Review: The Third Annual BIPOC Playwrights Festival Chooses a Finalist at Comedy Arts Theater of Charlotte

THE THIRD ANNUAL BIPOC PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL CHOOSES A FINALIST
RORY D. SHERIFF, "SPEAKEASY"
 

This past Saturday (Memorial Day weekend), The African American Playwrights Group (AAPG) and Matthews Playhouse Of The Performing Arts sponsored the third BIPOC Playwrights Festival Semi-finals at Comedy Arts Theater Of Charlotte (CATCh).  A special shout-out is given to the staff of CATCh that includes Abigail Head and Kevin Shimko, for being a venue sponsor for this event.  Aisha Dew, President of the Dew Group, and avid supporter of the North Carolina theater community, moderated the event.  

Four semifinalists performed a 20-Minute staged reading from their original work submissions in front of an audience and a distinguished panel of four judges for a chance to be awarded a fully-mounted production that will open Matthew Playhouse Of The Performing Art’s fall season, on September 22.  The four semifinalists were chosen from 16 submissions that were submitted in early January.  Submissions were received within North Carolina, yet extended to other states that included New York, Georgia, Illinois, Virginia, and Kentucky. A panel of readers were chosen to examine and score the submissions based on specific criteria formulated by the festival sponsors.   The submitters with the top four scores were selected for the semi-finals. 

This year’s semifinalists are:

1. “Black Chip, White Chip” – Donald Hall, Playwright
2. “Pastor Willie” – Alethea McCollin, Playwright
3. “Speakeasy” – Rory D. Sheriff, Playwright
4. “Reflections” – TaMara Goode, Playwright

After the staged readings, the four judges (Hank West, Mack Staton, Corlis Hayes, and Vickie L. Evans) deliberated and scored the presentations based on specific criteria also formulated by the festival sponsors. The playwright/work with the highest score was chosen as the finalist.

This year’s finalist is Speakeasy, written by Rory D. Sheriff.  Speakeasy Circa 1978 Reading PA. Virginia decides to take control of her life, starting with unlearning everything she was taught how a woman should be. I am black, I am proud, I am strong. I am woman. Respect that! Opting out of her marriage and facing losing the house she grew up in due to unpaid taxes are on the brighter side of things. Having reservations, she gives in to the idea of starting a Speakeasy. 

The BIPOC Playwrights Festival was founded in 2020 through the efforts of the African American Playwrights Group and Matthews Playhouse Of The Performing Arts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in our theater communities.  To align with The African American Playwrights Group’s mission of showcasing African American playwrights and its cultural in excellence, the BIPOC Playwrights Festival, for the third straight year, has done just that.  The first year’s finalist, Greenwood, written By Coolidge Harris II, was a depiction of the 1821 destruction of Black Wall Street.  The second year’s finalist, A House Is Not A Home, written by Kenyatt Godbolt, set in the 1990s in New York City, this original work showcased the family dynamics/conflicts between a father and a son with a backdrop of songs from the hip-hop culture.  And this year, Rory Sheriff’s Speakeasy will take the stage as the third finalist. 

Matthews Playhouse Executive Director, Sara Baumgardner stated, “Matthews Playhouse considers it a privilege to incorporate the Playwrights Festival into our season and establish new relationships with community members.”

Vickie L. Evans, founder of the African American Playwrights Group is honored that “playwrights of color’s works are being showcased on a main stage/platform through original culturally-based productions written, directed, and performed by people of color.”

Speakeasy will be performed on September 22-24, at Fullwood Theatre, 100 E. Mcdowell Street, Matthews, NC.  Tickets are on sale NOW via Matthews Playhouse website:  http://www.matthewsplayhouse.com.  Thank you in advance for supporting this great collaboration.

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