Marc Bamuthi Joseph breathes life into words in Word Becomes Flesh–tonight, June 3, and tomorrow night, June 4, at 8pm–at the Painted Bride Art Center. Bamuthi, along with Daveed Diggs, Dahlak Brathwaite, Dion Decibels, Ben Turner, Mic Turner, and B. Yung, combine performance genres to convey a story about fatherhood.

What originated as a solo piece at the Live Arts Festival in 2005 has now expanded into an ensemble show with dance, music, and spoken word. Word Becomes Flesh explores the social role of the expecting father, and the questions of responsibility he faces. The cast performs a series of letters over the course of nine months, expressing a father’s concerns and excitement in anticipation of his unborn son.

The piece is highly personal to Bamuthi. In an interview with the National Performance Network, he explained that the show was “conceived not long after my son was conceived, and was born not long after my son was born.” Originally from New York City, and currently living in Oakland, California, Bamuthi is a National Poetry Slam champion, and has been a returning featured artist on the HBO show, Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry.

For longer look at the show, watch this:

Word Becomes Flesh, 9 minute Clip from MVMT on Vimeo.

Word Becomes Flesh
June 3 + 4 at 8pm
Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine Street
www.paintedbride.org
Tickets here!

–Lulu Krause