‘Ameriville’ asks nation to take good, hard look at itself

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William Ruiz (from left), Mildred Ruiz-Sapp, Steven Sapp (standing) and Gamal Abdel Chasten star in “Ameriville.”

Updated: March 4, 2012 8:07AM

The Bronx-based performance troupe Universes uses the devastation of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina as a stepping-off point in the performance piece “Ameri­ville.” A theatrical exploration of the state of the union, it’s a storytelling hybrid of songs, hip-hop, poetry and monologue that asks questions about what binds and defines our nation as a community.

“It started out as a piece about fear in America and how that plays into how the country functions,” Universes co-founder Steven Sapp said. “But then Katrina happened and we reacted to that as artists.”

Years earlier at a New York theater workshop, Sapp and the ensemble had connected with Chay Yew, now the artistic director at Victory Gardens Theater. “It was the first time I heard poetry and hip-hop being used as a theatrical language,” Yew said. “I was blown away.”

When the company began working on “Ameriville,” Yew encouraged them to use Katrina as “a prism to look into what the country is not doing on a national perspective.”

The ensemble had never spent much time in New Orleans, so they headed there to “walk around and talk to folks,” Sapp said. “It unearthed all these feelings and issues. We felt the struggle and pain of people who had lost everything. We connected on a deep level.”

In addition to Sapp, the “Ameriville” performers are Mildred Ruiz-Sapp, Gamal Chasten and Ninja (a k a William Ruiz).

Universes grew out of the New York City poetry scene. “We were bored with the usual poetry reading,” Sapp recalled of that time 16 years ago. “So we started going up on stage as a troupe blending poetry and hip-hop. People didn’t know what to call it, but they liked it.”

Anyone can take spoken word for 10 minutes, but they invested in the power of voices working together. But to make it accessible for a 90-minute show, a narrative structure with themes and characters and production values is needed without losing the form’s unique qualities. Yew feels Universes tests the usual ways of storytelling on stage and succeeds.

“They are using street language in a more poetic way,” Yew said. “To see the form dramatized is exciting. It’s an important and vibrant form of theater.”

This is a transitional season for Yew, Victory Gardens’ first new artistic director in 34 years. He feels “Ameriville” fits right in with the theater’s commitment to “new work and diversification.”

It’s also a piece that is inherently political.

“Art should always have a component of social activism,” Yew said. “In an election year, it’s especially important to ask questions of our nation and look at the issues. Theater offers a lens into what it means to be engaged as a nation and encourages us to roll up our sleeves and get to work.”

† “Ameriville” runs through Feb. 26 at Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln. For tickets ($20-$50), call (773) 871-3000; victorygardens.org.

Mary Houlihan is a local free-lance writer.