Bring "The Boo Hag" to Life at Cannonball Festival 2025

*DISCLAIMER: Video is outdated and the project has received some slight updates written below.

Introduction:

Hello! Akwaaba! My name is Ishmael Walker, I’m a multidisciplinary artist from Rochester, NY and I’m creating a theatre production called “The Boo Hag” for the 2025 Cannonball Festival in Philadelphia! This is part of a multilayered cultural preservation project I've given the title of 'Hoodoo Technique', that will feature Gullah Geechee culture in performance, in education, and in visual arts.

About the Project:

The Boo Hag is based on the Gullah Geechee folk tale about a haint, or spirit, called a boo hag that has the power to steal away someone’s breath and wear their victim’s skin like clothes to walk among the living.

The Boo Hag will take us back to 1965 South Carolina, where a widowed woman and her house cleaner must survive a haunting nightmare at the hands of the insatiable boo hag. Fret not! There are ways to defeat it. In Gullah Geechee culture, this is a cautionary tale to warn of strangers entering your home and to do whatever it takes to protect your home.

This show will feature dance, music, circus arts, and infusions of Gullah Geechee culture such as crafts, songs, and the language. be performed 4 times at Cannonball Festival, twice on September 21st, September 22nd, and September 24th 2025. The show is well under way in pre-production with rehearsals planned for July and August.

Importance of the Project:

I’m creating this story as part of a Gullah Geechee cultural advocacy and restoration project. It is my family’s heritage by blood, yet I was not raised in it. This is the story of many others, thousands, who do not know they are Gullah Geechee. From delegitimizing the language, the assimilation into American values resulting in abandoning the culture, to codified racism built into policy, to gentrification, the Gullah Geechee identity faces extinction. Through tireless research, I’ve made an effort to faithfully and lovingly integrate myself into my roots.

I have 3 main goals for this project:

1. Introduce Gullah Geechee culture to a wide audience. I think mythology is an easily digestible medium because of cross references from different cultures. The Boo Hag can be viewed as a type of vampire or ghost.

2. Showcase the talent coming out of Rochester. Rochester, NY has a rich art history and while I won’t speak on the cast just yet, it will feature a few dedicated and versatile performers.

3. Take the next step in my young career as an artist. This will be my directorial debut, and there’s no better way to do that than by telling my family’s stories.

Need for Fundraising:

Help us get to Philly! I’ll be launching a fundraiser that aims to cover the costs of travel, lodging, securing sourced artwork from Gullah Geechee artisans, hiring a videographer to document the production, and additional funds to further cover artist wages and to help realize future projects. The project may begin with The Boo Hag but it will not end with it. I hope to perform this in other places, including my hometown of Rochester, as well as in South Carolina where my family is from.