Rogue Performer Preview: DYSFUNCTION, A New Musical In Concert

This is one of the first of several Rogue Festival Performer Preview articles going up between now and the opening day of Rogue, you will be able to find them, and all of KRL’s Rogue reviews, in our Rogue Festival section . You can also find more info on our Rogue Festival Event Page over on KRL News and Reviews. Check out our more general Rogue Festival article here .

Dysfunction is a musical written and composed by Ke’Lea Flowers. It is about trauma and how we move forward after the things that happen to us. Dysfunction reminds us that we’ve never been alone, and that the things we think make us weak are actually what make us strong.

The original conception started as a high school project called STRONG in 2012. Several years later, the new revised concept for Dysfunction was born. At that time, the show was called Dysfunction: A Song Cycle and it was 20 minutes long. Each of the 11 songs was produced and orchestrated using accessible music software like GarageBand and Logic, and the demos were recorded on iPhone.

By a year and a half later, in 2025, we had a 90-minute, two-act production integrating prose, spoken word, rap, scenes, and about 20 more songs. We were also able to provide vocal sheet music. (Shout out to Camille Gaston of The Fools Collaborative and EMPOWER as they had a hand in supporting us with transcribing the vocals, ensuring that sheet music was in time for the start of rehearsals.)

The musical was showcased as a special event at The Selma Arts Center for their 2025 season for two weekends in April. This gave us the opportunity to workshop, add new songs and scenes, and receive written feedback from audiences. Somewhere during the process, we realized that Dysfunction: A Song Cycle wasn’t actually a song cycle anymore.

We left the Selma Arts Center as DYSFUNCTION: A New Musical .

Also in 2025: Dysfunction was selected for Breakbox Thought Collective’s inaugural Artists in Residency program. This was funded in part by the City of Fresno Measure P Expanded Access to Arts and Culture Fund administered by the Fresno Arts Council. (The Dysfunction team is forever grateful for our Breakbox Thought Collective family & their continued collaboration and support.)

This past summer, we also were able to record official group demos for the show. This was made possible in part by the Community Media Access Collaborative in Fresno (CMAC).

We have been busy! And this project and the journey we are on could not have been possible without all the people who have taken a chance on this show by auditioning, contributing their gifts/resources, or just by showing up and coming to support us. And we would be nothing without our amazing team: Nwachukwu, Jameila Williams, Melissa Knight, Jack Lansedeal, Ali Ruiz, Nessa and Ronny Bounthapanya, and every single member of our casts and crews both past and present. The love is real and the community is strong.

Dysfunction is honest, potent, relatable, and vulnerable, and the harmonies and lyricism have left audiences feeling moved. The journey has been abundant and gratifying, and we are excited to be integrating a LIVE BAND for our concert presentation at the 2026 Rogue Festival. We perform on February 28th and March 1, 6 & 7. Follow us on Instagram @dysfunction.musical for more information and to keep up with us on our developmental journey.

And if you don’t make it out to Rogue, be sure to catch our extended bonus performance of DYSFUNCTION: A New Musical – In Concert at Breakbox Thought Collective on March 14!

If you love local theatre, be sure to check out Mysteryrat’s Maze Podcast, which features mysteries read by local actors. You can find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, and also on podbean .

Check out more theatre reviews & other local entertainment articles in our Arts & Entertainment section. You can also find more theatre coming up on KRL’s Local Theatre event page.

Rogue Performer Preview: DYSFUNCTION, A New Musical In Concert

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