Simpatico Theatre and Jouska PlayWorks Announce 2022 New Play Showcase Featuring All Black Playwrights
Presentations will take place October 14 through October 16, and reservations are required.
By: Stephi Wild Oct. 04, 2022
Simpatico Theatre and Jouska PlayWorks, an assembly of Black playwrights whose goal is to create theatre that enriches, entertains, empowers, and awakens the moral conscience, have announced the return of the Jouska PlayWorks New Play Showcase, featuring excerpts from six new plays created by Jouska artists. These pieces will be presented as Pay What You Decide (PWYD) readings at The Bluver Theatre at The Drake. Presentations will take place October 14 through October 16, and reservations are required.
"Simpatico's continued relationship with Jouska will employ 16 actors and 5 directors, all while providing the opportunity for Black artists to lead the development of their own work," notes Simpatico Theatre Artistic Director Allison Heishman. "We are honored to welcome the Jouska PlayWorks team back to Simpatico, and look forward to seeing what exciting new plays have been created by these incredible playwrights."
The featured plays include:
The Translated Body Politic of Miss, Mother, Sista
By Teresa D. Miller
Friday, October 14, 2022 7:00pm
Inspired by Nona Faustines artwork and artistry, The Translated Body Politic of Miss Mother Sista is about the story of four black women and how they came to be who they are in their black bodies, form and thought. This is the story of what would happen if they didn't have to fight to tell the story of themselves, why they look the way they do and told by them in the nude.
Celebrity Dream Date
By Keenya Jackson
Saturday, October 15, 2022 3:00pm
Directed by Katrina Shobe
Sky's Aunt Jo has recently died. While cleaning out her favorite Aunt's house, Sky finds an entire journal that Aunt Jo dedicated to Harry Belefonte. Inspired by Aunt Joe, Sky and her sis, Leva, create the 'Celebrity Dream Date' app.
Psalm 46
By Josh A. Campbell
Saturday October 15, 2022 7:00pm
An autobiographical choreopoem exploring the dreams, vulnerability, memories, and physical recovery of a black artist during the summer of 2020 through prose, poetry, song, music, and movement.
ReWombed
By Nikki Brake-Sillá
Sunday, October 16, 2022 3pm
Directed by Tamanya M. M. Garza
ReWombed takes place over the course of multiple office visits between Pastor Rachel Johnson and Dr. Eve Jardín, OBGYN. Eve has a crisis of conscience after renouncing her faith years before, and wonders if the recent death of a patient is a sign from God. As their bond strengthens, Eve challenges Rachel's participation in a trial whose selection process, coupled with the biological harm of immunosuppression drugs, cervical biopsies, and numerous abdominal surgeries, have made it impossible for her to uphold her vow to do no harm.
"...and stones"
By Megan Schumacher
Saturday October 15, 2022 5pm
Directed by CJ Miller
In the summer of 1933 just outside of Birmingham, AL, schoolteacher Elizabeth Lawrence was lynched for scolding a group of white children who had been throwing stones at her. Through a contemporary lens using Angelina Weld Grimké's "Tenebris" and a split stage, this play imagines her son's pursuit of justice for his mother and considers the courageous pursuit of equity by all Black bodies in the face of racism.
Play On
By Quinn D. Eli
Sunday October 16, 2022 6:00pm
Directed by Katrina Shobe
In a strange, unknown future, Pearl is exactly as her name might suggest-a Black woman well-aware that she's a gem. By contrast, her husband Griffin is less assured, suffering in silence as his old girlfriend, a white chanteuse named Autumn, attempts to take credit for a popular song that Griffin wrote long ago. It's the ugly, familiar tale of a white musician taking credit for a Black artist's work, and Pearl refuses to let it stand. Enter Cambridge-a talking A.I. device-who entices Pearl to confront Autumn, no matter the cost. But Cambridge's motives are anyone's guess in a world where technology, not music, is the food of love, leaving Pearl all alone to balance the scales and seize a little justice not only for Griffin, but for every Black artist that's ever been wronged.
All presentations are Pay What You Decide. This model empowers Simpatico and Jouska audiences to invest in art and artists in accordance with their own abilities. After seeing one of our shows, guests are encouraged to make a contribution to continue to support our work.
Reservations for the showcase are required. For more information, or to reserve a spot, visit https://www.simpaticotheatre.org/jouska-playworks. To visit the ticketing link directly: https://ci.ovationtix.com/35118.
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