Playz from the Boom Box Galaxy: An Anthology from the Hip Hop Generation

by Robert Alexander (Editor)

"Playz from the Boom Box Galaxy" collects works by many of the most exciting and influential hip-hop theater artists performing today. These young artists are mixing music, movement, rap, spoken word, and visual design to create an entirely new and essential theater by and for the hip-hop generation. As described by Harry J. Elam Jr., a leading scholar in the field, "This is a theatre that in its form and content recycles elements from the past, but with a new spirit of possibility and a new urgency that speaks to the racial and cultural hybrid of today." From "Word Becomes Flesh":

"Welcome to the spoken world
The living word
a dream deferred
Reverse return back to the original path.
For whites
For browns
For blacks
For greens
Feel me?
Welcome to the spoken world
Unspoken heard
Unfocused blurred
A bird of youth
A sooth
A truth
A muse of mind
You are divine
Feel me?"

-Marc Bamuthi Joseph

The stars in the "Boom Box Galaxy" are: Carl Hancock Rux (Brooklyn, New York), Marc Bamuthi Joseph (San Francisco, California), Psalmayene 24 (Silver Springs, Maryland), Will Power (Beacon, New York), Jake Ann Jones (New York, New York), Zell Miller III (Austin, Texas), Dan Wolf and Tommy Shepherd (San Francisco, California), and Jonzi D (London, England).

Robert Alexander is the author of 23 plays, including "I Ain't Yo' Uncle," and is the co-editor of "The Fire This Time" anthology. He lives in Oakland, California.

Kim Euell is a well-known dramaturg who has worked at many theaters across the country on the development of new plays. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Paperback

First published August 1, 2006

About the author

Robert Alexander is the author of the bestselling novels Rasputin's Daughter, The Kitchen Boy, and the forthcoming The Romanov Bride. He has spent over thirty years traveling to Russia, where he has studied and also worked for the U.S. government. He speaks frequently to book clubs, and the schedule for his live video webcasts can be found at his website: http://www.robertalexanderbooks.com

Reviews

[Tropicoffrisco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just started reading. Happy that so many friends plays are published here. Will teach it in my Hip-Hop Theater Course at USF this semester. Playz From the Boom Box Galaxy: An Anthology from the Hip Hop Generation