Breaking Even cohort 1

Meet the Producers

The RapOet

The City of Hartford’s Hip Hop Troubadour

Born and raised in The Lower East Side (L.E.S.) of Manhattan, the RapOet came to Connecticut and became Hartford’s first Trobadeur. A traveling MC, Storyteller, Mentor who has supported the artistic ecosystem by transforming the professional paths available for artist to make their practices full time careers. He brings you the production of HartforDays to celebrate his journey bringing Hip Hop, Arts, and Culture into our communities.

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Dana O'Neal

Actor, Playwright, and Mentor

A husband, father, veteran, life long learner, and artist. Through acting and playwrighting Dana peels off parts of his lived experience for you to digest in performable chunks. Inviting students and emerging artists to sit with him to learn how their art can reflect their inner most truth. Through his lessons and performances, he asks us, not to find some external source for inspiration, but to look from within.

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N.J. Euphrates

Actor, Playwright, and Director

A pen in hand with visions in the other. N. J. Euphrates puts his mind to page reflecting the greater world around him to explore who he finds himself as on the other side of the story. A Middletown, CT native, bartending his way through life. A former graduate of Greater Hartford Academy of The Arts, he returns to the stage with Skeletons of Men (Scheletri Di Uomini) as his first production as an independent producer.

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ZiggySage

Director of One Love Harvest JubileeTM
An eclectic enigma and embodiment of Self-Love Artistry! Seeded and rooted in Hard Hittin’ New Britain. She sprouted her branches throughout Connecticut for half century. Her work history is eclectic. I am the very art I weave! It’s within their stories my story Is told; if not for, the grateful ripple of One Love!

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Cohort 1 Productions

HartforDays

HartforDays is an original Hip Hop Theater production written and performed by the RapOet. Walk into a production that transforms lived experience, music, and Hartford history into a powerful live performance. This production is an invitation to see Hartford through the journey of a young Hip Hop artist into becoming the nation's first Hip Hop Troubadour. It is a celebration of the artist’s journey and reminder of the value in making your passions full time.

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Raw Naked Soul

Raw Naked Souls is not a class on how to audition. It is a performance that exposes the work of finding the soul of the piece before memorizing, before the audition, and before the audience ever sees the finished work. Through each monologue, Dana reveals the emotional preparation, personal truth, and courage that lives beneath the words.

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The Flag I Sing To

An original 20 minute theatrical experience that explores identity, allegiance, and the symbolism behind the flag Laughter sings to through Spoken Word. Written and performed by Laugh Sanchez. The Flag I Sing To picks apart the life of a youngish Puerto Rican man who juggles with defining his allegiance. If the government decides the erasure of his citizenship and there is no homeland left, what flag does he sing to?

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Skeletons of Men

Skeletons of Mens centers around Terri, Randal, and Martin, three men bound by a history of brotherhood, crime, and an unspoken code to protect one another. Their fragile loyalty begins to fracture after they become entangled in a dangerous criminal operation involving a looming betrayal. When Don Sergio, a powerful and notorious figure, is killed, the men believe they may finally have an opportunity to escape the life that they have been consumed by.

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