Video: THE FRUITS OF OUR LABOR Interview at Arena Stage
Creative team discusses the Step Afrika! world premiere now on the Fichandler Stage.
Arena Stage has released a new interview tied to THE FRUITS OF OUR LABOR, the Step Afrika! production currently playing on the Fichandler Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. The video features Director and Choreographer Jakari Sherman, Choreographer and Step Afrika! Assistant Artistic Director Conrad R. Kelly II, and Step Afrika! Artistic Director Mfoniso Akpan speaking about the production.
THE FRUITS OF OUR LABOR is a Step Afrika! work examining patriotism, identity, and American history as the nation marks 250 years. The piece, created in collaboration with Sherman and Kelly and inspired by Vusi Mdoyi's Isithukuthuku, incorporates visual imagery and poetry from writers including Phillis Wheatley, Frederick Douglass, and Langston Hughes, blending stepping and song into a composition of percussion. The production is directed and choreographed by Jakari Sherman, working with Conrad R. Kelly II and Vusi Mdoyi, with design contributions from Arena Stage's production staff.
The world premiere runs September 10 through November 1, 2026, on Arena Stage's Fichandler Stage, marking the latest installment of a multi-year partnership between Arena Stage and Step Afrika!. The company presenting the work includes 14 Step Afrika! members alongside a guest artist, with design work handled by Arena Stage's in-house artisans for the first time in the companies' collaboration.
The company for the production includes Kwadjo Bediako, Nya Christian, Jerod Coleman, Ariel Dykes, Terrence Johnson, Conrad R. Kelly II, Jayden King, Jemeema S. Montrose, Keondre Pascal, Keanu Powell, Ericka Still, Joseph Vasquez, Pelham Warner Jr., and Robert Warnsley, with guest artist Agyei Keita Edwards. The creative team includes set design by Colleen Doty, costume design by Cierra Coan, lighting design by Yannick Godts, sound design by GW Rodriguez, and stage management by Christi B. Spann. BroadwayWorld's review of the production is also available.
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