Pulling It All Into The Current at Theater for the New City
Dates: (9/1/2024 - 9/8/2024 )
Theater for the New City |
FFP
155 First Avenue
New York City,NY 10003
Phone: (212) 254-1109
"Pulling It All Into the Current" is a deeply personal and socially relevant performance that promises to captivate audiences with raw emotion and profound insight. Written and performed by Letta Neely, the one-woman show is a poignant exploration of identity, resilience, and the complexities of the human experience. Using a fusion of poetry, storytelling, and dramatic performance, Neely brings to life multiple characters – from teenagers to veterans, elders to addicts, and queers to teachers – and creates a series of interconnected narratives that delve into themes of love, struggle, and transformation. Her performance is a compelling testament to the power of personal and collective histories, weaving together her own experiences with broader societal issues, urging viewers to confront and embrace the complexities of their own lives and the world around them.
Witness Rhonda's tumultuous path to self-discovery at fifteen, follow Chocolate Marsh's transformative journey of healing and redemption, and join Laprecious in navigating the delicate balance between aspirations for her daughter and protecting her from a harsh world.
Step into the vibrant world of Corner, a flamboyant artist whose work becomes a courageous voice against neighborhood gentrification. Experience the poetic brilliance of Professor Crooked-Leg Boo, a street poet shedding light on the harsh realities of street life, and be inspired by Pastor Manifestese's unwavering faith and motivating words from the middle passage.
"Pulling It All Into The Current" has enjoyed success at notable venues, including Boston Playwrights' Theatre, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Mariposa Museum and World Culture Center, The Storefront Theatre in Indianapolis, and United Solo Festival at Theatre Row NYC - Winner: 'Best Drama' and 'Best Direction'.
Letta Neely, a versatile individual from Indianapolis, Indiana, is a beacon of creativity and activism. As a Black lesbian playwright, performer, poet, mother, teacher, and community activist, she has dedicated her adult life to progressive, anti-racist, and queer liberation movements. Letta's artistic pursuits explore the powerful connections and intersections of queerness, Blackness, and consciousness.
Written and Performed by Letta Neely. Directed by Greg Allen. Created by Greg Allen and Letta Neely.
"Pulling It All Into The Current" is part of "Dream Up: Invent! Concoct!"
Pulling It All Into The Current at Theater for the New City Schedule
Cast and Creative team for Pulling It All Into The Current at Theater for the New City
Cast
Letta Neely
All
Originally from Indianapolis, Indiana, Letta Neely is a Black lesbian playwright, performer, poet, mother, teacher, and community activist who has been involved in progressive, anti-racist, and queer liberation movements all her adult life. Her work focuses on the connections and intersections of queerness, Blackness, and awareness.
Letta's first play, "Hamartia Blues," was produced by The Theater Offensive at the Boston Center for the Arts in 2002 and received two IRNE (Independent Reviewers of New England) award nominations. Her plays "Last Rites" and "Shackles & Sugar" have been produced in Boston, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles.
In addition to the chapbooks "gawd and alluh huh sistahs" and "When We Were Mud," Letta has written two books of poetry, "Juba" and "Here" (Wildheart Press), both of which were finalists for the Lambda Literary Awards. Her literary work has been included in numerous anthologies, literary journals, and magazines, including "Through the Cracks," "Sinister Wisdom," "Common Lives, Lesbian Lives," "Rag Shock," "African Voices," "Rap Pages," "Catch the Fire," "Does Your Mama Know," and "Roll Call—a Generational Anthology of Social and Political Black Literature & Art." As a member of the Traces/Remain Ensemble with Deen Rawlins-Harris, she collaborated with Toshi Reagon's Emerson College residency, Parable Path Boston, to develop the Seed to Harvest Book Project.
Letta is also a co-artistic director for Fort Point Theatre Channel. She is the editor and scriptwriter of Ife Franklin's "The Slave Narratives of Willie Mae" (book and film). Letta hosts FireWater Poetics, a hybrid open mic with featured artists, at Emerson College each month. She directed Renita Martin's play, "Unmasked," for Revolution of Values, produced by Greg Allen. She is a NEFA grant recipient of both Collective Imagination for Spatial Justice and Public Art for Spatial Justice funding. Finally, Letta is the Associate Director of Programs at Apprentice Learning.
Creative Team
Greg Allen
Director/Creator
Greg Allen, a Boston-based educator, freelance stage director, and producer focusing on new work, holds a role as a Professor in the Department of Theatre at Northeastern University. His contributions to the theatre program as teaching faculty and stage director are noteworthy.
Greg's portfolio includes directing various college, university, and professional productions, such as Letta Neely's "Pulling It All Into The Current," performed in Boston and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Festival Fringe, and the United Solo Theatre Festival (winner of 'Best Drama' and 'Best Direction') and is now touring the U.S.
He has also recently directed "Mommy, Are We Poor?" by Richard Ravosa at the Mosesian Center for the Arts, produced by Six Corners Entertainment/David Bertolino Productions, and "Polaroid Stories" by Naomi Iizuka at Northeastern University.
Additionally, Greg created and directed "Thunder - A Musical Memoir," a one-person show featuring Broadway tap dancer Jimmy Tate, which won the Outstanding Choreography award at the New York International Fringe Festival.
Other plays include "A Lesson Before Dying," "The Trojan Women (adapted by Jean-Paul Satre)," "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill," and "Love Psalm" by Cynthia Grace Robinson.
His work has been featured at venues such as Theatre Row, the Francis Anne Cannon Workshop Theater, Ensemble Studio Theater, and Bleeker Street Theater in New York City, as well as Boston's Strand Theater, Mosesian Center for the Arts, Boston Center for the Arts, and the Garde Arts Center in Connecticut.
Greg holds a theater degree from Sarah Lawrence College, an M.F.A. in Theater Directing from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and an M.Ed. from Cambridge College. Greg has also taught in the Boston Public Schools, at UMass Amherst, and at Mass Bay Community College. Greg is Co-Artistic Director of 'A Revolution of Values Theatre Project' and a Co-Artistic Director at Fort Point Theatre Channel in Boston. Greg Allen lives in Boston, MA with his wife and two amazing children.
Letta Neely
Writer/Creator
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