THE TRANS-ATLANTIC TIME TRAVELING COMPANY Comes to Theater Alliance This Month

The penultimate production in Theater Alliance’s 21st Season, The Trans-Atlantic Time Traveling Company marks the final phase of a new play development process many years in the making. Created and written by celebrated DC artist Holly Bass, the devised play expands upon an earlier version first performed in a workshop setting in 2018. 

The production, which goes into previews on Feb. 28 and runs through March 17, follows three time-traveling medicine women working to combat a mysterious illness. Blending dance, music, history, and Afrofuturism in innovative ways, The Trans-Atlantic Time Traveling Company offers a hopeful and humor-infused exploration of what it means to heal and be free.

“I often quote adrienne maree brown—author, strategist, activist and sci-fi fan—when she says all organizing is science fiction because we are trying to create a world that we've never seen,” says Holly Bass. “The beauty of Afrofuturism is that it allows us to imagine worlds and possibilities where Black people have agency to determine the direction of our lives. For this piece in particular, it was really important to me not to go towards the dystopian. I think it's easy in a way to imagine a dystopian future where things just get worse. It's a lot harder to imagine how we work our way to a better future. But it's the work that needs to be done. And done collectively. And done repeatedly.”

This production features Amani Alexander, Cynthia Davis, and Sisi Reid, under the direction of Ezinne Elele, who serves as Theater Alliance’s Associate Artistic Director and choreography by Jasmine Hearn. Bass serves as Associate Director and Associate Choreographer.  

“The work was developed as a devised theater piece, meaning the other performers and I experimented and improvised to create the various elements,” says Bass of her process building the work. “I have to shout out Colin Hovde, who was the artistic director who brought me in and then Raymond Caldwell, who picked up the mantle from Colin and continued to advocate for me and the production.”

“Holly has put a lot of time and love into building this expansive world for the characters in the future,” says director Elele. “Full of technology and culture, speaking to what the future could hold. A world where we live better connected to nature and to each other.”

Shanara Gabrielle, the new Producing Artistic Director of Theater Alliance, says, “The Trans-Atlantic Time Travelling Company is a perfect example of the Theater Alliance model of new work development - to curate nationally recognized artists who are homegrown right here in Washington, DC. Holly‘s work is renowned around the country and it’s thrilling to see how Raymond Caldwell curated Holly‘s work in a new form as she crosses over into playwriting.”

Gabrielle cites Bass’s “fierce intellect, rigorous curiosity, and comfort in the weird and the wonderful” as aspects of her artistry that she most admires. Audiences can expect to experience all of this and more through this production. 

Through its Radical Neighboring Initiative, Theater Alliance strives to create a community where everyone feels welcome at the theater. Name Your Own Price tickets are available online for every performance, ensuring that anyone who wants to experience the work can do so. 

Season 21 at Theater Alliance is made possible through the support of the Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, the Share Fund, Prince Charitable Trusts, the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, and the MidAtlantic Arts Foundation. This production is underwritten in part by the MAP Fund. Season 21 is generously sponsored by David and Jean Heilman Grier. 

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