theater

Instead of its famous promise to provide "theater that rocks," Brat Productions is about to give us theater that talks. The Causeway series, created by Brat founding artistic director Madi Distefano, is the first production in what will be an annual series of works that promote a specific cause -- this year, the movement to end modern slavery.

Project director Deborah Block has rounded up six artists and ensembles from different artistic disciplines for the two-week series. This week's performances open with pieces by the Korean- and Laotian-American spoken-word group Yellow Rage, who explore the issue of child slavery. The Reactionaries dance company will perform "Dying to Leave," which was inspired by a PBS documentary about human trafficking. Tribe of Fools, a physical theater company, will put on "The Slightly Brown Girl," which explores the mutually dependent relationship between slave and master.

Week two features Kimmika Williams-Witherspoon (academician, anthropologist, playwright and poet), who looks at body politics in her piece, "Whose Body Am I, Anyway?" The Subcircle dance company explores humans' ability to close their eyes to others' suffering in "Selective Sight." To finish off the program, Philadelphia playwright Ed Shockley has written Sacred Space, a play that explores the spiritual devastation of human trafficking.

Distefano wanted to incorporate artists from disciplines other than theater in order to broaden the show's appeal. "I was interested in providing independent artists with opportunities to respond to an issue, and I thought it would be great to hit an audience from several different angles," she explains.

Causeway series, Wed., March 8, 7:30 p.m., $15-$20, through March 19; panel discussion, Sun., March 12, 4:30 p.m.; Christ Church Annex, 20 N. American St., 215-627-2577, www.bratproductions.org. (For more on Causeway's political motivations, see Philly Blunt p. 16.)