Hip-hop tracks will be transformed into plays at this upcoming festival, merging the worlds of music and theater in a new way.
The BRED Hip-Hop Theatre Festival, a one-day event celebrating the stories of hip-hop music through live performances, will hold its inaugural event on Saturday, Sept. 7.
Unlike traditional hip-hop theater, which typically infuses hip-hop elements into pre-written plays, this festival will focus on turning well-known hip-hop songs into full-fledged theatrical works. In addition to these new productions, the day will feature a block party with rap performances, DJ sets, panel discussions, dance battles, learning opportunities, virtual reality experiences, and more.
BRED, an acronym for Beats Rhymes Everything Detroit, is a local collective of artists founded in 2011 by Alesyn “Al Wu” McCall and her brother Richard “King Kvll” McCall, II, both hip-hop artists, producers, and event organizers.
While the group has organized many hip-hop events over the years, the upcoming festival will be the first to add theater to the mix.
“I think the whole point of [BRED] was to emphasize or enhance all these different artistic avenues. We have all these friends that do 10 different jobs in their artistry, so [we’re] promoting them as well as creating a stage and a platform for them,” Richard says. “It’s really just an opportunity for people who wouldn’t typically be exposed to how these worlds meet. Whether that’s the synergy between technology and arts, theater and arts, theater and music, it’s creating grounds for different demographics to see that.”
He adds, “It’s that marriage of what we’ve done and what’s to come.”
Though theater is new for Richard, Alesyn’s background in both theater and hip-hop led to the festival’’s creation. She says that theater is often seen as a predominantly white space, but it’s important to her to show that’s not the case, and to create more opportunities for Black people in theater.
“What was different about this idea was kind of highlighting or honoring the stories that are already present in hip hop that we already know, and then, just approaching it differently,” Alesyn says. “Having that platform for the artists who are making the stories, who are the writers and the rappers, and having a stage for them with the block party, it’s kind of like presenting what we do outside and making that accessible to folks, but then also here’s something different.”
The festival will take place at Hilberry Gateway on Wayne State University’s campus during Elements Hip Hop Weekend, and coincides with Dally in the Alley, allowing the local community to attend multiple events in one day.
“Dally does a great job engaging the community. I think this will expand that coverage,” Richard says. “I really hope for people who’ve never been to Dally, this would be the time to be able to come down and experience the whole energy that will be in that area.”
Unlike some 48-hour festivals, participants will have more time to write, set up, and prepare the plays before the event.
Festival playwrights include KendraRenee Sanders, Seshat Walker, and 2020 Kresge Award Fellow in playwriting Shawntai Brown, who is also directing new work development and leading “16 Bars,” the 16-day creation period leading up to the festival. Confirmed directors include Will Bryson, Lynch Travis, and Izaya Spencer, and the partnering acting company features professional artists from Detroit and surrounding areas, as well as student actors and technical designers from Wayne State University’s Theatre and Dance program.
The full cast and crew of the festival will be announced next week.
“Detroit is where it’s at in my mind,” Alesyn says. “I am part of this theater resurgence in the city … The whole point is to create these opportunities, especially for Black theater artists in the city to have a platform on stage because so many artists it’s like, ‘Oh, if you’re in theater, you go to New York, you go to L.A., you go to Chicago, where there’s a theater town,’ but to be a part of that developing stages for theater here in Detroit, more of that needs to happen.”
In keeping with BRED’s mission of accessibility, tickets to the festival are donation-based, with a suggested donation of $25-$35.
“We’re not putting up barriers to that, we welcome hip-hop lovers and lovers of words and stories and rhythm and all of that stuff,” Alesyn says. “Historically, hip-hop is a Black and Latino art. I want that to be there, but I also want folks to feel like, ‘Hey, if I like rap you know, I can pull up too.’”
To build excitement and fundraise for the festival, BRED is hosting an afternoon of music and community at Belle Isle on Friday, Aug. 30.
More information is available at hiphoptheatrefest.com.
