Dan Wolf

In the wake of Hip Hop's 50th anniversary, four estranged emcees reunite for a $200,000 gig at a tech entrepreneur's party. Now in their 50s, with families and financial responsibilities, these artists, who disbanded in the early 2000s, are asked to reunite for a private show at the 40th birthday party of a wealthy tech entrepreneur who admired their past work. Despite their initial reluctance, they agree to perform, but only for ‘the bag’. (For those who don’t know, ‘getting the bag’ or ‘chasing the bag’ is slang for ‘getting the money’),

This show is more than a reunion; it's a performance within a performance. It weaves together the live spectacle of their music set with a deeper exploration of their personal histories, the sacrifices they've made for their craft, and the search for meaning in a world driven by transactions.

THE BAG is a story of survival and compromise in the arts, revealing the price of integrity and the true cost of success. It's not just about getting ‘the bag’ - it's about what you find when you reach for it.

The three worlds of the play: The Present World, Inside the Sound System, and Performance Mode.

The Present World is the present moment of the play which starts with the offer to perform together, and follows the characters through a rehearsal, and a sound check before the big show. This is the ‘now’ of their lives. It covers about one weeks time.

Inside the Sound System is an internal, memory, liminal space. This includes what has or will happen in the real world but also includes memories, perspectives, or perceptions that may belong to the inner mind of one, some, or all of the characters. In this world the characters can talk to the audience as well as each other as well as themselves.

Performance Mode is a heightened performance space, grounded in the emotional reality of the characters, and conceptualized as live music videos with fully produced sound, lights, costumes, and visuals.

When Dan finds a 42-page letter from his grandfather he tries to avoid what is about to surround him - his history. At the urging of his friend Tommy they set out on a journey to Hamburg, Germany to figure out what it means feel 'stateless' in this world. Inspired by a true story that weaves German, Jewish and African American history with contemporary hip hop music and vaudeville, Stateless is a beatbox infused theatrical performance. It is a show about performance and performers, brothers and friends, the past and the present, and seeks to connect these contemporary ‘brothers’ to a renowned 1920's German-Jewish vaudeville troupe, The Gebrüder Wolf.

Beatbox: A Raparetta is a modern dramatic musical production written and performed in rhythm and rhyme with vocal drumbeats (also known as beatboxing), hip hop dance and a live DJ. The play is soaked in hip-hop culture built from equal parts of love, anger and hope.

Angry Black White Boy is based on Adam Mansbach's ruthlessly funny and scathing satire about the complexities of race and identity in America. Told through the eyes of Macon, a young, white man obsessed with righting the wrongs that have been levied against Black people throughout history, this vigilante story delves into his conflicted mind, psyche and guilt. The play explodes through Macon - a young man burdened by this nation's past and white privilege - as he studiously and compulsively sets out to rob his white taxi passengers in an attempt to somehow balance the scales. However, his robberies go tragically - and comically - haywire, pushing him to the forefront of a national debate.