Poets Justice Ameer And Chrysanthemum Tran To Appear In A.R.T. BREAKOUT

American Repertory Theater at Harvard University (A.R.T.), under the leadership of Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director Diane Paulus and Executive Producer Diane Borger, announces the next event in the 2018/19 A.R.T. Breakout series: ANTHEM: An Evening with Justice Ameer and Chrysanthemum Tran. The debut two-woman show by Rhode Island-based poets and performers plays February 8 and 8PM and February 9 at 7PM at OBERON, located at 2 Arrow Street in Cambridge.

Tickets from $25 are available online at americanrepertorytheater.org, by phone at 617.547.8300, in person at the Loeb Drama Center Ticket Services Offices (64 Brattle Street, Cambridge), and one hour before curtain at OBERON.

From praise songs to war cries to bops you can't help but dance to, anthems have long been the heartbeat of political liberation. The hour-long poetry performance ANTHEM explores how race and gender politics shape reality for transgender women of color. An indictment of a nation determined to police freedom and livelihood yet rallying declaration of our militant survival, ANTHEM reveals the lasting legacies of trans women who fought before us and celebrates the communities for whom joy is too often an afterthought. Our voices and our fists are raised. ANTHEM is unapologetic in saying: in the shadow of a world that wants us dead, we will not go down with a fight. We will survive.

ANTHEM will be supported by the pedal looping stylings of Sweetpea Pumpkin (Muggs Fogarty), the vocals of Andrine Pierresaint, and the piano/keyboard accompaniment of Simon Olsen. Featured guest poets include Golden, Ilyus Evander, and Julissa Emile (February 8), and Lin Pang, Mae Verano, and Torrin Greathouse (February 9).

Ameer and Tran return to A.R.T., having previously opened for Kit Yan in their 2017 and 2018 performances of Queer Heartache. "Justice and Chrysanthemum's artistry and chemistry is undeniable," says Mark Lunsford, the A.R.T.'s artistic producer. "After seeing them perform previously with Kit, it was clear they deserved their own show at OBERON, a space where the A.R.T. is committed to showcasing multidisciplinary artists from within our community and across the country."

Justice Ameer is a Black trans woman poet, teaching artist, and performer based in Providence, Rhode Island. Xe is a Pink Door fellow, FEM Slam Champion, and two-time Providence Grand Slam Champion. Xyr work has been published by Glass Poetry Press, and in POETRY magazine and The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 2: Black Girl Magic anthology.

Chrysanthemum Tran is a Vietnamese poet, performer, and educator based in Rhode Island by way of Oklahoma. In 2016, she made history by becoming the first trans woman finalist of the Women of the World Poetry Slam. A Pink Door Fellow and teaching artist for the Providence Poetry Slam, Chrysanthemum is a 2016 Rustbelt Poetry Slam Champion and the 2017 FEMS Poetry Slam Champion. Her work can be found in Them., The Offing, Muzzle Magazine, Bettering American Poetry Volume 2, and others forthcoming.

American Repertory Theater at Harvard University (A.R.T.) is a leading force in the American theater, producing groundbreaking work in Cambridge and beyond. A.R.T. was founded in 1980 by Robert Brustein, who served as Artistic Director until 2002, when he was succeeded by Robert Woodruff. Diane Paulus began her tenure as Artistic Director in 2008. Under the leadership of Paulus as the Terrie and Bradley Bloom Artistic Director and Executive Producer Diane Borger, A.R.T. seeks to expand the boundaries of theater by producing world-class performances in which the audience is central to the theatrical experience.

Throughout its history, A.R.T. has been honored with many distinguished awards including the Tony Award for Best New Play for All the Way (2014); consecutive Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Musical for Pippin (2013) and The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess (2012), both of which Paulus directed, and sixteen other Tony Awards since 2012; a Pulitzer Prize; a Jujamcyn Prize for outstanding contribution to the development of creative talent; the Regional Theater Tony Award; and more than 100 Elliot Norton and IRNE Awards.

A.R.T. collaborates with artists around the world to develop and create work in new ways. It is currently engaged in a number of multi-year projects, including a collaboration with Harvard's Center for the Environment that will result in the development of new work over several years. Under Paulus' leadership, the A.R.T.'s club theater, OBERON, has been an incubator for local and emerging artists and has attracted national attention for its innovative programming and business models.

As the professional theater on the campus of Harvard University, A.R.T. catalyzes discourse, interdisciplinary collaboration, and creative exchange among a wide range of academic departments, institutions, students, and faculty members, acting as a conduit between its community of artists and the university. A.R.T. mentors students in the Harvard Radcliffe Dramatic Club working at the Loeb Drama Center and OBERON, and plays a central role in Harvard's undergraduate Theater, Dance & Media concentration, teaching courses in directing, dramatic literature, acting, voice, design, and dramaturgy.

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