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Black Madonna and Miss America is an investigation of socio-political happenings in conversation with the positioning of the Black female icon in the church, on the stage and in the streets. It is cinematic in nature, employing a familiar series of still and moving images tied to a complex historical canon. Black Madonna and Miss America tackles the tension between the public and private; the doing and being of the Black female iconic body. The work confronts the worship of the Black female body in popular culture; worship undone in the political and economic treatment of that same body. 

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Using popular culture, musical scores, comedy, interviews and portraiture, equal attention is given to the various aspects of production, including, but not limited to sound, costuming, projection design, and of course, movement. Black Madonna and Miss America is interactive in nature, inviting the audience to engage with the world created in the space through sound, sight, smell, touch and taste. 

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Choreography and Original Sound: Ronya-Lee Anderson

Scenic Design: Grace Guarniere

Lighting Design: Jacob Hughes  

Costume Design: Austin Conlee 

Projections Design: Sean Preston and Zavier Taylor

Sound Design: Ronya-Lee Anderson and Veronica Lancaster 

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All photos by David Andrews