Lyrics from Lockdown

About the Institute for Theatre and Social Change:The USC/SDA Institute for Theatre and Social Change (ITSC) focuses on expressive and interactive arts relative to education, therapy, and social justice. To meet the needs of a more complex culture, the practice of theatre and social change must expand to include new platforms of artistic expression which interrupt dominant power structures to create the conditions for liberation, transformation, and democratic engagement.  A deep investigation of how expressive art can interrogate cultural narratives of racism and racial oppression is a primary focus of the institute. Equity, diversity, and inclusion are more than institutional buzz words, they are being widely targeted and threatened in the current socio-political climate. The ITSC provides a research and development forum for best practices of interactive dramatic art that disrupts this oppression and engages communities in meaningful dialogue for social change. The interdisciplinary collaboration of dramatic arts, fine arts, and media offers a more powerful creative weapon for such critical times.ITSC at the School of Dramatic Arts hosts ongoing collaborations with other arts schools and disciplines devoted to social change to invite a more prominent vigorous interdisciplinary and intersectional conversation on campus. ITSC hosts annual conferences with international practitioners and scholars in the field, produce critical papers exploring the efficacy and trends of this work, and provide training and networking opportunities for local, national, and international organizations dedicated to the expressive arts and social change.In the words of poet Toni Cade Bambara, “The role of art is to make the revolution irresistible.”  ITSC is an ongoing critical cultural dialogue between artists, academics, healers, activists, and community organizers from a wide range of practices and perspectives to understand how theatre, as a tool for social change, can better attain this irresistible goal.The Institute for Theatre and Social Change seeks to meet the needs of a more complex culture by rigorously exploring how the practice of community-based theatre is expanding to include new platforms of artistic expression which interrupt dominant power structures to create challenging social and civic dialogues through the medium of expressive art.

Institute for Theatre & Social Change

“Lyrics from Lockdown”
(ONE NIGHT ONLY)
Conference Performance* by Bryonn Bain 
Bryonn Bain’s solo performance of Lyrics from Lockdown is a revealing look at what race, prisons, poverty, and privilege mean in America today. It’s a survival guide that reminds us of how the criminal (in)justice system can radically change a young person’s life; this story resonates from Brooklyn to the Bayou, from Compton to Cambridge, and everywhere in between.  Bryonn Bain’s one-man show blends the heartbeat of hip hop with the pulse of poetry to create a dramatic story that will touch your soul.
This is a true story about <A HREF="https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Bryonn-Bain/" TARGET="_blank" DATA-MSYS-CLICKTRACK="0" REL="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Bryonn Bain</A>'s experience of racial profiling and wrongful incarceration at the hands of New York City police, and how this experience led to a transformative friendship with death row inmate Nanon Williams. Williams, sentenced to death at age 17 for a crime he did not commit, wrote Bain from Death Row after reading his story nearly a decade ago, and "his letters changed my life," Bain said. "He asked me to share his story and I was so moved by it that I weaved his letters into my play so you see how this young poet - unjustly robbed of his youth - is inspiring a global movement to free himself and others unjustly thrown into prison."
Lyrics from Lockdown is a perfect conclusion for the Radical Fictions conference theme. Bain weaves the voices of over 40 characters into this extraordinary, internationally acclaimed tour de force production featuring a live band, performing a fusion of hip hop, theater, spoken word, rhythm and blues, calypso and classical music.
"Art and culture are creative tools to educate, organize, and mobilize a movement. The criminal justice system has hit pandemic proportions and our level of engagement as a community is vital to bring solution and alternatives to this crisis," director <A HREF="https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Gina-Belafonte/" TARGET="_blank" DATA-MSYS-CLICKTRACK="0" REL="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Gina Belafonte</A> said. "<A HREF="https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Bryonn-Bain/" TARGET="_blank" DATA-MSYS-CLICKTRACK="0" REL="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Bryonn Bain</A>'s play is an exemplary offering of the engagement of arts in activism and a vision of an equitable and transformative world."
*Performance is free, with a suggested donation of $10 - $20 - $50+ to benefit higher education programs for Incarcerated Youth at BJN Juvenile Hall.

Nate Holden Performing Arts Center

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Lyrics from Lockdown

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Lyrics from Lockdown

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