Co-World Premiere of GET IN THE GAME Announced At Theatrical Outfit

Theatrical Outfit will launch its 22-23 Season with the Co-World Premiere of Candrice Jones' FLEX - a high adrenaline new play. Set in the 90s, but speaking to TODAY, FLEX will take ATL by storm as tells a story of the South like you have never seen before & explores the joy and challenge of teenage life. FLEX will run at Balzer Theater at Herren's in the heart of Downtown Atlanta from September 7 - October 2, 2022.

HIGH ADRENALINE. FLEX is powerful World Premiere about swagger, determination and sticking together. It's 1997 and the WNBA is changing the game. Every player on Plainnole's Lady Train basketball team now dreams of going pro - but first, they'll have to navigate the pressures of being young, black, and female in rural Arkansas. Candrice Jones's adrenaline packed play about a high school basketball team explores the fierce strength of young black women in the South and what it means to be part of a team.

"Though set in the 90s, there is a lot about this play that could have been pulled right from today's headlines," says Artistic Director Matt Torney. "From uncertainty around the repeal of Roe v. Wade to Brittany Griner showing the true cost of pay inequity in sports, the challenges faced in this play feel very familiar indeed. There is authenticity, grit, and grace in how these young women navigate these challenges ... and, Candrice doesn't let anyone off with easy answers. The story is complicated, real, and messy, just like our lives. And, to get through it all, these characters must learn what it truly means to be part of a team."

FLEX will welcome a cast of six amazingly talented women to the stage: Hailey Elizabeth (as Starra Jones), Andrea Gooden (as Coach Francine Pace), Kenisha Johnson (as Sidney Brown), Whitney Nelson (as Donna Cunningham), India S. Tyree (as Cherise Howard), and Aminah Williams (as April Jenkins).

ATL favorite Patdro Harris returns to the Theatrical Outfit stage direct & lead an extremely talented group of designers that includes Scenic Design by Moriah & Isabel Curley-Clay, Costume Design by Shilla Benning, Lighting & Projection Design by Bradley Bergeron, Sound Design by Christopher Lane, Properties Design & Scenic Decoration by Caroline Cook, and Basketball Consulting by Kiesha Brown.

"The word 'flex' describes a basketball play in which a series of tight, coordinated passes set up a chance to score," says Torney. "In order to pull it off, every team member must be in absolute sync, and bring a focused intensity to their work. This could also describe the way our brilliant cast of actor/athletes, and terrific creative team have worked together to tell this story - blending precise movement with powerful visual storytelling and rhythmic dialogue."

Theatrical Outfit will open its doors in a COVID-19 safe way that includes a brand new, state-of-the-art, air filtration system with bi-polar ionization and will enforce mask worn at all times when in building and hand sanitizing stations as part of its ongoing COVID-19 Safety Guidelines.

Theatrical Outfit is thrilled to welcome audiences to the Balzer Theater in the heart of Downtown Atlanta to tell the stories that start the conversations that matter. Season & Single Tickets for FLEX (September 7 - October 2, 2022) are on sale NOW. We invite you to visit theatricaloutfit.org or call 678-528-1500 for more information.

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