.

Originally from Brazil, Mirelle Martins (Costume Designer, Creative Director) received her Bachelor Degree in Social Communications (UnB 2002-06). She has worked as an artist, independent curator and art producer since 2010. In 2013, Mirelle started to research her own artistic expression in performance art with the intensive summer course of Gaga.people.dancers in NYC. Since 2015, she has been producing Gaga courses yearly in Brazil, so far reaching over 1200 students. In 2016, as a 32-year old, Mirelle made her dancing debut in “BLACK VELVET”, a duet by Shamel Pitts, with light designer Lucca Del Carlo. The show toured in the US and internationally from 2017 to 2020, and has received the Audience Choice Award in Stockholm Fringe Festival (Sweden, 2017), and Best out of Town Production by ArtsATL (Atlanta, 2018). The partnership with Pitts continued with “BLACK HOLE” (2018), where Mirelle has collaborated as performer and costume designer. Since 2019, Mirelle is one of the founding artists of TRIBE, Brooklyn-based arts collective led by Pitts, where she also acts as Creative Director. mirellemartins.com  

Naomi Maaravi (Black Tarp Designer) is a Dutch-born, Israel-based EcoFashion Designer with over 30 years of experience creating upcycled re-designed fashion pieces. Naomi made her first piece for her daughter out of worn out jeans. Her garments are fashioned from either her own collection of high end materials, or out of materials supplied by her clients. Her brand line has since evolved into a high-end recycled – albeit high fashion – line worn by Israeli artists and celebrities. “Memories, events, joy, happiness, sadness are all parts of the materials I use, blended to create a unique garment with a story on its own,” Maaravi says. www.naomimaaravi.com

Itai Zwecker (Photographer, Cinematographer) is an Israeli-born director of cinematography, photographer, and video editor, collaborating with Shamel Pitts and later TRIBE since 2018. His photography has been featured in The New York Times ,The Brooklyn Rail, and other outlets. Zwecker is based in Brooklyn and Tel Aviv, where he works shooting film, dance, music, documentary and commercial projects. vimeo.com/zwecker 

PALETTE, Founded by The Adeboye Brothers (Photographer & Cinematographer) in 2017, is a creative agency focused on producing films, animations, and live experiences for campaign activations both online and offline. Their background is rooted in thoughtful storytelling, art, and pushing the boundaries within the film space. They’re currently focused on building out their Production house internationally. Their production house develops, produces and writes branded and original documentaries, narrative-based shorts, and animations. This organization stands with creatives, the humans connected to culture, the community-movers, the society shapers. https://www.thepalettegroup.com/

ABOUT TRIBE 

TRIBE – Multidisciplinary Visual Performances is a Brooklyn-based Afrofuturistic arts collective dedicated to creating, producing and sharing original multidisciplinary global art projects founded in December 2019 by choreographer and performer Shamel Pitts. Understanding that performance art and live art are practices of human connection, TRIBE acts nationally and internationally by developing art exchanges in collaboration with institutions and artists, with a focus on the African diaspora.

TRIBE’s mission is to seize space and create a platform for artists – most specifically artists of color – with huge inspiration from the Afrofuturism movement. This movement states that we have a responsibility through our work to tell new stories and create a brighter future that is different, and shines more luminously, from its past. Ultimately, TRIBE aims to bring its audience and community into experiences that humanize Black and Brown bodies and share the colorfulness within Blackness that allows us to be multiplicitous. Itsatribe.org

ABOUT KELLY STRAYHORN THEATER

Named after 20th century entertainment legends Gene Kelly and Billy Strayhorn, both natives of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kelly Strayhorn Theater (KST) is reflective of the passion that its founders had for the arts. Today, Kelly Strayhorn Theater carries on the legacy of its founders by fostering bold and innovative artistry with a global perspective. KST celebrates diversity in voice, thought, and expression, and upholds a firm commitment to inclusion. Furthermore, KST provides a safe and welcome space for dialogue and artistic expression for all who enter.
Kelly Strayhorn Theater has a dynamic footprint in Pittsburgh, with two venues running along Penn Avenue. KST’s Alloy Studios is a cultural hub in the heart of East Liberty, and the historic Kelly Strayhorn Theater is located in the thriving business district. More than 20 years after the founding of the theater, KST continues to use its broad reach to impact the contemporary arts and the community.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: KST Presents: Spring 2023 Freshworks performance in process presentation, Nick M. Daniels

Nonsensical search for truth and understanding 

EAST LIBERTY, PA — Kelly Strayhorn Theater is pleased to announce the first Spring 2023 Freshworks performance in process presentation, Nick M. Daniels, Nonsensical search for truth and understanding. Join us on Friday & Saturday, April 7 – 8, 8:00pm, at KST’s Alloy Studios for a taste of this new work in development followed by a Q & A with the artist.

Nonsensical search for truth and understanding is a movement-based performance that explores how technology has grown, developed, and changed global communication. Choreographer Nick M. Daniels will draw the audience into an oddly beautiful and melancholic atmosphere by pairing digital/electronic noise and piano with stylized phrases inspired by global movement styles such as Butoh, Ballroom, Hip Hop, and traditional African and Indian dance. Photography and projections round out the piece, creating a multidisciplinary heartbeat for this work from D.A.N.A. Movement Ensemble.

Nick M. Daniels is a movement based performance artist and choreographer born, raised, and based in Pittsburgh who draws from a vast network of influences. Their drive to create art through movement can be traced back to their childhood, when their mother supported their creative spirit, even at her own risk:

“As a child I was always just a little different. I would watch figure-skating, (my mother was an avid figure-skating person, she loved it) and I would try to do those moves, and jumps — our ceiling could have come down quite a few times because you had this little diva doing triple sow-cows above your head in their bedroom. I used to spray pledge on the floors! It made them really, really slick, and one morning, getting ready for church, my mother had her church shoes on, hit the pledge on the floor and fell. After that she said, ‘OK, we need to get you into skating, into dance!’”— Nick M. Daniels

Daniels, a Freshworks alum (‘17) has built a practice that balances the horrendous with the sublime. Informed creatively by their identity as a Black, gay, and non-binary person, Daniels makes work that confronts the world as it is while leaving space to imagine different, more beautiful realities.

“For this residency, there were a couple of images I really needed to see, to get back into my head. This past weekend I traveled to DC to the Museum of African American History, to sit with Emmett Till. A lot of my imagery comes from things that are absolutely horrible, but I try to make it a compassionate effort, because beautiful things come from horrible things. I try to avoid hitting really strong triggers with my audiences, but I do need to push buttons to some extent.” — Nick M. Daniels

Because their practice synthesizes language from so many different sources, the result can be  free-wheeling, abstract, and untethered to the narrative arcs that audiences are used to. Daniels is unconcerned with the legibility of their work. Rather, they hope audiences will connect with the authentic essence of Nonsensical search for truth and understanding.

“My work is what comes out of my mind, it’s what comes out of my heart and what comes out of my soul. My friends and colleagues recognize that. You can call my work unrefined, you can call it non-traditional dance, you can call it performance art, but the one thing you’re definitely going to say is that it is of me — it’s honest, it’s raw, it’s emotional, and it’s a little gay, and very Black. I tell my story the way I feel it should be told. It’s a reflection of finding myself, finding my energy, and finding my Black Boy Joy after being in the pandemic. The uncertainty of that, and the ugly thoughts, things that were being said about queer, transgender Blacks, people of color, all that hatefulness — I want to package that and dance around it. I need to find myself again.” — Nick M. Daniels

Join KST and Nick M. Daniels for Nonsensical search for truth and understanding Friday & Saturday, April 7 – 8 at 8:00pm at KST’s Alloy Studios, 5530 Penn Ave. Tickets are Pay What Moves You: $10 – $25. For full season details, KST COVID policy updates, and tickets, go to kelly-strayhorn.org.

Access the PDF HERE

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Nick M. Daniels is the founding Artistic Director of D.A.N.A. (Dancers Against Normal Actions) Movement Ensemble whose choreographic style is inspired by African dance and many modern and contemporary global movement styles. After attaining his BFA in Dance from Slippery Rock University in 1991, Nick created D.A.N.A Movement Ensemble and was a pioneering force in Pittsburgh for the exploration of race and sexual identity in performance art. Nick’s creative work often uses self-realized soundscapes and video imagery based in pure, raw emotion. Throughout his career he has toured nationally and abroad, receiving grants and accolades including The Young- Howse Theater Award for Movement Artist of the Year, The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Preserving Diverse Cultures Grant, and a 2017 Freshworks Residency with Kelly Strayhorn Theater. Currently, Nick is developing work that will premiere in Europe, Central America, and South America in 2023.

ABOUT KELLY STRAYHORN THEATER

Named after 20th century entertainment legends Gene Kelly and Billy Strayhorn, both natives of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kelly Strayhorn Theater (KST) is reflective of the passion that its founders had for the arts. Today, Kelly Strayhorn Theater carries on the legacy of its founders by fostering bold and innovative artistry with a global perspective. KST celebrates diversity in voice, thought, and expression, and upholds a firm commitment to inclusion. Furthermore, KST provides a safe and welcome space for dialogue and artistic expression for all who enter.
Kelly Strayhorn Theater has a dynamic footprint in Pittsburgh, with two venues running along Penn Avenue. KST’s Alloy Studios is a cultural hub in the heart of East Liberty, and the historic Kelly Strayhorn Theater is located in the thriving business district. More than 20 years after the founding of the theater, KST continues to use its broad reach to impact the contemporary arts and the community.

ABOUT FRESHWORKS 

Freshworks is KST’s creative residency for artists and collaborators based in the greater Pittsburgh region. Freshworks made its debut in 2013 and supports playful exploration in performance through interdisciplinary work in contemporary dance, theater, music, and multimedia.The program provides artists with planning support and guidance, studio space, production staff, lighting and sound design and encouragement for creative risk taking. Artists are invited to apply either as an individual or as a collaborative group.

Freshworks artists are provided a $1,000 honorarium and $1,500 resource budget during the residency. This is to help offset the costs of creating new work. Each residency will take place over a two-month period. During these two months, artists will develop a 30-minute live showing that is a first draft of an original artistic project. The first month is intended for planning; this includes what form the project will take, securing collaborators, and brainstorming design. During this time, artists will meet weekly with KST Programming and Production Staff to chart out production and scheduling needs as well as utilize their outside perspectives. The intention is that KST Staff is present to pose questions that can help the artist think through various aspects of ideas.

The second month is focused on in-studio rehearsal and creation of a 30-minute draft of their project. Weekly meetings with KST Staff continue and shift focus towards actualizing production needs.The goal of the residency is for the artist to experiment and explore early iterations of ideas and share a draft of these concepts in front of an audience. At the end of the process, they will have valuable insight into further developing their project.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Kelly Strayhorn Theater Presents: Sunstar Festival: Women & Music

2023 Artists Announced:
Toshi Reagon, Lola Cole, DJ FEMI, Diarra Imani, & Casaundra
Curated in Partnership with The SCALE Fellowship Program

EAST LIBERTY, PA — Kelly Strayhorn Theater and The SCALE Fellowship Program (a project of the Equity | Impact Center) are thrilled to announce the spring lineup for the 2023 Sunstar Festival: Women & Music. On March 18, 2023 at 8:00pm, KST will host performances from Toshi Reagon, Lola Cole, DJ FEMI, and Casaundra with host Diarra Imani. The women represent a broad spectrum of musical genres and influences, illustrating the multivalent talent of Black Women in the local scene and beyond. 

Since its 2009 inception, KST’s annual Sunstar Festival: Women & Music has celebrated the power and creativity of Black women by creating a platform for local performers to share the stage with national acts in a neighborhood theater setting. Dedicated to creating a dialogue between emerging and established artists, Sunstar showcases a variety of performers including dancers, spoken word poets, musicians, singer/songwriters, and more. Past programs have featured Grammy Award-winning group the Carolina Chocolate Drops, author Rebecca Walker, New York composer Samita Sinha, visual/spoken word artist Vanessa German, Pittsburgh artists and leaders: Tania Grubbs, Staycee Pearl, Anqwenique Wingfield, Girls Running Sh**, INEZ, Clara Kent, Brittney Chantele, Chandra Rhyme, Geña y Peña, Dejah Monea, Najj Andrea, ICY PISCES, Nairobi, Chantal Braziel, Candace Burgess, Jenifer Rose Weber, and many more.

This year’s festival is co-curated by the SCALE Fellowship Program, whose mission is to promote the advancement of Black Women in music. A project of the Equity | Impact Center, SCALE was designed by Leigh Solomon Pugliano with the intent of developing a comprehensive, collaborative program that provides both immediate and ongoing support to artists along with concrete opportunities for growth and advancement. The SCALE Fellowship Program aims to “create an affirmative space for Black women in music to connect, share, learn, and grow. SCALE provides financial support, a platform to produce and present work, entrepreneurial skill-building, and resources to Black women in music while affecting the development of an equity-centered, inclusive, and elevating ecosystem for emerging artists.” —Leigh Solomon Pugliano

Audiences will be able to witness the fruits of their collaboration as the program culminates in two events at Kelly Strayhorn Theater on Saturday, March 18. Before the performers take the stage at 8:00pm, KST hosts an artist discussion and lunch at 1:00pm in the KST lobby. Moderated by SCALE Fellowship founder Leigh Solomon Pugliano, this roundtable discussion invites artists and audience members alike to share their experiences navigating the music industry in order to reveal new opportunities and create networks of support. Then, at 8:00pm, the women of Sunstar 2023 will bring the audience on a journey across the genres of Mississippi Blues, Atlanta Soul, folk, funk, jazz, rock, R&B, and more.

Toshi Reagon is presented in partnership with Point Park University’s Pittsburgh Playhouse. On March 30 – April 2, 2023 the Playhouse presents Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower created by Toshi Reagon and Bernice Johnson Reagon. Tickets on sale now at playhouse.pointpark.edu

Join KST and the artists for Sunstar Festival: Women & Music on Saturday, March 18 at 1:00pm and 8:00pm at Kelly Strayhorn Theater, 5941 Penn Ave. Tickets are Pay What Moves You, $25 – $40. For full season details, KST COVID policy updates, and tickets, go to kelly-strayhorn.org. 

Access the PDF HERE

ABOUT THE ARTISTS AND CURATOR

Toshi Reagon (Singer, Composer, Musician, Curator, Producer) is an award-winning multi-talented and versatile singer, composer, musician, with a profound ear for sonic Americana—from folk to funk, from blues to rock. While her expansive career has landed her at Carnegie Hall, the Paris Opera House and Madison Square Garden, you can just as easily find Toshi turning out at a music festival, intimate venue or local club. Inspired by the visionary and prescient story telling of Octavia E. Butler, Toshi Reagon and Bernice Johnson Reagon created the opera Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower, which premiered in 2017 at NYUAD Arts Center in Abu Dhabi and to date, has been performed on four continents.The opera will be presented at Pittsburgh Playhouse March 30 – April 2, 2023. Toshi resides in Brooklyn NY. From there she continues to tour as a solo artist and with her band Toshi Reagon and BIGLovely.

Based in Studio City, CA, Lola Cole combines her Mississippi Blues roots with her Native Atlanta Soul to give voice to God and Freedom. She has been considered a hybrid artist; singing and writing with a conscious/activist mindset from a spiritual viewpoint. With a deep appreciation for jazz and the history of music culture, Lola calls her sound cultural art. It is a blend of her ingenious, black, southern, music roots. Lola recently captivated audiences at Atlanta Dogwood Festival, Atlanta Pride Festival, SXSW 2016 for the ChooseATL Takeover and returned to the stage at SXSW 2018. From sharing stages with artists like Prisca, LeCrae, Khari Simmons, The Shadowboxers, Cleveland P. Jones, All Cows Eat Grass, and more.

Born and raised on the East Side of Pittsburgh, DJ FEMI strives to be a beacon of light in the night life and a prime example that women can be great DJs, business women, and entrepreneurs. In recent years, FEMI has been set up with some amazing opportunities, like performing with the legendary Sheila E. at Stage AE and opening up for Pi’erre Bourne at The Roxian Theatre. Some of her favorite moments also include, but aren’t limited to, djing for Chandra Rhyme (2021 SCALE Fellow) at Stage AE for the big scale showcase, in Las Vegas for the Mayweather vs. McGregor fight and some private events in Washington, D.C. where she opened up for Shoreline Mafia, UNIIQU3, Rico Nasty and Dai Burger, as well as many more artists.

Casaundra is a singer, songwriter and composer from Pittsburgh, PA. She attended high school at the Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) magnet school, where she currently works. She continued her musical studies at HBCU Norfolk State University, focusing on Music Media with an emphasis on Vocal Performance. Casaundra likes to call her music “Motivation Music,” as it is very intentional in its goal and describes her sound as more R&B/Soul. She believes this style is more relatable and speaks to issues of self-care, awareness and healing. Casaundra has performed at the Oaks Theater with the likes of Etta Cox for “Ladies of Jazz” in 2018. She has also shared the stage with phenomenal Pittsburgh singers, Anita Levels (2023 SCALE Fellow) and Tereasa Hawthorne, for the “Pittsburgh’s Divine Divas” event. Casaundra currently has two albums out, “What Kind of Love” (2010) and “Love Lessons” (2015). Her short-term goals include putting out singles and curating music-related events for Pittsburgh’s immediate neighborhoods and surrounding communities.

Diarra Imani is a Pittsburgh-based artist that is dedicated to truth-telling in her work. Whether it be through song, poetry, or painting, Diarra’s work is centered around her story of becoming and the truths of the journey. Diarra finds that a lot of music and entertainment centers on a false life. She believes her role as an artist is to tell the truth to her listeners, to her comrades, and to the folks who are witnessing her without her knowing. Diarra’s artistry is multidimensional. She uses paint to illuminate a vision, poetry to evoke feeling, and song to reflect and create moments in time. Diarra realized how much she loved bringing music to people in masses around 15 years old, when she played Solomon Steel Pans during the Christmas parade of 2012 for the Urban Pathways Steelpan band. Diarra has since been granted travel to Ghana with the Teaching Artist Institute and performed during the Ghana Music Awards.

Leigh Solomon Pugliano (President & CEO, Equity Impact Center)  is an entrepreneur, educator, and experienced strategist who has helped to scale established businesses, creative small businesses, entrepreneurs, and nonprofit organizations. Leigh provides organizational development support through consulting, strategic planning, and the development and implementation of initiatives specifically designed for organizations to increase their impact and move toward sustainability.

For over a decade, Leigh served as Principal Consultant at Straightforward Consulting, a firm she founded in 2011. Leigh is also the Founder and Director of Barrels to Beethoven, and Co-Founder of Limelight Creative. Leigh has received several awards and recognition for her work, including Pittsburgh Courier Fab 40, Women in Business, The World Affairs Council Illuminate Award, and the YWCA Equity Award for Bridge Builder. In her newest role as CEO of the Equity | Impact Center, Leigh intends to advance the work of social justice organizations and drive equitable systems change throughout the U.S. with a specific focus on the Pittsburgh region. Leigh is originally from Guyana, South America, and currently lives in Pittsburgh, PA with her husband and three daughters. 

ABOUT KELLY STRAYHORN THEATER

Named after 20th century entertainment legends Gene Kelly and Billy Strayhorn, both natives of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kelly Strayhorn Theater (KST) is reflective of the passion that its founders had for the arts. Today,  Kelly Strayhorn Theater carries on the legacy of its founders by fostering bold and innovative artistry with a global perspective. KST celebrates diversity in voice, thought, and expression, and upholds a firm commitment to inclusion. Furthermore, KST provides a safe and welcome space for dialogue and artistic expression for all who enter.

Kelly Strayhorn Theater has a dynamic footprint in Pittsburgh, with two venues running along Penn Avenue. KST’s Alloy Studios is a cultural hub in the heart of East Liberty, and the historic Kelly Strayhorn Theater is located in the thriving business district. More than 20 years after the founding of the theater, KST continues to use its broad reach to impact the contemporary arts and the community.

ABOUT THE SCALE FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

The SCALE Fellowship Program provides individualized artist development, entrepreneurial skill-building curriculum, and intentional opportunities for Black women in music to connect, share, learn, grow, and collaborate. Each cohort accepts up to 8 participants for the 8-month residency program and provides Fellows with a financial award for acceptance into the program along with additional funds for: equipment, technology, business development, recording, branding, and legal support. SCALE supports Black women in music who are artist entrepreneurs in designing their business structures by facilitating the space to create work and perfect their craft. The program provides resources (knowledge, network, financial, space) as well as structural and the strategic support needed to develop a sustainable career path and overcome the challenges that exist for Black artists in Pittsburgh and the nation.

The SCALE Fellowship Program is a project of the Equity | Impact Center in collaboration with Limelight Creative and support from the Hillman Foundation and Advancing Black Arts, a program of Heinz Endowments and the Pittsburgh Foundation.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Kelly Strayhorn Theater Presents: Dorothy R. Santos & Adrian Jones

Docu-Poetics and Creative (Flash) Non-Fiction Writing
EAST LIBERTY, PA — Kelly Strayhorn Theater and The Frank Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry bring together Dorothy R. Santos and Adrian Jones for a collaborative writing workshop at KST’s Alloy Studios on Saturday, March 11 from 3:00pm – 7:00pm. The workshop combines Santos’ expertise as a writer, artist and educator with Jones’ practice of combining art, history, and technology, and explores the process of writing creative non-fiction from the perspective of the documentarian and archivist. Participants will enjoy a hot meal, and are welcome to bring laptops, tablets or other digital devices to use in the workshop (laptops are not necessary for participation). 

What is creative nonfiction? The literary genre is an umbrella term for many different forms of writing that includes memoir, biography, narrative history, documentary, and personal essay. According to Creative Nonfiction Magazine, a literary journal dedicated to the form, “Writers who write creative nonfiction are very different in voice, orientation and purpose. But what they have in common is that they are, in one way or the other, writing true stories that provide information about a variety of subjects, enriched by relevant thoughtful ideas, personal insight, and intimacies about life and the world we live in. And this scope and variety is exactly what makes creative nonfiction significant and, these days, so incredibly popular.” — Creative Nonfiction Magazine

Jones and Santos operate within the writing subcategories of flash creative nonfiction and docu-poetics. Flash creative nonfiction prioritizes brevity, with works often coming in at under 750 words, which focus on a singular image or event. Meanwhile, documentary poems combine primary source material with poetry writing, and can be inspired by news articles, letters, photographs, dairies, court transcripts, medical records, and a variety of other public records. The four-hour event at KST’s Alloy Studios on March 11 will explore a way of writing that honors oral traditions through both poetry and experimental language. Jones and Santos will work through various approaches to recording, documenting, and archiving stories for workshop participants interested in contributing to a community-centered archive. A hot meal will be provided to fuel the discussion!

Adrian Jones’ creative work, scholarship, and writing are based on historical and archival research focused on Black life in East Liberty. As the creator and founder of Looking Glass, a digital archive, his work is at the intersection of documentary media, archives, and digital technologies. Through his use of augmented reality, mapping, and web-based softwares, Jones is committed to community-facing and participatory practices as a way of uplifting and revealing stories of the East Liberty community.

“There is a pattern that has played out in this city over decades where ideas of renewal and revitalization are offered up as a pretext for projects that ultimately displace Black families, businesses and cultural institutions. It was important that Looking Glass begin with a focus on East Liberty’s history because this kind of disruption has yet to end in this neighborhood.

The enduring risk to homes and sites of memory calls for engaging in the work of recording and gathering stories. I believe there is power, healing and guidance to be found when we connect to the past. I hope Looking Glass as an archive that also maps stories to their points of origin will be a resource that facilitates this connection and reaffirms that the story of East Liberty cannot be rewritten.” — Adrian Jones

Dorothy R. Santos’ artistic practice, academic research, and writing focus on voice recognition, speech technologies, and assistive tech. Her fascination with oral history traditions coalesce with her desire to create new media works focused on upending the dominant linguistic forces that oftentimes aim to erase languages and accents outside the lingua franca of American and British englishes. She uses the practice of documentary poetry also known as docu-poetics as a modality for storytelling. Her work aims to shed light on the Filipino immigrant experience and being a child of the diaspora.

Together, Jones and Santos’ docu-poetics workshop is meant to work specifically with the East Liberty community to contribute to Looking Glass and to gain a broader, deeper, and expansive understanding of writing creative non-fiction. Santos’ collaboration with Jones was made possible through The Frank Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry at Carnegie Mellon University and Kelly Strayhorn Theater with the hope of bridging and building connections between community members interested in sharing stories and new ways of crafting narratives. Dorothy R. Santos is an artist in residence at the STUDIO, and will begin their residency with a lecture on Thursday, March 2 at 5:30pm on the Carnegie Mellon Campus. It’s a great way for folks interested in the workshop to learn more about Dorothy R. Santos’ practice. Then, on March 7th, Santos will visit Duolingo as an invited scholar and deliver a lecture to the Duolingo cohort. They will remain in residence at the STUDIO through March 17th.

This workshop is made possible in part by Duolingo. Join KST and the artists on Saturday, March 11 at 3:00pm at KST’s Alloy Studios, 5530 Penn Ave. Tickets are Pay What Moves You, $0 – $25. For full season details, KST COVID policy updates, and tickets, go to kelly-strayhorn.org.

Access the pdf HERE

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Dorothy R. Santos is a Ph.D. candidate in Film and Digital Media at the University of California, Santa Cruz as a Eugene V. Cota-Robles fellow. She received her Master’s degree in Visual and CriticalStudies at the California College of the Arts and holds Bachelor’s degrees in Philosophy and Psychology from the University of San Francisco. Her work has been exhibited at Ars Electronica, Rewire Festival, Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and the GLBT Historical Society. Her writing appears in art21, Art in America, Ars Technica, Hyperallergic, Rhizome, Slate, and Vice Motherboard. Her essay “Materiality to Machines: Manufacturing the Organic and Hypotheses for Future Imaginings,” was published in The Routledge Companion to Biology in Art and Architecture. She is a co-founder of REFRESH, a politically-engaged art and curatorial collective and serves as the Executive Director for the Processing Foundation. In 2022, she received the mozilla Creative Media Award for her interactive, docu-poetics work The Cyborg’s Prosody (2022). She serves as an advisory board member for POWRPLNT, slash arts, and House of Alegria.

Adrian Jones is a Pittsburgh-based artist, historian, community organizer, and creative technologist. His practice is shaped by a commitment to those living in society’s margins. After earning a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Harvard University, his work in software development led him towards exploring the power of speculative imagination and intergenerational storytelling within digital spaces. Currently he is developing Looking Glass, an app-based archive of Black life in Pittsburgh. In January 2023, he was named Logic School’s inaugural Community Technologist.

ABOUT KELLY STRAYHORN THEATER

Named after 20th century entertainment legends Gene Kelly and Billy Strayhorn, both natives of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kelly Strayhorn Theater (KST) is reflective of the passion that its founders had for the arts. Today,  Kelly Strayhorn Theater carries on the legacy of its founders by fostering bold and innovative artistry with a global perspective. KST celebrates diversity in voice, thought, and expression, and upholds a firm commitment to inclusion. Furthermore, KST provides a safe and welcome space for dialogue and artistic expression for all who enter.

Kelly Strayhorn Theater has a dynamic footprint in Pittsburgh, with two venues running along Penn Avenue. KST’s Alloy Studios is a cultural hub in the heart of East Liberty, and the historic Kelly Strayhorn Theater is located in the thriving business district. More than 20 years after the founding of the theater, KST continues to use its broad reach to impact the contemporary arts and the community.

ABOUT THE FRANK RATCHYE STUDIO FOR CREATIVE INQUIRY

The Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry at Carnegie Mellon University is a laboratory for atypical, transdisciplinary, and inter-institutional research at the intersections of arts, science, technology and culture. Founded in 1989 within the College of Fine Arts at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), the STUDIO serves as a locus for hybrid enterprises on the CMU campus, the Pittsburgh region, and internationally. As a venue, a classroom, a laboratory and a commons the STUDIO boasts more than three decades of experience hosting interdisciplinary artists in an environment enriched by world-class science and engineering departments.

The Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry is a flexible laboratory for new modes of arts research, production and presentation. Through its research, residency and public programming, the STUDIO provides opportunities for learning, dialogue and production that lead to innovative breakthroughs, new policies, and the redefinition of the role of artists in a quickly changing world. The STUDIO’s general operating hours are 9 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday with extended open hours until 10 pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays while STUDIO monitors are on duty. The STUDIO is closed T/Th from 1:30 pm until 4:15 pm due to course instruction in the space, as well as 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm on Mondays for staff meetings.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: KST Presents Dwayne Fulton with Anita Levels

Published: January 23, 2023

R.E.S.P.E.C.T. An Aretha Franklin Tribute Concert 

EAST LIBERTY, PA — Kelly Strayhorn Theater brings together multi-faceted performer Dwayne Fulton and iconic vocalist Anita Levels for R.E.S.P.E.C.T., An Aretha Franklin Tribute Concert on Saturday, February 11th at 8:00pm. One year ago, Fulton and his team of Pittsburgh musicians rocked the foundations of KST and heated up the Valentine’s Day weekend with their Prince tribute, When Doves Cry. This year, the performance will honor the Queen of Soul, Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree, and the first woman to be entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Aretha Franklin.

Franklin’s name is synonymous with virtuosity, vocal power, and musical genius. The artist, who was born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1942 and died in Detroit in 2018, began her prodigious musical career as a child singing in her Father’s Baptist Ministry. By the time of her passing, Franklin had amassed 112 charted singles on the US Billboard charts and 18 Grammy awards out of a staggering 44 nominations. Audience members of R.E.S.P.E.C.T., An Aretha Franklin Tribute Concert can expect to hear many of Franklin’s most well-known hits, including Think, Chain of Fools, Son of a Preacher Man, I Say A Little Prayer For You, Natural Woman, Rock Steady, and of course, R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

Dwayne Fulton is a native of Pittsburgh with a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Pittsburgh and three decades of musical and theatrical performances under his belt. He has composed multiple operas, accompanied greats such as Sean Jones, and has won numerous awards for his work. Like Franklin, Fulton’s musical career is informed by the Gospel tradition and underpinned by acts of service to his community — from counseling troubled youth and families to working with academic institutions such as The University of Pittsburgh and St. Vincent College. Fulton mentors young musicians, songwriters, and actors in the Pittsburgh area. Notably, since 2002 Fulton has served as the Minister of Music/Director of Fine Arts at Mount Ararat Baptist Church, the largest church in the Pittsburgh area and western Pennsylvania serving over 8,000 members. To quote Fulton, “The world is longing for music and creative arts that speaks to the total man; body, soul, and spirit.”

R.E.S.P.E.C.T. An Aretha Franklin Tribute Concert brings together some of Pittsburgh’s finest musicians. The ten-piece ensemble includes featured vocalist Anita Levels, whose vocal renown is well-known in Pittsburgh and beyond. The group also features  keyboardist Chuck Anderson, guitarist Gary Howard, bassist John Hall, saxophonist Lou Harris, and drummer Alex Hines, along with supporting vocalists Krystyn Kirkland, Keesha Sheffey, and Timothy Woodruff.

Prior to the concert, be sure to come by the KST lobby beginning at 6:00pm for the opening of the newest exhibition in the BOOM Gallery, Neighbor to Neighbor. Curated by DS Kinsel, the show features the work of Takara Canty, Sophia Fang, atiya jones, Maggie Negrete, Jameelah Platt, and Danielle Robinson, who have created a beautiful community landscape by bringing together works that visualize ideas around active neighboring. The works are inspired by the KST space, the institution, the building, the neighborhood, the city of Pittsburgh, and the neighbors all around us. Bringing together a diverse range of visual strategies, Neighbor to Neighbor includes text, collage, portrait, dynamic pattern, and abstract mapping styles.

Join KST and the artists on a rock-and-roll journey down the road of Aretha Franklin’s greatest hits on Saturday, February 11 at 8:00PM at Kelly Strayhorn Theater, 5941 Penn Ave. Tickets are Pay What Moves You, $25 – $40 (All tickets general admission). For full season details, KST COVID policy updates, and tickets, go to kelly-strayhorn.org.

Access the PDF HERE

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

With over 30 years of Theatre and Musical Performance, Dwayne Fulton fully understands the power and influence of music and the arts. He is the founder and Chief Executive of Kingdom People Productions, inc. (‘99) and The SouLyfe Cafe (‘03). Dwayne Fulton is a native of Pittsburgh with a Bachelors degree in Sociology from the University of Pittsburgh. Notably, since 2002 Fulton has served as the Minister of Music/Director of Fine Arts at Mount Ararat Baptist Church. Dwayne is an accomplished pianist whose musical career spans decades. Fulton has had the honor of accompanying such great musicians as Grover Washington, Jr., Roger Humphries, Sean Jones, and Nathan Davis. He has shared the stage greats such as: Keith Sweat, Guy, Fred Hammond, Bobby Jones, Kirk Franklin, The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Michael Buble’. In 2011, he was hired as the Musical Director for the Opera Gospel at Colonus with the Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh; and in 2012 he composed his first opera short for the Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh’s Summer Festival, Bridal Suite. In 2013, he composed his second opera short The Mayoral Suite also for the Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh. In 2017, Fulton composed his first full length Opera with the Pittsburgh Festival Opera Theatre, A Gathering of Sons. This production was met with such success that it was filmed and shown nationally on PBS four times in 2018. This production also won a Bronze medal in the 2019 New York Festivals and International TV & Film Awards presented at the NAB show in Las Vegas, NV. In December of 2018, Dwayne composed his second full length Opera with the Trilogy Opera Company of Newark, NJ. Titled Scott, Garner, Gray, says Jimmy Baldwin, the opera was performed to a full house at the beautiful NJPAC Theatre in New Jersey. Fulton recently completed composing scene and background music for a production in Pittsburgh called Savior Samuel with the Pittsburgh Playwright Company.

Anita Levels is a vocal artist, voice influencer, songwriter and producer who began singing at the age of 3 years old in Frankfurt, West Germany. Texas-born, being a preacher’s kid, and a member of a musical family from New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A, singing and performance are in her blood. Anita’s powerhouse, soulful, but lark-like vocals have graced national and international audiences. She has performed in London, England, has toured the country of Holland with world renowned ethnomusicologist, Dr. Portia Maultsby,  was featured in the NFL’s Super Bowl 50 commemorative commercial, has appeared in the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, and has performed in many, many other private, public and virtual events. Ms. Levels has a plethora of original music on all streaming music platforms and enjoys sharing the history and influence of Black American music on world and American culture. Anita Levels, MS, has a Masters Degree in Training and Development from Carlow University (Pittsburgh, PA, USA) and believes that instrumentation and the voice have the innate ability to vibrate truth, healing and thought. Anita’s more recent venture is, Corn and Potatoes Are Good For You, a podcast exploring the soul’s journey through all things spiritual and sensual. She will always be the Mother of two magical daughters, put clorox in her water, powder her sheets, season her vittles, sing, laugh and cultivate spaces for communication and thought.

For full season details, KST COVID policy updates, and tickets, go to kelly-strayhorn.org. 

ABOUT KELLY STRAYHORN THEATER

Named after 20th century entertainment legends Gene Kelly and Billy Strayhorn, both natives of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kelly Strayhorn Theater (KST) is reflective of the passion that its founders had for the arts. Today,  Kelly Strayhorn Theater carries on the legacy of its founders by fostering bold and innovative artistry with a global perspective. KST celebrates diversity in voice, thought, and expression, and upholds a firm commitment to inclusion. Furthermore, KST provides a safe and welcome space for dialogue and artistic expression for all who enter. Kelly Strayhorn Theater has a dynamic footprint in Pittsburgh, with two venues running along Penn Avenue. KST’s Alloy Studios is a cultural hub in the heart of East Liberty, and the historic Kelly Strayhorn Theater is located in the thriving business district. More than 20 years after the founding of the theater, KST continues to use its broad reach to impact the contemporary arts and the community.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: KST Presents: Neighbor to Neighbor

EAST LIBERTY, PA — Kelly Strayhorn Theater presents Neighbor to Neighbor, a visual art exhibition held in the historic KST lobby from Saturday, February 11 through Saturday, May 27, 2023. The opening will be held on Saturday, February 11 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. Presented in collaboration with BOOM Concepts, Neighbor to Neighbor challenges viewers to consider the possibilities around equitable, active neighboring. The participating artists, Takara Canty, Sophia Fang, atiya jones, Maggie Negrete, Jameelah Platt, and Danielle Robinson, have created a beautiful community landscape by bringing together works that visualize ideas around active neighboring. The works are inspired by the KST space, the institution, the building, the neighborhood, the city of Pittsburgh, and the neighbors all around us. Bringing together a diverse range of visual strategies, Neighbor to Neighbor includes text, collage, portrait, dynamic pattern, and abstract mapping styles.  

Neighbor to Neighbor considers the fact that all people are neighbors in the sense that everyone exists and grows nearby, adjacent, and close to each other — ideally thriving in the world together. It is impossible not to engage in the identity or act of the neighbor if you are existing here, now, in this world. In another, more literal and localized sense, “neighbors” are the participants in the ecosystem that is the neighborhood. The goal of a neighborhood (to reach a positive and healthy state) relies on the collective ability and intention of each person within it — the health of the neighborhood is a reflection of each neighbor’s ability to empathize with, engage, and help each other. Encouraging the existence and growth of the other — your neighbor — and understanding how that encouragement can bring benefit back to the individual, is the keystone of an equitable neighborhood: It is the conviction that we can all grow together, with each other, without holding each other back. 

“I believe equitable, active neighboring is creating space to have all take part in business, social, and entertainment aspects of community. Acknowledging people’s basic rights to impact and help shape what is happening in a neighborhood, and setting up scaffolded opportunities for that to happen. For individuals and organizations alike, it is simple acts of kindness and leadership that encourage a positive and improved quality of life.” 

 — DS Kinsel, BOOM Concepts 

This exhibition occurs at a vital moment in the story of KST’s neighborhood, East Liberty, whose “health” is too-often measured along the lonely axis of economic growth. What happens when we check-up on our neighborhood from a different perspective? When we ask: Do I know my neighbors’ names? How do I extend care to them? How can we better rely on each other? — the answers reveal a far more complete picture of a community’s health than the number of new developments or hip restaurants along the main street. So, what can we each do to build stronger, more equitable neighborhoods? 

“Day to day, this means a variety of actions and engagements that always consist of somebody sacrificing or donating knowledge, time, or money. It looks as simple as free tax services, shoveling snow for neighbors, childcare scholarships, youth sports coaches, businesses hosting community celebrations, mutual aid initiatives, clean green spaces, and contracting local creative talent across expertise.”

 — DS Kinsel, BOOM Concepts 

For full season details, KST COVID policy updates, and tickets, go to kelly-strayhorn.org. 

Access the PDF HERE

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Takara Canty is a classically trained visual artist from Garfield Heights in Pittsburgh PA. From adolescence the artist has been creating and collaborating. Canty’s art is largely inspired by prominent artists like Frida Kahlo. Canty studied studio art in college, but working in traditional studio art class environments shrank her potential. Just a few credits shy of graduation, Canty decided to drop out and pursue art her way. For ten years, Canty has taught at-risk children in the Homewood, Hill District, Garfield, and Braddock neighborhoods where she workshops, tags, and paints. The artist has curated adult painting classes, painted murals, installed mosaic pieces on buildings all while raising her kids. Canty has worked with nationally known artists including George Gist, Therman Statman and James Simon, and has exhibited with Boom Gallery in Pittsburgh, PA.

Sophia Fang is a startup marketer by trade, a creative dabbler by nature, and a social impact creator by purpose—all towards the artist’s personal mission to build vibrancy in her community. 

With a passion for empowering local entrepreneurs, makers, and creators, Fang is an MBA candidate at Stanford Graduate School of Business as a ROMBA Fellow, a Commissioner on the Seattle Arts Commission, and a Venture For America alumni fellow. The artist finds joy in beautifying public spaces in her Seattle hometown and the Rust Belt. As an artist, she has always wondered what it means to exist — in relationship to the self, to others, and to the spaces and communities that we claim and claim us. Her murals combine whimsy and community joy to celebrate small businesses, immigrant placemaking, and food diasporas. Her work is represented at love, Pittsburgh, Heinz History Center Museum Shop, Adda Coffee & Tea, or her online shop. Fang graduated in 2018 from Pomona College, where she double majored in Economics & Digital Media Studies.

atiya jones is a multidisciplinary artist exploring themes of human connection, gentrification, migration and isolation. Visually, she depicts the effects of accumulative action/community through her WildLines. jones utilizes her artwork and any subsequent press to create and hold discourse centering her Black experience as an artist, woman, transplant, and wanderer. The artist is also CEO of TWELVE\TWENTY STUDIO, est. 2017. Jones believes that art is and should be everywhere, and she used this impetus to offer affordable work. jones’s sites have included Crown Barbershop, Fieldwork Gallery, The Carnegie Museum of Art in the group show, Locally Sourced, Trace Brewery, Tryp Hotel and Knotzland.Clients include Pantene Pro-V and Head & Shoulders, Old Blood Noise Endeavors, and restaurants The Vandal and Speedy Romeo (NY). jones hails from Brooklyn, NY and has been a Pittsburgh resident and artistic community contributor since 2016. Jones has participated in residencies in Rochester, NY, Grand Rapids, MI and Pittsburgh, PA.

Maggie Lynn Negrete is a storyteller specializing in illustration, zines and educating all ages about ecosystems from gardens to astrology. Negrete is the Art Director for Women in Sound and is a member of the #notwhite Collective. Negrete’s visual art focuses on hand lettering, portraiture, technical illustrations and radial designs for freelance clientele and for individual merchandise under the brand La Mama Magia. Negrete is a Pittsburgh resident and Vassar college alumni with over ten years of experience teaching in out of school settings. Her work explores femininity, community, and the occult with aesthetics influenced by 19/20th century illustration, psychedelia and a heritage of printers.

A proud Pittsburgh native, Jameelah Platt trained in Fine Art at the University of Art in Philadelphia Pa. Platt’s work seeks out the anecdotes and fables of people of color, to reanimate the familiar narratives we are told and experience as children. Her goal is to to translate the nostalgic moments that we can mutually acknowledge and embrace as a community through the language of gestures and movement with the human figure.Her studio practice is driven by her interest in the art of story-telling, color, art history, assemblage and the decorative adornment of objects, spaces and people. She is currently a member of The Coloured Section Artist Collective and an artist in residence with the BrewHouse Association’s Distillery Emerging artist Residency.

Danielle Robinson is a Pittsburgh-based artist who graduated from CAPA, and attended both Columbus College of Art and Design and The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. A resident of Garfield, Robinson often collaborates with other local artists and musicians. Her main subjects are Black women and animals, rendered as goddesses, beasts, and super heroes. Her work takes graffiti with art deco and African art as its origin points, which she combines towards innovative new styles.

ABOUT BOOM CONCEPTS

BOOM Concepts is a creative hub dedicated to the advancement of Black, Brown, queer and femme artists. BOOM Concepts is located in Pittsburgh and since 2014 has curated 50 exhibitions on-site, paid out over $100k in artists fees and produced 200+ events across the country. BOOM Concepts serves as a space for field building, knowledge sharing, mentorship, and storytelling. In its 9th year, BOOM Concepts continues to work with creatives to find innovative strategies around entrepreneurship and artistic practice. In 2021, BOOM Concepts was selected to represent Pittsburgh for the Google Arts & Culture platform and was identified as an American Cultural Treasure through The Heinz Endowments and The Ford Foundation.

ABOUT THE CURATOR

DS Kinsel is an award winning creative entrepreneur and cultural agitator. He expresses his creativity through the mediums of painting, printmaking, collage, installation, curating,  performance and public art. Kinsel’s work puts focus on themes of space keeping, urban tradition, hip-hop, informalism and cultural re-appropriation.  A former AmeriCorps Public Ally member, D.S. has also been recognized as an Awardee of the Pittsburgh Courier Fab 40, Pittsburgh Magazine PUMP 40 Under 40, Pgh Tech Council Creative of The Year,  the Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s “Top Ten People To Meet in 2016” and the Incline’s “Who’s Next” for 2018.  D.S has served as a board member of Pittsburgh Center for Creative REuse and the Black Transformative Arts Network.  Kinsel currently serves on the advisory board for Shady Lane School, PearlArts Studios, and the Artist Communities Alliance.

ABOUT KELLY STRAYHORN THEATER

Named after 20th century entertainment legends Gene Kelly and Billy Strayhorn, both natives of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kelly Strayhorn Theater (KST) is reflective of the passion that its founders had for the arts. Today,  Kelly Strayhorn Theater carries on the legacy of its founders by fostering bold and innovative artistry with a global perspective. KST celebrates diversity in voice, thought, and expression, and upholds a firm commitment to inclusion. Furthermore, KST provides a safe and welcome space for dialogue and artistic expression for all who enter.

Kelly Strayhorn Theater has a dynamic footprint in Pittsburgh, with two venues running along Penn Avenue. KST’s Alloy Studios is a cultural hub in the heart of East Liberty, and the historic Kelly Strayhorn Theater is located in the thriving business district. More than 20 years after the founding of the theater, KST continues to use its broad reach to impact the contemporary arts and the community.

Owning Our Future. Thriving Where we Live. Sharing Pittsburgh with the World.

Kelly Strayhorn Theater brings Adil Mansoor’s Amm(i)gone to New York City. January 12-14, 2023!

EAST LIBERTY, PA — As part of its recently released Owning Our Future, Thriving Where We Live strategic direction, Kelly Strayhorn Theater is thrilled to announce a special New York City presentation of theater artist Adil Mansoor’s solo performance work Amm(i)gone, Thursday and Friday, January 12-13 at 8:00pm and Saturday, January 14, 2023 at 11:00am. Performances are presented in collaboration with The Performance Project @ University Settlement and take place in Speyer Hall at University Settlement’s 184 Eldridge Street flagship building on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Tickets are sold at a Pay What Moves You sliding scale from $20 – $35.

Amm(i)gone, an adaptation of Sophocles’ Antigone, is an apology to and from a mother. Creator and performer Adil Mansoor explores queerness, the afterlife, and obligation using canonical texts, teachings from the Quran, and audio conversations between him and his mother.

KST co-commissioned Amm(i)gone in collaboration with The Theater Offensive in Boston, MA and the National Performance Network in New Orleans, LA and began developing the work with Mansoor in 2019. KST presented Amm(i)gone for a two-week run at KST’s Alloy Studios in April 2021 and remounted the work for the Theater Communications Group conference in a special co-presentation with The Andy Warhol Museum in June 2021. Now, in bringing the piece to New York during the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) conference, KST hopes to extend the life of the project with new engagements around the US and internationally.

KST Executive Director, Joseph Hall elaborates…

“Owning our Future. Thriving Where We Live is about reaffirming KST’s position as a Black and queer centered organization, and building a future that includes a more concrete foundation for our vision. We will accomplish that through a number of strategies related to our spaces, our capacity, our money, and our story. Adil exemplifies the type of artist who KST strives to support. In bringing Amm(i)gone to New York City during APAP, we are telling our story to our national and international colleagues and creating an opportunity for exposure that most Pittsburgh based artists don’t get to experience.”

KST Programming Director, Ben Pryor expands…

“In the decade prior to my tenure at KST I created and directed American Realness, a festival of contemporary performance in New York that coincided with APAP conference. The festival annually welcomed over 200 performing arts professionals from 16 countries and 22 American cities and served as a launch pad for new national and international touring opportunities for the artists presented. Our goal in bringing Amm(i)gone to NYC is to have it seen by colleagues who can extend the life of the work with future presentations at their institutions around the world.”

theater artist Adil Mansoor adds…

“I am delighted to be able to share my work in this professional context. Kelly Strayhorn Theater has encouraged me, affirmed me, challenged me, supported me, and welcomed me home. I will never have enough words to express what this place has meant for me and my life.”

Thursday and Friday evening performances will be followed by a small reception for attendees. These performances are not open for critical review, however interviews or other stories about the work, the artist, and Kelly Strayhorn Theater are welcome. Speyer Hall at University Settlement is ADA accessible and Kelly Strayhorn Theater is happy to further address any accommodations that will enrich your visit. Please reach out to our Box Office team in advance of your visit: 412.363.3000 x213 or boxoffice@kelly-strayhorn.org to let us know.

ABOUT AMM(I)GONE
Since discovering his queerness, Mansoor’s mother has turned towards her faith in an attempt to save her son in the afterlife. In an effort towards healing, Mansoor has invited his mother to join him as dramaturg and co-conspirator. In reading, discussing, and translating various adaptations of the source play, together they mine Greek tragedy, Islamic traditions, and their own memories to create an original performance locating love across faith. Can prayer substantiate care? Can care manifest as artistic methodology and inquiry? Can Mansoor and his mother contend with Antigone’s fate?

Artistic and Production Team:
Creator and Performer: Adil Mansoor
Media Systems Designer: Joseph Amodei
Projections Designer: Davine Byon
Assistant Director and Administrative Support: Pria Dahiya
Co-Director: Lyam B. Gabel
Stage Manager: Leslie Huynh
Sound Designer: Aaron Landgraf
Video Designer: Bleue Liverpool
Scenic / Lights: Xotchil Alyss Musser

“Alif Lam Meem”
Co-composed by Shahzad Ismaily and Aya Abdelaziz
Vocals by Aya Abdelaziz
Arranged by Aaron Langraf

Developed with:
Creative Consultant: Sharlene Bamboat
Slide Film Consultant: Caldwell Linker
Translation Consultant: Ned Moore
Video Narration: Abid Mansoor and Luke Niebler
Photo Embroidery: Rebecca Harrison
In-process Stage Manager: Pixie Colbert
Virtual In-process Stage Manager: Ferdinand Moscat
Virtual In-process Board Operator: Erin Roussel

Amm(i)gone is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation & Development Fund Project co-commissioned by Kelly Strayhorn Theater in partnership with The Theater Offensive and NPN/VAN. The Creation & Development Fund is supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency). For more information, visit www.npnweb.org. Amm(i)gone is additionally supported by the Frank-Ratchye Fund for Art @ the Frontier; the Point Foundation’s Andrew A. Isen Internship; The Heinz Endowments’ Small Arts Initiative; Opportunity Fund; PNC Charitable Trust; A. W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation; Arts, Equity, Reimagined Fund; and Dreams of Hope.

ABOUT ADIL MANSOOR 
Adil Mansoor is a theatre maker and educator centering the stories of queer folks and people of color. He has developed new work with New York Theatre Workshop, New Dramatists, The Poetry Project, Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, Kelly Strayhorn Theater, The Theater Offensive, NYU Tisch, and PearlArts Studios.

In addition to his own practice, Mansoor also directs new and contemporary plays including “Daddies” by Paul Kruse (Audible), “Gloria” by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (Hatch), “Kentucky” by Leah Nanako Winkler (Pittsburgh Playhouse), and “Plano” by Will Arbery (Quantum). Mansoor is a founding member of Pittsburgh’s Hatch Arts Collective and the former Artistic Director of Dreams of Hope, an LGBTQA+ youth arts organization. As an educator, he has worked with Sarah Lawrence, Middlebury College, The Mori Art Museum, The Warhol and others.

Mansoor has been an NYTW 2050 Directing Fellow, a Gerri Kay New Voices Fellow with Quantum Theater, and an Art of Practice Fellow and Community Leader with Sundance. He was part of the inaugural Artist Caucus gathered by Baltimore Center Stage, Long Wharf, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, and Woolly Mammoth. Mansoor received his MFA in Directing from Carnegie Mellon. adilmansoor.com

ABOUT KELLY STRAYHORN THEATER 
KST is a home for creative experimentation, community dialogue, and collective action rooted in the liberation of Black and queer people. We welcome our home to all who uplift Black, Indigenous, people of color, and queer voices. We will continue centering historically resilient folks. We focus our services on Black women, LGBTQIA+, People of color, and emerging artists. kelly-strayhorn.org

ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE PROJECT @ UNIVERSITY SETTLEMENT 
The Performance Project @ University Settlement engages young local artists and emerging professional artists with opportunities to connect, create and publicly present new work. Our neighborhoods have no shortage of creative leaders from all walks of life, at every stage in their development. The shortage lies in the opportunities available. This is where we are excited and ready to support these leaders. universitysettlement.org/programs/arts/performance-project/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: KST Announces Winter/Spring 2023 Season

What you want            Baby, I got
What you need            Do you know I got it?
All I’m askin’
 
Is for a little respect when you come home

– Aretha Franklin, R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

EAST LIBERTY, PA — As the winter months roll into Pittsburgh, Kelly Strayhorn Theater announces a season of programming to gather us and warm the spirit. The Winter/Spring 2023 KST Presents season continues to be a home for celebrating the Soul of East Liberty. Guided by our recently released strategic direction, “Owning Our Future. Thriving Where We Live.” KST is welcoming the new year with bold programming and renewed vision. We are determined to own our future and remain a home where artists and Pittsburgh residents of all backgrounds can thrive. 

KST begins the Winter/Spring Season with two staples of Youth & Family Programming: On January 16th, The Audacity to Believe, an MLK day Celebration reflects joyfully on the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Then, The Alloy School Open House kicks off February 4 with a free survey of KST’s weekly dance classes, followed by an eight week class session and celebratory Let’s Move Family Dance Party!

Our Community Partnerships this season will bring a Black Culinary Excellence from documentarian and Exposure Fellow Chris Ivey to KST. On February 4, four local chefs will present their artistry, followed by a moderated discussion with legendary Steeler and restaurateur Franco Harris. Our second community partnership on March 11 centers writers Dorothy Santos & Adrian Jones with a workshop co-hosted by The Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry.

Boundary-pushing new Freshworks performances will come to KST’s Alloy Studios in April and May. Choreographer Nick M. Daniels presents the globally-inspired Nonsensical search for truth and understanding, while B Kleymeyer uplifts Pittsburgh’s trans community and celebrates every part of transition with I’m not done with this body (and I never will be). 

This season’s Local & Global Performance offerings include contemporary works of music, dance, and theater—Something for everyone! First, Dwayne Fulton returns to KST on February 11 with R.E.S.P.E.C.T., a celebration of soul music to soothe our spirits. Carrying on this musical momentum, on March 18 KST presents the annual Sunstar Festival: Women & Music, this year co-curated by the SCALE Fellowship Program. 

From April 12-15, KST welcomes choreographer and 2020 Guggenheim fellow Shamel Pitts back to Pittsburgh with a Welcome Dinner and Artist Talk, Gaga Dance Workshop, and the Pittsburgh premiere of BLACK HOLE, an evening-length multi-media performance work that is a journey in movement through an evocative soundscape. Our Local & Global Performance program closes with Or Forever Hold Your Peace, a performance from Pittsburgh’s Big Storm with big dance numbers and even bigger laughs. 

This Winter/Spring season, KST mutual Aid residents PearlArts are looking forward to bringing CIRCLES: going in, a work debuted with KST at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, Pittsburgh, on tour to The Dance Center at Columbia College Chicago on February 23. At home at KST’s Alloy Studios, PearlArts brings a full class season, with Open Company Dance Classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. For experienced dancers, 20 weeks of Adult Dance Clubs will begin on January 18 and run through the end of May. PearlWatch/Charrette is back on March 24, showcasing new and unseen dance-for-camera and live choreography in different stages of development. The process becomes the performance in this incubator series, which is followed by a discussion and response from a panel of multidisciplinary artists. Finally, on May 12, PearlArts share an evening of multi-disciplinary and collaborative explorations with INTERIM: Props Prompts Play.

Finally, throughout this season of programming, visit the KST lobby for a new visual art exhibition from BOOM Gallery, Neighbor to Neighbor, featuring Takara Canty, Sophia Fang, atiya jones, Maggie Negrete, Jameelah Platt, Danielle Robinson , which will run from January 19 through May 27.

Kelly Strayhorn Theater is a home where we respect and uphold each other. This Winter/Spring, join us in uplifting creative experimentation, community dialogue, and collective action rooted in the liberation of Black and queer people. 

For full season details, KST COVID policy updates, and tickets, go to kelly-strayhorn.org.

Joseph Hall, Executive Director

For information on our COVID-19 policy and protocols, please visit this page.

DANCE | MUSIC | PERFORMANCE | COMMUNITY
The Audacity to Believe
A MLK Day Celebration

Monday, January 16
12:00pm – 3:00pm

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

Click here to learn more…

DANCE | COMMUNITY
The Alloy School  
Winter/Spring Eight-Week Session

Saturday, February 4 – April 8
10:00am – 1:00pm

KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $10/class for full session; $12.50/drop-in

Click here to learn more…

COMMUNITY | FOOD | DISCOURSE
Black Culinary Excellence 
Rander Thompson and Becky Cowan, Jackie Page, and Asante Samuels

Saturday, February 4
12:00pm – 3:00pm 

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

Click here to learn more…

VISUAL ART
Neighbor to Neighbor 
Takara Canty, Sophia Fang, atiya jones, Maggie Negrete, Jameelah Platt, Danielle Robinson

Saturday, February 11 – Saturday, May 27
Opening Reception: Saturday, February 11, 6:00pm 

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

Click here to learn more…

MUSIC | PERFORMANCE
Dwayne Fulton with Anita Levels
R.E.S.P.E.C.T. An Aretha Franklin Tribute Concert 

Saturday, February 11
8:00pm

Kelly Strayhorn Theater | 5941 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $15 – $35

Click here to learn more…

MUSIC | DANCE | PERFORMANCE
Synchronized with Soy Sos 
Featuring Guest Artists

Friday, February 24
8:00pm

KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $10 – $25

Click here to learn more…

WRITING | WORKSHOP
Dorothy R. Santos & Adrian Jones 
Docu-poetics and Creative (Flash) Non-Fiction Writing
Co-Presented with Frank-Ritchy The STUDIO for Creative Inquiry

Saturday, March 11
3:00pm – 5:00pm 

KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $10 – $25

Click here to learn more…

MUSIC | PERFORMANCE
Sunstar Festival 
Women & Music
Curated in partnership with the SCALE Fellowship Program

Saturday, March 18
8:00pm 

Kelly Strayhorn Theater | 5941 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $15 – $35

Click here to learn more…

DANCE | PERFORMANCE | FILM
PearlWatch / charrette 
Performance & Dance for Camera

Friday, March 24 
8:00pm 

KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $10 – $25

Click here to learn more…

DANCE | THEATER
Freshworks: Nick M. Daniels
Nonsensical search for truth and understanding

Friday & Saturday, April 7 – 8
8:00pm 

KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $10 – $25

Click here to learn more…

DANCE | COMMUNITY
Welcome Dinner & Artist Talk 
with Shamel Pitts | TRIBE

Tuesday, April 11
7:00pm

KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $10 – $25

Click here to learn more…

DANCE | WORKSHOP
GAGA Movement Session 
with Shamel Pitts
Co-Presented with PearlArts

Wednesday, April 12
9:00am – 10:15am

KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $10 – $25

Click here to learn more…

DANCE | PERFORMANCE
Shamel Pitts | TRIBE 
BLACK HOLE: Trilogy and Triathlon

Friday & Saturday, April 14* – 15
8:00pm 
*Post Performance Discussion with Alisha Wormsley

Kelly Strayhorn Theater | 5941 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $15 – $35

Click here to learn more…

MUSIC | DANCE | PERFORMANCE
Synchronized with Soy Sos 
Featuring Guest Artists

Friday, April 28
8:00pm 

KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $10 – $25

Click here to learn more…

PERFORMANCE  | THEATER
Freshworks: B Kleymeyer
i’m not done with this body (and i never will be)

Friday & Saturday, May 5 – 6
8:00pm 

KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $10 – $25

Click here to learn more…

MUSIC | DANCE | PERFORMANCE
Interim
Props Prompts Play 

Friday, May 12
8:00pm 

KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $10 – $25

Click here to learn more…

THEATER | PERFORMANCE
Big Storm 
Or Forever Hold Your Peace

Friday & Saturday, May 19 – 20
Wednesday – Saturday. May 24 – 27
8:00pm 

KST’s Alloy Studios | 5530 Penn Ave.
Pay What Moves You: $10 – $25

Click here to learn more…

ABOUT KELLY STRAYHORN THEATER

Kelly Strayhorn Theater is a non-profit community performing arts center in East Liberty,  advancing live art through strategic vision and community collaboration with two venues running along Penn Avenue. KST’s Alloy Studios is a cultural hub in the heart of East Liberty, and the historic Kelly Strayhorn Theater is located in the thriving business district. More than 20 years after its founding, KST continues to use its broad reach to impact the contemporary arts and the community. KST’s mission is to be a home for creative experimentation, community dialogue, and collective action rooted in the liberation of Black and queer people. Welcome to The Soul of East Liberty!

Photo Credit:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Kelly Strayhorn Theater Presents Music From the Heart: A Diana Ross Tribute

EAST LIBERTY, PA (November 22, 2022)  — Music From the Heart: A Diana Ross Tribute is a showcase about the songs that bring us together, sung from a uniquely Pittsburgh perspective. KST Fall 2022 Freshworks resident artist Michelle Johnson is a Pittsburgh born-and-raised vocalist whose

 new show weaves the parallels between her own life story and the music of Diana Ross. In doing so, Johnson, who goes by the moniker Mish, reveals a message of love, acceptance, and perseverance that promises to uplift and energize audiences at the beginning of the holiday season. The intimate performance will take place at KST’s Alloy Studios on Friday, December 2nd and Saturday, December 3rd at 8:00pm.. 

Music From the Heart: A Diana Ross Tribute was conceived by Mish as a tribute to her mother and grandmother, the women who raised her and who nurtured her gift for music. For Mish’s grandmother, Diana Ross’s music was a constant, called upon in both good and hard times as a source of healing, energy, and inspiration. When asked about the genesis of  Music From the Heart, Mish explains:

 “I have my grandmother to blame! From a very young age, she turned on the 1979 concert, Diana Ross: Live at Caesar’s Palace, and I was hooked. I remember going over the whole concert, and since that very first concert, I was amazed. I was able to continue studying Ross’s work, I did school reports about her, and I’ve always wanted to perform her.”  — Michelle Johnson

Much has been written about Diana Ross’s accomplishments. Ross rose to fame as the lead singer of The Supremes, who remain the best-charting female group in history, and went on to both musical and acting acclaim as a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. What is less known are the parallels between Ross and Mish’s experiences. Looking back to a 1981 Interview Magazine conversation between Diana Ross and Andy Warhol, Ross reveals that (like Mish) her singing career began at a young age, at home, listening to her mother play popular music of the time:

“I’ve been singing since I was really little. I’m from a singing family, but they’re not professional singers, only gospel—my grandfather was a minister. I started to sing the music that was out then because my mother used to play it all the time. It was the end of the ’50s, the beginning of the ’60s. There was Frankie Lyman and the Teenagers, Etta James…” — Diana Ross 

Perhaps even more striking are Ross and Mish’s shared fierce love and respect for their hometowns. Just as Ross’s musical career began and accelerated with support from her Detroit neighbors (Smokey Robinson among them), Mish credits Pittsburgh with giving her the network of acceptance and support necessary to pursue a singing career. From her colleagues at C.A.P.A. to the vocalists who will join her on the KST stage — Carmen Miller, Delana Flowers, Katy Cotton, Martel Brown, and Jordan Robinson —, the artist speaks generously of her gratitude. Mish is kind enough to extend her thanks to KST as well, expressing of her time as a Freshworks resident: 

“My experience with KST has been life-changing. I wanted my idea, my show, to have a home where people would be open to the possibilities of what it can be, and I found that in KST. I’m very thankful. Between the studio and the theater, I’m like, Oh my Gosh, this is now my new home! I have been able to express, not only the different creative ideas I have, but also be able to share that with my family, my hometown.” — Michelle Johnson

KST presents Music From the Heart: A Diana Ross Tribute on Friday & Saturday, December 2 – 3 at KST’s Alloy Studios, 5530 Penn Ave. For press comps, please contact lizrudnick@kelly-strayhorn.org

ABOUT THE ARTIST 

Mish, who is known off-stage as Miss Michelle Johnson, is a vocalist, songwriter and choreographer whose heart belongs to her hometown, Pittsburgh, PA. The C.A.P.A Middle/High School graduate has taken audiences through a storm of song and style at venues including the Pittsburgh Hard Rock Cafe, The Rex Theater, and The Greer Theater. Mish’s classically trained, soulful vocals incorporate stylistic elements from Aretha Franklin to Beyonce, earning her the moniker, “The Velveteen Voice of Pittsburgh.” Whether she is covering Aretha Franklin classics or original selections, she is at ease in any vocal capacity. Johnson played the role of Motormouth Maybelle in the 2014 CCAC South and 2019 Stage 62 production of Hairspray, and has performed with the renowned Pittsburgh Opera company in Aida. She has opened for pop superstars Nick Jonas (2015) and Ke$ha (2018). In 2019 and 2022 Johnson was a featured singer for Broadway Meets Motown at The Strand Theater. Mish shows involve extraordinary live vocals, vivacious hand-made, red carpet worthy costumes. Most recently, Johnson appears as the dynamic, hilarious, host and producer of her homegrown local TV talk show ‘The Mish Connection’ on Pittsburgh’s PCTV.

ABOUT KELLY STRAYHORN THEATER

Named after 20th century entertainment legends Gene Kelly and Billy Strayhorn, both natives of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Kelly Strayhorn Theater (KST) is reflective of the passion that its founders had for the arts. Today,  Kelly Strayhorn Theater carries on the legacy of its founders by fostering bold and innovative artistry with a global perspective. KST celebrates diversity in voice, thought, and expression, and upholds a firm commitment to inclusion. Furthermore, KST provides a safe and welcome space for dialogue and artistic expression for all who enter.

Kelly Strayhorn Theater has a dynamic footprint in Pittsburgh, with two venues running along Penn Avenue. KST’s Alloy Studios is a cultural hub in the heart of East Liberty, and the historic Kelly Strayhorn Theater is located in the thriving business district. More than 20 years after the founding of the theater, KST continues to use its broad reach to impact the contemporary arts and the community. KST’s mission is to be a home for creative experimentation, community dialogue, and collective action rooted in the liberation of Black and queer people.

Owning Our Future. Thriving Where We Live.

At the height of the pandemic, KST staff, board members, artists, and community members came together to reflect on the impact KST has made in our community and to imagine the impact KST will have 100 years from now. We envisioned KST as a national cultural destination, a brave and creative home for bold voices, owned by a Black Cultural Trust. Huddled around the Zoom screen, we recognized that the future of our organization hinges on our ability to strategically plan for the next three pivotal years. Owning our Future. Thriving Where We Live. sets forth KST’s path toward ownership, sustainability, and making this vision a reality.

Our plan has four pillars — four interconnected priorities for realizing our goals: Our Story, Our Space, Our Capacity, and Our Money.

Our Story guides KST’s strategic communications so regional and national audiences understand, share, and stand in support of major KST initiatives. The story of KST is not only the story of East Liberty, a Black neighborhood in Pittsburgh that was systematically neglected and is now re-emerging with high rents that push out historic residents. It is a story of so many Black and brown neighborhoods and organizations. Many Black-, Indiginous-, and people of color-led organizations and businesses get the rug pulled out from under their feet in gentrifying neighborhoods because they do not own their spaces. Owning Our Future is OUR story, where OUR represents the plurality of Black communities, the hundreds and thousands of Black-founded and Black-led organizations that want to thrive in a space that is owned by them. We are building for the shared futures of Black people. We want to create a model for other Black-led organizations to claim their impacts and future. And we want to do it together—across the nation.

Our Space means developing and effectuating a plan that anchors KST in East Liberty as a property owner. Currently, KST is renting space in two locations: The main Kelly Strayhorn Theater and KST’s Alloy Studios. The lease on the theater is expiring in seven years, and the lease on KST’s Alloy Studios is ending in three. While we have been in conversations with the property owners about our future in those spaces, it is clear to us that our physical spaces are not guaranteed to stay as they are, and that their loss would possibly erase the KST from the map of East Liberty. We know with the loss of the other neighborhood cultural and social anchors that there’s no history of sustaining Black-led institutions in East-Liberty. We choose to find a pathway to achieving equity and owning our own space. We invite Pittsburgh policymakers to show up and stand in communion with us in ensuring that mistakes of the past, when East Liberty suffered an economic downfall because of urban policies, are not repeated.

Our Capacity means ensuring KST is staffed and resourced sufficiently in order to provide our artists, patrons, and partners with high-quality, thought-provoking experiences. We realize that to effectuate our mission and vision, Kelly Strayhorn Theater needs to ensure that our people — staff — are taken care of, inspired, and equipped to do the work. During the last few years, low compensation, a fast-paced work environment, and long to-do lists have caused burnout and a high staff turnover rate. This, in return, has inhibited KST’s capacity and drained institutional knowledge that propels the organizational systems, culture, and learnings. We plan to grow the team in the upcoming years to meet our capitalization goals and to advance our vision of Owning Our Future. Our strategy includes cost-of-living adjustment salary increases and expanded benefits.

Our Money addresses enhancing our business model in order to generate new earned revenue streams. KST wants to ensure that our organization grows and thrives in fiscally sustainable and generative ways. Like most nonprofit organizations, our revenue could be more diversified. We primarily rely on local philanthropic support, which makes us dependent on a few funders. The lasting reality of COVID-19 has affected in-person revenue opportunities such as rental income, tickets, and merchandise. Our goal is to diversify our contributed income moving forward by building relationships with national philanthropic funders, policymakers, and corporations who share our values.

For KST, ownership is about safeguarding the spaces where we create as a community. Where we care for one another. And where we unapologetically claim our right to possess and present our stories. Our vision represents a collective moment to set brave intentions. For Pittsburgh, our region, and nationally. We must ensure our Black and queer communities have the freedom, ownership, and opportunity to nourish new generations. We must control our futures.

We choose to own our futures.
We choose to thrive where we live. 

We will achieve our vision by working in partnership across sectors with community, allied partners, and You. We are determined to own our future and thrive where we live: Join us.

As you read our strategic plan, imagine where you will fit into this journey. Consider Supporting the mission by adding your voice today.

Add Your Voice