Friends and collaborators L.A. Buckner and Midwest James will showcase their semi-autobiographical theater pieces and exceptional musical skills. The showcase will include "Things You Can’t See," a one-man show written and performed by L.A. Buckner and directed by James Gavins, followed by the Afrofuturistic one-man show “Cicada,” written and performed by James Gavins and co-directed by Karl Michael Iglesias. The night will end with a talkback and a special music experience by the duo.

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“Things You Can’t See” follows Minneapolis-based drummer L.A. Buckner as he navigates the unseen truths of life as a Black musician performing in predominantly white wedding reception spaces. Blending personal stories, sharp humor, and dynamic live performance, the piece unpacks the layers of cultural expectation, artistic resilience, and identity within the world of professional music.

“Cicada” is an Afrofuturistic multimedia theatrical performance adapted from the stage play created by James D. Gavins and Karl Michael Iglesias. Through storytelling, music, movement, and comedy, the story follows James in a parallel universe as he goes through the process to receive his reparations. He has been chosen to beta test CICADA, a psychotherapy simulator, that claims to ease the trauma from black history in America.

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L.A. Buckner is a performing musician, teaching artist, and producer from the Northside of Minneapolis. He holds a master’s degree in music performance from McNally Smith College of Music and is a community partnership instructor for the MacPhail Center for Music. His artistry is full of energy, excitement, culture and excellence.

James D. Gavins, aka Midwest James, is an interdisciplinary artist born and raised between Chicago and Minneapolis. In 2008, Gavins was granted the First Wave Hip Hop & Urban Arts Scholarship and attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he earned a B.A. in theater and drama. In 2015, he graduated from UW-Madison and became a Practicing Professional Teaching Artist with the Wallace Foundation/Youth Arts Initiatives and served as a Performing Arts Director with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Milwaukee & Greater Green Bay. There, he facilitated film, theater, and music programs with youth. Gavins also tours with the ShapeShift Theatrical Dance Company as a performer and creative collaborator. He premiered his interdisciplinary theater show "Cicada" in 2019 and went on to develop and perform it as a performance-integrated film at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. Stream his projects "Dante's Inertia," "Ready Up," and "ILK" on all platforms.