In the Fall of 2013, the School of Arts and Culture in California debuted a new course—Hiphop Theatre. The students were surprised to find parallels between modern Hiphop music and classic theatre plays by William Shakespeare.
Rap and Hiphop music, just like any other music, is a form of art. It is also the go-to form of expression for the marginalized members of our society. "The Milkcrate Monologues" is an exercise in expertly blending Hiphop and theatre, turning the trademark milkcrate of vinyl records on its head and converting it to a platform for young people to find their own voices.
This book contains a set of Hiphop monologues for theatre written by recording artist, performer, and producer, Ron Johnson Jr., known in the music scene as PHILASIFER. The powerful monologues are meant for auditions, arts education, and performance, giving actors an understanding of the themes, emotion, circumstance, and vibes that create Hiphop.
The flexibility of these speeches is that they can be done solo or with a few actors. This gives dramatists and performers alike the opportunity to incorporate vignettes and push the envelope theatrically. Conversely, that flexibility also creates the opportunity to be performed as stand-alone pieces.
The "The Milkcrate Monologues" are all about the WORD and the experience that is Hiphop culture. However they are practiced or performed, their ultimate goal is to move past the concept of rap in theatre, instead, creating something all its own.