“The performance feels like an ancestral storytelling practice of our human history; Taishya is carrying the storytelling baton forward by breathing words and song into our intergenerational stories of oppression, struggle and the fight for liberation.”
– Audience member
Grand rising UQ members, supporters, and friends!
As we close out 2026 Black History and Futures Month, let us leave encouraged knowing that we are ready, willing, and able to meet current moments of terror and tyranny with NO FEAR.
We close this month with a deeper knowing about the many many ways that Black people across the diaspora dismantled systems of oppression and found a way out of no way towards freedom.
February Highlights
Uprooting Qahr Living Rooms Potluck and Performance – February 20, 2026-
We hosted our first Living Room potluck and performance in an actual living room! As Taishya was designing the performance, she was adamant about diversifying the ways people can engage in and with the performance. In addition to large theaters and midsized cafes, this experiences is intentionally designed to be performed in the home of a community member. This intimate space allows for deeper conversations and discussions as well as strengthening networks. If you would like to co-host a potluck and performance in your home, please click here.
-
We participated in several mission aligned events and gatherings to honor Black History and Futures Month. Taishya served as a special musical guest at the Ancestral New Earth Festival, the Carrying the Torch: Unity, Truth, and The Urgency of Now featuring All Created Equal in Concert, and Resisting Erasure: Black Presence in White Spaces.
-
In February 2026, our team continues to focus on script, music, and film development! Thank you again to all those who have participated in the for the feedback provided by audience members during public and private previews. The opportunity to workshop the piece has been invaluable. As has your feedback, questions, and recommendations. A dear friend likes to remind us that a peach takes time to become sweet and tasty! So does Uprooting Qahr!
On Deck in March 2026
Public Previews! Two public performances scheduled in 2026. See Upcoming Performances section below to learn more.
Film. Our film crew – eight16creative – will have a NEW WORK SAMPLE during the March 8, 2026 performance at Theatre O. As we continue to refine the story board, themes, images, and audio to capture Taishya’s travels to the West Bank, Alabama, and Colorado. Members will soon receive opportunities to respond to work samples!! Stay tuned for more.
Bookings. March and April are booked for the Living Room performance and potlucks! May, June and August are still have openings. If you would like to host the UQ experience, please click here. Our goal is to host monthly Living Room Performance and Potlucks. We are getting excited about outdoor and backyard performances as well. Quarterly, we are seeking to host public preview performances at a theater, community center, school, or place of worship. If you are connected to a venue or interested in helping us get set up with medium and large sized venues for 2026, please email us at team@mukuyucollective.com.
Music. We need HELP! We have been trying to identify amazing singers, piano, strings, and guitar in the Boulder area but have not found the right fit (e.g. availability, genre). Alas, we do what we can with what we have building the plane while flying it. Taishya will be participating in songwriting retreats and workshops to continue to work on original music and the film soundtrack. If you are interested in joining the music team, please email taishya@mukuyucollective.com. Note that we provide compensation to musicians for performance participation.
Monologues. Taishya continues to work with April Yvette Thompson, her theater coach, on the script and performance pieces. These sessions have helped Taishya to reflect on the ‘why,’ refine performance warm ups and cool downs, as well as the technical needs (e.g. direction, lighting, sound, etc.).
Upcoming Public Engagements
March 3, 2026
Uprooting Qahr Performance at Naropa University – Nalanda Campus, 1:45 – 3:00 pm
We will host a free public performance of Uprooting Qahr 75 min ‘classroom edition’ as part of Naropa University’s Community Practice Day. This day honors sacred reciprocity between self and planet, between awakening and care, we are invited to remember what the Buddha knew on the night of his awakening: that the Earth bears witness. We are still confirming the time and room assignment. Once confirmed, we will share with our members first then to the listserv. Click here to join the listserv.
March 8, 2026
Uprooting Qahr Performance with Earth Angles Act, 5:00 – 7:00 pm
Michelle Romeo, founder of Earth Angles Act, has invited us to perform Uprooting Qahr in East Boulder. Earth Angels Act delivers direct aid and compassionate support to underrepresented individuals and families in crisis. Earth Angel Act offers: (1) relational support to people in Gaza, (2) creative community performances and gatherings that connect us to our deep global humanity, (3) education, Awareness & Public Learning through, lectures, film discussion and other learning events, and (4) Support for young professionals in crisis regions. Registration opens next week and this organization will be one of our beneficiaries!
Reserve Your Seat!
Online Community Spotlight
Our online Patreon community offers public, free, and paid content (e.g. behind the scenes, extended learning, interviews, reflections, and inspirations). Funds raised through paid memberships support the production team inclusive of performers, filmmakers, musicians, and administrative support. This allows us to offer free and low-cost performances to reduce any financial barriers and pay professionals a living wage. Your contributions are critical as we work to complete this project by the end of 2026!! We’ve only just begun!!
PUBLIC POST SPOTLIGHT 1
Morning Musing: Anger
Anger is an EGO RESPONSE to a belief under attack. I believed in liberty, and justice for all. I believed most of our leaders were moving us towards that direction. That belief is under attack right now … again.
PUBLIC POST SPOTLIGHT 2
Uproot to Reroot: Full Hearts, Full Belly
We shared our migration stories and explored the ways our ancestral pathways connect with each other. We laughed, cried, reflected, and activated towards the oneness of humanity. It is our goal that the Uprooting Qahr experience allows participants: RECOGNIZE liberatory and oppressive patterns across time and space. RECLAIM connection and relationships at the individual, interpersonal, and systemic levels of change and power. REMEMBER strategies that allow for co-existence between humans and more than human kin in the areas of human rights, environment, education, and policy. We believe that creation is the response to war and tyranny.
PUBLIC POST SPOTLIGHT 3
President’s Day Musing: There’s Something About Andrew
Uprooting Qahr: Power, Privilege, and Paperwork seeks to connect the dots across time and space so that we see the continuum from US domestic policy to US foreign policy. President Trump is on a continuum of leaders who used their power to strengthen the ruling minority on the backs of the human majority as well as Mama Earth.
Frontline Organization of the Month:
Camping to Connect
Camping to Connect is a BIPOC-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit confronting teen social isolation by fostering deep, in-person connection through nature. They lead traditionally underserved young men from urban communities into the outdoors for transformative nature-based experiences grounded in emotional vulnerability, mentorship, and brotherhood.
Uprooting Qahr understands to critical role Mama Nature plays in restoring interconnectedness across time and space. As a former Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission, Taishya Adams has seen first hand the power of nature-based experiences to remember, repair, and restore.
As we confront this transformational moment in human history, amplifying pathways to nature-rich experiences is essential. Whether on a trail or at a local park, these sensory experiences must be centered to calm the mind, body, and spirit. We cannot create great things in a rush. Nature shows us the lessons we must learn. Spending deep time there allows for the revealing.
Please consider supporting this incredible organizations through donations, volunteerism, recommended partners and participants.
We are the ones we’ve been waiting for! Act accordingly.
