Mirror Stage to Present HONKY by Greg Kalleres, 2/8-9

This winter, Mirror Stage continues exploring one of our country's most inflammatory questions: what does it mean to be black (or white) in America? From the early days of the civil rights movement to the racial profiling of today, the question of color remains ablaze in controversy and contentiousness. The popular Feed Your Mind staged reading series presents the West Coast premiere of Honky by Greg Kalleres on February 8 and 9, 2014. Directed by Suzanne M. Cohen, Feed Your Mind: Honky features Sydney Andrews, Elena Flory-Barnes, Tim Gouran, Carl Kennedy, James Lapan, Andrew Litzky, Corey Spruill and Tyler Trerise. All performances will be presented at the Ethnic Cultural Theatre in Seattle's University District.

When a young African American is shot for a pair of basketball shoes, sales triple among white teens. Meanwhile, a new pill is advertised as a guaranteed cure for racism: if you don't think you need it - you're probably a racist. Honky, an Off-Broadway New York Times critic's pick, takes a satiric look at the symbiotic relationship between racism and commercialism, while at the same time asking if white guilt is only for white people.

Greg Kalleres received his BFA from Tisch's Dramatic Writing Program at NYU. His plays have been produced in numerous cities including, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Berkeley CA, Bloomington, IN and Beirut, Lebanon. Kalleres received the Certificate of Excellence from the Kennedy Center and the Emerging Playwright Award for Honky (NY Times Critic's Pick). His one-act plays have won top honors at the Samuel French Festival, Turnip Festival and Fusion Theatre one act play festival. His work has been published in the New York Times, TDF Stages Magazine, Cracked.com and United Stages' "Best of EATFest" Volumes 3 and 4. In addition to playwriting, Kalleres has written and produced commercials for ESPN, Nike, Brand Jordan, Budweiser, New York Magazine and Twitter. He was the lead writer on the award winning "This is SportsCenter" campaign and created ESPN's Monday Night Football campaign: "Is it Monday Yet?"

Mirror Stage's innovative Feed Your Mind series of staged readings examines topical issues from different perspectives. The plays are presented simply: no costumes or sets-just the actors and the text. Following every performance, a moderated discussion with the audience and artists further explores the issues raised in more depth.

The Ethnic Cultural Theatre is located at 3940 Brooklyn Ave NE in Seattle. Performances will be Saturday at 8:00pm and Sunday at 2:00pm. Admission is $10. Half-price tickets are available for Senior Citizens and students, and every performance has 10 Pay-What-You-Can rush tickets ($1 minimum) for purchase at the door. Free parking is available in University of Washington's lot W12, located at just south of the Ethnic Cultural Theater on Brooklyn Ave NE. For more information, please visit www.mirrorstage.org/honky.

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