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‘This is about hope’: Youth-driven play tells stories of racism, drug abuse, homelessness in Minneapolis
“Hope 612,” which will have a staged reading this weekend, grew out of a theater collaboration between young adults in the Cedar-Riverside area and formerly homeless youth.
by Ava Grace
Actor and writer Sam Karpeh hasn’t had an easy journey since arriving in Minneapolis.
Originally from Liberia, he arrived in Minnesota as a teenager, then navigated homelessness and lost friends to drug addiction while trying to find his footing. A theater program centered in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood helped him find a voice — and hold onto his optimism.
He’s part of “Hope 612”, a staged reading at Theatre in the Round this Saturday. Written and performed by formerly homeless teens and first generation East African and Liberian immigrants — including Karpeh, Mahad Ahmed, Anthony Anderson, Mahamed Salad, and Miske Salad — the show unpacks life in Minneapolis through real accounts of racism, fentanyl abuse and police brutality.
The play grew from the nonprofit Be That Neighbor’s theater program for homeless youth and youth from the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood in Minneapolis.
Karpeh has been involved with Be That Neighbor for eight years after meeting co-founder Claudia Kittock through Youthlink, a Minneapolis nonprofit organization that serves homeless young people ages 16 to 24.
He wrote the characters Miah and Junior, based on his friend Miah who he met while homeless and died from an overdose two years ago.
“Miah was a dear friend of mine that OD’d,” Karpeh said. “And as much as I tried to save her, she didn’t make it. So it kind of stuck with me.”
Karpeh said he had no interest in theater until meeting Kittock. Since then he has written two poetry books titled “Mirror” and “Untitled.” Karpeh said the development of the play was delayed greatly due to COVID-19 and social distancing.
“We all have the same type of wish, which is not to see other people go through [homelessness] and things like that,” Karpeh said. “So, I’m going to call the group ‘Hope 612.’ It’s about Minneapolis, what’s going on in Minneapolis that’s not been looked at as a real issue. Then it becomes a pandemic, corona and fentanyl.”
Sam Karpeh helped write “Hope 612,” which will receive a staged reading at Theatre in the Round on Saturday, July 19, 2025. Credit: Aaron Nesheim | Sahan Journal
The staged reading features nine first-time actors from Cedar-Riverside and includes a community discussion ahead of a full production next year.
Clement Lee, 23, is from south Minneapolis and plays the character Abdi, a basketball coach for Washburn High School who is passionate about his community.
Lee was drawn to acting while studying sociology at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. He said he admires his character, who learns to advocate for himself due to the harassment and mistreatment from police officers he faces while chaperoning his basketball team.
He said it is important for community members to attend the reading on July 19 because the stories being told bring light to situations and focus on how community is built.
“I’m really hopeful towards receiving honest feedback and hopefully answering a lot of the audience’s questions after the performance,” Lee said.
Kittock, a retired professor of education and child psychology, said theater opens doors for youth who have trauma or have not received support from schools because it allows them to use their voice through characters.
“Hundreds of kids every year say they don’t like to read, and I constantly come back with the right book and you know what happens when you find the right book? They like to read,” Kittock said. “That’s what theater does and all of a sudden they’re reading better and motivated to learn this part.”
South High student Ridwan Ibrahim was raised in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. Ibrahim plays Junior, a teen who holds onto his optimism, even as he faces homelessness.
“Junior has … been through a lot,” Ibrahim said. “Been homeless, you know, been through it. And [he finds the] funniest way to get back on his feet and being optimistic just keeps him going and always saying ‘Tomorrow’s a better day.’”
The hope Karpeh holds in his characters Miah and Junior is the hope that neighbors and community members will show up for one another and have humanity.
“The hope is that if there’s a person who knows a person going through that situation [addiction] that hopefully, they can get there in time before it’s too late to help that person,” Karpeh said. “You know they’re going through something and they’re scared to come to somebody, so that’s where they go to run away from their feelings.”
Ibrahim hopes that outside communities will attend the reading and understand that they are not performing a fictional story, but a community’s true story.
Students participate in a staged reading of “Hope 612” in spring 2025. Credit: Provided
Amira Salad, 15, got involved in the production around three years ago through Jennifer Weber, Amira’s coach and director of Cedar Riverside Athletics and Enrichment. Amira plays the role of Miah, a character she describes as charismatic and best friend to Junior, Ibrahim’s character.
Amira said she grew up with Weber, who opened opportunities to community engagement and activity. She said acting helps her express herself without having to use her own words, and she sees her own emotional struggles through Miah’s character.
“I can express myself in a way through a character, her anger and frustration and [her inability] to open up easily,” Amira said.
Aisha Salad, a sibling of the playwrights, plays two characters, a train passenger and police officer. She said she wants to become an actor in order to bring her sister Miske Salad’s story to life.
“Most people see Cedar [Riverside] as a gangster community with lots of violence and stuff but it’s not really like that,” Aisha said. “It’s actually such a caring community and just a really great place and people don’t see it that way.”
Minneapolis Public Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette and Mayor Jacob Frey were expected to attend Saturday’s performance and community talkback.
Karpeh said having people attend the reading will “send him off to the moon” as he wants to see the community share space and allow for conversations that might not be easy to have. His biggest hopes are towards the young actors performing and the hope that their motivations will create a domino effect in the community.
“I’m hopeful for a lot of things, that’s the beauty of it,” Karpeh said.
Myah Goff contributed to this report.
Date: Saturday, July 19
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Theatre in the Round Players, 245 Cedar Ave., Minneapolis
Cost: Pay-what-you-can tickets.
For more information: Visit bethatneighbor.org/programs/youththeater
Ava Grace is currently interning at the Sahan Journal covering underrepresented communities through the University of Minnesota Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
