Each project seeks to familiarize the unknown and to de-familiarize the known. Our intent is to reshape the landscape of theatre by being a globally focused company that speaks locally. Our work is created through extensive research and partnerships with our community, artists of all mediums and backgrounds, and other non-profit advocacy institutions.
The Black History Museum According to the United States of America
A theatrical museum exhibit using HERE Arts Center’s entire space (dressing rooms, hallways, lounge, sidewalk space outdoors, and the two theatre spaces), featuring different “lessons” about Black bodies and how black identity is being defined by the millennial generation. The intention is to explore issues including the militarization of the police, dehumanization of Black bodies in the media, economic marginalization of Black communities, and why/how these issues continue from one generation to the next. The piece has continued to draw inspiration from the numerous town hall meetings held after shootings of unarmed African Americans and the controversy around #BlackLivesMatter
World Premiere - HERE Arts Center, NYC 2019
#HashtagProject
A provocative theatrical experiment in the creation of extremist movements and online protests. From #diplomacy to online terrorism, algorithms used by social media sites have created powerful ways to gather critical support, and sometimes, to manipulate it.
A collaboration between American, German, and Chinese theater artists and interactive technology designers, #UntitledHashtagProject translates online social interactions into an immersive and surprising live performance event where the audience is making the decisions about what happens next. Or are they…
2016 Devising Workshop on Governors Island, NYC
The Alien Nation
This new play follows the stories of asylum seekers, lawyers and judges as their lives intersect in the U.S. immigration courtroom. Exploring how humanity survives in judicial proceedings, The Alien Nation will spark conversations about what being an American means in this complex system.
Residency at LMCC Process Space, 2015
Workshop at Lincoln Center Education, 2014
Olityelwe
(Formally known as Ndebele Fuenral)
Winner of the Overall Excellence Award for Best Play at the New York International Fringe Festival and recipient of a Time Out Critic's Pick, Olityelwe is a hilariously heartbreaking new play that pulls audiences into the music, dirt, and dreams of modern South Africa. Featuring original music and gumboot dancing from the mines of Jo'burg, Smoke & Mirrors Collaborative's powerfully physical production provides a human face to Africa's HIV/AIDS epidemic. It is a story of deep love between two dear friends and the humor and the hope that they find in the face of loss. Olityelwe sparks conversations for audiences about themselves, South Africa, and the world we share together, that continue long after the performance is over.
South Africa & Summerhall Edinburgh, 2015
Off- Broadway 59E59 Theatres, 2014
Head in the Sand
A new play inspired by the true story of Bayocean, Oregon is the launching pad for an examination of human nature, climate change, and the pursuit of the American Dream.
Residency at LMCC Process Space, 2015
Work-in-progress performance @ Dixon Place, 2015
Skype Duet
Winner of the Jury Prize at the 100º Festival in Berlin.
Performed live simultaneously in New York and Berlin via Skype. Two young women on different continents are on quest for human connection in the modern world. Featuring online audience interaction, this piece looks at our fear of loneliness, computer mediated communication, and evolving human relationships through technology.
HAU 2 Theatre in Berlin Germany & New World Stages TONY Lounge 2011
European tour 2012
Australia 2016
Collaboration with Per Aspera Productions.
South Africa Onstage!
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Clark Studio Theatre, 2014
A festival of South African theatre, dance and music.
MUSIC: TUELO & HER COUSINS - Experience soulful South African rock and blues as channeled through this seven piece band. A joyful live show that rivals the richness of their crafted lyrical gems.
DANCE: GOT ZULU! - One of many works by Juxtapower, which celebrates South African history and culture through traditional dance and song.
THEATRE: Award winning play NDEBLE FUNERAL examines the world of modern South Africa through the aspirations and loss of three characters whose lives intersect in a Soweto shantytown.
Point of Departure
Point of Departure takes an absurdist look inside the real and imagined landscape of security screenings, flight delays, business travelers, and other oddities of a day in the life of an airport terminal. Using this architecture as our framework, we explore as a company the personal and social themes, feelings, and images that air travel and airports conjure up. The audience is taken on a joyride of modern dance, stimulating projections, and breathtaking aerial feats.
Theatre for a New City, NYC 2011
2018 Work-in-progress presentation: Transmediale Festival, Berlin, Germany