TWO NIGHTS ONLY - Friday, March 8th and Thursday, March 21st! Join The L’Enfant Trust for a FREE interactive playback theater performance and community event with native Washingtonian and local artist/poet/playwright John Johnson, founder and creator of Verbal Gymnastics Theatre Company and founding member of the Valley Place Arts Collaborative. Verbal Gymnastics captures the narratives of residents in rapidly changing communities “East of the River” in Washington, DC using innovative forms of theater/storytelling to foster meaningful discussions about race, cultural preservation, and the effects of economic development.
We want to hear your stories, experiences, and perspectives on places in the community important to you. Performance themes will center on cultural heritage and historic preservation in Anacostia, gentrification, displacement, the pros/cons of living in a historic district, and more.
Before and after the performance, enjoy free food from Busboys & Poets, mingle with community members, and learn more about The L'Enfant Trust's upcoming historic rehabilitation project in Historic Anacostia: Big Green. This performance will also feature live painting by a local artist.
This event is free, but you must register online in advance.
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The L’Enfant Trust is a nonprofit founded in 1978 to preserve and revitalize Washington DC’s neighborhoods through programs that connect residents to their collective history, protect the city’s architectural heritage, and reactivate neglected properties within their communities.
In 2013, The L’Enfant Trust launched DC’s first Historic Properties Redevelopment Program, which focuses on the rehabilitation of distressed historic buildings and community revitalization. Since then, the Trust has rehabilitated five severely deteriorated, long-vacant historic properties in the Anacostia Historic District facing demolition by neglect into much-needed workforce housing for the community.
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This event is sponsored in part by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
