HERE

NEFA funding supports the New York premiere of CANNABIS! A VIPER VAUDEVILLE co-created by composer Grace Galu, librettist/co-director Baba Israel, and dramaturg/co-director Talvin Wilks. It featured designs by Nic Benacerraf (environment + associate director), Kate Fry (costumes), Tuce Yasek (lights), Asa Wember (sound), and David Bengali (video); the band Soul Inscribed (Robert Knowles, Sean Nowell, Jonathon "Duv" Zaragoza, Osei Kweku, and Juan Carlos Polo); and performers Grace Galu and Baba Israel along with Tatiana Barber, Courtney Cook, Channon Judson, and Mame Diarra (Samantha Speis), who were also co-choreographers. CANNABIS! had 19 performances from July 14 to 31, 2022, produced by HERE at La MaMa's Ellen Stewart Theatre. Each performance included a five-minute speech by cannabis activists and a Community Cypher, featuring hip-hop or spoken word performances, panel discussions with a variety of cannabis-related industry members, and government representatives.