Previews: BIPOC PLAY-READING SERIES: THE MOURNERS at Straz Center's TECO Theatre

Coming to TECO Theatre on Saturday, February 3 at 5:30 pm is The Straz Center's annual BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) Play-Reading Series. The first play of 2024, THE MOURNERS, was written by Brooklyn, NY, actor, educator, and playwright Rivka Rivera.

Self-described as a Jew-Yo-Rican, her name 'Rivka' means to bind and make whole, reflecting her dedication to creating art that helps people explore and understand their complex identities.

A Carnegie Mellon University graduate, Rivka is a Conch Shell Artist Collective of Caribbean Diaspora Writers, Irondale Ensemble, and [Re] Verse Writer's Group member. Her play, THE MOURNERS, was selected for Carnegie Mellon's prestigious ColLABo incubator. This honor is bestowed upon artists who craft compelling narratives that spotlight minority populations and marginalized voices.

Rivka learned about the play-reading series through fellow 2023 participant, Carnegie Mellon student, and Conch Shell Artist Collective member Gretchen Suarez-Peña.

"Born and raised a Brooklyn, New Yorker, I wasn't very familiar with the Straz Center, so I was really excited to get to expand and go out there. Now that I've gotten to know the folks running the theatre, they've just been so kind. I think their mission and goal are really important in sharing these stories - sharing different stories- that don't always get shared on the American stage."

THE MOURNERS, a play about an estranged family coming together during Hurricane Maria after a tragic suicide, written during the pandemic, was inspired loosely by true events: the playwright's loss of her sister to suicide in 2017, compounded six months later by Hurricane Maria hitting family in Puerto Rico.

Rivka says her characters defy the stereotypes that dominate Latina storytelling on the American stage. She loves watching them interact and challenge each other.

"This play was really an exploration of that grief. I'm excited for this story to reach other demographics and areas to as many people as possible. It was an honor to be selected, but just any time, your play gets new life and a chance for the words to be said out loud, to get experience with other creatives. These other actors will get to read the words; I'm just really excited and open to this experience.

"This is a climate story. These characters and the narrative are rooted in this experience of facing an environmental disaster that, unfortunately, we know all over the world we are going to face more and more. It's interesting to do the play in Florida, where the audience is not unfamiliar with disasters like hurricanes becoming a reality. I think that's important to have these stories out there and how we come together in our community to face them."

The BIPOC play reading series is FREE and is held at 5:30 pm in the TECO Theater. Reservations are required by calling 813.229.STAR (7827) or visit the website: strazcenter.org/events/2324-season/voices-of-the-community/a-bipoc-play-reading-series

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