The Untethered: Homecoming 2020

The World is OUR Stage

The Untethered, a troupe of BIPOC Theatre alumni, present their new work in "Homecoming." This never-before-seen live online event series features performances of song, dance, spoken word and monodrama exploring the quest of diverse artists to carve out their own space at W&M and the American creative landscape. Followed by an open discussion from the cast, "Homecoming" is more than a performance, it is a "liberated unspooling of untold stories from W&M community."

THE WORLD IS OUR STAGE: Closing matinee focuses on how the alumni overcame adversities at W&M and how they succeeded in the spaces they created. It is also the most diverse in terms of genre because it will feature Ameya King and Bindu Sagiraju who choreographed original South Asian dances (Kuchipudi) set to Lewis Feemster's poetry. Jamar Jones will perform a griot tale from Ghana. BJ Minor will perform Keaton Hillman's "Not Bad Right" exploring his experience with race and casting. Xavi Soto-Burgos closes the series with songs of inspiration and empowerment.

Cast

Xavi Soto-Burgos

Performer

Xavi Soto-Burgos was born and raised in the Bronx. He is a graduate of William & Mary and has studied at The Stella Adler Studio of Acting with great teachers such as David Deblinger. On stage he has had the pleasure of portraying roles such as Paul in A Chorus Line, Flip in Our Lady of 121st Street, and Gomez Addams in The Addams Family. Most recently he appeared in Identity Production Studios' short film Solo Orange and is working on a movie musical entitledNuminous. When he's not on stage he is in the kitchen on his Youtube cooking show “Bronx Boys Kitchen”.

Jamar Jones

Performer

Jamar Jones is an award-winning actor, teaching artist, and museum theater practitioner based in central Virginia. A William & Mary graduate, he has appeared in regional productions of Fences (Virginia Repertory Theatre); An Octoroon (Richmond Theatre Critics Circle Award, Best Actor), Topdog/Underdog (TheatreLab); and Passing Strange (RTCC Ernie McClintock Best Ensemble Acting Award, Firehouse Theatre). Jamar collaborates with museums and historic sites throughout Virginia and Washington, DC, including the International Spy Museum, American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, Mount Vernon, and Colonial Williamsburg to research, craft, and share the stories of enslaved and free black people.

Ameya King

Performer

Ameya King is a Virginia-based Kuchipudi dancer and dance educator who has been practicing this vibrant dance form since 2000, under the tutelage of Smt. Sarada Jammi, Smt. N. N. V. Satyabhanu, and Sri Hari Rama Murthy. She embarked on the journey pursuing arts after a pivotal conversation with Francis Tanglao-Aguas as a junior at William & Mary and a year as his teaching assistant. She recently earned her Masters in Kuchipudi dance at the University of SiliconAndhra, researching the relationship between emotion and rhythm in this vibrant form. As a first-generation Indian-American raising a black son, she relies on the arts to build him a kinder world.

Ameya will be performing the work of Lewis Feemster.

BRIAN J MINOR '13

Performer

BRIAN J MINOR's '13 acting career began at W&M under the training, direction and mentorship of Artisia Green, Elizabeth Wiley, Tamara Johnson, and Francis Tanglao Aguas. While at W&M, B.J. starred in three main stage productions: “Ruined” and “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” which were directed by Artisia, and “Sitayana” which was directed by Francis. Since graduating, B.J. has transitioned to on-screen acting. B.J. played the role of Blow Pop in Master P’s “I Got The Hookup 2” which was theatrically released worldwide and is currently available to stream through various mediums. B.J. currently has a recurring role in Urban Flix T.V.’s “Casting The Net”where he plays Gabby, a fashionable and sassy casting assistant, working opposite of acting titans like Ella Joyce of “Set It Off” fame and Willard E. Pugh who was Harpo in “The Color Purple.” You can also watch B.J. as Ben in Amazon Prime’s “Acrylic,” a feature length comedy about dueling nail salons. Another fun credit on B.J.’s resume is young Black Panther in Disney’s and Marvel’s “Marvel: Dimension of Heroes.” B.J. would like to thank everyone who has ever poured love and knowledge into his craft; it really takes a village.

BJ will be performing the work of Keaton Hillman.

Bindu Sagiraju

Performer

BINDUSHA SAGIRAJU: Bindu Sagiraju is an alumnus of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA. She began her Kuchipudi dance training at the age of eight and trained with the Sri Sai Dance Academy in Richmond, VA and the Kuchipudi Kalakshetra in India. After ten years of learning and performing in the US and India, Bindu completed her Rangapravesam (graduation performance). In college, she expanded her interests in the performing arts and explored many different dance styles. She joined the W&M Dhamaal Bhangra team and the W&M Afsana Bollywood Fusion team; choreographed and taught Kuchipudi both on and off campus; co-chaired Nach Ke Dikha (an intercollegiate Bollywood-Fusion and Bhangra dance competition); and co-choreographed and starred as Sita in the 2013 production of Sitayana. Since graduating from college, Bindu has remained involved in dance primarily as a judge in the Bollywood-Fusion dance circuit. She is currently a nurse and lives in Little Rock, AR.

Bindishu will be performing the work of Lewis Feemster.

LEWIS FEEMSTER

Performer and writer

Featuring An Artist's talk with: LEWIS FEEMSTER is an interdisciplinary artist based in NYC. Having worked theatrically as an actor, singer, and choreographer, Feemster has begun sharing his own work as an author and songwriter. His debut chapbook UP.W(O/A)RDS (Yonkers International Press, 2018,) is a visual poetry collection of stories, scripts, and soundtracks. Feemster is currently working on other literary projects, including a follow-up to UP.W(O/A)RDS; new music with his band, JYL; and lens-muse, a filmic (exploration/expansion) of his words.

writer

KEATON HILLMAN: Keaton Hillman (he/him/his) is a theatre artist, educator, and social justice advocate. Currently residing in Midlothian, Virginia, Keaton has worked with multiple theatre companies in Richmond, Virginia, on over a dozen different productions over the past four years as a performer, backstage crew hand, and dramaturg. When he is not performing, he is also a math and reading tutor for elementary through high school aged students. In his free time, he uses his social media platforms to inform, uplift, self-reflect, self-indulge, and inspire (IG/Twitter: @keatonohkneel). Keaton wholeheartedly believes in the power that art holds to build connections between diverse people, to spark important conversation, and to change hearts and minds, and he hopes “The Untethered” will be an enlightening experience.