UNEARTHING ~PLUS~ A GIRL IN RAGS at Dixon Place

In Unearthing, an ancient, genderqueer griot sits in a waist-high mound of dirt sourced from an unrecognized burial ground of enslaved Africans in New York City. The griot is both human and spirit; neither man or woman; of the past, present, and future. The audience witnesses the griot transform their body into an alter of protection for Black people – living, deceased, and yet-to-be born. During this ritual performance, the griot covers themselves in dirt, glitter, paint, and rum while unearthing stories of Black queer resistance and liberation.

~PLUS~

A Girl in Rags-a workshop performance-is a first look at a semi-biographical melodrama with performers dancing, singing, fighting, and confronting each other-in and out of character-as they navigate the teenage years of Alexander Paris. With a strong influence by Hilton Al’s novel White Girls and 90’s women of rock such as PJ Harvey and Liz Phair, as well as the art of drag and black face, A Girl in Rags looks into what what it means for teenagers to desire the identities of people that they can never become.