Maine Inside Out's Juneteenth Performances & Community Dialogue

Wednesday, June 17 at 7:00 PM (doors at 6:30 PM), approximately 120 minutes

Tickets are available for free by donation ($15 suggested).

All Ages

Alcohol will not be served at this event.

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Maine Inside Out's Juneteenth Performances & Community Dialogue
Your voice matters. Come to reckon, reflect, and act together.

This Juneteenth, Maine Inside Out invites you into an open community dialogue about mass incarceration in the US, anchored by original theater, film, and the lived experience of Maine artists. Come to think, feel, and reckon together about what liberation looks like in our communities. At a moment when civic engagement is vital, these events are an opportunity for active participation.

The evening features:

-A hip hop performance by MOJOSUDAN. Mojo is a hip-hop pioneer with 30+ years in the game, from Khartoum, Sudan to the global stage. Co-founder of NAS JOTA, the first Arabic hip-hop label, and JAMDEAN MUSIC GROUP, his albums Al Shabaab, Ma People, Raw Music and Long Road mixed Arabic rap, reggae, soul, and R&B to spotlight Sudanese youth, human rights, and culture.

-Reflections by Samuel James. Samuel is a writer, storyteller, musician and Maine local whose work explores themes of history, culture, and social justice. His work as a writer and storyteller has been featured on This American Life, The Moth Radio Hour and his long-running column “Racisms” is featured in The Bollard. Samuel’s music can be found at therealsamueljames.com

-Premiere of The Broken Clock Documentary Film, created by filmmakers Alex Sutula and Bennett Mosseau. It follows the Maine Inside Out Creative Ensemble’s Broken Clock tour throughout 2025 at performances in prisons, on college campuses, and communities across the state.

-The Maine Inside Out Creative Ensemble's The Big Yes. This intergenerational group of community artists uses theater to explore themes connected to our identities, life experiences, and the world in which we exist together. The Creative Ensemble builds on MIO pedagogy to create and tour ensemble performances and engage audiences in dialogue. The Big Yes is an original performance exploring the roles we become trapped in—within family, work, relationships, social expectations, and the pressures we place on ourselves. Blending performance with conversation, The Big Yes is a call toward imagination, courage, and collective liberation—a journey to the river, to new possibilities, and to a bigger yes.

These performances offer a starting point, not the destination. This is a chance to be a room where the walls between audience and performer dissolve. What we’re really here for is each other - to think, feel, and reckon together about US mass incarceration and what liberation actually looks like in our communities.

At a moment when so much is at stake - when the US incarcerates more people than any other nation, and when civic life demands more of all of us - these events are democracy in action. Honoring Juneteenth means honoring Black history and the ongoing, unfinished work of collective liberation. MIO believes that work happens in community, in rooms exactly like this one, when people are willing to show up and speak honestly together.

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MIO Creative Ensemble Bio

Maine Inside Out creates original theater in schools, prisons and in the community. MIO groups build connection and leadership across boundaries, identities and generations to engage the greater community in dialogue about social change. MIO’s Creative Ensemble is a group of staff and Lewiston community artists using theater to explore themes connected to our identities, life experiences and the world in which we exist together.

Maine Inside Out connects us through play, dialogue and the transformative power of art. These experiences help connect us across boundaries and dissolve the separation between audience and actor, supporting us to move and change together. To learn more about MIO, please visit www.maineinsideout.org.

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PAY WHAT YOU CAN

No one will be turned away from MSA events for lack of funds; please contact us at 207-879-4629 or info@mayostreetarts.org to learn more and reserve tickets. Our box office staff are also happy to help.

EVENT PARKING

Free on-street parking is available in Mayo Street Arts’ neighborhood.

There is one paid parking lot conveniently located a six-minute walk from the venue: Top of the Old Port Parking (119 Pearl St, Portland ME 04101)

Mayo Street Arts is accessible by Greater Portland Metro bus routes with nearby transfer points 7, 9A & 9B. Click here to learn more.

ACCESSIBILITY

All performances and most other events held at Mayo Street Arts are wheelchair accessible. There are two accessible spots directly in front of our building, however there is not yet a curb cut out at that location.

If you would benefit from additional information or accommodations, we invite you to contact us at info@mayostreetarts.org or 207-879-4629.

COMMUNITY HEALTH

Audience members — in addition to artists, staff & volunteers — who feel sick or exhibit symptoms of illness should stay home out of respect for others.

SEATING POLICY

We will save your reserved seat until showtime, at which point any unclaimed seats may be offered to other people. Please call our box office at 207-879-4629 if you are running late.

CANCELATION POLICY

MSA has a no refund policy for all reservations. In the event that MSA is forced to cancel an event due to weather, illness, etc., refunds will be offered via the Ticket Tailor platform.