NEW STORIES FOR ANew Era. |
"In a world where theaters are shuttered, actors aren't working and musicians are playing in their living rooms, Wilbury takes an innovative approach to performance art with this delightfully inspired production."
-EDGE Providence |
NEW STORIES FOR A NEW ERA.
PRESENTED IN COLLABORATION WITH WATERFIRE PROVIDENCE
PRESENTED IN COLLABORATION WITH WATERFIRE PROVIDENCE
AUGUST 9 - 22
Like Boccaccio's original 'Decameron',
'Decameron, Providence' happens over a span of 14 days.
2 days for Prayer.
2 days for Chores.
10 days for Stories.
Our Stories happen Tuesday - Saturday in 10 outdoor performance spaces,
spread out over the WaterFire and ALCO building campus.
These performance spaces are divided into 'East' and 'West' zones.
Each zone includes 5 Artists in 5 outdoor performance spaces, and
Audience members are permitted to visit one zone per night.
We invite you to visit both EAST and WEST.
PLEASE NOTE: In accordance with Dept. of Health guidelines,
tickets for all shows are sold in advance up to one-hour before showtime. No walk-up tickets will be available at the door.
All performances begin promptly at 6:30pm, and late admission is not permitted.
tickets for all shows are sold in advance up to one-hour before showtime. No walk-up tickets will be available at the door.
All performances begin promptly at 6:30pm, and late admission is not permitted.
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
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When the plague ravaged Florence in 1348, Giovanni Boccaccio imagined 10 friends fleeing the outbreak and quarantining together. They endured the isolation by telling each other tales of passion, obsession, vice, folly... Also known as "The Human Comedy," the Decameron celebrates life.
In Decameron, Providence you, the audience will move through 10 outdoor story gardens. In each one, you'll encounter a testimony of life in the year 2020, created by some of our city's most luminous talents. Each artist, musician, and storyteller offers us a new way to connect to this place and time, and to the people here with us. View the press release.
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PRODUCTION VIDEO
DECAMERON, PROVIDENCE videography by Oliver "Syde-Sho" Arias.
PRODUCTION PHOTOS
DECAMERON, PROVIDENCE photos by Erin X. Smithers.
ABOUT OUR STORIES
DECAMERON - WEST
Desmond Bratton & Ashley Frith
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Classically trained musicians Ashley Frith and Desmond Batton of Community Music Works take audiences on an original musical performance reflecting on an idealized world and the world we know, the one our hearts break for.
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Christopher Johnson & Big Luxe
Invoice for Emotional Labor: Act 2, Scene 5
Act 2 Scene 5 of my solo performance Invoice for Emotional Labor will include video and violinist "Big Lux." The act is a monologue talking through an experience of being Black and feeling othered in Providence because of the lack of blackness, the anti Blackness and Black erasure. Though there is a sense of hope at the end ot the monologue, there is also a challenge and "call to arms" to be a part of change.
Christopher Johnson is an artist and educator based in Providence, RI. His passion for performance art began with winning numerous awards as a Slam Poet. Christopher’s work has become a theatrical experience, exploring issues such as race, incarceration, and mental illness. His second project, New and Dangerous Ideas, tackles race and police, with the goal to put everyone on the level of human, seeking to decriminalize race and humanize the police. New and Dangerous Ideas won him the 2018 Rhode Island State Council of the Arts Fellowship for Play writing as well as made him a finalist for the 2018 McColl Johnson Fellowship. His up and coming project Invoice for Emotional Labor focuses on Race and the new lexicon surrounding social justice, race and racism using personal stories. Expression is his activism. Learn more about Christopher's work at TheNcredibull.com
Big Lux is the alter ego of Kevin Lowther II – a hip hop musician and violinist who will change the way you look at the instrument forever. Classically trained in in his hometown of Westerly, RI, he has jazz, country and hip-hop influences that allow him to blend styles and provide fresh new takes on music of every genre.
Christopher Johnson is an artist and educator based in Providence, RI. His passion for performance art began with winning numerous awards as a Slam Poet. Christopher’s work has become a theatrical experience, exploring issues such as race, incarceration, and mental illness. His second project, New and Dangerous Ideas, tackles race and police, with the goal to put everyone on the level of human, seeking to decriminalize race and humanize the police. New and Dangerous Ideas won him the 2018 Rhode Island State Council of the Arts Fellowship for Play writing as well as made him a finalist for the 2018 McColl Johnson Fellowship. His up and coming project Invoice for Emotional Labor focuses on Race and the new lexicon surrounding social justice, race and racism using personal stories. Expression is his activism. Learn more about Christopher's work at TheNcredibull.com
Big Lux is the alter ego of Kevin Lowther II – a hip hop musician and violinist who will change the way you look at the instrument forever. Classically trained in in his hometown of Westerly, RI, he has jazz, country and hip-hop influences that allow him to blend styles and provide fresh new takes on music of every genre.
These Truths
by Don Mays - AFRI Productions
These Truths, presented by Don Mays - AFRI Productions is the visualization of a poem that exposes the fallacies of the Declaration of Independence, which proclaims, "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal..." In this illustrative short film, the response to, and factors that lead to, the murder of George Floyd and other recent and past atrocities experienced by Black America are explored with the intent to engage audiences in necessary conversation. The running time is under fifteen minutes, leaving each audience time to dialogue with the filmmaker.
Don Mays is a Filmmaker, Theatre Director and Photographer based in Providence. As a filmmaker, Mays has one feature film, one HBO short film, a documentary and several short films and scripts to his credit. As a theatre director, Mays has worked with several local theaters including The Providence Black Rep and Wilbury Theatre Group. Currently Mays has used his photography skills to document the uprising in association with the Black Lives Matters movement.
Don Mays is a Filmmaker, Theatre Director and Photographer based in Providence. As a filmmaker, Mays has one feature film, one HBO short film, a documentary and several short films and scripts to his credit. As a theatre director, Mays has worked with several local theaters including The Providence Black Rep and Wilbury Theatre Group. Currently Mays has used his photography skills to document the uprising in association with the Black Lives Matters movement.
Andy Russ
dumbshow: Epic of Tales
Performance art meets choose your own adventure in this multimedia meditation on the hero’s journey. Created and performed by Andy Russ, resident artist at the Wilbury Theatre, and director of Passive Aggressive Novelty Company. Realized in collaboration with Fiona Russ.
www.passiveaggressivenoveltycompany.com @passiveaggressivenoveltyco
www.passiveaggressivenoveltycompany.com @passiveaggressivenoveltyco
The End of the World Cabaret
feat. The Wilbury Group's Resident Artists
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A rotating cast of socially-distanced musicians, actors and performers take a lighter look at these strange days with The Wilbury Group's End of the World Cabaret, featuring many of the Group's Resident Artists under the direction of Brien Lang, co-conspirators Jen Mischley, Daraja Hinds, Dave Carney, and the world famous Rhode Island Ukulele Armada.
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DECAMERON - EAST
ABOUT OUR STORIES
The Langston Hughes Community
Poetry Reading Collective
feat. April Brown, Eugenie Belony, Halima Ibrahim,
Damont Combs, Jude Paye, and more to-be-announced
The Langston Hughes Community Poetry Reading Collective is a public performance group that recognizes the impact and relevance of Langston Hughes’ life and work, especially for their vibrant pictures of life during the Harlem Renaissance and the Jazz Age and insights about the ongoing racial divide in America.
Follow LHCPRC on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Follow LHCPRC on Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.
Shaffany Piáget
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My piece is going to be an installation. While using various performance mediums. The visual & audio installation begins with a dance piece, followed by a performative demonstration and concludes with the Artist original material reciting spoken word.
This work is inspired by history, current protests and the times that we are in today. Shaffany Piáget is a Beautiful singer, dancer and actor from BOS and PVD. She has performed at Trinity Rep, AS220, Pell Chafee Performance Center, RIC and Rites and Reasons Theater. Instagram/ @shaffany |
Saul Ramos (ALNE) + Shey Rivera Ríos
w/ Maritza Martell, Sussy Santana, and more to-be-announced
Saul Ramos is an educator and an interdisciplinary artist. He is co-founder and artistic director of Arte Latino of New England (ALNE). Saul joins Shey Rivera to curate a sequence of performances by local artists reflecting on ritual, identity, home, and queerness. Facebook.com/ALNE
Shey Rivera Ríos is an interdisciplinary artist, using the mediums of performance, video/animation, and installation. A 2020 Artist in Residence with The Wilbury Theatre Group, Rivera joins performance artist and educator Saul Ramos Espola, to curate a sequence of performances by local artists reflecting on ritual, identity, home, and queerness. @SheyRiv /// Facebook @SheyRiveraRios
Vatic Kuumba
I am a creator. I was created by two veterans of a Jim Crow Florida. My mother was educated by all-black institutions. Then became only the black Teacher in an all-white rural school during integration.
I grew up inside of a redline box. When I go back there, I see the signs commemorating the historic blackness of the neighborhood. I wrote my first rap and dreamed my first dreams in this context. Therefore my satire is rooted in the rhythms of cicadas and crickets. I moved from that place in 2012. The last hour of 2013 my oldest daughter was born in the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. That same year I competed on my first poetry team in Oakland, California. In 2014 I was arrested during a protest on I 95. I was working as The YMCA Director of a 21st Century School in Providence. I almost lost my job because of my activism.
In 2016 I started working at AS220 youth. That same year Invisible Upsouth premiered at Wilbury Theatre. That was the first play I had done any writing on. I also co-starred in it. In 2017 I completed a live art residency at AS220, culminating with A Furtive Movement. Currently, I am developing a cycle of plays with partners such as Rites & Reason Theatre at Brown University and Trinity Repertory Company. Becoming a father happened for me around the same time I became an artist. I have always been a creator but when I found my audience I was able to hone my voice. The same is true with fatherhood. When Irislouise and Ellaquinn were born I found an audience for the nurturing I always had on the periphery.
I am driven by ideas. My passion belongs to creation. Words are the most economical medium. One can create a universe with words and never spend a penny. At the conception of every creation is a thought. I think in universes and like every poet I write with worlds.
I grew up inside of a redline box. When I go back there, I see the signs commemorating the historic blackness of the neighborhood. I wrote my first rap and dreamed my first dreams in this context. Therefore my satire is rooted in the rhythms of cicadas and crickets. I moved from that place in 2012. The last hour of 2013 my oldest daughter was born in the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. That same year I competed on my first poetry team in Oakland, California. In 2014 I was arrested during a protest on I 95. I was working as The YMCA Director of a 21st Century School in Providence. I almost lost my job because of my activism.
In 2016 I started working at AS220 youth. That same year Invisible Upsouth premiered at Wilbury Theatre. That was the first play I had done any writing on. I also co-starred in it. In 2017 I completed a live art residency at AS220, culminating with A Furtive Movement. Currently, I am developing a cycle of plays with partners such as Rites & Reason Theatre at Brown University and Trinity Repertory Company. Becoming a father happened for me around the same time I became an artist. I have always been a creator but when I found my audience I was able to hone my voice. The same is true with fatherhood. When Irislouise and Ellaquinn were born I found an audience for the nurturing I always had on the periphery.
I am driven by ideas. My passion belongs to creation. Words are the most economical medium. One can create a universe with words and never spend a penny. At the conception of every creation is a thought. I think in universes and like every poet I write with worlds.
The Rhode Island Black Storytellers
Founded in 1998, RIBS is a small non-profit based out of Providence, Rhode Island dedicated to promoting the awareness, appreciation, and application of Black storytelling. They define Black storytelling as an oral art from African and African descended people from around the world. They share their craft through performances, workshops, cultural, educational, and historical experiences. RIBS does not just tell Black stories; they also aim to help others do the same. They do it not just because they believe it is important for Black communities to know their own history and culture, but for everyone to experience Black culture presented by Black people. www.ribsfest.org
Marcel Mascaro
Marcel A. Mascaro presents A night con Piñero: God, Fear Y El U.S of A
Experience three pieces written by the Founder of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe; Miguel Piñero , hemmed together by physical and vocal interpretations of his words by M.A.M (Marcel Antonio Mascaro) as they take us through a reimagining of Genesis, Fear and Disgust as we live , cohabitate and further this "American Experiment".
Marcel Mascaro is a non binary Theatrical artist located in Providence, who is interested in contradictions, change, social justice, truth, immigrants, refugees, politics,representation, complexity, intersectionality, radical accountability,anti racism, pain, love and patience.
Experience three pieces written by the Founder of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe; Miguel Piñero , hemmed together by physical and vocal interpretations of his words by M.A.M (Marcel Antonio Mascaro) as they take us through a reimagining of Genesis, Fear and Disgust as we live , cohabitate and further this "American Experiment".
Marcel Mascaro is a non binary Theatrical artist located in Providence, who is interested in contradictions, change, social justice, truth, immigrants, refugees, politics,representation, complexity, intersectionality, radical accountability,anti racism, pain, love and patience.
Luis Gilberto
Universal Musical Language
Luis Gilberto is a Singer/Songwriter graduated from Berklee College of Music and a sound engineer graduated from SAE NY. Equally at home playing in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and English, Luis plays Bolero, Bossa Nova, Rock / Pop, and the occasional sentimental ballad.
Instagram @LuisGilbertoOfficial
Instagram @LuisGilbertoOfficial
Phoenyx Williams
Originally an Emcee and wordsmith known for his work as a solo artist on the underground hip hop scene, Phoenyx has been a Resident Artist at The Wilbury Theatre Group since 2016. With the Wilbury Group, he's appeared in productions of Hype Man: a break-beat play, Ubu Roi, New and Dangerous Ideas, The Skin of Our Teeth, Church, Passing Strange, Ui [oo-ey], Mr. Burns, a post-electric play. In Spring of 2017, his hip-hopera The Invasion of Vox Populi premiered in the Wilbury Group's Festival of New Works. Phoenyx balances a career in film, commercial, corporate, and television work along with teaching and parenting. His unique approach to understanding the world we live in creates a post modern environment in his curriculum.
ABOUT OUR PRAYER DAYS
Sunday, August 9
Sunday, August 16
Valerie Tutson of the Rhode Island Black Storytellers leads off the first day of DECAMERON, PROVIDENCE with a community day of prayer and Despacho burning on Sunday, August 9 at 6:30pm. This event is free and open to the public. Face coverings and physical distancing practices will be enforced, but advance registration is not required.
On the second Sunday of DECAMERON, PROVIDENCE the Steel Yard hosts Future Murals from 1pm-5pm. A community mural painting experience, Future Murals takes place at the Steel Yard at 27 Sims Ave, Providence, with special guest artists from the neighborhood facilitating the mural painting for community members who would like to participate.
Our second day of Prayer concludes back at the WaterFire Arts Center with We Add Our Tears to the Salt of the Ocean, a community ritual organized by More With Water's Darcie Dennigan, Rachel Hughes, Keri King, and Janaya Kizzie. Both of these events are free and open to the public. Face coverings and physical distancing practices will be enforced, but advance registration is not required.
Our second day of Prayer concludes back at the WaterFire Arts Center with We Add Our Tears to the Salt of the Ocean, a community ritual organized by More With Water's Darcie Dennigan, Rachel Hughes, Keri King, and Janaya Kizzie. Both of these events are free and open to the public. Face coverings and physical distancing practices will be enforced, but advance registration is not required.
ABOUT OUR WORK DAYS
Monday, August 10
The Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council hosts a Tippy-Tap hand washing station building session for our first day of work at DECAMERON, PROVIDENCE. Tools and instruction will be provided by the Woony River Rangers, and the Tippy Tap handwashing stations will be used across the grounds of the WaterFire Arts Center throughout the run of DECAMERON, PROVIDENCE. This event is free and open to the public. Face coverings and physical distancing practices will be enforced, but advance registration is not required.
Monday, August 17
On Monday, August 17, we're holding a remote Day of Work and inviting the public to write one time letters of solidarity in support of Black and Pink Providence, a volunteer-run group of LGBTQ+ people incarcerated in RI and their free-world allies. Black and Pink Providence uses tactics including personal relationships, direct action, and political advocacy to work towards the abolition of the prison industrial complex. To write a one-time letter of solidarity to a Black & Pink member incarcerated in RI, or to donate in support of their work, visit their website here.
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PREPARED FOR YOUR SAFETY
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Since May we've been working in collaboration with WaterFire Providence and advisors at the Dept. of Health and the Brown University School of Public Health to make Decameron, Providence a model of safety and good public health practices.
DECAMERON, PROVIDENCE IS PRESENTED BY
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WITH SUPPORT FROM
ABOUT
Since 2010, The Wilbury Theatre Group has been bringing audiences the best from the cutting-edge of theatre, including new works by established artists from around the world and reimagined productions of the classics.
Save on your tickets with a Membership for our 2020/21 Season.
Save on your tickets with a Membership for our 2020/21 Season.
