"(Be)longing is a choral, hip hop, theatre forum for about coming of age in an age of guns, and it's a show that's sung and rapped through with no instruments; all of the sounds are made with our voices.
"The choir is made up of singers, rappers, beat boxers, ages twelve or thirteen all the way up - about half youths and half adults. Their musical experiences are all different but we're all united in our passion for the subject matter and the conversations that we hope that it will start and that it has already started within our rehearsals. The show addresses issues of racism, profiling, sexism, xenophobia, mental illness, and violence, and where that violence comes from in our society: where it starts and where the flame of that violence is fanned - the different players in each person's lives who impact the way that they express or don't express their emotions.
"The process of putting the show together has been emotional and inspiring. When we're singing a song that's about the profiling of children because of how they look, and then earlier that day a young black boy was killed by the police in Bridgeport, it adds this whole other dimension of urgency to what we're doing. As we're putting this music together we're thinking about serving Aaron's libretto which we hope will then start on a much-needed conversation in our own community. Please come to see the show - these conversations are so needed in our community and the performance will be an experience unlike anything you've ever seen before."
- Stephanie Tubiolo - Music Director, (Be)longing