NIGGA-ROO Returns To EXIT Theatre Fridays And Saturdays in April

Winner of Best of the 2017 San Francisco Fringe Festival, Nigga-Roo is a multidisciplinary solo performance by Dazié Grego-Sykes that explores blackness as a social construct. A daring deconstruction of the African-American experience, and the weight imposed upon it by language, history, and ever-evolving societal norms, Nigga-Roo is a work that challenges both artist and audience through video, movement, music, monologue, and an intentional usage of blackface. Named "fearless" by the San Francisco Chronicle, "densely-poetic" by the Mercury News, and "avant-garde," "raw," and "truthful," by San Francisco Fringe Festival audiences, Nigga-Roo offers an unconventional and unapologetic commentary on racism and its impact on the Black individual.

Artist Statement: It was after being told by people who were darker than myself to stay out of the sun I first wondered, "why wouldn't a black person want to be blacker?" My conclusion is that the closer one's complexion is to a minstrel show character the more likely they are to be dehumanized and stereotyped by society. Within this piece, I employ Black Face as a metaphor for Black performativity in a way that its potency can be manipulated to excite resistance surrounding colorism and internalized racism. Art is supposed to challenge our preconceived notions. It must change the artist and can change the audience. I've been changed by this experience, and will be sharing how and why through the development of a follow-up piece, Decolorism.

Artist Bio: Dazié Grego-Sykes is a poet, artist and activist whose performance style was developed at The Experimental Performance Institute at New College, San Francisco, where he received his BA in Queer Performance and Activism. He's developed, produced, and toured several multidisciplinary solo plays including 3, Where Is Adam and Am I A Man. Nigga-Roo was originally commissioned by the Queer Cultural Center and has been performed at The Marsh, The Flight Deck, and The San Francisco Fringe Festival where it received the Best of Fringe Award in 2017. In Fall of 2018, Dazié earned an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts and Writing from The California Institute of Integral Studies.

Ticketing Links: http://www.theexit.org/nigga-roo/; https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3921345