World Premiere of SPEED OF DARK Will Be Performed at American Repertory Theater of WNY

The American Repertory Theater of WNY's 2021-22 season dedicated to Western New York playwrights gets underway with the world premiere of Mark Humphrey's SPEED OF DARK. Opening on September 8th and running until October 2nd, SPEED OF DARK feature the acting talents Hugh Davis and Monish Bhattacharyya alongside Vincenzo McNeill and Quentin Gray. The narrative is based on four men who find themselves on the wrong end of being in a Sundown Town after dark. Showtimes are Thurs-Fri 7:30 pm and Sat 5:00 pm.

For ticket information visit https://speedofdark.bpt.me or contact 716-697-0837.

"This play is about a sundown town". Playwright Mark Humphrey in describing his work. "It's interesting to me that when I mention the term Sundown Town, 99% of the people have no idea about what I'm talking about, and when I tell them what it is, most people think it's a southern thing". SPEED OF DARK centers upon four individuals being caught in a situation where they find themselves in a sundown town. Humphrey's personal experiences as a young adult shaped the basis behind the piece, and compelled him to craft the narrative. "I first heard about it as a small child in the 60's. And it was about one of the suburbs around here. This is a forgotten piece of history bit it is history non the less".

Contemplating the best escape plan or face certain death, the four men discover the integrity within themselves as well as find dignity & pride to who they are as men. Weaving this throughout his narrative, Humphrey carefully finds balance throughout the piece. "I didn't write this to point fingers, but to help keep the dialogue going. And we all should remember that dialogue involves listening".

Playing the role of 'David' actor Vincenzo McNeill of the work and his role found, 'my character, David, is a very blunt, honest, and straight forward man with strong opinions who regularly challenges authority". Finding the connective tissue with his character and the play, McNeill sees that David "speaks to the idea that speech is incredibly important in today's world and the hard discussions must be had. How one wants to be seen may not be who they actually are. He is very much on point. We need more Davids".

SPEED OF DARK opens on September 8th and runs until October 2nd at the Compass Performing Arts Center, 545 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo NY. ART/WNY is offering a pay-what-you-can ticket rate throughout the 2021-22 theatrical season as a way of saying thank you for the strong community support during the health crisis.

American Repertory Theater of WNY will open at 100% capacity for the 2021-22 season. The company will require all those who do not receive the vaccination to wear a mask. ART/WNY will also remain thorough in maintaining this policy.

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