Cannabis! A Theatrical Concert
Baba Israel and Grace Galu’s band Soul Inscribed use music, dance, and spoken word to explore the history of Cannabis. This theatrical concert is inspired by Smoke Signals: A Social History of Marijuana – Medical, Recreational, and Scientific by Martin A. Lee (2012). Grounded in the Hip Hop tradition of the remix, the show mashes-up iconic music from La Cucaracha of the Mexican Revolution, Louis Armstrong and other Jazz “vipers,” to the Beat era, 60’s Rock n’ Roll, and Reggae. Israel adapts the stories of countercultural icons, grassroots activists, and the plant itself, weaving a time-traveling tale of jubilation, injustice, and transformation.
We are embarking on this project, recognizing that we are at a tipping point in America’s history with cannabis. More than half of the states and the District of Columbia currently have laws legalizing cannabis. Now is the time to challenge the taboos and perceptions of the plant by exploring its history, medical impact, the racist roots of prohibition, and its continued legacy of mass incarceration of communities of color. We want to explore the opportunities and contradictions emerging as legalization spreads across the country.
As part of HERE RAW / Resident Artist Works.
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Grace Galu & Baba Israel
Feb 28
as part of HERE RAW / Resident Artist Works
Fri @ 7pm
The purchase of a $15 HERE RAW Works Pass will allow the holder admission to any HERE RAW Work-in-Progress performance on a first-come, first-served basis. You must complete the purchase of your Works Pass before you can select events. After purchasing your Works Pass, you may reserve seats to HERE RAW performances by logging into your account, and selecting the events from the calendar. You may also use your name at the door as long as there is space permitting. A post-show discussion will follow the performance.
Already have a Works Pass? Apply it to Cannabis! by logging in here.
Students and educators can experience HERE RAW for free. To make a reservation contact Eleanor Kipping, Audience Activist at eleanor@here.org or message us on Facebook @hereartscenter
Otherwise, purchase a Works Pass:
Grace Galu & Baba Israel
Grace Galu is a vocalist, actor, guitarist and composer. She combines the sounds of her Irish and Congolese heritage and her LES upbringing in a soulful and gritty twist.. Grace was featured in Buskerball, and recorded “Firelight” with Fearless Music. Her composition, “Ordinary Sentiment” was featured in the Ed Burns film, “Purple Violets'' which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. Grace devised The Mendelssohn Electric with Trusty Sidekick, and was cast as the lead in their production, The Gospel Electric, commissioned by the Park Avenue Armory. She is a core member of the band Soul Inscribed, and was twice selected as a cultural ambassador for the American Music Abroad program. She has been selected as a cultural ambassador for their next residency program (2022). Grace is also a recipient of the NEFA NTP grant. Soul Inscribed has recently been signed to the music label, Tokyo Dawn and just released their EP, Tune UP. Grace is an artist in residence at HERE Arts Center and the composer for Cannabis! A Viper Vaudeville. Grace voiced Wisdom in Nia Witherspoon’s production, The Dark Girl Chronicles (2021 at The Shed).
Baba Israel is an artist, producer, educator and consultant raised in New York by parents who were core members of the Living Theatre. He co-founded Playback NYC, the first playback theatre company to integrate freestyle hip hop. His debut solo show “Boom Bap Meditations” was supported by the Ford Foundation and the Hip Hop Theatre festival. He has toured across Asia, Africa, Europe, the South Pacific, North and South America as a hip hop and theatre artist and led cultural ambassador programs internationally supported by the US State Department. His work has been featured in documentaries such as Freestlye and Hip Hop for Hope, and on MTV and BET.He was Artistic Director and CEO of Contact Theatre in Manchester, a leading venue at the intersection of youth leadership and innovative performance. He premiered his most recent multimedia performance The Spinning Wheel as a resident artist at BRIC in Brooklyn. The production was developed and toured in the UK, Holland and Norway and in America with MDC Live Arts and the University of Madison, Wisconsin. He holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College and is the Co-Artistic Director of the Performance Project based at the University Settlement.Soul Inscribed is a hip hop, and spoken word collective who are the core band for the production. The ensemble creates an eclectic new vision of jazz, dub, and funk.