Witch. Photo Credit: Ryan Maxwell. Featuring (L-R) Janani Ramachandran, Sharalys Silva, and Stephanie Tomiko. Set Design: Josh Rosenblum; Costume Design: Kateri Kuhn and Ali Rocha; Lighting and Projection Sound: Philip da Costa.
Define Performance. Discover Humanity.
Mission
Convergence Theatre is a home for socially conscious artists who wish to spark dialogue between diverse communities through new theatrical structures. Convergence Theatre fosters a process-oriented arts collective, addressing widespread human struggles and unique cultural experiences by evolving theatre’s performance language through newly developed works. By engaging in an interdisciplinary approach to dramatic creation, Convergence Theatre produces multi-sensory performances that invite a wide audience base, encouraging discourse and dialogue over issues of social conscience.
Vision
Convergence Theatre aspires to create a new generation of theater artists and patrons whose understanding of human expression is fully realized through multi-layered experiential communication, achieved through the fusion of the various elements of the dramatic arts. By accentuating the unique and the universal within symbol systems, Convergence Theater hopes to reach a multi-generational and multicultural audience base, thereby deepening and extending the examination of contemporary society and how to impact social change.
Guiding Principles
We believe that:
· Theater is evolutionary and revolutionary by nature; we must foster change in our expression in order to
more deeply examine our thoughts, practices, and interactions with others.
· Through its multi-disciplined nature, theater is essential to cultivating understanding and compassion.
· Focused work on non-traditional communication heightens our comprehension.
· The synthesis of many arts disciplines allows us to expand the ability to create engaging imagery and artistic vision.
· By embracing many forms of communication, all ages can develop a greater respect for one another.
· Multi-generational and multicultural audiences encourage the involvement of all in the conversation of social change.
· Through experiencing the stories of many cultures and generations in an artistic spectrum we foster a greater appreciation for the uniqueness of other people while identifying our common bonds.
- Collaboration yields the most compelling performances.
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Mission
Convergence Theatre is a home for socially conscious artists who wish to spark dialogue between diverse communities through new theatrical structures. Convergence Theatre fosters a process-oriented arts collective, addressing widespread human struggles and unique cultural experiences by evolving theatre’s performance language through newly developed works. By engaging in an interdisciplinary approach to dramatic creation, Convergence Theatre produces multi-sensory performances that invite a wide audience base, encouraging discourse and dialogue over issues of social conscience.
Vision
Convergence Theatre aspires to create a new generation of theater artists and patrons whose understanding of human expression is fully realized through multi-layered experiential communication, achieved through the fusion of the various elements of the dramatic arts. By accentuating the unique and the universal within symbol systems, Convergence Theater hopes to reach a multi-generational and multicultural audience base, thereby deepening and extending the examination of contemporary society and how to impact social change.
Guiding Principles
We believe that:
· Theater is evolutionary and revolutionary by nature; we must foster change in our expression in order to
more deeply examine our thoughts, practices, and interactions with others.
· Through its multi-disciplined nature, theater is essential to cultivating understanding and compassion.
· Focused work on non-traditional communication heightens our comprehension.
· The synthesis of many arts disciplines allows us to expand the ability to create engaging imagery and artistic vision.
· By embracing many forms of communication, all ages can develop a greater respect for one another.
· Multi-generational and multicultural audiences encourage the involvement of all in the conversation of social change.
· Through experiencing the stories of many cultures and generations in an artistic spectrum we foster a greater appreciation for the uniqueness of other people while identifying our common bonds.
- Collaboration yields the most compelling performances.
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IN DEVELOPMENT:
Sanctioned Power
Who "sanctions" power? This question prompts a re-examination of the hierarchical entitlement we have long accepted. And yet what would happen if collectively we placed greater value on local relationships to strengthen one another? In Convergence Theatre's latest art-inspiring-action experience, sanctioned power moves into a new immersive theatre journey, shared by and between audience and artists through ritual building, storytelling, charting and rhythmscape. sanctioned power questions the ways power affects us - how we hold it, when we are denied it, and how centering the collective health and well-being of the whole community builds a new form of sanctioned power that fosters transformative justice.
Catch a sneak peek into our process on Facebook page - link below!
www.facebook.com/convergencetheatre/videos/959035038269273
Sanctioned Power
Who "sanctions" power? This question prompts a re-examination of the hierarchical entitlement we have long accepted. And yet what would happen if collectively we placed greater value on local relationships to strengthen one another? In Convergence Theatre's latest art-inspiring-action experience, sanctioned power moves into a new immersive theatre journey, shared by and between audience and artists through ritual building, storytelling, charting and rhythmscape. sanctioned power questions the ways power affects us - how we hold it, when we are denied it, and how centering the collective health and well-being of the whole community builds a new form of sanctioned power that fosters transformative justice.
Catch a sneak peek into our process on Facebook page - link below!
www.facebook.com/convergencetheatre/videos/959035038269273
Snapshots by Asif Majid
On Convergence Theatre's Facebook and Howlround TV!
howlround.com/happenings/livestreaming-performance-snapshots-20-convergence-theatre - Howlround TV!
Critical acclaim for ConvergenceTheatre!
"… A vital, vibrant examination of the immigrant story, and an unforgettable evening of theatre." - Norah Dick, MD Theatre Guide.
https://mdtheatreguide.com/2018/07/theatre-review-guerilla-theatre-works-a-new-nation-by-convergence-theatre/
"This collection of vignettes about immigration, family, and home speaks truth to power." - Kate Colwell, DC Theatre Scene. - dctheatrescene.com/2018/07/12/review-guerilla-theatre-works-a-new-nation/
"There’s not a moment in the 70-minute production that fails to maintain an audience’s intense attention. A New Nation displays that power, and does so in a way that is as theatrically vivid as it is substantively meaningful." - Bob Ashby, DC Metro Theatre Arts. dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2018/07/10/review-guerrilla-theater-works-a-new-nation-by-convergence-theatre/
"… A vital, vibrant examination of the immigrant story, and an unforgettable evening of theatre." - Norah Dick, MD Theatre Guide.
https://mdtheatreguide.com/2018/07/theatre-review-guerilla-theatre-works-a-new-nation-by-convergence-theatre/
"This collection of vignettes about immigration, family, and home speaks truth to power." - Kate Colwell, DC Theatre Scene. - dctheatrescene.com/2018/07/12/review-guerilla-theatre-works-a-new-nation/
"There’s not a moment in the 70-minute production that fails to maintain an audience’s intense attention. A New Nation displays that power, and does so in a way that is as theatrically vivid as it is substantively meaningful." - Bob Ashby, DC Metro Theatre Arts. dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2018/07/10/review-guerrilla-theater-works-a-new-nation-by-convergence-theatre/
Guerrilla Theatre Works: A New Nation.
Photography by Ethan Malamud. Directed and choreographed by Elena Velasco, co-directed by Natalia Gleason. Featuring Sebastian Leighton, Karoline Troger and Cristian Linares. Projections by Tewodross Melchishua Williams, Set design by Tom O'Reilly, Lighting by P. Precious Porter, Costumes and Props by Bria Gilbert, Sound design by Drew Weinstein, dramaturgy by Olivia Haller. Stage managed by Sophie Barden.
"The movement pieces of A New Nation impart the strongest impressions. The performers, especially Cristian Amilo Linares and Fabiolla da Silva, execute Elena Velasco’s choreography with strength and tenderness." - Kate Colwell, DC Theatre Scene (Photography by Ethan Malamud).
---------------------REVIEWS FROM PAST PRODUCTIONS-----------------
Catch moments from A New Nation,
noted by DC Theatre Scene as a work that "speaks truth to power."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leMnekJP4e4&feature=youtu.be
noted by DC Theatre Scene as a work that "speaks truth to power."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leMnekJP4e4&feature=youtu.be
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Fabiolla da Silva named as DCMTA Outstanding Professional Performance for
This Is All Just Temporary.
dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2018/12/30/dcmta-2018-staff-favorites-outstanding-performance-in-a-professional-production/
Featured in the DC Women's Voices Theatre Festival 2018
This Is All Just Temporary
A new work by Olivia Haller
Directed and choreographed by Elena Velasco
FIVE STARS! - "Director Elena Velasco guides her cast adeptly through the small space....Using projections, movement, and some classic storytelling techniques, this production puts a new spin on the theme that the people we love the most can also make us feel the most “stuck."...This Is All Just Temporary deftly highlights the strength of the feelings of both love and guilt a family can elicit in us, and how we sometimes must come together to make impossible choices." - Jon Bavoso, DC Theatre Scene.
dctheatrescene.com/2018/01/22/just-temporary-convergence-theatre-review/
"..Powerful and griping....This is All Just Temporary breaks your heart and then puts you back together even stronger than before." - Kendall Mostafavi, DC Metro Theater Arts
dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2018/01/24/review-just-temporary-convergence-theatre-womens-voices-theater-festival/
"A superb story of how a family’s undeniable love surpasses the exhaustion felt fighting society’s, and consequently, one’s individual fear of a stereotyped, misunderstood disability." - Katie Gaab, MD Theatre Guide
mdtheatreguide.com/2018/02/theatre-review-this-is-all-just-temporary-at-convergence-theatre
See the trailer!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYZPG0Dlxps
Fabiolla da Silva named as DCMTA Outstanding Professional Performance for
This Is All Just Temporary.
dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2018/12/30/dcmta-2018-staff-favorites-outstanding-performance-in-a-professional-production/
Featured in the DC Women's Voices Theatre Festival 2018
This Is All Just Temporary
A new work by Olivia Haller
Directed and choreographed by Elena Velasco
FIVE STARS! - "Director Elena Velasco guides her cast adeptly through the small space....Using projections, movement, and some classic storytelling techniques, this production puts a new spin on the theme that the people we love the most can also make us feel the most “stuck."...This Is All Just Temporary deftly highlights the strength of the feelings of both love and guilt a family can elicit in us, and how we sometimes must come together to make impossible choices." - Jon Bavoso, DC Theatre Scene.
dctheatrescene.com/2018/01/22/just-temporary-convergence-theatre-review/
"..Powerful and griping....This is All Just Temporary breaks your heart and then puts you back together even stronger than before." - Kendall Mostafavi, DC Metro Theater Arts
dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2018/01/24/review-just-temporary-convergence-theatre-womens-voices-theater-festival/
"A superb story of how a family’s undeniable love surpasses the exhaustion felt fighting society’s, and consequently, one’s individual fear of a stereotyped, misunderstood disability." - Katie Gaab, MD Theatre Guide
mdtheatreguide.com/2018/02/theatre-review-this-is-all-just-temporary-at-convergence-theatre
See the trailer!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYZPG0Dlxps
This Is All Just Temporary by Olivia Haller, directed by Elena Velasco. Actors featured: Fabiolla da Silva, Raven Wilkes, Axandre Oge. Stage Management by Laura Schlachtmeyer; Lights and projections design by Philip da Costa; Set Design by Alex Miletich IV; Costumes by Madeline Belknap; Props by Carrie Kirby.
Photo credit: Ethan Malamud.
AWARD WINNER!
Anacostia Arts Center Residency and ARCH Development Grant 2017-2018
Anacostia Arts Center Residency and ARCH Development Grant 2017-2018
Theatre Washington 2017 John Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company Nominee!
Click below to have a look inside the Convergence Theatre process and mission!
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Bhavi the Avenger. Written by Tearrance Chisholm, directed by Elena Velasco. Featuring Marquis D. Gibson. Lighting by Nate Collard, set by Josh Rosenblum, costumes by Madeline Belknap. Photo credit: Tori Boutin.
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BHAVI the AVENGER triumphs!
"Whimsical, resourceful..." - Celia Wren, Washington Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/theater-dance/inaugural-offering-from-convergence-theatre-is-whimsical-and-resourceful/2015/09/30/3b0c3bda-66be-11e5-8325-a42b5a459b1e_story.html
"Director Elena Velasco’s spare staging puts the audience right in the action...the result is engrossing....this enigmatic play will stay with you long after." - John Stoltenberg, DCMetroTheaterArts.
DCMetroTheaterArts. http://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2015/09/27/bhavi-the-avenger-at-convergence-theatre/
Haunted by a slain elephant, Bhavi is set on a quest to avenge this gruesome death. Though named the chosen one, Bhavi's desire to only be one of many thrusts him into a world of cowboys in corporate suits. Written by Tearrance Chisholm, directed by Elena Velasco and developed by the Convergence Theatre collective, Bhavi the Avenger opens the conversation over the issues surrounding the "model minority" in the US, and how cultural identity shapes our world.
BHAVI the AVENGER triumphs!
"Whimsical, resourceful..." - Celia Wren, Washington Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/theater-dance/inaugural-offering-from-convergence-theatre-is-whimsical-and-resourceful/2015/09/30/3b0c3bda-66be-11e5-8325-a42b5a459b1e_story.html
"Director Elena Velasco’s spare staging puts the audience right in the action...the result is engrossing....this enigmatic play will stay with you long after." - John Stoltenberg, DCMetroTheaterArts.
DCMetroTheaterArts. http://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2015/09/27/bhavi-the-avenger-at-convergence-theatre/
Haunted by a slain elephant, Bhavi is set on a quest to avenge this gruesome death. Though named the chosen one, Bhavi's desire to only be one of many thrusts him into a world of cowboys in corporate suits. Written by Tearrance Chisholm, directed by Elena Velasco and developed by the Convergence Theatre collective, Bhavi the Avenger opens the conversation over the issues surrounding the "model minority" in the US, and how cultural identity shapes our world.
Bhavi the Avenger. Written by Tearrance Chisholm, directed by Elena Velasco. Featuring Marquis D. Gibson and Latia Stokes. Set design and shadow puppetry by Josh Rosenblum; lights and projections design by Nate Collard; costumes by Madeline Belknap. Photo credit: Tori Boutin
Honored by DCMetroTheaterArts Best of 2015
Best Directors of a Play in Professional Theatres
Best Plays in Professional Theatres
Best Performances
http://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2015/01/04/dcmetrotheaterarts-best-of-2015-18-directors-play-in-professional-theatres/
http://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2015/12/21/dcmetrotheaterarts-best-of-2015-best-plays-in-professional-theaters4/
http://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2015/12/26/dcmetrotheaterarts-best-2015-8-best-performances-play-professional-theatres1/
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At What Cost? /Qué Sacrificaría? A search for home in an unsafe world. Buscando una casa en un mundo inseguro. Una espectaculo homenaje a los que deben huir su hogar para encontrar un hogar. Esa obra estará presentar en inglés, español y una lengua de moviemento. |
Convergence Theatre's production of Nurse Fawn. Directed and choreographed by Elena Velasco, written by Tearrance Chisholm. Featuring Inés Domniguez del Corral, Ali Rocha, Ellen Abhood, and Justin Smith.