i see you. you're seen. at The VORTEX

World Premiere
Written and Performed by Oktavea LaToi
Directed by Simone Raquel Alexander

“Hey little black girl, feeling invisible and all so visceral. Staring up at the heavens, as vast as your potential. i see you. you’re seen.” 

Told through the lens of a former little black girl, i see you. you’re seen. is a solo work composed of a collection of poetry and vignettes that investigates what it means to “see and be seen, to see and be forgotten” through the lens of healing, Blackness, and self-reflection, while also challenging others who “look the other way”. What does it mean to be hyper-visible AND also invisible?

                         "Don’t you see us?"

A fusion of art, poetry, music, and movement, this choreopoem explores the interlocking oppressions of Black women, while also illuminating love and relationships, family and ritual. Oktavea LaToi brings on the Revolution, inviting us to bask in beauty and acknowledge our own sacredness. There’s a galaxy inside of you, too. This memoir is in equal parts a love story, war cry, conjuring, and family photo album.

                       "Can you see us now?"                                      

                       "How ‘bout now?"

This 2023 premiere is the culmination of several years of development. Created over the pandemic and workshopped in August 2021 through April 2022 at The VORTEX Oktavea LaToi and Simone Raquel Alexander shaped the bones of the show and explored design elements.