Rickerby Hinds is one of the pioneers of Hip-Hop Theater who has the unique ability to challenge conventional notions of the stage while taking advantage of its history and traditions. A native of Honduras who immigrated to South Central Los Angeles at age 13, his work draws on his multifaceted background to create theater that is simultaneously challenging, compelling and entertaining.
Hinds received his MFA in playwriting from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television where he was awarded the coveted Audrey Skirball-Kenis (ASK) Award for best play for an unprecedented two years. His work has been developed by venues including the Mark Taper Forum, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, The Royal Court Theatre in London and The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (where he presented the first hip-hop Theater play in their history Blackballin’ in 2008). Hinds’ productions explore the human condition employing the aesthetics, as well as the performance instruments of hip-hop culture – MCing, hip-hop dance, beatboxing, graffiti (aerosol art), DJin.
He is currently the chair of the Department of Theater Film & Digital Production at the University of California, Riverside and founding director of Riverside Studios where he continues to break new ground in works for the stage and screen by expanding the definition of both theater and hip- hop expression though works like Dreamscape in which he uses beatboxing, dance and spoken word to explore the problematic relationship between the Black community and the police; or Amplified Fidelity: An exploration of Humanity Through Sound in which the entire history of the universe and human beings’ quest for survival is explored using only beatboxing. Hinds is also a partner at Voice Media Ventures multimedia company.
Hinds recently completed a Fulbright Fellowship (2016) in his native Honduras, and his work has toured Romania, Poland, Austria, Hungary and Turkey, as well as numerous venues in the US. His play Dreamscape received a record 6 2016 Los Angeles NAACP nominations and won: Best Director, Best Lead Actor, Best Lead Actress, it has also been adapted into the award-winning film My Name is Myeisha which Hinds co-wrote and produced.