Under the Radar Festival at Chelsea Factory

Butler Electronics: THE MASTER’S TOOLS

Friday, January 12, 2024 at 6:00PM

Saturday, January 13, 2024 at 6:00PM

Sunday, January 14, 2024 at 3:00PM & 6:00PM

50 minutes

$25 tickets

THE MASTER’S TOOLS reimagines the backstory and motivations of Tituba, the “Black witch of Salem”

Zora Howard | Writer & Director

Martin Meccouri | Creative Producer

Okwui Okpokwasili | Tituba

Julian Rozzell Jr | Sound Performer

Maimouna Camara | Production Stage Manager

Reza Behjat | Scenic & Lighting Design

Raphael Regan | Costume Designer

Steven Leffue | Sound Designer

Sordelet Inc. | Action Choreography

Bibi Mama | Dialect Coach

Butler Electronics | Production Company

Most widely known as a tertiary character in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Tituba was a 17th Century Black woman enslaved by the Reverend Samuel Parris in Salem, Massachusetts. When rumors of witchcraft plagued the town, Tituba was amongst the first to be imprisoned for her involvement in the “Black arts”. Though her influence on the witch trials to follow was substantial, she was mostly forgotten in the historical record and the literary imagination.

In THE MASTER’S TOOLS, Tituba speaks, post-Salem. At last an agent in her own myth making, Tituba defies the many masters that have laid claim to her story, centering instead her own subjectivity and violent truth. Deftly weaving humor, terror, and spectacle, Tituba subverts our notions of good and evil, challenging our perception of this canonical character and the canon itself.

About Zora Howard:
Zora Howard is a Harlem-bred writer and performer. Plays include STEW (2021 Pulitzer Prize Finalist; Page 73 Productions); BUST (2022 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize Finalist; 2022 L. Arnold Weissberger New Play Award Finalist); HANG TIME (2022 Creative Capital Award Finalist); and GOOD FAITH. Her work has been developed at Ojai Playwrights Conference, SPACE at Ryder Farm, The Lark, Primary Stages, and Cape Cod Theatre Project, among others. In 2020, her film Premature (2020 Film Independent John Cassavetes Award nominee), which she co-wrote with director Rashaad Ernesto Green, opened in theaters following its world premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.

About Okwui Okpokwasili:
Okwui Okpokwasili is a Brooklyn based performer, choreographer and writer creating multidisciplinary performance pieces. Her experimental productions include "Bessie" Award winning Pent-Up: A Revenge Dance, "Bessie" Award winning Bronx Gothic, Bronx Gothic: The Oval, Poor People's TV Room, Poor People's TV Room Solo, When I Return Who Will Receive Me, and Adaku's Revolt. Recent awards and residencies include the 2018 Princeton University Hodder Fellowship, the 2018 Herb Alpert Award in Dance, an Antonyo Award, a 2018 Doris Duke Artist Award, and a 2018 MacArthur Fellowship. She was the inaugural artist for the Kravis Studio Residency program at MOMA in 2022.

About Butler Electronics:
Butler Electronics (Production Company) was founded in 2022 by Zora Howard as a vehicle to develop and produce the work of provocative artists in need of support to launch their creative projects.

About Under the Radar:
UNDER THE RADAR (RADAR) is a festival celebrating new theater and performing works from both around the world and down the street. RADAR is produced and programmed in collaboration with thirteen different venues. Under the Radar 2024 addresses a city, a country, and the world with the voices of innovative multidisciplinary artists speaking to their time. The festival stands for transparency, equity, and equal collaboration in the development of new live works. It represents global citizenship, innovation, and a platform for those whose voices have yet to be heard.

Health and Safety Protocols
Chelsea Factory will be implementing the following procedures to help ensure the health and safety of our patrons, staff, and artists:

• Masks are optional.

• While Chelsea Factory strongly recommends vaccination against COVID-19, proof of vaccination is not currently required for audience entrance to performances and public programs.

Click here for our full Health and Safety Protocols.