VORTEX Repertory Company and Uprise! Productions proudly present the world premiere of Radio Silence: a word opera, a fresh-to-death new bullet in the chamber from award-winning playwright, Zell Miller III. Radio Silence: a word opera is a fast paced rhythmic ride. This hip-hop theater performance piece fuses the physicality of modern dance with high-energy spoken word and the sensibilities of street politics. This new word opera is a choreopoem that challenges and redefines taboos including race, sex, religion and politics, with the back-drop of a fading media: the radio.

Read more in the Austin Chronicle feature article on Zell Miller: Talkin' the Walk: Hip-hop theatre artist Zell Miller III speaks truth about radio, race, and fatherhood.

Radio Silence: a word opera is the voice breaking through the static. Featuring performances by Wanda Holland, Zell Miller, III and introducing Ebony Stewart. Choreography by Ananda Maya Moss.

Zell Miller III is an interdisciplinary theater/performance poet. His one man show my Child, my child, my alien child, won Best Original Script by the Austin Critics Table Awards in 2007. Zell is also the creator and co-producer of the Hip-Hop Theater Explosion which features poets, MC’s, DJ’s, dancers, and musicians in a theatrical variety show. He also hosts “Speaking the Spoken: The Art of Verse” a monthly open mic series at The VORTEX. He has been a featured poet at South by Southwest Music Fest and has opened for legendary artists such as Nikki Giovianni and The Last Poets. As one of the premiere hip-hop theater artists in the country, Zell is proud to bring this art form to his home city, Austin.

Publicity photo by Bonnie Cullum. Production photos by Jason Amato.