Theatre | Instruction | Research

Theatre

La Troupe Makandal serves the public with performances, recordings, and instruction.  Through the magic of the stage we bring the history and the spirituality for which Haiti is famous to audiences everywhere. We conduct classes, workshops, residencies, and lecture-demonstrations in schools (K-12, colleges and universities), museums, libraries, and community centers. Our recordings include A Trip to Vodou, Èzili, Drums of Vodou, and Prepare; we contributed tracks to the compilations Rhythms of Rapture and Global Beat of the Boroughs (both on Smithsonian Folkways); and Jonathan Demme wove our music into the soundtrack of his film Beloved.

Makandal artists have created the following repertory:

• Rising Sun: A Vodou Drama of Death and Rebirth. This three-part series honors the Vodou spirit Gede, and highlights his role in winter rituals. We begin with Day of the Dead in November, continue with Night of Fire near the winter solstice, and end with Carnival Dawn at the first appearance of Carnival bands after Three Kings Day. The regenerative power of Vodou song, dance, and drumming underscores the enduring cycle of death and rebirth.

• Bwa Kayiman. Since 1999 the Troupe has celebrated the spiritual roots of Haiti’s revolutionary impulse. In August 1791, on the eve of the general insurrection that precipitated the Haitian Revolution, enslaved people met in the forest of Bwa Kayiman to pledge solidarity and tap into their spiritual strength. The Troupe has represented Bwa Kayiman in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park in mid-August, bringing new understanding to the event with each performance.
  
  
• Divine Grooves. This collection of instrumental pieces showcases the compositions and arrangements of award-winning Master Drummer Frisner Augustin.  Our maestro knows close to thirty different drum ensemble patterns and has trained his musicians to carry on conversations among the parts and provide a steady foundation to his outstanding breaks.  Mr. Augustin’s style pays special attention to tone color and dynamics.

Instruction

Schools, museums, and libraries in and out of New York City have engaged La Troupe Makandal for workshops, lecture-demonstrations, classes, and residencies. We have run our own educational programs with the support of the New York State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Department of Cultural Affairs, the Borough President of Brooklyn, Meet the Composer, and the Puffin Foundation. Educational programs and services include:

• In-school and After-school Programs, especially assembly performances and residencies. When a Department of Education contract is needed, teachers in New York City public schools may engage Makandal by contacting the Education Department of City Lore at 212-529-1955, or the Brooklyn Arts Council at 718-625-0080.
  
  
• Haitian Drumming Workshop, conducted since 1983 by Makandal as artist-in-residence in the Hunter College Music Department. The Workshop enhances the Department's program in ethnomusicology. Students play in school events, and may participate in the Troupe's rehearsal following the Workshop.
  
  
• Krik! Krak!, a drum and dance program. Currently, we offer drumming with Frisner Augustin at St. Augustine Church (Park Slope, Brooklyn) and the Youth Arts Academy of Restoration Plaza (Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn); and dance with Marie Edith Jean at St. Augustine Church (see Calendar page).

Members of the Troupe offer private drum classes in all traditional rhythms of Haiti for maman (master drum), segon (second drum), boula (third drum), and percussion parts. They welcome all levels of experience. Master Drummer Frisner Augustin is based in Brooklyn, and Music Co-Director Steve Deats is based in Rockland County, where he also teaches a group class for adults at the Yoga Mountain Institute, and rhythm, movement, and song for children at the Rockland Conservatory of Music.

Research

The Executive Director of La Troupe Makandal, Dr. Lois Wilcken, is a professional ethnomusicologist. She has published books, essays, and reviews, primarily about traditional Haitian drumming and dance, and she has presented her research at conferences in the United States and abroad. Dr. Wilcken uses her scholarship to develop programs for La Troupe Makandal, and to present the Troupe in public performances. She is available for lectures, lecture-demonstrations, and projects involving research and publication.