I have to confess that, with a few exceptions, I've never been a huge Hip-Hop fan or rap fan. I liked some early rappers from the 1980s and Arrested Development from the 1990s. Lately I've been listening to MC Yogi, whose album "Elephant Power" is a wonderful exploration of the stories of Hindu gods like Hanuman and Ganesh, as well as historical heroes like Mahatma Ghandi.

But Hakim Bellamyand Carlos Contreras showed me a whole different side of Hip-Hop this week.The two are spoken word artists and poetry slam champions performed "Urban Verbs: An Autobiographical Intersection of Hip-Hop & Humanity in Five Acts." It officially kicked off the 11th Annual Revolutions International Theatre Festival, the amazing three-week event created by Albuquerque's own Tricklock Theatre Company, that every year brings us some of the best performers from around the world, especially from fringe festivals.

Backed by original music from DJ Diles and featuring videos by Mark Archuleta, Bellamy and Contreras took us on an inspired, thrilling ride of words, music and even some dancing at 516 ARTS. I loved the images they could paint with words, catching a glimpse of the city upside down in a frenzy of breakdancing. "As we slip words into ear canals. Eeeeaaasay does it."

The two also pull us into the world of street arts, another often-misunderstood medium that is full of original creative explosions, so wonderfully showcased recently in "Street Arts" at 516.

"When Momma said 'The world is your canvas,' we took that literally."

"We sacrifice meal money for aerosol and markers."

"They said I'd never own a building, so that building will own me."

"If the American Dream had a soundtrack, it would be us."

The two also take on the darker, more violent, more commercial versions of Hip-Hop that have proliferated in the mainstream, and which was one reason I didn't listen to it much. But my interest and appreciation for what it can be has been reborn thanks to these amazing performers.

"Poets send airborne kisses every time we exhale."

Indeed. Thank you for reminding us.

The show was directed by Idris Goodwin, who also treated the audience with an encore performance of his Hip-Hop piece "New Mexico Remix." Goodwin performed it in front a video that tracked the creation of the massive graffiti mural his poem inspired, done by the legendary Chaz Bororquez for the "Street Arts" show.

Goodwin gives us a lyrical, beautiful evocation of New Mexico in words, in all its complexity, the good, the bad, the ugly. The endless skies, the rich history, the rampant poverty.

"Millions of acres of national forest, the highest percentage of Hispanics in the country, but still 'Probably ain't no brothers out there, huh?' cuts through my descriptions of rose deserts, white sands, deep caverns, snow peaks."

It's partly inspired by students he taught here, including a girl named Sharon "trying to escape the sky that's drowning her imagination."

"Tired of the sky, oppressed by its blue fluffiness. The sky is the witness to unreported crimes."

He tells of another student who can make listeners hear "the slam of the bathroom door where her daddy disappears in a haze of crystal smoke."

Alas, there was just one performance of this event. But you can hear Goodwin's poem and watch the creation of Bojorquez's mural online.

I have seen Juli Hendren's one-woman show "Waste Her" three times now, but I never grow tired of it. Hendren read about Chelsea Gerlach in "Outside" magazine and was inspired to create the one-woman show. Gerlach is serving time in federal prison for her activities with the Earth Liberation Front, a radical environmental group that burned down a restaurant at a Vail, Colo. ski resort, among other targets.

Hendren plays four different main characters, and several others, in the show, moving seamlessly through voice and body language to give us a riveting tale of two very different sisters and the divergent life paths they chose. It's an exploration of the choices we make, their consequences and the impact someone's commitment can have on those who love them.

While deeply moving, Hendren also gives us wonderful moments of humor, especially in her characterization of the beautiful and flamboyant older sister, Samantha, and her interactions with the unlikely Southern lawyer who is defending the quiet younger sister, Jesse.

Hendren has incorporated Gerlach's own words into some of the script, including one rather intriguing thought, given Gerlach's actions.

"It's an act of violence to close your heart to anyone."

I don't want to give out any spoilers, but Hendren has changed some of the facts of Gerlach's life for dramatic effect, including the nature of her crimes and her eventual outcome. When she performed the show last year at Tricklock's rehearsal space, I interviewed her on KUNM about the creation and evolution of the piece. But alert! It does have some spoilers, so you may want to listen after seeing the show.

"Waste Her" plays again on Friday, Jan. 14 at 10 p.m. in Theatre X at the University of New Mexico and Saturday, Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. For tickets, call 505-925-5858 or get them online.

Also playing this weekend is"The Maids," a production by Theater 8 from Armenia, a country never before represented in Revolutions. But don't worry. It's not in Armenian. Rather, it's told through movement. The show is a collaboration with Global Dance Fest and is based on Jean Genet's original play where two maids construct elaborate fantasies while their mistress is away. They act out power dynamics, taking turns berating each other while pretending to be the mistress in a game that turns progressively darker.

Performances are Friday Jan. 14 at 8 p.m., Saturday Jan. 15 at 6 p.m.and Sunday Jan. 16 at 2 p.m. at VSA North Fourth Art Center.  Call (505) 304-8189 for tickets.

And check out the Tricklock homepage for all the Revolutions info. One I'm particularly looking forward to takes place Saturday in the Metropolitan Detention Center, called "Lucid Dreaming." But it may be too late to get tickets for that. Call 505-304-8189.   On the rest of the shows, don't fall into that last-minute New Mexico thing because many of these shows are in small venues, so sell-outs are quite common.

Viva la revolution!