DARIUS & TWIG Set for Women's Voices Theater Festival
By: Tyler Peterson Sep. 25, 2015
The cast stars Justin Weeks as Darius and Christopher Wilson as Twig and also features Manu Kumasi and Latia Stokes in various roles. The creative team includes set design by Andrew R. Cohen, costume design by Danielle Preston, lighting design by John D. Alexander, and sound design by Justin Schmitz.
On Harlem's 145th Street, teenage best friends Darius and Twig dream of a world beyond the confines of their daily lives. Darius is a writer, whose latest story might be published in a magazine-if only he can keep his alter ego, a fierce falcon, in check. And Twig is a runner, whose speed and endurance might bring him a scholarship-if only he can impress college scouts at an upcoming meet. But with Darius's mother barely scraping by, pressure from Twig's uncle to give up racing, and bullies Midnight and Tall Boy constantly on their case, these true-blue allies may not truly be free to use their gifts.
Education at the kennedy center
The Kennedy Center retains its commitment as the nation's cultural center to educating and enlightening children and adults in Washington and around the country. The Center's national education programs include: Ensuring the Arts for Any Given Child, which works with 14 municipalities and their school districts around the country to develop a long-range strategic plan for arts education; ARTSEDGE, a website that offers standards-based materials for use in and out of the classroom, Partners in Education, which forges relationships between an arts organization and its neighboring school systems to build effective arts education programs for teachers and teaching artists; Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network works with 30 state organizations on arts education policy issues; Explore the Arts, which provide insight into the cultural and historical context of the works presented on stage and sparks dialogue between audiences and the artists who have created the performances through participatory workshops, demonstrations, panels, master classes, and open rehearsals; and the Kennedy Center Stephen Sondheim Inspirational Teacher Awards, which acknowledge teachers of grades K-12 whose efforts have made a significant impact on their students.
In and around D.C., the Kennedy Center's programs include Changing Education Through the Arts, a program that works with seven schools in the area to affect long-term change in school culture through professional learning in arts integration; Professional Development Opportunities for Teachers, which trains Washington-area educators to teach the arts or other subject areas through the arts; and Washington, D.C. Partnership Schools, where the Center provides resources and teaching artist residencies to 22 elementary, junior, and senior high schools in Washington, D.C. The Center also mounts more than 100 events and performances of theater, music, dance, and opera throughout the season for more than 100,000 local school-aged children.
In addition, the Center offers multiple skill development programs for young artists and professionals both locally and nationally, including the National Symphony Orchestra's Youth Fellowship Program, Summer Music Institute, and High School Competition; Washington National Opera's Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program, Opera Institute, and Kids Create Opera Partnership; the biennial New Visions/ New Voices forum for development of new plays for young people; Exploring Ballet with Suzanne Farrell; Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead; VSA's Playwright Discovery Program, Young Soloists, and Visual Arts Programs; arts administration internships; and the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival which impacts hundreds of thousands of college-aged theater students across the country and marks its 48th anniversary in 2016.
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