The Radio Show
About the Performance
The Radio Show is broken up into various shorter works that blend my fondest memories of driving with my family and of listening to Pittsburgh's radio stations Hot 106.7 FM WAMO and its sister station AM 860. On September 8, 2009 WAMO, the only urban radio station in Pittsburgh sadly, went off-air. With the turmoil surrounding the death of 16 year old Darrion Albert in Chicago discussed over the airwaves of radio stations around the world, I wondered how aware listeners were to the goings on in other urban communities around the country now that this voice had been taken away. Without black radio, where is the audible voice of the black community? Radio was so prevalent during times of strife in the past. Where is its place today? Is radio fading away? Are we still listening? Reinterpreting those questions into the context of my father's diagnosis of Alzheimer's ten years ago and his more recent aphasia-afflicted conditions is where these losses of a voice find a common thread.
- Choreography
- Kyle Abraham
- Lighting Design
Dan Scully
- Costume Design
Sarah Cubbage
- Premiere Cast
Kyle Abraham, Maureen Wright, Samantha Farrow, Raja Feather Kelly, Jeremy Nedd, Amber Lee Parker, Rachelle Rafailedes
- Duration
- 65 minutes
- Premiere
- Kelly Strayhorn Theater, Pittsburgh, PA (2010)
Support
The Radio Show is made possible by the generous support of The Heinz Endowments and with funds from the 2009–2010 Danspace Project Commissioning Initiative with support from the New York State Council on the Arts.
Additional support for the commissioning and development of The Radio Show has been provided through The Kelly Strayhorn Theater and the Harlem Stage Fund for New Work, which has received support from the Jerome Foundation.
The Radio Show was created during a residency provided by The Joyce Theater Foundation, New York City, with major support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
The Radio Show world premiered at The Kelly Strayhorn Theater in Pittsburgh in January 2010 and went on to receive a Bessie Award for its New York Premiere at Dancespace Project in February 2010.
