| National Black Theatre's 49th season heads 'Black to the Future' | |
| Last Edit: Official_Press_Release 09:25 pm EDT 08/14/17 | |
| Posted by: Official_Press_Release 09:24 pm EDT 08/14/17 | |
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| NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE HEADS ‘BLACK TO THE FUTURE’ Historic theater’s 49th season puts modern-day griots in the spotlight with collaborations with Hi-ARTS and the Classical Theatre of Harlem With an eye on the 2018 elections, NBT to partner with New York Public Interest Research Group Fund (NYPIRG) to register New Yorkers to vote Dr. Barbara Ann Teer’s National Black Theatre’s 49th season cedes the floor to modern-day griots with gripping, one-person tales capturing the trauma and triumph of a people. In a nod to the African tradition of the storyteller and historian who inspires and uplifts, the season is anchored by two one-person shows, The Peculiar Patriot, by Liza Jessie Peterson, a coproduction with Hi-ARTS, and Sancho by Paterson Joseph, a coproduction with Classical Theatre of Harlem (CTH) and Pemberley Productions. Themed “Black to the Future,” the 49th season—which includes workshop productions by resident playwrights—seeks to take stock of the present and look to the past to predict and help shape a brighter future for Black people. “This season NBT will go back to the basics of storytelling in presenting on our Mainstage the singular narrative of the griot—their cautionary tales and testimonies offering voices from our past and present,” said National Black Theatre (NBT) CEO Sade Lythcott and daughter to Teer. “The intention here is to vision a future that holds up an unflinching mirror to the ‘self evident’ first principles of this country that all people ‘are created equal…endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” The season kicks off on September 13 on the NBT Mainstage with the world premiere of The Peculiar Patriot, written and performed by Peterson and directed by Talvin Wilks. The powerful one-woman, multimedia show follows protagonist Betsy LaQuanda Ross, a self-proclaimed peculiar patriot, as she makes regular visits to penitentiaries to boost the morale of her incarcerated friends and family, navigating love amid barbed wire. As she shares neighborhood updates and gossip and reminisces about family, Betsy delivers a shrewd indictment of the criminal justice system in her own authentic and inimitable style, with a heavy dose of humor to boot. Peterson, who drew heavily from the nearly two decades she spent working at Rikers Island for the piece, recently appeared in Ava DuVernay’s Academy Award-nominated documentary on the U.S. prison system, The 13th. The Peculiar Patriot runs through October 1. Closing out the season on the NBT Mainstage will be Sancho. The one-man show, conceived, written and performed by Joseph, tells the true story of Charles “Sancho” Ignatius, who was born on a slave ship but was never a slave. Ignatius was immortalized by the great English painter Thomas Gainsborough and in 1774 became the first British-African to cast a vote. In this endlessly revealing, often funny one-man show, the celebrated Royal Shakespeare Company actor (Julius Caesar in 2013 winter/spring; HBO’s The Leftovers) inhabits the curious, daringly determined life of Ignatius—composer, social satirist, general man of refinement—while casting new light on the often misunderstood narratives of the African-British experience. Co-directed by Simon Godwin and Joseph, Sancho runs April 11 to April 29. NBT’s resident playwrights will see workshop productions of their new plays take center stage. Angelica Chéri, Nambi E. Kelley and Derek Lee McPhatter are all Black playwrights in NBT’s 18-month I AM SOUL residency program, the nation’s premier theatrical program dedicated solely to the development of Black playwrights, with a commitment to a workshop production of their new works. Chéri’s I Will Not Lie to David, Part Three of The Prophet’s Cycle, introduces Fatima, who, 30 years after her mother’s passing, battles to unlock the secret purpose for her birth, hidden in the mysteries of her father’s prophesied gift and a gift she never knew she had. Directed by Cezar Williams, with music by Ross Baum, I Will Not Lie to David runs February 21 to 25. Blood, by Nambi E. Kelley, follows a dying Scipio as his estranged son visits, taking audiences on a journey spanning time and blood memory, as Scipio questions his existence as a Black revolutionary, a father, a man. Blood is directed by Elizabeth Van Dyke and runs November 15 to 19. In Derek Lee McPhatter’s Serious Adverse Effects, an unconventional scientist is on the cusp of a cure for a mysterious disease. But to complete her research she must find forgiveness from a family with no reason to trust her and embrace the transformative potential of her own healing. From the marvels of the modern laboratory to the inner depths of the human psyche, Serious Adverse Effects is an imaginative contemporary drama inspired by the resilience of African-American women in the twenty-first century. The show runs March 28 through April 1. Looking ahead to the 2018 election, National Black Theatre, in partnership with The New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), is embarking on an all-out effort to register community residents to vote. During the 2017–2018 season, NBT will sign up show attendees and neighbors alike to get New Yorkers on the rolls for 2018. “The most powerful tool to dismantle the master’s house is the tool we were never intended to have access to: the right to vote. Therefore, all season long NBT is excited to join forces with NYPIRG to take powerful action in shaping our future. As a part of our dramaturgical lobby exhibits we will be registering people to vote and providing community and audience members information and education on their voter rights and the importance of civic engagement as we contemplate going Black to the future,” said Lythcott. To find out more about the upcoming season, including NBT’s affordable Season Passes for $99 and VIP Season Passes for $149, visit NBT at www.nationalblacktheatre.org. Follow NBT on Facebook (@NationalBlackTheatre) and Twitter/Instagram (@NatBlackTheatre). |
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