Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program alum Dahlak Brathwaite (Cycle 30) presented his new multi-character musical Try/Step/Trip at the CALARTS Theatre in California.
Try/Step/Trip is a spoken word, multi-character musical performed in the body through the language of step dance. The story follows the journey of an anonymous narrator as he re-imagines his experience in a court-ordered drug rehabilitation program. Inspired by Brathwaite’s own history, Try/Step/Trip layers characters, poetic verse, and dialogue over music to create a theatrical piece that blurs the lines between hip-hop and dramatic performance. Try/Step/Trip emerges from the belief that the subjugation of Black people is an American ritual; that the criminal justice system now functions as a normalized rite of passage for too many young Black males. Dahlak Brathwaite is the writer/composer, Roberta Uno is the director, choreography is by Toran X. Moore, with assistant choreography by FreddyRamsey, Jr., and orchestration and additional composition by Teak Underdue.