Three Days of Theatre, Film, Music, Art and Black Storytelling in Seattle
November 6-8th at Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute
ABOUT THE BTMR PROJECT
The BTMR Project is a collective of creatives, performers and producers whose work began with Black To My Roots and has grown to include theatre, music, film, literature and visual art. The project uses storytelling to explore Black history, identity, culture and lived experience, with a particular focus on Black women’s voices. The project is led by Nxt Thrsdy, a Connecticut-based production company founded by Tyrone Brown, in collaboration with Brownbox Theatre, a Seattle-based theatre company founded by Tyrone Brown, Reneschia Brown and Kathya Alexander, and ajusticenetwork, a fiscally sponsored nonprofit using the arts to create social change and connection across communities, founded by Justice Beitzel and Robin Campbell.
TICKETS & BTMR FESTIVAL INFORMATION
November 6–8, 2026 | Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute
104 17th Avenue South, located in Seattle’s historical African American arts and cultural district.
Tickets On Sale via Ticketleap: https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/nxt-thrsdy/btmrfestival
Public Benefit, Discount, Children 12 and under (Free)
Full Three-Day Pass ($60.00)
Day One Pass for Friday ($25.00)
Day Two Pass for Saturday ($25.00)
Day Three Pass for Sunday ($20.00)
Students, Seniors and Veterans ($15.00)
Presented by The BTMR Project in association with CD Forum.
Supported in part by a grant from 4Culture.
“We’ve spent the last two years creating, producing, traveling and figuring out what this project can become,” says Brown. “The festival gives us a chance to bring the BTMR Family together and celebrate what we’ve created.” – Tyrone Brown
The BTMR Festival grows out of Black To My Roots: African American Tales from the Head and the Heart, the play by Kathya Alexander and Reneschia Brown. Following its 25th Anniversary production at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute in Seattle in November 2024, the BTMR Project expanded its work, including a presentation of Black To My Roots at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland in August 2025, where it received strong reviews and a Black Excellence Award.
What began as a play has grown into a broader creative project spanning theatre, music, film, literature and visual art. Across four days, the BTMR Festival will bring that work together through performances of:
- BLACK TO MY ROOTS: African American Tales of the Head and the Heart by Kathya Alexander and Reneschia Brown (theatre)
- HAIR’S BREATH: Music Inspired by BTMR by Adra Boo and Blake Madden (music)
- BLACK D*CK MATTERS by Kathya Alexander (theatre)
- MWEUSI MPAKA MIZIZI, Swahili adaptation of BTMR by Muso Simekha (staged reading)
- DAVID & JONATHAN, by Kathya Alexander (staged reading)
- NEGRO PASSSION PLAY by Kathya Alexander (community reading)
The BTMR Festival will also include:
- KATHYA ALEXANDER HONORS (reception, ceremony, book reading and signing)
- BTMR and BDM Film Previews, produced and directed by Muso Simekha
- BTMR Photo Exhibition, photography by Justice Beitzel
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| FOR TICKETS, SCAN THE BTMR QR CODE OR CLICK BELOW! |
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