IMPORTANT UPDATE: Due to unforeseen circumstances, Tuesday evening’s performance of Phantom Notes is canceled. Please join us for FirstWorks Summer Beats on July 24th at Roger Williams Park Bandstand.

A FirstWorks commissioned project by Vatic Kuumba and Orlando Hernández

Gold, Silver, and Coin make a world of time.

Prayer is in the ear of the river.

Vatic Kuumba and Orlando Hernández invite you to gather near 243 S Water Street by the river in Providence at 7 PM on June 28, 2022.

Know before you go: This is a walking performance and seating is not provided. For the full experience, headphones and a mobile device equipped with the Zoom app are recommended, but not required.

Artist Bios
Orlando Hernández is a tap dancer, theater-maker, and writer based in Rhode Island. He has performed at On the Boards, SPACE Gallery, the Granoff Center at Brown University, Trinity Rep, Movement Research at the Judson Church, DANCE NOW at Joe’s Pub, Inside/Out at Jacob’s Pillow, the Guggenheim, and the Joyce Theater. He teaches widely at schools, studios, and non-profits. He was the 2019 recipient of the Fellowship in Choreography from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, a 2019 recipient of the Rebecca Blunk Fund Award from the New England Foundation for the Arts, and a 2020 recipient of a Community Development Grant from the Brown Arts Initiative.

Vatic Kuumba is a playwright, poet, performer, and activist based in Rhode Island. His work has been presented at the Wilbury Theatre Group, the Pell Chafee Performance Center, Mixed Magic Theater, the AS220 Black Box, Rites and Reason Theater at Brown University, Trinity Repertory Company, and the Kelly Strayhorn Theatre and Glitter Box Theatre (Pittsburgh, PA). He works as a teaching artist with the Children and Youth Cabinet (CYC) RI; as a Project Team Member with the Racial and Environmental Justice Committee; as Theatre Coordinator with AS220 Youth; and as an Art Facilitator with the Sowing Place Initiative. He was the National Assembly of State Agencies (NASAA) Artist-in-Residence in September 2019, and he was the recipient of the 2018 New Genre Merit Fellowship and the 2017 Playwright Merit Fellowship from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts.

FirstWorks Local Artist Commissions
The commissioning of works is FirstWorks’ latest initiative to support Rhode Island’s arts community and speaks to the organization’s commitment to local artists as essential partners and to supporting “firsts” in the arts. Offering platforms for local artists to create and present their work is a part of FirstWorks’ “Raise Your Voice” programming, a thematic initiative that amplifies diverse voices and celebrates difference through the arts.