Previews: MIKU, AND THE GODS at Straz Center's TECO Theatre

Coming to TECO Theatre on Sunday, March 14 at 2:30 pm is The Straz Center's annual BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) Play-Reading Series. The third play of 2024, miku, and the gods was written by New York playwright Julia Izumi.

In this play, Miku wants to be a god. Ephraim wants to be an Olympian. Grandma Seiko wants to remember. And minor god Shara just wants people to include him in the conversation. As they journey from the schoolyard to the river to the underworld and back again, Miku and company will learn what it takes to become a god. miku, and the gods is an epic adventure that braids together friendship, death, memory, time, rhythm – and power beyond what one could ever desire.

"Somewhere around 2016, I was thinking a lot about power and the ways we teach young people to aspire to power, but not what it means to have power. What if a young kid said that when I grow up, I'm going to be president, and another kid said something impossible: I'm going to be a god when I grow up. That's where my play began," she explains.

Izumi discovered her love for playwriting accidentally while in college. An advanced playwriting class desperately sought students, so Izumi signed up despite not taking the beginner's class. During her senior year of college, she wrote a full-length play. When she watched the staged reading, she realized her truth.

"I felt like I was more on stage than when I'd been on stage previously as an actor."

While visiting Carnegie Mellow, fellow playwright Gretchen Suarez-Pena told Izumi about Straz Center's opportunity for BIPOC playwrights.

Izumi said she was excited to have her work produced in Florida.

"I love that the characters are idiosyncratic in their own ways. I  think the audience will enjoy it because it's a dramatic comedic drama. I think they'll have a lot of fun. There's a lot of laughter to be had and heart as well."

When asked what she wanted people to discuss after the reading, she said, "My guess is that they'll be kind of like, 'What happened at the end?' It's a little bit open to interpretation - the ending. So yeah, I hope they're talking about the characters."

The BIPOC play reading series is FREE at 2:30 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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