ABSTRACT
New WORLD Theater was a creative crossroads for an extended community of artists working at the intersection of a contemporary, intercultural aesthetic and a commitment to social justice. Project 2050 was one of NWT’s great innovations. Developed in 2000 by Roberta Uno, this visionary, 10-day summer program for teens was born out of demographic research indicating that people of color would be in the majority in the year 2050.4 Project 2050 brought together established artists and scholars working in politically progressive fields with a broad sector of youth from the Pioneer Valley area of Western Massachusetts. Many of the artists were part of the nascent Hip Hop theater movement in the US. On any given day, a visitor to the Amherst College campus could see: students practicing the polyrhythms of the “stepping” dance form outside the dining hall; every participant with a notebook furiously scrawling lyrics, verses, or scenes; posters, white boards, and flip charts full of tags, lists, diagrams, and outlines; and the Open Mic nights turn into giant jam sessions-constant creative rehearsing and self-expression. It was, in essence, a 10-day cipher.5
