Hip hop has been the voice of an unheard people since its inception. Through its music, visual art, and dance, it continually reflects the desire, hopes, and vision of those how practice the art form, and the communities they represent.

In April 2014, Pregones Theater/PRTT began collaborating with beatrhymer Kid Lucky and participants of the American Beatbox festival. Through beatrhyming and image theater techniques, the groups began to form a common language of movement and music.

As this collaboration matures, the artists look to tackle the hotbed topic of police conduct in communities of color. Using the new collaborative language, they will present 5 distinct points of view on recent and past moments of tension involving police departments in the United States.

In 5 Beats features 2 beatboxers and 3 actors. This hour long piece is presented in 5 short acts, or Beats. Each Beat features a different take on the subject matter. The beats, or acts are divided as follows:

Heartbeat (or the human connection)

BeatBox (To be determined by the ensemble)

Patrol Beat (The officers dilemma on a day to day basis)

Beat Reporting (How the media skews opinion)

Stage beat (or Actors beat)

Visit pregonesprtt.org for more!