Universes (theatre ensemble)
A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. (May 2010) |
Universes | |
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General Information | |
Name | UNIVERSES |
Type | Poetic Musical Theater Ensemble |
Year Founded | 1995 |
Members | Steven Sapp Mildred Ruiz-Sapp Gamal Abdel Chasten William Ruiz (a.k.a. Ninja) |
Location | New York City, New York, United States (Bronx, NY & Lower East Side - L.E.S) |
Website | www.universesonstage.com/ |
Universes (stylized UNIVERSES) is a
to create what has been described as moving, challenging and entertaining theatrical works. The group, with four core members, breaks traditional theatrical bounds to create its own brand of theater.Founded in New York in 1995, the members of Universes came together in the urban poetry scene of the late 1990s. Through sessions at the New York Theatre Workshop they have developed from a revue format to mounting fully fledged theater pieces. They have performed at venues throughout the United States and toured extensively world-wide.
History
In early 1995, while collaborating at
After this, some of company members then traveled to Poland within a larger group of actors from THE POINT's Live from The Edge Theater under the leadership of Steven and Mildred to collaborate in a production of Alfred Jarry's UBU under the direction of Steven Sapp in collaboration with Teatre Ploski. Caridad de la Luz began to pursue her solo career soon thereafter. On March 22, 1997 Universes from the Bronxside was invited to perform at a fundraiser event at El Puente (Brooklyn, NY) called Lemon+Aid to help Lemon Andersen, who was then imprisoned, after his release. Steven, Mildred, Flaco & Caridad and Paul performed that night. Once Lemon was released and saw the fundraiser video tape, he visited UNIVERSES at The Point to meet them. Soon thereafter, Lemon joined the company and after seeing some of the theatrical performances Steven and Mildred had created at Bard College in 1989 (namely, "Purgatory") he was on board with the idea that the company should shift into a more theatrical ensemble.[citation needed]
Universes was creating 10–15 minute vignettes which incorporated Poetry, Music, Theater and movement. As the company grew in name recognition, Lemon, who was from brooklyn, asked if the company could drop "from the Bronxside", The company agreed, in an effort to be more inclusive and more "universal". After that, UNIVERSES invited Gamal Abdel Chasten to join the company. Gamal was also a poet in the NYC scene and complimented UNIVERSES storytelling and musical styles. Lois Griffith of The NuYorican Poets Cafe invited UNIVERSES for a dull evening of work. Before then, Universes would only perform 10–15 vignettes at venues. This would be the first of UNIVERSES' full-length works. It had no title, and included some of the companies already polished pieces and some new works. Universes then decided that they would work on their 1st play ... "The Ride".[citation needed]
Universes members all grew up in housing projects in New York City and starting performing poetry in the "thriving spoken-word scene" of the late 1990s, namely, The NuYorican Poets Cafe.[2] Based out of The Bronx, NY, the company was born and raised of the artistic environment created by Steven Sapp and Mildred Ruiz, also co-founders of THE POINT Community Development Corporation (Hunts Point) in 1993. The Company was founded by Steven Sapp and Mildred Ruiz-Sapp and currently consists of four core members: Steven Sapp, Mildred Ruiz-Sapp, Gamal Abdel Chasten and William Ruiz (a.k.a. Ninja).[citation needed]
The company's work transitioned from a revue format to fully fledged theatrical pieces under the direction of
In 2008, Universes toured to Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Romania, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom as part of the
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival commissioned the company to produce new works for their "American Revolutions: U.S. History Cycle" project.[8] Party People premiered at the festival in 2012. UniSon, inspired by and using excerpts of August Wilson's unpublished poetry, premiered in 2017.[9]
In 2019 Universes' anthology, entitled The Big Bang: Plays, Poetry and Process will be published by Theatre Communications Group (TCG Books).[10]
Members
Mildred Ruiz-Sapp, married to fellow member Steven Sapp, is also elder sister to William "Ninja" Ruiz. The three, plus Gamal Abdel Chasten, make up the current core four of the group. However, as described by Ruiz-Sapp, the nature of UNIVERSES allows members to come and go as works with their schedules.
Past collaborating members of UNIVERSES include (in order of appearance):
Reception
The group has been generally well received by critics in the United States and further afield, although with some reservations. The Boston Herald, said of Slanguage that it "crackles with passion and street-smart humor. It's a linguistic fireworks display, and it's difficult not to be swept along with its percussive momentum and dazzling wordplay."
The
Works
- UniSon
- Party People
- Spring Training (Igor Stravinsky)
- Ameriville
- Blue Suite
- Rhythmicity: Flipping The Script
- The Denver Project
- The Last Word
- One Shot In Lotus Position
- Eyewitness Blues (Which later became BLUE SUITE)
- Slanguage
- Live From The Edge
- The Ride
References
- ^ "Word:Life The First Poetry Concert & Seminar". February 12, 1997. Archived from the original on 1999-10-12.
- ^ a b McNulty, Charles (November 16, 1999). "Gazing Into the Universes". The Village Voice. New York, NY: Village Voice Media. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
- ^ Solomon, Alisa (July 24, 1999). "Beats and Keats". The Village Voice. New York, NY: Village Voice Media. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
- ^ "New World Theater: Universes". University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Archived from the original on May 29, 2010. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
- ^ Monsen, Lauren (April 25, 2008). "Poetic Theater Ensemble Enthralls Audiences on Six-Nation Tour". US State Department. Archived from the original on May 30, 2009. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
- ^ "Universes' 'Ameriville' looks at fear through lens of Katrina". TheDartmouth.com. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
- ^ "2009 Humana Festival Calendar" (PDF). Actors Theatre of Louisville. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 8, 2009. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
- ^ "OSF Commissions Second Round of Artists for U.S. History Cycle". Oregon Shakespeare Festival. June 12, 2009. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
- ^ FLANAGAN BATTISTELLA, MAUREEN (May 1, 2017). "'UniSon' terrors will linger". MailTribune. Medford, OR: The Mail Tribune.
- ^ "National Association of Latino Arts and Culture - June 2007". National Association of Latino Arts and Culture. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
- ^ Nesti, Robert (July 27, 2005). "Street-smart 'Slanguage' is as good as its words". Boston Herald, archived at LexisNexis. Boston, MA: Boston Herald Inc. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
- ^ Van Gelder, Lawrence (July 28, 2001). "The City's Beat, With an Iambic Heat". The New York Times. New York, NY. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
- ^ Spera, Keith (February 28, 2010). "'Ameriville,' a hip-hop musical with a social conscience, is at its best when its focus is on Katrina's aftermath". The Times-Picayune, archived at LexisNexis. New Orleans, LA: The Times-Picayune Publishing Company. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
- ^ Brighton, Kurt (November 19, 2009). "Staging Katrina's stormy legacy". The Denver post. Denver: The Denver Post. Retrieved April 25, 2010.