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The Roundtable

"There Are NO Black Shakers: A Contemporary Folk Opera" at The Yard in Beacon 7/24

By Sarah LaDuke
Published July 22, 2025 at 11:10 AM EDT
Artwork for "There Are No Black Shakers"
Provided

"There Are NO Black Shakers" is a contemporary folk opera re-interpreting traditional Shaker hymns to tell the very true story of Prime Lane, a free Black man who joined the Shaker Society in Albany in 1802. He left the faith after nine years - but his daughters stayed and that prompted him to sue the Shakers, claiming that they were preventing him from access to not his daughters, but his property.

“There Are NO Black Shakers” is a debut opera written and directed by Jean-Marc Superville Sovak with Musical Direction by Gwen Laster. It will be performed at The Yard in Beacon, NY on Thursday, July 24 at 7 p. m.

Jean-Marc Superville Sovak is a multidisciplinary artist, curator and educator whose work explores stories absent from dominant historical narratives.

Gwen Laster is an award winning creative violin player and conceptual composer. Her devotion to exploring creative writings, readings, spirituality and current events inspire adventurous compositions rooted in the African Diaspora and other Global cultures.

"There Are NO Black Shakers" was awarded an Arts and Culture Projects Grant from Arts Mid-Hudson for a performance in Dutchess/Orange Counties.

Tags
The Roundtable shakersoperaBeaconBlack Historyamerican historyhymnsjean-marc superville sovakgwen laster
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Sarah LaDuke
Sarah has worked in public radio since 2006. She grew up in Saranac Lake, New York where she worked part-time at Pendragon Theatre all through high school and college. She graduated from UAlbany in 2006 with a BA in English and started at WAMC a few weeks later as a part-time board-op in the control room. Through a series of offered and seized opportunities she is now the Senior Contributing Producer of The Roundtable and Producer of The Book Show. During the main thrust of the Covid-19 pandemic shut-down, Sarah hosted a live Instagram interview program "A Face for Radio Video Series." On it, Sarah spoke with actors, musicians, comedians, and artists about the creative activities they were accomplishing and/or missing. She is on the board of WAM Theatre and lives in Albany, New York with her husband, Paul, and their dog, Doritos.
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