UNIVERSES Now in their 25th year, UNIVERSES is a National Theater Company of color dedicated to the creation, development, production, touring, community engagement and educational dissemination of new theatrical and performance works for stage and screen. It supports artists within and outside of its core company, to foster artistic excellence in American Theater. Its core company consists of a revolving and evolving set of multi-disciplined writers and performers who fuse Poetry, Theater, Music, and Dance, to bring American voices to life through moving, challenging and entertaining theatrical works. Led by its Founders/Artistic Directors, Steven Sapp and Mildred Ruiz-Sapp, the core group of writers breaks the bounds of traditional theatre; building on UNIVERSES' aesthetic and unique brand, to invite/challenge old and new generations of theatre crafters as well as theatergoers and newcomers to envision a new American Theater. Founded in The Bronx, New York in 1995, the original members of UNIVERSES came together in the urban poetry and music scene of the late 1990s; moving through the “downtown” performance scene to build a home for themselves in American Theatre. They have taken their original pieces around the world, electrifying crowds and sparking conversation about just what it means to be an 'American', right here and right now.