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The Mixed Race Mixtape team poses near the Hampshire College library. From left to right: Mtali William Banda, Allison Smartt, Andrew J. Figueroa, Jorrell Watkins and Reed Sutherland.

(Laura Newberry)

NORTHAMPTON -- What it's like to be a person of color in America, an identifier that sometimes reaps pervasive hardships and stereotypes, can be a difficult subject to approach - even as the country watches prejudice-fueled deaths and riots unfold in their own communities.

A group of recent grads from Hampshire College and University of Massachusetts Amherst wants to bring that conversation to the forefront this fall through a low-cost theater production.

"Mixed Race Mixtape" is a Northampton-based Hip-hop show born from the senior thesis project of Andrew Figueroa, a Southern California native and rapper. Figueroa, who goes by "Fig," graduated from Hampshire in December.

The show, which melds together elements of live music, spoken word, dance and rap, is largely based off Figeuroa's own experiences with being what he calls "ambiguously brown." With a Mexican father and a white mother, the 23-year-old said he's experienced his fair share of racism.

"It's been tough understanding what 'self' is...who I am in different spaces with different people, how my identity fluctuates and how people perceive me," said Figeuroa, who explained he's often mistaken as Iranian or Egyptian, which can make him a target for prejudice in the Latino community as well.

Shedding light on the 'ambiguously brown'



The show's main character is also named Fig, a mixed-race Latino man, and "...examines how youth of color grapple with their identities and reflects the experiences of so many people whose lives are impacted by race everyday," the production's website reads.

The audience watches Fig encounter police, teachers, family and peers, and witness how those interactions help shape his identity. Figeuroa calls the production "autobiographical fiction," as some of the skits are dramatized to reach different demographics of viewers. But they're mostly reflection of his life, such as his run-ins with police growing up in his Irvine, California neighborhood.

Watch an excerpt from the show below:

"I would get pulled over and they would ask where I was going, asking me if I had drugs, if I knew about the graffiti behind the church," he said of California police. "the answer was always the same; I was always going home."

The show also explores what are called "micro-agressions," such as subtle but racism-tinged questions like, "Where are you from? Where are your parents from?"

The show is about empowerment, and finding positive voices within bodies that are often ridiculed for being different, Figeuroa said.

Hip-hop artist and actor Andrew Figueroa performs in his production "Mixed Race Mixtape."

"We can claim these points of identity, and they may not fall into these damaging images that have been created from this dominant narrative," he said, giving examples of how mainstream media accounts of the Baltimore riots have portrayed protestors as "savages and animals."

Making it happen

Figeuroa decided to refine "Mixed Race Mixtape" after showing a recording of it to his friend, Allison Smartt, who graduated from Hampshire in 2011. Smartt, who's made a career out of developing shows for wider audiences, saw its potential. She signed on as production manager.

The two teamed up with musical director Mtali William Banda, a recent UMass Amherst graduate; artistic director Jorrell Watkins, a Hampshire grad; and Reed Sutherland, a bassist and graphic designer who went to Westfield State University.

Smartt brings to the group prior experience with social justice theater. In 2013 and 2014 she produced "MOM BABY GOD," a production created by abortion advocate and Hampshire graduate Madeline Burrows that tells the stories of pro-life movement activists.

As such, Smartt know what it takes to make a good show tick. And part of that is funding, she said.

The team launched an Indiegogo fundraiser for the production in mid-April that's raised about $2,400 of its $30,000 goal. The campaign ends May 22.

The $30,000 is essentially seed money for the troupe, Smartt said, and will provide living wages to all its members, including three musicians, three theater techs and a designer. It'll also pay for liability insurance and high-quality production equipment that can travel with them.

The group aims to make all its performances "super cheap" or free to ensure it's accessible to people from all walks of life, Smartt said. That means shows might come with a suggested price or tickets on a sliding scale. Someone who buys a $25 ticket could subsidize a seat for someone who paid $5, for instance. And some academic institutions might pay the group enough to where they can perform for free.

The goal is to start booking shows for September and October at colleges and multicultural and community centers, many locally - like Teatro Vida in Springfield - and some out of state. Figueroa said the group is eyeing a move sometime next year to Los Angeles, where Mixed Race Mixtape might attract more attention.

"Opportunities for political activism are more plentiful in a larger city, in a state that is dealing with a lot of interesting issues right now - drought, farming, agriculture, climate justice, immigration," Smartt said.

Figueroa also leads workshops in the community geared toward middle school through college-age students- most recently at Northampton High School - that he will run in tandem with "Mixed Race Mixtape." The discussion groups "give people of color the tools to explore and express their identities in a society that's not friendly to that expression," Figueroa explained.

Some people aren't comfortable talking about their negative encounters related to race and identity, Figueroa said. But he aims to create a space where that's possible, both through his music - his Hip-hop group Yewo provides the tunes for "Mixed Race Mixtape" - and the workshops.

"Where I feel comfortable and confident is through my rap and my movement, and creative monologue pieces that make people talk," he said, adding, "Dialogue is the first step, and next is action, and asking the question, 'What can we do from here?'"