Red Mountain Theatre Company to Present 3rd Annual HUMAN RIGHTS NEW WORKS FESTIVAL

Red Mountain Theatre Company is presenting the third annual Human Rights New Works Festival at the RMTC Cabaret Theatre from March 12-14, 2020.

In presenting the festival, RMTC is "seeking to inspire conversation and community," said Keith Cromwell, the company's executive director.

"We want (audiences) to be moved, engaged and entertained over the course of the weekend," Cromwell said in a media release.

"It's often a tall order," he added.

But in its first two festivals, RMTC presented works dealing with such themes as poverty, incarceration, autism, racial and gender inequality, transgender issues and patient's rights.

RMTC seeks to present the most "broad and diverse" lineup it can, Cromwell said.

This year, Cromwell and festival director Matt Schicker are working with deaf performance artist Joshua Castille as artistic adviser.

Castille will present an evening of his own work during the festival.

The Human Rights New Works Festival also allows writers to use the audience as a sounding board as they seek to complete their pieces, Schicker said.

"Especially with new works like these, the writers are hungry for the feedback that will lead to continued refinement of their work," he said.

The titles at this year's Festival are as follows:

• The Pink Unicorn, Elise Forier Edie (play reading): A Christian widow in a Texas town must cope with her teenaged daughter's announcement that she's gender queer.
• More Alike Than Different: True Human Stories, presented with Arc Stories of Birmingham: Participants will share stories about human rights.
• a hit dog will holler, By Inda Craig-Galván (play reading): When racism and oppression manifest in a scary form, a social media influencer and an activist bond to help each other survive.
• ABLE: a community conversation (video and discussion). A screening of a 15-minute episode of "ABLE: a series," co-produced by Alie B. Gorrie, will be used to stimulate a discussion about disability and disability etiquette by a panel of local leaders in the disability community.
• On The Stage With Josh, Joshua M Castille (performance). Castille has played leads in such plays as "Romeo and Juliet" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." He appeared on Broadway in "Spring Awakening." He is also able to sing musical theater songs in American Sign Language.

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