Office of Multicultural Arts Initiatives (OMAI)’s Line Breaks Hip Hop Theater Festival, taking place Friday-Saturday, April 1-2, consists of performances, lectures, and discussions by First Wave students and invited professional artists engaging with the Madison community, on and off-campus. Inaugurated through OMAI’s sponsored Marc Bamuthi Joseph Arts Institute Residency in the spring of 2007, the Line Breaks project culminated in a final performance of student work called “Just Bust!” – – an event, which has evolved into our monthly open mic, now running for 15 years.
Fri, April 1
2- PM UW-Madison Arts Crawl in partnership with the Division of the Arts
5-7 PM Line Breaks Opening Reception in the Wisconsin Studio, Overture Center
In partnership with the Wisconsin Alumni Association, the Line Breaks Opening Reception will feature refreshments, light catering, bar, and DJ. Throughout the space, we will install an exhibition of First Wave visual and design artists to present and discuss their work with guests.
The program for the reception will take place 5:30 – 6:30 p.m., where we will host WAA’s Wisconsin Idea Spotlight Panel, featuring key First Wave alumni Danez Smith, and Erika Dickerson-Despenza; Professor Chris Walker, founding Faculty Artistic Director of OMAI, and Director of the Division of the Arts; and Dr. LaVar Charleston, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion, Vice Provost and Chief Diversity Officer at UW-Madison.
7-9 PM Line Breaks Hip Hop Theater Festival Showcase in the Playhouse Theater, Overture Center
This evening showcase will include performances by First Wave 14th Cohort Ensemble, First Wave Touring Ensemble, and conclude with a debut staging of summer, somewhere by First Wave alum Danez Smith, featuring a small ensemble of First Wave scholars directed by Professor Chris Walker.
