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Juggerknot’s ‘Miami Bus Stop Stories’ Immerses Audiences In HistoryMiami Exhibit
Audiences hop on board a bus with their conductor, Nai Fairweather, for “Miami Bus Stop Stories: Tropical Dreams presented by Juggerknot Theatre Company at HistoryMiami. (Photo by Scott McIntyre)
Juggerknot Theatre Company, one of Miami’s original immersive storytelling companies, returns with a new production that puts audiences in the middle of South Florida’s history. “Miami Bus Stop Stories: Tropical Dreams” opened on Friday, Feb. 7 at HistoryMiami museum. The show has student performances this week with public shows on Thursday, Feb. 13, Friday, Feb. 14 and Sunday, Feb. 16.
Natasha Bravo, who co-produces the show with her sister Tanya, explains that the “Miami Bus Stop Stories” platform is a three-pronged approach born out of the pandemic. During a time when children were navigating remote learning and engagement rates were low, Juggerknot was awarded a grant by the Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation to create a story to help enhance the learning experience for Miami-Dade County Schools.
Actor Logan Green leads the audience on a colorful parade in “Miami Bus Stop Stories: Tropical Dreams,” presented by Juggerknot Theatre Company. (Photo by Scott McIntyre)
“It’s so important to realize that this isn’t like a lesson . . .these are poignant moments of our history that you’re learning about by being part of the story,” says Natasha Bravo.
The first phase was intended to be presented virtually with the second phase performed in person; the third and final phase would involve traveling on city buses to different locations as part of the production.
“As we were working with the Pérez Foundation on this second phase,” says Tanya Bravo, artistic director of Juggerknot Theatre Company, “we were talking about where we could do this live second phase and they brought up HistoryMiami.”
After visiting the museum and seeing HistoryMiami’s “Tropical Dreams” exhibit, Bravo and her team fell in love with the endless stories they could visualize being told there. The exhibit, which explores South Florida’s history from prehistoric times to the present day, inspired Juggerknot’s production.
Juggerknot Theatre Company actor Charles Sothers gathers the crowd around the city’s old trolley, a permanent fixture of HistoryMiami’s “Tropical Dreams” exhibition. (Photo by Scott McIntyre)
“We’ve taken a lot of our ideas from the actual space,” says Tai Thompson, the show’s director. “A lot of what we’ve written about and a lot of how we are moving throughout the space is all in relation to the actual exhibit.”
“Miami Bus Stop Stories: Tropical Dreams” is a site-specific immersive play that takes audiences through the museum and on a journey through time through the origins of South Florida.
Although the experience focuses on the museum exhibition, it is not intended to be a guided tour. Instead, adds Thompson, the hope is for audiences to get inspired to return to the museum and keep discovering history. “One of our really big goals is for people to not just enjoy and see and hear these stories, but to come back and learn more about them,” she says.
Tanya Bravo says that audiences should feel as if they are dropped into the middle of history.
“What would that feel like? Will people understand history more when they’re in the middle of it as opposed to just reading it or seeing it from a distance?”
The Bravo sisters tapped into the same writing team they used in the first installment of “Miami Bus Stories” to continue to expand on the narrative of the city’s history.
Director Tai Thompson plays double duty as she gets into character as a soldier in “Miami Bus Stop Stories: Tropical Dreams,” presented by Juggerknot Theatre Company at HistoryMiami. (Photo by Scott McIntyre)
Playwrights France-Luce Benson and Juan C. Sanchez spent a weekend exploring the museum and its archives when preparing for the work. The pair ultimately divided a few of the storylines before weaving everything together and ensuring that there was a connecting thread throughout the experience.
“There were so many compelling stories within the museum (that) it was really hard to narrow down,” says Benson.
The stories in the play feature a cast of who’s-who in Miami’s founding history, such as Julia Tuttle and Mary Brickell, as well as others who were instrumental like the Black Seminole leader John Horse.
“There’s also a story that I wrote about how Miami was incorporated and how Black men were instrumental in the incorporation of Miami because they needed a certain number of votes in order to make it happen,” says Benson.
Therese Adelina leads the audiences through the HistoryMiami museum as they weave through history and time in “Miami Bus Stop Stories: Tropical Dreams” presented by Juggerknot Theatre Company at HistoryMiami. (Photo by Scott McIntyre)
The playwright adds, “The hope is that ‘Miami Bus Stop Stories’ will spark audiences’ curiosity,
and they’ll go home and want to learn more.”
WHAT: “Miami Bus Stop Stories: Tropical Dreams” by France-Luce Benson and Juan C. Sanchez
WHERE: HistoryMiami Museum, 101 W Flagler St., Miami
WHEN: 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, 11 a.m., Friday, Feb. 14 and 1 and 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16. Most shows sold out, check with https://historymiami.org/
COST: Free with museum admission ($8 for children, $10 for seniors and students, and $15 for adults).
INFORMATION: (305) 375-1492
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