Hip Hop Theater Artist Explores Life's Meaning in Solo Performance

November 16, 2009

Event: The John L. Warfield Center for African and African American Studies at The University of Texas at Austin presents "Streeetch Marks," a hip-hop theater performance by Greek-American theatrical artist Angela Kariotis.

When: Thursday, Nov. 19 and Friday, Nov. 20, 8 p.m.

Where: F. Loren Winship Drama Building, room 2.180

Background: A part of the John L. Warfield Center for African and African American Studies' Performing Blackness Series, the one-woman show explores the circumstances of birth, ancestral lineage, familial ties, and what it means to be alive through modern performance art.

A writer, scholar, performer and educator, Kariotis pairs her unique background with drama, prose and poetry to produce a unique artistic experience. Using movement and gesture, she creates characters from her past and fuses them with all genres of literature, poetry and music, addressing ideas of ethnicity, class, home and family.

Kariotis, a University of Texas at Austin alumna, is the recipient of the Playwright's Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a Tennessee Williams Theatre Fellowship from the University of the South, two National Performance Network residencies and a grant from the Puffin Foundation.

The Performing Blackness Series is dedicated to the production of new theatrical forms that stimulate dialogue around race, identity and the role of art in fostering social change.

For more information, contact: Jessica Sinn, College of Liberal Arts, 512-471-2404; Stephanie Lang, program coordinator, John L. Warfield Center for African and African American Studies, 512-471-4413.