The Morton Theatre Corporation (MTC), with funding from the Athens Cultural Affairs Commission and the National Black Arts Festival, presents “Double Consciousness” live from the Morton Theatre stage on Saturday, June 12, from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at www.mortontheatre.com.
In the first full MTC production since January 2020, the unexpected duo of poet Adán Bean and comedian David Perdue use humor and the beauty of words to process the various social traumas of America and the Black community while celebrating the hope of its humanity. During this production, viewers will experience a revolutionary response of raucous laughter and silliness and a communal wade into the soul, resulting in a live interpretation of what “double consciousness” truly is. As described by famed Black sociologist and activist W.E.B. Du Bois, double consciousness is the idea that Black identity is divided into two parts, which makes it difficult or impossible to have a single, unified identity. In this stage production, this “twoness” is represented by the poet and the comedian.
“ [The show] moves fast and it’s just mesmerizing how well Adán and David play off one another and manage to sum up so much about 2020 and the plight of not only the Black experience in America, but just the plight of being in America. It is so universal and it's the perfect show to bring us back from the pandemic,” said MTC Programming Chair Thomas Brazzle.
“Double Consciousness” will be livestreamed from the Morton Theatre. Donations made during the production will support the Morton Theatre Corporation’s 2021–2022 programming season. The show will begin at 8 p.m., starting with a live music performance flowing into the presentation.
About the Artists:
Adán Bean is an accomplished spoken word poet, emcee, storyteller and voice-over talent hailing from the small town of Massillon, OH but has called Atlanta home for over a decade. As a graduate of Morehouse College, Adán has anchored his creative base firmly in the Atlanta arts, culture and music scene. As a 2019 TEDx speaker and 2017 National Poetry Slam song winner, he’s represented Atlanta on the 2015 and 2017 Java Monkey Slam teams for the National Poetry Slam Competition. Adán also runs the culture site Forth District and hosts The SetList podcast, gearing up for its third season, where he interviews artists and musicians through the prism of their musical influences. His work has been featured on or with companies/brands such as TEDx, Habitat for Humanity, Def Jam Records, Cash Money Records, The Bert Show, CarMax, Coca-Cola, Cricket Wireless, Delta Airlines, All Def Digital, and more.
David Perdue is a comedian who has appeared on Kevin Hart Presents: "Hart of the City" on Comedy Central and "Uproarious" on Fuse. David is also an actor appearing in "Love Is..." on OWN and "Bobcat Goldthwait’s Misfits and Monsters" on truTV. In 2016 he was the Laughing Skull Festival's "Set List Tournament" champion. He appeared as one of the 12 most talked about comedians in Atlanta on the first digital cover of ComedyHype magazine. David was selected by Creative Loafing as one of Atlanta's "People to Watch" in 2017. He was also selected to perform in the Bridgetown Comedy Festival, the Accidental Comedy Festival, the Birmingham Comedy Festival and the Laugh Your Asheville Comedy Festival and has taped for Kevin Hart’s LOL Network at the prestigious Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montréal, Canada.
About the Director:
Chase Brantley is an up-and-coming Director and performer whose career spans four countries and includes directing/writing credits for twenty original comedy shows since 2019. In 2018, he completed a two-year graduate program at the French theatre school Ecole Philippe Gaulier. Inspired by the school’s philosophy of playfulness and games, he founded Moonlight Theater Company (Athens, GA) in December of 2018. Moonlight was Athens' first comedy venue. This business grew into an award-winning program that hosted over 182 performances in under two years.
“Double Consciousness” is a recipient of the Athens Cultural Affairs Commission's Resilience Grant and the National Black Arts Festival's 2021 Artist Project Fund.
The Morton Theatre Corporation and the National Black Arts Festival are both 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. For more information, please visit their websites at: www.mortontheatre.com and www.nbaf.org. To learn more about the Athens Cultural Affairs Commission go to www.athensculturalaffairs.org.
The Morton Theatre Corporation enriches lives and educates people through shared cultural and community experiences while preserving and honoring the theatre's rich African American heritage.