“Emergence was an awakening for me. It made me understand more how important it is to continue my fight for the liberation of all.”
India Nicole Burton, playwright
Emergence began with the question “how do we show up fully (in love, in action) within a dysfunctional and violent society?” I wanted to process grief as a collective, and explore visions for a world of reciprocity, transformation, belonging, and communal care. With powerful harmony and dissonance, Emergence Ensemble blends avant-pop, neo-soul, and musical theatre to wrestle with the disconnect between the claim of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” for all and the systems and policies that undermine that declaration. But more than that, Emergence examines our heart space, it calls us to a place of feeling and resonance with each other and ourselves.
In this violent era of our history, Emergence is a balm for the soul, an invitation to decompose the systems of hierarchy within and without.
Don’t Break It - Emergence Ensemble
Our process as an ensemble is rooted first in our care of one another. We value creating conditions where artists feel supported to be who they are and to connect authentically within collaboration. Emergence ensemble comes together to discuss the country’s political landscape, people’s organizing for justice, and we also come together to grieve, to imagine, to create space for co-regulation, support, and celebration. It is important that our process embodies the values that we hold.
Comprised of Victoria McBride, Colleen McCaughey, Love Freely, and Molly Andrews-Hinders, Emergence Ensemble seeks to bring sustaining life and energy to artists, community tenders, and change makers here in Cleveland and beyond.
[Emergence is] “a delectable sound bath of harmony that paints truth, challenges norms, and resonates deeply in your heartstrings.”
Amy Schwabauer, Playwright and Actor
Stand Up (snippet) - Emergence Ensemble
“Emergence is a piece about and for community. It tells the story about the stuff of life - looking deeply at our evolutions and the necessary rage that comes with living. I felt lifted, held, and inspired while in the crowd watching the magic the ensemble created.”
Rachel Drotar, Artist
Wild Ride - Emergence Ensemble
In addition to creating music that moves people, we are intentional about how we bring people together. We craft intimate performances where conversation and connection are as emphasized as the music and performance. In each of our performances, people comment on how moved they are by the work – there is often a collective, emotional response, holding elements of grief, rage, hope, and collective imagining. We’ve performed at theatres and music venues in Cleveland and Chicago, though some of our most memorable performances happened in basements, in homes, in storefront theatre spaces, outside at Edgewater Park, and in Public Square.
