Directed by Nancy Keystone
Choreography by Comfort Fedoke and Zoe Rappaport

How do we reveal the story within a story? And what lies do we tell ourselves to avoid seeing our complicity in supporting false narratives? When and how did we become – each in our own way - masters of subversion? How do we distinguish personal fact vs. fiction to lighten our heavy spiritual load and ultimately heal? 

Such essential questions ground Masters of Subversion: Confronting Cigar, a multidisciplinary public arts program that uses music, dance, spoken word, scholarship, and data to examine questions around trauma, persona, and loss of identity.

Co-presented by LA Commons and featuring a talkback with artist Trenton Doyle Hancock and community leader Karen Mack, Founder and Executive Director of LA Commons.  

Nancy Keystone (director) is a Los Angeles-based theatre and visual artist, filmmaker, and educator. She is driven by big questions that explore individuals and their place in history and within systems. As the artistic director of Critical Mass Performance Group (CMPG), she's the company's chief investigator, playwright, director, scenic designer, and producer. The ensemble is known for exuberant theatricality and electrifying collisions of ideas. through epic historical projects, re-inventions of classic texts, interactive salons, social practice art. As a freelance theatre artist, she has directed and designed productions across the country. As a visual artist, Ms. Keystone works in mixed media, creating paintings and collages, and unique scenic environments for her productions. Ms. Keystone is the recipient of a Doris Duke Artist Award, United States Artists Hoi Fellowship, MacDowell Fellowship, Theatre Communications Group's Alan Schneider Director Award among many other honors. She is on the visiting faculty at UCLA and CalArts, and is a frequent university guest lecturer.

Comfort Fedoke (co-choreographer) is a Nigerian American creative force—an Emmy Award-winning dance artist, choreographer, movement coach/director, actor, and singer. She is the Associate Choreographer for the two-part Universal Pictures film Wicked, directed by Jon M. Chu, bringing her visionary movement expertise to one of the biggest musical adaptations of our time. Comfort first captivated audiences as a standout competitor on So You Think You Can Dance season four and returned for several seasons as an All-Star, choreographer, and mentor. Most recently, she served as a judge on the latest season of the iconic show. Her live stage and performance credits span an extraordinary list of global artists, including H.E.R., John Legend, Florence and the Machine, Harry Styles, Kanye West, LL Cool J, Chaka Khan, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Missy Elliott, Gwen Stefani, Travis Scott, Drake, JLo, Jason Derulo, Lizzo, and Wale.

Recognized by the Los Angeles Times as a visionary Creative Movement Director, Zoe Rappaport has spent nearly two decades bridging worlds at the intersection of dance, art, fashion, and music in Los Angeles and New York. An interdisciplinary choreographer/artist, she utilizes movement as a powerful tool for communication and connection across editorial, film, commercial and live performance. As a Movement Director, Zoe has worked with global brands such as Estée Lauder, Coca-Cola, HP, FLAUNT, LOVE Magazine, as well as major artists and pop culture icons. She has contributed to projects for Hermès, the GRAMMYs, So You Think You Can Dance, and America’s Got Talent. Her performance and choreographic work has been showcased at venues such as MOCA LA, Skirball Cultural Center, and The Peninsula Hotel Beverly Hills, and featured in Frieze and Dance Magazine. She currently works with The Music Center, AMDA College of the Performing Arts, and Dare to Dance in Public Film Festival, continuing to advance movement as a form of contemporary storytelling. The daughter of a late Jewish civil rights/anti-war activist and a leader in the field of expressive arts therapies, Zoe's work is intrinsically rooted in the transformative power of the arts to spark dialogue, expand our personal and collective understanding, and create felt change. IG: @zoe.rappaport

Dr. Yamonte Cooper is a nationally recognized trauma and relationship expert with extensive experience in couples therapy, trauma, and sexual health. He is a Professor of Counseling, the Clinical Director of the West Coast Sex Therapy Center, and a Certified Sex Therapist Supervisor (CST-S). Dr. Cooper is the author of Black Men and Racial Trauma: Impacts, Disparities, and Interventions; co-editor of Black Couples Therapy: Clinical Theory and Practice; and editor of the forthcoming book Black Male Sexuality: Race, Genre, and Class (Cambridge University Press). His work has been recognized nationally, including selection as a Featured Author at the Bay Area Book Festival (BABF). As a Fulbright Scholar, he has collaborated internationally to advance best practices in career development.

Joshua Reuben Silverstein (spoken word) is an award-winning actor, comic, writer, beatboxer, educator, and DEI consultant whose performances, productions and presentations throughout the country have prompted admiration from creative greats ranging from Norman Lear to Prince. As an educator, Joshua has designed and guided countless theater, improvisation and spoken word workshops, as well as in-school residencies, all designed to create a safe and open space where students of all ages indulge in the freedom of creative expression. He has passionately cultivated and facilitated programs that explore a proactive approach to inclusivity and community building. His underlying goal is to always create a safe and open space where students of all ages can safely engage in vulnerable dialogue without judgement. You can see Joshua performing regularly through The Braid theatre. Additionally, he is serving currently as the Director for Cazadero Performing Arts Family camp and is also an original member of Norman Lear’s Declare Yourself Road Tripshow, a three-year spoken-word/musical performance tour encouraging the American people to register to vote. Joshua is also considered the first beatboxer of late-night television.

Nancy Keystone photo by Luke Fontana.