The Playwright-Performer, Ty’Ree Hope Davis, participated in YPT’s Young Playwrights in Progress script development program, where he further developed his play, Riot: The Beat of Freddie Gray. In September 2024, YPT hosted a dinner-theatre style performance of this play at Busboys & Poets in Washington, DC. You can view that performance here.

Each part of this play is titled a "Seen" rather than "Scene" because what you will see is not just performance, it is truth. This play is as much about the past as it is about what’s still happening today.

1. Engage. Our energy, our listening, and even our silence shape this story. Feel free to hum, sing, laugh, cry, clap, snap, and stomp if the beat compels you, but always remain mindful of the collective experience of the audience members around you.

2. Witness. The boundary between stage and audience is erased. What you will see is also what you live. These events are not imagined; they are alive. This is a shared journey; allow it to pass through you.

3. Breathe. An inhale in... and an exhale out. Breath is but a perpetual fight for life. Breathe to live... breathe to tell the story... and breathe to be the beat.

FREDDIE GRAY: Black; 25 years old; charismatic, revolutionary, and explosive.

COP/FOOTBALL PLAYA: White; oppressive, intimidatin’, and predatory.

HOOD NAIL TECH/OG/12 O'CLOCK BOY: Black; varied ages and experiences; Griots.

The projects referenced in RIOT: The Beat of Freddie Gray are Penn North, Presbury Street, and Gilmor Homes.

After the 1968 Baltimore riots, the city experienced “white flight.” Many white Baltimore residents fled the city. Baltimore went from being a mostly white-populated city to a mostly Black-populated city. Baltimore City saw a decline in revenue, neighborhood upkeep, and prosperity. With the rise of the Black population, Baltimore City experienced worsening housing conditions, rising crime rates, fewer jobs, and more unsafe working conditions.