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Company One’s

Hype Man: a break beat play

Virtually OBERON
  • On Demand Thru May 6

  • Virtual Event

  • Run Time: 1 hour and 32 minutes

Tickets

$25
Pay-what-you-can option

  • Run Time

    1 hour and 32 minutes

  • Tickets

    $25
    Pay-what-you-can option

Learn more:

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★★★★★… Hype Man is theater at its urgent, vital best. See it and see it again.

DigBoston

Company One’s [Hype Man], presented by the A.R.T., is freshly urgent, considering the past year’s debates around policing and the appropriation of historically Black art forms.

The New York Times

Purchase a household ticket to stream Hype Man on demand anytime through May 6 at 11:59PM ET. ASL-interpertation and audio description are also available on demand.

Called “Sharply directed, incredibly well-acted, and absolutely of-the-moment” by WGBH’s Executive Arts Editor Jared Bowen, Company One’s Hype Man: a break beat play asks: who has the responsibility to speak up in the face of social injustice? This newly reimagined version of the Elliot Norton Award-winning play by poet and playwright Idris Goodwin (How We Got On) follows a rapper, a beat-maker, and a hype man on the verge of making it big when the police shooting of an unarmed black teenager shakes the interracial hip-hop trio to the core and forces them to navigate issues of friendship, race, and protest.

Hype Man: a break beat play was developed by Goodwin with Company One Theatre.

Virtual Premiere Celebration
Join us on April 8 at 7PM ET to celebrate the virtual premiere of Hype Man! Interact with fellow audience members and the creative team, and hear from A.R.T. and C1 staff about our longstanding partnership. Patrons with tickets to any performance are welcome to join. Invitation to RSVP issued following purchase.

Cast Meet-and-Greet
Kadahj Bennett, Rachel Cognata, and Michael Knowlton will join audiences on April 11 at 5:30PM ET for a post-show conversation following the matinee of Hype Man. Patrons with tickets to any performance are welcome to join. Invitation to RSVP issued following purchase.

Post-Show Conversation with Lisa Simmons and John Oluwole ADEkoje
On April 15 at 9PM ET, following the evening performance, Roxbury International Film Festival Director Lisa Simmons and Co-Film Director/Cinematographer John Oluwole ADEkoje chat about filmmaking, ADEkoje’s relationship to RoxFilm, and his work on Hype Man. Patrons with tickets to any performance are welcome to join. Invitation to RSVP issued following purchase.

Closing Night Watch Party
Tune in for a closing night watch party of Hype Man. Experience this “absolutely-of-the-moment show” with friends, family, and community. Starts at 7:30PM ET sharp!

 

Watch On Demand

Written by Idris Goodwin
Original Stage Production Directed by Shawn LaCount
Director of Photography John Oluwole ADEkoje
Cinematography by John Oluwole ADEkoje and The Loop Lab
Film Directed by John Oluwole ADEkoje and Shawn LaCount

Notable dates

Virtual Premiere Celebration: 4/8 at 7PM ET
Cast Meet-and-Greet: 4/11 at 5:30PM ET
Post-Show Conversation: 4/15 at 9PM ET
Closing Night Watch Party: 5/6 at 7:30PM ET
On Demand Thru: 5/6
ASL-Interpreted On Demand Thru: 5/6
Audio Described On Demand Thru: 5/6
Closed Captions: Available at all performances

Press Coverage

Credits

Cast

Kadahj Bennett
Kadahj Bennett

Verb

Kadahj Bennett

A.R.T.: Debut. Regional: Watertown Historical Moving Plays: The Charles W. Lenox Experience, New Rep; Pass Over, SpeakEasy Stage; Dream Boston, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Huntington Theatre Company; This Place Displaced, Artists’ Theater of Boston; Hype Man, Peerless, The T Party, An Octoroon, Dry Land, How We Got On, Company One; Akeelah and the Bee, Wheelock Family Theatre. Web Series: The Halls, Beyond Measure Productions. Music: Music Director: Company One, Front Porch Arts Collective; Dancelujah (Writer/Lyricist/Vocalist), Zumix (Songwriting and Performance Manage). Luminary Artist, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Education: Hamilton College, Boston Arts Academy.

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Rachel Cognata

Peep One

Rachel Cognata

Rachel Cognata

Peep One

Rachel Cognata

A.R.T.: Gloria: A Life; Hype Man: a break beat play, Greater Good, Company One Theatre. Regional: Really, Hype Man (Elliot Norton Award), Company One Theatre; Cardboard Piano, New Repertory Theatre; The Book Club Play, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre.

Actors’ Equity Association member

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Michael Knowlton

Pinnacle

Michael Knowlton

Michael Knowlton

Pinnacle

Michael Knowlton

A.R.T.: Debut. Regional: Hype Man, Company One, Mixed Blood; Splendor, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (dir. Shawn LaCount); Come Back Little Sheba (IRNE Award nominee, Best Supporting Actor), Our Town (dir. David Cromer), Huntington Theatre Company; Distant Neighbors, Fresh Ink; Coriolanus, Commonwealth Shakespeare; References to Salvador Dalí Make Me Hot, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater; The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Wax Wings. Film: Anything It Takes (Billy), 8 Productions. Michael was a regular cast member of Boston’s Shear Madness from 2015 until its closing in 2020.

Actors’ Equity Association member

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Cesara Walters headshot

Stage Manager

Cesara Walters

Cesara Walters headshot

Stage Manager

Cesara Walters

A.R.T.: Hype Man; Cirque of the Dead, Boston Circus Guild/OBERON. Regional/Fringe: Hype Man (Elliot Norton Award), REVOLT. She Said. Revolt Again., The T Party, Company One Theatre; Parade (Elliot Norton Award), Moonbox Productions. Educational: Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare Now!. International: Amour!, Royal Academy of Music. Opera: La clemenza di Tito (Director), Promenade Opera Project. Film: Dialogues of the Carmelites (First Assistant Director), New England Conservatory. Education: BA (Honors), Stage Management, Rose Bruford College.

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Creative Team

Written by

Idris Goodwin

Idris Goodwin

Written by

Idris Goodwin

A.R.T.: Debut. Idris Goodwin is a multiple award-winning playwright, breakbeat poet, director, educator, and organizer. Idris is Director of The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, the first Black man to hold the position in its 100-year history. Prior to this, Goodwin served two seasons as Producing Artistic Director at StageOne Family Theatre in Louisville, Kentucky. Idris is the author of over 50 original plays ranging from his Hip Hop-inspired breakbeat series to historical dramas to works for young audiences. Works like And In This Corner Cassius Clay, How We Got On, Hype Man: a break beat play, and the groundbreaking Free Play: Open Source Scripts for an Antiracist Tomorrow, are widely produced across the country. Several of his plays are published and licensed through Playscripts Inc. Other works like the poetry books Can I Kick It?, Human Highlight: Ode To Dominique Wilkins, and the play This Is Modern Art are available from Haymarket Books. Goodwin has appeared on HBO Def Poetry, Sesame Street, NPR, BBC Radio, and the Discovery Channel. Idris is a 2021 United States Artist Fellow, recognized as a culture bearer who celebrates community values and cultivates histories with care.

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Original Stage Production Director

Shawn LaCount

Shawn LaCount

Original Stage Production Director

Shawn LaCount

A.R.T.: We’re Gonna Die, Company One. Shawn LaCount (he/him/his) is a co-founder of Company One Theatre, where he has served as Co-Executive Director and Artistic Director since 1998. Under Shawn’s co-leadership, Company One Theatre has grown into a nationally recognized theatre at the intersection of art and social change, having served over 15,000 students, 100,000 audience members, and presenting over 80 productions in 21 years. Director: Hype Man (world premiere, Elliot Norton Award, Outstanding Production), Really, Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them; The Flick (Elliot Norton Award, Outstanding Production); Splendor (world premiere), Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Elliot Norton Award, Outstanding Director, Outstanding Production), The Aliens (Elliot Norton Award, Outstanding Director, Outstanding Production); GRIMM (world premiere); The Overwhelming; After the Quake; Assassins; Mr. Marmalade. Education: MA Ed., Theatre Education, Clark University; MFA, Directing, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Teaching: Emerson College, Boston Arts Academy, Huntington Theatre Company, Tufts University, Stage One, and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

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Director of Photoraphy

John Oluwole ADEkoje

John ADEkoje

Director of Photoraphy

John Oluwole ADEkoje

A.R.T.: Debut. Film: Knockaround Kids (first narrative feature, available on Tubi, Amazon Prime, Google Play, Apple, and other platforms), Roxbury International Film Festival (Emerging Filmmaker Award), Urbanworld Film Festival (New York); Street Soldiers, Roxbury International Film Festival, Pan African Film Festival (Cannes, France), World Film Festival (Montreal), BronzeLens Film Festival (Atlanta). Theater: Street Walker (Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award, Kennedy Center ACTF). Awards: National Tri-Annual Play Competition for Professional Writers, Brother Thomas Fellowship Award. John teaches film production and theater at Boston Arts Academy.

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Cinematography

John Oluwole ADEkoje

The Loop Lab

John ADEkoje

Cinematography

John Oluwole ADEkoje

A.R.T.: Debut. Film: Knockaround Kids (first narrative feature, available on Tubi, Amazon Prime, Google Play, Apple, and other platforms), Roxbury International Film Festival (Emerging Filmmaker Award), Urbanworld Film Festival (New York); Street Soldiers, Roxbury International Film Festival, Pan African Film Festival (Cannes, France), World Film Festival (Montreal), BronzeLens Film Festival (Atlanta). Theater: Street Walker (Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award, Kennedy Center ACTF). Awards: National Tri-Annual Play Competition for Professional Writers, Brother Thomas Fellowship Award. John teaches film production and theater at Boston Arts Academy.

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John ADEkoje

Film Direction

John Oluwole ADEkoje

A.R.T.: Debut. Film: Knockaround Kids (first narrative feature, available on Tubi, Amazon Prime, Google Play, Apple, and other platforms), Roxbury International Film Festival (Emerging Filmmaker Award), Urbanworld Film Festival (New York); Street Soldiers, Roxbury International Film Festival, Pan African Film Festival (Cannes, France), World Film Festival (Montreal), BronzeLens Film Festival (Atlanta). Theater: Street Walker (Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award, Kennedy Center ACTF). Awards: National Tri-Annual Play Competition for Professional Writers, Brother Thomas Fellowship Award. John teaches film production and theater at Boston Arts Academy.

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Shawn LaCount

Film Direction

Shawn LaCount

A.R.T.: We’re Gonna Die, Company One. Shawn LaCount (he/him/his) is a co-founder of Company One Theatre, where he has served as Co-Executive Director and Artistic Director since 1998. Under Shawn’s co-leadership, Company One Theatre has grown into a nationally recognized theatre at the intersection of art and social change, having served over 15,000 students, 100,000 audience members, and presenting over 80 productions in 21 years. Director: Hype Man (world premiere, Elliot Norton Award, Outstanding Production), Really, Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them; The Flick (Elliot Norton Award, Outstanding Production); Splendor (world premiere), Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Elliot Norton Award, Outstanding Director, Outstanding Production), The Aliens (Elliot Norton Award, Outstanding Director, Outstanding Production); GRIMM (world premiere); The Overwhelming; After the Quake; Assassins; Mr. Marmalade. Education: MA Ed., Theatre Education, Clark University; MFA, Directing, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Teaching: Emerson College, Boston Arts Academy, Huntington Theatre Company, Tufts University, Stage One, and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

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Scenic Designer

Lawrence E. Moten, III

Scenic Designer

Lawrence E. Moten, III

A.R.T.: Debut. Off-Broadway: Stew, Page 73; How to Load A Musket, The White Chip, 59E59; Behind The Sheet, EST. Regional: Hi, Are You Single?, Woolly Mammoth; Gloria, A.C.T.; Feeding Beatrice, St. Louis Rep; Native Son, Playmakers Rep; House of Joy, Cal Shakes; A Human Being, Of A Sort, Williamstown; The Royale, Capital Rep, Merrimack Rep; Shakespeare In Love, Capital Rep. Resident Designer, National Playwrights Conference 2018-2020, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. Member, USA 829, Wingspace Theatrical Design.

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Costume Designer

Cassandra Queen

Costume Designer

Cassandra Queen

A.R.T.: Debut. Regional: Hype Man (Eliot Norton Award), Company One; Hype Man, Mixed Blood Theatre; For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf, Praxis Stage. Education: BS, Chemistry, Simmons College; MS, Chemistry, University of Oregon; Fashion Design Certificate, Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

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Lighting Designer

Sean J. Pieroth

Lighting Designer

Sean J. Pieroth

A.R.T.: Assistant Lighting Designer: Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812; Nice Fish; In the Body of the World. Lighting Design Fellow: Waitress. Regional: Noir Hamlet, Centastage; Dancing at Lughnasa (NIETF Award nomination), Hammond Community Theater. Educational: A Big Mess, A.R.T. Institute; Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy (KCACTF National Finalist), Emerson Stage. Concert: iTMRW. OBERON House Lighting Programmer/Designer. Education: BFA Theater Design and Technology, Emerson College.

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Sound Designer

Lee Schuna

Sound Designer

Lee Schuna

A.R.T.: Greater Good, Company One. Regional: The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Hub Theatre; Hype Man (Elliot Norton Award, Outstanding Production, Small Theater), Company One; Heartland, Straight White Men,Two Jews Walked Into a War (IRNE Nomination, Sound Design, Small Theater), New Rep; The Tragic Ecstasy of Girlhood, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre; Heritage Hill Naturals, Fresh Ink Theatre. Educational: Much Ado About Nothing, Tufts University.

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Animator/Illustrator

Barrington Edwards

Animator/Illustrator

Barrington Edwards

A.R.T.: Debut. Barrington Edwards, an artist and community activist from Boston, attended the Massachusetts College of Art and earned a BFA in Communication Design and a MSAE in Art Education. Barrington taught art at the Boston Arts Academy for nineteen years. He is an award-winning teacher and artist, a publisher of comics and graphic media, and he works as a freelance artist. He currently teaches Art Education at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Barrington consistently works to develop his practice as a maker, social interventionist, and teacher.

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Music Director & Beat Maker

Kadahj Bennett

Kadahj Bennett

Music Director & Beat Maker

Kadahj Bennett

A.R.T.: Debut. Regional: Watertown Historical Moving Plays: The Charles W. Lenox Experience, New Rep; Pass Over, SpeakEasy Stage; Dream Boston, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Huntington Theatre Company; This Place Displaced, Artists’ Theater of Boston; Hype Man, Peerless, The T Party, An Octoroon, Dry Land, How We Got On, Company One; Akeelah and the Bee, Wheelock Family Theatre. Web Series: The Halls, Beyond Measure Productions. Music: Music Director: Company One, Front Porch Arts Collective; Dancelujah (Writer/Lyricist/Vocalist), Zumix (Songwriting and Performance Manage). Luminary Artist, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Education: Hamilton College, Boston Arts Academy.

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Properties Coordinator

Cesara Walters

Cesara Walters headshot

Properties Coordinator

Cesara Walters

A.R.T.: Hype Man; Cirque of the Dead, Boston Circus Guild/OBERON. Regional/Fringe: Hype Man (Elliot Norton Award), REVOLT. She Said. Revolt Again., The T Party, Company One Theatre; Parade (Elliot Norton Award), Moonbox Productions. Educational: Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare Now!. International: Amour!, Royal Academy of Music. Opera: La clemenza di Tito (Director), Promenade Opera Project. Film: Dialogues of the Carmelites (First Assistant Director), New England Conservatory. Education: BA (Honors), Stage Management, Rose Bruford College.

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Dramaturg

Jessie Baxter

Dramaturg

Jessie Baxter

Jessie Baxter (she/her/hers) is a Boston-based dramaturg and Creative Producer at Company One Theatre. Company One: Hype Man, Vietgone, Dry Land, Brahman/i, The Flick, The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity. She is also the Literary Director and Co-Founder of Fresh Ink Theatre and has had fellowships at The Playwrights Center and The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. Education: BA, Theatre Studies, Emerson College.

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Additional Cinematography

Taijai Slaughter

Aaron Saidizand

Camera Department Head

Matthew Malikowski

Editor

Aaron Saidizand

Post Production Supervisor

Matthew Malikowski

Re-Recording Mixer

Matthew Malikowski

ADR Engineers

Matthew Malikowski

Alex Hug

Additional Staff

ASL Coach

Stephanie Hakulin

ASL Coach

Stephanie Hakulin

Stephanie Hakulin is an ASL Consultant for American Repertory Theater and is currently working as a Deaf Interpreter staff at the Learning Center for the Deaf. She has worked as an interpreter for Boston Outdoor events and theaters. I am looking forward to the show with my amazing ASL team!

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ASL Interpreters

Sho Grant

Shonnese Grant comes to performance interpreting by way of a life-long love for dance as well as a profound love for the beauty and complexity of American Sign Language. Raised in Palo Alto, California, she returned to her North Carolina roots for her college education and received a Bachelor’s degree in African-American Studies and Political Science from Duke University. She then went on to receive a Master’s degree in Deaf Education from Boston University and made Boston her home. In addition to being an educator and mother of three, Shonnese has interpreted for such venues as Boston University Theatre, Central Square Theater, Broadway in Boston, Huntington Theatre Company, Wheelock Family Theatre, American Repertory Theater, Moonbox Productions, Colonial Theatre, Arts Emerson and Boston Landmarks Orchestra. She is thrilled to be working with A.R.T again for such an important production.

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ASL Interpreters

Michael Sullivan

Michael is an ASL interpreter and performer based in Southern California. He was recently seen at A.R.T. interpreting WARHOLCAPOTE. Other interpreting credits include: A.R.T.: The Glass Menagerie, Bedlam’s Sense & Sensibility, 1984; As You Like It, King Lear, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. He has also tactile-interpreted (for a Deaf-Blind audience member) Kafka’s The Trial: “An Extraordinary Rendition” at Pilgrim Theatre. Michael is honored to be a part of this incredible production.

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ASL Interpreters

Brent Tracy

Brent is a dual-certified ASL interpreter, native ASL user, and the CEO of Equal Access Resources Inc. For over twenty years, he has served as an interpreter, educator, mentor, and artist at various venues including New Repertory Theatre, Boston Opera House, and Emerson Colonial Theatre. Recent credits include Richard III, The Play That Goes Wrong, and The Lion King. He is humbled to be working with a great team of talented professionals to provide access on this show.

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ASL Recording and Editing

Bridge Multimedia

ASL Recording and Editing

Bridge Multimedia

Bridge Multimedia is a social enterprise dedicated to advancing all facets of universal access. Bridge provides accessible media services, ADA compliance, and workforce solutions designed to make the twenty-first century media landscape equally inclusive for all people. Bridge is committed to broadening the accessibility of theater and the arts. Recent projects include virtual events featuring a neuro-diverse theater troupe and the audio description of sign language interpretation for jazz performances.

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Audio Description

Jan Stankus

Paris Alston

Audio Description

Jan Stankus

Jan Stankus has been providing description for blind and visually impaired audience members for A.R.T. shows for a number of years, including Jagged Little Pill, Waitress, and Moby-Dick. For twenty years at WGBH, she described TV shows including “Arthur” and “Masterpiece Theatre,” as well as feature films, art exhibits, theme parks, national parks, museums, walking tours, online courses, and cruise ships. She serves on the ACVREP national committee establishing standards for Describer certification.

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Audio Description

Paris Alston

Paris Alston has been providing description and narration for blind and visually impaired audience members for A.R.T. shows since 2018, when she worked on The Black Clown. She is a multimedia journalist in Boston, and currently works as a producer for WBUR’s Radio Boston, and host of WBUR’s “Consider This” podcast.

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Narration

Paris Alston

Narration

Paris Alston

Paris Alston has been providing description and narration for blind and visually impaired audience members for A.R.T. shows since 2018, when she worked on The Black Clown. She is a multimedia journalist in Boston, and currently works as a producer for WBUR’s Radio Boston, and host of WBUR’s “Consider This” podcast.

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Rehearsal Photographer

Arturo J. Real

Video Trailer Editor

Johnathan Carr

Video Trailer Editor

Johnathan Carr

A.R.T.: Projections Design: HEAR WORD!; HEAR WORD! International Tour 2016, Harvard Dance Center; Pulitzer Prize 100: Centennial. Additional Media: Pippin, The Lily’s Revenge. OBERON: Searching for Signal, ToUch Performance Art. Off-Broadway: H4, Resonance Ensemble; Same River, Strike Anywhere Performance Ensemble. Regional: Hold These Truths, By The Way Meet Vera Stark, Into the Woods, Red Hot Patriot, City of Angels, Lyric Stage Company; An Octoroon, Company One. Educational Productions: Proclamation 4 and 5, A.R.T. Education & Community Programs; Working, Terra Nova, Wellesley College; The Man Who, Harvard College Theater, Dance & Media; Our Town (upcoming), A.R.T. Institute for Advanced Theater Training. Johnathan teaches in Harvard College’s Theater, Dance & Media concentration.

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