On June 6, 2013 in the HUMN 411 Theater located on the University of California, Riverside campus the THEA 115 Hip-Hop Theater class will present their “final” in the form of a theater production performance titled “WHAT YOU KNOW.”
It’s a class that is taught annually by professor Rickerby Hinds, and each year the students come up with a general theme that will be the backbone for their performances. The show will run for one hour, and will manifest the five elements of hip-hop culture: DJ, MC, breakdancing and graffiti with knowledge.
The class of approximately 100 students have split up into groups that best suit their hip-hop element and created 5-10 min pieces that speak to their various interpretations of the theme “What You Know.”
Performances range from groups displaying dances from various cultural backgrounds, to mash-ups of popular and iconic songs to a surprisingly hard-hitting piece regarding the consequences of partying way too hard. Brave individuals will also perform solos in between sets.
Not all of the students in the class started off hip-hop fluent, and a majority have never studied theater or been in an on-stage production, but this is an opportunity for them to highlight what they’ve learned throughout the quarter and how they’ve applied it to suit their diverse artistic expressions.
Professor Hinds has been successful in constructing a fun and relaxing environment for his students to be more open and given them the creative freedom they needed – and it definitely shines through in many of the scenes where the students are clearly having fun while still engaging in the theme and weaving their knowledge of hip-hop theater into their acts.
This production will only run once, and will take place Thursday, June 6th, from 10:30-11:30 am at the HUMN 411 Theater.
