SUGA

In Conversation with James Baldwin

Part of the Surrealist Cycle (2017 – present). Premiered November 2019 at Double Edge’s Farm Center.

From the Artist

Welcome to SUGA, a ritual performance/life ritual which began with research into my ancestry spanning Puerto Rico, Belize, Nicaragua and beyond. A path that would lead me to discover my ancestors through many different forms — such as stories, history, movement, dance, rituals and song.

In the development, I found myself on a path of re-membering them which is my process of acquiring ancestral research and discovering in the moment self-made rituals, bringing them into the studio and letting them out into the universe.

What soon became most essential to SUGA was a deep process of rediscovering the vibrant kaleidoscope of myself and identity. What I work to garner is a true sense of daily freedoms and love which is essential to this ritual. The performance begins and ends with the sharing of a dream. I dream that I can be any color flower I want to be. I dream of being everything.

As a queer, colored man born and raised in America that dream at times feels distant. This complex conversation I am eternally grateful to have with my spiritual father James Arthur Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987). I look to him for wisdom and inspiration and he is a huge part of this performance.

— Travis Coe, November 2019

Director’s Note

“A solo performance, and particularly Travis Coe’s process, reaches into the depths of himself and his acting exploration — to celebrate and sometimes to cry, as he undertakes to break down the personal (and socio-political) walls that inhibit the imagery of his imagination and to allow the full breadth of his body, mind, soul.” — Stacy Klein

In April 2024, Double Edge Theatre remounted SUGA for the first time since its tour in 2020. The ensemble was eager to return to this piece, directed by Founder, Artistic Director Emerita, Vision Strategist Stacy Klein and conceived, created, and performed by Co-Artistic Director Travis Coe. Thank you to everyone who witnessed and played a role in this production. Special thanks to our performance respondents Ebony Noelle Golden, Sage Crump, Carlos Uriona, Victor Figueroa, Amrita Ramanan, and Desiré Graham.