Dahlak Brathwaite : Try/Step/Trip

Try/Step/Trip is a spoken-word, multi-character musical performed through the language of step dance. The story follows the journey of an anonymous narrator as he reimagines his experience in a court-ordered drug rehabilitation program. Inspired by Brathwaite’s own history, Try/Step/Trip layers characters, poetic verse, and dialogue over music to create a theatrical piece that blurs the lines between hip-hop and dramatic performance. Try/Step/Trip emerges from the belief that the subjugation of Black people is an American ritual; that the criminal justice system now functions as a normalized rite of passage for too many young Black males.