Search Party
Written and performed by Inua EllamsPick a word, any word. The multi-faceted poet/playwright reaches into his bag of writings searching for a fine reply. It's a wildly captivating call and response.
2024/25 SeasonA man walks into a room with his life in his hands. He is the internationally acclaimed artist and playwright Inua Ellams (Barber Shop Chronicles, The Half God of Rainfall) and he has filled thousands of pages in an ongoing attempt to be heard, to give his genius wings that can travel. Every word he's ever written is captured, all the poems and the theater and the essays, the drafts of projects abandoned and works as yet unknown, indexed, rendered as binary, and waiting patiently within the confines of the electronic tablet he's holding even now. Prompted by audience suggestion and open conversation, Ellams searches through his archive, unearths refined or raw gold, and presents his treasure in a spontaneous performance. It's an act of call and response that hearkens back to the birth of storytelling. At this uniquely futuristic and puckishly chaotic interactive event, the artist couldn't be more present. He's inviting you to join the work. What will you say?
During his week-long residency at Dartmouth, Ellams will visit classes, hold workshops, and lead discussions on and off campus.
Funded in part by the Wetzel Family Fund for the Arts, the Nathan W. Pearson and Sons 1932 Fund, the Roesch Family Fund in Support of The Hopkins Center's Visiting Performing Artists Program, the Patricia S. and Robert A. Levinson 1946 Fund in Support of the Hopkins Center's Visiting Performing Artist Program, the Kenneth and Ellen Roman 1952 Fund in Support of the Hopkins Center's Visiting Performing Artists Program, the Donna Bascom 1973 & Paul Biddelman Fund, David J. O'Connor and the Blye Fund for Artists' Residencies at the Hopkins Center for the Arts.
Photo: Tiu Makkonen
Born in Nigeria, Inua Ellams is a poet, playwright & performer, graphic artist & designer and founder of: The Midnight Run (an arts-filled, night-time, urban walking experience.), The Rhythm and Poetry Party (The R.A.P Party) which celebrates poetry & hip hop, and Poetry + Film / Hack (P+F/H) which celebrates Poetry and Film. Identity, Displacement & Destiny are reoccurring themes in his work, where he tries to mix the old with the new: traditional African oral storytelling with contemporary poetics, paint with pixel, texture with vector. His books are published by Flipped Eye, Akashic, Nine Arches, Penned In The Margins, Oberon & Methuen.
2024/25 Season
2024/25 Season
“It’s a luxury to hear Ellams… I highly recommend. Go hang with him.”
The New York Times
“Like his theatrical work, Search Party shows Ellams’s versatility and fearlessness as an artist who’s willing to take risks, especially in a show like this, which by its nature will never be the same twice.”
Theatre Mania
Contact Us
Box Office
Interim Hours (through January 6)
Tuesday-Friday: 2-5 pm
The Box Office will be closed December 13 and December 23 through January 1
Open one hour prior to all ticketed events.
Visiting Information
4 Currier Place
Hanover, NH
Other Information
Handicap parking can be found on South St and Lebanon St. Additional parking is available nearby at the Hanover Parking Garage.
For wheelchair access and information, please contact the Box Office at 603.646.2422. Click here for a view of the entry >