The Malaga was a 183 ton brig built in Brunswick, Maine, in a shipyard owned by Joseph Badger in 1832. The ship eventually found herself as part of the already illegal transatlantic trade of African captives to the Americas. The Malaga Ship story is a tour de force performance from storyteller Antonio Rocha. Using his entire body and voice, Antonio sings, narrates, and mimes his way through this poetically toned historical tale told mostly from the perspective of the ship. The story vividly explores the reality and impact of the slave industry, which was the largest industry in the world in the 1800s which connected Malaga to Rio de Janeiro Brazil, where Antonio was raised.
For ages 12 and up
Runtime: 45 minutes, plus a 30 minute talk-back
Are you an educator interested in bringing your students to a school-time performance? Visit the Education page of our website for more details!
ABOUT ANTONIO ROCHA
Antonio Rocha (pronounced haw-sha), originally from Brazil, began his career in the performing arts in 1985. In 1988 he received a Partners of the Americas grant to come to the USA to perform and deepen his mime skills with Mime Master Tony Montanaro. Since then he has earned a Summa Cum Laude Theater BA from USM (University of Southern Maine) and studied with Master Marcel Marceau. Mr. Rocha’s unique and award winning solo fusion of mime and storytelling with mesmerizing voices and sound effects has been performed from Singapore to South Africa and many places in between, including 20 countries on 6 continents as well as in 44 US states. Some of the venues include The Singapore Festival of the Arts, Wolf Trap, The National Storytelling Festival, The Kennedy Center, The Smithsonian Institution, The National Geographic, The Tales of Graz in Austria, Dunya Festival, The Timpanogos Storytelling Festival, Cave Run Storytelling Festival as well as thousands of school performances. Antonio Rocha also loves to teach his craft and often facilitates workshops, not only for performers, but for those who want to incorporate storytelling into their business presentations and classroom.
A two time TEDx speaker, Mr. Rocha is a proud recipient of the coveted Circle of Excellence Award by the National Storytelling Network, and most recently the 2024 Maine Arts Commission Fellowship for the Performing Arts.
This show is made possible thanks to our supporting sponsors, the Rockland Harbor Hotel and OUT Maine, and grant funding from the Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust.
