Summary:
UNIVERSES is a national Ensemble Theater Company, of multi-disciplined writers and performers of color, who fuse theater, poetry, dance, jazz, hip hop, politics, down home blues and Spanish boleros to create moving, challenging and entertaining works for the stage. The group breaks the traditional theatrical bounds to create its own brand of theater. Founded in The Bronx, New York in 1995, the members of UNIVERSES came together in the urban poetry and music scene of the late 1990s; quickly moving through the “down town” performance scene to built a home for themselves in American Theatre. In their 17 years, UNIVERSES has performed at venues throughout the United States and toured extensively worldwide.
Education:
*B.A., Bard College
(Mildred Ruiz-Sapp ’92 / Steven Sapp ’89 / William Ruiz ’03)
Theatrical History (USA):
SLANGUAGE
Original NYTW Premiere 2001
Written/Performed by Mildred Ruiz-Sapp, Steven Sapp, Gamal Chasten, Lemon Andersen, Flaco Navaja. Directed/Developed by Jo Bonney. Commissioned by New York Theatre Workshop; Premiere: New York Theatre Workshop; Early workshops at Performance Space 122 (PS122) in 1999. Touring includes: (Performance & teaching workshops) Mark Taper Forum – Ivy Substation (Los Angeles, CA), Actor Theater of Louisville (Louisville, KY), University of Denver (Denver, CO), Duke University (Durham, NC), The University of Maryland -Boston Center for the Arts with Company One (Boston, MA), California State University—Monterey Bay (Monterey Bay, CA), National Ensemble Theater Festival (Blue Lake, CA), Kutztown University (Kutztown, PA), Penn State Univ. (PA), Walker Art Center (Minneapolis, MN), University of California—Santa Barbara, (Santa Barbara, CA), University of California—Riverside, (Riverside, CA), The Egg (Albany, NY), Museum of Contemporary Art (Chicago, IL), Lafayette College (Easton, PA), Emory University (Atlanta, GA), African American Cultural Center (Pittsburgh, PA), Washington University (St. Louis, MO), Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center (College Park, MD), Juniata College (Huntingdon, PA), Out North (Anchorage, Alaska), Williams College (Williamstown, MA), Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH), The Painted Bride (Philadelphia, PA), Diverse Works (Houston, TX), University of Texas (Austin, TX), Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, (Burlington, VT), Dance Space (Washington, DC), Everett Dance Theater (Providence, RI), New World Theater at the Univ. of Mass. (Amherst, MA), Teatro Pregones (Bronx, NY)
POETRY/MUSIC PERFORMANCES
1995-Present Tour includes: The NuYorican Poets Café (NYC), HBO's Def Poetry Jam (Season 4- Episode 9, New York University , Harvard University, Princeton University, Rutgers University, Lehman College, University of Massachusetts, BARD College, Binghamton University, Sarah Lawrence College, City College, Pace University, Pace University, American Airlines Theater (Encore Awards), Joe’s Pub, Labyrinth Theatre, Symphony Space, Aaron Davis hall, Museum of Natural History, St. John The Divine, The Painted Bride (PA), The Brooklyn Tea Party, The Brooklyn Moon, The Newsroom, Bar 13, Sister’s Place, El Puente, Live From The Edge Theater, The Bronx Academy of Art and Dance B.A.A.D, Sing Sing Prison.
UNIVERSES 2014 @ The Oregon Shakespeare Festival