Luna Stage to Host an Illuminating Conversation with Grass Roots Activists

Luna Stage will host a lively post-show conversation with Elizabeth Juliver, Co-founder and Political Director of NJ 11th For Change, a grassroots progressive activist group centered in New Jersey's 11th Congressional district, where Democrat Mikie Sherril and Republican Jay Webber are running for the seat vacated by Peter Frelinghuysen. Also participating in the conversation are Analilia Mejia, Director on NJ Working Families, and Mindy Fullilove, Professor of Urban Studies at The New School. The discussion will follow the Saturday, October 13 performance of Pirira. Pirira is a vibrant, political, big-hearted play and will serve as the perfect partner for an animated and informative conversation with three progressive political activists about the nature of activism today and how to get get involved.

J.Stephen Brantley's award-winning play Pirira, directed by Luna's new Artistic Director Ari Laura Kreith opened Luna's 2018-19 season. Set in Malawi amidst riots that took place in the city of Llilongwe on July 20, 2011, and simultaneously in Manhattan, Pirira introduces us to four young people whose charged interactions unfold in the shadows of HIV, poverty, drought, and gender-based violence. Pirira is the winner of the New York Innovative Theater Award for Best Premiere of a Play.

The play explores the challenges of international aid across interpersonal borders, and asks how we bridge seemingly impossible cultural divides. The cast includes John P. Keller, Kevis Hillocks, Naja Selby-Morton, and David Gow. Pirira is inspired, in part, by Brantley's experiences as a writer for Madonna's NGO Raising Malawi and also by William Kamkwamba's autobiographical The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Pirira runs Thursday-Sunday through October 28. Tickets are on sale at www.lunastage.org/pirira.

Post-show conversation with Elizabeth Juliver of NJ 11th For Change, Analilia Mejia of NJ Working Families and Mindy Fullilove, Professor of Urban Studies
Following Saturday, October 13th performance of
Pirira by J. Stephen Brantley, Directed by Ari Laura Kreith
At Luna Stage, 555 Valley Street, West Orange, NJ 973 395 5551
Tickets: www.lunastage.org/pirira
Running time: 70 minutes, no intermission. www.lunastage.org