Theater Breaking Through Barriers Announces TRANS(4)MISSIONS

Theater Breaking Through Barriers Artistic Director Nicholas Viselli today announced the 4th Virtual Playmakers' Intensive: TRANS(4)MISSIONS, ten short new plays, Friday March 12th through Sunday March 21st, on YouTube nightly at 7:30pm or Facebook at 8:30pm, FREE via ZOOM.

Disability intersects with all populations in our world: Every age, race, gender and sexual orientation. TBTB strives to create a common ground for all voices and serve as an ambassador in the quest for full, systemic equality in our world. The eleven original plays constituting the 4th Virtual Playmakers' Intensive represent a diverse chorus within American culture. Created for and rehearsed entirely on the Zoom platform, TBTB's VPI4 will stream live performances of these new short works directly to you, wherever you may be!

TBTB's VPI4 will stream live performances of these new short works directly, one each evening. There are two ways to live stream - on YouTube nightly at 7:30pm (with live captioning, available only on YouTube) and on Facebook at 8:30pm.

The program will include:

Clown Fetish Party

By Jeff Tabnick, Directed by Pamela Sabaugh

Featuring Melissa Jennifer Gonzalez, Richard Lear, Rebecca Quinn Robertson, Dan Teachout

Due to a technological glitch, young go-getter Annie McGee mistakenly finds herself in a virtual clown fetish party. But this is no normal video conference: the clowns have her trapped in her Zoom window, and Annie must summon all of her optimism to get back to the real world.

This Meeting Is Being Recorded

By Chris Chan Roberson, Directed by Khalil Lesaldo

Featuring Shashi Bangera, Kalilah Black, Laura Gaona, Estrella Tamez

Zoom has changed how we go to work and how we go to school, so why should witchcraft be any different?

MENded

By Cate Allen, Directed by Richard M. Rose

Featuring Fred Backus, Enrique Huili, Keith Murfee-DeConcini

This is a play about men being men, bro. Talking fantasy football, bro. That is until a random punch turns everything inside out.

We Can't Sleep

By Chris Phillips, Directed by Kristin Heckler

Featuring Shravan Amin, Jaleesa Graham, Bree Klauser, Melanie Portsche

When a young man vanishes while shooting a reality show in the Appalachian Mountains, a former LAPD lieutenant who lost her own daughter in a highly publicized police shooting is hired to find the truth of his disappearance.

The Idles of March

By Stuart Green, Directed by Estrella Tamez

Featuring Fareeda Ahmed, Veronica Cruz, David Harrell, Jamie Petrone

Children may be our hearts walking outside of ourselves, but what if you're stuck indoors with each other for months? The Idles of March explores four longtime friends as they navigate Life, Family and Peppa Pig.

Patrimonial

By Rebecca Quinn Robertson, Directed by Everett Quinton

Featuring Carey Cox, Christopher Hurt, Patrick O'Hare, Nick Walther

A venerated novelist gathers with his brilliant daughter, protege and agent to celebrate the well-lauded release of his latest novel - perhaps his last, but cause for celebration soon gives way to unexpectedly disruptive discussions of artistry, ownership and responsibility.

Do You See What I See?

By Tatiana G. Rivera, Directed by Ed Setrakian

Featuring Scott Katzman, John Little, AhDream Smith, Gaia Visnar

What happens to a person when the only form of initial contact is through the eyes? And what happens to a society when eye contact becomes more intimate than touch?

The Oppez Show

By Garrett Zuercher, Directed by Stephen Drabick

Featuring Courage Bacchus, Dickie Hearts, Heba Tulan

On the latest episode of "The Oppez Show," billionaire and book lover Oppez, along with her co-host, Robert, interview a hot new television actor about some of his more private matters and help him find his long-lost parents with the assistance of a special surprise guest. Tune in for more! Note: this episode contains material of a highly sexual nature.

Care Full

By Khalil Lesaldo, Directed by Richard M. Rose

Featuring Martin Lewis, Lori Brown Niang, Sean Phillips, Jack Sims

We all have that one secret. That thing we won't tell our spouse until it's too late. This is the silly unfolding of one of those conversations.

Lost and Found

By Caroline Aaron, Directed by Nicholas Viselli

Featuring Samantha Debicki, Marty McDonough, Jon Paul Niang, Ben Rauch

In the time of the pandemic, a father's only contact with his adult children has been virtually on Zoom. His isolation is broken only by Jerry, a kid from the neighborhood who drops by to take his beloved dog, Shakespeare, out for walks. When Norman dies suddenly, he leaves a video recording of his last will and testament which rocks his children's world.

"We are so proud of the work we've accomplished this past year with our Virtual Playmakers' Workshops," said TBTB Artistic Director Nicholas Viselli. "Collaborating online with artists to create new short works began as sort of a lifeboat project for us, to keep us active and connected with each other and our audiences. To date, we have created 39 original short plays and employed over 160 artists. The works-in-progress are not only fun to watch, but they give our audiences a new perspective on how we create and develop new material by and for our artists. The work also serves as a virtual time capsule for this past year. We hope to continue exploring this new frontier of virtual theater in the years to come."

Theater Breaking Through Barriers (TBTB) is the only professional Off-Broadway theater company dedicated to advancing artists and developing audiences of people with disabilities and altering the misconceptions surrounding disability by proving that disability does not affect the quality or integrity of art or artists. TBTB began in 1979 as Theater By the Blind and is celebrating the 42nd Season! In 2008 the name became Theater Breaking Through Barriers, to include artists with all disabilities yet retaining the "TBTB" acronym and becoming the preeminent Off-Broadway theater for people with disabilities, hailed by The New York Times as "an extraordinary troupe designed to defy expectations" and The New York Post as "quite simply one of the most enjoyable companies in the country."

To learn more about TBTB, check out "Meet the Theatre: Theater Breaking Through Barriers" from Theater Development Fund below!

You can find the Second and Third Virtual Playmakers' Intensives on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheaterBreakingThroughBarriers/ or on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/user/TBTBtheater.

For more information about any of Theater Breaking Through Barriers' productions and upcoming programs, visit tbtb.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.