Not only is Liza Jessie Peterson a remarkable playwright, performer, and activist, but she is also an accomplished author in the genres of spoken word poetry and non-fiction. Peterson published her first book All Day: A Year of Love and Survival Teaching Incarcerated Kids At Rikers Island in April 2017 which details Peterson’s experiences at Rikers Island Academy where she taught a GED class to young inmates Peterson’s dedication and activism surrounding mass incarceration has…
Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure is an unexpectedly modern play. Though it was written in the 17th century, each time it resurfaces it brings along a modern context. Struggling against the tides of power and how that power can affect humanity, Measure for Measure amplifies the political turmoil within its performance context. ArtsEmerson’s presentation of Measure for Measure is a co-production between U.K. and Russian theatre companies—Cheek by Jowl and Pushkin Theatre—and has toured internationally as…
The United States is the world’s leader in incarceration, with more than 2.2 million people in the nation’s prisons and jails–that’s 716 out of every 100,000 citizens behind bars. In fact, as ArtsEmerson’s Artistic Director David Dower notes, most states, including Massachusetts “have a higher rate of incarceration than nearly every developed nation on the planet,” including countries that have experienced major social turbulences in the 20th century, like former Soviet Republics and South Africa…
In WET: A DACAmented Journey, Alex Alpharaoh tells his true, real life story of what it means to be an American in every sense of the word except one: on paper. As a writer, performer, poet, activist, director, producer, and teacher based in Los Angeles, Alpharaoh is able to capture the imagination of audiences and provoke meaningful discussions in a variety of mediums. His ability to convey a story through the written word—and…
Jeanna Shepard Photography Over the weekend of August 19th and 20th, ArtsEmerson hosted a celebratory and successful summer fundraiser on Martha’s Vineyard in support of the Gaining Ground Fund. The weekend revolved around power couple entrepreneur Sheila Johnson and The Honorable William Newman performing a reading of Bill and Sheila: A Love Story– written by playwright Daniel Beaty, and based on the remarkable true story of the couple’s relationship. The Gaining Ground Fund elevates and encourages…
