#fedna jacquet | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

writemarcus · 2 years

Text

Who’s Bringing The Fire This Time

6 writers, 10-minute plays, a 4-night run, the 13th season: how this eminent New York festival celebrating Black dramatists has multiplied its impact.

BY BRITTANI SAMUEL

The Fire This Time Festival has a thing for historical touchstones. Its name is a contemporary riff on James Baldwin’s searing Civil Rights-era nonfiction collection The Fire Next Time. It was founded by executive producing director Kelley Nicole Girod in 2009, the year President Barack Obama was inaugurated our first Black commander-in-chief. And this summer, after COVID-induced cancellations of theatre festivals across the nation, FTTF makes its triumphant return in another season rife with political strife.

Mounting a new-play festival in the midst of widespread illness, political dissent, human rights protests, anti-police movements, and more may seem burdensome for other 10-minute play festivals, but it falls right in line with the purpose and precedent set by The Fire. Throughout the pause of the last two years, Girod’s mission has remained the same: to provide a space for early-career theatre writers of African and African American descent to write and produce the evocative material that burned in their hearts but rarely ended up among their playwriting submissions. For more than a decade now, the festival has been a playground for writers like Antoinette Nwandu, Jocelyn Bioh, Jordan E. Cooper, and other outspoken artists who push our stories forward.

The legacy continues this year with six dramatists from all parts of the country and all cultural corners of the African diaspora: Agyeiwaa Asante, Rachel Herron, Fedna Jacquet, Marcus Scott, Phillip Christian Smith, and Lisa Rosetta Strum. At the helm are Zhailon Levingston (Chicken and Biscuits) and Tracey Coyner Lee (Sistas: The Musical!), who return as co-directors. This week, July 7 to 10, a program of 10-minute plays by these writers will be presented by FRIGID NYC at the Kraine Theater, both in person and via live stream.

Earlier this year, before an Omicron variant surge briefly re-shuttered productions in New York, I spoke with the six scribes about what it takes to write fearlessly and with fire.

BRITTANI SAMUEL: Let’s go around the room. Tell me a little about your play and when you brought it into the world.

RACHEL HERRON: My play is called Red Red Wine and I wrote it at the beginning of the pandemic. It’s set on two Black women in the very specific world of wine; one of them is rising to the top as a master sommelier. I used to work in fine dining and love everything food and beverage, but you never see Black women in that space on film, television, anywhere. I always like to make things that aren’t necessarily about race, but since we’re seeing Black people in the space, it is educating and equalizing. It takes a turn, though; I tend to have a very dark sense of humor and think I’m quite motivated by stories of revenge. I wanted to also touch on topics like assault and violence and what it looks like when Black women refuse to take it anymore.

PHILIP CHRISTIAN SMITH: My play is called Mt. Sinai. I actually have multiple myeloma. At one point, I was sitting in my chemotherapy chair during the pandemic (I had the corner, which is the best room), and they sat an older Black woman about 70 years old in one chair and another older Black woman about 70 years old in the other. The two of them hit it off like gangbusters and had a conversation in front of me for three hours. I just knew that might make a good play. It reminded me of listening to my mother’s aunts when I was a little boy, so I thought: I’m gonna write something for them.

AGYEIWAA ASANTE: My play is called Wildest Dreams. I was literally scrolling on the internet during the pandemic and came across what I think was a Buzzfeed post about people who were getting married on plantations. I became really interested and started asking questions like, what does it mean to do that? How do we acknowledge the land we are on and what has happened on it? How do we make it better?

LISA ROSETTA STRUM: My play is called By the Way. I was on this long-standing Zoom call (remember those?) every Friday night with friends, and we encroached on some incredible territory about our lives, vulnerabilities, everything. It was a wonderful time for reflection and people were telling stories about friends who evolved into lovers, married people that were getting divorced. I was fascinated, thinking about what happens when two people don’t have any other place to go; they have to just deal with each other in ways they’ve never had to before.

FEDNA JACQUET: My play is Gurlfriend (Black Is Black) and this is definitely a pandemic play. My fiancee moved into my apartment and built me an office in the coat closet because everything was shut down. I locked myself in, and this was one of the first things I created. I have a fascination with home: What is it? What version of you meets home? When does that change? The home you thought of when you were five—is it still real? Even though it’s not current? Who’s allowed in? Who’s not?

MARCUS SCOTT: My play is Wookies in the Wilderness. Everything began for me around the time George Floyd and countless other taken lives were in the news; there were protests outside of my window. So when I sat down, a couple of things were going through my head: One, I was getting a bunch of calls from white colleagues suddenly asking, Is there anything I can do for you? I got tired of that quickly, and a little resentful. But two, I was getting phone calls from friends telling me I should get survivalist books and prepare as if we were entering a mini apocalypse. And I did. Then I sat down and wrote a play about Boy Scouts, because I was basically in survival mode.

BRITTANI: It’s fascinating to hear how you all arrived here. Marcus, let’s roll back to you. You credit George Floyd’s murder and the resulting protests as being the impetus to create the work. But why was the work right for this festival?

MARCUS: In quarantine, I was freed of the mindset of writing stories other people will “like.” Similar to Rachel, I have a very dark sense of humor; a lot of it skews twisted. Wookies in the Wilderness is actually part of what I’m calling my rage plays, these very angry stories I wrote in the span of about two months. I wanted to share a piece about the trauma I was feeling, in the case that others in the audience of this Black festival were feeling it too.

LISA: The Fire This Time has always been a place that has nurtured Black playwrights of diverse thought and ideas. The variety of voices here is unmatched; we are not a monolith. This company has always protected us so we can feel safe about the stories we have to tell.

BRITTANI: I know you have not started rehearsals as yet, but hopefully they will be another taste of the long, creative, collaborative careers you will lead in this industry. What are you most looking forward to?

FEDNA: The audience. Full stop. I was an actor at this festival years ago; this and the Classical Theatre of Harlem were my introductions to New York. I remember the energy the audience gave, they were so here for it—laughing, crying, just on the edge of their seats. Sometimes people come to festival shows to morph your work or critique it; people have all different kinds of motivations. But this specific audience wanted to hear what was new and who was fresh. People in our community come to have a good time and they show it.

AGYEIWAA: If I could have any other job in the theatre, it’d be a professional audience member. I can’t wait to be loud in the audience—it’s so much a part of the experience!

BRITTANI: By now we’ve cycled through many waves of a global pandemic and, I’d argue, a new wave of Black revolutionary thought when it comes to the theatre industry. Have you all taken a moment to think about the historical context in which you are presenting this work?

MARCUS: When I first came to New York a lot of institutions were talking about this idea of “post-Blackness,” largely because of Obama’s presidency. I’m excited that the six of us are coming in and repositioning that mirror. We’re speaking to the reality of what we saw on Jan. 6, not a “post-Black” fantasy.

FEDNA: There’s something about having a moving vehicle; that’s what the festival is. We are not in the same movement from the ’60s, the ’70s, or even the 2000s. And The Fire This Time catches us by always staying fresh, by committing to new voices every year. That’s what keeps the work relevant and why audiences keep coming back.

BRITTANI: One of the many joys of reading these plays is discovering how many of them intersect with queerness, nationality, class disparity, etc. When you’re writing, how much are you thinking about identity, representation, responsibility—all of the things that weigh a little heavier on Black artists?

MARCUS: I never feel pressure until I’m submitting, to be honest. I’ve seen countless plays by white authors, where it’s just them being white sitting on a couch. This is the festival that Katori Hall came from, Dominique Morisseau, Jordan E. Cooper. The only pressure I feel is to live up to their great work.

AGYEIWAA: I’ve always overthought this. When I was 12, I was like, “I don’t know what boys think.” I don’t know how to write boys! They’re these weird other creatures.

BRITTANI: You weren’t wrong.

AGYEIWAA: Not at all. And when you grow up Black in America, you’re steeped in African American culture. But I’m speaking to you from Ghana right now. I’m in my grandparents’ home. I have this direct relationship with my personal history, but also acknowledge the privilege of growing up around African American culture, and when I do decide to write African American voices, I’m careful with it. I never feel that just because I’m Black, I can tell every story well. I still have to be specific; there are intersections to acknowledge.

RACHEL: I want to be a disrupter and change everything on its head. I grew up in a predominantly white community doing horseback riding, playing the violin, all this stuff where I was the only one, right? I had a great time, but there was always a feeling of, well, I really am the only one and am representing something so much larger than myself just by being here. I didn’t sign up for that. I didn’t want that. I just wanted to be there because it was fun! But that tension is always there, whether it’s internal or happening in conversations around you.

BRITTANI: Lisa and Fedna, you’ve acted in this festival before. Many of you are multidisciplinary artists. Do you notice your other skills showing up on the page, and do you think they will come up in the rehearsal room?

LISA: I notice it when I’m writing, which I’m fairly new to professionally. I always ask, if I was the actor, would I actually want to do this? I think of movement and try to write as conversational as possible. I also think about whether or not I would sit and watch the show, and take it from there.

PHILLIP: I’m in graduate school again, right now. So I’m out here, collecting MFAs. If you’ve got an MFA for me, just put it in the chat! I’m the only actor in my class, so it’s great to flex those muscles. I hear you, Lisa, about the actor brain kind of coming in. It makes it easier to talk to your cast, get into their emotions and speak their language.

BRITTANI: What do you make of The Fire This Time Festival’s legacy, especially now that you’re a part of it?

RACHEL: It’s so important to showcase that all of our plays are different. Like Lisa said earlier, we are not a monolith. There does not have to be one slot for us; we can create stories that are nuanced and varied so give us the entire season! It will be different, yes, but the festival proves people will come to see it. I’m just ready. It’s our time and I feel like we should take it.

Brittani Samuel (she/her) is a NY-based writer, critic, and the co-editor of 3Views on Theater. Bylines can be found at places like Observer, Glamour, OkayAfrica, and InStyle. She can be found at BrittaniSamuel.com or on Instagram at @brittaniidiannee.

#TFTTF #The Fire This Time Festival #Black Playwrights #black theatre #Black Theater #Lisa Rosetta Strum #Phillip Christian Smith #Fedna Jacquet #Rachel Herron #Agyeiwaa Asante #Marcus Scott #MarcusScott #Write Marcus #WriteMarcus

0 notes

deadlinecom · 2 years

Text

0 notes

beautifulfaces-icons-and-gifs · 2 years

Text

Fedna Jacquet on New Amsterdam Season 1

as Jozette on New Amsterdam S1 E2

Information on beautifulfaces

Like or reblog.

#Fedna Jacquet #icons: Fedna Jacquet #Fedna Jacquet icons #Fedna Jacquet as jozette #Fedna Jacquet on new amsterdam #Fedna Jacquet new amsterdam #new amsterdam #new amsterdam season 1 #new amsterdam season 1 episode 2 #new amsterdam s1 e2 #icons

0 notes

castyourcharacters · 3 years

Note

Can you suggest a younger sister for Amber Riley?

Sure, here's a whole bunch:

Dara Renee

Fedna Jacquet

Condola Rashad

Gabourey Sidibe

Keke Palmer

Angell Conwell

Sevyn Streeter

Diandra Forrest

Jekalyn Carr

Samira Wiley

Tolula Adeyemi

Kelly McCreary

Regine Nehy

Coco Jones

Shyko Amos

Jordin Sparks

Gabby Douglas

Normani Kordei

Relebogile Mabotja

Devyn Tyler

Precious Mustapha

Clare-Hope Ashitey

I hope that helped!

#amber riley #rph #fch #face claims #fc suggestions #answered #siblings

5 notes · View notes

nyfacurrent · 5 years

Text

Introducing | NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship Program Recipients and Finalists

NYFA has awarded $661,000 to 98 New York State artists working in the categories of Architecture/Environmental Structures/Design, Choreography, Music/Sound, Photography, and Playwriting/Screenwriting.

New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) has announced the recipients and finalists of the NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship Program, which it has administered for the past 33 years with leadership support from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA). The organization has awarded a total of $661,000 to 98 artists (including three collaborations) whose ages range from 25-76 years throughout New York State in the following disciplines: Architecture/Environmental Structures/Design, Choreography, Music/Sound, Photography, and Playwriting/Screenwriting. Fifteen finalists, who do not receive a cash award but benefit from a range of other NYFA services, were also announced. A complete list of the Fellows and Finalists follows.

The NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship Program makes unrestricted cash grants of $7,000 to artists working in 15 disciplines, awarding five per year on a triennial basis. The program is highly competitive, and this year’s recipients and finalists were selected by discipline-specific peer panels from an applicant pool of 2,542. Since it was launched in 1985, the program has awarded over $31 million to more than 5,000 artists. This year, thanks to the generous support of photography nonprofit Joy of Giving Something, NYFA was able to award an additional five Fellowships in Photography, which has the largest application pool of any Fellowship category.

“We are grateful to NYSCA for this annual opportunity to provide nearly 100 artists from New York State with unrestricted cash grants,” said Michael L. Royce, Executive Director, NYFA. “What’s most exciting is that the Fellowship impacts artists of all disciplines and career stages and that these artists are being recognized by a jury of their peers. Beyond the financial aspect, it empowers them to keep creating and exploring new possibilities in their work.”

New York State Council on the Arts Executive Director Mara Manus described how the program makes New York communities more vibrant: “The NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship recognizes that artists of all disciplines, backgrounds, ages, and career stages make vital contributions to New York’s creative culture. Over the past 33 years, the Artist Fellowship has been a launching pad and a critical source of support for artists whose work helps build healthy communities in all regions of the state.”

On receiving a NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship in Playwriting/Screenwriting, Brooklyn-based Nabil Viñas said: “It is a deeply moving honor to be recognized by NYSCA/NYFA. I took up screenwriting out of necessity, as it became clear that the voices and stories from my life would not appear in works by others. This fellowship tells me our stories matter, and that my voice is worth hearing.”

For Ben Altman, a Fellow in Architecture/Environmental Structures/Design from Danby, NY, the NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship represents another facet of support from NYFA: “NYFA has informed my artistic practice throughout my 12 years in Upstate New York, providing professional development, fiscal sponsorship, grant application support, workshops, critique, and timely advice. To be awarded a NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship is as much a tribute to those inputs as it is an important and very welcome recognition of the work NYFA’s support has helped me to produce.”

To Veena Chandra, a Fellow in Music/Sound from Latham, NY, the NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship empowers her to “continue to create, promote, and preserve” musical tradition. “I feel blessed to have been playing Indian sitar music for the last 63 years. I am so grateful to my father, who created an environment for me to learn this beautiful music and taught me from the very beginning of my life. To be recognized for my work in performing and preserving Indian Classical music means a lot to me, especially at this point in my career,” she noted.

Fellowship Recipients, Finalists, and Panelists by Discipline and County of Residence:

Architecture/Environmental Structures/Design Fellows

Ben Altman (Tompkins) Kenseth Armstead (Kings) Shimon Attie (New York) Sonya Blesofsky (Kings) Yeju Choi and Chat Travieso - Yeju & Chat (Kings) * Blane De St. Croix (Kings) Sun Young Kang (Erie) Kyung-jin Kim (Queens) Ming-Jer Kuo (Queens)*** Lindsay Packer (Kings) Christopher Robbins (Westchester) Jeffrey Williams (Kings)

Architecture/Environmental Structures/Design Finalists

Serra Victoria Bothwell Fels (Kings) Justin Brice Guariglia (Kings) Pascale Sablan (New York)

Architecture/Environmental Structures/Design Panelists

Ann Reichlin (Tompkins) Ekene Ijeoma (Kings) Nina Cooke John (New York) Victoria Palermo (Warren)

Choreography Fellows

Ephrat "Bounce" Asherie (New York) Justina Grayman (Queens)**** GREYZONE (Kings) Dan Hurlin (New York) Jaamil Olawale Kosoko (Kings) Shamel Pitts (Kings) Melinda Ring (New York) Same As Sister (Queens)* Rebeca Tomas (Westchester) Kelly Todd (Kings) Donna Uchizono (New York) Vangeline (Kings) Adia Tamar Whitaker (Kings)

Choreography Finalists

Parijat Desai (New York) DELIRIOUS Dances/Edisa Weeks (Kings) Netta Yerushalmy (New York)

Choreography Panelists

Rose Pasquarello Beauchamp (Monroe) Robin Collen (St. Lawrence) Trebien Pollard (Erie) Marie Poncé (New York) Kota Yamazaki (Kings)

Music/Sound Fellows

ALMA (Kings)* Lora-Faye Åshuvud (Queens) Newman Taylor Baker (New York) Bob Bellerue (Kings) Leila Bordreuil (Kings) Vienna Carroll (New York) Veena Chandra (Albany) David First (Kings) Micah Frank (Kings) Kate Gentile (Kings) Michael Harrison (Westchester) JSWISS (Kings) Liz Phillips (Queens) Kenneth Kirschner (Kings) Elliott Sharp (New York) Jen Shyu (Kings) Ann Warde (Tompkins) Eric Wubbels (Queens)

Music/Sound Finalists

Lily Henley (Kings) Earl Howard (Queens) Tobaron Waxman (New York)

Music/Sound Panelists

Toni Blackman (Kings) Sarah Hennies (Tompkins) John Morton (Rockland) Margaret Anne Schedel (Suffolk) Elio Villafranca (New York)

Photography Fellows

Manal Abu-Shaheen (Queens) Yasser Aggour (Kings) Aneta Bartos (New York) Lucas Blalock (Kings) Matthew Conradt (Kings) Debi Cornwall (Kings) Robin Crookall (Kings) Tim Davis (Dutchess)****** Eli Durst (Queens) Nona Faustine (Kings) Jonathan Gardenhire (Kings) Rachel Granofsky (Kings)***** Carlie Guevara (Queens) Gail Albert-Halaban (New York) Daesha Devón Harris (Saratoga)****** Gillian Laub (New York) Jiatong Lu (Kings)****** Diana Markosian (Kings) Rehan Miskci (New York) Rachelle Mozman Solano (Kings) Karina Aguilera Skvirsky (New York) Erin O'Keefe (New York) Paul Raphaelson (Kings) Victor Rivera (Onondaga)****** Jahi Lateef Sabater (Kings) Nadia Sablin (Kings) Derick Whitson (New York) Letha Wilson (Columbia)****** Alex Yudzon (Kings)

Photography Finalists

Mike Crane (Kings) Julianne Nash (Kings) Dana Stirling (Queens)

Photography Panelists

Nydia Blas (Tompkins) Carmen Lizardo (Hudson) Lida Suchy (Onondaga) Sinan Tuncay (Kings) Penelope Umbrico (Kings)

Playwriting/Screenwriting Fellows

Rae Binstock (Kings) Benedict Campbell (Bronx) Sol Crespo (Bronx)**** Amy Evans (Kings) Stephanie Fleischmann (Columbia) Robin Fusco (Queens) Myla Goldberg (Kings) Ryan J. Haddad (New York) Susan Kathryn Hefti (New York) Holly Hepp-Galvan (Queens) Timothy Huang (New York) Fedna Jacquet (New York) Nicole Shawan Junior (Kings)** Serena Kuo (Kings) Kal Mansoor (Kings) Michael Mejias (Kings) Joey Merlo (New York) Rehana Lew Mirza (Kings) Joél Pérez (New York) Keil Troisi (Kings) Nabil Viñas (New York) Craig T. Williams (New York)

Playwriting/Screenwriting Finalists

Iquo B. Essien (Kings) Becca Roth (Kings) Sheri Wilner (New York)

Playwriting/Screenwriting Panelists

Sheila Curran Bernard (Albany) Clarence Coo (New York) Randall Dottin (New York) David Ebeltoft (Steuben) Julie Casper Roth (Albany)

* Collaborative artists ** Geri Ashur Screenwriting Award *** Joanne Y. Chen Taiwanese American Artist Fellow **** Gregory Millard Fellows made with the support of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; Gregory Millard Fellowships are awarded annually to New York City residents chosen in several categories. The award was established by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in 1984 in memory of poet and playwright Gregory Millard, who served as Assistant Commissioner of Cultural Affairs from 1978 until his death in 1984 and championed the causes of individual artists. ***** Deutsche Bank Fellow ******Joy of Giving Something Fellow

Funding Support

NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowships are administered with leadership support from New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Major funding is also provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA). Additional funding is provided by Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, Taiwanese American Arts Council, The Joy of Giving Something Inc., and individual donors.

Find out more about the NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship Program, a $7,000 unrestricted cash grant awarded to individual artists living and working in the state of New York. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more news and events from NYFA. To receive more artist news updates, sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter, NYFA News.

Images from Top: Lindsay Packer (Fellow in Architecture/Environmental Structures/Design ’19), False Fold, 2019, colored light and found objects, Photo Credit: Lindsay Packer; Donna Uchizono (Fellow in Choreography ’19), March Under an Empty Reign (Sextet), 2018, performers Natalie Green and Aja Carthon, Photo Credit: Ian Douglas; Eli Durst (Fellow in Photography ’19), Bread (Cross), 2017, archival pigment print; Veena Chandra (Fellow in Music/Sound ’19), Image Credit: MARS Fotographi

#afp #nyscanyfafellows #dcla #deutschebank #deutsche bank #artist news #artistnews #announcements #nyscanyfafellowship #new york state council on the arts #nysca #instagram #TAAC #taiwanese american arts council #taiwaneseamericanartscouncil #thejoyofgivingsomething #the joy of giving something

0 notes

newyorktheater · 4 years

Text

I’ve seen the five plays below — The Copper Children, The Mint’s Summerstock Streaming Festival, The Deep Blue Sea, Gloria: A Life, and The Line, in order of expiration date — and recommend them. They are free unless otherwise noted. Click on the titles for a link to the videos. Below that are three concerts, one of them launching live this weekend.

These are in addition to the shows that are opening this weekend. For those, check out my guide to theater openings

The Copper Children Expires July 15 $15 The Copper Children,” is a play by Karen Zacarias based on a horrifying true story of immigrant toddlers shipped from New York City to Arizona in 1904 that led to a custody case newspapers dubbed the trial of the century. If there are echoes in this historical drama of the current family separations at the border, the specific series of events depicted in this arresting play chronicles an almost surreal combustion of desperation and bigotry. (My review)

The Mint’s Summerstock Streaming Festival Expires July 19 There are three plays from The Mint’s archives, written between 1911 and 1946, each offering a kind of porto-feminist take on the women characters. If you only have patience for one, the most briskly directed is “The Fatal Weakness” by George Kelly. The plays are free but, apparently for contractural reasons, you need to request a password and enter your e-mail address.

The Deep Blue Sea Expires July 19 On the surface, The Deep Blue Sea might seem a love triangle, but Helen McCrory’s performance makes it a prism — multifaceted, disorienting, and brilliant – in the National Theatre’s 2016 production of Terence Rattigan’s 1952 play. (My review)

Gloria: A Life Expires July 24 An unconventional play about Gloria Steinem, starring Christine Lahti, that’s half storytelling, half consciousness-raising, with lots of video. (My review when it was Off-Broadway)

The Line Expires August 4 In this latest documentary play by the team that produced “The Exonerated” and “Coal Country,” a starry, spot-on cast portray seven real-life frontline medical workers in New York– two doctors, three nurses, an Emergency Medical Technician and a paramedic — who tell their wartime stories of dealing with COVID-19. The concrete details of their lives and the stories they tell are devastating. (My review)

Concerts

Bernadette Peters: A Special Concert Expires July 14

Carousel with Kelli O’Hara and Jessie Mueller Expires September 8

Audra McDonald with Seth Rudetsky $25 Live on 7/12 and 7/13

Theater This Weekend: 5 Plays To Catch Before They Expire + Bernadette, Kelli and Audra I've seen the five plays below -- The Copper Children, The Mint's Summerstock Streaming Festival, The Deep Blue Sea, Gloria: A Life, and The Line, in order of expiration date -- and recommend them.

0 notes

diver5ion · 6 days

Text

#fbi most wanted #sheryll barnes #charlotte gaines #when your wife head tilts in disappointment at you #twice in one couple's therapy session #you might as well go to work #roxy sternberg #fedna jacquet #//#fusco is in this ep #catching up 2024

4 notes · View notes

writemarcus · 2 years

Text

Cast Announced for 13th Annual The Fire This Time Festival

Plays include Wildest Dreams by Agyeiwaa Asante, Red Red Wine by Rachel Herron, Gurlfriend (Black is Black) by Fedna Jacquet and more.

by Chloe Rabinowitz

Jun. 6, 2022

FRIGID New York will present the 13th Annual The Fire This Time Festival at The Kraine Theater (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and Bowery), July 7-10. The Obie Award-winning festival will feature World Premiere 10-minute plays by early career and under-represented playwrights from the African diaspora, co-directed by Zhailon Levingston (Chicken & Biscuits on Broadway; Patience) and actor, writer, director and TFTT alum Tracey Conyer Lee.

Performances will take place on Thursday, July 7 at 7pm, Friday, July 8 at 7pm, Saturday, July 9th at 2pm, Saturday, July 9th at 7pm, and Sunday, July 10th at 3pm. Performances will also be available to livestream from home. Tickets ($20) are available for advance purchase. The cast will feature Ricardy Fabre (New Golden Age at Primary Stages; Lessons in Survival at Vineyard Theatre), Patricia Floyd (The October Storm at Hudson Stages Company; "Show Me A Hero" on HBO), Anthony Goss (Gong Lum's Legacy at New Federal Theatre; On Strivers Row at Metropolitan Playhouse), Fedna Jacquet (Ain't No Mo at The Public Theater; Gloria: A Life at Daryl Roth Theatre), Marjorie Johnson (Dot at Vineyard Theater; Hoodoo Love at Cherry Lane Theater), Denise Manning (What to Send Up When It Goes Down at Playwrights Horizons/BAM/ART N.Y.; Daddy at The New Group).

Wildest Dreams by Agyeiwaa Asante

For over 187 years Maybelle and Jimmy Dale have haunted the Mason plantation, a now popular tourist attraction and event venue. Tired of their time on this plane, they wonder what it'll take to get them to the other side.

Red Red Wine by Rachel Herron

Somm was well on her way to becoming the first Black female Master Sommelier in the world, but she gave it all up to produce her own wine label. Now she's enlisted the help of her mentee, Mel, to help grow the brand; the only question is will Mel still be on board once she learns the secret ingredient in their best selling red?

Gurlfriend (Black is Black) by Fedna Jacquet

Two black girls drinking wine and living their best lives. #BlackGurlMagic #UnapologeticAF. We get to see THEM-jokes and bruises on display. By leaving the world outside, these best friends are able to bond in a fresh and delightful way...but what happens when the ever-shrinking classification of blackness threatens to exclude one of them? We ride the bold and excruciatingly confusing rollercoaster of identity, friendship, and regret to a new destination unknown to both Lea and Tonya. #Drama

Wookies in the Wilderness by Marcus Scott

Bishop and Smokey are best pals. Smokey will do anything for Bishop, who is in the midst of recovering from a recent trauma. Bishop will do anything for Smokey including going out to the mountainside wilderness of the Lake of the Ozarks to prep him for his upcoming Wilderness Survival test for the Eagle Scouts. But as the sun down begins and night falls upon them, the boys are reminded to truly be prepared for anything. Wookies in the Wilderness is a buddy drama about race, class, wasted potential, retaliation, Star Wars, and equal opportunity in Trump's America.

Mt. Sinai by Phillip Christian Smith

Gladys and Minerva, casual chemo friends, discuss life, the south, children, and the handsome cancer patient in Room A. Has Gladys finally fallen in with the bad girls in her twilight years?

By The Way by Lisa Rosetta Strum

Two best friends have been quarantined for the past month. When one of the friends reveals their true feelings for the other, perceptions, prejudices and fears get exposed and a friendship could be changed forever. The Fire This Time Festival was founded in 2009 by Kelley Girod to provide a platform for playwrights of African and African-American descent to write and produce evocative material for diverse audiences. Since the debut of the first 10-minute play program in 2010, presented in collaboration with FRIGID New York, The Fire This Time Festival has produced and developed the work of more than 80 playwrights including Katori Hall, Dominique Morisseau, Radha Blank, Antoinette Nwandu, Jocelyn Bioh, korde arrington tuttle, Stacey Rose, Aziza Barnes, C.A. Johnson, Kevin R. Free, Charly Evon Simpson, Angelica Cheri, James Anthony Tyler, Jordan Cooper and Nathan Yungerberg. In 2022 Bloomsbury books released the anthology 25 Plays From The Fire This Time Festival: A Decade of Recognition, Resistance, Resilience, Rebirth and Black Theater which includes 25 ten-minute plays that were produced by The Fire This Festival over the past 11 seasons. The Fire This Time Festival collaborated with Center Theatre Group and Watts Village Theater Company to launch the initiative "Not A Moment, But A Movement" to amplify Black artists through three virtual events that pair playwrights, visual artists and musicians during 2021. FRIGID New York's mission is to provide both emerging and established artists the opportunity to create and produce original work without limit to content, form, or style, and to amplify their diverse voices. We do this by presenting an array of monthly programming, mainstage productions, an artist residency, and seven annual theater festivals that create an environment of collaboration, resourcefulness, and innovation. Founded in 1998, the aim was and is to form a structure, allowing multiple artists to focus on creating and staging new work and providing affordable rental space to scores of Independent artists. Now in our third decade we have produced a massive quantity of stimulating downtown theater.

#TFTTF #The Fire This Time Festival #Marcus Scott #MarcusScott #WriteMarcus #Write Marcus #Zhailon Levingston #Tracey Conyer Lee #Agyeiwaa Asante #Rachel Herron #Fedna Jacquet #Phillip Christian Smith

0 notes

redcarpetview · 6 years

Text

TV ONE ANNOUNCES FOURTH ANNUAL AMERICAN BLACK FILM FESTIVAL SCREENPLAY COMPETITION FINALISTS

SILVER SPRING, MD - April 24, 2018 - TV One has announced the 2018 American Black Film Festival (ABFF) TV One Screenplay Competition finalists - Fedna Jacquet (New York, NY), writer of "Isaiah"; Rashim Cannad (Los Angeles, CA), writer of "Connected"; and Sylvester K. Folks (Deatsville, AL), writer of "The Patrolman."

The three finalists of the TV One competition will receive an all-expense paid trip to this year's ABFF in Miami (June 13-17). During ABFF's TV One "Celebrity Scene Stealers" event on Friday, June 15, each finalist will direct a table read of a scene from their script, performed by professional actors participating in this year's festival in front of a live audience. A brief overview of the TV One Screenplay Competition finalists scripts are as follows:

1. "Isaiah," a drama by Fedna Jacquet: One young black man is killed. An officer's life is torn to pieces. Time rewinds as we discover the intimate pieces of the victims' lives, and see how they and everyone in their lives are changed forever after this fatal encounter.

2. "Connected," a romantic comedy by Rashim Cannad: In today's world, where people text before the talk, and where one's Internet persona rarely resembles their real-life self, a beautiful online personality and a brilliant app developer must find a way to stay connected.

3. "The Patrolman," a dramedy by Sylvester K Folks: A female cop must pass a job evaluation after a series of aggressive interactions with the public.

This year's winner will be announced at the ABFF Filmmaker Ceremony on Saturday, June 16. The winner will earn a $5,000 cash prize and an opportunity to have their screenplay produced into an original, made-for-TV movie, which will debut in 2019 on TV One and at the 23rd Annual American Black Film Festival.

Screenwriter and TV One's 2017 ABFF Screenplay Competition finalist Timothy Folsome will debut his original film, Down for Whatever , during this year's festival on Thursday, June 14 at The Colony Theatre (1040 Lincoln Road Miami Beach, FL 33139) at 2:30 p.m. The film is slated to premiere on TV One on Sunday, July 22 at 7 p.m.

In the film Down for Whatever , a young female doctor who works at a prestigious hospital learns that her newly-found biological teen sisters are ruthless cop killers that her detective husband is hunting down. The film stars two-time Grammy Award-winning actress and singer LeToya Luckett as Tracy, Calesha "Bre-Z" Murray (Empire) as Denise, Imani Hakim (Everybody Hates Chris) as Sonya and Hosea Sanchez (The Game) as Mike.

For more information about the ABFF TV One Screenplay Competition and TV One's upcoming programming, visit www.abff.com and the network's companion website at www.tvone.tv. TV One viewers can also join the conversation by connecting via social media on Twitter , Instagram and Facebook (@tvonetv) using the hash tags #REPRESENT and #ABFF18, and catch clips and promos on TV One's YouTube Channel.

# # #

0 notes

newyorktheater · 5 years

Text

“Welcome to African-American Airlines, where if you broke & black, we got yo back” – those are the first two messages painted on the wall as we walk up the staircase in the Public Theater to “Ain’t No Mo’.” The play by Jordan E. Cooper, making his Off-Broadway debut as both a playwright and an actor, takes its audience on a trip through the present-day African-American experience. The trip is meant to be more than just a metaphor. Black people are leaving the United States en masse on flights to Africa. It appears to be voluntary, but maybe not really. “If you stay here, you only got two choices for guaranteed housing, and that’s a cell or a coffin,” explains Peaches, portrayed by the playwright. Peaches, a drag queen dressed all in pink, functions as the airline’s flight attendant and ticket agent, and the playwright’s mouthpiece.

#gallery-0-9 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-9 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 20%; } #gallery-0-9 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-9 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

If the premise is mass African-American exodus, and some of the scenes take place at an airport, “Ain’t No’ Mo’” does not offer a direct flight. We make stops at a funeral parlor, an abortion clinic, a TV studio, a mansion, and a prison, and veer from comic and chaotic to pointed and unsettling.

I saw a production of “Ain’t No Mo’” a couple of years ago when it was part of the annual Fire This Time Play Festival , which showcases the work of early-career playwrights of African and African-American descent. It was set at an African American funeral parlor on November 4th, 2008 — the day Barack Obama was elected president. Egged on by a fiery, foul-mouthed black preacher (Cooper himself) the mourners were weeping at the death of “Right To Complain.” The none-too-subtle point was that the election of a black presidentdid not solve all of black people’s problems.

It was a short play, performed with exaggerated comic verve – nearly indistinguishable from sketch comedy.

That version of the play is now the first scene (Preacher Freeman now portrayed by Marchant Davis, just as broadly), in the greatly expanded production at the Public. There are now eight scenes – and each one feels like a skit. Most involve some kind of surreal twist, none are realistic, but they take aim at current events. When the issues under surveillance involve life and death, the play hits close to a bullseye. Other times, it’s just taking potshots.

A bullseye: In the abortion clinic, which has a couple of surprises I won’t spoil, a woman (Ebony Marshall-Oliver) starts chatting about her three children, about how two are in jail, and the third, “my youngest was sweet but he’s laying over there in Grover’s Cemetery on Rosedale, you know the one across from the liquor store? He been there for about a year now, that’s a beautiful cemetery, ain’t it? They about all filled up though, with everybody dying nowadays like they is. They only got one spot left, right next to him and my selfish ass is out here trying to save it for my damn self…” That’s why she’s having an abortion.

A potshot: One scene spoofs reality shows, with an episode of something called “The Real Baby Mamas of the South Side.” The cast includes a woman (portrayed by Simone Recasner), who says she is “transracial” – a white woman transitioning to black. “I’m still having to take my daily doses of Hennessy, The Color Purple, with an unfavorable amount of cocoa butter and hot sauce…” She calls herself Rachonda, but her resentful cast mates insist on calling her by her original name, Rachel. (Two notes here: 1. Rachel Dolezal, you may recall, was an NAACP official whose white parents said in 2015 she was only pretending to be black. 2. The first season of the TV series “Atlanta” included a similar spoof, equating transgender with transracial.)

Cooper seems little interested in careful plotting or working out the rules of the world he’s created. Is the government pushing black people out, or are they just sick of being victims? If they stay put, will they turn white, as at least one scene suggests? The playwright is more concerned with commenting on the world in which he lives, employing memorable metaphors and a vibrant street diction.

Some theatergoers may appreciate knowing in advance that there is copious use of the n-word. A while back, I wrote an article about the use of the n-word on stage, and Cooper was one of the theater artists I interviewed. He said that’s just how black Americans of his generation talk (He’s now 24.) He also said: “It’s important to reclaim the word….There is such power in taking back something that was negative.”

There are sometimes dizzying shifts between the outlandish and the grim in “Ain’t No’ Mo’,” but if they may cause some audience members whiplash, both the design team and the six-member cast handle them with impressive dexterity. Five of the six performers each portray five characters apiece; it’s hard to keep track of who’s who, which is a great testament to their acting (and the wig, makeup and costume designers.) Cooper gets only one role in his play, Peaches, and a final scene to himself at Gate 1619 (think about it) at the unnamed airport, in which he bowls us over. It wouldn’t be right to go into too much detail, but I will point out that the production carefully sets it up before the show starts, asking theatergoers, after they’ve passed all those signs on the way up the staircase, to fill out a card listing a great contribution that African-Americans have made to this country, and stick it into an old-fashioned multi-colored cloth traveling bag (what used to be called a carpet bag.) In the final scene, this is Miss Bag, and she doesn’t want to leave. Peaches is indignant.

“You just gonna let them have Billie’s flower? If they get that, then they get Ella’s scat, They get Pac’s rap, They get Oprah’s fat…. and I’ll be damned if I leave and they get to keep Whitney off crack!” That’s just the beginning of a long free-associating, exhaustive and exhausting monologue, that’s maybe not completely coherent and maybe too much to take, and maybe inspired, and certainly the mark of a theater artist we’ll be hearing from again.

Marchánt Davis i

Fedna Jacquet and Ebony Marshall-Oliver i

Fedna Jacquet, Ebony Marshall-Oliver, Marchánt Davis, Simone Recasner, and Crystal Lucas-Perry

Jordan E. Cooperas Peaches

Ebony Marshall-Oliver and Crystal Lucas-Perry

Crystal Lucas-Perry and Simone Recasner

Marchánt Davis and Fedna Jacquet

Ain’t No’ Mo’

Written by Jordan E. Cooper Directed by Stevie Walker-Webb

Scenic design by Kimie Nishikawa, costume design by Montana Levi Blanco, lighting design by Adam Honoré, sound design by Emily Auciello, hair, wig, and make-up design Cookie Jordan fight director Thomas Schall

Cast: Jordan E. Cooper,Marchánt Davis, Fedna Jacquet, Crystal Lucas-Perry, Ebony Marshall-Oliver, Simone Recasner, and Hermon Whaley Jr.

Running time: One hour and 40 minutes with no intermission

Tickets: $75

Ain’t No’ Mo’ is scheduled to run through April 28, 2019.

Ain’t No Mo Review: All Black Americans Are Leaving on A Jet Plane, and They Won’t be Back Again “Welcome to African-American Airlines, where if you broke & black, we got yo back” – those are the first two messages painted on the wall as we walk up the staircase in the Public Theater to “Ain’t No Mo’.” The play by Jordan E.

0 notes

diver5ion · 1 year

Photo

#fbi most wanted #charlotte gaines #anais barnes-gaines #sheryll barnes #i'm glad they worked out their issues #fedna jacquet #roxy sternberg #//

10 notes · View notes

writemarcus · 2 years

Text

13th Annual The Fire This Time Festival To Play The Kraine Theater in July

Performances will also be available to livestream from home.

by Stephi Wild May. 17, 2022

FRIGID New York will present the 13th Annual The Fire This Time Festival at The Kraine Theater (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and Bowery), July 7-10 with performances on Thursday, July 7 at 7pm, Friday, July 8 at 7pm, Saturday, July 9th at 2pm, Saturday, July 9th at 7pm, and Sunday, July 10th at 3pm. Performances will also be available to livestream from home. The World Premiere 10-minute plays will be co-directed by Zhailon Levingston (Chicken & Biscuits on Broadway; Patience) and actor, writer, director and TFTT alum Tracey Conyer Lee.

The 2022 festival, which was postponed due to Covid, was originally scheduled to run January 17-February 6, 2022. Full length play readings will be presented in September 2022. The full cast and creative team for the 10-minute plays will be announced in June.

Wildest Dreams by Agyeiwaa Asante

Red Red Wine by Rachel Herron

Gurlfriend (Black is Black) by Fedna Jacquet

Wookiees in the Wilderness by Marcus Scott

Bishop and Smokey are best pals. Smokey will do anything for Bishop, who is in the midst of recovering from a recent trauma. Bishop will do anything for Smokey including going out to the mountainside wilderness of the Lake of the Ozarks to prep him for his upcoming Wilderness Survival test for the Eagle Scouts. But as the sun down begins and night falls upon them, the boys are reminded to truly be prepared for anything. Wookiees in the Wilderness is a buddy drama about race, class, wasted potential, retaliation, Star Wars, and equal opportunity in Trump's America.

Mt. Sinai by Phillip Christian Smith

Gladys and Minerva, casual chemo friends, discuss life, the south, children, and the handsome cancer patient in Room A. Has Gladys finally fallen in with the bad girls in her twilight years?

By The Way by Lisa Rosetta Strum

Zhailon Levingston is a Louisiana-raised storyteller, director, and activist.

He is a Board Member and Creative Director for the Broadway Advocacy Coalition, which he co-created, and teaches the Theatre of Change course at Columbia University. He is a Music Mentor Fellow and has done work with Idina Menzel's A Broader Way Foundation. His directing credits include: Neptune (Dixon Place; Brooklyn Museum), The Years That Went Wrong (Lark; MCC), The Exonerated (Columbia Law School), Chariot Part 2 (Soho Rep/The Movement Theatre Company), Mother of Pearl (LaGuardia Performing Arts Center). He is the associate director of Primer for a Failed Superpower with Tony Award-winner Rachel Chavkin, and Runaways at The Public Theater with Sam Pinkleton. Most recently. he directed Chicken and Biscuits, which premiered on Broadway this past fall. Zhailon is also the resident director at Tina: The Tina Turner Musical on Broadway and the associate director of Hadestown in South Korea.

Tracey Conyer Lee is the director and choreographer of the reimagined return of Sistas! The Musical, currently running Off-Broadway. As a playwright her plays have been produced in NYC, Chicago, DC, Boston and Nashville. As an actor she has performed around the globe, yielding Carbonell, NAACP and Barrymore Awards. She's a proud member of the 2019 Tony Award winning choir, Broadway Inspirational Voices and currently recurs as Detective Ross in seasons 3 & 4 of "FBI" on CBS. This summer she will star in the US premiere of Serving Elizabeth directed by Cezar Williams and her 6th production of Lady Day At Emerson's Bar & Grill directed by Kevin R. Free. Lee is an audiobook narrator for Black authors of both fiction and non and the co-founder of Be Ready, which takes the professional presence training she teaches in corporate America and offers it free for Black youth preparing for higher education or the workforce.

The Fire This Time Festival was founded in 2009 by Kelley Girod to provide a platform for playwrights of African and African-American descent to write and produce evocative material for diverse audiences. Since the debut of the first 10-minute play program in 2010, presented in collaboration with FRIGID New York, The Fire This Time Festival has produced and developed the work of more than 80 playwrights including Katori Hall, Dominique Morisseau, Radha Blank, Antoinette Nwandu, Jocelyn Bioh, korde arrington tuttle, Stacey Rose, Aziza Barnes, C.A. Johnson, Kevin R. Free, Charly Evon Simpson, Angelica Cheri, James Anthony Tyler, Jordan Cooper and Nathan Yungerberg. In 2022 Bloomsbury books released the anthology 25 Plays From The Fire This Time Festival: A Decade of Recognition, Resistance, Resilience, Rebirth and Black Theater which includes 25 ten-minute plays that were produced by The Fire This Festival over the past 11 seasons. The Fire This Time Festival collaborated with Center Theatre Group and Watts Village Theater Company to launch the initiative "Not A Moment, But A Movement" to amplify Black artists through three virtual events that pair playwrights, visual artists and musicians during 2021. www.firethistimefestival.com

FRIGID New York's mission is to provide both emerging and established artists the opportunity to create and produce original work without limit to content, form, or style, and to amplify their diverse voices. We do this by presenting an array of monthly programming, mainstage productions, an artist residency, and seven annual theater festivals that create an environment of collaboration, resourcefulness, and innovation. Founded in 1998, the aim was and is to form a structure, allowing multiple artists to focus on creating and staging new work and providing affordable rental space to scores of Independent artists. Now in our third decade we have produced a massive quantity of stimulating downtown theater. www.frigid.nyc

#TFTTF #The Fire This Time Festival #Frigid NYC #FRIGID New York #Kraine Theater #Agyeiwaa Asante #Rachel Herron #Fedna Jacquet #Phillip Christian Smith #Lisa Rosetta Strum #Marcus Scott #MarcusScott #WriteMarcus #Write Marcus #10-minute plays #Zhailon Levingston #Tracey Conyer Lee

0 notes

writemarcus · 2 years

Text

Review: After a Too-Long Absence, The Fire This Time Festival Reignites

July 08, 2022

The Fire This Time Festival: Season 13: Ten-Minute Plays

Plays by Fedna Jacquet, Marcus Scott, Phillip Christian Smith, Lisa Rosetta Strum, Rachel Herron, and Agyeiwaa Asante

Directed by Zhailon Levingston and Tracey Conyer Lee

Presented by FRIGID New York

at The Kraine Theater85 E 4th St., Manhattan, NYCJuly 7-10, 2022

The annual The Fire This Time Festival, after a two-year absence from the stage, including a postponement from its usual winter slot to early July, has returned to in-person performance with its thirteenth season, bringing six new short plays from early-career playwrights of African and African American descent to The Kraine Theater. The Ten-Minute Play Program offers both in-person and livestreaming options, and this year, audiences can also complement their theatergoing experience by picking up a copy of 25 Plays from the Fire This Time Festival, which collects plays from TFTT's first eleven seasons, edited by TFTT founder and Executive Director Kelley Nicole Girod and organized into thematic groupings from policing to gentrification to Black love. If further volumes are forthcoming, any of this year's thoughtful, funny, provocative, compassionate offerings would be a worthy addition. Meanwhile, just get thee to the Kraine!

First up is Fedna Jacquet's Girlfriend, which sees longtime friends Lea (played by Jacquet) and Tonya (Denise Manning) having drinks together for the first time in a long time, a fact related to Tonya's now-defunct romantic relationship. Talking about the reason for Tonya's break-up (spurred, it's worth noting, by a visit to the theater) leads the two women into a consideration of how attempts to police their identities and define their experiences come not only from the expected quarters. A moment when Lea (rightly) calls out Tonya feels (also rightly) like a short, sharp shock amidst the humorous, supportive interplay between the two women. Friendships anchor several of this year's plays, and Marcus Scott's Wookiees in the Wilderness follows Girlfriend's female pairing with a pair of close male friends. High-schooler Smokey (Anthony Goss) needs more practice in archery and riflery in order to pass the Eagle Scouts' Wilderness Survival Test before he sets off for college, and, to that end, he meets Bishop (Ricardy Fabre) in the wilderness near the Lake of the Ozarks. At first, the two vividly drawn and portrayed friends fall into a debate about race and Star Wars that includes Bishop's memorable claim that "Chewbacca might as well be a Somali pirate in space" (and yes, there are lightsabers). When their talk turns to an incident with more than a passing resemblance to the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, Bishop's early declaration that there is more to sci fi than just Star Wars looks like foreshadowing of the profound decision that Smokey puts before Bishop about alternate modes of action (or perhaps of rebellion, in Star Wars parlance) and whether they are justified and effective.

The third play, Phillip Christian Smith's Mount Sinai, is more (straightforwardly) uplifting, despite its friends being fellow cancer patients. Gladys (Marjorie Johnson) says that she has always been a "good girl," having worked her way up to a successful career and raised successful children, while Minerva (Patricia R. Floyd) characterizes herself as a "card" and, in a small echo of the identity issues raised in Girlfriend, has never been able to get anyone to call her by her given name rather than a nickname. Among other topics, the women, in lived-in performances by Johnson and Floyd, touch on the pandemic (Minerva observes that "essential workers" means "Black people") and its losses, but ultimately the play suggests that, despite challenges including aging and illness, there is always more to enjoy in life. The pandemic frames a more urgent search for happiness in Lisa Rosetta Strum's By the way…, which checks in on two close friends (Fenda Jacquet and Ricardy Fabre) who have been quarantined together for a month in 2020. Quarantining of course involves drinking and game playing, which come together here for a confessional game. That game brings a revelation which challenges both the preconceptions of one of the duo (again, about identity) as well as the status quo of their relationship, as Jacquet and Fabre skillfully trade tipsy fun for unvarnished intensity.

The very funny and slightly dark Red Red Wine, by Rachel Herron, shifts the confessions to a work environment. Mel (Denise Manning) is working for Somm (Patricia R. Floyd) in the latter's wine shop while being mentored as a potential Master Sommelier. Mel would be the first Black woman to achieve this rank, but only because Somm quit while practicing for the exam. After Mel reveals some things about herself that recall the issues raised in the previous play, she wants Somm to explain in exchange why she quit; and Somm's answer puts before Mel a decision that is not unlike the one that Bishop has to make in Wookiees in the Wilderness. Wrapping up this year's program is Agyeiwaa Asante's Wildest Dreams, in which the ghosts of the past are literal. Spirits Maybelle (Marjorie Johnson) and Jimmy Dale (Anthony Goss) have not yet moved on from the plantation where they died of unnatural causes 187 years ago, a location now used for events such as weddings or, on this day, a graduation. A sign held by a Black graduate reading "I am my ancestors' wildest dreams" prompts some soul-searching, so to speak, for the pair and ultimately asks when one person has done enough–how much right does someone have to personal peace when the unfinished business is social progress? Wildest Dreams closes these questions–and the evening–on a hauntingly ambiguous note. The 13th season of The Fire This Time finds the festival's programming as strong as ever. With 6 compelling shows brought to life by 6 talented actors, The Fire This Time Festival proves that 13 is not an unlucky number. -John R. Ziegler and Leah Richards

#The Fire This Time Festival #Fire This Time Festival #NYC #Black Theatre #Black Theater #Black Playwrights #Wookiees in the Wilderness #Kraine Theater #Marcus Scott #MarcusScott #Write Marcus #WriteMarcus #Zhailon Levingston #Tracey Conyer Lee #FRIGID New York

1 note · View note

writemarcus · 3 years

Text

Zhailon Levingston to Direct 13th Annual FIRE THIS TIME FESTIVAL

The festival will feature World Premiere 10-minute plays by early career and under-represented playwrights from the African diaspora.

by Chloe Rabinowitz

Oct. 18, 2021

FRIGID New York will present the 13th Annual The Fire This Time Festival at The Kraine Theater (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and Bowery), January 17-February 6, 2022. Performances will also be available to livestream from home. The festival will feature World Premiere 10-minute plays by early career and under-represented playwrights from the African diaspora. Information on additional festival programming will be forthcoming.

The 2022 Fire This Time Festival playwrights include Agyeiwaa Asante, Rachel Herron, Fedna Jacquet, Marcus Scott, Phillip Christian Smith and Lisa Rosetta Strum. Themes of the ten-minute plays include African Americans seeking their own brand of retribution after repeatedly being failed by the American justice system; the descendants of enslaved Africans living up to the sacrifices made by their ancestors to taste freedom; people of African descent being divided by a perceived scarcity of opportunities; relationships being tested by long-held assumptions about fidelity and the fluidity of sexuality; and Black women finding joy in their twilight years. All six 10-minute plays will be directed by Zhailon Levingston (Chicken and Biscuits on Broadway; Tina: The Tina Turner Musical on Broadway).

The OBIE Award winning The Fire This Time Festival was founded in 2009 by Kelley Girod to provide a platform for playwrights of African and African-American descent to write and produce evocative material for diverse audiences. Since the debut of the first 10-minute play program in 2010, presented in collaboration with FRIGID New York, The Fire This Time Festival has produced and developed the work of more than 80 playwrights including Katori Hall, Dominique Morisseau, Radha Blank, Antoinette Nwandu, Jocelyn Bioh, korde arrington tuttle, Stacey Rose, Aziza Barnes, C.A. Johnson, Kevin R. Free, Charly Evon Simpson, Angelica Cheri, James Anthony Tyler, Jordan Cooper and Nathan Yungerberg. The Fire This Time Festival recently collaborated with Center Theatre Group and Watts Village Theater Company to launch the initiative "It's Not A Moment, But A Movement" to amplify Black artists through three virtual events which paired playwrights, visual artists and musicians during 2021.

Wildest Dreams by Agyeiwaa Asante

Agyeiwaa Asante is a Ghanaian-American theatre artist based in Maryland. Her plays include Swirl (Kennedy Center's Page-to-Stage Festival 2017; Watermelon One- Act Festival- Best Production 2019), Help Wanted (Silver Spring One Act Festival; Elemental Women Productions) and Dainty (BOLD NYC's 2020 Festival). Most recently she was commissioned for UMD's NextNow Festival and Single Carrot Theatre and is the 2020 recipient of The Bret Adams and Paul Reisch Foundation's Ollie Award for emerging playwrights. She also works as a local dramaturg and assistant director. Agyeiwaa is the current Artistic Assistant at Round House Theatre and a member of D.C. Dramatists. B.A. in Theatre from the University of Maryland.

Red Red Wine by Rachel Herron

Rachel Herron is a playwright, performer, and freelance editorial writer living in Harlem. She received her BFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where she studied drama as well as dramatic writing. In 2019, she was a finalist for the CBS Writers Mentoring Program. Her satirical writing has been featured on McSweeney's Internet Tendency while her freelance editorials have been published by TV Guide, Bustle, and Elite Daily. In 2020, she competed in the Fresh Fruit Festival's Monologue Project, where she was awarded the audience favorite. She also participated in the virtual writer's room for the Playdate Theatre Development Conference in Los Angeles.

Gurlfriend (Black is Black) by Fedna Jacquet

Two black girls drinking wine and living their best lives. #BlackGurlMagic #UnapologeticAF. We get to see THEM--jokes and bruises on display. By leaving the world outside, these best friends are able to bond in a fresh and delightful way...but what happens when the ever-shrinking classification of blackness threatens to exclude one of them? We ride the bold and excruciatingly confusing rollercoaster of identity, friendship, and regret to a new destination unknown to both Lea and Tonya. #Drama

Fedna Jacquet was born in Boston to Haitian parents. She is a full-time writer and actor in NYC. She is a 2020-2022 National Black Theatre Playwright in Residence, 2019-2021 Huntington Theatre Playwriting Fellow, and a 2019 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow in Playwriting/Screenwriting. Written work for the screen includes Isaiah (ABFF/TVOne Screenplay Competition Finalist), Homebase (Juilliard/NYU Grad Acting), Inheritance (2020 Tribeca Chanel Through Her Lens Finalist), Circus (2020 HollyShorts Quarterfinalist) and Going Home. Written plays include Pefeksyon (Playwright's Realm Finalist; DVRF Finalist; Studio Tisch), Inheritance (Classical Theatre of Harlem Playwright's Playground; Studio Tisch), Civic Duty (Commissioned by SUNY Purchase), Gurlfriend (Black is Black) and Heroes (Developed as a Huntington Fellow). BA: Brown University MFA: NYU/Tisch Grad Acting.

Wookiees in The Wilderness by Marcus Scott

Bishop and Smokey are best pals. Smokey will do anything for Bishop, who is in the midst of recovering from a recent trauma. Bishop will do anything for Smokey including go out to the mountainside wilderness of the Lake of the Ozarks to prep him for his upcoming Wilderness Survival test for the Eagle Scouts. But as the sundown begins and night falls upon them, the boys are reminded to truly be prepared for anything. Wookiees in the Wilderness is a buddy drama about race, class, wasted potential, retaliation, Star Wars, and equal opportunity in Trump's America.

Marcus Scott's plays include Sibling Rivalries (2021 Semifinalist for Blue Ink Playwriting Award), Heartbeat Opera's Fidelio (Baruch Performing Arts Center), Tumbleweed (finalist for the 2017/2018 Humanitas Play LA Workshop, Playwrights Foundation's 2017 Bay Area Playwrights Festival and the 2017 Austin Playhouse Festival of New American Plays; semi-finalist for the 2017/2018 New Dramatists Princess Grace Fellowship Award), Cherry Bomb (recipient of Drama League's 2017 First Stage Artist In Residence; 2017 finalist for the Yale Institute for Music Theatre), Malaise (2017 DUAF at Cherry Lane Theater), Blood Orange (2018 DUAF at Theater 80 St. Marks), among others.

Mount Sinai by Phillip Christian Smith

Gladys and Minerva, casual chemo friends, discuss life, the south, children, and the handsome cancer patient in Room A. Has Gladys finally fallen in with the bad girls in her twilight years?

Phillip Christian Smith is a 2020-2021 Playwrights Realm Writing Fellow, Lambda Literary Fellow, Winter Playwrights Retreat, Blue Ink Playwriting Award Semi-Finalist, Finalist for The Dramatists Guild Fellowship and New Dramatists Finalist and Semi-finalist PlayPenn, Two time Semi-finalist for The O'Neill (NPC), Semi-finalist Barrington Stage Burman Award, and runner-up in The Theatre of Risk Modern Tragedy writing competition for his play The Chechens, which also won Theatre Conspiracy's playwriting award, and will be produced in their 2021-2022 season. He has been a semi-finalist for Shakespeare's New Contemporaries (ASC), finalist for Trustus, playwright in residence of Exquisite Corpse and founding member of The Playwriting Collective. His work has been supported by Primary Stages (Cherry Lane) ESPA, Fresh Ground Pepper, the 53rd Street New York Public Library, and Forge. MFA Yale School of Drama, BFA University of New Mexico.

By the way... by Lisa Rosetta Strum

Lisa Rosetta Strum is a writer, director, actor, solo performer and educator. Her solo play, She Gon' Learn premiered at the Emerging Artist Theatre Festival at TADA!, followed by sold out performances at the United Solo Festival on Theatre Row in NYC where the play received one of the festival's Best Solo Show Awards. Lisa was a Finalist for the Doric Wilson Independent Playwright Award and was the recipient of the Playwrights Initiative Fellowship at the Djerassi Resident Artists Program. As an actor Lisa received a Broadway World Award for Best Actress in the regional production of Fences at The Rep at the University of Delaware, and she has appeared in Talking Peace, and many other productions.

Zhailon Levingston (Director) is a Louisiana-raised storyteller, director, and activist. He is the Director of Industry Initiatives for the Broadway Advocacy Coalition. His directing credits include: Neptune (Dixon Place; Provincetown Theatre), The Years That Went Wrong (The Lark; MCC), The Exonerated (Columbia Law School), Chariot Part 2 (Soho Rep for The Movement Theatre Company), Mother of Pearl (LaGuardia Performing Arts Center). He is the co-director of Reconstruction with Tony Award-winner Rachel Chavkin. Zhailon is the resident director at Tina: The Tina Turner Musical on Broadway, the associate director of Hadestown in South Korea, and is currently directing Chicken and Biscuits on Broadway.

0 notes