Soulful. Stirring, Historic. These are the three words Jessica Anderson uses to describe her five-act production Higher Ground: A Gospel Musical.
Featuring a mixture of student and Bay area performers, Higher Ground highlights the role of Black Sacred Music as a source of social justice and change.
The musical consists of five chronological movements starting with the rise of Black Sacred Music under slavery in North America, moving through the emergence of leaders from the Black Church in 50’s and 60’s, and ending with present day gospel music.
Anderson plans to navigate through these movements with a fusion of live music, dance, and spoken word in order to delve into the topic from an oral perspective.
Anderson is by no means unfamiliar with sound and soul. As a graduating African and African American studies major, Truman Scholar, and a leader in the Stanford Gospel Choir, Anderson has undergone extensive research into the history between gospel music and social movements.
Oral tradition isn’t the only thing Anderson honors in her production of Higher Ground. The musical’s opening day officially marks the revival of Stanford’s Committee for Black Performing Arts (CBPA), an arts organization founded in the 60’s to facilitate change through the expression of art.
Free Admission & Open to the Public
Doors open at 6:30pm