April 22, 2008                                                                                                                                                      Associate Director of Marketing

                                                                                                                                                                               Phone: 253.573.2360

                                                                                                                                                                               Email: laceyl@broadwaycenter.org

A Visual Ensemble of Spoken Word and Images:

Voice of the Americas - Four Movements with Entr’acte

Tacoma, WA – Voice of the Americas chronicles some of the most important events of the last half century on Friday, May 2, 2008 at 7:30pm in Theatre on the Square. Local artists Lucas Smiraldo and Wrick Wolff collaborated with director Ieisha McIntyre to create a multimedia exposé about internal conflicts faced by an emerging United States and leaders who have contributed to our nation’s collective history.

Voice of the Americas brings light to important events in our country’s history. The first act explores the viewpoints of influential figures such as John F. Kennedy, Ché Guevara, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X. Addressing recent wars and U.S. involvement from leaders George W. Bush and Colin Powell. The performance is an attempt to create a comprehensive and thoughtful examination of the new chapter in American history.

Voice of the Americas evolved last year with support from Tacoma Arts Commission.  Lucas Smiraldo is active in the Tacoma spoken word and poetry community and Associate Director of Education and Outreach at the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts.  Wrick Wolff is a Seattle based composer who began collaborating with Smiraldo at his sound studio Silver Asylum.  Together they recorded several sessions of jazz and spoken word with Smiraldo’s group, Radical Jazz Uprising. Smiraldo and Wolff plan to launch a symphonic style cd the evening of the performance.  As Director, Ieisha McIntyre was instrumental in putting the work into a dramatic form. McIntyre directed the touring performances of Show Way for the Broadway Center in January to honor the legacies of African Heritage.

“This project raises many questions and recognizes numerous voices which are not typically explored in history lessons.  Voice of the Americas could serve as a catalyst for youth to examine contemporary history as well as explore their own artistic voices,” commented Smiraldo.

Tickets to Voice of the Americas are on sale now for $15. Tickets may be purchased at the Broadway Center Box Office located on 9th & Broadway or by calling the Box Office at 253.591.5894. To purchase online at any time or for information about upcoming events visit www.broadwaycenter.org.

The Broadway Center for the Performing Arts gratefully acknowledges the following for support of the 2007-2008 Season: ArtsFund, Ben B. Cheney Foundation, The Boeing Company, City of Tacoma, Forest Foundation, The News Tribune, Pierce County Arts Commission, Sequoia Foundation Pierce County Program, and Washington State Arts Commission.

###