You are purchasing access to the RECORDING of a live, in-person performance and Q&A held on January 13, 2023 at the Heritage Center of Brooklyn Center.
4 Cultural Competency CEUs pre-approved by MN Boards of:
- Social Work
- Behavioral Health (2023.CE.020)
- Marriage and Family Therapy (2022-305)
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In America, there is a need to understand pre-colonial Africa. However, due to systemic racism, Black bodies have been excluded from upward mobility, victimized by dehumanization, fallen prey to biased and racist policing practices, and plagued by disparities in health and education. Such conditions have led to internalizing toxic race-based stress, causing damage to the central nervous system. Yet, against all odds, Black bodies have creatively persisted and survived.
Drawing upon a conceptual framework inspired by Tupac Shakur–imagery of roses growing through concrete–this story addresses historical trauma and creative resilience. Related to the oral tradition of African/Black Djalis, this spoken-word performance focuses on five historical movements that present a chronology of Black bodies grappling with racialized trauma in America: (1) Chattel Hands and Feet; (2) Reconstruction: My Sin is My Skin; (3) The Great Migration: Running for Our Lives; (4) Civil Rights Without Democracy; and (5) Black Body Commodities and Wounded Healing. Combining multiple disciplines including, Africana Studies, Critical Race Theory (CRT), History, Neuroscience, Music Composition, and Creative Writing, this work expresses the ways in which Black bodies have suffered, transcended their own pain, and fostered healing through creativity.
A post-performance discussion is offered for audience members to engage in reflection and critical discourse with the playwright and performers. Drawing upon experiential education models for reflection, this discussion aims to inform audiences about the wounded healing process to better understand the historical connection between structural racism, body trauma, and self healing.
Wounded Healers premiered in 2019. The production team is based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The cast and crew has performed for: The 2023 Midwest Region Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival; the Courageous Conversation Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana; university settings; and, the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Featuring an original musical score, artwork, and set and sound design, our team hopes to help audience members locate themselves within a structurally racist society; grapple with how complicit whiteness perpetuates suffering; and, contemplate how to engage in somatic body work by uprooting White supremacy in their own bodies which can lead to personal transformation.
Cast and Crew
Djalis (blood, oral historians, storytellers):
~ Michael Berry and Daniel Walker
Jegna (elder, one who was been tested, protector of well-being and Culture):
~ Dr. Timothy Berry
Set Design:
~ Michael Berry and Dr. Timothy Berry
Backdrops:
~ Derrick Abner
Sound and Light Design:
~ Josiah Berry
Stage Crew:
~ Morgan Johnson
Videographer:
~ Emma Kerr
Selected Audience Reviews
“I feel incredibly lucky to have experienced Wounded Healers in such an intimate setting. I really felt like I was seeing something that could and should be on Broadway or the West End, and I’m going to be able to say I saw it in a small conference room with 30 other people in 2023.”
Katie Barrett, MA LMFT, C-AIRN“My hope is to evolve as a coconspirator. I believe it is incumbent on us as white people to be involved in antiracism work – dismantle the systems that promote racism, and work toward equity for all.”
Erika
“I was hoping to see you today to tell you in person how absolutely blown away I was this morning by your (and Dante’s and Ron’s and Michael’s) performance. The writing was so powerful. This might sound snobby, but I am bothered by the number of merely good performances I’ve seen where almost the entire audience gives a standing ovation, which, I believe, should be reserved for only the truly spectacular. If we all start giving standing ovations for the merely good, then what will distinguish the truly spectacular? With that bit of background information, I’m going on record to say: STANDING OVATION DESERVED. TRULY SPECTACULAR. If I’d had roses, I would have thrown them. I am currently trying to rearrange my entire weekend to see the full performance on Saturday, but if I can’t, I really hope to have an opportunity to experience the complete performance at another time. You all were moving, impactful, affecting and thought-provoking. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Ubutu.”
PT
“I want to reiterate what I said on Thursday. Acts 1 and 5 were the most moving performances I have seen, in any context, in a long time. You have shared a lot with me over the years. I have always tried to understand conceptually…but during the performance it began to hit home viscerally. I was moved. I don’t think I can adequately verbalize how much I respect what you have created, both as an artist and as an individual in the struggle. Like I said…wow. Just, wow.”
Jason
“Just a quick note to say, again, congratulations on your amazing work! So powerful, insightful, compelling, visceral, sad, scary, depressing, uplifting and hopeful at different turns. An incredible blend of music, spoken word, staging and scenery: a tour de force of theatrical elements skillfully brought together to produce a stunning emotional journey. Thank you for having the courage to share your mind and body so intelligently and intimately. Congratulations.”
Dan
“I attended the just concluded performance; Overcoming by Word of Our Testimonies: Black Male, Wounded Healers by Timothy Berry. This piece was really captivating and spoke to my essence. Never have I felt deeply connected to the narrative of Slavery and the Translucent Reconstruction that followed as I did with this piece.”
Audience Member
Recorded Performance Details
Wounded Healers: And the Road to Liberation is now available as a recording of the in-person performance and Q&A session held on January 13, 2023 at the Heritage Center of Brooklyn Center.
After watching the video, participants will need to sign an attestation and score a 70% or better on a content questionnaire.
4 Cultural Competency CEUS
Approved – MN Board of Social Work
Approved – Board of Behavioral Health (2023.CE.020)
Approved – MN Board of Marriage and Family Therapy (2022-305)
