Intersections - a New America Arts Festival

Bud, Not Buddy Actors and live jazz musicians bring to life in a theatrical reading the Newberry Award-winning story of a resilient young hero.

Saturday, Feb 25 at 11:00am & 1:00pm
Sprenger Theatre
45 min
$8
For ages 5 & up

Spirit of Unity A culture-bridging concert featuring a renowned North Indian classical vocalist and world fusion ensemble.

Sunday, March 4 at 2:00pm
Lang Theatre
60 min
$15, $10 student/senior
For ages 8 & up

Life in Motion: A Trio in Perspectives Three modern dance ensembles present multi-media pieces that compellingly respond to issues of our time.

Sunday, Mar 4 at 4:30pm
Lang Theatre
60 min
$20, $15 student/senior/military
For ages 12 & up

Mixed Message A from-our-lives performance by an award-winning teen ensemble that decodes the new-America messages they send and receive each day.

Sunday, March 4 at 2:00pm
Lab 2
50 min
FREE
For ages 8 & up

Washington Sound Museum Grammy-nominated progressive hip-hop artist Christylez unites his distinctive sound with traditional musicians, all over a cup of tea!

Essence of Dance: A Cultural Perspective A culture-fusing celebration of African American dance by an outstanding Maryland-based youth performance company. Join in the performance by taking a pre-performance workshop (11:30am).

Saturday, Mar 3 at 1:00pm
(Workshop 11:30am - 12:15pm)
Sprenger Theatre/Lab 1
90 min
$15, $10 student/senior
For ages 5 & up / Workshop for 8 & up

The Re-write of Spring: Stravinsky for Big Band Big band meets Stravinsky when Darryl Brenzel conducts a 17-piece ensemble in a new take on a world-changing classic of 20th century music.

Perspectivoyage Three artists – a dancer/choreographer, an actor/writer and a visual artist-- take an un-seated audience on a journey of changing perspectives via the Grand Canyon.

Thursday, Feb 23 at 6:30pm & Friday; Feb 24 at 6:00pm & 8:30pm
Lab 1
50 min
$10
For ages 12 & up

New Atmospheres for Orchestra A classical orchestra collides with an amplified ensemble and a live electronic processor to create a whole new musical sound.

Family Folktales Folktales filled with laughter and learning are shared by a master storyteller in griot style – handing them down to the next generation.

Saturday, Mar 10 at 3:30pm
Lab 1
45 min
$8
For ages 5 & up

Happy Mojo Guitar Multi-Wammie-Award winning musician celebrates her rising from the ashes of a house fire with a triumphant new song cycle with her band, the Sparks.

Friday, Mar 9 at 9:30pm
Lab 2
50 min
$15, $12 student/senior
For ages 8 & up

360º of America Diverse DC playwrights take a look at America from all angles in eight brand new short plays written for INTERSECTIONS and read by the playwrights. Add your lens to the perspective when we open the mic to audience members to share a story in 360 seconds.

Thursday, Feb 23 at 7:30pm
Saturday, Feb 25 at 9:30pm
Lab 2
90 min
$12, $10 student/senior
*For ages 16 & up

Tea Dance Celebration Swing to tunes from DC’s favorite LGBT big band and raise a glass to the finale of INTERSECTIONS.

Sunday, Mar 11 at 5:30pm
Sprenger Theatre 
90 minutes
$15, includes one drink from our cash bar and lite bites.
For ages 8 & up

Access Granted.  Joy of Motion Dance Center's adult hip-hop company unleashes their passion for jazz, tap, modern and pop-fusion AND their amazing hip-hop moves. Dance Party to follow!

Friday, Mar 2 at 9:30pm
Sprenger Theatre
90 min

Buses Are A Comin': The Freedom Riders in Song and Story A full-of-heart community performance presented by elders of H Street NE, with special guest teen orators from Ford's Theatre's "Speak Like the President" program.

Saturday, Feb 25 at 3:30pm
Lab 2
60 min
FREE
For ages 8 & up

Future Preludes Dancers of all genres -- from ancient hula to classical ballet -- respond to the Preludes of Rachmaninoff in a concert created by a DC dance visionary.

Thursday, Mar 8 at 7:00pm
Friday, Mar 9 at 7:00pm
Sprenger Theatre
60 min
$20, $15 student/senior
For ages 8 & up

Cinema Key moments in American cinema inspire a multi-disciplinary exploration of universal connection presented by DC’s exciting ballet-fusion company.

The Country Shook and the Children Hollered Outstanding young artists revisit and rework the American conversation as posed by Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, Marvin Gaye and more, seizing their own distinctly American tradition.

Thursday, Mar 1 at 7:30pm
Saturday, Mar 3 at 2:00pm
Lang Theatre
$20, $18 student/senior
*For ages 16 & up

“…And Bid Him Sing.”  Four powerful poets share their work and their passion for connecting poetry and people across DC.

Saturday, Feb 25 at 5:30pm
Lab 1
60 min
$5
For ages 12 & up

You Don’t Question Love A nationally-known unique voice among gay singer-songwriters is joined by the a cappella pop ensemble from the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC.

Guerrilla New Music  One of DC’s most vibrant performing ensembles offers new works by emerging composers that explore the connections between humans, machines, and the world.

MIMESIS Baroque instruments meet 21st century compositions and visual art in an extraordinary concert event.

Youth Poets Open Mic Freestyle response to the film “Louder than a Bomb” opens a night of young poets taking the stage. Sign up at the door, then step up to the mic.

Friday, Mar 9 at 7:00pm
The Loft
90 minutes
$3
For ages 16 & up

Read: White and Blue Dynamic Hip-hop theater duo, Baye “Straightforward” Harrell and Jabari “Auragin” Exum, offer compelling entertainment in a show that straddles the class divide in the DC Black community. 

Impossible IZZpossible  A special guest performance by the Philadelphia-based international hip-hop sensation described by The New York Times as “fabulous.”

The Colors of Sound 

Back by popular demand, this world-class jazz vocalist and her trio bring rich, world music to the Sprenger stage.

Double Take Take a journey through the Atlas when dance, architecture, and video combine in a world premiere site-specific work.

SOLE Defined See the future of a uniquely American art form when body percussion and footwork fuse with salsa and jazz.

Sunday, March 11 at 2pm
Sprenger Theatre
60 min
$15, $10 student/senior
For ages 8 & up

Locomotion An inspiring play about a boy who learns to love himself, his life and his world through poetry. 

Saturday, Mar 10 at 2:00pm & 4:00pm
Lang Theatre
60 min
$15, $8 student, $10 senior
For ages 8 & up

Musical Opposites: A Concert for Children Top-flight musicians from the National Symphony Orchestra share with the youngest concertgoers the puzzles and pleasures of classical music.

Saturday, Mar 10 at 11:00am
Sprenger Theatre
60 min
$12, $8 student/senior
For ages 5 & up

Festival Special Event
An Evening with Stephen Lang and Guest Artist Tom Teasley The star of Terra Nova (Commander Taylor) and Avatar (Colonel Quaritch) and a world-renown percussionist cast a haunting spell of otherworldly wonder, beauty and danger in a dramatic rendering of Robert Browning's cautionary classic, The Pied Piper. NPR's Bob Mondello leads a post-performance on-stage conversation and audience Q & A.

Thursday, Feb 23 at 7:30pm
Lang Theatre
90 min
$37, $20 for students/seniors
For ages 8 & up

Festival Opening Party Sponsored by Paul Sprenger in honor of Atlas founder Jane Lang on her 65th birthday and the Atlas’ 5th Anniversary Season. Let the good times roll when a zydeco band spiced with steel drums heats up the Sprenger for a night of dancing and mingling with festival artists.

Friday, Feb 24 at 9:00pm
Sprenger Theatre
120 min
$25, includes a drink and hors d’oeuvres
For ages 8 & up

EveryBODY Catch the Beat! A fast-paced intersection for the whole family of live music with tap, jazz, ballet and hip-hop presented by amazing teenage dancers. Join in the performance by taking a pre-performance workshop (12:00pm).

Saturday, Mar 10 at  1:30pm
(Workshop 12:00 – 1:00pm)
Sprenger Theatre
75 min
$15, $10 student/senior
For ages 5 & up
Workshop for ages 8 & up

Mutts Gone Nuts Special Benefit Performance for the Atlas’ Family Programming Mischievous rescued mutts and their comedian pals, Jesse and James, and special guest Tim Settimi, present a comedy thrill show that will leave you howling for more.

Intersections in Space: SUPERNOVA Meets SYNCHRONICITY  An all-acoustic cast of strings and percussion, along with the voices of DIVINE ORDER, meets a classic jazz ensemble in a concert of original compositions revealing surprising connections of musical styles. Musical Director, Allyn Johnson.

Saturday, Feb 25 at 8:00pm
Lang Theatre
90 min
$25, $20 student/senior
For ages 8 & up

"Louder than the Bomb"  Members of the national award-winning DC Youth Slam Poetry Team introduce a screening of a film documenting the power of poetry in the lives of inner-city teens.

Never Give Up An a cappella concert of world, folk, and pop music presented by an ensemble of gay and lesbian singers eager to open hearts and minds, benefiting SMYAL’s Youth Arts Ensemble.

Sunday, Mar 11 at 4:30pm
Lab 2
60 min
$10 (fundraiser)
For ages 12 & up

Road Signs Introduce your family to Deaf Culture in a show seen by audiences around the world presented by deaf and hearing performers, featuring song, sign, and stories.

Saturday, Feb 25 at 3:30pm
Saturday, Mar 3 at 3:30pm
Lab 1
50 min
$8 
For ages 5 & up

Intersecting A Cappella Imagine doo-wop meets pop meets gospel meets R&B meets Motown when two fantastic DC a cappella groups share the stage.

Klecksography: DC Underground Washington’s lost stories are told in six short plays created in just two weeks from a fierce, inventive theatre company.

Saturday, Mar 3 at 4:30pm & 7:00pm
Lab 2
90 minutes
$15, $10 student/senior
For ages 16 & up

The Saiyuki Trio with Rudresh Mahanthappa Experience sound magic when the phenomenal French-Vietnamese jazz guitarist Nguen Le and his trio featuring koto, shamisen, and tabla pair with an alto sax.

Friday, Feb 24 at 8:00pm
Lang Theatre
90 min
FREE, reservations suggested
For ages 8 & up

Giving it All to the Day An intersection of dance, theater, poetry, and music gives voice to the lives of diverse contemporary women, presented by an exciting new Baltimore company.

Friday, Mar 9 at 9:00pm
Sprenger Theatre
55 min
$20, $15 student/senior
For ages 12 & up

Click SEND Dance students from Washington, DC and Beijing, China put social media to work in a dynamic cross-cultural creation born from trading stories and choreography via the Internet.

Sunday, Feb 26 at 5:00pm
Sprenger Theatre
45 min
$10, $5 student
For ages 8 & up
 

Art Connection Arts as personal and community empowerment take center stage in an interactive youth performance of both theater and dance.

Sunday, Mar 4 at 3:00pm
Lab 1
30 min
FREE
For ages 12 & up
 

Best of the 10-Minute Fest Presented by Washington’s source for new work, enjoy four popular plays from the Festival’s first four years and sneakily preview a new “10” coming up in 2012.

Thursday, Mar 1 at 7:30pm
Friday, Mar 2 at 10:00pm
Lab 2
60 min
$10
For ages 16 & up

Born This Way: Stories About Queer Culture in America DC's popular true storytellers’ theater spotlights tales from the LGBT community and their friends and families.

Thursday, Feb 23 at 8:00pm
Saturday, Feb 25 at 7:00pm
Sprenger Theatre
75 min
$20, $12 student
For ages 18 & up

Frankenstein: The Beauty of the Beast A master storyteller, lauded by The Washington Post as “charismatic, astonishing” and live string musician bring an old tale to 21st century life, giving voice to the ultimate “other.”

Friday, Mar 2 at 7:30pm
Sunday, Mar 4 at 4:30pm
Thursday, Mar 8 at 9:30pm
Friday, Mar 9 at 7:00pm
Saturday, Mar 10 at 2:00pm
Lab 2
75 min
$20, $15 student/senior
For ages 12 & up

Samudra: Churning Oceans Classical Indian dance anchors a world premiere collaboration of multi-generational artists who share their unique stories of the immigrant experience.

Saturday, Mar 3 at 7:00pm
Sprenger Theatre
70 min
$20, $15 student/senior
For ages 8 & up

Poems of Provocation and Witness Poet-activist Joseph Ross hosts a reading featuring José Padua, Niki Herd and the DC Youth Poetry Slam Team.

Saturday, Mar 3 at 5:30pm
Lab 1
60 min
$5 
For ages 16 & up

Fly Twenty dramatic short-takes of life on the streets comprise this award-winning solo performance by Joe Edwards heralded by The New York Times as “sharp, ironic and affectionate.”

Saturday, Mar 10 at 9:30pm
Sunday, Mar 11 at 2:00pm
Lab 2
75 min
$20, $10 student/senior
For ages 16 & up

Life Stories Live: An Interactive Performance for Families A team of teen and adult performers replay stories from the audience in a fun form of theatre that entertains while celebrating what we share and dream.

Saturday, Feb 25 at 11:00am
Lab 1
60 min
$5 
For ages 5 & up

Bodies: A Music and Dance Exploration A boundary-breaking program of 21st century chamber music and dance highlighting how we perceive and experience our bodies.

Act Write Now Selected scenes from two works-in-progress created by the participants of two DC powerhouses of arts programs for teens.

Sunday, Mar 11 at 3:30pm
Lab 1
90 min
FREE
For ages 16 & up

Saturday, Mar 3 at 5:30pm & 8:00pm
Lang Theatre
60 min
$25, $15 student/senior
For ages 5 & up