Year in Review 2023-2024

Dearest family, friends, students, and patrons, thank you from our toe toes to the stars for dreaming, celebrating, singing, science-ing and protesting with healing joy and vital connections! As I reflect on our collaborations, presentations, trainings, festivals and fiercely weird encounters, I am filled with gratitude and motivation.

While we continue to examine our role as arts leaders, it is without a doubt that our programming continues to honor our past, find grounding in our present wonder and manifest dreams for our collective future. As the halted programming from shutdowns continues to bubble up in renewed commitments to artists, projects and organizational values, we at 7 Stages are encouraged more than ever by your engagement and support. Thank you for showing up in all the ways you are able! Our stages are yours. I’m looking forward to creating a world we want to live in with all of you.

Enjoy some throwbacks to the last year!

-Heidi S Howard, 7 Stages Artistic Director

Youth Creates 2023 – The Gl1tter Effect

Performed July 28-29, 2023

Program June 26-July 30

In just five weeks, the Youth Creates 2023 Ensemble created a play from scratch, The Gl1tter Effect! “In a far away galaxy, there are worlds full of wonder; from floating cities to mystical forests, to planets made entirely of mushrooms.

Every world is unique. But what happens when an unnatural substance called Gl1tter sweeps through the galaxy and threatens to turn its inhabitants into hulking monsters? How can these worlds survive this threat to their natural magic? What will it cost them?

Youth Creates is 7 Stages’ training program providing experiential learning and performance opportunities for teenagers. Through playwriting, design, and performance, students collaborate to create an original production.

The Lost Art of Dreaming – Sean Dorsey Dance

September 15-17, 2023

Trailblazing transgender choreographer Sean Dorsey (San Francisco) returned to 7 Stages with the Atlanta premiere of Sean Dorsey Dance’s The Lost Art Of Dreaming, inviting us to “reconnect with longing, embrace expansive imagination, connect with joy and pleasure, and propel ourselves toward loving Futures.”

This powerful work featured full-throttle dance, intimate storytelling, intricate costuming, and exquisite queer partnering… all performed with Sean Dorsey Dance’s signature technical precision, guts and deep humanity. Each performance was followed by the lobby experience of two activities: Postcards From The Future and The Futurist Pledge! The Lost Art Of Dreaming was performed by an ensemble of five queer, trans & gender-non-conforming dancers (Sean Dorsey, Brandon Graham, Héctor Jaime, David Le, Nol Simonse) – with a rich, layered soundscore.

Yesterday was a day we as a family will remember forever. Thank you to Sean Dorsey Dance for their inspirational art and to 7 Stages for holding space for this beautiful work creating community. I will be forever grateful that my children got to be a part of this. – Lena Kotler-Wallace, patron

First Voices Festival – Second Annual

November 17-24, 2023

Produced by 7 Stages in collaboration with Turtle Island Trading, Zintkala Zi PowWow, Little 5 Points Business Association and Plaza Theatre.

Storytelling with William Harjo – November 17, 2023

To kick off a full weekend of complimentary events, 7 Stages hosted an evening of storytelling and music at 7 Stages featuring Muscogee (Creek) elder and fine flutemaker William Harjo. For over 25 years, Harjo has traveled the world telling stories, playing and selling his handmade flutes. The opening reception also featured frybread dishes from Three Sisters Soulfood.

POWWOW – Nov 18-19, 2023

For two days, the soccer field in Little 5 Points was filled with dancers, musicians, vendors, and visitors to a PowWow in the center of Atlanta. Indigenous people of many backgrounds gathered in the field to represent their cultures. It featured a dance competition, performances by drummers, flutists, singers, and a variety of goods crafted by Indigenous artisans.

RUMBLE Film Screening – Nov 24, 2023

To cap off the events of First Voices Festival, a special screening of Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World was held at Plaza Theatre accompanied by a minimarket with Indigenous goods. This documentary explores the enormous influence Indigenous people have on Rock n’ Roll, using interviews and archival footage.

Eunice in Paris

January 27-28, 2024

This presentation of Eunice in Paris was part of 7 Stages’ Home Brew Series, which provides a platform and resources for works in development that exhibit promise, stimulation, and provocation.

Set in the 1980s in the Parisian nightclub Theatre Olympia, Nina Simone is confronted with her choices and relives experiences with James Baldwin, Lorraine Hansberry, her parents and others in a piece that crescendos with an existential look into her mental health, her choices, and, of course, the motivations behind her music and songwriting.

This production, in development with Hush Harbor Lab, was performed at The Atlanta Black Theatre Festival in 2022. In 2023, a revised presentation hit the 7 Stages Backstage Theatre with Parris Sarter as Nina Simone. Written by Amina S. McIntyre, and directed by Thandi DeShazor.

True North

March 15-31, 2024

A creative exploration of the invisible forces that connect us across the globe, despite our differences. Atlanta playwright Lee Nowell’s True North first came to 7 Stages as part of our Home Brew Series in 2020. This scientific Ted Talk style theatrical experience asks audiences to consider the things around them that they can’t see, like electromagnetic energy and the way we interact with it, in addition to the ways it may affect us.

All compasses point to Magnetic North, but Magnetic North is currently moving erratically – averaging 34 to 40 miles per year- and humans feel it. When magnetic fields move erratically, the part of our brain that makes ethical decisions becomes impaired, and our health can be compromised.

Characterizations of The Noosphere and Magnetic North joined relatable everyday Joe, whose whole world is turned upside down when he takes part in a study about the human ability to detect Magnetic North and the effects it has on our decisions–and Anne, a scientist who draws parallels between ancient wisdom and new evidence.

Poetry as Protest

April 10, 2024 On the 4th Floor Gallery of Decatur Library

This evening of poetry and live music was inspired by Ilya Kaminsky’s Deaf Republic. Artistic responses to his text answer “how do you protest”? This event was a collaboration between 7 Stages and Georgia Center for the Book, hosted by Destiny Renee and featuring performances by Theresa Davis, Nikki Gray, and Isis Kleef , with ASL interpretation by Hands In Motion.

The NEA Big Read

All season

7 Stages was one of 62 organizations nationwide selected to receive a 2023-2024 NEA Big Read grant. A grant of $20,000 supported a community reading program focusing on Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky.

2024 Apprentice Showcase

April 20, 2024

This was a night of celebrating young and emerging artists Akua Malloy, Aloe Sanders, Cade Nabors, Ezra Stene, Isis Kleef, and Nina Cajuste. Each of them took part in 7 Stages’ apprentice program where they trained in the administrative, production and artistic aspects of theater. They celebrated their apprenticeships by using what they’ve learned to create artistic responses to Ilya Kaminsky’s book Deaf Republic.

Internships often focus on hands-on entry level experiences within an arts nonprofit, are usually short-term, and provide compensation in the form of college credit, vouchers, and exclusive opportunities. Apprenticeships are longer-term paid experiences with stipends paid per production. They often lead to continued employment at the theatre or a mutually beneficial relationship.

Curious Sensory Encounters

May 17-20, 2024

We explored our senses, including sight-hearing-taste-smell-touch, and took inspiration from Ilya Kaminsky’s book Deaf Republic; a poetic tale of an occupied country and the citizens’ unique way of fighting back by “going deaf”.

Artists of many disciplines responded to this book and its themes of oppression, resistance and collective power, resulting in a wide range of experiences: live performances, interactive exhibits, a film screening and much more. These “Encounters” were self-led, & tickets were made more accessible with a pay-what-you-choose model.

Upon entering the building, visitors received a map and began their journey in the encounter of their choice – whether they chose to “dunk her!” in dead sea or visit the Sheds of the 6 Senses. They could see The Foul strutting through the halls in mismatched laces, divine silks, astonishing pearls and dashing wigs or explore our memories and sense of intuition in F(L)IGHT *L stands for love or loss. Then, find out what it means to really listen in a special interactive screening of The Tuba Thieves. These encounters were multifaceted and many changed throughout the evening, creating a dynamic experience that spanned the entire theatre.

Education Residencies

All season

In-school residencies are co-teaching experiences in which professional artists and teachers work together to bring artistic value into education. By working alongside the existing curriculum, this collaboration method provides a unique, in-depth way into the subject matter. Residencies are tailored to middle schools, high schools, and universities!

Over the last year, Maynard Jackson High School film students worked with the book Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky to create original films depicting protest and resilience. Spelman University dance students also worked with this text to create original movement pieces! 7 Stages also aided The Children’s School with A Player’s Game, glimpsing into the future of our current TCS Players lives 20 years from now.

7 Stages and TCS have found a home within each other. It is an honor to work with such gifted students willing to take on the task of creating their own original shows! I’m always so very proud of all that we can accomplish together. -Destiny Renee, 7 Stages Education Director

Theatre Rental Program

All season

7 Stages houses two performance venues with stadium style seating that are available year-round to rentals of all types. These spaces & staff resources are kept at comparatively low costs for the local community and touring productions in an effort to make events more accessible. Among the numerous renters during our 2023-2024 season were: Southern Fried Queer Pride, Theatre du Reve, Full Radius Dance, and Atlanta Fringe Festival

Lights Up!

We have some exciting news to share! 7 Stages has been able to continue our LED transition this year by adding over 40 new instruments to the Mainstage inventory allowing us to move more to the Black Box and retire most of our old power hungry and heat producing units. Our ongoing goals include reducing our carbon footprint while remaining state of the art for our productions and the many users of our facility.

Huge thanks to Georgia Council for the Arts for their Cultural Facilities Grant, their partner The National Endowment for the Arts; The David, Helen and Marian Woodward Fund; and The AEC Trust. We could not continue this important work without our many funding partners.

Thanks to our sponsors, partners, and many individual donors for making our 2023-2024 programming possible!

Major funding for this organization is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, the City of Atlanta Mayor ’s Office of Cultural Affairs, and Georgia Council for the Arts through the appropriations of the Georgia General Assembly. Georgia Council for the Arts is funded in part through partnerships with the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how NEA grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.