WHAT
IS "THE WORD BEGINS"?
THE WORD BEGINS is an exciting journey with two
young men as they struggle to come to terms with belief and morality
in America today. They take on race relations, religion, sexuality,
love, and the power of mass communication --- among other great
American issues. They do it in the extraordinarily refreshing
and exhilarating performance form of spoken word meets dramatic
scenes meets sketch comedy meets hip hop culture. Steve Connell
and Sekou (tha misfit) travel rapidly through the sometimes chaotic
and confusing world of what the national landscape of politics,
purpose, and passion looks like to a young white man and a young
black man. They travel from the inner city to the malls to the
heartland of our country with insight and great humor. These two
artists bring years of honing their collaborative skills in clubs,
in stadiums, in theatres --- all over the United States of America.
They perform ‘almost as one’ with a timing and emotion
and passion that brings a renewed life and electricity onto the
stage. Veteran stage director and dramaturge, Robert Egan, has
guided the development of this theatre piece and is directing.
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WHO
ARE THESE GUYS?
Steve Connell and Sekou (tha misfit) are two of this country’s
premier spoken word artists who use the artform to bring the richness
of the human experience to life through the beauty and music of
words. Their refreshing and exhilarating take on spoken word is
akin to experiencing a breathtaking symphony, motivational speaker,
comedy act, and political theatre all rolled up into two young men
who are unafraid to peel open their hearts on stage and connect
to crowds across age, class and cultural lines. They have won numerous
national poetry championships, music awards, and theater accolades.
They have performed on ABC World News, HBO’s Def Poetry, BET,
the HBO Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, and Declare Yourself - a
national voting tour for the legendary Norman Lear. Now Steve and
Sekou have brought their dynamic group performance and laser sharp
writing skills to the world of the theater. For the past three years
they have been crafting and honing their script, developing it at
the prestigious Ojai Playwrights Conference where it was the runaway
hit of the Conference, and workshopping it at special-engagement
presentations across the nation. Now, their first collaborative
work, which celebrates the human heart and delivers poignant messages
in a way that is so passionate and personal that it is impossible
to be unmoved, has found its premiere home at the Signature Theatre
in Arlington, VA … where The Word Begins.
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