A.R.T. to Develop HIGH ON THE HOG Theatrical Experience

American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is developing a new theatrical experience based on High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America by Dr. Jessica B. Harris. The piece will be further developed this coming November at a Faculty-in-Residency at the ArtLab at Harvard.

High on the Hog is conceived by A.R.T. Associate Artistic Director Dayron J. Miles and co-created by Miles and movement-based artist Mayté Natalio, with the aim to engage the audience’s five senses in the history of African American cuisine while centering food in the narrative experience.

As part of the ArtLab residency, the ArtLab and Harvard University Committee on the Arts invite the public to Writing the Recipe: Developing a Theatrical Adaptation of High on the Hog, an ArtsThursday conversation with Harris, Miles, and Natalio on Thursday, November 20 at 6PM. Harvard’s ArtsThursdays series is a presidential initiative to offer free weekly performances, exhibitions, lectures, and other events across the University to promote access to the arts at Harvard. ArtsThursdays are sponsored by Harvard University Committee on the Arts (HUCA).

At Writing the Recipe, Dr. Harris will share background and inspirations for the book, and Miles and Natalio will reflect on the discoveries—and questions—that arose during the residency. Audience members are invited to bring a food memory or family recipe to share in conversation.

The New York Times Bestseller High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America by James Beard Lifetime Achievement-winning Dr. Jessica B. Harris explores the history of African American cuisine from Africa across the Atlantic. The book celebrates the foods of the African American experience and how each came to form important parts of African American culture, history, and identity. It was previously adapted by Netflix and One Story Up Productions into the series High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Shaped America.

The November residency at the ArtLab at Harvard will provide Miles and Natalio an opportunity to continue building an outline for the theatrical experience.

“African American cuisine, thus American cuisine, is central of our country’s legacy and a record of strength, perseverance, and triumph. Our theatrical adaptation of High on the Hog will not only underscore these truths—it will quite literally put them into the mouths of A.R.T. audiences,” said Miles.

“This theatrical adaptation of High on the Hog is a project we have been dreaming about ever since we conceived and designed our new home at the Goel Center for Creativity & Performance. It exemplifies the sort of boundary-breaking work A.R.T. is known for developing, and we look forward to producing it as a cornerstone production at the Goel Center,” said A.R.T. Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus.

American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University focuses on the research and development of groundbreaking theatrical experiences that catalyze dialogue and transformation. It has commissioned, developed, and/or premiered dozens of shows, including Night Side Songs by The Lazours, The Odyssey by Kate Hamill, Becoming a Man by P. Carl, Diary of a Tap Dancer by Ayodele Casel, Endlings by Celine Song, Waitress by Sara Bareilles and Jessie Nelson, Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More and the upcoming Wonder A Great Big World and Sarah Ruhl and BLACK SWAN by Dave Malloy and Jen Silverman among many others.