Paul Robeson Theatre Festival at Los Angeles Theatre Center

Staged readings of plays by Black playwrights, commissioned for this Festival. Wine and snacks served before each reading. Q&A after each reading. Presented by The Robey Theatre Company.Heres the schedule of events: Friday, July 15, 2022. Day One- Opening Night Wine Reception and Staged Reading. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the reading at 8:00 p.m. of Negra , written by Julio Hanson and directed by Daphne Sicr.. Negra (named Amelia at birth) is a story about a young 17-year-old Afro-Panamanian woman coming full circle from a place of strength to defeat to inner growth. Featuring Alexis Malespin, Jhan Mena, Mariana Escobar, David Towne, Teddy Alexis Rodriguez, Chanda Harman, William Warren, Kit Dezotl, Shavonne Grandison, Carolina Pilar Xique, Gabriella Okomna, Kyle Sparks, James Cane Walden, JC Cadena.Day Two- First reading. Saturday, July 16. Doors open at 1:00 p.m. with the reading at 2:00 Saturday, July 16 at 2:00 p.m. Looking for the Hustle written by Nui Brown and directed by Gabrielle Jackson. Looking for the Hustle is a choreopoem with characters sharing their experiences through spoken word. Life is a hustle, and the hustle is real every day of the week . Most people dont talk about it, but it happens all over town. You dont have to be a big-time hustler to play the money game. One has to do their thang as they Looking for the Hustle. The cast features Terrance Stewart, Nate Lovell, Tina Tena Ansah, Saadiqa K. Muhammad, Alex W.S.T. Chumley.Day Two- Second reading. Saturday, July 16. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. with the reading at 8:00 p.m.: Mans Favor, Devils Plan, written by Kwik Jones and directed by C. Julian White. Mr. Avery believes in one hand washes the other when doing business. In the hotel started by his father, his workers feel the brunt of this, especially housekeeper DD. As the hotel loses money Avery feels the pressure from his father to turn things around or lose the hotel. The cast features Damon Rutledge, Darnell Trujeque, Leilani Scott Young, Christina Childress, Crystal Nix, Darrell Philip.Day Three- First reading. Sunday, July 17. Doors open at 1:00 p.m. with the reading at 2:00 p.m. Vaccination Elevation is written by Lorinda Hawkins Smith and directed by Bernadette Speakes. Vaccination Elevation is the story of three Church ladies, Black women (of a certain age) reluctant to get the coronavirus vaccine. They finally give in and take the shot, and they each have very different life-changing experiences. The cast features Sonia Jackson, Joy DeMichelle, Yolanda T. Ross, Nakasha Norwood, ReSheda Terry, Cherish Monique Duke, Rodnesha Green, Antoinette Westcott, James Cane Walden, Paulette Clarke, Marcus Clark-Oliver..Day Three- Second reading. Sunday, July 17 . Doors open at 6:00 p.m. with the reading at 7:00 p.m. Buffalo Meets the Thunder is written by Pauletta James and directed by Dylan Southard. Buffalo Meets the Thunder is a gumbo, a dark stew consisting of a strongly-flavored stock of Buffalo Soldiers, Pancho Villa, Jack Johnson, Charles Deslondes, a Storyville brothel owner, a modiste and a couple engaged to be married. The story is seasoned further by the Holy (or Unholy) Trinity of 1917, Mexico and New Orleans, thickened by the roux of Mardi Gras. The cast features Stan Sellers, Lorinda Hawkins Smith, Moises Rodriguez, Randahl Brisco, Matthew Lawrence Jennings, Marcus Clark-Oliver.
Ages: 12 to Adult.