HartBeat Ensemble Announces Fall 2020 Lineup Of Virtual Theatre, Podcasts And Radio Drama

HartBeat Ensemble, Hartford, CT's only community-based and ensemble theatre, announced today a diverse and provocative lineup of virtual and audio theatrical experiences for Fall 2020. Inaugurating Artistic Director Godfrey L. Simmons' tenure, the projects all reflect the 19-year-old company's commitment to telling the stories of marginalized and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities.

The fall season includes intimate conversations and performances by Hartford area women musicians, a virtual comedy by a Chinese-American elected representative, a solo show about Trump's unlikely journey to the White House, a collaborative virtual game show on citizenship, a 5-part radio drama about Indigenous populations in Connecticut, and a podcast performance about the nature of heroism among an array of fantasy creatures.

About his first season, Artistic Director Godfrey L. Simmons Jr. states, "Exactly 19 years ago, HartBeat Ensemble literally took theatre to the streets of Hartford to challenge the erosion of human rights in the face of United States imperialism after 9/11. Now, in the age of COVID-19 and anti-blackness, HartBeat again challenges a sitting presidential administration's daily dismantling of our democracy in the form of seven virtual theatrical experiences authored or adapted by BIPOC - six of them by women. In some fundamental ways, HartBeat's fall 2020 is an analogue to the first season."

On October 8, 2020 at 7:30 pm, performance artist, comedian, and elected representative Kristina Wong takes her raucous campaign online to arouse civic engagement and counter-hijack our democracy! An actual elected representative of Koreatown in Los Angeles, Wong was once a scrappy performance artist with a bright future in reality television. The system she used to ridicule is now the one she's become a part of. Is she more effective as a performance artist or a politician? Can she abolish ICE? Kristina Wong for Public Office, an interactive, 65-minute comedic performance written and performed by Wong with direction by Diana Wyenn, mashes up campaign rallies, church revivals, and solo theater shows to uncover the history of voting, what it means to run for local office, and the impact artists can have on democracy. Originally built to tour alongside the rallies leading up to the 2020 Presidential election against a charming felt set she sewed herself, this rally is now being broadcast live from her home to yours. This rally will be followed by a candidate "Meet & Greet" with Kristina! The event will be streamed on YouTube on a Pay What You Want basis. This performance is funded in part by the New England States Touring program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program and the six New England state arts agencies. a??

With Play Like a Girl, Hartford-based Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Charmagne Glass-Tripp has curated a miniseries of virtual conversations and performances by women musicians who trained in the Nutmeg State. Glass-Tripp designed the series to be loosely based on VH-1'sStorytellers, a music series that examined the compelling personal stories about the successes, challenges and triumphs of being a musical artist. Each full-evening performance includes an intimate conversation with the musician that is intertwined with the musical component with Glass-Tripp serving as the moderator/host.

The series focuses on three influential female musicians: harpist Brandee Younger (Wednesday, October 21 at 7:30pm); Julissa Rodriguez (Thursday, November 19 at 7:30pm); and Eight to the Bar band leader Cynthia Lyon (Thursday, December 10 at 7:30pm). The program provides an opportunity for aspiring artists and curious fans to get an up-close look at the process and experience of successful musicians who have a profound connection to the Greater Hartford area. All episodes of Play Like a Girl will be available on a Pay What You Want basis. This miniseries is funded in part by the Betty Knox Foundation and the Greater Hartford Arts Council's United Arts Campaign with major support from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. Godfrey L. Simmons takes to the virtual stage with Mike Daisey's humorous monologue The Trump Card on Monday, October 19 at 7:30 pm. The Trump Card is an exploration of Trump's ascent to political power and our complicity in that ascent. Originally written and toured by Daisey during the 2016 election, the monologue examines how performance intersects with politics, and how the quality of that performance can shape millions of lives. In Simmons' up-to-date adaptation, The Trump Card is neither comedic impersonation (but it's funny!) nor political diatribe (well maybe a little bit...), and is critical of Democrats, Republicans, and Progressives. It's an examination of our current political moment and a call for self-reflection among Americans of every stripe. Adapted and performed by Simmons and directed by Epic Theatre Ensemble's Ron Russell (Pike St.), The Trump Card will be streamed on a Pay What You Can basis.

Imagine a world where the only way to gain U.S. citizenship is by competing in a live online game show. Welcome to American Dreams where each night you, the audience, get to choose who will become your new neighbor. Working Theater's American Dreams (Tuesday, October 26 through Sunday, November 1) is a playful, participatory performance that takes a page from America's favorite game shows. By means of voting, polling, trivia and more, we explore who and what we choose to believe-and how those choices come to shape who we are. American Dreams is written by Leila Buck and directed by Tamilla Woodard. Performances will be streamed on a Pay What You Want basis.

American Dreams is a national virtual co-production by Working Theater, in partnership with Round House Theatre, Salt Lake Acting Company, HartBeat Ensemble, The Bushnell Center for the Arts, University of Connecticut, Free Center, and Marin Theatre Company. The project is a co-commission of Arizona State University and Texas Performing Arts, with support from the JKW Foundation. American Dreams was first produced by Raymond Bodgan for Cleveland Public Theater 2018.

HartBeat Ensemble, The Bushnell, University of Connecticut and Free Center are leading a local consortium of cultural organizations including Hartford Stage, TheaterWorks, and Charter Oak Cultural Center in co-presenting American Dreams.

The week of November 20, HartBeat Ensemble releases a 5-part radio drama Up and Down the River, co-written by Madeline Sayet and Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel and directed by Sayet. These five stories speak to the struggles of Mohegan leaders from the 17th through 20th centuries, along the river we call home. Each story offers a glimpse into a way of seeing the world, a time in history, and the sacrifices all Mohegans had to make to preserve the future of the Mohegan nation. Up and Down the River will be available to stream for free in a limited engagement in a podcast via HartBeatEnsemble.org.

Dropping the week of December 18, 2020, Sleepover Stories by Wi-Moto Nyoka is a set of short plays that explore second-class citizenship set in alternate realities involving werewolves, aliens, ghosts, and zombies. Originally produced on stage, the work has been adapted as an audio anthology series and continues to investigate who gets to be the hero and why. Sleepover Stories will be streamed in a podcast format and available for free in a limited engagement via HartBeatEnsemble.org.

On December 14 at 7:30pm, HartBeat will stream a special virtual performance by HartBeat Ensemble's Youth Play Institute (YPI). A program where youth are developing and expressing their perspectives about social justice and engaging in their lives through a political lens, YPI is a professional paid internship in dramatic writing, poetry or stage management for young adults between the ages of 16 and 21 years old. Participants are paid a stipend that meets the CT minimum wage. YPI is funded in part by the Cornelia Bessie Foundation, Ensworth Charitable Foundation, Hartford Foundation for Public Giving Time Out of School Grant, Lila A. Lily Foundation, George A. & Grace L. Long Foundation Grant, Charles Nelson Robinson Fund and Travelers.

Casting and further event details will be announced in the near future via HartBeatEnsemble.org, as well as on HartBeat's social media channels. Major support provided by the Department of Economic and Community Development, CT Office of the Arts, Greater Hartford Arts Council's United Arts Campaign, National Endowment for the Arts and Travelers.

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