Aurora Theatre Company Presents TELL TALE HEARTS

Aurora Theatre Company presents seven evenings of hip hop theatre and spoken word in TELL TALE HEARTS: An Evening of Hip Hop Theatre Featuring Carlos Aguirre and The Bay Area Theatre Cypher.

TELL TALE HEARTS runs December 5-7 and 12-14.

Featuring an eclectic mixture of actors, rappers, poets, and hip hop theatre artists of all descriptions, the Bay Area Theatre Cypher is a freestyle rap collective joined on stage at Aurora by Carlos Aguirre (AKA Infinite) for an evening of intelligent, politically-conscious, locally-sourced, community-minded rap, slam poetry, beatboxing, and hip-hop theatre. Each performance will feature Aguirre's rap and beatbox adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart along with a unique blend of improvised freestyle rap and original compositions. Aurora Theatre Company is thrilled to present this performance that takes its stand at the crossroads of theatre, hip-hop, and community.

"Aurora's Cabaret show each Fall has always been about doing something different -- we've had musicians and magicians, improvisers and clowns. This year, I am so proud to welcome Infinite and the Bay Area Theatre Cypher to Aurora for an evening of hip-hop theatre," said Artistic Director Josh Costello. "Carlos Aguirre (aka Infinite) is a virtuosic performer. I've been a fan of his work on Bay Area stages for years. He's bringing a talented crew of Bay Area artists all with one foot in theatre and another in the world of hip hop--they are actors, rappers, musicians, beatboxers, directors, singers, improvisers, comedians, teaching artists, and more."

Carlos Aguirre, a.k.a. Infinite (actor, musician, vocal percussionist, educator), has been performing both as an actor and hip hop artist in the Bay Area for over 19 years. He has shared the stage with The Roots, Eryka Badu, Black Eyed Peas, Mary J. Blige, Jam Master Jay, L.L. Cool J, Macy Gray and George Clinton among others. He his currently producing his original rap and beatbox adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe's The Tell Tale Heart. Carlos shares his experience by teaching at various schools and at-risk environments throughout the Bay Area.

Aguirre is joined by Bay Area Theatre Cypher (BATC), a new ongoing hip hop theatre project created by Bay Area artists Phil Wong and Dan Wolf. BATC is a collective of local artists operating at the intersection of hip hop & theatre who use rap cyphers as a forum to rhythmically discuss topical issues urgent to the Bay Area theatre community. In their words: "We share space, we spit truth, we bring the fire."

Phil Wong is an actor, director, comedian, musician, teaching artist, and rapper born and raised in the Bay Area. He's a resident artist with the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, and his influences range from MF DOOM to Guo Maoqian, Slim Shady to Stephen Sondheim. Wong's recent stage credits include Cutting Ball Theatre, Shotgun Players, Word for Word, Killing My Lobster, Ray of Light, and TheatreWorks.

Dan Wolf is a rapper, playwright, director, actor, and teacher. His work crosses artistic and cultural borders to combine theatrical performance with the themes, language, music, history, politics, and aesthetics reflected in the hip hop generation. He recently featured on the Undercover Presents tribute album to A Tribe Called Quest's "Midnight Marauders". As part of the Resident Playwrights Initiative at the Playwright Foundation, Wolf is developing Curren$y - a theatrical rap show inspired by Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. As the Artistic Director of Sound in the Silence, Wolf works with an international group of partners, artists, students, and participants to create immersive performance experiences at locations such as memorial sites and community centers.

"Aurora has always been a home for local theatre artists, and this performance is a perfect way to celebrate the tremendous talent of the Bay Area theatre community," Costello said.

www.auroratheatre.org