Real stories. Real people. All on a community stage.

EPOCH TRIBE

Sisters-in-law Hannah (left) and Shardae Hasan are founders of Epoch Tribe, a community-based theater production company.

Epoch Tribe turns real life stories into art. 

Founders Hannah and Shardae Hasan started the community-based production company to put Black stories at the forefront of the stage. The idea for Epoch Tribe began when the sisters-in-law hosted a master class in Allentown, Pennsylvania where rising leaders in the community learned how to tell their own stories, followed by an open mic night.

“It was such a sort of magnetic experience,” Hannah said. “Right then, Shardae and I decided this is a thing. This is more than the open mic nights with our artists in a group. This feels like a business.”

Epoch Tribe takes a different approach to theater. The sisters-in-law connect people with their own stories and teach them how to articulate them with others. Their goal is supporting Black artists on and off the stage. 

“We wanted to build tribe around stories,” Hannah said, “so we don’t just do an individual story here or there. We build community with the people who participate in our work, and we create community around stories as well.”

“I Am Queen: Charlotte” is one of the works by the company where hundreds of women have shared their stories. 

“Those women aren't just connected to us,” Shardae said. “They're also connected to each other. There's an entire community of women who are in relationships together based on their experience as being part of I Am Queen.”

For an upcoming project, “Summer 25,” the production company will highlight stories and archive them at UNC Charlotte. 

“We just had a group of individuals who are leaders from our community leave our studio,” Hannah said. “They sat for two hours and shared their story of Summer 25, what the summer has been like for them, especially because this is such a polarizing time and there's so much happening in the world. We wanted to make sure that we're documenting that.”

A key part of storytelling for the Hasans, especially when it comes to the stories of Black women, is handling them with trust and building relationships with the community. 

“The reputation that we've built for handling people's most intimate moments, sometimes secrets, you know, holding them with a lot of responsibility because we don't take lightly the fact that people are willing to open up and share with us,” Shardae said.

The projects Epoch Tribe produces aren’t traditional theater. The founders pride themselves on upholding their values in what it means to be a storyteller from a Black woman's perspective. “Every part of who we are and the way that we show up in the world is tied to our identity,” Hannah said. “And we don't shy away from that in the work that we produce, even if it is stories that are not about Black women. We are still, we're going to be looking through that lens.

“Because of that, we create great work, right? But that does not take away from, especially during this moment in time, people feeling afraid of what we might say.”

The Hasans are not new to preconceived notions on their work. However, showing up authentically is their focus. 

“We are curators of high art and that is something that we have had to establish and ground ourselves in and really educate other people in when it comes to us presenting our work and creating opportunities.,” Shardae said.

“So, are the challenges there? Yes. Are we up to it? Always. Are we tired of it? Also, yes.” 

Said Hannah: “We want to create space for professional, creative careers that are paid well and that are treated with respect and dignity. We want to be known for that. We believe that we can do that, and that is what we're building up to.” 

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