10 year old Jabari loves to paint. With his Forever President Barack Obama as a guide, Jabari escapes the violent reality of an encounter with the police through his colorful paintings where he meets children from the past who teach him how to be fearless. He then meets his hero, Barack Obama, as a 6 year old boy on the eve of the assassination of MLK, Jr. Will Jabari be able to instill in young Barack the lessons he’s learned and therefore ensure that Barack will have the necessary tools to become president? Will he learn to take these lessons back into his own life and heal his community? JABARI DREAMS OF FREEDOM is a 45 minute dream, a piece for ages 8 and up, using rap, freedom songs, hip hop dance, history, and humor to tell the story of a young Black boy from the South Side of Chicago who is afraid to leave the house, but learns to dream of freedom.
Cast Size: 3
The Ding Dongs
When a sweet-faced couple shows up on a suburban doorstep, an unsuspecting homeowner finds himself the victim of a surreal home invasion. Using wit and wordplay to mask a more sinister threat, the couple wages a battle over indigenous rights from the living room, and we are asked to examine the brutality that fuels our system of private property.
El Borracho
Raúl is ill. He drinks, because he always drinks, just like el borracho on the lotería card. In his final months, Raúl moves in with his ex-wife, who swore she’d never see him again, and their son, who’s longing to connect with his father at last.
Another America
A cross-country pilgrimage on bicycles from Venice, CA to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA. ANOTHER AMERICA is a free-wheeling portrait of the country itself as well as a journey of self discovery for two brothers and their best friend.
Musings of a Crazy Texican
Imagine witnessing 500 years of Aztec history in 10 minutes, a commercial for menudo popsicles, auditions for Pancho Villa: The Musical or a jillion texts from a psycho gringa. This “crazy” collection of eight short plays contains works that have entertained, inspired and sometimes offended. Playwright Alvaro Saar Rios showcases new work, commissioned pieces as well as those developed with the performance troupe The Royal Mexican Players. To be enjoyed by Texicans & non-Texicans across the country.
America’s Sexiest Couple
Two actors, who were “America’s Sexiest Couple” on a popular ‘90s sitcom reunite for the first time in 25 years. They face a lifetime of unresolved issues, longings, resentments, and regrets. Plus, the network wants to reboot the show. Career and personal aspirations collide. Professionally and personally, where do they go from here?
Thirst
Thirst is set in the kitchen as Eugene O’Neill’s classic Long Day’s Journey Into Night simultaneously takes place in the living room. It is a story where passion, wit and beauty bubble to the surface as two Irish servant women and an American chauffeur pass that day in 1912 at the Tyrone’s Monte Cristo Cottage.