10-MINUTE BLOOMS Comes to Pure Life Theatre in April

According to poet (and prophet) Audre Lorde, "We can train ourselves to respect our feelings and to transpose them into a language so they can be shared." Five local playwrights have answered the Lorde's call. Truth Meet Story, LLC, in partnership with Diamonds, Pearls & Pink Roses Productions, presents "10-Minute Blooms," a showcase and translation of feelings into language shared as stories, dance, short plays, and other '10-minute blooms'.

Written and performed by regional Black creatives, "10-Minute Blooms" opens 7:30 PM, Thursday, April 7, and wraps 3 PM, Sunday, April 10, 2022, at Pure Life Theatre, 3801 Hillsborough St, Raleigh, NC.

The limited-run series centers Black life as experienced in diverse settings: walking at sunrise, employment as a bartender, managing employees in a profitable factory with a dead-employee body count, and co-parenting with the court-assigned label "domestic abuser", to name a few. Each 10-minute bloom provides a range of emotions - from pensive, to comedic, to "gloves-off".

The 10-Minute Blooms producers Alexus Rhone and Renee Nixon craved an opportunity for BIPOC creatives in the Triangle to have a space for expressions that "color outside of the line." "We love the classic productions that center the insights of iconic Black storytellers like August Wilson, James Baldwin, and Lorraine Hansberry. But who is making room for the quotidian storytellers of the current realities of Black life?" asked Rhone, a playwright and artistic theologian. Nixon, a playwright and director, adds, "We saw not just a gap, but an opportunity to tell stories that represent our different experiences in this present moment."

Rhone and Nixon describe this showcase as an invitation to Black creatives to "greenlight themselves," that is, to do, say, and perform in whatever way feels real and right to them. "#Permissiongranted" is not only a promotional hashtag, but a succinct description of the ethos underlying each performance piece.

Now that folks are returning to public venues for entertainment, live theater remains a sacred space for exploring creative solutions. Rhone describes it as "holding space for conversations about how we may better live together in the 'great world house'." Nixon reminds us that theater also offers "the added bonus and responsibility to celebrate every moment."

At 7:30 PM, Thursday evening, the "10-Minute Blooms" showcase includes a post-show, intimate meet-n-greet with playwrights, casts, and event producers. At 3 PM, Sunday afternoon, the showcase blossoms into "Muffins, Mimosas & Matinee of 10-Minute Blooms." We will open with light brunch fare, including fruit, muffins, mimosas, coffee and orange juice, all while enjoying the jazz stylings of Lynnette Barber. Following brunch, the "10-Minute Blooms" showcase will commence. The event will wrap with a panel featuring the "10-Minute Blooms" playwrights.

Featured Playwrights/10-minute "blooms"
Alexus Rhone - "Natural", "Ms. Shirley's Workshop"a??
Renee Nixon - "DAZED & STUNNED", "SON"a??
J. Mardrice Henderson - "Church Boyz - Pilot", "Proverbs - Accidents"a??
CJ Morgan - "The System"a??
Aya Wallace - "3 Dreads" a??

Tickets are available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/10-minute-blooms-a-translation-of-feelings-into-language-tickets-302691708047. For more information, contact Alexus Rhone at info@alexusrhone.com.

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