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Updated 3/25/2020

Toto Kisaku

  • C

    CT

Institution/Business Type: Artist / Creative (Individual)

Toto Kisaku, is an award-winning Congolese playwright, actor, director and producer who studied drama at the National Institute of Arts in Kinshasa. After establishing the K-Mu Theater in 2003, he spent the next 15 years traveling the world to produce and participate in plays. Toto arrived in the United States in late 2015 seeking political asylum, which he was granted in March 2018. Since his arrival, Toto has spent his time learning and redefining his artistic expression based on the tension that both his country of origin and the country which has welcomed him are enduring. In his work, Toto focuses on transcending the constraints of daily life and examining how people living in poverty or under oppressive regimes can recreate their environments and improve their lives through artistic activities. Toto’s pieces invite both spectator and actor to find ways to go beyond the walls of both the performance and living space.  
His last piece "7 dialogues" was performed at Yale School of Architecture by Sydney Lemmon and Toto Kisaku through the Garden Pleasure project. The first International Festival of Arts & Ideas Artist in residence 2019 led workshop programs and Talks in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa, Europe before the U.S at Wesleyan University, Quinnipiac University, Hampshire College, etc.

Toto’s piece Requiem For An Electric Chair premiered at the 2018 Festival with three sold-out performances and is his first play to be performed in English. Toto was the recipient of the 2010 "Freedom to Create Prize,” presented in Cairo, Egypt. He was also the recipient of the 2018 Rebecca Blunk Fund award, granted by the New England Foundation for the Arts.

Requiem for an Electric Chair have been performed at the Studio Theatre in Washington DC last November 2019 and will be touring in the US on 2020-2021. In April 2020 the play will be performed in Portland - Maine at The Portland Ovation with a residency.

Find Me

Toto Kisaku
Job Title: Theater Maker
Phone: 203-808-8759
Address:
323 DeKoven Dr. Apt 2w
Middletown, CT 06457

Social Media:

Additional Content:

About

Overview

Institution/Business Type:

Artist / Creative (Individual)

Legal Status:

Commercial / For profit - Sole proprietorship

Overview

Institution/Business Type:

Artist / Creative (Individual)

Legal Status:

Commercial / For profit - Sole proprietorship

Disciplines

Primary Discipline:

Theater - General

Additional Disciplines:

  • Theater - Storytelling

Activities and Services

Activities and Services:

  • Arts for Social Change / Creative Activism
  • Arts Instruction / Lessons
  • Community Arts
  • Creation of a Work of Art (Including Commissions)
  • Performance / Concert / Reading
  • Professional Development / Training
  • Professional Network Gatherings / Events
  • Residency - Community
  • Residency - In School
  • Residency - Production / Development
  • Residency - Other
  • Workshops / Demonstrations / Master Class
Seasons Active: spring, summer, fall, winter
Events Per Year: 300

Communities

Populations Engaged:

  • Adults
  • Businesses
  • Elders
  • Families
  • General Public
  • Immigrant Populations
  • Incarcerated (or Formerly Incarcerated) individuals
  • LGBTQ Populations
  • Native American Tribes
  • Nonprofits
  • People with Disabilities
  • School Groups
  • Teens
  • Veteran/Active Duty Military Personnel
  • Youth-At-Risk

Languages Available:

  • French

Geographic Reach:

  • Town / City
  • County
  • Multi-County Region
  • State
  • Multi-State Region
  • National
  • International

Accessibility of Services

Accessibility of Services:

  • Access accommodations for people who use a wheelchair and have limited mobility
  • Access accommodations for people who are blind, partially sighted, and have low vision
  • Access accommodations for people who are Deaf and hard-of-hearing

Performances and workshops can be developed to meet the audience members' and participants' needs, upon request.

Media Gallery

I Have Worked With

Affiliations and Accomplishments

Awards

Awards:

  • Rebecca Blunk Fund (2018)
  • Freedom to Create Award (2010)
  • Artist Fellowship Award, COA. (2020)

Awards

Awards:

  • Rebecca Blunk Fund (2018)
  • Freedom to Create Award (2010)
  • Artist Fellowship Award, COA. (2020)

Special Designations

Special Designations:

  • NEFA Grant Recipient

Artist Info

Teaching Artist

Teaching Settings:

  • Afterschool Program
  • Arts and Cultural Center / Venue
  • Community Site / Center
  • Corporate Business
  • Healthcare Facility
  • Private Studio
  • School / University

Ages Served:

  • Elementary School-age
  • Middle School-age
  • High School-age
  • College-age
  • Adults
  • Seniors

Subject Areas:

  • Arts Integration - Communications
  • Arts Integration - Foreign Languages
  • Arts Integration - History and Social Science
  • Theater

Fee range:

$900 - $2,000

Teaching Artist

Teaching Settings:

  • Afterschool Program
  • Arts and Cultural Center / Venue
  • Community Site / Center
  • Corporate Business
  • Healthcare Facility
  • Private Studio
  • School / University

Ages Served:

  • Elementary School-age
  • Middle School-age
  • High School-age
  • College-age
  • Adults
  • Seniors

Subject Areas:

  • Arts Integration - Communications
  • Arts Integration - Foreign Languages
  • Arts Integration - History and Social Science
  • Theater

Fee range:

$900 - $2,000

Touring Artist

NEST Eligible Artist

Technical Requirements:

  • Vary based on performance or workshop
  • Portland Ovations, Portland Maine

Fee Range:

$7,000 - $15,000

State of Residence:

Connecticut

Minimum Number of Performers:

1

Maximum Number of Performers:

1