"The Voodoo of Hell's Half-Acre" Blues Poetry Opera

“The Voodoo of Hell’s Half-Acre” is a live, multimedia theatrical presentation (a blues poetry opera) that apprehends and channels Black aesthetics, folk history, and cultural epistemology vis-à-vis the intellectual and creative genius of Richard Wright. As culturally-insistent performance art, “Voodoo” is a deepened inquiry and artistic conversation between cultural memory, social tensions, and the unreconciled strivings within the souls of Black folk. The performance is interlaced with storied traditions found in field hollers, work songs, blues, jazz, spirituals, Hip Hop, and the deep well of Black cultural traditions – spoken, written, and re-membered.

The live performance ensemble will include artists widely known in the Central Indiana music scene and beyond:

Lasana D. Kazembe – spoken word
Rob Dixon – musical director, saxophone
Keesha Dixon – narrator
Allison Victoria – vocalist
Brandon Meeks – bass
Steven Jones – piano
Kenny Phelps – drums
Shamira Wilson – visual artist
Okara Imani – vocalist