The Hip Hopera of 5P1NOK10

Using music, video, and magical marionettes, the show spins the story to which its title and Jeghetto’s moniker refer into an Afrofuturist parable about a robot that longs to be a real B-boy in a post-apocalyptic future. The 5P1N0K10 universe takes the stage. This Hip Hopera created by Jeghetto and co-written by Pierce Freelon was awarded grants from the Henson Foundation two years in a row. Performance attendees will be transported to an Afro-futuristic post-apocalyptic realm. Puppets by Jeghetto, “5P1N0K10,” a production that combines plywood marionettes, live music, emceeing and video. original score by Hip Hop producer Hir-O.

Created by Tarish “Jeghetto” Pipkins, whose nickname is a play on Pinocchio’s woodcarver Geppetto, “5P1N0K10″ is a family affair that features Pipkins’ sons, Divine, 19, and Tarin, 14, as puppeteers. In the show, the title character encounters various instances of racism, oppression and police brutality along his journey. Pipkins, 50, calls the show “artivism” — a way to creatively express his views on social justice and give the audience a call to consciousness.

“I don’t think politics is the answer; art is the only way to make change in the world,” Pipkins said. “You have to get into people’s hearts and minds. If you can hear a dope story that relates to you, that’s what motivates you to think about your surroundings. People react to stories more than news and politics. Storytelling is my form of activism.”