On Friday, Vibrancy Theater presented its “Honoring our Roots” cabaret at Donkey Coffee, 17 W. Washington St. The stage held space for BIPOC students hoping to share a piece of themselves and honor their heritages.
This informal event brought in many different voices from many different cultures. Performances from Caitlin Lopez, Alina Rosado, Kharla Landrau, EJ Williams, Felipe Luz, Luis Silva, Alexis Ky and Will Harrington gave tribute to the people and places who raised them.
“Everyone comes from diverse backgrounds,” Rosado, a junior studying musical theater and the co-artistic director of Vibrancy Theater, said. “And (we) really wanted to take that opportunity for people to share their stories, either their family stories, how they ended up here in Ohio or just what resonates with them and what family means to them.”
Vibrancy Theater’s mission is to generate a space for Black, Indigenous and other students of color to develop artistic leadership skills. This cabaret is one of the many events that allow them to uplift the BIPOC community in the artistic world at Ohio University and in Athens.
“I really hope that people take away that we all have very different backgrounds, but that we're all in the same place,” Rosado said.
The Cabaret showcased many performances, from stand-up comedy stories to moving readings of poems.
“I think an appreciation of where everyone comes from, and that we need to be kind because we never know what people have been through to get here,” Rosado said.
Rosado sang “Breathe” from “In the Heights” by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes. As her voice filled the little cafe, she praised her heritage and life in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
“We're all either immigrants or children or grandchildren of immigrants,” Silva, a second-year MFA technical direction candidate and the co-executive producer of Vibrancy Theater, said. “We want to highlight or honor the stories of the people that either brought us here or our own experience coming here.”
Silva hopes this begins a tradition, something that can be enjoyed for many years to come. Silva, who also performed in the cabaret, said he hopes Vibrancy Theater’s footprint doesn’t stop at the curtain and impacts many people’s lives.
“There are very few immigrant voices or either immigrants, first or second generation, voices here in Athens,” said Silva. “So highlight that we go through the struggle because we want to be here, we want to be part of the American lifestyle and to maybe open up the community more to the fact that it is a diverse town.”
According to the U.S. Census, 4% of Athens County residents are immigrants. This number only grows when one includes the student population, as well as considers second and third-generation residents.
“We wanted to create a space where a lot of people could tell their stories and could speak something truthful and honest without having it get lost in somebody else's words, in somebody else's music,” Timothy Oh, a senior studying acting, said. Oh also serves as the scribe for Vibrancy Theater and hosted the event.
“I feel like if we are to truly know one another we have to know where we come from, and we have to know what backgrounds and what upbringings we had and I feel like this is a way to where we can really share these deep parts of ourselves that we don't get a chance to talk about a lot,” Oh said.
The cabaret was a free event to attend, but Vibrancy Theater came with the objective to raise money for The Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which helps women in Iran fight against oppression and tyranny from their government.
“This committee specifically, they’re not inside of Iran, which is important because a lot of the money donated through charities in Iran is sent through the government, which means about 75% of all the money gets thrown right back to the government,” Oh said. “And so almost none of that money actually goes to those organizations.”
Oh’s event brought in people from all walks of life to sip coffee and learn a little about the people who live in Athens with them. Growing the community more and more with each performance, the audience laughed and cried together.
“This is a night of uplifting people and honoring the people that while yes, they pay a heavy toll, they've created and helped bring into the world these wonderful vibrant storytellers that are all going to come up on the stage tonight,” Oh said.
People who wish to further Vibrancy Theater can donate here. To help Friday’s cause, people can also donate directly to The Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran here.
