This season, Pulse turns inward.

The 2026/2027 season centers mental health within Black communities and households — the silences, the survival, the strength, and the stigma. We are interrogating the reverence of American theatre by refusing to sanitize pain or romanticize resilience. Instead, we ask: What does healing look like when the door is closed? Who gets to rest? Who gets to unravel? Who gets to be held?

For generations, Black families have carried grief, brilliance, faith, rage, humor, and endurance — often without space to name the weight. This season creates that space.

We are exploring:

Generational trauma and inherited silence
Masculinity and emotional suppression
Black joy as resistance
Faith, therapy, and cultural stigma
Caretaking, survival, and softness
The cost of being “strong”

True to our values, this work will be visceral and honest — but guided by love. Our trauma-informed practice ensures that the container is strong enough for the stories we tell and the conversations they spark.

Pulse remains both platform and sanctuary. This season is not about spectacle. It is about recognition. It is about truth-telling. It is about breaking archetypes of the “strong Black family” and expanding what vulnerability can look like onstage and off.

We believe theatre is a living pulse. |
This season, the pulse is healing.

PROGRAMMING:

IMMERSIVE PLAY READING SERIES : HIP-HOP & HEIGHTENED LANGUAGE

THE FIRST BEAT | NEW PLAY INITIATIVE: City of Water by Isis Elizabeth | JUNE 2026
RITUAL & RHYTHM : The Plays of Chadwick Boseman | JULY 2026

MAINSTAGE |

TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON | FALL 2026

SEPTEMBER 11-NOVEMBER 1, 2026

-Aaron Reese Boseman, Executive Artistic Director

2026/2027

The Healing Pulse: Mental Health in Black Homes