Kaimera Productions announced the world premiere of SPACES: Oakland, an immersive experience merging contemporary performance and the ancient art of storytelling.  SPACES Oakland, a significant marker in the return to live in-person performance, will be presented at Oakland City Hall and Frank H. Ogawa Plaza. 

Created and performed by Oakland artists and storytelling residents, SPACES: Oakland is a series of performances offering a glimpse into Oakland, one of the most vibrant and culturally diverse cities in the United States.  Audiences will walk, sit, stand, move, and interact with the performers as they are led through the Beaux Arts Oakland City Hall building and through the Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Oakland’s central community gathering place.  Capacity is limited to 80 participants per show.  

The featured performers and collaborators of SPACES: Oakland include BANDALOOP and dancer/choreographer Sarah Crowell, making her return to the stage, following her long and celebrated tenure as an arts education and community leader at Oakland’s Destiny Arts Center.

The soundscape, which spans multiple eras of Oakland’s music, is curated by YR Media’s youth and staff under the guidance of Ben Frost, Program Director for YR Media’s ADP.FM, and will be DJ’d live by Thinkbeat Radio’s Dion Decibels. YR Media will publish a four-part playlist, each featuring one of the four eras of Oakland music, available weekly leading up to the show on All Day Play FM’s site, Spotify and YouTube.

Alongside these seasoned performers, Oakland residents will share their own stories about home, change and resilience, which they will develop and hone through workshops hosted by local organizations and facilitated by the SPACES artistic team.  From the workshops about 25 storytellers will be invited to perform in SPACES: Oakland, which features six-nine different storytellers per night.