Conch Shell Productions Unites With BIPOC Theatres To Create Theater For Social Justice

Conch Shell Productions, Braata Productions and Kumu Kahua Theatre have formed an alliance designed to spotlight playwrights of Color in America, responding to current events. This alliance will produce five unique performances online, presenting short plays and monologues written and performed by each theatres' artists.

WHERE: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/braataproductions and Facebook pages @conchshellprod, @braataproductions, and @kumukahuatheatre

WHEN: Friday July 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31 2020, 8:00 PM EST / 2:00 PM HST.

COST: Free

INFO: conchshellproductions.com, www.braataproductions.org, kumukahua.org

Conch Shell Productions and Braata Productions both from Queens, NY showcase and develop theatrical works by Caribbean-American artists; Kumu Kahua Theatre (Honolulu, HI) nurtures and produces playwrights of Polynesia.

Each theatre company solicited, collected, cast, and rehearsed script entries from their local artists. Each night will feature unique, live performances of these world premiere pieces, streamed to Conch Shell Productions' YouTube channel and each theatre's Facebook pages. The 30-40-minute performances will be followed by a moderated Q&A session with the artists (attendees are invited to submit questions via YouTube and Facebook). The goal of this initiative is to restore society's sense of humanity. Not to solve racism or end grief for those lost, but to continue a productive conversation in this space, and in this moment.

Founder & Artistic Director of Conch Shell Productions, Magaly Colimon-Christopher shares, "My intention when I launched this initiative was to unite with BIPOC theaters to encourage dialogue and unification of diverse communities and continue a productive conversation that will inspire meaningful socio-political change."

A complete set of the scenes and monologues presented throughout the series will be curated by Conch Shell Productions as an e-book collection that will be made available for sale after the conclusion of the series. This anthology will be sold via Amazon.

Conch Shell Productions is supported by a diverse community of loyal individual donors, HB Studio, Milton G. Bassin Performing Arts Center at York College, Theater Communications Group (TCG), The Caribbean Film Academy, Building For the Arts, and talented volunteers.

Braata Productions is a not-for-profit, Caribbean performing arts and education organization, dedicated to showcasing Caribbean culture, history, lifestyle, traditions and customs, through folk music, arts and theatre. The organization is supported by a dedicated team of volunteers.

Kumu Kahua Theatre is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020, McInerny Foundation (Bank of Hawaii, Trustee); The Hawai`i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, through appropriations from the Legislature of the State of Hawai`i, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser, ABC Stores, the Gloria Kosasa Gainsley Fund, PoiPlanet, Hawai`i Public Radio, The Kim Coco Fund for Justice of the Iwamoto Family Foundation, Edric Sakamoto, John Mazur and other foundations, businesses, and loyal patrons.