A.R.T.'s Live @ OBERON Continues With Billy Dean Thomas

American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, under the leadership of Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus and Executive Producer Diane Borger, is pleased to announce the next offering in the Live @ OBERON series: Billy Dean Thomas' American Gothic!, at OBERON (2 Arrow Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts) on Friday, November 2 at 10PM (doors at 9:30PM).

Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door, and are currently available online at AmericanRepertoryTheater.org, by phone at 617.547.8300, in person at the Loeb Drama Center Ticket Services Offices (64 Brattle Street, Cambridge), and at OBERON starting at 9PM on November 2.

Like the famous Gordon Parks photograph did in 1942, Billy Dean Thomas redefines what it means to be American Gothic in 2018. Using elements of silent film and storytelling, Thomas showcases unreleased music and videos from important, dark periods of their artistic journey through the darker parts of American history. Come dressed in all black and stick around for a killer set by DJ Rilla Force. A 2018 Boston Foundation Live Arts Boston (LAB) Grant recipient, Thomas is nominated for two 2018 Boston Music Awards.

WBUR's The ARTery says, "[Billy Dean Thomas] is part of a rising class of like-minded Boston emcees, like Oompa and ANSON RAP$, who blend social commentary with musical experimentation. It's a notably LGBTQ-friendly scene-Thomas, self-styled the 'Queer B.I.G.,' uses the pronouns 'they' and 'them'-but what defines this musician is not so much their identity as their vision, which is expansive, intrepid, cloudless."

Billy Dean Thomas is a musician who challenges the hip hop game with lyrics that align with #BlackLivesMatter and intersectional feminism. Their musical career began at age eight, playing congas and participating in an advanced poetry/performance program where they were mentored by Pharoahe Monch, Rosie Perez, and DMC. They were booked twice as a spoken word artist for The 24 Hour Plays on Broadway, performed as a part of the We Wanted A Revolution exhibit at The Brooklyn Museum, and were recently selected as the 2017 Resident Artist at Boston's The Theatre Offensive. Thomas has also just completed their debut album titled Rocky Barboa, which was recorded in Berlin, Paris, and New York City.

The Live @ OBERON concert series brings together an eclectic array of music artists for exceptional original shows that utilize A.R.T.'s club-style theater space for cutting-edge performance.

UPCOMING LIVE @ OBERON DATES

THE SWEETBACK SISTERS' CHRISTMAS COUNTRY SINGALONG SPECTACULAR
December 14 and 15, 2018

The Sweetback Sisters bring the holidays to life with their vaudevillian theatrics reminiscent of TV variety shows from the '50s and '60s, a holiday sing-along, and Christmas trivia.

Spring Live @ OBERON dates to be announced.

ABOUT AMERICAN REPERTORY THEATER

American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University is a leading force in the American theater, producing groundbreaking work in Cambridge and beyond. A.R.T. was founded in 1980 by Robert Brustein, who served as Artistic Director until 2002, when he was succeeded by Robert Woodruff. Diane Paulus began her tenure as Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director in 2008. Under the leadership of Paulus and Executive Producer Diane Borger, A.R.T. seeks to expand the boundaries of theater by producing transformative theatrical experiences, always including the audience as a central partner.

Throughout its history, A.R.T. has been honored with many distinguished awards including the Tony Award for Best New Play for All the Way (2014); consecutive Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Musical for Pippin (2013) and The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess (2012), both of which Paulus directed, and sixteen other Tony Awards since 2012; a Pulitzer Prize; a Jujamcyn Prize for outstanding contribution to the development of creative talent; the Regional Theater Tony Award; and more than 100 Elliot Norton and IRNE Awards.

A.R.T. collaborates with artists around the world to develop and create work in new ways. It is currently engaged in a number of multi-year projects, including a collaboration with Harvard's Center for the Environment that will result in the development of new work over several years. Under Paulus' leadership, the A.R.T.'s club theater, OBERON, has been an incubator for local and emerging artists and has attracted national attention for its innovative programming and business models.

As the professional theater on the campus of Harvard University, the A.R.T. catalyzes discourse, interdisciplinary collaboration, and creative exchange among a wide range of academic departments, institutions, students, and faculty members, acting as a conduit between its community of artists and the university. The A.R.T. has trained generations of theater artists through its Institute for Advanced Theater Training, and also plays a central role in Harvard's undergraduate concentration in Theater, Dance & Media.

Dedicated to making great theater accessible, A.R.T. actively engages more than 5,000 community members and local students annually in project-based partnerships, workshops, conversations with
artists, and other enrichment activities both at the theater and across the Greater Boston area.

Through all of these initiatives, A.R.T. is dedicated to producing world-class performances in which the audience is central to the theatrical experience.

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