Into the Light of the Dark, Black Night
a choreopoem that fables heartbroken Black men as black birds relearning how to fly.
"Into the Light of the Dark, Black Night" is a choreopoem written by The DR's Laboratory's Founder and Artistic Director, Donovan Rogers, which reimagines Black males healing from heartbreak as black birds relearning how to fly.
This choreopoem was workshopped with a team of all Black creatives in the Fall of 2021 through Blank Space Workshop, a student organization that specializes in new student works on The University of Michigan- Ann Arbor campus; earning Donovan a student membership with the Dramatist Guild.
To uplift the 'process' aspect of our production company, Donovan Rogers has collaborated with counselors at The University of Michigan Ann Arbor to initiate healing workshops for Black male-identifiers that align with the holistic growth of the characters in "Into the Light of the Dark, Black Night". This will help support the idea that the healing will not only take place in the story, but also in the Black male community that he and his characters represent.
Such workshops will also act as a research measure for Donovan as he highlights the authenticity of his community in his editing process. This co-creative process between the creatives and the audience of the story is a measure that Donovan believes will combat the common issue of misrepresentation in stories about Black men.
This choreopoem was workshopped with a team of all Black creatives in the Fall of 2021 through Blank Space Workshop, a student organization that specializes in new student works on The University of Michigan- Ann Arbor campus; earning Donovan a student membership with the Dramatist Guild.
To uplift the 'process' aspect of our production company, Donovan Rogers has collaborated with counselors at The University of Michigan Ann Arbor to initiate healing workshops for Black male-identifiers that align with the holistic growth of the characters in "Into the Light of the Dark, Black Night". This will help support the idea that the healing will not only take place in the story, but also in the Black male community that he and his characters represent.
Such workshops will also act as a research measure for Donovan as he highlights the authenticity of his community in his editing process. This co-creative process between the creatives and the audience of the story is a measure that Donovan believes will combat the common issue of misrepresentation in stories about Black men.
