Hip-Hop theater

Hip-hop theater is a form of theater that presents contemporary stories through the use of one or more of the four elements of hip-hop culture—b-boying, graffiti writing, MCing (rapping), and DJing. Other cultural markers of hip-hop such as spoken word, beatboxing, and hip-hop dance can be included as well although they are not always present. What is most important is the language of the theatrical piece and the plot's relevance to the world. Danny Hoch, founder of the Hip-Hop Theater Festival, further defines it as such: "Hip-hop theatre must fit into the realm of theatrical performance, and it must be by, about and for the hip-hop generation, participants in hip-hop culture, or both."

Hip-hop theater productions appear in a wide range of platforms including single performances, week-long festivals, and traveling repertory companies. Marc Bamuthi Joseph is an award winning spoken word poet and dancer who has been commissioned several times to create and direct single hip-hop theater works. British choreographer Jonzi D is the artistic director of the London-based Breakin' Convention, a week long hip-hop theater festival. Rennie Harris, Mourad Merzouk, and Victor Quijada are artistic directors who run hip-hop theater companies in the U.S., France, and Canada respectively. The Rock Steady Crew, Magnificent Force, and the Rhythm Technicians pioneered this theatrical genre which started in the United States.

History

Though hip-hop culture has managed to establish itself on film, on television, in fashion, in music, and in the dance industry, it has not gained the same momentum in theater. Stage productions are few in number but growing. The first hip-hop stage shows were 1990's off Broadway musical "So! What Happens Now?" and 1995's "Jam on the Groove" which were co-authored, co-directed, and co-choreographed by Jorge "Popmaster Fabel" Pabon and Steffan "Mr. Wiggles" Clemente. Rock Steady Crew, Magnificent Force, and the Rhythm Technicians performed in both shows. Aside from the pioneers in New York City was Lorenzo "Rennie" Harris' Puremovement (RHPM) hip-hop theater company which Harris founded in 1992 in Philadelphia. The company has toured all over the world showcasing its original works such as "March of the Antmen", "P-Funk", "Endangered Species", "Facing Mekka", and "Rome & Jewels". RHPM also organizes the annual Illadelph Legends Festival which brings together the pioneers—the people who were b-boying, locking, and popping in the 1970s when these styles were developed—and respected practitioners of hip-hop dance to teach master classes, give lecture demonstrations, and participate in panel discussions.

Repertory companies

Other hip-hop theater companies were founded in the 1990s. Compagnie Käfig is a French hip-hop theater company of mostly Algerian descent founded in 1995 by Mourad Merzouki. Their performances mix standard b-boying, locking, and popping with capoeira, mime, and gymnastics. They use the same fusion in music by mixing rap music with classical music and Andalusian guitar. While on tour in the U.S. they performed at Jacob's Pillow in Massachusetts (2001) and at the Joyce Theater in New York (2002).

Groovaloo is a hip-hop theater company based in Los Angeles that was founded by Bradley "Shooz" Rapier. It started out in 1999 as a dance crew, The Groovaloos, and progressed into a stage show that is a series of stories based on the true life experiences of the dancers. Company members include Edmundo "Poe One" Loayza, Rynan "Kid Rainen" Paguio from JabbaWockeeZ, and Teresa "Rag Doll" Espinosa from Beat Freaks.

RUBBERBANDance Group (RBDG) was founded in 2002 in Montreal by Los Angeles native Victor Quijada. Quijada first started dancing as a b-boy in Baldwin Park, California. He studied modern dance in high school and after graduating went on to become a professional dancer under Twyla Tharp and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal. He started RBDG dance company after leaving the Montreal ballet. The New York Times called the style of dance his company performs "post hip-hop" because it's a fusion of hip-hop dance and ballet.

Independent performance

Marc Bamuthi Joseph is an award-winning spoken word poet and playwright who frequently directs independent hip-hop theater productions. Some of his works include "Word Becomes Flesh", "De/Cipher", and "No Man's Land". He collaborated with Rennie Harris in 2007 to create "Scourge", a play about Haiti's social-economic struggles. Joseph directed the play while Harris served as the choreographer. In 2008, he created "the break/s" which is based on the book Can't Stop Won't Stop by Jeff Chang. Other solo hip-hop theater artists include Sarah Jones who headlined the first Hip-Hop Theater Festival and award-winning playwright Will "Power" Wylie who collaborated with Danny Hock on his one-man play "Flow".

There are also other hip-hop stage productions such as "Breaking the Cypher" and "Monsters of Hip Hop: The Show", a Broadway-style production created every year for the most talented participants of the Monsters of Hip Hop dance convention. The stage production "Blaze: the Streetdance Sensation" was put together in 2010 in London's West End. Heavy emphasis is placed on the choreography as there is ninety minutes of dancing but no storyline. Several styles are performed in the show including hip-hop, breaking, popping, and locking.

Festivals

• Rencontres de la Villette is a two week hip-hop theater festival started in France in 1996. Unlike the other theater companies mentioned, Recontres de la Villette was started with the help of government subsidies from the Ministry of Culture to promote the arts.
• Hip-Hop Theater Festival was founded in 2000 in New York City by playwright and actor Danny Hoch. The week-long festival starts in D.C. and tours annually to New York, San Francisco, and Chicago.
• Breakin' Convention was started in 2004 by playwright and dancer Jonzi D and is housed annually at Sadler's Wells Theatre in London. Every year starts off with a three-day festival in London. After the London festival, the convention tours to other cities in the United Kingdom.

See Also

• Wild 'n Out
• The Raw Report DVD-Magazine
• Hip-Hop culture

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Hip-Hop theater