No Mixed Message For Obsidian Theatre Oraltorio: A Theatrical Mixtape is Dope!

Author: Stephen Weir | Date: 18 October 2018 | MNIAlive.com

American author Toni Morrison‘s The Origin of Others is a classic collection of essays that explore the concepts of race, identity and power. CBC RADIO’s The Next Chapter columnist MOTION suggests that if you’re looking for a Canadian equivalent, you should check out M. NourbeSe Philip‘s essay collection Bla_k.

Toni Morrison’s The Origin of Others

“Toni Morrison’s The Origin of Others looks at the concept of race and why that matters from a historical perspective. Throughout the book, she confronts the illusion of power through the process of inventing an ‘other.’ Many black writers and writers who have lived in states of migration or exile have talked about that whole concept of being the ‘other.’ What she’s saying is that race is an invention that helps keep power structures in place —  but it is also found throughout art and, particularly, throughout literature. She threads a line of travel from pre-colonialism to current day globalization and does it masterfully.”

M. NourbeSe Philip’s Blank

“The multi-layered work of Blank by M. Norbese Phillip also looks at many of the themes we find in the origin of ‘others,’ including race, memory, migration, belonging, as well as the power and the impact of literature and art.

“Philip’s book is very much a reflection of her own career and experience as a writer. This collection brings together both out-of-print essays and brand new reflections on the themes that she has been grappling with and challenging throughout her career.”

LISTEN HERE ON CBC RADIO:

http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1344654403733/

ORALTORIO: A THEATRICAL MIXTAPE Examines Society & Culture Through Black Music

Striking audio and powerful stories drive ORALTORIO: A THEATRICAL MIXTAPE as the lives of black women, never named yet eerily familiar, are brought to life in this new Soulpepper and Obsidian Theatre production, directed by Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu.

Through the eyes of two young Toronto women (Motion, DJ L’Oqenz), the 75-minute tour-de-force spans hundreds of years of black history, from ancient traditions rooted in African culture to modern day dancehalls, using popular music and effective audio samples. Motion masterfully introduces dozens of interesting characters, and manages to make each role unique. From the unrecognized singer in a touring show to the teen with a crush making a mixtape in her room, Motion raps, sings, dances, and poeticizes her way into and out of seemingly any situation.

Complementing her talent is DJ L’Oqenz, who remains stoic and seemingly untouched throughout most of the show. Stationed behind her set-up, DJ L’Oqenz delivers an incredible set of music and accompaniment to each story told, and the few moments where she interacts with Motion’s characters flit between funny and frightening with ease.

ORALTORIO leans heavily on the music and sounds of black artists – those easily recognizable for their modern Top 10 hits, and the ones who struggled against oppression and were silenced in favour of white performers. One short tribute to Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton was incredibly fitting and managed to sum up the show’s overarching theme in one quick transition.

Despite multiple features focused on entertainment, ORALTORIO doesn’t hesitate to bring up issues like police brutality, slavery, and sexism – and does so beautifully. Motion and DJ L’Oqenz’s ability to coordinate sound and performance to build tension is brilliant, but at times feels a bit cut off. Words and volume speed up and increase, the story reaches its crux, and often the next scene starts right away and the audience is transferred into something more lighthearted. That tension never really goes away, though, and results in a strong, satisfying finale.

Set design (Jackie Chau) is minimal, and rightfully so – the focus of ORALTORIO is clearly on sound (Thomas Ryder Payne, DJ L’Oqenz) – however each movement, prop, and artistic choice feeds into the power of the show. Gorgeous lighting (André du Toit) assists the transitions between stories and drives some of the most striking moments, however the column of white LED panels behind DJ L’Oqenz’s table is almost painfully blinding and distracting when used.

Through poetry, song, dance, and dialogue, ORALTORIO: A THEATRICAL MIXTAPE is a moving collection of stories woven into a complex show, and it’s perfectly at home here in Toronto.

ORALTORIO: A THEATRCAL MIXTAPE runs through October 20 at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 50 Tank House Lane, Toronto, ON.

For more information or to buy tickets, visit https://soulpepper.ca/performances/oraltorio-a-theatrical-mixtape/6157

(photo credit: DJ L’Oqenz and MOTION, by Cesar Ghisilieri.)

Poet, emcee and playwright Motion on her new play Oraltorio: A Theatrical Mixtape and her own coming of age

Poet, emcee and playwright Motion takes us on a musical and spoken word journey through her coming of age, and talks about how much of her real life is reflected in the b-girl she plays in her new production Oraltorio: A Theatrical Mixtape.

LISTEN: HERE ON CBC RADIO

— Produced by Beza Seife

photo by Zahra Siddiqui, written by Meres J. Weche

Oraltorio: A Theatrical Mixtape — an Obsidian Theatre production, presented in partnership with Soulpepper Theatre — written and performed by multidisciplinarian spoken word artist Motion, and infused by enthralling musical soundscapes of DJ L’Oqenz, is currently running at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts (50 Tank House Lane) until October 20, 2018.

This is the story of two Toronto-bred young women, Motion as the B-Girl and L’Oqenz as the DJ, navigating through life and their womanhood in search of agency. Their quest is set through the background and history of the beats, music, rhymes and song lyrics that have come to shape their identity.

Directed by Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu, Oraltorio is set in an Afrofuturistc aesthetic realm where the worlds of spoken word, emceeing and DJing coalesce. The visually stimulating theatrical universe created by André du Toit’s lighting, and grounded in the hip hop-inspired catacombs of Jackie Chau’s set, add unmistakable character to the show’s auditory journey.

“The show was born out of a lot of my own, as well as L’Oqenz’s, experiences with music and growing up around music, around the evolution of hip hop, and being inspired by black women artists and musicians,” as Motion recently explained to AfroToronto.com. “As well as the role that music has played in the lives and history of people from the African diaspora. The collective experience of a people.”

Digging back into the roots

Delving a bit deeper into the origins of Oraltorio, Motion recalls a collaboration show she worked on years ago for the Urban Music Awards, called Musik, where she charted the evolution of the connections between the griots of West Africa all the way to the emcees of hip hop culture.

“That piece inspired me to continue writing a larger work that would blend soundscape with words and with theatre — to look at the role that music and sound have played as tools of resistance against silencing in black women’s lives,” as Motion explained. “I would say that’s definitely the genesis of Oraltorio.”

She soon joined forces with DJ L’Oqenz after this epiphany to work together on creating the soundscape and the music for it. “We really thought about the concept of a theatrical mixtape,” she said. The idea was to dramatize a mixtape where the iconic sounds from the DJ culture they both grew up with would be overlayered with soundbites, sung or spoken, from different flavours and stories.

“What we’ve grown to understand through this creative process is just the fluidity of how this work can live. It can live with one mic and a DJ; and it can live in its full production experience with the visuals and working with choreographers and movement specialists,” said Motion. “There’s so many different ways and formats through which we’ve been able to find the story and find how different audiences can experience it.”

As the concept grew from inception to its current form, various versions of Oraltorio saw the light of day over the years in places like b current‘s Rock.Paper.Sistahz Festival, readings at the Buddies in Bad Times Theatre’s Rhubard Festival, the Piece of Mine Festival, and its first full production as part of Why Not Theatre‘s Riser Project — which took place at the Theatre Centre in 2016.

Also in 2016, Motion and L’Oquenz had the opportunity to travel to Ghana with the Northern Griots Network to showcase Oraltorio at the Chale Wote Street Art Festival, as well as the Nkabom Literary Festival.

“Our Ghana experience was great because we actually found ourselves at the birthplace of so much of the musical inspiration that we touch upon in Oraltorio,” as Motion shared. They performed to a large audience as part of the closing night of the Chale Wote Festival.

“To be surrounded and immersed in so much artistic expression was really inspirational. It just deepened our connection to the rhythm of the piece; to the ancestry of Oraltorio. Showing that no matter where you go in the world where you find people of the African diaspora, there are audible ties that connect us [through] the way that we express ourselves. [Be it through] spirituality, though dance, through survival, through protesting disparity, through the quest for freedom.”

“What we also continue to connect to is the cross-generational strength through which, despite how often we are silenced, or our voices are dampened, we find ways to be heard. So Oraltorio is an ode to that resistance.”

Paul Love Associate Toronto Critic

It’s not too often that I find myself sitting in a theatre, moments before the curtain rises, and I am not really sure what it is I’m about to see, which is an exhilarating feeling. The parenthetical “A Theatrical Mixtape” gives a bit of a hint of what’s to come, but it still wasn’t enough to prepare me for the incredible sonic ride I was taken on moments later: Two young Black women — B-Girl and the DJ — growing up in Toronto struggle with their identity and heritage, navigating their way forward through an exploration of their social and cultural history, presented as a heady mixture of singing and spoken word poetry connected and surrounded by a soundscape of music, audio clips, and sound effects.

B-Girl is played by Motion — playwright, screenwriter, emcee, and poet. Motion takes on the personas of a young girl, an old preacher man, and many other characters in between, presenting short scenes depicting the deplorable treatment of Black people and women throughout history — singing, shouting, talking, and dancing her way through with a performance that is powerful and riveting.

Occasionally speaking but mainly weaving her auditory magic at the turntables is DJ L’Oqenz, a producer, composer, sound designer, and (of course) DJ. DJ L’Oqenz creates an all-permeating atmosphere of sound and music that generates and amplifies the themes of struggle, inequality, and injustice, matching perfectly with Motion’s efforts.

Director Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu stages the production well, maintaining a frenetic pace by keeping things in motion, except in the few instances where the action is ground to a halt, making those moments all the more effective as a result. André Du Toit’s lighting design effectively connects with the sound and story, creating the pulsing atmosphere of a club, the menace of power-mad law enforcement, and the chaos of an urban shootout, among other things.

If you’re looking for a stage production that tells its story as much through music and sound as it does through dialogue, let these two incredible performers take you on their journey in Oraltorio: A Theatrical Mixtape.

Photo of (L-R) DJ L’Oqenz and Motion provided by Cesar Ghisilieri.

Oraltorio show is a fast-paced sample of a uniquely Black musical frequency