They Do Not Know Harlem

CREATIVE TEAM

Kathryn Hunter-Williams
Director

Tristan André
Actor

Jan Chambers
Scenic/Costume Designer

Kathy A. Perkins
lighting designer

Derek A. Graham
sound designer/contributing composer

Alan Thompson
music director/composer

Joseph Amodei
Projection & video designer

Alejandro Rodriguez
Associate Director

Thomas F. DeFrantz
movement consultant

Jacqueline E. Lawton
Dramaturg

Tia James
Resident vocal coach

Derrick Beasley
Visual Artist/PHotography

Aspen Blake Jackson
Stage MAnager

The Band

Alan Thompson - KEYS/SAX
Christian Sharp - BASS
Brandon Mitchell - Drums
Dottie Lenae - Lead Vocals/Griot

Designer's Note

they do Not Know Harlem is a personal love letter to as well as a reflection of one's identity as it relates to race, sexuality, and humanity. Tristan André, the writer and lead performer of this work, uses james baldwin as a muse and voice of the past to embrace his authentic self. The work tells Tristan's story and the key events that led to his embracing his identity as a black queer man. He interweaves the parallels of his story with james baldwin, a black intellectual and activist of the civil rights era. much of the baldwin text is adapted from Notes of a Native son and Tristan transforms to and from Baldwin in a "cosmic" way. He conveys much of this transformation by dance and movement. The show features a live band, led by Music Director Alan Thompson, which performed original music that fuses soul, gospel, hip hop, and funk.

The sound design was a uniquely involved process, as the world of this work embodies afro-futurism. Each section of dance was labeled as a movement, three of which I composed, and ALan composition the vast majority. His Live orchestrations, in conjunction with the backing tracks we prepared, allowed us to create a timeless, ethereal atmosphere where the music almost serves as a force for Tristan's movements. The show also makes use of visual projections by Joseph amodei, who allowed the visuals to have a real-time reactive sense to the music and movement, creating a futuristically abstract look onstage.