Wilbury Group Announces New Streaming Program       

The Wilbury Theatre Group announces a new calendar of classes, performances, and events to be live-streamed on the company's Facebook and YouTube pages from now until April 12.

Presented with support from GoLocalProv, the streaming program is the latest in programming from the company, which was forced to suspend all regular programming a week ago in efforts to stem COVID-19, aka the coronavirus.

Scheduled streaming events include the company's Monday night classes with Mycah Hogan and Jennifer Mischley, readings and performances of new works by Darcie Dennigan, Christopher Johnson, Jesse Hawley & James Stanley, and Shey Rivera Ríos, and a performance of Roadhouse: The Musical by Brien Lang.

"Suspending our season and closing our doors to audiences just four performances into our production of Miss You Like Hell has been heartbreaking," says Wilbury Artistic Director Josh Short, "but I'm proud that with the support of our dedicated staff, loyal audience, and our Resident Artists, we've been able to pivot into this new direction."

"We're very grateful for the opportunity to partner with GoLocalProv on bringing these performances and events to our community," continues Short. "And while we very much look forward to welcoming audiences back into the theater when things return to normal, we're excited by this opportunity to stretch outside of our comfort zone a bit and take our work to what is the next frontier for many performing artists, live-streaming."

Audience members will be able to watch the performances live via The Wilbury Group Facebook page, YouTube, and on the GoLocalProv website at golocalprov.com. Video of livestreamed events will be held on The Wilbury Group's website for future viewings.

View the current schedule of performances below. For more information about the performances or The Wilbury Group's livestreaming program, visiting thewilburygroup.org/streaming.

Performance Schedule

Sunday, March 22 at 7pm
Invoice for Emotional Labor by Christopher Johnson

The staged-reading of a new work-in-development, Invoice for Emotional Labor is the upcoming multi discipline solo performance answering the asked and not so obvious unasked questions about race and racism from the perspective of poet and 2018 McColl Johnson finalist and RISCA Playwright fellow Christopher Johnson.

Monday, March 23 at 6pm
"The Playful Actor" class with Mycah Hogan

Actor and Educator Mycah Hogan leads this weekly drop-in class that uses joy-based games and acting exercises to explore the actor's capacity for truth, joy, enthusiasm, and generosity. Watch the class via our livestream, or check back here for the Zoom info needed to participate in the class!

Friday, March 27 at 7pm
Naty and My Chaotic Stench by Shey Rivera Ríos

Ali is a queer teenager growing up in rural Puerto Rico, going to punk shows with her friends. She is haunted by a bad smell that doesn't seem to go away. Naty is Ali's madrina, a bruja, about to be crowned as santera. Naty tries to help Ali by taking her to various healers and witches, doing readings, and preparing despojos (baths) to break spells. But nothing seems to work. That is, until Ali recognizes who she truly is. Performed by it's author, interdisciplinary artist Shey Rivera Ríos, Naty and My Chaotic Stench is the magical realism, coming of age story of a young witch living in the mountains of Puerto Rico sure to resonate with audiences of all ages.

Sunday, March 29 at 6pm
Chernobyl Babies by Darcie Dennigan

The perfect nuclear family--father, mother, son, daughter-- finds itself quarantined with serious radiation poisoning. And each of them is inexplicably pregnant. The doomsday clock is ticking and their terrible pregnancies are progressing. From the Wilbury Group's Resident Playwright Darcie Dennigan comes a brand new play about how trauma and gamma rays can change chromosomes.

Monday, March 30 at 6pm
"The Mindful Actor" class with Jen Mischley

Take your performance to the next level by liberate yourself through mindful examination of your intuition, imagination and concentration. In this group setting, under the instruction of Jen Mischley, participants are invite to explore playful exercises designed to free the creative spirit, engage in weekly cold readings of scenes and monologues, ending with a guided meditation.

Wednesday, April 1 at 6pm
Roadhouse: The Musical, and other stuff by Brien Lang & Friends

Are you too stupid to have a good time? Then you may want to avoid Roadhouse: the Musical...It's the musical iteration of every man's man favorite Patrick Swayze movie by Brien Lang, infamous throughout Rhode Island for the throat-ripping, knee smashing energy that has made it a staple among discerning bar, brewery and even theater patrons. And he's gonna do some other stuff too.

Friday, April 3 at 7pm
TBD by Andy Russ

Interdisciplinary performance artist Andy Russ is cooking up something and it's going to be something good. An electrifying exercise in sound, meaning, and storytelling, it's certain to be a unique immersive theatre experience unlike anything audiences have ever experienced.

Sunday, April 5 at 7pm
Luna Loba by Shey Rivera Ríos and friends

Featuring 12 artists across mediums and identifies, Luna Loba is the long-running performance series curated by Shey Rivera Ríos that creates space to explore ritual through artistic practice. Performance art, video, spoken word/readings, sound/music, and performative installation are all on the table.

Monday, April 6 at 6pm
"The Playful Actor" class with Mycah Hogan

Actor and Educator Mycah Hogan leads this weekly drop-in class that uses joy-based games and acting exercises to explore the actor's capacity for truth, joy, enthusiasm, and generosity. Watch the class via our livestream, or check back here for the Zoom info needed to participate in the class!

Wednesday, April 8 at 6pm
New and Dangerous Ideas Christopher Johnson

Winner of the 2018 Playwriting Fellowship from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, New and Dangerous Ideas is a multi media experience, challenging ideas of criminalizing race and sex, expatriating police while humanizing statistics by using personal stories of several members of different communities intersected with spoken word poetry, framed in music, dance and video. Originally presented in an earlier form in the Wilbury Theatre Group's 2017/18 Season, New and Dangerous Ideas by Providence's unofficial poet laureate Christopher Johnson takes a revised and updated look at race in America.

Friday, April 10 at 7pm
CVK: Clever and Vainglorious Kings by Jesse Hawley and James Stanley

CVK is a multi-faceted performance project that consists of a.) the manufacture of an 80s synth pop band that never was; and, b.) a staging of their triumphant reunion tour. Fully inhabiting their post-punk alter egos in CVK, performance artist duo Jesse Hawley and James Stanley create a hybrid theatrical retrospective of CVK's work, a show that combines musical performance, video, dance, storytelling and various forms of immersive theatrical hi-jinx. They offer a danceable meditation on the circularity of history, and a how-to guide in the subversion of tribal conservatism.

Sunday, April 12 at 7pm
Jen Mischley's Corona Cabaret

4 weeks is a long time when you're socially distancing yourself. Blow off some steam with Jen Mischley and friends at the first ever Corona Cabaret. All together now, but still 6-feet apart. Stay tuned for more info.

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