Prospect Theater Company Launches VISION Series With THE ANSWER

Prospect Theater Company is launching their VISION Series of original music-theater works available for online streaming with The Answer, Black America's unrequited love letter, a new music video by InnissENT. Written and produced by brothers Charles Inniss and Christopher Inniss, The Answer will premiere on Prospect's YouTube on Friday, August 14th at 7:00pm ET. A behind-the-scenes documentary on the creation of the socially-distanced music video is now available for viewing also on Prospect's YouTube.

Prospect's VISION Series is a new initiative through which the company will continue its mission of creating and presenting original musical theater works by emerging artists, while public gatherings are on pause.

Featuring movement from award-winning choreographer Kristen Brooks Sandler, The Answer spotlights seven dancers of color, J'royce Jata, Jon Joni, Maya Kitayama, Juanita Pearl, Yael Reich, Jamari Johnson Williams, and Imani Youngblood. Sean Dolan was the director of photography for the project.

"Nearly ten years ago we wrote a breakup song that felt almost too personal to release," said Charles Inniss. "Today, our love song is about something much larger. I'm constantly telling America 'I love you, I love you, I love you,' and I'm constantly getting reminders that I'm not loved back."

"Rather than unrequited love in a relationship, now it's about unrequited love for our country," explained Christopher Inniss. "That's something we feel really strongly about, especially talking about our own experience as Americans. People are listening now. I'm glad I'm being elevated, but the truth of the matter is that this 'now' has been my whole life. It's not a fad for me."

"When Chris and Charles came to me with the project, we discussed how to best translate this long-overdue call to action into movement," said Sandler. "In many places, there emerged a list of tasks - you could sign, you could donate, you could protest, you could petition. We discussed this concept with our cast and we used what they shared to create choreography that was the physical embodiment of each dancer's individual activism."

"During this pivotal time for America, it's vital that we continue to uplift new artistic voices," said Prospect's Producing Artistic Director Cara Reichel. "Prospect was thrilled to commission InnissENT and continue supporting this exciting collaborative team, which recently participated in our musical theater lab, as they brought to life an inspiring new musical statement."

Prospect will shortly announce the lineup of additional, short music-theater-on-film projects for its VISION Series, to be released throughout Fall 2020.

For more information on Prospect Theater Company, visit ProspectTheater.org. For more information about InnissENT, visit InnissENT.com.

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