The workshop poster by Brian Alessandro

The workshop of My Dying City: The Social Justice Suicide Hour began as an interrogation of our existential battles against injustices on the planet as well as our enabling of them.  It used radio as a convention to inspire the Brechtian style of acting. It began as a loud, far reaching ensemble piece in the spirit of The Living Theater and Bread & Puppet Theater — but morphed into an intimate and mysterious chamber piece, akin to the early works of Albee or Baraka (LeRoi Jones) that embodies the grief and angst of our times.

With help from The Action Lab, we spent the majority of 2025 workshopping “My Dying City.” Now with the Venturous Theater Fund’s grant* - we are excited to bring the final iteration to the public in the winter. We premiere the final version of My Dying City in January 2026! Stay Tuned for more details!

*special thanks to Ben Pesner

Images from the April 2025 rehearsals of My Dying City Vol. I — the result of the Artist-in-Action fellowship granted to director Dennis Leroy Kangalee to develop new original work that concerns both the lives of artists and activists. (With Leila Dall’ Olmo, Dennis Leroy Kangalee, Deborah Dominguez, and Ward Nixon at JACK Arts in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn) Photos by Eric Matthew Greene, Kofi Yeboah, Pamela Rozon and Deborah Dominguez.

Thanks to the Artist Advancement initiative grant from The Venturous Theater Fund, our daring new work will find its way in front of the public this winter!*

Building on the impact of 2024’s The Life & Death of Art — this new original play My Dying City, Vol. II, follows an activist couple, once radical radio hosts of ‘The Social Justice Suicide Hour’, who now grapple with political disillusionment after the suicide of their son. As they mark both the anniversary of his death and their show's final broadcast, they struggle with grief and communication, turning to music as solace while their relationship unravels. Telephone calls, radio broadcasts, and people from their past force the couple to confront truths about their son and themselves. Over one tumultuous night, buried secrets surface, changing their lives forever.

A bold character-driven lament about the chasm between those on the radical Left amidst the rising fascistic populist authoritarianism in the United States of America.

My Dying City Vol. II shall premieres in NYC January 2026. Additional Casting begins in September. Rehearsals commence in November. Stay tuned for updates!