HartBeat Ensemble To Stage Athol Fugard's Gripping Drama MY CHILDREN! MY AFRICA!

HartBeat Ensemble announced today their upcoming production of My Children! My Africa!, a gripping drama about the collision of education, idealism and politics by preeminent South African dramatist Athol Fugard. The play will run September 29 through October 9 at HartBeat Ensemble's Carriage House Theater (360 Farmington Avenue) in Hartford, CT.

HartBeat Ensemble's production of My Children! My Africa! will be directed by Melanie Dreyer with the cast featuring Brianna Joy Ford, Jelanie Pitcher, and Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr. Set design will be by Norm Johnson, Jr. lighting design by Jon-Paul LaRocco, and sound design by Maritza Ubides. The production will be stage managed by Martha Lorena Preve. This production was originally developed at Civic Ensemble in Ithaca, NY in 2016.

South African playwright Athol Fugard confronts the tragedy of Apartheid in this compelling drama. In the face of increasing racial tension, teacher Mr. M prepares his prized pupil Thami and White Afrikaner student Isabel to compete together in an academic competition. Mr. M plans to prove, through education and collaboration, that a Black South African and White Afrikaner can together lead their country out of the madness of Apartheid . The three soon find that their classroom is not immune from the conflict which accompanies overturning the old order.

The Washington Post states, "The politicization of education. The toppling of monuments. Tension between those demanding immediate progress toward justice and those who trust a slower, arguably steadier route. South African playwright Athol Fugard's 1989 play My Children! My Africa! may be set on a different continent, in a different century, under a different political system, but its themes and conflicts find echoes in 21st-century America."

HartBeat Ensemble's production. of My Children! My Africa! runs Thursday, September 29 through Sunday, October 9. Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2pm. General Admission tickets are $25; Student and Seniors are $20. No one turned away for lack of funds. Tickets, information and COVID safety measures can be found at HartBeatEnsemble.org.

There will be a free ENCOUNTERS conversation about themes from the play that are relevant to today on Wednesday, October 12 at 5:30pm. The event will feature small group discussions on critical questions, special guests with expertise in relevant fields, and a light dinner. To register, visit HartBeatEnsemble.org. The ENCOUNTERS Series is a program of UConn's Dodd Human Rights Impact Democracy and Dialogues Initiative.

Special educational opportunities are available for schools in conjunction with HartBeat Ensemble's My Children! My Africa! In-school Open Rehearsals will be available September 14 through 23 featuring excerpts from the play, behind-the-scenes discussion on the artistic process, and a facilitated discussion. School matinees will be offered October 11 through 14 at 9:30am or 1:30pm. For more information, contact HartBeat Ensemble's Director of LifeLong Learning Jeanika Browne-Springer at jeanika@hartbeatensemble.org.

My Children! My Africa! is supported by The Edward C. and Ann T. Roberts Foundation and the Greater Hartford Council for the Arts' All-Season Event Grant, a program made possible by the American Rescue Plan Act and the City of Hartford.

Additional support provided by the Department of Economic and Community Development, CT Office of the Arts, CT Humanities, Greater Hartford Arts Council's United Arts Campaign, National Endowment for the Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts Resilience Fund and Travelers.

Jelani Pitcher's (Thami Mbikwana) recent credits include My Children! My Africa! (Civic Ensemble) Booth in Topdog/Underdog (Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre), George in Our Town (Artistry Theatre), Orlando in As You Like It (Lost Nation Theater), and Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing (Theater at Monmouth). Jelani is a proud alum of Ithaca College. jelanipitcher.com

Brianna Joy Ford (Isabel Dyson) received her BFA in Acting from Ithaca College. She returns to My Children! My Africa! after two successful runs in NY. Theatre credits include: Emily in Our Town (Artistry Theater), Alma in Summer and Smoke (The Impostors Theatre), Hero in Much Ado About Nothing (Theatre at Monmouth) and Molly in Peter and the Starcatcher (EDGE Theatre).

briannajoyford.com

Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr. (Mr. M) appeared in My Children! My Africa! at Civic Ensemble, a theater he co-founded, where he also appeared in Fast Blood and his adaptation of Mike Daisey's The Trump Card. Godfrey was Producing Artist in charge of New Artist Development for Off-Broadway's Epic Theatre Ensemble, appearing in A More Perfect Union, Widowers' Houses (which Godfrey co-adapted with Ron Russell), and Measure for Measure, among other plays. At Epic, he also co-wrote and starred in a documentary play about the election of President Barack Obama, Dispatches From (A)mended America. Additional New York theatre credits include The Old Settler (Primary Stages), Betty's Summer Vacation (Playwrights Horizons), Free Market (Working Theater), Leader of the People (New Georges), and microcrisis (Ensemble Studio Theater). He has also appeared in several plays at Syracuse Stage and People's Light. Godfrey is a 2012 TCG/Fox Fellow, a participant in the TCG SPARK Leadership Program, and a lifetime member of Ensemble Studio Theatre.

Melanie Dreyer is an actor, director, and translator specializing in intercultural and multilingual theatre projects. She has directed over 70 productions in a variety of international locations including Germany, Turkey, and Uganda. Fluent in German, Dreyer translates and directs contemporary German plays, which have been produced in the United States and Canada and published in international magazines and anthologies. American credits include Off Broadway at 59E59 St. Theatre in New York, Capital Repertory Company, Quantum Theatre, Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre, barebones productions, and Civic Ensemble, among others. She currently serves a Professor of Acting and Directing in the Department of Drama at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta Canada.

Founded in 2001, HartBeat Ensemble's mission is to create provocative theater that connects our community beyond traditional barriers of race, gender, class and geography. HartBeat Ensemble is the only institution in Hartford that consistently uses theater to speak powerfully across different generations, races, populations and interest groups. As an ensemble of artist-activists, we create as well as present innovative productions based on critical civic issues. HartBeat continues to inspire the next generation of leaders to create change for a better world through its Youth Play Institute. To learn more, please visit HartBeatEnsemble.org.

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