Concerts & Attractions // The Word Begins

THE WORD BEGINS is an exciting journey with two young men as they struggle to come to terms with belief and morality in America today. They take on race relations, religion, sexuality, love, and the power of mass communication --- among other great American issues. They do it in the extraordinarily refreshing and exhilarating performance form of spoken word meets dramatic scenes meets sketch comedy meets hip hop culture. Steve Connell and Sekou (tha misfit) travel rapidly through the sometimes chaotic and confusing world of what the national landscape of politics, purpose, and passion looks like to a young white man and a young black man. They travel from the inner city to the malls to the heartland of our country with insight and great humor. These two artists bring years of honing their collaborative skills in clubs, in stadiums, in theatres --- all over the United States of America. They perform ‘almost as one’ with a timing and emotion and passion that brings a renewed life and electricity onto the stage.

Steve Connell and Sekou (tha misfit) have won numerous national poetry championships, music awards, and theater accolades. They have performed on ABC World News, HBO’s Def Poetry, BET, the HBO Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, and Declare Yourself - a national voting tour for the legendary Norman Lear. Steve and Sekou developed their script at the prestigious Ojai Playwrights Conference, then workshopping it at special-engagement presentations across the nation. Veteran stage director and dramaturge, Robert Egan, has guided the development of this theatre piece and is directing.