Universes Press Kit Table of Contents

Universes
Press Kit
Table of Contents
Page
1. “ ‘Ameriville’ is a snapshot of us” (review) COURIER-JOURNAL, March 6, 2009
2
2. “Crusading troupe sees trouble in ‘Ameriville’” (feature) COURIER-JOURNAL, March 3, 2009 3
3. “Poetic Theater Ensemble Enthralls Audiences on Six-Nation Tour” (feature)
AMERICA.gov, US Department of State, April 25, 2008
5
4. “Hip-Hop Theatre,” (feature) AMERICAN THEATER, April 2004
8
5. “Universes Poetic Theater Ensemble’s Compelling Mash-ups Sample Urban Poets
and Songwriters” (review), INDEPENDENT WEEKLY, May 2, 2007
16
6. “Rhythm and Rhymes” (review) DAILY NEXUS, March 1, 2007
18
7. “Slanguage Benefits From Word of Mouth,” (review) BOSTON GLOBE, July 23, 2005
20
8. “Slanguage Offers Insightful Vignettes,” (review) BOSTON – BAY STATE
BANNER Online, July 2005
21
9. “Universes Riffs on Words to Illuminate the Worlds of These Language Artists,” (review)
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, October 12, 2004
22
10. “Bridge-Building ‘Slanguage’ Educates as it Entertains,” (review) COURIER-JOURNAL.com,
September 17, 2004
23
11. “Play at Actors Teaches Culture as it Entertains,” (feature) COURIER-JOURNAL,
September 12, 2004
24
12. “It’s All in the Delivery,” (review) LOS ANGELES TIMES, May 8, 2004
26
13. “Slanguage,” (review) VARIETY, May 10, 2004
27
14. “Slanguage Speaks to Raw, Vibrant Language of Theater,” (review) DAILY BREEZE,
May 11, 2004
29
15. “Slanguage Reviewed,” (review) BACKSTAGE WEST, May 12, 2004
30
16. “Pyrotechnics Drive Intense Urban Tour,” (review) ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS,
March 13, 2004
31
17. “The City’s Beat with an Iambic Heat”, (review) THE NEW YORK TIMES, July 28, 2001
32
18. “Slanguage Speaks of Urban Experience,” (review) HOUSTON CHRONICLE, Jan. 17, 2003
33
THEATER
'Ameriville' is a snapshot of us
BY JUDITH EGERTON • JEGERTON@COURIER-JOURNAL.COM • MARCH 6, 2009
Using their hands and feet as percussion instruments to accompany their songs and
poetry, the four creators of "Ameriville" tell the good, bad and ugly about our nation in an
intense, kinetic performance.
With raps, riffs, vaudevillian turns and a Greek chorus effect, the first new work of the
33rd annual Humana Festival of New American Plays, "Ameriville," is a 90-minute
musical tapestry of social commentary.
Directed by Chay Yew, the play in the round Bingham Theatre features four New York
poets collectively called Universes and individually named Gamal Abdel Chasten,
Mildred Ruiz, William Ruiz (aka Ninja) and Steven Sapp.
The show blends poetry and theatrical elements with a variety of musical genres,
including jazz, blues, hip-hop and Spanish bolero. Together for a dozen years, these
four performers play easily with each other, their movements and voices marvelously
synchronized.
Beginning with Hurricane Katrina's catastrophic impact on the people of New Orleans,
the ensemble uses the storm and flood as the touchstone for its look at other failings
within our society.
The ensemble's previous work, "Slanguage," which it performed at Actors Theatre and
other theaters in this country and abroad, captured the rhythms of New York's
neighborhoods and ethnic cultures. This more expansive piece takes in the country as a
whole. It stumbles by trying to cover too much ground as the poets touch on the
collapsing economy, poverty and homelessness, racism, sexism, urban renewal, the
health-care crisis, even global warming.
The show is best when the scenes and raps are personal rather than general, notably
when Sapp portrays a man searching for his missing mother after Hurricane Katrina,
when Mildred Ruiz's throaty alto sings of an immigrant woman's hardships and sorrow
and when Chasten plays a New Orleans resident suffering post traumatic stress.
Within "Ameriville" is anger at the country's failings and a desire to find a new, shared
path out of the destruction. Whether one agrees with everything these earnest poets say
is beside the point. There is beauty and humor, as well as a challenging toughness, in
how they express themselves.
They evoke a vivid picture imagining Uncle Tom and Uncle Sam as pallbearers at the
burial of an America weakened by apathy, hypocrisy and hatred.
We can't learn from the past if we bury it, but according to Universes, from this death, a
new country called "Ameriville" can rise, a place where freedom of speech, tolerance
and compassion form the ethos.
The festival of new American plays, supported by the Humana Foundation, continues
through April 11.
Reporter Judith Egerton can be reached at (502) 582-4503.
THEATER
Crusading troupe sees trouble in 'Ameriville'
BY JAVACIA N. HARRIS • THE COURIER-JOURNAL • MARCH 3, 2009
The New York-based ensemble Universes mixes poetry, storytelling, original songs and
adaptations of popular tunes to create a unique theater experience that the group hopes
will not only capture the attention of audiences, but will also drive folks to make a
difference in the world around them.
In "Ameriville," part of this year's Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors
Theatre of Louisville, Universes uses the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the city of
New Orleans to shed light on issues of race, poverty and politics in America.
As you listen to Mildred Ruiz, a founding member of Universes, sing, "The Lord told
Noah to build him an arky, arky," you may get lost in the power of her voice or in
nostalgia, remembering how you sang that song in church as a child.
But as soon as you've let your guard down, Ruiz hits you with the line, "But where was
Noah when the levees started breaking." In an instant, Ruiz has morphed a playful
children's song into a heartbreaking hymn about an American tragedy.
"America feels like it's over," said Ruiz, who got her start in music and performance by
singing in choirs as a child. "We just came back from New Orleans, and a lot of areas
are still the same. Some houses are still collapsed onto the ground. People are still not
home. Some people won't come back home."
The title "Ameriville" was Ruiz's idea and stems from the notion of America being an
interconnected village, not a sprawling nation of people with no ties to one another.
"We should look at ourselves as a village, and a village takes care of its own," Ruiz said.
"They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, we got a child dying in New Orleans."
Universes, which started about 12 years ago, grew out of a band of New York poets who
got bored with traditional poetry readings, said founding member Steven Sapp, a former
street dancer who studied writing and theater at Bard College. They decided to try out
group performances, blending poetry, song and even movement, and soon got the
attention of the theater world.
The members of Universes aren't strangers to Louisville. Universes led a group of
performance art poets in creating the piece "Rhythmicity," which was featured in the
2003 Humana Festival of New Plays. It also has worked with the Actors Theatre
apprentice program, teaching young actors how to create unique theatrical pieces of
their own.
Universes also counts Louisville's own legend Muhammad Ali as an inspiration.
"Ali was a major influence for me, and I'm not just saying that because I'm in Louisville,"
Universes member Gamal Abdel Chasten said.
One of the first and best poems they say they've ever heard was, "Float like a butterfly,
sting like a bee."
With the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Sapp said, "The bad things you thought about
America really just blew up in your face."
But Universes doesn't want audiences to leave Actors Theatre only to wallow in thoughts
of a not-so-pretty piece of American history.
"What we're looking to do with the piece is place responsibility in people's laps and ask
them, 'What are you going to do now?'" Chasten said.
But the group also doesn't want people to come to the show expecting to leave with
solutions for racism, poverty and other issues hurting our nation.
"It's not to say we got the answer. We got the question, and we ask it well," said William
"Ninja" Ruiz, a Universes member who got his start in performance as a rap artist. "All
we can do is maybe spark something in somebody who might have the answer."
Reporter Javacia N. Harris can be reached at (502) 582-4629.
America.gov - Telling America's Story
U.S. Department of State
ARTS | Reshaping ideas, expressing identity
April 25 2008
Poetic Theater Ensemble Enthralls Audiences on Six-Nation Tour
For “Universes” quartet, travel offers illuminating cultural exchange
The members of Universes are William “Ninja” Ruiz,
Mildred Ruiz, Gamal Abdel-Chasten and Steven Sapp.
(© H.N. Hershey)
By Lauren Monsen
Staff Writer
Washington -- What happens when a New York-based poetic theater ensemble, whose
unique brand of fusion art combines elements of hip-hop, blues, jazz, gospel and Spanish
bolero, brings its act to six nations as disparate as Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Romania, the
Netherlands and the United Kingdom?
According to members of the ensemble -- a quartet that calls itself Universes -- the result is
a richly rewarding cultural exchange that highlights the power of music to bridge differences
among people who might otherwise be separated by language, custom and national
boundaries.
From January 26 to February 23, 2008, the four members of Universes -- all poets,
playwrights, singers and actors -- traveled overseas as part of the U.S. Department of
State’s “Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad” program, which introduced the group to
audiences across six countries spanning North Africa and Europe.
Now back in their native New York, Universes founding members Gamal Abdel-Chasten,
Steven Sapp and Mildred Ruiz recently spoke with America.gov about their creative efforts
at home and on tour (the group’s fourth member, William “Ninja” Ruiz -- younger brother of
Mildred -- was unavailable).
DIVERSITY AT HOME AND ABROAD
The quartet’s U.S. performances generally attract a diverse crowd -- good preparation for
touring abroad, said Abdel-Chasten. “We’re not surprised anymore” at the demographic
mix of a typical Universes audience, he added. But that wasn’t always the case. “We
started off in the poetry scene, so we started off with a poetry crowd,” Sapp recalled.
Over the group’s 11-year history, its repertoire evolved to embrace music and drama, as
well. Because of this, “our audience has expanded greatly -- it’s not just a younger urban
crowd,” said Sapp. “These days, you can see an elderly Jewish grandmother and a hip-hop
kid in the same crowd” at a Universes show.
Universes performs original material, some of which is based on current events (such as the
group’s emotionally charged “New Orleans,” a piece that dramatizes the tragic aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina in starkly personal terms). Other pieces -- like the group’s rousing
spiritual “Mahalia,” a tribute to gospel singer Mahalia Jackson -- may draw inspiration from
an iconic musical figure, or from any intriguing idea.
Motifs can range widely, as evidenced by “Freedom Suite,” a collection of pieces structured
around the theme of freedom; “Don’t Front,” which examines how to walk and talk in tough
inner-city neighborhoods; and “Junior Calling,” a jazz piece focused on an inmate writing a
poem from prison.
Authorship is shared evenly among the quartet’s members. “We all write,” explained AbdelChasten. “We all came together as writers and poets. It’s a collaborative effort.”
LEARNING THE LOCAL TUNE
Universes performs before a live audience.
(© Marlis Momber)
Strong voices, compelling narratives and a dynamic stage presence have earned the group
a broad base of fan support in New York and elsewhere. As the group began its overseas
tour, the challenge was to establish a similar rapport with a foreign audience. Despite the
quartet’s initial worries about being able to communicate across a language divide, it soon
became apparent that the performers’ appeal was -- well, universal (or very nearly so).
Audiences, especially in countries that have had limited exposure to eclectic urban theater,
poetry and music, “were very excited,” said Abdel-Chasten. “To them, it was a new art
form.”
The excitement was mutual. “That was the most gratifying part of the trip: the interaction
with our audience,” said Sapp. People responded enthusiastically to Universes’ live
performances, but “they also wanted to ask us about America,” he said. Moreover, said
Abdel-Chasten, “we got to work with local artists” in host countries. “We jammed with
them; we did a few writing workshops,” he said. “A few times we had shows where we
incorporated local artists onstage with us.”
During their travels, the New Yorkers were eager to learn about the cultural traditions they
encountered. “In Morocco, they had some instruments we’d never seen and some music
we’d never heard of,” said Abdel-Chasten. “Once you hear the music and connect on a
human level, it brings everyone together.” In fact, “one of our drivers in Morocco was a
singer,” said Sapp. “He began singing, and Mildred asked him to teach her the song. She
learned the lyrics phonetically, and we performed it at our next event. The audience went
crazy. It just really opened things up.”
From that moment onward, the ensemble made a point of learning -- and performing -- a
local folk song in each new country on the tour, whenever possible. Adding some local
flavor to each show “helped people relate to us,” said Abdel-Chasten. Ruiz agreed that the
opportunity for cultural exchange was invaluable. “We enjoyed learning local songs,” she
said, “and seeing people from other cultures interpret our music.”
Abdel-Chasten had vivid memories of an event in Romania, where Universes performed in
front of a packed crowd. “The audience included kids from a workshop we had conducted,
but there were lots of older people, too,” he said. “At first, we were apprehensive about
how we would be received, but that night was amazing -- it was magical. Mildred did a
gospel piece called ‘Mahalia,’ and suddenly, everyone was in church. It was incredible. The
kids loved it, and they opened up the rest of the audience to us. People lined up afterward
to get our autographs.”
He also was deeply impressed by the Islamic traditions of the three Muslim countries on the
group’s itinerary. “I was raised as a nonpracticing Muslim,” said Abdel-Chasten, “and I
connected with what I saw in those places. I prayed at the King Hassan II Mosque in
Morocco, and at the Blue Mosque in Turkey.”
For Sapp, “the most striking impression of our trip was finding myself in a different world -their world. It was interesting to see things from a different perspective.” Asked whether
the group was able to change any perceptions about Americans, he said: “I know we did, in
some cases. We had a conversation with students in Tunisia. I think they were surprised at
how openly we spoke about certain things -- about where we’re from, what we’ve
experienced.”
DON’T START A REVOLUTION
Although the group was traveling under the auspices of the U.S. State Department, there
were no restrictions on anyone’s speech, said Sapp. “U.S. officials told us we could say
anything we wanted,” he recalled. “The only advice they gave us was: ‘Don’t start a
revolution.’”
If the quartet harbors any revolutionary tendencies, they are channeled into a restless
creative drive that redefines “what theater is and who it speaks to,” in the words of the
group’s members. By evoking a contemporary urban landscape infused with both anger and
hope -- and a strong dose of street humor -- “we try to portray the experiences of the
community: the man or woman on the ground,” said Ruiz.
“It’s really about craft,” Sapp concluded. “We may come across as free-wheeling, but we’ve
worked hard at what we do, and we hope that comes across.”
The artists said they would welcome the chance to revisit the countries they toured and
enlarge their circle of friends there. “Our audience is diverse, wherever we go,” said AbdelChasten. “We’d like to think that everyone takes away something different from our
performances.”
Home » Arts & Entertainment » Theater
MAY 2, 2007
Universes Poetic Theater Ensemble's compelling mash-ups sample
urban poets and songwriters
Spoken street opera
BY BYRON WOODS
Universes
Kenan Theater
UNC-CH
Closed April 29
Urgent memo to both hands theater
company and the public that first fell in love
with them—particularly for the complex
spoken, broken polyrhythms that made
works like Imaginary Numbers and the first
incarnation of Brooms (a play about saying
yes) seem a cross between Gertrude Stein
and early Steve Reich: There's some folks
you've got to see and (particularly) hear.
Awake and sing: The hip-hop dramatic
I'll wait here while you do it. No, really. Go performance of Universes Poetic Theater
ahead, put the paper down; dial up another Ensemble
browser tab. Enter the following phrase in Photo courtesy of Playmakers Rep
the search box on YouTube.com: universes don't front (for those particularly into
alphanumerals, here's the Web address: www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2vZgBQB1Dg).
The first word abbreviates the company's name, Universes Poetic Theater Ensemble. Their
appearance at Kenan Theater last week signaled another step in Playmakers Rep's
recently redoubled efforts to diversify the programming they present to the public.
In the clip, lifted from a 2002 performance on Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam, Mildred
Ruiz's gospel-and-blues-inflected vocals and fist-slap, foot-stamp, heartbeat percussion
forms the rhythmic matrix that company co-founders Gamal Abdel Chasten and Steven
Sapp kite, flow and interrogate above, scissoring words on top of words. After all three
delineate and demonstrate the kind of walk it takes to negotiate the urban checkpoints of
tough East Side streets, Sapp sharply traces its cultural etymology, "before the signifying
monkey stepped on the elephant's feet/ and got tangled up in brothers working on the
chain gang/ and were stepping and fetching that cakewalk/ way before the black and
white movies discovered us."
The metaphor and reality of the long walk was key in several sequences on Saturday
night. Another of Ruiz's characters complains that her feet hurt, though the path toward
justice was nowhere near its end. The on-stage human rhythm section signaled a sensual
stroll in places; elsewhere, a run for your life.
As compelling as it is, the snippet doesn't tell the whole tale of what we saw last week.
Not with two other vocalists/ speakers/ human percussionists named Irene Shaikly and
Ninja adding to the complexity of the real-time, decidedly non-digital multi-tracking. Plus
it only hints at the sophistication of the braiding in an extended narrative dealing with
Hurricane Katrina.
As Chasten changed the lyrics to the African-American work song "Let the Hammer Ring,"
and Ruiz inserted a line in the midst about Noah's ark from the Sunday school song "Rise
and Shine," Sapp's character, a postal worker, asks if anyone has seen his mother. The
rhythm changes ominously as the ensemble intones the words "Boom, Papa, Papa." The
darkness intensifies following "Papa Was," a shared narrative about a hero who drowned
while saving others improbably set to a mash-up of "Papa Was a Rolling Stone"
interspersed with lines from "Proud Mary" and Grandmaster Flash.
Ultimately, the objects that are rolling on that post-Katrina river are bodies. After Air Force
One's photo opportunity and the opportunism of the media, the rhythm section punctuates
the silence of the final part with ragged gasps, and nothing more. At the end, the tag line
come from Tom Waits. Katrina's final, all but whispered, lesson: "Misery is the river of the
world. Everybody row."
Elsewhere, the quintet freely weaves sampled songs and poets into a tapestry of urban life
both rich and strange. An exuberant opening section juxtaposes Gil Scott-Heron with Nikki
Giovanni, Nuyorican poet Reg E. Gaines, T.S. Eliot and Stevie Wonder, plus many more.
Later, Ruiz's eerie voice keens through the Eurythmics' "The City Never Sleeps"—of all
things—to ground a multi-scene story about a child killed by his parents, and the case's
unsatisfactory aftermath in the justice system.
Intricate rhythms and intricate stories, told by artists who have to be as adept at
polyrhythmic musical composition as they are at acting. The only things that could
improve on what we saw would be a two-week run, preferably of one of their awardwinning full-length works, instead of the greatest-hits showcase we saw last weekend. Not
only is the region ready for it, it's been ready for some time now.
E-mail Byron at byron@indyweek.com.
Artsweek
Rhythm & Rhymes
Universe’s “Slanguage” Showcases Slam and Slang Poetry
By Sophia Kercher / Staff Writer
Published Thursday, March 1, 2007
Issue 85 / Volume 87
Black History Month went out with a slang Tuesday, Feb. 27 with Universes’ Universe’s
“Slanguage,” presented by Arts & Lectures. Hailing from New York, the performance
showcased Afro-Latin voices with a cast accomplished in alliteration and enunciation. The
performance was loosely constructed around a subway ride in which from the Bronx to Brooklyn
the audience experiences stops along the way revealing an urban underground. With text and
movement the artists addressed the obstacles of poverty and assimilation. With the artists’ use of
verbose language, it was at times easy to get lost in the message of the performance but the
immense energy of the artists never missed a beat. The show featured the talents of Steven Sapp,
performer and founder of Universe, he pumped up the audience with his verbal splendors
alongside master of flows and beats performance artist Ninja. As fellow cast member Mildred
Ruiz boomed songs and Mtume Gant seized the audience with subtle humor.
When all four actors took center stage it was overwhelming. The effusive language took over
creating confusion. However, when one or two actors were the focus of the piece, the words
became more powerful, capturing the poetry and message of the performance. No individual
performer stood out. The ensemble worked collectively to support and showcase one another’s
talents. As one performer would act out a piece, the rest of the cast would hum, drum or rhyme to
present a story.
Each performer had the triple threat of being skilled at song, dance and acting, making up for the
minimalist setup of the performance. The set was bare with only a few black boxes and a
microphone, but the use of shadows, light and the vivacious movements of the performers
decorated the stage. The program provided to theatergoers came complete with its own
“Slanguage” dictionary and, from the looks of the predominately middle-aged and white
audience, it was much needed. With word play like “Bubble Goose,” “Jibaro,” and ” Muhong,”
the glossary was much appreciated for even students in the audience. The New York Theater
Production may not have been throwing down rhymes to the right crowd - the show seemed
more fit for the MultiCultural Center. What made this performance remarkable, however, was
that it was able to draw out the audience. Responses of hollering and laugher could be heard
throughout Campbell Hall. The performers were able to reach individuals who were not
necessarily familiar with hearing gunshots in their neighborhood or coming from an American
home where English is not their first language. Crowd members of all kinds leaving the hip hop
theater event left revived and “aaight,” ready to bust out their own “diddy-bop walk.”
STAGE REVIEW
'Slanguage' benefits from word of mouth
By Sandy MacDonald, Globe Correspondent | July 23, 2005
Slang can be a slippery thing -- one minute a social passkey, the next the embodiment of passe. Steven Sapp, ringleader
of Universes, a performance group spawned nine years ago by the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in New York, sacrifices a shred
of street cred in promising spectators at ''Slanguage" that they can impress teenagers by knowing enough to pronounce
''All right" as ''Ah-iiiight." So rapid is the assimilation of slang in today's media-saturated culture that even old fogies far
removed from the inner-urban loop are likely to have heard that one before.
But that's just one tiny misstep in a headlong explosion of poetry, percussion, and multi-culti musical exploration that
absolutely demands to be seen -- if not for the textual aspect (much of the verbiage comes across contrived rather than
inspired), then for the electric, kinetic performances.
Mildred Ruiz has the kind of powerhouse contralto voice that can fill stadiums and set nearby bodies to thrumming. Also a
captivating orator, she acts out a Seussian tale of two rival gangs who come to realize that the real enemy is not each
other, but the culture vultures co-opting, commodifying, and cashing in on their signature styles. (Alliteration, which can be
catching, is the central device of the poem that frames the 90-minute set, loosely structured as an imaginary subway ride
from Brooklyn to the Bronx.)
The caveat about exploitation is a lesson one wishes that Universes took more to heart, because way too much of the
material consists of references and homages to name-brand cultural icons -- LeRoi Jones, ''Langston and Lorca," Sonia
Sanchez, Miguel Pinero, Lord Buckley, Allen Ginsberg, Ali . . . These figures do help to create a common language, but
the strongest scenes don't need any such reinforcement; they manage to make a visceral connection without the random
riffing -- a great deal of which is, in any case, over-amped to the point of unintelligibility.
Highlights include Gamal Abdel Chasten as a young black man enthralled with Asian martial arts and getting flak for
forsaking his roots. Choreographed to kung fu moves, the monologue is a brilliant example of verbal and physical
integration -- plus, it's funny.
Also effective is Ninja, a new member of the company who resembles Jack Black and projects a similar air of barely
contained, half-comic menace. Playing a prisoner facing his ''first day on the inside," he assembles a collage of family
photos ''to remind me of the me I'm supposed to be," while gearing up to project a tough-guy persona.
As for Sapp, he perhaps doesn't allow himself enough solo stage time, beyond emceeing and narrating a Beat rap toward
the end. Throughout the show you get glimpses of how instantly he can climb into character -- a junkie nodding out on the
subway, say -- but he exudes so much intelligence and vitality that you're left yearning for a deeper, longer look.
Director Jo Bonney, who has helped to shape the solo shows of her husband, performance artist Eric Bogosian, is
credited with having channeled the diverse talents of the Universes principals into a cohesive show. They've got a salable
entity now that travels and translates well. Several of the members are so outstanding, though, that one can't help wishing
them ever broader avenues of expression.
‘Slanguage’ offers insightful vignettes
by Bob Nesti
They may not appear to have much in common — one, after all, is a 400-year-old Shakespeare tragedy, while the
other is a plotless entertainment so original as to push the envelope of what theater can be; but think again.
“Hamlet,” as presented by the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company on the Common, offers a startlingly modern
twist on this Medieval tale of revenge; while “Slanguage,” at the BCA, the New York performance group Universes
— with their dazzling display of linguistic fireworks — make Def Poetry Jam seem like a meeting of the Dead
Poet’s Society.
Not surprisingly Universes comes to town under the auspices of Company One, the socially conscious theater
company that has presented the plays of Stephen Adly Guirgis (most memorably their Elliot Norton Awardwinning “Jesus Hopped the A-Train?” and “Den of Thieves”) and the recent premiere of Boston playwright Kirsten
Greenidge’s “One Hundred and Three Within the Veil.”
As its title suggests, “Slanguage” offers an amalgam of styles — 50’s doo-wop, 90’s hip-hop, jazz, poetry slam,
salsa, gospel — that converge in a dazzling display of verbal virtuosity. While the material has the raw, anxious
beat of urban life, the style is as sophisticated as a Bach fugue. That might seem an odd analogy, but the genius of
Universes comes with their precise, musical delivery. “Slanguage” is as much about the power of musical
expression as it is about the words themselves.
The loose premise has the quintet riding an express train from Brooklyn to the Bronx; en route they pause to tell
stories and anecdotes, many drawn from their own experiences living in New York City, that burst with fresh
insights. One of the best bits chronicles a battle between street gangs told in the manner of a Dr. Seuss story. In
another bit the influence of kung-fu giant Bruce Lee is celebrated; and, as something of an anchor point, the A-BC’s of “Slanguage” are brilliantly expressed in verse in a tongue-twisting manner by the multi-talented Steven
Sapp, one of the group’s co-founders who acts as their leader.
Collectively and individually, the members of the group shine throughout. Mildred Ruiz, another of the group’s cofounders, is something of their “Earth Mother,” rooting their energy with her booming vocal expression. Gamal
Abdel-Chasten has a street-smart charm while Ninja supplies some rich vocal support as does newcomer Denise
Delacruz.
As shaped and staged by Jo Bonney, the stories flow with seamless skills, as do the cleverly interpolated musical
interludes where pop songs are sampled to clever effect. Their take on the ‘50s hit “Rockin’ Robin” is especially
funny. With “Slanguage” Universes bring the poetry slam into the 21st century.
Universes riffs on words to illuminate the worlds of these
language artists
October 12, 2004
BY HEDY WEISS Theater Critic
As the five polymorphously prodigious linguists who comprise the cast of "Slanguage" told their audience early in their
performance at the Museum of Contemporary Art Theatre this past weekend: "We don't gang bang, we bang slang." They were
underselling themselves by at least a light-year's worth of lexicons. For what these brilliant wordsmiths really do -- and do with
the kind of verbal and musical facility old Bill Shakespeare engaged in when modern English itself was in its earliest stages of
development -- is nothing short of reinventing the multiplicity of mother tongues in which they negotiate their world on a daily
basis.
Just consider the heady mix of dictionaries that feed them: English, Spanish, Spanglish, ebonics, Fifties hipster-speak, Nineties
hip-hop jargon, television mind-muddling, jazz riffs, rock remix, salsa spin, sidewalk salesmanship and subway mantras. And
that's just the tip of the very proverbial iceberg. In fact, Universes (the name by which this troupe of oral artists orbits) has
compiled its own new millennium edition of words and phrases, rhythms and derivations. And they have turned it into a piece of
riveting, thought-provoking theater. In the process, they've also left their cliche-ridden cousins of "Russell Simmons' Def Jam
Poetry" looking like so many copywriters for cereal boxes.
Directed, developed and shaped with an uncanny musical rightness by Jo Bonney (who just happens to be married to Eric
Bogosian, an actor and writer who has long had his ear tuned to an alternative radio dial), "Slanguage" creates so many hot
spots that it's difficult to catalog them all. But if you start with King Pleasure (that enchanting vocalese master of the 1950s who
set familiar tunes on their head with jazzy words) and make your way through Cole Porter (with the beat, beat, beat of the tomtom in "Night and Day") and add nursery rhymes, urban jump-rope chants, English as a Second Language exercises, subway
conductors' warnings, church sermons, the enticements of three- card monte players, the laws of Bruce Lee's martial arts, the
promises of a pimp named Mr. McDollar and the now-dimmed poetics of Muhammad Ali, you're on track.
Of course, you've got to add "the language of Langston [as in Hughes] and Lorca" and the Noo Yorican poets' society, too. And
that's just for starters. Maybe, these jangled harmonizers (who seem capable of layering far more than five lines of thought and
rhythm at any given moment) suggest, there has been "too much ado about this microphone minstrel movement," too much
attention paid to the "verbal vandals from the underground university." But in suggesting this, they are simply pulling your leg, or
rattling your satellite dish. There is tremendous substance here, as well as prodigious syllable-izing and bravura ventriloquizing.
And as you hop the subway with these multi-culti troubadours for a journey through New York that runs from Greenwich Village
to Harlem, and then on to the Grand Concourse in the Bronx (where at least some of these artists came of age before moving
on to college and careers in theater), you are reminded of the grand global gumbo that is our language now.
The performers, all charismatic in their particular way and yet in perfect synchrony, included three of the show's original five
writers: Steven Sapp, an altogether mesmerizing actor, Gamal Chasten, who does a remarkable Miles Davis-like verbal riff, and
Mildred Ruiz, with a volcanic singing voice but somewhat screechy speaking voice. Joining them were Marlyn Matias (as the
whirlwind Latina) and Ninja (as the prison poet). Arriving in Chicago this weekend just days after the death of Jacques Derrida,
the granddaddy of linguistic deconstruction (which one headline writer called "the man who could take the world apart"), these
"Slanguage" masters demonstrated that high-minded theory begins at the token booth.
One final note: Attendance at the three Museum of Contemporary Art performances of the show was not what it should have
been. The production needs a different venue and hipper marketing. Had it been staged at one of the city colleges, or at the
University of Illinois at Chicago, or at the Riviera in Uptown or HotHouse, audiences would have come in droves. Of course it's
not too late to bring it back. The museum should be praised for having had the original vision, as it often does; now it's time to
make the turnstiles spin.
Copyright © The Sun-Times Company
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune
Bridge-building 'Slanguage' educates as it entertains
By Judith Egerton
• September 17, 2004
jegerton@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
"Get ready for a little grease and a little ghetto" and "see how much we respect
the First Amendment," say the actors in "Slanguage" as they embark on 100
minutes of uncensored poetry, patois and percussion mixed with jazz and hiphop-influenced music.
"Slanguage," at Actors Theatre of Louisville, isn't a play; it's a collaborative
performance by five members of the New York-based troupe Universes, which
evolved from the city's urban poetry scene and the Nuyorican Poet's Cafe.
Next performances: 7:30 p.m. today,
2:30 and 7:30 p.m. tomorrow and
2:30 and 7 p.m. Sunday in the Victor
Jory Theatre at Actors Theatre of
Louisville, 316 W. Main St. Through
Sept. 26. (502) 584-1205.
The show is a collage of scenes with wordplay and songs aimed at bridging racial and generational gaps. The idea is that the
audience is traveling along with the performers as they ride the Uptown No. 2 subway train from Brooklyn to the Bronx. Along
the way, there are stops for a variety of verbal duels, humorous monologues and riffs on cultural influences, including a
sparring, shadow-boxing homage to Louisville's own poet-prizefighter, Muhammad Ali. If you close your eyes, the mix of
sounds and music created by the actors' voices, hands and feet sounds just like the cacophonous streets of New York.
Grown-ups who have never heard of Kool Keith or KRS-1 (definition: old school rappers) get tips on how to communicate
with their hip-hop-loving offspring from Steven Sapp, founding member of Universes and a man so slick-tongued he can reel
off a complicated string of A-to-Z alliterative poetry without tripping over a single word.
For A: "This is another autobiography from at-risk agitators, assaulting and assembling articulation and alliteration ... " For B:
"Big-head bowlegged B-Boy brothers, build in front of Boogie Down Bronx Bodegas, bragging 'bout Bambaataa's blessings,
and the beats of Bobbito the barber, while Brooklyn bohemians break bread at breakfast, rebirthing boilerplate blues." Try
saying that really fast. Or better yet, take Sapp's advice. Say "A yo" to your teen or answer "Aiiiight" when he or she greets
you.
Slang offers a common ground between young and old, urban and rural, white and ethnic. "Slanguage" makes the cast's verbal
art — and the cast members themselves — visible to audiences who typically would not see or hear them. And that's a good
thing.
Besides Sapp, the "Slanguage" cast includes the bluesy-throated Mildred Ruiz, the physically dynamic Gamal Abdel Chasten,
the comedic Marlyn Matias and Ninja, who perfectly captures the disembodied voice of a subway conductor. The show's
energy and appeal stem partly from its contrasts: from discordant to harmonic, from angry to playful, from destructive to
instructive.
The show, directed and developed by Jo Bonney, features sound designed by Darron L. West, an Elizabethtown, Ky., native
who directed "Kid-Simple" at this year's Humana Festival of New American Plays.
Hip-hop music is something I listen to only when I'm a passenger in my son's car or driving next to someone who is blasting it
to the world at large. For those of us unschooled in hip-hop, "Slanguage" is a welcome introduction to that cultural experience.
But it's more than that. It's a fast-talking fusion of gospel, Spanish bolero tunes, pop, rap, poetry, jazz and hip-hop — a quickwitted, multicultural slice of the big city where it was born.
Posted: Mon., May 10, 2004, 5:55pm PT
Slanguage
(Ivy Substation, Los Angeles; 99 seats; $30 top)
A Center Theater Group/Mark Taper Forum Taper, Too, presentation, in association with the New York Theater
Workshop, of a performance piece in one act by Universes (Mildred Ruiz, Steven Sapp, Gamal Abdel Chasten, Flaco
Navaja and Lemon), developed and directed by Jo Bonney.
Performers: Mildred Ruiz, Steven Sapp, Gamal Abdel Chasten, Dominic Colon, Ninja.
By JULIO MARTINEZ
The well-honed individual talents of five New York-based spoken-word virtuosos have
been molded by helmer Jo Bonney into a seamless, undulating force of razor-edged,
big-city social commentary. Performing as the collective Universes, performance artists
Mildred Ruiz, Steven Sapp, Gamal Abdel Chasten, Flaco Navaja and Lemon burst onto
the Gotham scene in 2001 at New York Theater Workshop. For this local preem, under
the auspices of the Center Theater Group's visionary Taper, Too, Navaja and Lemon
have been replaced by word conjurers Dominic Colon and Ninja, but the group has lost
none of its infectious, cohesive energy.
Underscored and enhanced by the integrated production design of Yael Pardess
(sets/projections), Christopher Akerlind (lights) and Darron L. West (sounds), "Slanguage" is an
audiovisual collage of words, movement, music and rhythm that impresses with its originality and
unity of execution.
The group's musical sophistication is especially surprising. Blasting through the fractured syntax
of New York urban culture, the quintet exhibits the melodic veracity of a seasoned doo-wop group
and the contrapuntal percussion of an adroit rhythm section.
The throughline of "Slanguage" is a surrealistic subway ride that begins in Brooklyn and makes
its way to the Bronx. Along the way, the ensemble darts in and out of alleyways of sight and
sound, layering and overlapping their verbal jousts and philosophical, street-smart observations.
The production is imbued with references to the myriad influences that have invaded their
psyches, from kung-fu movies to Beat poets to Dr. Seuss.
As well as they meld together as an ensemble, each of the five also stands out as an individual
artist. Co-founding member Ruiz is the earth mother of the group. Her womanly, no-nonsense
presence offers a staunch stability to the often macho preening of her male counterparts. Ruiz's
full-throttled vocals also supply the musical foundation for the others to build on, as showcased
to memorable effect when the ensemble rips through a unique rendition of "Rockin' Robin" that
celebrates the wonders of sexual self-gratification.
Sapp, the elder statesman of the group, acts as emcee, leading and instructing the audience in
the correct manner of appreciating the group's offerings. A soulful manipulator of "freelance
figure of speech," Sapp exudes a captivating presence in his solo turn on "Original Beat,"
celebrating such word liberators of the past as Jack Kerouac, Lenny Bruce, Allen Ginsberg and
Amiri Baraka.
Chasten moves about the stage with a physical grace that's captivating on its own. His tribute to
Bruce Lee is a beautifully executed amalgam of word imagery and ballet-like martial arts
movement.
The newest members of the ensemble, Colon and Ninja, evoke a pulsating Latino presence within
the group. They lead the ensemble into a joyful examination of "Nuyoricanism" with all its
linguistic variations. The ensemble offers a hilarious but telling re-creation of a bilingual
education class where the children are linguistically and culturally torn asunder. In solo turns,
Ninja offers a hilarious confrontation between two gangs waging a "war of slang"; Colon is
memorable as he conjures up the image of life-stifling confinement "within the joint," where the
only solace is the occasional "cooling breeze" from the free world.
As a fitting summary to the evening, Sapp describes the efforts of Universes as "another
autobiography from at-risk agitators, assaulting and assembling articulation and alliteration, from
Allah to 'Amos 'n' Andy.' "
Sets and projections, Yael Pardess; lights, Christopher Akerlind; sounds, Darron L. West. Opened and reviewed May 7,
2004; runs through May 23. Running time: 90 MIN.
© 2004 Reed Business Information © 2004 Variety, Inc.
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Tuesday, May 11, 2004
Review: 'Slanguage' speaks to raw, vibrant language of theater
By Jeff Favre
It's clear that any play with a program that includes a "hip-hop to English" glossary is going to feel a little foreign to
anyone who doesn't enter already knowing what "bling-bling" or "aaight" means. Universes, a New York-based
company that combines poetry, song and theater, openly courts younger nontheatergoers who use such words,
which can be heard on rap records and city street corners.
That fact might frighten older or more conservative audiences from attending the ensemble's 90-minute piece,
"Slanguage," at the Ivy Subststation in Culver City. But they would be missing an intelligent, uncompromising,
vibrant experience of creativity in its rawest sense.
Universes, under the direction of Jo Bonney, weaves a musical, lyrical pastiche of New York life, in particular for
Latinos and blacks.
For this West Coast premiere, three of the company's five original members (Steven Sapp, Mildred Ruiz and Gamal
Abdel Chasten) have joined with Dominic Colon and Ninja to perform more than 30 vignettes, accompanied only by
a few sound effects, the percussion of hand against wood boxes, and five distinct and powerful voices.
Sapp serves as a de facto leader, urging the audience to shout and cheer as if this was a rap concert or a poetry
slam. His "Alliteration," a poem that exploits the poetic device for each letter of the alphabet, sets a blistering pace
that is maintained for much of the show. His inclusion of dozens of images -- from Jesus to rapper Tupac -- into
each stanza shows a remarkable grasp of history and sociology. And his phrasing and tempo turn the spoken word
into jazz, much like the best of the beat poets.
Each scene is a snapshot of New York. There are "Uptown Train #2" sections, in which we hear a vocal collage of
vendors, beggars, conductors and others riding the subway. We learn about the importance of the right "walk"
needed to fit into your neighborhood. There's an ode to boxer/poet Muhammad Ali, and even a hip-hop spoof on Dr.
Seuss.
Universes doesn't shy away from keeping it real, which includes a healthy dose of swearing. There are references
to murders, child abuse and other atrocities. But the group also shows, without preaching and with a healthy dose
of humor, that anyone can use creativity and education to turn negatives into positives.
Ruiz, the lone female, has a remarkably soulful voice. Chasten's comic timing is impeccable. Ninja can turn himself
into a human beat box and Colon displays an intensity that is palpable. Together, their talents merge into one force
that few Los Angeles performances have equaled in the last few seasons.
Theater companies often claim they are trying to expand the age and cultural background of their audiences, but
Universes is paying more than lip service to that mission. With "Slanguage" the company has proved that the same
concepts can connect with a teenager from South Central Los Angeles and a middle-age suburbanite from
Manhattan Beach, as long as it's honest and well-crafted.
And it's exciting to see a diverse audience share this experience.
Jeff Favre is a freelance entertainment writer based in Los Angeles.
West
Southern CA May 12, 2004
Slanguage
Reviewed By Travis Michael Holder
It may be impossible to reinvent the wheel, but one of the true glories of art is
that reinvention is constantly possible. With homage paid to Kerouac, Baldwin,
Lorca, Langston Hughes, and other brave wordsmiths vehemently unfettered
by rules and restrictions, the New York street artists known collectively as
Universes (creators Mildred Ruiz, Steven Sapp, Gamal Abdel Chasten, Flaco
Navaja, and Lemon; performers Ruiz, Sapp, Chasten, Dominic Colon, and
Ninja) turn the King's English upside down, redefining theatre, redefining
musicals, wielding words like weapons as they fiercely insist "there ain't no
artistic affirmative action here."
" Slanguage "
presented by the Center
Theatre Group/Mark
Taper Forum's Taper Too
at the Ivy Substation,
9070 Venice Blvd., Culver
City. Tue. -Thu. 8 p.m.,
Fri. & Sat. 7 & 10 p.m.
Sun. 8 p.m. May 2-23.
$12-30. (213) 628-2772.
After seeing them in performance, Taper Too's Director of New Play
Development Luis Alfaro made it his mission to bring these Afro-Latino-hiphoppin' voices to Los Angeles and, thankfully for our culturally thirsty
community, he finally convinced the right people to produce. We are treated to
an amazing verbal assault of crossbred mongrel languages that define a new
age. As rough and gritty as Slanguage is, the foundation is respect for the wonder of words, and the result
is hardcore street slang in iambic pentameter bred from a place where "every block's got a rhythm all its
own and your walk's gotta shout it loud and clear."
Ruiz, with a voice blending the earthy fogginess of Etta James and the battered soul of Joplin, is a first
generation Puerto Rican "trying not to get lost in translation." She wryly recalls the difficulties of not only
learning English but also passing Spanish 101. "See, Spanish comes from Spain," she says, "and I speak a
different flavor." Sapp is riveting in an angry standup routine, "told like an artist from the projects like J.J.
from Good Times," eloquently revealing his belief that you can't be a poet if you can't read someone else's
poetry without getting a tear in your eye and admitting "you don't know shit." Chasten is physical eloquence
doing graceful Bruce Lee moves, ready to fight any call to go back to Africa by standing up for his "100
percent Cherokee" roots that go back for centuries. Colon is a modern inner-city Genet as he talks about
starting a poem his first day in prison to remind himself of "the me that was supposed to be me" and is also
hilarious in a turn with Ninja as two homies sitting on a front stoop dissing a stranger who has made the
unfortunate decision to step onto their turf.
Snapped together by savvy director Jo Bonney on Yael Pardess' simple but effective set that allows for
striking projections of bleak city landscapes, Slanguage is without a doubt theatre to test new boundaries
and break new rules, drunk with the dreams of a vibrant and viable new generation of artists.
Poetic pyrotechnics drive intense urban tour
REVIEW: Universes' style as electric as the third rail.
By MARK MURO
Daily News theater reviewer
(Published: March 13, 2004)
"Slanguage" transcends the boundaries of its origins. Performed by Universes, an ensemble of five,
the show presents an exciting free romp through a lexicon of urban expression that twists and turns
and zooms us along on a lightning-paced journey into the soul of its poet creators.
From the moment the group took the stage at Out North Contemporary Art House on Thursday night,
the audience was bewitched by a rhythmic pulse and expressive vitality that didn't quit until the show's
screeching conclusion. Using music, dance, songs and the percussive qualities of the two black boxes
that comprised their set, the group intensely physicalized their poetic pyrotechnics, seeming to leave
few linguistic stones unturned.
With an unremitting athletic urgency, the performers ripped through a kaleidoscopic tour of urban
street language as it was, is and might be. The show's structure is a cross between Dante's "Divine
Comedy" and a sketch comedy cabaret revue, seamlessly morphing from section to section with each
part focusing on another aspect of ghetto life, where every block has a different rhythm. As the
players take us on a subway ride from Brooklyn to Harlem and finally to the South Bronx, the
birthplace of the global sensibility known as hip-hop, we encounter the highs and lows of life in the Big
Apple, from the beat poetry clubs of the Lower East Side to the Spanglish stoops uptown.
It's a wild, rattling ride, spilling over with humor, passion, insight and political awareness, with the
occasional shuttle to pathos, lest we forget that ghetto life ain't all fun and games. Using formidable
powers of poetic persuasion, the quintet slams together a variety of ingenious parodies, fusing fairy
tales, television news and classical literature into their collective crazy quilt, brimming with pop
references, fierce wordplay and the unexpected zigzags of the urban experience.
Playing off a dense cultural collage with heroic models such as Lord Buckley, Richard Pryor, Melle
Mel and Muhammad Ali, the ensemble invokes the inspirational sign posts that led the way toward
their artistic realization. One section, a send up of Dr. Seusses' "Sneeches," described a legendary
battle between "Willie Bobos" and "Willie What the Dealies,'' representing a verbal showdown
between the old and new styles of jive expression. Another outstanding section featured an extended
meditation on the significance of Bruce Lee's kung fu impact on the culture. Gamal Abdel Chasten
explained the shift from the common methods of self-defense to the benefits of a more Zen-based
approach, all the while demonstrating his impressive martial arts movements. As with so much of the
material that preceded it, the piece was funny, incisive and theatrically compelling.
"Slanguage," impeccably directed by Jo Bonny with an incredibly detailed and nuanced sound design,
is a powerful and entertaining work that defies comparison and includes some of the best spokenword performance I have seen. If you like words and the magical sparks they can make when
slammed together just right, don't miss this show.
July 28, 2001
THEATER REVIEW | 'SLANGUAGE'
The City's Beat, With an Iambic Heat
By LAWRENCE VAN GELDER
A
nyone who habitually enfolds New York in a loving embrace
— not just its Gold Coast and its midwinter galas but its pockets of
poverty and its packed and pounding subways in midsummer rush
hours — is likely to warm to the exuberant, insightful
entertainment titled "Slanguage."
Here, out of the mouths and clapping hands and dancing feet of
five multitalented performers known collectively as Universes,
comes the poetry of the city, minted in the urban furnace where the
flint of real life strikes the sparks of creation from concrete
pavement and steel tracks.
Sara Krulwich/The New York TimesLemon, left, Flaco
Navaja, Mildred Ruiz and Gamal Abdel Chasten
Expressed in rap and riffs and gospel and bluesy laments, among other poetic forms, this intermissionless, roughly
95-minute roller coaster of rhythm at New York Theater Workshop takes the listener by the ear. The show travels
from the underground rattlers, where the beggar, the battery seller and the religious rile the riders; to the streets,
where walking is attitude; and to the tenements, where domestic disputes leave babies dead.
But God is here, too, and Ali and Jack Kerouac and the great Puerto Rican migration and Dr. Seuss; so along with
the politics of dislocation and the problems of assimilation and richer and poorer and neighborhoods and classrooms
come fun and a feverish joy of language. The program for "Slanguage" includes an educational and laughterinducing glossary. If someone hasn't heard the latest bochinche, or gossip, from someone dressed in a bubblegoose,
or puffy down jacket, about some Mumia, or prisoner on death row, it is possible to front, or act as if one has.
Here is the place, as the words of a scene called "Alphabet City A-Z Cafe" put it, "where a variety of verbal vandals'
voices evolve the vernacular verbatim."
Directed and developed by Jo Bonney, whose credits include "References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot" and "Stop
Kiss," this show, which opened on Monday night, is presented in some 30 swift scenes in which Universes, out of
the South Bronx, display their talents solo and in various combinations. These praiseworthy performers include the
lyricist and percussionist Gamal Abdel Chasten; the spoken-word aficionado who carries only the name Lemon;
Flaco Navaja, a Latino poet; Mildred Ruiz, a noteworthy singer; and Steven Sapp, whose gifts run to poetry,
playwriting, acting and directing.
Aided and abetted by the sound design of Darron L. West, the scenic design of Scott Pask, the lighting of James
Vermeulen and the evocative projection design of Batwin & Robin Productions, they have created something
special, a work of heart and soul that distills the essence of the city.
Houston Chronicle
Jan. 17, 2003, 10:12PM
THEATER REVIEW
'Slanguage' speaks of urban experience
By EVERETT EVANS
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle
Wearing its streetwise spirit like a badge of honor, Slanguage assembles poetry, song and
movement into a theatrical collage depicting the contemporary urban landscape.
From subway trains to tenement crime scenes, the locales are conjured with immediacy and
authenticity.
The Bronx-born troupe Universes created and performs the show, making its Texas debut through
tonight at DiverseWorks.
Slanguage has much in common with Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam, the showcase of hip-hop
performance poets currently on Broadway. Indeed, Lemon, one of the five core Universes
members who created Slanguage, is not performing the show here because he's on Broadway in
Def Poetry Jam. Indio Melendez has stepped in for this tour, joining co-creators Steven Sapp,
Mildred Ruiz, Gamal-Abdel Chasten and Flaco Navaja.
In solo turns or the more frequent joint endeavors, each participant contributes mightily to this
ingenious, high-energy performance. Fresh and frank, displaying plenty of attitude, Slanguage is
invigorating.
In contrast to the wide-ranging material of Def Poetry Jam, Slanguage casts a narrower net,
focusing on a particular aspect of urban experience.
Yet like the cast of Def Poetry Jam, the Slanguage team revels in language. They are eager to
stake their claim to a tradition that extends from John Milton to John Keats to Langston Hughes
(among the many poets mentioned), but with their own stamp and style.
One sequence refers to Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven, while the style of Dr. Seuss is
(sporadically) evoked in a rhymed tale about rival gangs.
The joy of wordplay can come in sly substitutions, as in a line referring to the quintet's a capella
singing as "Acapulco singing." More prominent is Sapp's solo "alphabet" of alliterative phrases,
spanning A to Z with such lines as "grateful for this ghetto gift of gab." A later scene is
specifically a paean to beat poets and their legacy.
One scene creates a vivid picture of a subway train in motion, using onomatopoeic words, the
slapping or stomping sounds of the performers and the addition of sound effects and flashing
lights. The scene typifies director Jo Bonney's simple but effective staging.
Another highlight is a round of fairy tales and nursery rhymes, retold in modern urban terms.
"Humpty was a brother who fell off 'cause he put himself above everybody else. ... "
"Mother Goose was a single mother with nine kids. ... "
"Cindy didn't put out on the first date. ... "
The final scenes are especially strong, beginning with a subway song about the "million different
stories on the train," followed by scenes of domestic violence and the plague of urban
indifference, neighbors striving to remain uninvolved.
Overall, Slanguage could be better shaped and structured. There are spots where the writing of
individual sequences could be sharpened, the delivery clarified (some parts are lost in the whirl of
sound effects and overlapping voices).
Some of the show's best moments and ideas are not fully exploited. For instance, the nursery tales
and the "stories on the train" song could profitably be extended and further developed. These
sequences are so good one wants more of them before the cast moves to the next piece.
Nonetheless, when the show connects, which is pretty frequently, it speaks a potent Slanguage
everyone can understand.
Slanguage
When: 8 tonight
Where: DiverseWorks, 1117 East Freeway
Tickets: $20; 713-335-3445