Arena Stage Announces Company and Creative Team for The Fruits of Our Labor
Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announced the company and creative team for its 2026/27 Season opening production, The Fruits of Our Labor. The highly anticipated next installment of a multi-year partnership between the Tony Award-winning theater and the National Heritage Fellowship-awarded Dance Company Step Afrika!, The Fruits of Our Labor is a powerful meditation on patriotism, identity, and what it means to carry hope for a nation still in the making. Directed and choreographed in collaboration with Jakari Sherman, Conrad R. Kelly II, and Vusi Mdoyi, the percussive, visceral world premiere will run September 10 – November 1, 2026, on the Fichandler Stage.
“This will be a production unlike any work we have ever done,” said Sherman, who also directed critically acclaimed productions of The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence (2023/24 Season) and Drumfolk (2021/22 Season) at Arena Stage. “I am exploring sound, music, and movement with the dancers in rich, new ways. Step Afrika! will be both the dance and the music as we fill the stage with explosive and intricate rhythms.”
As America marks 250 years, The Fruits of Our Labor examines the endurance, labor, and beliefs that continue to shape the American story. Created in collaboration with artists Sherman and Kelly, inspired by Mdoyi’s standout work Isithukuthuku, and featuring striking visual imagery and poetry from revolutionary writers like Phillis Wheatley, Frederick Douglass, and Langston Hughes, the work blends stepping and song into a rhythmic composition of percussion and patriotism.
“Creating The Fruits of Our Labor has allowed Step Afrika! to reflect on the people, traditions, and collective efforts that have shaped America—and to consider the work that still lies ahead,” added Step Afrika! Founder C. Brian Williams. “As our nation commemorates 250 years of history, this production is not intended to provide easy answers. Instead, it offers an opportunity to listen, to question, to celebrate and to imagine what is possible when we move forward together.”
The piece will be premiered by 14 Step Afrika! Company members, including Kwadjo Bediako, Nya Christian, Jerod Coleman, Ariel Dykes, Terrence Johnson, Conrad R. Kelly II, Jayden King, Jemeema S. Montrose, Keondre Pascal, Keanu Powell, Ericka Still, Joseph Vasquez, Pelham Warner Jr., and Robert Warnsley, plus guest artist Agyei Keita Edwards.
For the first time in the two companies’ partnership, Step Afrika! will engage the design talents of Arena Stage senior production staff and artisans to bring its new work to life. The Fruits of Our Labor will feature set design by Arena’s Scenic Charge Artist Colleen Doty, costume design by Arena’s Associate Costume Director Cierra Coan, lighting design by longtime Step Afrika! collaborator Yannick Godts, and sound design by Arena’s Sound & Video Supervisor GW Rodriguez. The show will be called by Arena’s Resident Stage Manager Christi B. Spann.
“In Step Afrika!, Arena has made a profound and lasting friendship,” said Arena Stage Executive Producer Edgar Dobie. “Collaborating between our companies strengthens both of our artistries. Brian, Jakari, Conrad, and all of the artists bring an illuminating exploration of what it means to be American—just as Arena’s mission is proud to state. We look forward to continuing to examine the American spirit together for years to come. Special thanks to Tiffeny Sanchez and Reg Brown, who support both organizations and are sponsors of this production.”
Expanding on the heart and sound that defined previous Arena Stage and Step Afrika! collaborations, The Fruits of Our Labor advances the acclaimed Dance Company’s artistic commitment to connecting history, culture, and identity through the language of stepping and expression. The production marks its first world premiere since 2020. Following its inaugural run in the nation’s capital, The Fruits of Our Labor will head west on a three-city national tour, kicking off in January 2027.