/peh-LO-tah/: A Futbol Framed Freedom Suite

CUESHEET PERFORMANCE GUIDE

/peh-LO-tah/ a futbol framed freedom suite

Conceived and Written by Marc Bamuthi Joseph Developed with and Directed by Michael John GarcĂŠs Choreographed by Stacey Printz Composed by Tommy Shepherd Produced by MAPP International Productions *(Please note this show contains language and themes that may be inappropriate for audiences younger than 13.)

Presenting Sponsor of Performances for Young Audiences

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Learning Life Through the Americans call it soccer, but to most everyone else in

For creator, writer, and performer Marc Bamuthi Joseph,

the world it’s football—the most popular sport on the

the show is both a love letter to his beloved sport and a

planet. Whether played on groomed green grass of a

metaphor for life, especially life as an African American.

monster stadium or in a gravel parking lot, it is a game of

He explains soccer as a worldwide phenomenon of

constant motion and on-the-fly strategy. Players sprint

athletics, community, money, and power. At the same

to create passing lanes, goalies cut off angles to take

time, he explores the personal sense of freedom, joy, and

away open shots, opponents jostle and cut for a chance

belonging the game can offer.

to be in the right spot to take the pass. The ins and outs of movement, grace, and intensity have earned the sport

What Happens in the Play

grand nicknames including “The World’s Game” and

The performance opens with the 2012 recording of

“The Beautiful Game.”

a call to a police dispatcher about a suspicious teen walking in a neighborhood. It is the voice of the man who

This production, /peh-LO-tah/—pelota means “ball” in

ended up shooting to death an unarmed 17-year-old,

Spanish—celebrates a deep and personal devotion to

Trayvon Martin, as he was returning from a snack run.

The Beautiful Game. It is also a meditation on life as a

Other violent deaths of black victims are namechecked

person of color in the United States. It is not one story

throughout the show—among them Sandra Bland,

but many, and the stories often leap beyond words into

Sean Bell, Michael Brown, and members of Emanuel

other forms of expression—dance, song, spoken-word

African Methodist Episcopal Church. As brutal and

poetry, and video montages in a full-throated, feet-

heart-wrenching as this history is, the performers also

flashing example of Hip Hop theater.

express the creativity, spirit, and humor of unity and play, specifically the playing of soccer.

“The only time I feel raceless is when the ball hits the back of the net,” remarks Marc Bamuthi Joseph.

Beautiful Game Four Goals to Score To make sense of their competing emotions—both joys and sorrows—the actors share these four goals in life and in sport: Goal #1: Get Free “Getting free” is all about sprinting to escape the defender on the soccer field. Yet the player also feels fear about running, fear he’s not as strong as he once was, afraid freedom can be snatched away in a moment—by a bullet, a mistake, a catastrophe of whatever kind. Still, there remains no greater freedom than forgetting worries and fears by getting in the game.

Goal #2: Remember Who Runs This Joseph recalls traveling to South Africa, where in the

“If you can’t run, you can’t play the game,” one performer says.

past, under a system of segregation called apartheid,

Goal #3: Stand Your Ground

black South Africans were treated as non-citizens by the

When visiting Haiti, Joseph is welcomed in a

country’s white minority. Though apartheid ended in the

neighborhood game though he could barely understand

1990s, the scars and costs of inequality are still evident. It

his teammates’ words. There, he experienced soccer’s

is a fact that the rich and powerful run most everything and

universal language as he joined other kids playing

want to control most everyone. The performers, though,

with a soccer ball made of scraps and tape. In another

explain how selfishness and greed ultimately leads to

monologue, a mother describes her son who practices a

loss—in life as well as in soccer. Players who hog the ball

soccer move again and again and again—until he begins

cost their team the game. They need to pass and run and

to master it. The perseverance, the courage to practice,

trust their teammates if they are ultimately to succeed.

improve, and play; to refuse to give up—that’s ground worth defending.

Goal #4: Black Love Matters How would it feel to be your “full self”? What would it mean to be be liberated from fear? /peh-LO-tah/ asks these questions and asks us to answer for ourselves.

“Everybody shares or we all lose,” a speaker says.

Images by Bethanie Hines Photography

What to Look and Listen for n How the performers mimic soccer moves in their dance. The choreography, or movements, also feature elements of capoeira, a martial arts dance style developed by enslaved Africans in Brazil. Can you spot the different styles? n What emotions are expressed through dance. What movements indicate belonging, support, or joy?

What moves show frustration, fear, or heartbreak? n How the performers use clapping to create complex rhythms for their own dance and movement. n What videos, photos, and titles are projected above the stage. What do they show or say? What do they add to the performance? n What different musical styles are heard — Hip Hop, African American spirituals, bossa nova, pop, etc.

What does the music communicate about settings and mood? n What phrases are repeated for emphasis. Examples: “Been in the storm so long”; “Free at last ...”; “Cast in

What to Think About

the case of living joy, while black.” What is the point

n What makes soccer and other sports so popular?

of repeating these words and phrases?

Why do fans get so excited when their team wins, or

n In /peh-LO-tah/, Marc Bamuthi Joseph

feel down when their team loses?

acknowledges “The Talk” as an unfortunate but necessary conversation between African American parents and their children. It outlines how to behave

n What do sports and the arts have in common? How are they different? n For African Americans, the arts have long been a

when confronted by police or other authorities in

creative outlet, a source of comfort, a unifying force,

order to give them no reason or excuse to use force.

and a form of protest. What are ways music, dance,

Listen for these “rules” during the performance.

and the other arts bond people together?

Explore More!

For more information on /peh-LO-tah/ and Hip Hop Theater go to: 2700fstreet.tumblr.com/tagged/pehlotahat2700F

Additional support for Performances for Young Audiences is provided by The Clark Charitable Foundation; the Kimsey Endowment; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; and the U.S. Department of Education.

Funding for Access and Accommodation Programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by the U.S. Department of Education.

David M. Rubenstein Chairman Deborah F. Rutter President Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President Education

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Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David and Alice Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Support for JFKC: A Centennial Celebration of John F. Kennedy is provided by Ambassador Elizabeth Frawley Bagley, Chevron, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, and Target.

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts and the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts.

The contents have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. © 2017 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

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