Please join us in welcoming August resident artist Olga El! @thekandake Olga El is an award-winning emerging playwright, performance activist, and folkloric dancer who aims to engage audiences in ways that inspire change—on the level of the personal, communal, or beyond—that will ultimately lead to a more just, compassionate, and healthy society. Soulful and ambitious, her work serves as a platform for diverse stories that don’t often have representation in mainstream art and entertainment worlds. Movement—particularly martial arts; aerial arts; and dances from all over Africa and the Diaspora—is seamlessly interwoven into her work.
For 2023, she confirmed a residency with Hedgebrook, Liberation Theatre Company, and Ma’s House. She’s also been offered a VCCA residency, was chosen for Broadway Advocacy Coalition’s Theater of Change cohort, and was a semi-finalist for JBNPC. She will present work in National Black Theatre’s online “Keep Soul Alive” sessions in 2024.
Please joins us Thursday, August 31st from 6 – 9pm for Olga’s free public workshop and open mic: “Moving and Meditating through “Writer’s Block.” Learn proven techniques to help you work through blockages, stress, and overwhelm. Over the course of an hour, participants will oscillate between writing and various meditative, creative movement, breathing, and tapping techniques. Participants are encouraged to bring their own writing projects but writing prompts will also be available.
After the workshop stick around for an open mic. Feel free to share anything: writing, music, etc. Surprise us!