SEASON 34 | April 2022

i see you. you’re seen.

Written and performed by Oktavea LaToi
Directed by Simone Raquel Alexander
Presented by The VORTEX

The VORTEX presents i see you, you’re seen, a solo work-in-progress that tracks Oktavea LaToi’s personal journey towards communal healing, self love, and healthy relationships in a world that is killing us with racial violence, fetishism, climate crisis, rage, and a global pandemic. A fusion of art, poetry, music, and movement, this new work explores the interlocking oppressions of Black women, while illuminating their lineage. Oktavea LaToi brings on the Revolution, inviting us to bask in beauty and acknowledge our sacredness.

Created over the pandemic and workshopped during an August 2021 residency at The VORTEX as How to Heal When the World is Killing You Harshly, Oktavea LaToi and Simone Raquel Alexander shaped the bones of the show. Now, joined by a dynamic team of talented and fierce artists, they transform it into i see you, you’re seen with new designs and original songs. Be a part of the evolution of this new work, as we look forward to the 2023 world premiere, as a feature in The VORTEX’s 35th Coral Season with a national tour planned.

Written and performed by Oktavea LaToi. Direction and Dramaturgy by Simone Raquel Alexander. Stage Manager, Valerie Johnson. Assistant Stage Managers, Kamyle Smith and Catherine Kenner. Scenic Design by Rachel Atkinson. Costume Design by Paris Hermosillo. Lighting Design by Jeannette Mwaki. Sound Design by Johann Solo. Original songs by Ivy Roots, Jade and the Foxtones, and Jeremy Rashad Brown. Choreography by Kitty McSparkles. Graphic Design by Addyson Smith. Production Manager, Katie Hamilton. Box Office Manager, Alex Cogburn. Production Assistant, Dow Zabolio. Managing Director, Melissa Vogt. Producing Artistic Director, Bonnie Cullum.

ABOUT Oktavea LaToi: Oktavea is a writer and performer based in Central Texas. She holds a dual degree in Theatre and Dance with a concentration in Performance, and African and African Diaspora Studies with a focus in critical race, gender, and sexuality studies from the University of Texas at Austin. She won B. Iden Payne Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress and Outstanding Small Cast for Annie Jump and the Library of Heaven (The VORTEX). Other recent credits include Rap Unzel, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Austin Shakespeare), The Odyssey (The VORTEX), good friday (New Manifest Theatre), SEVEN (Trinity Street Players), black girl love (GenEnCo/VORTEX), WHITE (Permanent Record Productions), Performance Park (The VORTEX), and TWENTYEIGHT (Gale Theatre).

i see you, you’re seen is funded and supported in part by VORTEX Repertory Company and Texas Commission on the Arts.