Angélique Kidjo

Cal Performances

https://calperformances.org/events/2023-24/vocal-celebration/angelique-kidjo-2324/

Over the past four decades, Angélique Kidjo has cemented her status as one of the most adventurous and omnivorous artists on the international pop music scene. The five-time Grammy winner is known for making connections across genres, generations, and geopolitical boundaries, enlisting her clarion voice and dynamic, eclectic musical vision to address complex subject matter through radiantly joyful music. Kidjo’s recent projects range from her theatrical work Yemandja to a reboot of the Talking Heads’ classic 1980 album Remain in Light (both part of the Cal Performances 2021–22 season); a tribute to salsa queen Celia Cruz; and most recently, Mother Nature, a cri de coeur against climate change and political corruption featuring African millennial superstars. Throughout all this, “Kidjo’s voice is constant, an instrument of such power and clarity that it sounds equally capable of polishing glass or announcing Judgment Day” (The New Yorker).

Drum Tao

Cal Performances

https://calperformances.org/events/2023-24/family/drum-tao/

30th Anniversary Tour: A feast for the eyes and ears, Drum Tao’s mesmerizing productions combine thunderous traditional taiko drumming with dazzling staging, theatrical costumes, and dramatic lighting effects. The international troupe of 40 performers has seemingly done it all, having collaborated with the Bolshoi Ballet, staged sold-out productions off-Broadway, appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and at the Olympics, and even recorded for Universal Music. Flute, marimba, and harp are added to the drum ensemble for dramatic effects, and high-octane choreography contributes fresh new energy to this centuries-old Japanese art form. “Extraordinarily talented percussion artists, and they’re seductive, alluring performers” (Chicago Tribune).

Dos Mujeres

SF Ballet

CARMEN // WORLD PREMIERE
Choreographer: Arielle Smith
Composer: Arturo O’Farrill
Cuban-born choreographer Arielle Smith guides us into the story of Carmen, a strong and feisty woman who craves love and independence without the traps of obsession or jealousy. Smith, an Olivier Award winner, is carving out her space as a forward-thinking creator known for pushing the boundaries of dance, theater, and film. Together with a score from Grammy Award–winning Arturo O’Farrill bringing the story to life.

BROKEN WINGS // NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Choreographer: Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
Composer: Peter Salem, with featured Mexican folk song “La llorona”
Enter the colorful and creative world of Frida Kahlo with Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s critically acclaimed Broken Wings. This mini masterpiece explores the life and art of the celebrated Mexican painter. An experience unto itself, it’s a unique opportunity to enter into the realms of the paintings themselves through the lens of Kahlo’s wildly creative spirit.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Cal Performances

Continuing a 55-year relationship with Cal Performances, the magnificent dancers of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater return to campus for the company’s annual residency with an exuberant selection of recent works and Ailey masterpieces. Steeped in the sounds of jazz, blues, and hip-hop, the Ailey repertory celebrates the Black American experience, offering music and movement as expressions of pure joy and as opportunities for reflection and resistance. Past favorites and new works come alive through the commitment and artistry of the company’s athletic, expressive dancers, who inhabit choreography by creators like Rennie Harris, Aszure Barton, Twyla Tharp, Jamar Roberts, and Artistic Director Robert Battle with the same conviction as they reinvent classic Ailey gems like Revelations.

THE FAR COUNTRY

Berkeley Repertory Theater

https://www.berkeleyrep.org/shows/the-far-country/

WEST COAST PREMIERE: Following a critically acclaimed debut in New York, Pulitzer Prize finalist Lloyd Suh and Obie Award-winning director Eric Ting bring The Far Country back to its roots in a triumphant West Coast premiere. In the wake of the Chinese Exclusion Act, Moon Gyet has arrived at San Francisco Bay’s Angel Island Immigration Station with an invented biography and a new name, both given to him by a man who made the same arduous crossing several years earlier. But passage to San Francisco — and the dream of a better life for future generations — commands a very high price. Spanning two countries and three generations, Lloyd Suh’s breathtaking account of immigration, identity, and memory has been called “Artful…an act, loving and sorrowful, of reclamation…directed with sensitivity and spirit” by The New York Times (Critic’s Pick). Postshow discussion: Join after the show for a postshow discussion, expertly guided by members of Berkeley Rep’s artistic team.

Graduate Student Diversity Day

UC BERKELEY

Night Out / Night Off for Graduate Students of Color hosted a booth at the Diversity Days Lunch & Resource Fair hosted by the UC Berkeley Office of Graduate Diversity. The Lunch & Resource Fair was part of the campus visit for admitted graduate students who are underrepresented or first gen/low-income. Newly admitted students could learn about the offices, organizations, and resources invaluable in their decision making. Prospective students can learn more about NO/NO and sign up for giveaways!

UNSCRIPTED: AN EVENING WITH RUPAUL, Live On Stage [3/14/24] UCB GRAD STUDENT OF COLOR RAFFLE

Broadway SF

Calling all RuPaul fans!! Enter our raffle to see UNSCRIPTED: AN EVENING WITH RUPAUL, Live On Stage on Thursday, March 14, 2024.

RAFFLE DETAILS:
Send in your best pictures from any Night Out / Night Off event! 4 to 6 students with the best pictures will be chosen to get tickets to see UNSCRIPTED: AN EVENING WITH RUPAUL on Thursday, March 14 at Curran Theater. Bonus points if you have photos of you and any performance cast members!

RAFFLE RULES:
- Email your photo(s) to admin@nightoutnightoff.org 
- Entries must be received by Wednesday, March 6, 2024 to be considered
- Only current UC Berkeley Graduate Students of Color are eligible to win
- Winners will be emailed on Friday, March 8

Show details:
UNSCRIPTED: AN EVENING WITH RUPAUL

This isn’t the RuPaul you think you know.

If we’re all born naked and the rest is drag, this is RuPaul stripped bare. Pop culture icon and international drag superstar RuPaul invites you to a spiritual awakening to celebrate the release of the highly-anticipated memoir, The House of Hidden Meanings. Allow your mind, body, and soul to be enveloped in RuPaul’s lyrically poignant stories on life, love, and finding your voice. During this special UNSCRIPTED event, RuPaul offers fans a manual for living—a personal philosophy that testifies to the value of chosen family, the importance of harnessing what makes you different, and the transformational power of facing yourself fearlessly. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear RuPaul’s extraordinary story as told by RuPaul.

Each ticket includes a copy of The House of Hidden Meanings, provided in partnership with our friends at Book Passage.

OKAN

Cal Performances

Take a classically trained percussionist from Santiago de Cuba, add a one-time concertmaster from Havana’s Youth Orchestra, and stir in the sounds of Caribbean folkloric and dance music in the context of Toronto’s vibrant immigrant music community, and the unforgettable new sound of OKAN is born. Named for the word for “heart” in the Afro-Cuban religious practice of Santeria, this Juno Award-winning ensemble is led by vocalist and violinist Elizabeth Rodriguez and percussionist Magdelys Savigne. OKAN fuses its Afro-Cuban roots with American jazz, Dominican merengue, Brazilian samba, and folk music from across the globe in songs about immigration, courage, and love. “OKAN crafts jazzy, heady grooves informed by Afro-Cuban culture and a world of sound” (Chicago Reader)

Nathalie Joachim Ki moun ou ye (Who are you?)

Cal Performances

https://calperformances.org/events/2023-24/illuminations-individual-community/nathalie-joachim/

West Coast Premiere: In her immersive staged song cycle Ki moun ou ye (Who are you?), composer, flutist, and vocalist Nathalie Joachim invokes music, movement, and memory to explore personal history and the healing power of the voice. Performed in both English and Haitian Kreyòl, Ki moun ou ye travels deeper into the Haitian heritage introduced on Joachim’s Grammy-nominated Fanm d’Ayiti, and is set on the remote Caribbean farmland where her family has lived for generations. The music weaves together field recordings, electronic drones, vocals, and a seven-member chamber ensemble of winds, strings, and percussion. The evening-length work was developed as part of Joachim’s appointment as Creative Associate at Juilliard, and is a collaboration with fellow alum, choreographer Chanel DaSilva. Join Cal Performances for a post-performance moderated discussion.

Taylor Mac & Matt Ray’s Bark of Millions

Cal Performances

https://calperformances.org/events/2023-24/illuminations-individual-community/taylor-mac-and-matt-rays-bark-of-millions/

A Parade Trance Extravaganza for the Living Library of the Deviant Theme

West Coast Premiere
Taylor Mac, writer, co-director
Matt Ray, composer, music director
Niegel Smith, co-director
Faye Driscoll, co-director, choreographer
Machine Dazzle, costume designer
John Torres, lighting designer
Brendan Aanes, sound designer
Oscar Escobedo, props designer
Zach Blumner, co-props designer

“If you’re not invited to the party, throw a better one.”
—Taylor Mac

Taylor Mac (a MacArthur Fellow, Kennedy Prize winner, and Pulitzer Prize finalist) and Obie award-winning composer Matt Ray visit with the West Coast premiere of Bark of Millions. Part rock opera, part reimagined pride parade, this epic production will stage 55 original songs—one to mark each year since the landmark Stonewall uprising. It’s both a celebration and a gift to the queer canon, expanding the archive for generations to come. Co-directed by visionaries Niegel Smith and Faye Driscoll and showcasing the extravagance of Machine Dazzle’s costume design, Bark of Millions will be brought to life at Zellerbach Hall by an international ensemble of 22 artists. Bark of Millions is a transformative experience that celebrates the power of individuality and human connection. This once-in-a-lifetime event promises to shatter conventions, push boundaries, and bring a bold new perspective to our stage. As in his legendary retelling of American history A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, Mac and his artistic community use music, dance, and drag spectacle to subvert and deconstruct conventional narratives and joyfully, transgressively celebrate queerness in all its forms.

Cal Black Alumni Association Inaugural Book Club

Cal Black Alumni Association

Join us as we dive into the profound insights and narratives presented in Black AF History by New York Times best-selling author Michael Harriot. This thought-provoking masterpiece offers a unique and powerful perspective on African American history and culture, and challenges readers to rethink and expand our understanding of historical events and their impact on present-day society. Mr. Harriot will join the event at the beginning for a 30-minute Q&A with moderator Veronica C. Cummings (MPP, ’19) and attendees.“HALFWAY THROUGH, YOU REALIZE THAT THIS IS NOT EVEN A BOOK ABOUT BLACK HISTORY, IT'S ABOUT HOW AMERICAN HISTORY IS BLACK AF.” — PHARRELL WILLIAMS, GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING PRODUCER. Co-sponsored by the Cal Black Alumni Association and Night Out / Night Off for Graduate Students of Color

Here I Stand: The Artist as Activist

Oakland Symphony

https://www.oaklandsymphony.org/event/the-artist-as-activist/

Program:
JOAN TOWER: Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 6
CARLOS SIMON WITH LIBRETTO BY DAN HARDER:
Here I Stand: Paul Robeson
(World Premiere – Oakland Symphony Commission,
Generously Funded by The Robeson Centennial Committee)
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 5
Pre-concert talk from stage by John Kendall Bailey begins at 7:05 pm.

THE WIZ

Broadway SF

EVERYBODY REJOICE! THE TONY AWARD-WINNING MUSICAL THE WIZ IS COMING TO SAN FRANCISCO.

Producers Kristin Caskey, Mike Isaacson, Brian Anthony Moreland, and Ambassador Theatre Group present an all-new production of the groundbreaking, Tony Award-winning musical THE WIZ, adapted from The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. The highly anticipated Broadway revival of THE WIZ returns “home” to stages across America in an all-new Pre-Broadway tour, the first one in 40 years. The tour begins in THE WIZ's original home city of Baltimore, where the show made its world premiere 50 years ago.

This groundbreaking twist on The Wizard of Oz changed the face of Broadway—from its iconic score packed with soul, gospel, rock, and finger-snapping 70s funk to its stirring tale of Dorothy’s journey to find her place in a contemporary world. Audiences get to enjoy the epic grooves of such beloved, timeless hits as “Ease on Down the Road,” which became the show’s break-out single, and the bona fide classic “Home” in this spectacular revival.

Featuring a book by William F. Brown and a Tony Award-winning score by Charlie Smalls (and others), director Schele Williams (The Notebook, revival of Disney’s Aida), choreographer JaQuel Knight (Beyonce’s “Single Ladies”), Amber Ruffin (additional material), and Joseph Joubert (music supervision, orchestrations, & music arrangements) conjure up an Oz unlike anything ever seen before.

THE WIZ design team will include scenic design by Academy Award-winning Hannah Beachler (Black Panther, Beyonce’s Black is King and Lemonade), costume design by Emmy Award-winning and two-time Academy Award-nominated Sharen Davis (Ray, Dreamgirls), lighting design by Barrymore Award-winning Ryan J. O’Gara (Thoughts of a Colored Man) and wig design by Academy Award-winning Mia Neal (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom).

A dynamite infusion of ballet, jazz, and modern pop brings a whole new groove to easing on down the road. So everybody rejoice! An all-new 21st-Century WIZ is sliding into an Emerald city near you.

Black Women's Roots Festival

Freight & Salvage

The Dynamic Miss Faye Carol
Mary Stallings
Kito Kamili
Miko Marks
Emerging Artist Alecia Harger

The third annual Black Women's Roots Festival celebrates powerful, pioneering Black women of blues, jazz, country and roots music. Showcasing a dynamic lineup of legendary artists, renowned performers, and emerging talent, this intergenerational, interdisciplinary program features the best vocalists, instrumentalists, and poets of roots music that you'll find anywhere in the world! Join us for what is sure to be an historic afternoon of music and culture. Join us for a special NO/NO early entry at 2:45pm with Freight & Salvage Managing Director, Clayton Shelvin, and some snacks and refreshments!

‘RENAISSANCE’ Movie Screening

UC BERKELEY

The Black Retention and Recruitment Center (BRRC) and ZAWADI: the Black Queer and Trans Community at Cal are thrilled to extend a special invitation to you for an exclusive screening of Beyoncé's highly anticipated ‘RENAISSANCE’ movie. Join us for an enchanting evening filled with art, music, and community!
Dress code: Renaissance-inspired attire highly encouraged (but not mandatory)
This is a unique opportunity to witness Beyoncé's creative vision come to life as well as celebrating Black Queer Excellence and Joy! Event co-sponsored by Night Out / Night Off for Graduate Students of Color.

Urban Bush Women: Hair & Other Stories

Cal Performances

https://calperformances.org/events/2023-24/illuminations-individual-community/urban-bush-women/

Bay Area Premiere: The formidable Brooklyn-based performance ensemble Urban Bush Women visits with Hair & Other Stories, a full-length dance-theater work exploring race, identity, and concepts of beauty through the lens of Black women’s hair. Inspired by founder and 2021 MacArthur Fellow Jawole Willa Jo Zollar’s HairStories (2001), the participatory performance is a work of activism, awakening, and engagement, asking the audience to move, to comment, to reflect, and to bear witness. Choreographed and directed by co-artistic directors Chanon Judson and Mame Diarra Speis, Hair & Other Stories was developed from personal narratives gathered from participants at “Hair Party” sessions the company held with women across the country, as well as through the company’s ongoing collaboration with the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond’s “Undoing Racism” workshops. “The Urban Bush Women are committed, triple-threat performers who dance, sing, and act with a sometimes searing sense of truthfulness” (The New York Times). Join Cal Performances for a post-performance moderated discussion.

THE LION KING

Broadway SF

More than 100 million people around the world have experienced the phenomenon of Disney’s THE LION KING, and now you can, too, when San Francisco's best-loved musical returns to the Orpheum Theatre. Winner of six Tony Awards®, including Best Musical, this landmark musical event brings together one of the most imaginative creative teams on Broadway. Tony Award®-winning director Julie Taymor brings to life a story filled with hope and adventure set against an amazing backdrop of stunning visuals. THE LION KING also features some of Broadway’s most recognizable music, crafted by Tony Award®-winning artists Elton John and Tim Rice. There is simply nothing else like THE LION KING.

SPECIAL NO/NO RECEPTION: Join Night Out / Night Off for a special reception before the show at 6pm with food, a raffle, and NO/NO goody bags!!

BULRUSHER

Berkeley Repertory Theater

Berkeley native Eisa Davis’ lyrical coming-of-age story follows a multiracial girl found as an infant floating in a basket on the Navarro River in Mendocino County. It’s 1955, and Bulrusher is 18 and restless, with a gift for clairvoyance that makes her feel like a stranger even amongst the eccentric, dialect speaking folks of her predominantly white enclave of Boonville. When a mysterious young Black woman from Birmingham comes to town, Bulrusher discovers new facets of her identity — and uncovers her place in the world. A Pulitzer Prize finalist called “captivating and lushly poetic” by the LA Times, Bulrusher is infused with rhythmic language, passion, and down-home humor.
Postshow discussion: Join after the show for a postshow discussion, expertly guided by members of Berkeley Rep’s artistic team.

OMAR

SF Opera

Sunday, November 5 @ 2:00 PM ***Opening night***
Tuesday, November 7 @ 7:30 PM ***New date added**

“The anticipation is palpable at the Opera House as they are gearing up to open Omar, an autobiographical account of a courageous and indomitable man: Omar Ibn Said. This work, winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Music, by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels, is a story of identity, faith and the creative human spirit.”

REMEMBER HIS NAME.

Writing is the preservation of identity in the new opera Omar from Grammy award-winning artist Rhiannon Giddens and composer Michael Abels. A true story of an indomitable faith enshrined in a two-hundred-year-old autobiography in an opera acclaimed by The New York Times as a “sweeping achievement.”

In the early 1800s, Islamic scholar Omar Ibn Said is forcibly taken from his village in West Africa and sold into slavery in Charleston, South Carolina. Attempting to flee, he is imprisoned in Fayetteville and taken to the plantation of another slaveholder, eager to convert him to Christianity. There Omar records his story in Arabic, transforming his world into an expansive canvas of text and faith, profoundly realized in Kaneza Schaal’s transcendent production.

Synopsis
The true story of a 19th century Islamic scholar from West Africa, enslaved in South Carolina, but finding identity and faith through the written word.
Full synopsis here.

NO/NO Extras: Snacks, refreshments, and a guided tour of the David Gockley and the Hume Family galleries, and a chat with DEC’s Content Curator, Cole Thomason-Redus about opera, its history, the history of the Company, as well as the production Omar exclusive to NO/NO attendees!

Pre-opera talk from resident artist and educator Michael Mohammed. The talk begins 55 minutes prior to the start of the show.