Center for World Performance Studies
Upcoming Events
“Azad” Storytelling: Interactive Karagöz Puppetry Experience
Keene TheaterEast Quadrangle
Free - Registration Recommended
This live storytelling performance tells of a woman’s magical, multi-generational, healing journey from the Armenian Genocide to the Syrian war, weaving Karagöz shadow puppetry, traditional Hakawati storytelling, and indigenous Middle-Eastern music. Azad (“Free” in Armenian, Farsi, Kurdish) is a kaleidoscopic story within a story, centered on a storyteller’s discovery of her great-great grandfather’s shadow puppets in Aleppo during the Syrian war.
Dear Diary, Here’s a Joke For You: Telling Your Story Through Stand-Up Comedy
Keene TheaterEast Quadrangle
Free - no tickets required
This event features seven diverse comedians whose material encapsulates real moments of the human experience. Topics range from uncomfortable encounters, daily challenges, and the experience of loss. “Dear Diary” reveals how stand-up comedy is made up of creative risks and promotes social justice within performance.
Oral History Project: Alice Coltrane
Keene TheaterEast Quadrangle
Free - no tickets required
Part of the U-M Alice Coltrane Residency celebrating the life and work of trailblazing musician, composer, and spiritual leader Alice Coltrane. In this program, vocalist Michelle Coltrane and harpist Brandee Younger come together for part conversation, part performance, featuring oral histories and biographical stories of Alice Coltrane interwoven with performances and demonstrations.
Brandee Younger Trio featuring Michelle Coltrane
Keene TheaterEast Quadrangle
Free - no tickets required
Part of the U-M Alice Coltrane Residency: “The Year of Alice” – celebrating the life and work of trailblazing musician, composer, and spiritual leader Alice Coltrane. Brandee Younger, award winning jazz harpist, teacher and premiere interpreter of Alice Coltrane’s music, will be joined by Trio members Allan Mednard and Rashaan Carter, with featured vocalist Michelle Coltrane.
Recent Event Videos
Pamela Z & The Living Earth Show | November 2023
Autophysiopsychic Millennium | March 2023
Ancestral Haiku ft. Marion Hayden, M. Saffell Gardner, and Robin Wilson | September 2022
Guinea Sweet Suite – T. Ayo Alston/Ayodele Drum & Dance Performance at the Keene Theater | March 2022
Makuyeika Colectivo Teatral at the University of Michigan | October 2019
Anishinaabe Theater Exchange at University of Michigan | February 2019