Verses @ Work by Malik Work (USA)
JCTC Residency, in partnership with South Africa
“Actor, playwright, and hip hop griot Malik Work’s autobiographical narrative Verses @ Work is an exhilarating poetic journey through a transformative period in the cultural history of New York City. Gentrification sieges historically underserved communities, as Hip Hop music and culture reflect the city’s changing landscape. Just ‘pre’ and ‘post’ 9/11, New York is the epicenter of urban renewal. New nightclubs are opening up, as old ones are closing down. The city’s nightlife is vibrant and fluid. Sensing an opportunity, Malik and his cohort look to make their mark on live music.
The result is a fiercely original, genre-bending, coming-of-age story. Through his hopes, dreams loves, and losses, we experience one constant variable: his verses. The rhythms, cadences, and power of Malik’s words expand and retract like a heart, pumping out a vital tale that explores the layered systems of which we are all apart.
Verses at Work poses questions about the insidious role institutionalized racism plays in the trajectory of a life. Malik realizes that it is not only as an actor that he is being typecast. There are “roles” prepared for a Black male in America. Which ones does he reject? Which roles does he accept? In this piece, Malik finds he must reconcile between the world’s expectations, and his expectations of himself.”
For additional accommodations, email: [email protected] or call: 201-795-5386
Members can reserve their free tickets at [email protected] / Global Arts Passport
• Jersey City Theater Center