Leyla McCalla's BREAKING THE THERMOMETER TO HIDE THE FEVER

Breaking the Thermometer to Hide the Fever is a multidisciplinary performance created by Haitian-American singer-songwriter Leyla McCalla in collaboration with Director Kiyoko McCrae. Breaking The Thermometer explores the legacy of Radio Haiti-Inter, Haiti’s first independent radio station to broadcast news in Haitian Creole—the voice of the people—until the assassination of the station’s founder, Jean Dominque. Through music, dance, audio-recordings from the Radio Haiti Archive, and Leyla’s own personal storytelling, Breaking The Thermometer To Hide the Fever explores the themes of exile and return, the complexities of what it means to be Haitian, and the role of independent press in the movement for Haitian cultural identity, freedom and democracy. The work premiered at Duke University in March 2020 and will continue to tour internationally. 

Breaking the Thermometer to Hide the Fever is made possible by support from the MAP Fund, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, Kellogg Foundation, New Music USA, and South Arts. Commissioned by Duke Performances, National Performance Network (NPN), MDC Live Arts - Miami Dade College, and the Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans (CAC).